Disclaimer Is in the first chapter. Barchoke belongs to Robst. I love his work. The plot? yeah, that's mine.
I would like to give thanks to God. To my family, My mom, my son and my good friend H, for being cheerleaders. Love you guys.
To my amazing friend Noppoh. You're a great beta. (She is super creative!)
To the haters, this is angst chapter, I've said this story is drama. Also, a Weasley and Dumbledore bashing! You don't like, move on people. I delete mean anonymous comments.
Rated M 18+ Mature language and situations.
To the rest of the readers, enjoy!
Read and review,
Chapter 3. Get a clue, Harry.
Warning, angst ahead.
June of 2006. Unplottable location, New Zealand.
Harry Potter stood in the foyer at new his home, the one he had inherited from Sirius in New Zealand.
Black Keep.
It was a majestic property that had fallen into disrepair. It was fortified property and just as unreachable as Black Island in the Caribbean.
He smiled a bit, moved by the idiocy of his position. He was the last of the Potters and also the Blacks. No apparent heirs.
Kreacher appeared and asked:
"Half-blood master, you want us to move here?"
"Yes, Kreacher," he sighed, he should get angry at his house elf, however, he is the last of his family, maybe later. At the moment though, he's just trying to find a place to sit down.
"Do you want to have supper?"
"I, uh, no, I just want to find a bed in this house," answered Harry.
"You should eat something; your body is about to collapse," added Kreacher, making the tent appear in the foyer.
Harry smiled and tears started rolling down his face.
"You're sad again?" asked Kreacher, not without annoyance.
"I hate this," said Harry, pointing at the tent.
"The tent or the house?" asked Kreacher.
"Both. This though?" He pointed at the magical tent. "This reminds me of her," sighed Harry.
"Who, evil Ginny?"
"Oh Merlin, no! Kreacher, you know that Ginny was all wrong? No, not Ginny, Hermione, the tent, our time searching the Hallows. I married the wrong one; I should have married Hermione."
"Yes, and you're still too kind to my former mistress. In a perfect world, you should have married the loyal friend and caring witch, but you didn't; you married the deceitful red hair she-weasel," confirmed Kreacher.
Harry smiled and dried his tears, then added,
"I tried finding her, after my divorce, but, at the time, it's as though she disappeared from the face of the earth."
Shortly after, Harry took his supper and finally went to sleep.
Kreacher started cleaning and then decided that he was too old. He could hire the greedy goblins and have the property cleaned and organized in four weeks, instead of years.
He walked to a room and noticed that the portraits of Dorea Black, Sirius Black, Regulus Black, and Phineas Nigellus Black were at the site. After Kreacher stepped into the room, the group came alive within their portraits
"Kreacher?" asked both Sirius and Regulus Black.
Kreacher bowed low and replied, not without a hint of sadness.
"Late masters."
"Please," said Dorea, "tell me Kreacher, how is my grandson? You can speak freely,"
Kreacher stood and shook his head.
"He's still sad. He believes he lost his chance to join his soulmate, Hermione Granger."
"He mustn't lose hope," said Regulus.
"Reggie is right," Sirius sighed. "Stupid boy. He's had too many chances to reconnect with her. Tell me, is he now completely blind?"
"No, but his perception has been damaged," answered Kreacher.
"How so? Elaborate Kreacher," said Regulus.
The group took a seat in their portraits and Kreacher took a moment to gather his thoughts. After a bit, the old house elf added,
"Dumbledore was responsible for more harm than what we initially thought of. You are all aware that my young master was not the brightest candle in the box, all thanks to his poor treatment as a house elf of the Dursley's. After he began attending Hogwarts, he too, became an unofficial Weasley son. For the two youngest children of the family in question, this was their golden opportunity. Ronald and Ginevra, well, they took advantage of his need to belong. They manipulated him and turned the relation to one of leeches and an available blood bag."
"Dumbledore knew this?" asked Dorea.
Kreacher nodded and answered,
"To Dumbledore, this development was ideal. He cast small compulsions to keep control over Harry and repel enchantments on Hermione. Both were damaged, however, Harry lost his common sense."
"What happened to the girl?" asked Phineas.
"The final thing my master uncovered was that she divorced the idiot Weasley. I can't say that I blame her, after her child passed away, it was only a matter of time before she killed the moron. She signed the paperwork and separated from him. Harry tracked her Portkey itinerary and learned that she traveled to Sydney. It was a one-way trip."
"How did Harry end the relationship to Ginevra?" asked Sirius.
"There is a small mercy to be the heir of Potter and Black. The goblins notified my master that in order to add his wife Ginevra, he had to renounce his soulmate."
Kreacher made a grim gesture at the memory.
"My young master and his wife visited the bank, in order to have his wife added, and she could dispose of the contents of the vaults at Gringotts, and it was then that the Senior Administrator for the now joined fortunes Potter-Black informed him of his unclaimed soulbond."
Kreacher stopped and cringed at the memory, then he continued.
"Harry claimed that the status of his soulbond wasn't important. This reply and his attitude, well, it got the attention of the senior Administrator Barchoke. As you know, to the goblins, soulbonds are fated matches. The goblins favor the fates, so Barchoke being the clever accountant and goblin, well, he informed my master and his wife, that one of the clauses to tally a spouse to the vaults was to undergo a series of paperwork on a different level of the bank. It was only then, that my master could be separated from Ginevra. Naturally, he was rushed as an emergency case, to a time chamber."
