i wasn't planning on posting this yet, but since it's my birthday I thought I'd give you all a present...
on a couple side notes:
1] i feel the need to acknowledge HJPReader; since beginning this story well over 2 years ago, I've always had trouble settling on a Title, and their first review helped me do so..."Karmic Dept" was initially a placeholder title, but that person stated that it sounded intriguing as well as it tied into the story very well. so...Many thanks HJPReader for his contribution.
2] as a WARNING, there is a section of this chapter that when i was writing it, my mind was in a very dark place. After having written it out and though i like what i wrote in reference to the story, as a person i found the contents of the specific section revolting, so i will not be writing more sections like that...unless i absolutely have to , even then i may have someone else write it for me. the section will be pointed out when you get to it.
3] after a couple of reviews and PMs from the reviewers, I've decided to make this 'Crystal Clear'. This story is considered AU, or 'Alternate Reality', this mean that not only are the things that JK Rowling left as ambiguous, as well as those things she has stated AS FACT, are with my purview to alter or remove. it also means it is in my capability to add things in that are considered non-canonical.
as i say in my Profile...i write for myself...if others like it (and some seem to) then 'good on yah' for doing so.
should anyone see a spelling error or colloquialism that is 'glaringly' wrong, then please tell me about it. but if it's something that you 'FEEL', is wrong(to include punctuation)...then please keep it to yourself and go write your own story
sorry for the Rant but those two 'reviews' got my Irish and Scottish heritage broiling
PS...Chapter 2-4 are sequenced, i would suggest that you read all three(when i get to posting Ch 4) before you leave a review about the story content, as things will be much clearer after that
and with that note...on with the next installment of Karmic Debt
Chapter 3
As the week passed most things went along as usual, shops opened, customers came in and at the end of the day they closed, the government kept trudging along, trying to look like they were walking on a platform, even while they were mired in dragon dung.
In an office, in a school way up in the north, a many of the gadgets and doo-dads had long ago stopped working; though the owner of the office had yet to notice. At the time when a child claimed what was rightfully his, the rest of them suddenly stopped, but as the occupant was out of the office seeing to many of his official duties, he was not there to notice the change.
Flying high up in the sky in the middle of nowhere, a bird that seemed to be made of living flames, gave a trill that would have made anyone who heard it fall to the ground, overwhelmed with feelings of pain and anguish, while it dropped out of the sky; it fell sixty feet before it righted itself, then immediately was wreathed in a burst of flames and disappeared, just before it vanished a trill came over the air, and it would have sounded like Joy, Happiness and Hope wrapped up into a single voice.
The child in question was at the time in a bank run by goblins, he had just undergone a pair of dangerous procedures, one to rid his body of a foul contaminant; the other was to keep his core form detonating, that would not only kill him, but many other that were in the vicinity.
Harry woke up with the largest headache he had ever had; to him it felt like his head was about to split open, all he could remember was pain…excruciating pain. He looked around the room he was in, and could only barely remember where he was and why. Just then a goblin pushed the doors open and walked in.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, I see we are awake…good, there are a few people who have been concerned about you, my self included. There are some clothes on the stand next to your bed, if you would please don them, we shall go to my new office; we have much to discuss."
"Ok sir. If I am ask, my body feels stiff, I can only guess that I have been unconscious for more than a few days, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes; I'm told it is a side-effect of the removal process, compounded by the subsequent and necessary medical regimen you were placed on, all of which we will talk about in my office," Ragnok stated in a tone that would brook no argument.
Harry had to take his time getting dressed, for a few different reasons, 1) his arms and legs were stiff from laying in bed so long, and 2) the clothes that were set out for him actually fit him; that was a new experience for him. There were a few others, but they were nowhere near as important as the first two.
After Harry finished getting dressed, he walked out the doors and Ragnok was waiting for him. As soon as Harry had cleared the door, Ragnok turned on his heel, and made a brisk pace down the hall. After a few minutes, they came upon a different set of iron doors. The Director pushed through and walked past the desk and sat down. Harry sat down in the; surprisingly, plush chair in front of the desk.
"Scion Potter, due to the complication found by your ring; we were unable to finish our meeting, that is why we are here today. It is customary for the current Lord of a Noble House to pass on the House Weapon, but since that is not possible, this honor would fall to either the executor of your family's estate or the manager of the House's Accounts.
As the Wills of both your grandparents and your parents have not been yet to be enacted upon: your grandparents Will could not be acted upon, because as they died after your parents, and you were missing, along with the fact that they enacted a little known clause in goblin law, which they had a Will within a Will, this essentially made their actual will have stipulations as to when it could be read, and since those stipulations have been met; as the Senior Manager of Accounts belonging to House Potter, it is my duty and honor to execute their Last Will and Testament."
Just then there was a knock on the door, "Enter," after the door opened enough for a person to pass through, a small goblin entered and quickly raced to Ragnok and whispered something to him a hushed voice.
"Good…good, please show her in immediately…", Ragnok turned to Harry, "Your Professor McGonagall has shown up on time, and it seems that we may have started early; my apologies Scion Potter."
"None needed Sir; I do not know anyone else in this world, besides yourself and her. And since she was here for the beginning, it would seem fitting that she be here for the end."
"My thoughts exactly. Ah, Friend McGonagall, punctual as always. My apologies for starting early, Scion Potter and I, were just about to perform a quick overview of the Last Lord and Lady Potter's Wills; if you please take a seat, we shall continue."
"I had a feeling you would begin there Director Ragnok, their Wills has been waiting to be executed almost as long as James and Lily's; and I do believe that I am here as a simple courtesy."
Ragnok gave a small smile and only nodded his head, before continuing.
"Yes, now, it would not do to go into great detail, so I will just highlight the dispensations. According to this, the Auror office, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the Unspeakables Office, are the beneficiaries of 1.5 million galleons, to be separated, with 200 thousand, going to the Unspeakables Office, the rest being divided between the other two, an interesting side note; these donations are to be used solely for the upgrade and functionality of the individual offices and no other division of the Ministry nor for personal use, as well as that a Gringotts accountant, stated in the addendum, is to keep a daily accounting of any and all activity, specific rules stated in the addendum," Ragnok finished, looked up with a smirk, saw Professor McGonagall had a look of complete awe on her face.
He continued, "Apparently this was all from his personal accounts, Lord Potter, like his ancestors before him, was a wealthy man, even without the ledgers from House Potter. And as I understand your House Motto, Scion Potter; I can't say I'm surprised. It loosely translates, 'Gain, and Build to the Betterment', from what the last Lord Potter told me is; that the Potter Lords have a family tradition, that when they gain control of the House, the new Lord is to make his own money, and to use the House coffers to the betterment of not only the House but of the community as well…I had many talks with the late Lord Potter about what this meant, and when I asked, if he/it meant the magical community, he didn't answer and only smiled."
"So, because of a madman with a god-complex, I may cause the ending of; what sounds like a centuries-old family tradition?" Harry said; mostly to himself.
"Possibly, but as the Senior Account Manager for your Family Account, I will do my best to NOT let that happen. Next is…this is a bit unorthodox, it says to read his wife's will, before finishing his; very peculiar. Very well…now where is it; ah here it is;" Ragnok quickly scanned the document, then stated the highlights, "Your Grand-mother, she returned the dowry from her Marriage to the House of Black; apparently to thumb her nose at a bull-headed, and backwards thinking relative; If I'm reading this correctly, the late-mother of the now Heir to the House of Black. After that it says that all of her personal belongings and finances are to be considered co-property with her husband. How very odd.
