The following morning came full of anticipation. Albus and Luna woke at the crack of dawn, and by the time Xeno found them, they were engrossed in a random copy of the quibbler.
"See, that's the code," pointed Luna.
"So the numbers at the top aren't just random?"
"No, they're the words you highlight with magic to undo the code. Like this." She grabbed a device off a nearby shelf and began highlighting. "See 7, 44, 193, and 619 are I, am, the, walrus." As she tapped the words, the letters on the page shifted, revealing an entirely new article.
"Oh, I see," said Albus softly. "Instead of an article on the evolution of flying walruses, it's about the latest anti-muggleborn legislation and its impacts to all levels of society," he recited, having read the last part directly off the paper.
"Remember, that only works because you know most of the encryptions darling." The two kids looked over to Xeno who was already picking up the paper and returning it to its shelf. "Albus, do you remember ever going to Diagon Alley? Or any part of magical London for that matter?" The boy straightened slightly.
"No Xeno, sir. It must be locked away with the rest of my memories," he responded, tapping on his head for emphasis. "One step at a time," sighed the elder man. At least he was not calling him Mr. Lovegood anymore.
"You'll enjoy it. It's truly fantastic, especially since they got rid of the wicker man in front of Fortescue's," declared Luna happily. Evanna distant voice retorted an unintelligible remark.
"What did you say, love?" called Xeno. She walked into the room a moment later.
"I was just telling Luna that the 'wicker man' she mentioned was a statue." Luna looked at her mother for a second, cocking an eyebrow.
"So King Edward V wasn't a wicker man?"
"I think he's glad he wasn't a wicker man," noted Albus casually. "If what you said about wicker men the other day was true, I sure wouldn't want to be burned!" Laughter filled the air as the Lovegoods and their temporary ward enjoyed their morning, got ready, and went straight to Diagon Alley.
OoOoOoO
Albus was amazed by everything he saw. From the Floo, to the Leaky Cauldron, and every little detail that Luna pointed out. Evanna was happy to see that Albus' eyes sparkled brighter than a kid on Yule morn, and did not seem to care who caught him. Glancing back to her husband, she noticed an anxious gaze in his eyes.
"Don't worry," she whispered, giving Xeno a smile.
"I know, but goblins can be sneaky, and you never know what might come up."
"Well, let's hope for the best," she said brightly as Albus and Luna raced up the steps of Gringotts.
"Ha! I beat you!" declared Luna proudly to a huffing Albus.
"No...fair..." he panted. Luna shrugged and waited for her parents to catch up. The past few days spent with Albus were quite eventful. She had always been a bit envious of her friend Ginny with her army of brothers who were there for her. So when Albus came along, she felt happy she could have a 'brother' all to herself. "I demand a rematch," he announced, breaking her train of thought.
"But we're already at the top of the stairs," she reasoned.
Before Albus could think of a comeback, Xeno and Evanna caught up with the excited children.
"Now remember you two," began Xeno.
"Respect and proper conduct within the bank," finished Evanna. Luna nodded and adjusted. Albus unsure of what to do copied Luna. Xeno held back laughter as she nudged the boy in the right direction. With everyone steeling themselves, the group of four made their way into the bank, to the nearest teller. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Albus trying to keep himself from gawking at the colossal lobby full of wizards and goblins alike. She also noticed a few wizards whispering amongst themselves, giving the group a few odd looks, but decided to ignore it. Approaching the nearest teller, Xeno took out the Lovegood signet ring and placed it on the counter. The goblin barely lifted his head, but his eyes did widen a fraction at the sight of the signet ring.
"Lord Lovegood, what may I do for you today?" asked the goblin, no emotion on his face. Albus whispered to Luna, asking about absolutely everything.
"Just stay quiet and listen to everything," replied Luna, causing Albus to sober up. Xeno calmly looked back up to the goblin.
"I would like to know if my account manager Gornuk is available at this moment." He was worried they had kicked a hornet's nest by finding Albus, and it showed on his face. Fortunately, Evanna noticed and held his hand for reassurance. The goblin disappeared only for a moment, but it was enough to get Albus muttering again. Evanna and Xeno gave up trying to keep him quiet and decided to focus on the goblin and his information.
"The meeting that was booked will be able to proceed. Please follow me." The goblin stood up and made his way across the lobby to a door at the far side. The group of four moved along quietly, following the goblin as quickly as possible. Once out of the main hall, the corridors diverged in all directions, some down to the mine carts and banks vaults, others to the residences of the goblins. The particular goblin went up to the private meeting rooms of the bank. Albus tried his best not to gawk, and glancing at the others, attempting to mirror their stance with some success. He noticed Evanna and Xeno were muttering, and Luna was in that distant place she would drift off to occasionally. Soon enough they came to a stone door with a simple label:
Quasi and Pseudo Legal Financial Policies, Ceremonies, and Rituals
The name meant absolutely nothing to Albus but to his caretakers, it was a moment of truth. Blood identification rituals were commonplace amongst the goblins Gringotts, but it was only done in extreme circumstances for wizarding families. Finding a bleeding child with no identity near your home certainly warranted as an extreme circumstance. The goblin ushered the group through the stone door, and promptly exited. Evanna took the initiative and began the dialogue.
