Chapter 12: A Place of Refuge
Harry and Sirius landed in the transport room of Gringotts to the sound of alarms blaring. The guards stepped forward, weapons at the ready, not even relaxing the slightest when they realized that it was Harry.
"Prove your identity," the leader barked. Harry immediately recognized him to be Fiercetooth.
Harry nodded, pricking his finger with his dagger. As he mumbled a few words, the drops of blood quickly reformed into the words, "Harry James Potter", which hung in the air for a few moments before vanishing entirely.
Fiercetooth nodded sharply, causing all of the other guards to relax and put down their weapons as well.
"What's happening?" Harry questioned.
Fiercetooth shrugged, "The alarms started a few minutes ago. No one came to inform us about anything, so I'm assuming it has nothing to do with us."
Harry nodded in thanks.
"But what's been happening over at that school of yours? You haven't written any letters to me, your coolest uncle," At this, Fiercetooth swung his arm around Harry's shoulder and pretended to be disappointed, "I've been reduced to hearing what's been happening through the rumor mill, and let me just say that if even half of those things were true, then Hogwarts must be really exciting. There are some really crazy rumors floating around. Is it true that you have obtained the sword of Ragnuk the First?"
Harry laughed, drawing the sword gently from its sheath and laying it out so they could all examine it.
"Great Goddess! So the rumors are true!" One of the guards exclaimed.
Harry smiled, returning the sword to its sheath.
"So are the other rumors true as well?" Probed Fiercetooth.
"Depends on what rumors you're talking about," Harry answered, "But I'll better get going. He needs a healer," he glanced at Sirius who was still in a daze.
"Where are we?" Sirius croaked out, his attention snapping back to present.
"Gringotts," Harry answered.
Sirius stared at him in shock, "This doesn't look like Gringotts. And I thought Gringotts didn't allow Portkeys."
Harry smiled. From an outsider's point of view, the room certainly did not look anything like Gringotts. The walls, floors, and ceilings were of bare rock, unadorned except for the ruby red sword mounted above the door. Light came from the lamps scattered around the room and mounted on the walls. It was a huge contrast from the main entrance hall, with its marble tiling, gold inlays, and diamond chandeliers.
"It's the transport room for goblins. Only those with specialized portkeys can portkey in. All others would be bounced off the wards," Harry explained. Sirius still looked confused, not understanding why they had access to this room and what was going on.
Abruptly, the alarms stopped. The goblins and Harry relaxed marginally.
Harry took a look at Sirius' expression and sighed, "Come on, Sirius. You need a healer." He led the still befuddled Sirius out of the transport room, waving goodbye to the guards, who looked like they still wanted to fish for a story.
The two of them traversed the back hallways of the bank until they reached the carts. Strangely enough, they didn't meet anyone on their way. After a short cart ride to the bottom of the great caverns that Gringotts was built upon, the two of them hurried towards the hospital wing.
-o-o-
The hospital wing was similarly built as the transport room, with mostly bare stone walls. There were beds lining the room, nearly as far as the eye could see. Crisp white linens and pillows adorned the beds, and shelves of potions were interspersed among them. At the end of the room was a door, which Harry knew from experience led to the healers' offices.
"Harry! What injuries do you have now?" Savageknife, one of the goblin healers, asked, suddenly appearing behind him and pushing him towards a bed.
"I'm perfectly fine. It's him," Harry gestured towards Sirius, shaking Savageknife off.
"I'm sure you think you are," Savageknife replied, ushering Sirius towards one of the beds, "But based on the rumors I've been hearing and the shoddy quality of healing at Hogwarts, I will check you over after I'm done with him."
Harry groaned, "What exactly to the rumors say? You know that rumors tend to err on the side of the dramatic."
"Perhaps with other people," Savageknife said, beginning basic medical diagnostics on Sirius, "But with you, you know as well as I do that the rumors tend to be mostly correct, if only because it is impossible for them to get any more dramatic. I would know; after all, I've had to heal you after every incident for the past 6 years."
"You and all the other healers, yes," Harry conceded with a dramatic sigh before changing the subject, "Any idea what was going on with the alarms a few minutes ago?"
"That wasn't you?" Savageknife asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," Harry answered, "I figured that you will have more of an idea that I would."
"Well, I've been in the Hospital Wing all day. I haven't a clue." Savageknife replied, as he scanned the glowing runes that appeared on the stones.
"How is he? Is the damage bad?" Harry questioned.
"Not too bad, considering," Savageknife answered, "I should be able to fully heal his physical injuries. It's his mental state that I'm concerned about."
"Who are you calling mental?" an angry voice came. Evidently Sirius was lucid again, "You should be calling him mental; he seems to think we're in Gringotts for whatever reason."
Sirius did a double take when he saw Savageknife, "You're a goblin. What's going on? Is this a dream?"
Savageknife glanced at Harry, "You might want to get Firedagger here."
Harry nodded. As he exited the hospital wing, he could hear Savageknife asking Sirius what was the last thing he could remember.
-o-o-
Harry knocked sharply on the stone door, nodding to the two guards on either side.
"Come in!" A voice shouted from inside.
Harry stepped inside, glancing around. The office, with its oak desk and cabinets, seemed to have stayed the same during the time that Harry had been in Hogwarts, but yet it felt different. Firedagger was still scribbling something on a sheet of parchment, engrossed in his task. Finally, he glanced up.
"Harry!" He exclaimed, surprised, smiling warmly at him, "How did the trial go?"
