In Time's Tender Care - Chapter 4
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: This is the chapter that would not END! It just didn't seem to have anywhere good to end it. So you got a cliffhanger! Sorry! Feed the author! That way you get a post faster… :P
Now to reply to some of my reviewers (OMG I have REVIEWERS! How cool is that?!) :
Yuki: Yes, I know I didn't update much till now but it will get better now, as you can see. Hope you keep reading my story and enjoy it!
Whitebuffalowmn: No, Harry's mate is not the dragon. Sorry! Glad you like my story!
And to the others that asked about where I am going with this story: I am really not sure. I only have a really rough draft in my head. The story is mostly writing itself.
And on that note: Enjoy! R&R ppl.
Chapter 4-
Harry did not accomplish going to Madam Malkin's in that hour since a moment after leaving the bank his head started to throb so painfully that he had to duck into a narrow alleyway nearby and almost collapsed.
Shaking and trembling Harry sat down on the floor and tried to breathe deeply and wait for the pain to pass. His disguise seemed to have disappeared because he felt his long hair almost covering his face when he put it between his legs to keep himself from expelling the contents of his stomach through his mouth. Not that there was much in there, mind.
Twenty minutes later, feelling a bit better and surprisingly hungry Harry decided to go and eat something after all, since he did not know if he will have time later on. Exiting the alleyway after changing his appearance once more, Harry went in to the nearest teashop and ordered himself some lunch.
While he was eating Harry couldn't help but wonder how his friends were doing and how they would react if he were to tell them that he was not entirely human. Hermione would be fascinated, off course. And Ron would probably have this weird look on his face for a while and then shrug and say something like: "But, you're still you, though, aren't you, mate?" And that would be it.
God, he loved his friends. Having them was almost worth not having a real blood family other than the Dursleys. Not that the Dursleys counted really.
Though, when he thought about it, he did have other family members that might be alive. The latter mentioned it. The royal elf family. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it.
On the one hand, he now had a family. That kind of made him a bit giddy inside and maybe a bit breathless. He didn't need to look into the mirror of Erised again to know that was his heart's desire for a long time. And even though he had Ron and Hermione and the Weasleys to a point he always dreamt of a large extended ALIVE family that was only his.
On the other hand, The Elf ROYAL Family. Like he didn't have enough on his plate. How exactly was he going to handle that while hunting for horcuxes? He had already decided that he was not going back to school for his seventh year so at least that was a relief but he still had no idea what was expected of him. He has responsibilities in the wizarding world that he cannot neglect. He will not rest until Voldemort is dead forever. He hated the idea that he will disappoint his new family, if indeed he had one, even before he had a chance to actually get to know them.
What he really needed, he decided, was more time. But, alas, time was something he did not have. The more he dawdled, the more innocent people were going to die. Harry resolved not to think about it until it became an issue. He could do nothing about it at the moment but fret and it was getting him nowhere. And with that conclusion he paid for the food that he barely tasted in his anxiety and walked back to the bank.
Griphook greeted him at the door and led him wordlessly to a small room that had nothing in it but a large fireplace.
"The first place we shall go will be the Potter ancestral castle. Most of the other properties are connected to the wards there so we will be able to declare you the hair to them from there. Then we will need to go to those that are a bit more isolated. The floo address is Potter Castle, Mr. Potter. Shall we?" Griphook held the floo pot towards Harry.
Harry took a deep breath. "Might as well," He said, took a pinch of floo and flung it into the fireplace. He then entered the swirling green flames and said as clearly as he could "Potter Castle!" And while he started to spin hazardously he thought he could see Griphook doing the same.
Harry was surprised that he did not find himself sprawled on the floor at the other side, but rather standing with grace that he could have sworn he did not have. Moving aside to leave place for Griphook to arrive he looked around him curiously.
He found himself in a rather big entrance hall that had two large double doors at each side and two wide spiraling stairways that led to a large balcony that was the entrance to the second floor. Harry noticed that there was an identical fireplace to the one that was behind him at the other side of the hall from which Griphook was stepping out of.
"Mr. Potter. If you would be so kind as to follow me." Griphook said and walked to the space of wall between the two staircases that only had a banner with the Potter family crest on it without looking to see if harry was actually following him or not. When he reached there he pulled a sharp knife and an emblem from his pocket.