"Hello Gornuk," she softly stated. "May your enemies suffer, may your gold flow free, and may your fortunes ever prosper." Her husband follow suit, as did Luna. Albus quickly realised he was supposed to repeat the phrase, and tried to copy. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned.
"Hello Gornuk, sir. May your gold suffer, May your enemies flow free, and may your fortunes ever prosper!" The adults in the room froze. If his blunder was taken as an insult, the meeting would be compromised, and Xeno might be dealing with hostile bankers for time and all eternity. Gornuk, who had sat at the desk waiting for the formalities to finish, gave the boy an odd stare, making made him quite uncomfortable. Unexpectedly, the goblin cracked a toothy smile, and a low rumbling laughter escaped his lips. The entire group was quite confused. Gornuk, catching his breath, began explaining.
"Boy, if I hadn't dealt with Sirius Black himself, I would have been downright insulted. Seeing as you're not even half the clown he was, I'll let it slide this once." A collective sigh came from the humans in the room. "For the record, it doesn't sound like English is your native tongue. So what is it? Korean?" The boy gave a blank stare. "Chagatai?" No response. "Tagalog?" More confusion appeared on Albus' face. At this point Xeno Lovegood took the opportunity to present his situation.
"Gornuk." The goblin's eyes snapped up to the older man full of curiosity regarding the child. "The boy is the crux of the matter today. A few days ago, my wife," gesturing over to the woman seated to his left, "found the child near our home, grievously injured. My wife nursed him back to health." The goblin raised his brow at that remark. "In her defense, St. Mungo's would have been risky if he turned out to not have magic," counter Xeno.
"Get to the point, Lovegood." Gornuk seemed to be losing his patience, and it showed in his face and his voice. "If this has to do with your finances or legal work in anyway, make it clear now." The man steeled himself and continued the story.
"In the days since his recovery, he has explicitly stated that he has no recollection of who he is, or who his parents are."
"So you want me to do a test of identity then," concluded the goblin, a slight glint in his eyes.
"Exactly. For all we know the boy could be the lovechild of Sirius Black!"
"Xeno love," chastised the man's wife. "You know better than throw around accusations."
"Especially around goblins," added Gornuk, with a strained smile on his face. The man cast his gaze from the Goblin back to his wife and softly murmured an apology. At this point, both of the children in the room began softly giggling at the absurdity of the situation, making Xeno flush bright red with embarrassment. Evanna quickly took over the delegation to finish the matter at hand.
"We know that the goblins normally do not perform the test of identity unless an extreme situation demands it, but this is dire. The boy has already been harmed, which means he likely has enemies. He could be scion of a wealthy family. If they manage to find him who knows what they could do. They could possibly eradicate a wealthy family!" Her resolve had moved Gornuk, but it was the infinitesimally small possibility of losing wealth that incited the goblin to action. He quickly conjured a blank piece of paper and laid it out on the desk.
"Come here boy," he said, gesturing toward the dark haired child. Albus advanced hesitantly, heart beating out of his chest, eyes wide with fear.
"Oh there's no need to be scared of me boy. After all, we don't want you ending up like Xeno over there all terrified of goblins for no good reason." That last remark brought mirth to the goblin's eyes and much bemusement to Xenophilius. However, it allowed Albus to calm himself down enough to listen to what the banker had to say.
"Now, the procedure is quite simple. You will take this knife," drawing a short silver dagger out from under the table as he spoke, "and you will slash it across the palm of your left hand. Once the blood is flowing, let it flow on to the paper. The rest will be handled by the magic. Are we clear?" Albus gave the goblin a skeptical glance and nearly asked him 'why'. However, he knew it was wiser to hold his tongue here and simply do as he was told. He slowly reached for the knife in the goblin's outstretched hand, and took it in his own. It was light in his hand, and almost glowed iridescently in the light. The boy then steeled himself and with the dagger in his right hand, he made a quick slash across the palm of his left. Sure enough, the drops of scarlet blood poured onto the paper, cause an instant reaction. For a few seconds it flash a myriad of colours, captivating both Albus and Luna, who was peeking over Albus' shoulder to get a better view. Slowly, the colours slowly took form on the paper, and when the magic had finished there was only a large golden hourglass on the paper.
"Is that supposed to happen?" asked Luna quite bluntly. Albus turned to the goblin, expecting a response but only saw the diminutive banker's eyes go as wide as saucers, and nearly let his jaw drop to the floor.
