Note: Warnings for references to child abuse/neglect.
Chapter 13: A Trip Down Memory Lane
As Harry walked through the stone passageways beneath Gringotts, he marveled at how different everything felt. Not wrong, just different.
Gringotts was Harry's home for many years. His life with the Dursleys had faded to a distant memory. Despite the constant belittlement due to his status as a human, it was the first place he truly felt safe. And, coming back from Hogwarts, where he constantly had to stay on guard, that feeling of safeness and homeliness was all the more prevalent.
Harry still clearly remembered the day that Swordclaw and Stormaxe rescued him from the Dursleys. That day was possibly the craziest day of his life. It was a whirlwind, truth to be told, of crazy emotions and feelings and things and this whole new world of magic that he had just discovered.
The two strangers rang the doorbell while Harry was vacuuming the sitting room, as was normal on a Thursday morning. Aunt Petunia quickly chivied him back into his cupboard before opening the door.
Through the walls of his cupboard, Harry could hear Aunt Petunia and the two men talking about him. Him! Who would take an interest in him, of all people? Then he heard Uncle Vernon bellowing in anger about a bank account that he, the freak and the bane of the Dursleys' existence, apparently had. Didn't Uncle Vernon constantly complain about how much money Harry cost them?
Before Harry could ponder this further, the door to his cupboard was sharply yanked open, and Aunt Petunia hissed at him to behave before she pushed him out into the sitting room.
The two men looked strange. Almost like those aliens from the cartoons that Dudley liked to watch. They had long pointy ears and barely reached Uncle Vernon's waist with their short stature. It was the first time Harry had met what seemed to be adults that were as tall as he was.
They asked him a few questions. Harry told them the truth. Why were they so angry at him now? He just told them what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had always told him.
One of the strangers had marched over to the kitchen and yanked the door open, catching Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia eavesdropping. Both looked furious, and Uncle Vernon's face had turned puce. Harry wanted to cower away, but he knew that always just made the punishment worse.
After an angry discussion between the four of them, one of the strangers beckoned towards him, "Go fetch your stuff."
This made Aunt Petunia very angry. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed her mouth again as soon as she saw the expression on the stranger's face.
Harry hesitated for a moment but a glare from Aunt Petunia was all that was needed to make him scurry to his cupboard and come back out with an armload of stuff, mostly Dudley's old rags.
One of the strangers raised his eyebrow, "That's everything you own? We won't be coming back."
Harry gulped. They were taking him away? While he would be glad to be gone from the Dursleys, what if they were worse? Silently, Harry nodded. If possible, the stranger looked even angrier.
"Come then," the stranger, who had been silently watching their interactions, said in an oddly feminine voice, "My name is Stormaxe."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon call me Freak although they say that the teachers should call me Harry," Harry replied.
Stormaxe's slight frown was the only outward sign of her displeasure of how the Dursleys had treated their nephew, "No need for the ma'am, Harry. Just call me Stormaxe," she corrected him gently, as she showed him the pendant that she wore, "This a portkey. It's a form of magical transportation."
As the other stranger argued with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, Harry pondered Stormaxe's words, "Uncle Vernon says that magic isn't real."
Stormaxe bared her teeth in a scary looking smile, "Your uncle lied to you about a lot of things, young Harry. Now, shall we?"
Harry grasped the pendant warily, and with that, they vanished from the Dursleys' home.
And so began Harry's life with the goblins.
Looking back on it, Harry smiled. Not only was it the craziest day of his life, but his life was also forever changed by the events that had occurred on that day.
He shuddered to think about what his life would be like had his account manager at the time not discovered those irregularities and he had grown up ignorant, living with the Dursleys. His life would have been very different, that was for sure.
Harry and Stormaxe landed with a thump in a bright room. Stormaxe remained standing, but Harry landed flat on his face. With a soft smile, she bent down to help him up.
Once Harry was on his feet, he looked around at his strange surroundings. There were torches on the rough stone walls. Torches, of all things. How bizarre.
There were guards standing at the entrance of the room, carrying swords half as tall as they were. They wore a fierce and rather frightening look on their face.
Stormaxe seemed nonplussed. Smoothly, she flicked out a dagger that Harry didn't even know she had and pricked her finger. As the droplet of blood hurtled rapidly towards the floor, it reformed into the word "Stormaxe" and hung in the air for a moment before dissipating entirely.