Seeing that, Harry already guessed what Griphook intended and gave him his hand without the goblin having to ask for it. Doing that, Harry thought he saw a glimmer of appreciation in the other's eyes but in was gone after a second as he tried not to gasp as the knife cut into his hand again.
Griphook then dribbled some of Harry's blood on the insignia where it sizzled and disappeared, completely absorbed, and then held his hand to the stone beneath the banner while murmuring in gobbledygook. There was a blinding flash of light and Harry suddenly felt a bit like the first time he had held his wand. All warm and tingly, and he had a new awareness to the stones around him, as if he could feel the magic in them, and he could almost see the echoes of generations of Potter going through the halls.
Eyes wide with wonder Harry looked at Griphook. "I can feel all if it! Even the greenhouses!" He whispered since he could not bring his voice to be louder than that. Griphook looked at him with amusement in his eyes. "Yes, that is rather the point. You are now connected to the wards. If you were not of the Potter blood though, you would have been dead right now." He was about to say something more when there was a loud POP behind them and a house elf appeared, dressed in a clean tea towel adorned with the Potter crest on it.
"You is welcome, Master Potter!" the little creature piped and bowed, though Harry noticed it did not bow as low as Dobby did the first time he met him. "I is Gigi. I is head house elf! House elfs is a long time with no master! I is happy young master came home!" And then it smiled so wide that harry could see it only had three teeth left in its mouth.
Harry smiled back at the little elf, which he suspected was a female and very old. "It's very nice to meet you Gigi," he said. "My name is Harry. You may address me by my given name, and I'm very happy to be here too." From his periphery vision Harry could see that Griphook was a bit surprised at his words to the elf but he ignored it.
The small elf seemed to be almost vibrating from excitement. "You is very kind, Master Harry. Will Master be needing Gigi to be doing something? Shall I be telling the elfs to be readying the Master bedroom?" The diminutive creature looked at him expectantly, her eyes wide and a bit shiny.
"No, Gigi. That will not be necessary. I don't know yet where I'll be staying, though I will be informing you as soon I will decide. Is there something that I can do for you in the meantime though?" Now Griphook looked a bit incredulous. Gigi on the other hand looked ecstatic. Her head was bobbing up and down in a slight resemblances to a muggle dashboard puppet. "Off course, Master Harry. Everything you is saying! I is not be needing anything, thank you!" And with a big smile she popped out of the hall.
Turning back to Griphook Harry smiled. "Now what do we do?"
Opening his mouth to answer, and then closing it, Griphook cleared his throat several times before he replied. "Now we shall floo to the three properties that are only accessible from here and link the wards there. After that you only need to sign some documents back at the bank and our business will be concluded."
"Very well." Harry just looked at Griphook, a bit confused with his reaction, and waited for him to tell him where they were flooing to. Griphook stared at Harry for a moment and then seemed to shake himself. "Let us go then." Said the goblin and walked to the nearest fireplace. Then, after pulling a floo pot from somewhere Harry couldn't see turned to face Harry sharply. "Are you always in the habit of informing your slaves on you comings and goings and going as far as to ask what you can do for them?"
"Well, they'd be worried otherwise, wouldn't they?" Harry looked confused again. "And I can't help them being my slaves. I would have set them all free if I didn't know most of them would not react favorably to that. I could pay them off course, god knows I've got enough money, but they'll probably refuse to take it. The least I can do is to treat them with the respect they deserve, don't you think?" He looked harshly at the goblin, as if daring him to proclaim otherwise.
Griphook only looked thoughtful. "Indeed." He said, and after one last calculative glance he presented the floo pot to Harry. "We will be flooing to Blackwater Hall. It's in Scotland, not very far from Hogsmead, as a matter of fact. You will have to floo first as I will not be able to access it otherwise."
Harry just shrugged and took some floo powder. Throwing it in to the fire, he entered the fireplace and after calling out loudly "Blackwater Hall!" disappeared in a twirl of smoke. When he came out of the hearth on the other side he could barely see it was so dark. Stepping aside Harry took out his wand and lighted it with a quick "Lomus!" so that he could have a look around.