Back to Lord Potter's will; ah I see, and I quote, 'The rest of my worldly possessions, and those of House Potter, I bequeath to my only son, James Potter, Heir of House Potter, and his wife, Lily Potter nee Evans. In the circumstance they are not living or incapacitated, then the bequeath transfers to my Grandson; Harold 'Harry' James Potter', to be held in the Family Vaults until reaching his majority or his obtaining the Head of House Ring; whichever happens first."
Harry was shocked, for the first years in his life, he never knew his name, he was just call 'Boy' or 'Freak', he only learned his name when he started school, and he was told his name was Harry. But now, here he learns that his name was technically wrong again it seems; though is does say "Harry", his birth name was actually Harold. Now he knew that he wouldn't be going around calling himself 'Harold', but still it is a shock.
"So my name isn't Harry, its Harold," Harry stated.
Ragnok couldn't help by bark out a laugh or two, "Technically yes, your name is Harold, but as they are interchangeable, it really only makes a difference when it comes to the Legal arena."
"I know that, it's just strange, for the first years of my life; I never knew I had a name; I was just called 'Boy' or 'Freak'. It wasn't until I started primary, that I learned that my name was 'Harry', and now… like I said, it's just strange."
Both Ragnok and Professor McGonagall started speaking in languages he couldn't understand. Harry could guess that Ragnok was saying something in the Goblin language, Professor McGonagall on the other hand, Harry had no clue as to what language she was speaking in, but both of them sounded like they were pissed.
After a while both settled down, though they still seemed like they were keeping their anger on a tight leash, Director Ragnok seemed to be doing a better job.
"Scion Potter, the people who you just told us about…are they the same people; whose actions against you; had Healer Manna wanting to start a new goblin war?"
Harry didn't really want to say, so he stayed silent, but couldn't help it as he lowered his head in shame.
"I thought so…" he said, just as Professor McGonagall started speaking angrily, in her language. She also stood and started walking around moving her hands in over-animated motions. After a minute or two, she slipped from the language, back into English, "I told him, I told him that they would do this, I swear I will wring his bloody neck with his beard." She then regained her composure, while Ragnok raised an eyebrow towards her.
Professor McGonagall left out a small sigh, "Before I tell you what I know, I must say this; I had sat in the neighborhood for the entire day before hand, and when he arrived, I told him that something like this would happen. I stressed my objection against leaving you there. But he was so sure it was the correct thing to do.
It started the night You-Know-Who went after you and your parents; specifically it was after the attack was over. We had just gotten the news that he had attacked your family and that he had been destroyed, Dumbledore was skeptical, but he said that if you were kept in the Wizarding world, that many of You-Know-Who's supporters would do their best to attack you, and destroy their lord's destroyer. He knew that your father's parents were still alive, but as they were old by Wizarding standards, also that they were in the wizarding world; according to Dumbledore, that ruled them out. I suggested that you be placed in a home that knew of our world, but he denied that suggestion; he then came up with what he called 'a brilliant idea', he also knew that your mother had a sister, and that her parents had already passed away. He sent someone he trusts, to retrieve you from the wreckage of your home. So his plan was to keep you safe while he set up the necessary protections at your aunt's home. She had just had a child, your cousin, so he thought that her maternal instinct would kick in, as you were her sister's orphaned child. Like I stated earlier; I went to scout the family out, and throughout the day, I learned more and more about them, while she seemed to loath any kind of mess, excluding what her own son did. Her husband, your uncle, truly and unequivocally hated, loathed, and would like nothing more than to see anything that doesn't fit into his mold of 'Normal'…destroyed. After watching the family all day, it was around midnight when Headmaster Dumbledore arrived; he readied the area for your arrival. I made my objections and reasons why known. Since it is advised against traveling the usual Wizarding methods, the Headmaster had his trusted person drive you, in a flying motorcycle. That was lent to him, by someone who turned out to be a traitor, the now Heir Apparent of House Black. So when you arrived, he took you from the person who brought you, and made his way to their doorstep, all the while, I tried to further stress my objections, but he just kept looking at you, and saying that it 'had to be this way'. I now wish I had done something else that night. Lily and James were my top students, and I have yet to see anyone pick up transfiguration as quickly as James. And I don't believe Professor Flitwick, ever met someone who mastered charms as quickly as your mother."
"Friend McGonagall, why is it that you want to leave the couriers' name, a mystery."
"Because I do not wish to tarnish his name with what this will cause. He is a good person, and his only crime is that he trusted a man, that thought he knew better then everyone else."
"Very well, we will leave it at that.
Now Scion Potter, would you please tell me the names of your relatives. Assault on a defenseless person is not taken lightly by any goblin, to compound it that the defenseless person in question is a child, and at such a young age, that is something so unforgivable that it would call a Goblin's honor into question if they did nothing.
Since the Right of Home Rule, set forth when the English king allowed the magical community to govern itself, states the no non-magical may be prosecuted by any magical means, and vice-versa. We will send a compiled medical report to a muggle doctor, and he will due his duty, and report the crime. A memory of the pertinent matters of this meeting will be given to a barrister that 'works both sides of the fence', I believe the term is. He will record and submit a copy of your deposition, so you will not have to appear before a judge."
"Sir, I'm not sure I can, I can say the names, fine, but what if this doesn't work? What if they are not found guilty? They are the only relations I have, and from what the professor said, this Dumbledore person, seems like he would rather have me there than anywhere else," Harry said worriedly
"Let me assure you Mr. Potter…that will not happen. As I said earlier, Healer Manna was willing to start a new war between goblins and Humans, and this time I wouldn't be against wizards, it would be against the muggles, and all of those who sat by and let this happen, through ignorance or just them turning a blind eye, they would be with-in the center of the fallout. Master Healer Manna has always made detailed notes and reports, your relatives would be lucky if they don't receive the death penalty for what they have done to you."
Harry glanced over at Professor McGonagall, though she did her best to act the stoic teacher, her eyes told a different story, they said that she was sorry for what she had let happen to him, and that Ragnok was telling the truth.
~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~
With a heavy sigh, Harry started, "OK, but before I do, I have to say this. My aunt has never struck me, one time she came close. I had said something that caused her to lash out, but right as she was to finish the downswing; she stopped. I had cringed in anticipation, but when I didn't feel the hit, I looked around and saw my aunt looking at me with tears in her eyes, she shook them away and then yelled at me to go to my bedroom. After that she never raised a hand to me.
My cousin has hit me some times, but it all began at the insistence of my uncle. For as far back as I can remember, he yelled at me, struck me for mostly just being there, but when I did something he perceived as bad, it was worse. If I didn't cook enough food, or burnt the food, I remember one time when I was four or five, I was doing my best to carry the milk container from the ice-chest to the table, it was too heavy for me, and it was slippery from condensation. I know that now, but back then, it slipped from my fingers; that was one of the worst punishments I had received.
