Disclaimer: Don't own and don't make any money but just like to have fun.
Summary: Lucius Malfoy, at the urging of his son, found the young man standing out by the lake. "Harry, my son wishes to enter into a bonding contract with you." Harry looked at him with sorrowful eyes and stated, "I am sorry, sir; I don't know if my owner will allow it."
Now with the incomparable beta Linda, Thank you Linda!
Meddling in the Affairs of Wizards
Posted 28 May 2010
Chapter 4: A Prisoner of War
It was six months after his discussion with Sorsens that Stagnook was able to finally get an appointment with a certain wizard. He had known that the paperwork would take a while to be processed, as the wizards did not believe that prisoners had a right to their money. However, he convinced 'the powers that be' that the paperwork needed completing for an heir to be named so that the seats in the Wizengamot would not be lost and the money could be released to another.
Now he was being escorted down the dank, moldy halls of the wizard prison to meet with his client.
It had been nearly six years that Sirius Black had been in this Merlin forsaken place. He didn't know why a Gringotts goblin wanted to see him, but he was glad he could get the chance to speak with someone. Perhaps the goblin could get him a trial or at least tell him how his godson was doing. It was a wild hope, but any news at all was better than nothing.
When the goblin entered the wizard's cell, he noticed that Mr. Black was but a shadow of his former self, and wondered at the sanity of the man before him. If this was to work, he needed a sane wizard to help, not a confused and demented one. He didn't understand this place at all; of course the dementors did not affect his kind in the same manner they did the wizards.
As soon as the cell door shut, he got straight to work. Only after putting up a silencing ward did he address the man in front of him.
"Mr. Black, my name is Stagnook. Can you understand me?" the goblin asked. He stood by the door and didn't enter the room any further.
Sirius nodded his head and in a raspy voice asked, "Why are you here?" He hadn't realized how raw his voice would sound after so much screaming at dementors and very little use otherwise.
"I am here to speak to you about your obligations," the goblin started. He didn't want to divulge something that Mr. Black would later tell someone else if he was not able to comprehend the situation.
"I need to leave a will you mean. I hereby give you permission to give everything to my godson, Harry James Potter, upon his seventeenth birthday. Don't let anyone else touch the properties, nor anything in the vaults," he rasped out.
This told the goblin all he needed to know. He stepped closer and gave the man a muggle bottle of fresh water and a healing potion for his sore throat.
Sirius gratefully accepted them and sat down on the bed to get a better look at the goblin. "You are here for something else as well, aren't you? I have never heard of a goblin coming to this atrocious place to visit a client, no matter how much money they have."
"You are correct, Mr. Black. I am here on behalf of one Harry James Potter. But first, before we discuss that, I need to know that you will not repeat anything I say and I need you to sign a few documents." The goblin looked at him shrewdly, keeping alert for anything that would indicate this place had affected the man.
"How is my godson? I don't even know where he is, except that Dumbledore placed him in a safe house of some sort." Black's voice was getting a little stronger as the potion started taking effect.
"Not yet, Mr. Black; I need you to sign this form stating that you will not divulge any of the information I am about to give you. Not that I trust wizards, but your signature will magically bind you to silence."
Sirius looked at the document in front of his nose and read it thoroughly. It was a standard form that he had seen before. He hastily signed it so he could get news about Harry.
"Your godson was placed with a muggle family by the name of Dursley. Do you know who they are?" the goblin asked cautiously.
Sirius Black choked and spewed water out of his mouth onto the floor. He then went into a coughing fit as the remainder of his water went down wrong as he half swallowed. When he had finally composed himself, there were tears in his eyes, but Stagnook couldn't tell if they were because of the news, or because he had almost suffocated to death. Certainly he had not known about the boy and his relatives.
"That was Albus' great plan? Why on earth would he do that to Harry?" Sirius asked the goblin as if he had all the answers.
"I do not pretend to understand wizards, Mr. Black!" the goblin snarled at the man in front of him, he needed the man to focus; he didn't have all day. "I do know that the Dursleys sold your godson about six weeks after he was left on their doorstep."
"WHAT!" Sirius looked at him, his heart in his throat as he imagined all kinds of despicable things happening to the only living being he cared about, the one he was meant to protect if something happened to the boy's parents.
"Not to worry, Mr. Black. I was able to get an associate to handle the transaction for me and he is in my care." The goblin was taking a risk but the paper he had made Black sign specifically stated he would lose all his magic if he said anything to anyone about the matter. He would only be able to discuss it in Stagnook's presence.