"Sirius was declared innocent. Savageknife is seeing to him now," Harry answered, "He's very confused though."
"And anyone in his situation would be," Firedagger said briskly, getting up, "Come, walk with me. How has Hogwarts been? You know as well as I do that letters can't possibly convey all that has been happening, so spill."
Harry tried to change the subject, "What were the alarms about?"
"Just Dumbledore and a few other Wizengamot members creating a fuss. Inconsequential, really. Now, spill," Firedagger demanded.
The two of them walked to the carts, taking one to the hospital wing. The walk seemed infinitely longer this time around, with Firedagger grilling him for every minuscule detail of what had happened over the course of the month that he had been at Hogwarts.
-o-o-
Finally, they arrived at the Hospital WIng. As soon as they got there, Firedagger pushed Harry towards one of the beds, telling Savageknife to examine him.
Harry gave Firedagger a look of betrayal but grudgingly let Savageknife start to cast diagnostics.
Seeing Harry's expression, Firedagger said in a firm, no-nonsense voice, "Based on what you have told me, yes, you're getting a medical examination. I don't care how much you protest you're perfectly fine; I quite frankly don't trust the Hogwarts mediwitch, so just deal with it."
Turning to Sirius, Firedagger continued, "Now, Lord Black-"
"Lord Black is my grandfather," Sirius interrupted, "Besides, my mother disowned me, so I couldn't possibly be Lord Black."
Firedagger frowned, "I'm sorry to inform you that your grandfather died five years ago."
"Don't be sorry that old Arcturus finally kicked the bucket," Sirius said with a laugh. He quickly sobered up though, "If he's dead, then my father must be Lord Black."
"Your father has been dead for nearly ten years. He died shortly after you were sent to Azkaban, actually." Firedagger explained, "But even then, the late Lord Black named you specifically as his heir, skipping over your late father."
"But my mother disowned me!" Sirius exclaimed.
"She did not have the power to kick you out of the Black family," Firedagger elaborated, "That power rests solely with the current Lord of House Black, which is you."
"But I don't want to be Lord Black!" Sirius declared.
"It does not matter," Firedagger said, "Your grandfather explicitly named you his heir in his will. Besides, I daresay you'll bring the Black family a breath of fresh air. It'll be a great improvement from the previous Black Lords. Now, if we could move on?" Firedagger was getting slightly annoyed.
"Why are you being so nice anyway?" Sirius demanded, "Well, for a goblin," he amended.
"And that, Lord Black, goes right to the root of this whole matter," Firedagger smiled, "Now, I understand that this may be distressing for you, but I ask that you don't interrupt until I finish."
Sirius grudgingly gave a nod. Firedagger began to weave a story of a little boy, abused and neglected by his caretakers, being adopted by goblins and flourishing. As he finished the story, Sirius impatiently questioned, "But what relation does this have with anything?"
"The little boy in this story is Harry," Firedagger nodded over towards where Savageknife was force feeding Harry potions so that there could be no confusion over which Harry he was talking about.
Sirius was quiet for a moment, taking everything in, "Who were the caretakers in the story? They will pay!" he exclaimed fiercely.
Firedagger smirked, showing all of his pointed teeth, "I'm afraid, Lord Black, that you are six years too late. They have paid, and are still continuing to feel the ramifications of their actions."
Sirius winced, "Can you not call me Lord Black? Call me Sirius."
"Very well," Firedagger said, "Sirius it is."
"So you've raised Harry since he was five?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," Firedagger answered, before lowering his voice and continuing, "I think of him as my son, although the other goblins wouldn't appreciate the clan leader thinking of a human as his son, no matter the fact that Harry's a goblin in every way but physically."
Sirius was speechless, "I- I-"
"It's okay, you don't need to say anything," Firedagger said.
Sirius smiled. In that moment, the two of them, Black Lord and goblin clan leader, formed a tacit agreement to protect Harry, with their lives if necessary. They were very different, but both of them shared one defining similarity - they both cared deeply for Harry Potter.
"So, tell me, exactly what revenge did you enact on them?" Sirius asked, changing the topic. With that, Firedagger regaled him with tales of how the Dursleys had suffered.
-o-o-
After half an hour of diagnostics of all sorts, Savageknife finally declared that he could find no fault with Harry's physical condition. "The mediwitch at Hogwarts must be better than I thought," he grumbled, "Although you need to remember to continue taking that Purging Potion! There are traces of over ten different loyalty potions in your system right now. They will have little to no influence over you, but you must continue! Honestly, the wizarding education these days." He shook his head.
Seeing that Sirius and Firedagger were engrossed in conversation at the moment, he decided to go find Sharpblade. They had a lot to catch up on, and not too much time before Firedagger would force him to go back to Hogwarts. Not that he didn't like Hogwarts, of course, but he hadn't spoken to his best friend in ages.
-o-o-
A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! And thank you for those who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed! It never fails to make me smile whenever I get a notification for someone following/favoriting/reviewing my story.
A super big thank you to Hemlockconium for not only being an amazing person overall :D, but also for reminding me of so many minor plot points that I almost completely forgot about (which will become apparent when we get back to Hogwarts - can't believe I forgot about Fred and George!) If you haven't read her A Squib at Hogwarts story or her Kali Black series, I highly recommend you do!
Happy New Year all! See you in 2020!
Chapter posted: December 30th, 2019
Tentative update date: January 6th, 2020