It appeared that Blackwater Hall had a floo chamber because Harry did not see anything in the small room beside the walls and the door that was closed. Harry walked towards the door as he heard Griphook arriving behind him and tried to open it. As he had suspected, it remained unresponsive. "Let me guess. It wants my blood," said Harry warily as he turned to face the goblin.
Griphook bared his teeth at him, though Harry suspected it might be the goblin's version of a smile. "Correct- though with this property it might not even be enough. This is one of the buildings that have been around for so long that it has developed into a sentient being. A bit like Hogwarts you could say. It will only open for you if it deems you worthy."
"Hmmm. Lovely." Harry muttered softly. "Well, let us get on with it. Time is money, and all that rot. No offence..!" Harry quickly added when he suddenly realized who he was talking to.
"None taken." Griphook upper lip was twitching a bit, and though it was hard to tell, Harry reckoned he might have been trying not to laugh. He then seemed to collect himself and unsheathed his knife again, and another emblem. The symbol on the emblem seemed a bit familiar to him but he couldn't place it so he just dismissed it for now and gave the goblin his hand.
Griphook cut into his hand and then placed Harry's hand on the door. The bloody handprint seemed to glow for a moment and Harry felt something probing him mentally before there was a flash of bright light and the door gave way.
"I guess that means she likes me?" Harry grinned and walked through the door right into a breathtaking beautiful garden. "Oh, wow! I think I like you too!" Harry marveled at the thought that all that was his. He could see a gazebo surrounded by a bit of lovely wilderness patch that he could imagine sitting in with friends and family at summer time, and a slightly overrun path around the manor house that had rose bushes along the way. And the manor house itself seemed to be made of some kind of dark glass, and suddenly Harry realized how it got its name.
"SHE, Mr. Potter?" He heard Griphook asking from behind him. "Definitely feels like a she. Don't ask me how I know." Replied Harry while still preoccupied, his eyes ravening the exquisite sights before him. Even the air around him felt to him as if inviting him to stay, leaving tingling affects on his fingertips and toes. "Is there something else we need to do here Griphook, or are we done? Because if we stay here much longer I don't think I'll fancy leaving anytime soon."
A rowdy startling bark from the goblin caused Harry to detach his eyes from the scenery at last. "I'm starting to like you against my better judgment Mr. Potter. We're done here as it seems the wars have definitely accepted you. We should move on for, as you so eloquently mentioned earlier, Time indeed equals money. That is why, as it were, and though not many know of it, Gringotts works around the clock." And with that the still chuckling goblin turned back to the floo room as Harry dubbed it in his mind. "Well, come along then. We shall now floo back to Potter Castle. From there, to The Grey Tower to connect the wards and then we will only have Godric's Hollow left." And he swirled away through the floo.
Harry couldn't help but smile as he followed him back to Potter Castle and from there to the Grey Tower which was apparently in New York. The flooing to there seemed to Harry to take three times as longer as all the previous times put together and he was so dizzy that if you asked him to describe how it looked he would have drawn a blank. The floo back seemed to take even longer though that was perhaps because by that time Harry was quite tired and nauseous and his head started throbbing again.
Directly on landing Harry sank to the floor and put his head on his knees concentrating very hard on keeping himself looking like the Harry Potter Griphook expected him to look like and not his elfish counterpart. When he got control of himself again Harry lifted his head to face Griphook who did not say anything while Harry recovered and while Harry saw a flicker of something like concern in his eyes in was rapidly gone. Harry assumed the goblin thought he just reacted badly to the floo journey.
"I am OK Griphook. Though maybe a couple of minute's rest and something to drink sounds very good right now." And now that Harry looked at Griphook he seemed a bit grey himself, although goblins tend to the grey from the first start. "Something to drink will not go remiss Mr. Potter. I am a bit out of sorts myself."
"Right. Umm. Gigi!" Harry called, and almost sooner than he finished calling her name did she appear before him with a POP. "Is master to be needing something from Gigi, Master Harry, sir?" The little thing was holding the bottom of her dishtowel and twisting it. "Yes Gigi, thank you. Would it be possible to get something to drink please?" Harry asked tiredly.