"Goblins cannot own humans; it's against the law!"
"That is true, Mr. Black, but goblins can make transactions on behalf of wizards. It is another that owns Mister Potter."
"Who could possibly have known about this and asked you to do such a thing?" Sirius slumped in defeat. He had failed to keep his godson safe, and he had failed to capture Peter Pettigrew. He might not even be able to see Harry again if his owner wished to keep him away, or if he couldn't get out of here. Oh, Merlin, what had he done? Never had he regretted going after Peter more than at this exact moment.
"Mr. Black, I am here because I know you didn't get a trial and suspect that you are innocent. Mr. Potter is, at this time, living with my family and being raised and trained as a young magical being should be."
"You mean he is not being turned into a servant for some old codger that has some sick designs on him?"
"Not at the moment, no," Stagnook answered in a dry sarcastic tone. "He does, however, have special needs that goblins do not understand; nor can we take care of them. If we can get you out of here, would you be willing to stay in the goblin village and help train him in the human aspects of his magic?"
"You mean you would allow me to help raise him?" Sirius thought his heart would burst as he prayed to all deities that this was true. He could get out of this hellhole and help raise Harry. Perhaps even find Peter Pettigrew and extract his revenge.
"First things first, Mr. Black. You need to agree that you will not leave the goblin village until Harry is eleven and able to go to Hogwarts. If you are seen outside the village and then followed, you put all of us in danger," the goblin started with the first of his demands.
Sirius nodded with some trepidation. He would have to find a way to locate Peter so that he could be truly free.
"You will not be allowed to contact any of your old friends and you will not be allowed owl post. If you need to get in touch with someone you will have to go through me and the bank. Again, you will not be allowed to put my people at risk."
"I have only one person I want to contact; he is a werewolf. He can get information about what is going on in the wizarding world and report back. He can also help locate Peter Pettigrew. Peter was the one that betrayed the Potters and was their Secret Keeper." Sirius explained to the goblin.
"And why the lack of trial?" That had puzzled him from the beginning. He remembered the look on Dumbledore's face when Sirius left the shattered Potter home before Dumbledore had conspired with the auror, who then left.
"I suppose Dumbledore had his reasons. I don't know, but he could have helped me had he wanted to." Sirius looked at the little being again. "Why are you involved in all this?"
"Ah, you do not remember me. It was my heir that was in the alley when Death Eaters attacked five young goblin children and two child house elves. Remember the ones the Potters saved?"
Sirius nodded, he remembered that day. It was buried with some of his memories that the dementors did not get access to. Now he knew why the goblin looked so familiar.
"Let's get this started then." The goblin pulled out several vials for memories and some veritaserum. When he had everything laid out, he spoke again to Sirius.
"You will put your memories of the discussions with James Potter about Peter Pettigrew being the Secret Keeper, in these vials."
"I don't have a wand to pull the memory with." Sirius told the goblin.
"Ah, I knew I forgot something." He then pulled out a wand from his pocket and handed it to Sirius. "This is only to use for this meeting; I can't leave it here as I will be implicated if it is found. I trust you understand my position and the need for all cautions?"
Sirius nodded. It felt so good to hold the stick in his hand. He could feel some of his magic flow even though the wand was not his. "How did you know this wand would work?"
"I didn't, but it is made from the same material as the one they snapped when they put you in here. It was a calculated risk."
Sirius quickly filled the vials with memories of discussions with James and Lily about who their Secret Keeper should be. He also included memories of them telling him to take care of Harry. Then he handed the wand back to the goblin.
"Now," the goblin said, "I will give you three drops of veritaserum and conduct an interview. You will answer and we will put the interview in the last vial. I also have a dict-a-quill to record our conversation. Do not reveal anything about Harry in this discussion unless specifically asked." The last part the goblin said sternly and with menace in his voice. He did not want to do this twice.
When the interview was over, the goblin packed up everything but the recorded parchment. "Mr. Black, you will sign this to attest that what is written is a true recalling of the events leading up to the Potter's murder."
Sirius signed with the pen that was given him by the little being and he handed it back to the officiator of the interview. Stagnook also signed the document before rolling it back up and putting it in his pocket.
The goblin quickly tore down the wards he had placed earlier and then called for the guard.
"Good day, Mr. Black," he said as he exited the cell.
Sirius lay on what was meant to be a bed of sorts and contemplated what happened. It seemed though that his happy emotions were an attraction for the dementors and he got little sleep that night. He still kept his hope of seeing his godson again.