I didn't receive it till late that night, after they had gone out to eat, and left me with a bowl of broth and some stale bread crusts. When they returned, I had expected something to happen, but it didn't, not right away. Later, I awoke to hear shuffling upstairs; at the time my bedroom had been a cupboard under the stairs. I thought nothing of it, that it was most likely my cousin being up when he shouldn't have been so I went back to sleep; I had to cook breakfast in the morning. Sometime after I had fallen back asleep, the door to the cupboard was practically ripped open, and a pair of hands shot into the space. They grabbed a hold of my neck and pulled me violently from my 'bedroom', it was my uncle who was doing this. He then stuffed a sock or washcloth in my mouth and tied it there. He picked me up and dragged me to the car, where he threw me into the boot, when I landed I heard something crack, I thought it was something other than a bone, but apparently it was a rib.
Some time later the lid of the boot was opened, it was still dark out, my uncle grabbed for me again, but this time I tried to get away, he scrambled after me. I did my best but it wasn't enough, he got a hold of me, and beat my head against the floor of the boot repeatedly, until I blacked out. Next thing I remember I was tied up laying on my stomach, and I didn't have any clothes on."
Apparently this sickening tale was too much for the guards outside the door, as when Harry stopped to take a breath, he could hear one or both of them retching. He peaked a glance at both Professor McGonagall and Director Ragnok; both had the same type of face, one of pure unaltered and sickened horror. Harry sighed before continuing.
"I tried screaming out, I tried to ask why he was doing this, but I couldn't because of the rag in my mouth. When I tried to look around the room, the only thing I could see was the table I was on, and about a foot from it. The table had a bend in it, which was situated at my waist. I then heard a click, and footsteps coming closer, I started to panic. I then heard a sharp crack and felt a stinging pain. He then came into my view, my uncle had clothes on that I had never seem him wear, he had black slacks on, with a white shirt, and over that he had a brown apron, when I felt it rub against me as he passed, it felt like a type of leather. I could bet I was feeling true fear right then. Over the next hour or two, he used many different objects and 'tool's to stab, slice into, and bludgeon me. Throughout this entire time, he said nothing…that scared me the most, his silence. The last thing I remember clearly was he had left the room, a few minutes later he came back, I didn't see what he had, but I knew he had something. The next thing I felt was a very cold feeling against my bum, it stayed there, my uncle then walked in front of me, his clothes had been splattered with blood, my blood; he then grabbed a large wooden paddle again. He returned to behind me, I heard the leather creak as he leaned over and whispered in my ear, 'This is what you get for shattering my great-Gran mum's heirloom!' He quickly stood up, and I hear the back and fore-swing of the paddle as it whistled through the air. I heard a clang, and less than a second later, there was a sharp pain spreading through my bum, I heard a few more swings, and felt more pain. After the fourth swing, I heard something shatter."
Harry had to take a few breaths as he was starting to cry, "I knew then that whatever he had used was made of glass. I blacked out quickly after that, but the very last thing I heard was a sharp crack. I didn't remember most of it, just tiny bits and pieces, but since I put the ring on, it came flooding back. Now that I think about it, that last crack sounded similar to when Professor McGonagall found me. I don't remember much after that, except one thing…I remember waking up in a room, but it wasn't my cupboard, and I panicked, I thought I was still in that room. I heard another crack and then nothing afterwards. The next thing I consciously remember; not from the ring, was waking up in my cupboard in my sleep clothes, and all my relatives seemed to not remember that I broke the container. Throughout the majority of the whole captivity-thing, my only thought was that 'somehow this was entirely my fault'."
~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~~WARNING~
Professor McGonagall, after cleaning up the mess from herself and the area around her, she did something that would happen only once; that harry would never see the same level of a gesture from her. She slid to her knees, and enveloped Harry into, what she could muster into the form of, a motherly embrace. She just held onto this poor boy, someone that something such as that should never have happened to.
"Ugh, as much as that tale sickens me, I can not see how the boy's uncle will escape the harshest of punishments, I repeat, if he doesn't receive the death penalty, I'll be surprised, and then I will butcher the animal myself and leave his body to rot. Friend McGonagall, in the state that he is in, I will not ask him, but tell me this animal's name, so justice may be done."
She looked down at harry, who was still crying; she covered his ears, and quietly said, "Dursley, Vernon Dursley, he works at a factory called Grunnings, or some such. His wife, Young Harry's aunt is Petunia, their son is Dudley.
'On my Life and Magic, if he skates justice, I will risk Azkaban to see that it is done. I swear it. So mote it be!"
As she stopped speaking, a bright flash of light filled the room, and a golden arc leaped from her, across the room to a stack of ledgers. She knew exactly, part of what had just happened; she had consciously made a Witch's Oath. The power arc, she had no clue about.
"Very well, Friend McGonagall, I know that you know what you just did, but im sure you don't know what has happened after. The First was that you have made a Witch's Oath that, in turn, has caused his Guardianship fall to you. The Second part; the arc of light was, by your proclamation, you swearing to be the Vassal of Young Lord Potter The Vassalage will be active so long as your Oath is Unfinished
The Magical Guardian part is slightly trickier. Since Mr. Potter has already taken up the Scion Ring, it is your duty, to see to the long-term plans of House Potter; you may delegate most of the day-to-day trivialities to either House Elves or other Vassals. This part is only active as long as you are not dismissed from his service as his Magical Guarding, or until he reaches his majority, even despite that he could gain his Head of House status in a few years
Let me be the first to welcome you into the Retinue of House Potter. Let us pick this up in a few days time, and until then, the Dursley's will be poked, prodded, and tested. Then they will face justice."
It took a few days more than a week for Harry to come out of his self-imposed catatonic state, when he did he was escorted to Ragnok's office. Professor McGonagall was already sitting in a chair; it seemed that they were waiting for him.
"Scion Potter, we were beginning worry that you would never come to. Before we continue, I feel that I must inform you, you will never have to return to that place you called your residence. Through the use of a specialized spell, our healers were able to receive a detailed report of everything your 'Relations' have done to you. The spell is used in cases much like yours, where the remembering of each action, could have a major reaction of the targets mind; possibly even breaking the persons psyche. The entire family had been taken in by magical police, they were looked over and liberal use of the Memory Charm had been used on all of them. Each memory was recovered and looked through. If it was a security risk to our world, it was destroyed, otherwise it was left restored. After that was done, each was wiped of any memory of magic or the magical world. They were then given a safe but viable amount of Veritaserum…think 'Truth Serum'…and then sent back to their home, just minutes before the muggle police arrived.
From those reports and their own admissions, things have happened quickly; it seems that the muggles share the Goblin view of actions against a child:
By her treatment of you under her care; your aunt has been sentenced to six months in a minimum security prison for women. She is to undergo psychiatric help for her OCD; that is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; I'm told that she has requested extra sessions. Because of her unwillingness to cause you physical pain, she received the lightest punishments out of the adults.
Your cousin is to be sent to a juvenile detention center, he will be placed on a severe diet, as well as to receive help to fix the many years of dragon dung ideas his father had used as a template for life.
Your Uncle's Sister, Margery Dursley, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison, and has been forbid from ever owning a pet of any kind, including as a job or hobby that has any thing to do with animals.
Your 'Uncle's' sentence was a great deal more harsh, for the heinous and horrible things he had done…his final sentence has yet to be given, as he was the last of the adults to go to trial."
Harry seemed to relax, though it didn't dawn on him yet that he was homeless now; he would not have to worry about his relatives dealing out any punishments anymore.