"This was unexpected, but procedure still stands," he said, barely collecting himself. "I will need to take this for consultation for a few minutes." At this, he reached for the paper, and quickly made his way out the door. Xeno breathed a sigh of relief, earning a glare from his wife.
"What?" he asked.
"You need to get your fear under control. You almost botched the meeting quite a few times."
"Yes dear," he sighed. Their attention quickly shifted as Luna spoke up.
"It seemed as though wrackspurts started bothering him. Can goblins be bothered by wrackspurts?" asked the curious girl. Albus seemed just as confused and sure enough, he and Luna were trading questions for several minutes. The minutes dragged on and eventually an uncomfortable anticipation settled on the four. After a couple of hours, Gornuk walked back into the room, almost haggard looking. Clearing his throat, he began speaking, his voice hoarse.
"Given the circumstances of the boy's identity, there are only two things I'm allowed to reveal to you," he announced, slowly making his way back to the desk. The humans in the room leaned in, eager to finally have answers. Gornuk, slow and strained, made his way to the plush chair behind the desk he had vacated earlier. Upon reaching the seat, he laid the parchment in his hand on the desk. It was relatively blank, only containing two oddly spaced lines of text and a house crest placed off-centre on the page. "The first piece of information I am permitted to give you is his age. He is 9 years old," he said, pointing at the first line. However, it was the house crest which brought the pregnant silence to a close with acute gasps from the adults in the room.
Shaped in the Medieval French Style, the escutcheon of the crest held three corbie sable, facing Dexter, on an argent field. Above it stood an azure chevron dividing it from the upper field, gules with estoiles azure and an arm embowed, sword raised. The helm was that of a skull, and the Motto proudly declared "Toujours Pur." The Second line of text simply sealed what the crest declared.
"The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," announced the goblin flatly. "The boy is a scion of this line." Albus looked down at the paper, glanced back to the Lovegood couple, and saw terror in their eyes. His face clouded with confusion as Evanna began to speak.
"S-so the suggestion that Sirius Black is his father was a true statement?" she asked, eyes wide with terror. The goblin brought his clawed hand up to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, face grave.
"It would appear so."
At that moment, Gornuk would have expected disgust or revulsion to cross the face of the couple. The reaction he saw was truly unexpected to say the least. The two adults pulled the boy into a tight hug, adding to the boy's bewilderment.
"So...is that a bad thing?" asked the boy hesitantly. It was the girl with the far away gaze who answered his question.
"Sirius Black is in prison." Blunt, calm, without a hint of waver in her voice. Her eyes were turned to a horizon even the goblin could not see. Her parents turned to look at her, stunned. "According to the prophet, he turned his back on those he loved, and they died. Except for the boy with the lightning scar. Then he lashed out at a rat, and the fireball consumed all in its wake. The aftermath was simply twelve dead, a finger of the rat, and a man in Azkaban." Her eyes refocused on the present and she looked at the boy skeptically. "So can we keep him? Mum? Dad?"
Albus, who was mulling over the cryptic words coming from his friend, was thrown off guard by the last statement. Her parents on the other hand, though surprised at their daughter's unusual moment of mysticism, seemed receptive to her words.
"Gornuk, could you prepare an adoption potion," asked Xeno, eyes turning to address their host. The goblin gave a curt nod, before calling aloud in his native tongue. As soon as the call finished, two younger ones came through the door, replying in the same language. The short dialogue flew over all human heads in the room, but the younger goblins bowed to their superior in understanding, and hastily departed the room.
"Albus," said Evanna softly, "I know you have not known us very long, but we all think you should be part of our family."
"From the sounds of it, anyone who finds out who you truly are will be a threat to your safety," Xeno said, glancing down to him. "We want you to be safe from those who wish to harm you."
"Did I forget to mention that Arcturus Black does not know of the boy's existence?" said Gornuk offhandedly. The tension in the Lovegoods' evaporated at the utterance of that simple fact. While this was happening, Albus contemplated everything he had heard. 'Son of a criminal? A family that could be dangerous? One that I don't remember?' His thoughts then turned to what Xeno and Evanna told him. They wanted to adopt him. A week ago, they did not even know he existed! It reminded him of James, and he knew James was family, even if he did not remember much else.
"Well," he began, noting a slight drop on Luna's face, "I don't remember anything except for the last week of my life. In that week you've all treated me like family and family stays together." The elder Lovegoods flashed smiles of happiness, and Luna had a complete turnabout of demeanour. Just as the boy was agreeing to the proposition, the younger assistants re-entered the room, carrying a bowl of translucent amber liquid. They quickly left it on the desk and exited the meeting room. The humans in the room turned their attention back to Gornuk who began directing the procedure.