"Oh, yes Master! What will you be wanting drinking? You must go to the parlor and Gigi will take care of everything!" Harry smiled at the house elf's enthusiasm. "Do you happen to have butterbeer, by any chance?" Harry asked hopefully. Then he turned to the goblin beside him. "What would you like to drink Griphook?"
"Well, some firewhisky sounds wonderful Mr. Potter, but tea would suffice if the whisky is too much trouble." he replied. Harry just turned to the house elf. "Do you have some firewhisky for my guest here?" When Gigi just nodded her head so fast her ears were flapping and popped away Harry turned to his left and opened the double doors that indeed led to a big comfortable looking parlor that looked like it had just been cleaned.
"Come, Griphook, let's relax for a few moments. And you should call me Harry. Enough with that Mr. Potter nonsense. You make me feel like I'm back at school." Harry went and sat on one of the comfy sofas and inclined to the goblin to do the same. Griphook looked at him, his head skewed for a second, and then went and sat himself. "Thank you, Harry. Not many wizards will consider honoring a gobling thus." He said, making Harry's cheeks to burn a bit and his eyes harden. "Well, most wizards are big headed pillocks then." Harry replied stridently.
Then Gigi arrived with a huge tray that not only had butterbeer and firewhisky on it but also a pot of tea, glasses and an assortment of refreshments. Harry sighed in defeat. House elves. He just smiled and went for the butterbeer. "Thank you, Gigi. That will be all for now." He poured a glass for the goblin and handed it to him. "Cookie?" While gesturing to the plate.
Griphook took a chocolate one, and for a while none of them said anything, just sitting together companionably and eating and drinking. Then the goblin put down the empty glass. "That was quite pleasant, Harry, Thank you, but we must move on. It has become late, and we must finish with the wards." Harry simply nodded and got up. Without needing to ask Gigi appeared and started clearing the table. "Thank you, Gigi." He said and they walked back to the floo.
Harry hesitated when they reached the fire place. He had just realized that their next stop would be Godric's Hollow, the house in which his parents died in, murdered by a megalomaniac. Griphook must have sensed his discomfort for he paused as well. "The wards in Godric's Hollow are a bit less- private, shall we say? I do not know if you are aware but it has become a bit of a tourist attraction for wizards and witches all around the world. You could change them but that might just cause them to draw even more attention. Also, we cannot stay long as we were supposed to be back at the bank already."
"Yea, Ok." Harry said softly, cleared his suddenly dry throat and resolved to do it a quick as he can and come back at a later time when he was alone so he could explore a bit. They then flooed right into the little cottage's living room, repeated the process with the knife, blood and all (Harry noticed that the line where the knife cut into his hand didn't heal completely, leaving a thin white scar in the middle of his palm), and then flooed directly to the bank where Griphook led him to one of the back offices that Harry wasn't even aware existed.
In Griphook's office they sat down and the goblin started collecting a large pile of papers for Harry to sign. "I didn't realize you had an office, Griphook. Did you have one back then when I first met you or is that a new development?" Said Harry, trying to make polite conversation to offset the awkward silence that fell on them after their floo to Harry's dead parent's old house.
Griphook snorted and looked at him and Harry could see that Griphook knew what he was trying to do. Harry just smiled at him innocently, but was still relived when the goblin let it slide. "It's a new- development." Griphook seemed amused by his choice of words. "I actually got- shall we say promoted? - To an office when my job's description called for one. That is to say- yesterday." His eyes glittered with challenge at Harry.
That just made Harry's mildly strained smile to become more genuine. "What, when I came to age, you mean? Congratulations! At least you got something good out of it! I didn't suppose it will bring you anything else but more work. Wait, didn't you say you manage all my accounts and investments or something? Does the bank pay you or do you get your- err- paycheck? - salary? From my vaults? How does it work with account managers, anyway?" Harry was suddenly curious.
Griphook just looked at him for a moment with amusement while putting a stack of papers in front of him on the desk. "I'm hopeless, aren't I?" Harry said bashfully when he didn't get an answer after a while. Griphook snorted again and gave him a quill. "I get my salary from the bank, though it is not unheard of for account managers to receive a percentage or two from the profits of said accounts for good management. It is off course the owner's choice to decide on such things. Now, this stack here says that you've been to all your family vaults. You will need to sign on each one separately."