Ragnok continued, "On top of everything; it seems that not only was he receiving a stipend from the Potter Accounts for your care, but even the home was owned by the Potters, with them under a lease. It seems that your mother had done this for her, as she knew your aunt dearly wanted a family, but the place they were living at, wasn't habitable for a child. So she leased the home to them for nothing; I can only guess as to why, but I believe it was in hopes of repairing the damage to their relationship.
Back on topic, it seems your 'so-called' uncle used that stipend to pay off a house he had bought for his multiple 'Mistresses'; as well as a few of your 'punishments'.
I did not approve of this action, and an investigation has been started to find the goblin that made this illegal alteration. I have also started multiple investigation teams, each has been given specific areas of the Potter Accounts to look through, if anything is off or missing; I will be informed and will take appropriate action according to Goblin Law. We know that the White-Bearded-One has already interfered with your life. Your new Magical Guardian and I were waiting for you to arrive before going over your parents will. Now that you are here, we may start."
"Of course Sir, and thank you, though the thing about my family accounts is a bit alarming, knowing that I will not have to see them again, is a load off my mind; please begin."
"Again I will read the highlight, though some things I will have to read verbatim. This Will and Testament was made a week before the attack on your home.
Now let's see, it looks like your father, while not as wealthy as his father, had made a few prudent investments, many here in Diagon Alley.
To his old job; the Aurors Office, are to be given 50 thousand galleons; ah Friend McGonagall, you'll be interested in this… 'To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I leave an account at Gringotts with five thousand galleons, this account is to be used with the discretion of the Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, to the effect of replacing the class brooms for the First Years', and it seems he left a message for you in here… 'Dear Den-Mother, use this money to better the school, those brooms were severely past their prime when I was in school, I know for a fact that those old brooms hindered many of the muggle-born students from finding the joy I have felt while flying. Please fix this. On a personal note, if my lovely wife isn't there to watch over our son, no matter what House he is sorted into, I would like to make a request that if he needs help, you allow him the opportunity to come to you… despite the extra-curricular activities my friends and I were in; wink. Your assistance even if it was to help guide us from some of our more dangerous activities, was always greatly appreciated, and I would like my son to have that same opportunity. And I do hope that he becomes one of your cubs, allowing you to watch over him that much easier.'
'The rest of my worldly possessions I leave to the woman of my life, who made me want to be a better man, my wife Lily Potter nee Evans. If fate is cruel enough to take her away from my son as well, then I leave everything to him, my son Harry James Potter, even though I have yet to take my position as the Head of our Family, I'm sure my father would agree; I also bequeath control of House Potter, also he should take note of the Potter Library and a family heirloom, a cloak that is should appear in the family vault on the instance of my death, third from the left, between a green and red cloak; you'll know which one when you see it.'; personal note, 'Son, if you're hearing this, then I hope I did my best to protect you and your mother, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, to teach your how to prank, to teach you to fly and the sheer bliss that comes from it. I hope that your uncles are there to guide you in the ways that I was unable to. I can only hope that your mother is there with you; I would rather her to live with you, though I know that a mother would be willing to die if it would save her child, I pray that it never comes to that. I'm sorry son, and 'Mischief Managed, remember it.'
Scion Potter, if you need some time before we read your mother's will…I had a feeling that this might cause some pain to you…"
Professor McGonagall shaken from her shock with what James did and what he said. She looked at Harry and could see that he seemed just second from breaking down in tears again. "Director Ragnok, it might be best if we did take a break. It is a lot of information to take in; for someone so young."
'Indeed it is, please stay, I will have some food sent up. There are some things from the Potter vaults that I must retrieve." When McGonagall nodded, he stood up, and walked past Harry, pausing to place his hand on the boy's shoulder, before he continued out of the office.
After a half-hour, Harry had calmed down enough to continue; McGonagall went to the door to have Ragnok inform that they were ready. A short time later, he walked in followed by four large goblins that were carrying a large case.
"Before we go any farther, as executor of the Wills of the previous two generation of Potters, I felt it was my duty to present to you, your Family's Weapon. This weapon has been in your family since before our records began. Each wielder has imbued this weapon with something, and though the weapon can be wielded by anyone, only the rightful Heir of House Potter is capable of bringing out the weapon's true capabilities"
Ragnok motioned for Harry to open the case, and inside it was a full Scottish Claymore. Professor McGonagall let out a small, almost inaudible gasp. Harry didn't know why, but Ragnok had an idea. "Scion Potter, this was the weapon's form from the previous Lord, your Grandfather. Please take the hilt; or handle, as it's commonly called; in your hand."
"Sir, you want me to pick up that, I don't know if I can, it's twice as tall as I am?"
"One of the first Lords who imbued the sword, placed into it capability to change it's form, to suit the best style of combat for the new Lord. I sometimes forget that you know very little about your own lineage."
"I'll try…" Harry stood to take the hilt of the sword. The moment his hand grasped the hilt, an almost blinding light formed at the tip of the sword. It was like someone was pouring molten steel over the sword, but as the light reached and surrounded Harry's hand on the hilt, he noticed that there was no heat. Suddenly the light vanished; it took the three, a minute or two for their eyesight to return, being a goblin, Ragnok was the first to see the new form of the sword, he had seen similar reactions before when the new Lords of other Houses took up their legacy, but never had he seen the from shift from one regional style to another. The eyesight of both the Professor and Harry returned within seconds of each other. Professor McGonagall was a little disappointed that the new sword chose not to display the new Lord's heritage; that was until she gazed upon the hand guard; on it was a small thistle cluster.
"Congratulations Lord Potter, the Sword has chosen your preferred Combat Form, this form has only been seen in the Potter Family one other time, to my knowledge. If your father had been able to take his place as Lord Potter, I believe his form would have been similar. This style of weapon is known as a Katana, it comes from Japan; most say that it is the perfect combination of Speed and Skill, when compared to all other sword styles, it is true elegance in swordsmanship. Most battles with these weapons were decided in the first or second strike. The training to properly use this type of sword usually takes many years to perfect.
Your Family Grimoire has a detailed history of the sword and of your family. The tome is secured in the family vault, as the Scion; in the truest sense of the word, the sword and Tome are the only objects you are allowed to remove from the vault, unless a will specifically states otherwise. As it is so far, you are allowed to take your family's cloak; that your father talked about, along with the Sword, Family Library, and the Grimoire.
As soon as we complete the reading of the wills, we will then be able to move on to the results of removing the dark magic and the medical regimen you have been placed on."
"Your mother's Will states, that all of her personal belongings, which have been kept in the family vault since their deaths, are to be given to you, since her husband died shortly before her; upon completion of the Reading of the Will. All of which have been kept in the family vault since their deaths. She also bequeaths the monetary contents of her personal vault to Hogwarts, under the discretion of Fillius Flitwick, the Charms Professor. The money is to be kept until such time as the administration of Hogwarts decides to; and I quote, 'Join the rest of the world in the twentieth century' and like all of the previous wills, this bequeathment is to be monitored and any action is to be submitted, scrutinized, and tracked by a Goblin Accountant. The last item listed is the House which you were a resident of, Number 4 Private Drive, Little Whinging; Surrey, England. 'I give to my sister Petunia Dursley, the place that she has called home, since before her child was born.' This request has been initialed by both her husband, and the previous Lord Potter, meaning she is allowed to do this. She also left a message to be read only in her presence. Scion Potter, since she was instrumental in your treatment while living there, you do have the option of denying this request. You have until the official Will reading to do so. Hold on here…it seems there is an addendum to your mother's Will, give me a moment to find it…" after rustling around the desk a moment, "Ah, here it is…very strange. It appears that the addendum was added only a week before your parents were murdered.