All of the former Blacks raised an eyebrow as the old servant continued with his tale.
"The chamber held a healing center. Only then, after treatment, Harry was informed that he was under the influence of a combination of potions and compulsion charms keyed to keep his loyalty to the Weasley's."
A malicious smile crowned Kreacher's face, which prompted Sirius to ask.
"What happened then, Kreacher?"
"It was the oddest thing. The family members responsible for the damage had an accident," answered Kreacher.
"No loose ends, I hope?" asked Dorea.
Phineas, Sirius, and Regulus smiled with satisfaction at the question.
"No, my master when angry is quite powerful, but Barchoke is far more intelligent. He summoned Arthur, Molly, and Ronald, to accompany Ginevra while in Gringotts. All of them were under the impression that the goblins were going to take a sample of their blood so their goblin magic could recognize the group and the wards would allow them access to the Potter-Black vaults. It was only then that the goblins took them prisoners and, later, fed them to the dragons."
"Merlin, I hope the dragons didn't get poisoned?" asked Sirius
Barchoke barked a laugh at the question, along with the rest of the Blacks. After cleaning his tears of laughter, he continued his tale.
"Worry not, master Sirius, the dragons had a natural affinity to gingers. After playing with their food, some got stepped on and they were so full of filth that the dragons roasted the remains with the gesture of disgust," answered Kreacher.
"Good," said Dorea. "Oh pardon, do continue Kreacher," added Harry's grandmother.
"Days later, the Daily Prophet published an obituary informing of the sad passing. The article said that the deceased, the late Weasleys, tried entering the wrong vault at Gringotts and security enchantments went ahead and disposed of the four members of the Weasley family. However, since William works for the Goblins, and his brothers, Charlie and Percy and George demonstrated no knowledge of the conspiracy against my master, a strange courtesy was extended to them. A warning really, the note had the seal of Ragnock, Chief Goblin."
Kreacher began dusting the frames and then he heard his favorite late master speak.
"Go on Kreacher, you always had a flair for storytelling," said Regulus.
"Thank you, Master Regulus," Kreacher nodded and he added,
"The message relayed that 'line theft' was considered a capital offense to the goblins; a crime more malicious than stealing mere gold and magical trinkets. The remaining Weasley's agreed to not contest the execution, and all made a vow to keep silent about the fate of their lost family members. The bank kept the records of the Weasley crimes to themselves and Harry walked a free man and widow."
The four figures nodded.
"So, he has had no luck finding her?" asked Sirius
Kreacher shook his head and sighed.
"Oh Merlin, he did! He found her, didn't he?" asked Sirius.
"As I said, his common sense is not sharp, and even standing right in front of her, he dismissed the idea that it was her."
"How so?, Kreacher, tell us what happened," ordered Dorea.
"His friend, Luna Scamander, a true seer, came to visit him on Black Island and left a cryptic message."
"What was the message?" asked Regulus.
"As I remember it, she said: "Harry, you have to close an account at the Muggle bank HSBC at the Sydney branch. The account is under James Black. The nargles are too vicious these days," replied Kreacher.
Sirius smiled and added, "The seer gave him the location of his soulmate. What happened when he encountered her?"
Harry — who had been awakened by the previous laughter of the group after they all learned the fate of the Weasleys — walked up to the room but decided to remain behind the door listening to the conversation between the house elf and the magical portraits. He heard Sirius question Kreacher about his soulmate and decided this was his cue. He walked in and said,
"Let me answer that, Kreacher. Just like Luna said, I had an account at the bank under the alias James Black. I shrugged after the initial surprise and followed the instructions. Then, while standing there for a moment, I thought I saw Hermione."
Harry scrubbed his face.
"Harry, do continue," said Dorea.
Harry nodded in acceptance and after a moment said,
"As I said, I thought I saw Hermione, but no, there was a bank teller who was getting a small retirement celebration, and no, that obviously wasn't my Hermione."
He smiled with sadness and the audience knew something was amiss. Harry added,
"I mean, it couldn't be Hermione. The girl from my memory was not grossly obese. She didn't have a boy's haircut, nor an exhausted expression. This woman was a distant relative; it had to be the fat spinster aunt. Just like Marge Dursley was Dudley's aunt, this was Hermione's disgraced and lost family member. Hermione would probably just laugh about the comparison. To top it all, this woman was in her late forties. Clearly, she wasn't the good friend who disappeared into obscurity. And for once I agreed with Luna, that season, the nargles were violent after all."
"Oh Merlin, how could you pup? How could you?" asked Sirius.
"Well, I can't say that I blame him. He's a Potter and a Black through and through, blind as a bat and self-sabotaging all the way," said Phineas.
"That's not even the worst part," said Kreacher,
"What can be worse than that?" asked Dorea.
"Well, she recognized him and made a magical vow," answered Kreacher.
"Yep, my soulmate is going to get me," added Harry.
Phineas started laughing. The others were looking at him as though he had sprouted another head. Phineas shook his head and with dark satisfaction declared to Harry,
"Good for her."