Harry blinked. Then he sighed. And then started signing without reading any of it. "Well, how about I give you five percent of all future profits you make me from now on? We'll talk about it again in a few years to see about making it any higher than that, when I'll know better what kind of sums we're talking about here." Harry said absently while trying to sign as fast as he could even though his hand started hurting a bit. When he didn't get any reaction until the stack was done with he lifted his eyes back to the goblin only to see him staring at him with his eyes very wide and mouth agape, opening and closing sporadically but no word coming out of it, looking shell-shocked.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Griphook appeared to have found his voice at last. "Did you not just hear me said that I do get a salary, and even those of us that do get percentage do not get more than two percent at the most?! Do you have no idea to the worth of money to just give it away in this manner?!" Now the little creature just looked outraged. "And to have a discussion on making it higher! Like five isn't more than half what any other owner will give to their manager?!" Griphook was now breathing a bit heavily.
Harry was a bit startled by the initial outburst but then, the more the goblin said the more amused Harry became. "Griphook, are you actually arguing with me that I should give you less money? I thought that goblins had more self worth than house elves. I actually even heard you guys described as fierce hagglers even to go as far as to cheat someone of their money- though I didn't believe that last part." Harry was staring piercingly at the still aggravated goblin before him. "Do you want me to treat you like dirt?"
"Did you even read what you were signing just now?" Griphook cried out. "I could have written there that you are now my slave and that you need to give me all your money! Or worse!"
Harry didn't need to ask what worse was. He could imagine a few things just fine. "Did you?" He just asked calmly.
"No." The goblin replied with a scowl. "But that-"
"So, there you are. Everything's fine. I trust you, I hope you trust me. We can get on with it. We're wasting time. Do I need to sign anything else? And you need to write down our agreement about you getting five percent of the profits from now on, so that I can sign that too." Harry folded his hands on his chest defiantly and waited for Griphook to do just that.
"I- you really mean that. You trust me. I- All right." The goblin whispered softly, the wind apparently gone from his sails. He simply presented Harry with another stack of papers to sign, and draw a fresh sheaf of parchments from a drawer in his desk. "This next stack is a document for every house that you own. Each one that you sign makes you the legal owner of that property and in legal right to do with it as you wish- making you the sole heir to the entire Potter fortune." Griphook said timidly and Harry started to be afraid that he might have broken the poor thing. It isn't every day that one shocks a gobbling out of their bad temper. Griphook just started writing what Harry figured was the profits agreement.
Harry looked at Griphook for a few more moments and wondered to himself if he had just made a friend out of the fierce creature. He supposed goblins were just not used to being trusted, and shrugging it off, he started signing the next stack of papers. He didn't want to assume anything and insult the other by accident.
When he finished signing every last one of them he shook his hand in the air, trying to rid it of the cramps, and noticed Griphook staring at him unwaveringly. "What is it, Griphook? Do I have something on my face?" Harry asked warily and took his glasses off to clean them on his shirt in a nervous habit. The goblin did not say anything as he handed Harry the last document to sign. Harry moved his eyes on it to make sure that the goblin wrote down the correct percent of the profits and then singed it too. "All done!" Harry couldn't help but smile in relief and sag in his very uncomfortable chair.
"You are an enigma, Mr. Potter." The goblin started saying something more when Harry cut him off. "Now, didn't we agree to stop with that Mr. Potter shit? I told you to call me Harry. All my friends do."
"This is exactly what I mean, Harry. I am a hundred and eight years old and even though that is relatively young in goblin years I am very good at spotting lies. You mean that. In all my years I did not see even one witch or wizard say that to me or another goblin and actually mean that. You think of me as your friend." Harry felt as if Griphook's eyes were trying to stare into his soul. "Shouldn't I? I didn't mean to offend you. I'll try not to blurt anything that comes to my mind immediately. I'm always told that I wear my heart on my sleeve. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Harry said to him, hoping he didn't succeed in doing exactly what he tried to avoid.
Griphook sighed in exasperation. "Never mind." He mumbled as if to himself. "You did not offend me, I assure you, Harry. I will in fact be honored to be considered your friend." He then seemed to take a deep breath as if preparing for a blow. "Though perhaps you will wish to rethink your friendship after what I will have to say to you."
TBC