It says here that 'Should I and my Husband, James Potter, die; then the Regency of House Potter, and care of our son, Harry, shall fall to the people on the accompanied list. At no time, is my sister and her 'Magic-Hating' husband, to ever have any contact with our son. Also Albus Dumbledore is disavowed from guardianship, overriding any and all previous statements.'
Here is the list;
This List is to determine the order of caregivers for our son, Harry Potter:
Frank and Alice Longbottom (Harry's God-Mother)
Sirius Black (Harry's Dog-Father)
Albus Dumbledore JP/LP
Remus Lupin
Lord and Lady Potter
Lord Arcturus Black III
Minerva McGonagall
Fostered to a Muggle family that knew of our world.
Stipulations from the addendum are to be strictly followed.
I do not understand the meaning of this 'dog-father' I believe it is what you humans call 'an inside joke'…"
Just then Harry closed his eyes, and a moment later a smirk crossed his lips, "I believe I know Sir. If what Professor McGonagall said is true, then I somehow have Occlumency shields, and before all of the meetings started I had sorted through some of the books in my mind, it seems to me; my mind looks like a library. It seems that I learned had to talk quickly, but I had trouble saying god-father, and it always came out, dog-father." Harry couldn't tell them the real reason, the memory he had found was that of the one time he saw his god-father transform into his dog-form. Harry wasn't sure if this was a standard thing that all wizards learned, but he could guess that it might not be, and it seemed important.
"Very well, if this had been read soon after their deaths, sadly the only names mentioned that could have taken up their guardianship of you, would have been Lord Black, your Professor, or the seventh option. Less than a week after the attack on your family, an attack happened upon Frank and Alice Longbottom, luckily their son was not at the home. Next on the list is Sirius Black, as he was arrested and imprisoned, this would rule him out."
"Along with the fact that he was the person who betrayed your parents to You-Know-Who; he was the only person who could have. And when he was arrested; he was laughing like a mad-man. He can rot, as far as you are concerned, in my opinion." McGonagall blurted out, scoffing.
"Friend Minerva, the fact that the Fidelius Charm was not performed by goblins, we are unable to know exactly who cast the charm and who was the secret keeper, but it is well known to us, that the best way to provide the safety of the keeper, is to provide a decoy. Whether this was done or not, I can guess that only a handful of people would know the truth.
Though it is well known that Remus Lupin is a well-trusted friend to your parents, certain laws that were passed before the attack would not allow him to take over your guardianship.
Sadly, around the time of your disappearance, a small outbreak of Dragon Pox broke out. Your grandfather contracted the virus, and his age being what it was, his body was unable to fight off the effects, sadly he died a few years after your family's murder. If you had gone to him, then you would have been back in the same boat you would have been in after the attack, that's if you had not contracted the virus as well.
Friend Minerva, did you know that you were slated to be the young Lord's Guardian? As James and Lily previously stated, you were a person they trusted, almost implicitly. I would think Lily would have mentioned something.
"I can assure your Director, if James or Lily would have told me, that I was selected to be their son's guardian, I would have kept that information to myself, until it was time to reveal it, which would have been almost immediately after being informed that they had died.
"Very disturbing; this information that has come to light…. Scion Potter, if you wish it we can investigate this further, at a reduced fee of course."
"Please do, your majesty, it sounds like that someone was actively trying to keep me from, at least, a descent living condition, and if they are still acting against me, or those that are close to me, I would like to know beforehand," Harry stated.
"Very well, the fees will be taken from your vault. You will be contacted when we have new information to deliver to you."
"Thank you Director, please let's continue."
"Yes Scion Potter, now that the Wills have been read, the items immediately bequeathed to you are as follows: The Potter Family Sword, the Potter Heirloom Cloak, the Potter Family Library, your mother's personal non-monetary belongings, and the Potter Family Grimoire. As you already have the Sword; at your request all but the Grimoire can be brought to your recovery room, I would suggest waiting until you have a secure place to store it, before you retrieve the Grimoire."
Harry sat still for a moment or two, before he nodded, and Ragnok sent a messenger to 'have the items moved to Lord Potter's Recovery Room'.
"Now Scion Potter, as she was the medical person I placed in charge of your health, I believe she is best suited to explain the circumstance and after-effects of your treatment, as well as the medical regimen she has placed you on," there was a knocking on the door, and the afore-mentioned healer walked in, "Here she is now, I think I will oversee the retrieval of your immediate inheritance; If you will excuse me."
"Griphook…, exactly who I was looking for; I will be seeing to the…" the Director said as the doors closed.
"Scion Potter, your medical treatment is my only concern as of the moment I was called to assist in the removal of the dark magic, and the subsequent medical treatment you were in dire need of, after you donned the Ring."
She placed matching documents in front of both humans, "These are Secrecy Contracts, similar to those that our non-goblin employees are required to sign; it has been slightly altered to pertain to the subject that caused all this trouble. By standing order of the Goblin King who swore to eradicate this specific dark magic, all persons to be told of this subject are required to sign this contract, they are to tell no one of what has transpired, only 'that a dire medical emergency; that we goblins were able to efficiently and quickly take care of' please sign the contract, and we will then be able to continue."
Healer Manna placed a red quill on both contracts; Professor McGonagall suddenly gasped audibly, "Ya' cannae mean for a child to sign with one of these, I mean I understand the need for secrecy, but for a child to use this quill…isn't that going a bit overboard?"
"Normally I would agree with you Friend McGonagall, but as this pertains to the matter, that we goblins have spent many lives and a few wars to wiping this magic from the very annuls of history, so that the mistake of the Death Knight, Son of the Great Human Leader, the Shining King, Arthur Pendragon; would not be repeated."
"Healer Manna, are you talking about Mordred…" harry asked, but was cut off.
"As you did not know, it will be let go, but that name is forbidden to be spoken. His legacy, as the creator of this damnable magic, has left the Wizarding World reeling from one Dark Lord to the next. I have stated more that I should, while you are not bound by the contract; please sign!"
As his first question was so summarily smacked down; with good reason, it seems. Harry asked the question he had wanted to ask next, "I know feather quills were used in medieval times, but what is so different about these? They look like they have just been dyed red."
"Mr. Potter," his professor started, "These are known as blood-quills, as you may notice there is no ink-wells, no stopped bottles of ink either. This type of quill is only used under the most dire and/or most important kind of documents. They do not need any ink, as they do not use it. The quill is charmed to use the signatory's blood 'as' the ink, it is the safest type of 'blood magic', a type of magic that is heavily controlled. As your Magical Guardian, normally I would advise you to not sign using one, unless absolutely necessary, but as the subject dates back to the first king of England, not to mention the first and only magical monarch of these isles. THIS TIME, I will advise you to sign, but I warn you, it will hurt, as a by-product, the quill will act like it is carving into your writing hand…at one time; in a different country it was used as a torture device, as prolonged use of a Blood Quill, will cause permanent damage to the skin. As this is a goblin Blood Quill, the injury will heal itself, immediately after you have finished."