"First things first; young one take the knife again," he said, handing Albus the dagger. Albus began to go through the motion of slashing his palm, but a quick gesture from the goblin, indicating that he made an error. "Boy, I don't need that much blood! Just a prick to the finger will suffice." So he did what the goblin instructed, allowing a few drops of blood to pour into the potion, causing it to darken. "Good. Now hand the knife to your adoptive mother," Gornuk said, calm having finally returned to his voice. Albus did as he was told, and Evanna took it from her 'son's' outstretched hand. She repeated the procedure before handing the knife to her husband. He was hesitant, but continued the process, as per the goblin's instructions. The potion was now a rich ochre colour, and Gornuk began chanting hushed tones in a language that no one but the goblin understood. An ethereal glow filled the basin and the potion became clear as crystal. At this point, Gornuk beckoned Albus forward. He was no longer hesitant, and approached as instructed.
"Drink up."
Albus was past the point of questioning, even if he was unsure of what exactly was going on. So he tipped his head back and drank the potion out of the bowl, careful not to let any drops fall out. The liquid quickly seared his insides, and he almost dropped the bowl. It took all his effort to stand straight, so he grabbed the nearest hand to keep from keeling over. After what felt like ages, though was probably less than a minute, the pain ebbed away. He opened his eyes cautiously, not realising he had shut them and caught his reflection in the upturned bowl on the desk. He did not appear very different, other than a slight increase of height and a slight change of complexion. The most startling difference was his hair. No longer was it a messy mop of black, but straight, thick, and a shade closer to burnt coffee with hints of chestnut, with the exception of one band of gold through his bangs. Seeing the changes, he took a step back surprised at what he saw.
"So he simply got a haircut?" asked Luna jokingly. Albus spun around, surprised at Luna's comment but smiled when he felt Luna barrel into him, embracing him happily. His 'parents' quickly joined, and Albus beamed as though he were the luckiest child on earth. Unfortunately, the tender moment was hastened by the coughing sound Gornuk made, drawing their attention back to the matters at hand. After some haggling over payment, some signing of papers, and some choices of naming, a boy once simply known as Albus came out of Gringotts as Albus Eamon Lovegood, 'born' July 31st of 1980, son and scion of the Lovegood family.
As they exited the massive bank, Albus was surprised at the amount of time it took to complete all the paper work. Dusk was beginning to descend and most stores seemed to finishing their daily business.
"Well that was a very interesting," proclaimed Xeno. Albus looked up to his 'father' and couldn't help but agree. He had heard many things today, some of which were not so pleasant. Noticing this, Evanna quickly bent down and looked him in the eye.
"I know there's a lot to process, but remember you have us as well. Like you said, family sticks together." Hearing his own words repeated back to him, the boy blushed and smiled sheepishly before giving her a brief hug.
"Since the gloves are off, I'm starving!" declared an impatient little girl behind her. She heard Xeno laughing at his daughter's bluntness.
"Since I'm guessing you're not the only one amongst us feeling that way, I think we should go find a restaurant that's still open," he reasoned cheerfully.
"But the only restaurants still open are muggle," countered his wife.
"Then, who are we to complain of our selection," he retorted wittily. "To Charing Cross we go!" With that, the new family made happily made their way to the Leaky Cauldron and the world beyond in the fading daylight of the eventful day.
OoOoOoOoO
"That is definitely something no one planned for," stated Griphook bluntly, taking a swig of Grog from the glass. The story of the Lovegood boy had spread amongst the goblins like wildfire, and Gornuk was clearly unsettled by the experience. Griphook had not expected the other goblin would be at his residence drowning his sorrows, especially at this hour when his wife and children were still up.
"There hasn't been an accidental time traveller in centuries! I mean the bank has protocols for intentionals, but this is clearly not intentional!" he bemoaned, taking his own glass and downing the contents in one sip.
"Now, you know that's not true," replied Griphook. "You know there are protocols for these incidents. We know we cannot reveal his true identity before his fourteenth birthday, for one."
"Yes, I know. I know," snapped Gornuk. "But it had to be a Potter!" That last remark earned him a smack from the elder goblin.
"Be quiet! Do you want every goblin that works up top to know?" hissed Griphook. "You did what was asked. Reveal only minor details in regards to his ancestry and lead the humans to make their own assumptions."
"Well, one thing's certain," whispered Gornuk.
"And what's that?" asked Griphook, eyebrows raised and interest piqued.
"Whatever agenda Dumbledore, the ex-Death Eaters, or the Moderates have, they better throw their plans out the bleeding window. Whenever there's time travellers, there's bound to be hell unleashed." Griphook nodded silently as the two goblins both took a drink in the bowels of the cavern city of Gringotts.
A.N.-Hey just want to ask a favour of all of you who've gotten this far
I'm asking you if I should edit/rewrite this chapter due to certain issues. Whether you agree or disagree, please leave your reply as a review
Thanks
Cepheus