When Professor McGonagall finished, she picked the quill up like it was about to bite her, and in a sense it was. Harry was also hesitant to use it, but as he was advised to do so, and his adviser had already finished signing, he decided to follow suit. He assumed that if he signed it fast, then the pain would intense but short, it turned out he was wrong. After he finished signing his name in a fast and messy scrawl, the magic of the contract took over. His signature on the parchment slowly deformed itself, curving and twisting until it looked like harry had taken his time to sign it. As the parchments magic took hold so did the magic of the quill, as the name was forming into his normal signature, the magic caused the same signature to be carved into his right hand. It hurt like hell; he had expected it to hurt, but not this much. Not before his signature finished correcting itself, did the pain stop; then thirty seconds after that the pain and the carving of his name was gone.
"Very good, we can continue, everything pertaining to the subject stated on the contract falls under the rules of the contract. You may only speak about this, in private with those that have signed the same contract or with a goblin. But I would suggest that after you leave to begin your education, never think about it again; just place it out of you mind. That way you never run the risk of breaching the contract, as the consequences are severe.
As I said before, this all began with Arthur and Morgana's son. Despite what the Muggle history says, he was a squib, specifically the First Squib; it is through his bloodline that the magic survived. Somehow the knowledge of this dark magic survived, we do not know how, but we do know that his bloodline has survived. We learned that if any of his Bloodline should break the tradition of only bearing non-magical children, then when that magical child reached adulthood, they would begin the process of researching a very specific topic with the magical field of necromancy; this topic would lead to the completion of the dark son's ritual. Through painstaking research and many years of tracking down each off-shoot, we had found every member of his bloodline. When they were found and if they had no children, then they were given a potion that would bind with their DNA and that branch of the bloodline would never produce a magical child; if they had children, then each child was stripped of the chance to bare magical children. Yes professor, this is something that is frowned upon by Human Magical Society, but when you consider the alternative, it is necessary. Now as of forty years ago, we had found the last descendent of the Death Knight, one Tom Riddle, as it would seem this descendent had been dead for almost ten years. According to the extended family and acquaintances of the family, he had no children. We had hoped that this was the end of our oath, but sadly this was not true, it would seem that he had a son, we don't know his birth name or his birth mother; and though it cost many agents their lives, we were able to procure a blood sample from him. While doing tests the sample exploded; a positive sign that the subject had indeed finished his research, and preformed the Ritual of Death's Power, the dark Knight's name for the ritual. Not only had the ritual been performed, but by the reaction of the subject's sample of blood, we hypothesized that the subject had performed it multiple times. As to my knowledge this had never been done before, if this is true, I do not know exactly what will happen, but I do know, that if true, then the subject has gone past the barrier that keeps humans classified as such. He can not be considered as a human anymore.
I will now describe what we believe the ritual does. At specific times, the ritual maybe performed, coinciding with phases of the moon, as well as times of the year; usually when the veil between the world of the living and that of the dead is at its weakest. Around the same time of the year, that your parents were murdered is best. Yes Scion Potter, I can see the gear of your head putting facts together, the subject who has perform the ritual and the Dark Lord Voldemort are one and the same. He is the last of The Death Knight's Bloodline, as well as the Heir of not one but two Magical Families."
As he was piecing together what Healer Manna was telling them, it stated to click, how everything seemed to be interconnected to him. And Harry was starting to become both worried and angry.
"Though he could trace his lineage back to The Death Knight and through him to The Shining King, it would have to go through scores and scores of Muggles, and being who he was, I highly doubt that he would claim it. The other family he could and did claim was that of Salazar Slytherin, and though he drained the monetary assets from the vault, he hardly touched the objects and heirlooms, those are still in the Slytherin Vault; all is accounted for except a locket made of Goblin-Made silver. That was taken out soon after the claim was acknowledged as viable, by a goblin that had joined him. And all attempts to search or scry for the item have garnered no leads.
What we believe the purpose of the ritual, is that it weakens the soul of the person performing the ritual. It does this so that the performer may sever a part of his soul from the main body, and place the 'piece' within a prepared container; this is usually done immediately, but can be done within a few hours at the latest. The whole purpose of the ritual is the allow the user to keep a part of his soul from passing beyond the veil between the worlds, so that the other part, is not allowed to pass over, it is kept in a limbo/ghost type state, though it can move and interact with our world, it can not truly harm the living, that is unless it is inhabiting a body. If the spirit does inhabit a living body, then the person it inhabits is already dead; should the spirit ever leave the body for any reason, it will die.
Now I must inform you, why all this is important. When Voldemort came to attack your family, we believe that his true goal was to use the son of the parents that had defeated him multiple times in the past, with the intent on performing the end part of the ritual. Now this meant that he could have attacked one of two families, but he chose yours, for whatever reason. Now the story of that attack is common knowledge, it has even been made into a children's story, though how the writer was able to get this information is still a mystery. The specifics of what happened that night is not known, but it is known that when Voldemort tried to kill you, your mother stood in the way. For some unknown reason, he gave her the option to give you up and live or die in vain protecting you; she chose the later. He killed her and when he tried to kill you, his spell backfired, leaving him in a spirit-like form and left you with only that scar on your head.
Now here is the very important part. When you placed that ring on your finger, it acted and cast a diagnostic charm on you; it then removed all the spells that were still active upon you, the ribbons of lights you saw. It shattered all but the only one it couldn't destroy, the back ribbon. This told us that a necromantic spell signature had been used on you, and was still active, immediately we knew that it wasn't a residual signature from the Killing curse that was used on you; we only know of one other form of necromantic magic that could leave a signature on a living person. And our fears were confirmed when I did my diagnostic magic. The container used and made in The Death Knight's Ritual is called a Horcrux, it is believed that you were inadvertently made into one. You essentially had a piece of Voldemort's soul sustaining itself by feeding off your magic. On top of that, you had no less than three Core binding spells on you, they were weakened. I can only guess that your core was doing it's best to fight them off. I can say this however; if the bindings had stayed on for a few more years, we could have been a completely different situation."
"What do you mean Healer Manna, how much different?" Harry questioned.
"Well, Scion Potter; if it had went that way; we may have been in a fight for your very life. If you had not come in and accepted the Ring, and those bindings stayed on, then it's possible that the soul fragment could have continued feeding on your magic continually getting stronger, while you would slowly become weaker. At some point the fragment would have tried to assert dominance of your mind for control of the body. If it had won that fight, then the one recourse that would have been available to us would have been to destroy the container which it was within. You now understand how dangerous this magic is, and our reasoning in wanting to destroy even the history of its existence.
Pale and mortified looks came over both McGonagall and Harry; despite Healer Manna not explicitly saying it, they both understood what she had just said…..if Harry had waited a few years to do what he did when he first came to the Bank, then there would have been a good possibility that the fragment could have taken over, and that his life would have been forfeit in order to destroy the dark magic.
Now that the history portion of this meeting is over, it's time to begin on the treatment of and recovery from its effects, my young Scion. You may have already noticed some of them, while you were in your self-imposed catatonic state; we performed a full work up on you.
At this time; it seems that your eyesight had improved greatly since the dark magic's removal, your vision is still less than what most wizards would have, but that can be fixed with a few potions.
We found many breaks and micro-fractures in your skeletal structure; we now know that the damage came from your abusive relatives, if we are to repair that damage we will have to re-break all the bones that were broken, properly set them, and then you would have a few weeks of taking a bone-repairing potion. The effects of this would be that you would most likely grow an inch or two, as well as your bones would be stronger.
All we are able to do about the scars on your body is to apply a salve that would make them less pronounced, less noticeable.
I noticed that despite you never having gone to a dentist, you have very few cavities. As wizards have not concept of dental health, besides the two potions they used to keep their teeth straight and their breath clean. I would like for you to go to a muggle dentist, preferably one in the know and have a full check up done.
Other than that, despite everything done to you, you are in relatively good health. If you follow the potions regimen I have set forth, you will finish most of them by the time you leave for Hogwarts, and the Matron there is one of the best in the world; and Professor you may tell her I said so; she would be more than capable to complete the regimen, though I would prefer to give you a check up before the start of your second year. Just to make sure everything is fine, and there are no other side-effects from the dark magic.
Now on a side note, pertaining to Voldemort's attack on you: as he had claimed the Heir of Slytherin ring, long before he attacked your family. It is commonly accepted that somehow, it was you that had destroyed him, though no one knows how. We goblins know differently but we do agree that the Rite of Conquest does fall to you. As by whatever means used, his physical body, and hence his status as a living being is gone, by the Rite of Conquest, you inherit all that he had, which includes the title of Slytherin's Heir.
On a connected note, before his defeat, you were considered the cadet line of Slytherin, through your grandmother; Dorea Potter nee Black. If you accept the title, you will be the main line, for two of the Four Founders. Along with the titles, your voice will have a great amount of pull in your world, as the Heir to three of the fifteen Great Families. Director Ragnok will speak to you about this later.
Ah, I do believe that the Director is about to return, I hear his footfalls coming down the hall. Think on what I have said young Scion."
Just as they heard a hand touch the handle of the door, they heard a raised voice, "Senior Teller Griphook, do not presume to think you are more intelligent than I. Your views on humans are clouded by you many faithful years as a Bank Teller, where you deal with many of the less-honorable types of wizards, as well as an Account manager to THAT family and while I can see your point of view, I DO NOT SHARE IT and I do not cow myself to those wizards that do have a large power base, I judge each human or wizard by their actions not by lumping them together as a group. I would have thought you would have learned this by now, but it seems you have not, and if you can not, then I may have to demote you to a position that does not have any interaction with anyone other than a goblin, and though you may prefer that type of work, I believe it would be a complete waist of your talents. If you confront me in this manner I will have no other option as to claim it as an insult and demand Trial by Sword, where I will gut you as you stand, though it would be the end a valuable resource and member of my nation: do not let it happen again."
Healer Manna commented, "Oh No, I told him to stop that train of thinking, that idiot goblin. He's stepped in the dragon dung this time."
Just then Ragnok forcefully opened the door, and stalked into the office growling and it was a good thing Healer Manna had vacated her spot before he entered, as he seemed in no mood to deal with any hindrances.
"Healer Manna," he barked, "have you informed them?"
"Yes Director, I have told them all that you instructed me to. If I am dismissed, I leave the rest to you, of gracious king."
"Watch it Manna, he has gotten to be a bother of late, and I will not be responsible for my actions if he can not change, truly I would rather not have to kill such a productive goblin, but if he leaves me no choice…"
"Yes…of course Director, I will have another talk with him. If I may suggest, I do believe his main aggravation is that Family he has been assigned to, I realize that it is his punishment, but was it meant to last for sixty years?"
"You may leave now, Manna…and I will think upon your words."
"…By your leave."
With that Healer Manna left, closing the door behind her. When Professor McGonagall turned back to Ragnok he was chewing on a piece of, either leather or Meat; Harry couldn't tell which.
"A rather outspoken goblin," He started, "whose views are clouded by his contempt for wizards, has been making his distrust for them known for over sixty years, it is true his punishment was not to last this long, but I do not think he has learned the reason as to why he received his punishment. I fear the worst for him, especially since I may be the one to have to dispense his final breath. But you are not here to listen, about an errant goblin."
He quickly shook his head vigorously.
"It would seem I come bearing both good and bad news. Scion Potter, your mother's trunk has been placed in your recovery room; no one shall disturb it or you while you are my guest. The disturbing news, and part of the reason for my mood, is that somehow, it seems someone has removed the Heirloom Cloak your father left you. Its removal was not recorded, as it should have been…this is most disturbing, as it leads me to believe that someone; of my Nation, is working as an agent for someone outside the Nation. If this is true, then that agent will be summarily executed, his name removed from the rolls, and his honor debt charged to his clan. I have no issue if any goblin wishes to work outside the nation, but so long as he does, he is treated as a friend of the nation, not part of it; much like your Charms Professor, even though he is my nephew three or four times removed."
"Really, Fillius never talks about his family." McGonagall said.
"Of course he doesn't, if his heritage was every known to your Ministry, he would have been sacked within a few moments, luckily for him, despite his half-goblin heritage, he passes for a Human, who in the muggle world, is commonly referred to as a midget or Little Person. But do not let his stature fool you, he was a one time the most accomplished Duelist in the world. The most common mistake most wizards make, is that they forget is his stature and aim like they would if he was an average sized human, this has led many to their doom by his wand; but as personalities go, I doubt you would meet a more compassionate man…the missing cloak will be added to the list of items of investigation; As before Scion Potter, I will do my best to keep you informed."
Harry only nodded his head; so much had been told to him lately, he was finding it hard to keep everything straight. He kept thinking maybe it was time to go into 'His Library' and finally organize things.
"Just one topic of discussion today; it is split into two parts, but are very much, connected. First is your connection and Rite to claim the title of Lord Gryffindor. What I am to reveal to you will fall under the secrecy contract that you signed earlier. If the information I'm about to reveal is banded about, then the Young Lord's life would be at even more risk than it already is.
This isn't known to many who are living in the world, but sometime after the founding of Hogwarts, a group of unknown assailants; of an unknown number, started to attack the Great families, specifically those of the Founders. For most of history, the hereditary lines for the House of Slytherin and Gryffindor were well speculated, but what wasn't known, and I only learned this after I took over the position of Senior Account Manager for House Potter; was that House Potter is in fact House Gryffindor!"
McGonagall was completely shocked, she like many, could guess that House Potter had a close relationship to the fabled Line of Gryffindor; hell many thought that it was a distant part of the founders Line. Ragnok was right; if this was revealed then not only would Harry's life be in more danger, but also that people would flock to him, like some messiah.
"Sometime after the hunting of the Founder's lines, Hufflepuff's had already gone to ground, Ravenclaw's had completely disappeared, Slytherin's was well known but as the main Family was still alive and its power was in a steep decline, whoever was after them at the start must have felt that the power of Slytherin's House was depleted and all by destroyed. I do not believe that they knew of the cadet line, or it would never have become what it is today.
As Healer Manna informed you, though Voldemort was the Prince line, when you destroyed his body, not only by Right of Conquest, but by Right of Blood do you have a rightful claim to the Slytherin Heritage. If you doubt it, I know of one way to test for it. Scion Potter, as you would have learned at Hogwarts, Slytherin was a Parslemouth, meaning he had the ability to speak with snakes or creatures of a serpentine nature, it was rumored that Slytherin was even able to speak with a dragon, but no hard facts have been found to support that claim. If you are indeed a descendent of Salazar Slytherin, then by the magic in your blood, and being the rightful Heir to the Lord of Snakes, you should be able to; at the very least; speak to snakes.
Now friend McGonagall, you know as well as I do; that in India and Africa, snake speakers are welcomed, even celebrated, when a child with the ability is found. Beside the fact that your history has been rewritten to the point that I'm amazed that Salazar isn't said to have been a descendent of a Naga. I would gladly give you a copy of our Goblin recorded history of the Wizarding world of Britain, but sadly, Laws were made to the effect that even owning one is a sentence of 20 years in Azkaban, as well as confiscation of the Tome.
So Lord of Snakes, would you take my challenge?"
Harry wasn't sure about him being able to talk to snakes, but so far everything the goblins had told him, felt like the truth, he didn't know why it felt like that, just that it did. When he nodded his head, Ragnok reached down and pulled up a covered bowl. When he pulled the covering off, the six foot black-headed rat-snake slid out of the bowl and curled up in the center of the desk, it looked straight at Harry.
"I see the first sign of his rightful claim, it is known to all snakes, that they will know the Lord of Snakes, as he would protect them from the many things that would prey upon them. Scion, do not force the magic, concentrate on wanting…needing to speak with the snake, ask it one question; ask it 'what is the species of the dragon that guards the founder's vaults?"
Harry tried many times to speak to the snake, but nothing was happening, he tried for thirty minutes, and got nothing. Just as he was about to give up, he looked into the eyes of the snake and felt something click inside him. He knew that at this moment he would be able to speak with it.
§Hello, would you be able to tell me what kind of dragon is guarding the vaults of the Founders. §, Harry asked
§I do not know thissss information, but I do know that he fearssss for your liffe; He fearssss that you may fall in your quesssst. It hassss been a long time ssssinccce I have sssspoken with ssssomeone in my nativve tongue…what is your name young sssspeaker? §
§My name is Harold Potter, but I've always been called Harry§
§Thank you young sssspeaker, I sssshall inform the otherssss that a Sssspeaker hassss arrived. Now…I musssst go. §
Harry blinked as the snake slithered away, he wasn't sure exactly what happened, "Well, Scion did you ask the question?"
"Yes Sir, he did not know the answer to it, but he did tell me of your fears for me. He said that you fear for my life, as well as that I may fail in a quest. What did he mean, sir?"
"Did the snake say anything else?"
"Only that it had been a long time since he had spoken in his native tongue, but that didn't make sense, it was speaking in English though it had a lisp when it came to the 'S' sound. It also called me 'the Speaker' after it had asked my name."
"Friend McGonagall, I dare ask, would you need more proof, of his claim?"
The professor could only sit there stupefied, not only was this child the Heir to not one but two Lines that could take control of the school, but that he had the same ability of one of those ancestors. It has overloaded her shock capacity.
"I'll take that as a 'No'. Scion Potter, the Heir of Slytherin, by Rite of Blood as well as Conquest is yours to take. That is until a claimant with a closer seating comes forward to claim it. Though the chances of that happening are very slim, I would advise not to leave it to chance. I would say the same thing about your claim to Gryffindor, though you are the prince line; if the cadet line claims it first and you do not contest it, your right to it is forfeit. After I have completed this last part I shall give you time to speak with your guardian, about these matters.
This should be the last topic I shall surprise you with, as your know that Arthur Pendrageon was the first King of England and until his death; by his bastard son's hand, he ruled in peace. What isn't known is that he had daughter, with Guinevere, his wife, the queen. This child was secreted away, and her descendents unknowing of their lineage, married into the current Muggle royalty, and by that fact; the current monarchy is the rightful rulers of Wizarding Britain, though most; if not all, have forgotten that they own fealty to the Muggle Queen. What this pertains to you and the Family of Potter, is that not only are you a member of the House of Lords, though a silent member. You are, through a distant relative, a member of not only the English royalty, but the Scottish royalty as well. You needn't worry about taking over the English Monarchy yet, as it is, over three-quarters of the current line-of-succession, would have to be assassinated, or die of natural causes before you would be able to even come close to becoming Regent of the Royal Crown. If Scotland still had its Royalty, you would be much closer to being seated as a King there, than in England.
If you would look at your family sword, you shall notice a Thistle Cluster on the hand-guard or tsuba, that symbol is only allowed to either the crown prince of England or the direct Descendents to one of the contested Royal Lines of Scotland. You are the last descendent to at least three of those Royal Lines. Scion Potter, believe me, that though this sounds like a prank, it is not, we goblins take rights of succession very seriously. And I believe that Professor McGonagall suspected as such when she first caught sight of your grandfather's sword; which was an old style Scottish claymore, mostly used by the royalty, it believe it was confirmed when the Thistle Cluster was still on your sword. Am I correct, friend McGonagall?"
"Aye, Director," her Scottish baroque coming through as she first spoke, "indeed that is what I thought, and it seems that even though I am a vassal to House Potter for a short time, I will still be a Vassal of sorts after my oath is completed. My entire House has declared their fealty to the Scottish crown, and that should a prince of the lands call us to war, we would answer the call. Sadly, I am the only member left within these isles, my youngest brother was sent to the colonies some years back and he never took the oath, due to his age, but I will stand by my House's oath."
"Scion Potter, it seems that fate has smiled upon you, not only has it given you a family and its history, it have given you a multitude of weapons, so you may battle on many fronts, but without the proper training, to properly use those weapons, whether they be your physical sword, you sharpened cunning or your sheer political power. Without the instruction on how to use them, they would become little more than a chunk of steel in the hand of a carpenter.
As what I'm about to offer has only happened a handful of times, one of those being your ancestor, Godric Gryffindor. I, Bank Director Ragnok, King of the Goblin Nations, offer you; Scion Potter, the high honor, to be trained by a Goblin Weapons Master. I am able to hold this offer until you leave the Goblin Nation to return to the world of wizards to start your education.
As a separate offer, I personally offer to instruct you in the way of politics, though it will be the type we Goblins use and because of this your fellow wizards will think your tactics boorish and primitive, right up until your goal becomes clear, when they will have no option to with which to stop you. You will make you enemies think you are their friend and your friends will think you are playing both sides, but in the end, you will be working towards your own goals. The training will start when and if you accept; they will last until you turn of age as a wizard. This offer will hold until you become of age.
Think long and hard, Scion Potter, about accepting either, as both are difficult paths, even for goblins. For a human it could very well be impossible, if they are unwilling to put everything they are into it."
Just then a goblin came into the room, and whispered something to Ragnok.
"Thank you…Scion Potter; while Apprentice Weasley was escorting the Granger family to procure her school things, he seemed to have ordered your school books. Since he was, at the time acting as an agent of Gringotts, they sent a letter before filing the order, when it was confirmed that you were here, and unable to be there yourself, they have completed the order. The order has just been delivered, at our request. Your school books are waiting in your room. I would suggest, and I believe that your Professor would agree, that you should read either Magical Theory or Hogwarts: A History; and though it isn't a required book on the list, I had it added to the order."