Harry stared at her, mouth agape."How did you do that?"
Stormaxe smirked, "Magic."
Harry looked at her for a moment more, as if analyzing the veracity of her words.
Just then, the other stranger who had accompanied Stormaxe appeared in the room. Just like Stormaxe had done before him, he pricked his finger and the drop of blood reformed into the word "Swordclaw".
"Any problems?" Stormaxe asked him.
"None," the person who he presumed was Swordclaw said with a ferocious looking grin.
The guard, who had previously been watching silently, spoke up, "And the boy?"
"We will vouch for him for now. We need to have a discussion with Firedagger before making any final decisions," Stormaxe said serenely, before guiding him out of the room. After glancing at her expression, the guard just nodded and acquiescenced without arguing.
Harry couldn't help but let his eyes wander as they passed through the stone passageways. They were brightly lit, with torches lighting the way, seeming to have come from a fantasy realm. He also noticed that the ceilings were quite low, much lower than he was used to when he was living with his aunt and uncle. He could barely believe that this was real and wasn't all just a dream.
Before he knew it, they had arrived in front of an imposing door flanked by two guards. With a nod to each of them, Swordclaw rapped authoritatively on the door.
"Come in!" A voice boomed.
Harry eyed the being sitting at the desk with interest. He looked rather similar to Swordclaw and Stormaxe, but the wrinkles on his smiling face denoted his seniority. Well, he wasn't smiling per se, but you could tell from his eyes that he was happy.
As Harry examined the office-like surroundings, Stormaxe briefly explained to him what had occurred over the past few hours.
A clearing of the throat and a brisk, "Well Mr. Potter," brought him out of his thoughts. Harry turned his attention back to the conversation in front of him.
"Harry," Stormaxe said gently, "This is Firedagger. He is the clan leader."
Harry nodded, "Hi, Mr. Firedagger."
Firedagger laughed heartily at that, "No need for the Mister, young Harry. Just Firedagger will do."
Harry nodded in acknowledgement, still wary.
Firedagger sobered up, "I've been told you were previously living with your aunt and uncle, who were supposedly paid for your care from your own vaults. It seems that they never received the money and it was misappropriated. Rest assured, the matter will be investigated and rectified shortly. As we speak, I have investigators combing through the records, trying to pinpoint where the money actually went. Your account manager will also meet with you in the coming days."
Harry nodded again, unsure of what he should say. So many things were spinning around his head, it was impossible to keep track of them all, let alone voice them. He had bank vaults? Did that mean bank account? So he had money? Did his parents leave him that money? But didn't Aunt Petunia always say that they were lazy, good-for-nothing wastrels?
Perhaps Firedagger sensed his thoughts, and so he continued, "I have also been informed that your aunt and uncle have lied to you about many things, the presence of magic being one of them. Unfortunately, that is not a topic that I can do justice explaining right now, as we have limited time and Stormaxe is insistent on getting you to the hospital wing for a brief checkup sometime today. However, I will attempt to give you a brief overview and answer any immediate questions you may have."
Harry nodded again. While he was slightly apprehensive about going to the hospital wing, as his relatives had always threatened severe bodily harm if he was ever examined by a doctor, he realized that they weren't here and the people here, no matter how strange their appearances may be, actually seemed to care.
"So. Tea?" He offered, pouring them cups of tea and allowing them to fix it to their liking. Harry realized that this was the first time he was allowed to sit at the table and have tea with everyone else. When he had been living with the Dursleys, he had been relegated to the kitchens or his cupboard.
Once everyone had taken a sip of tea, Firedagger began his explanation.
Over the next half hour, Firedagger weaved a wondrous tale as Harry listened raptly. He explained the presence of magical beings living alongside nonmagical beings since the dawn of time. He explained the international statute of secrecy, the conflicts between wizards and goblins and other magical creatures. Hogwarts. Gringotts. The first wizarding war and the defeat of Voldemort. His parents' deaths. His survival of the Killing Curse. And his status as the Boy-Who-Lived.
Throughout it all, Harry listened rapidly, first in fascination, and then numbness and growing horror. At the end of it, he broke down into tears that the Dursleys had not allowed him to cry for many years. Even though he was only five, he was disillusioned with the world, knowing of the callousness of people firsthand. To know that his parents had died in such a manner, protecting him, and how the Dursleys had brutally tarnished their memory was horrifying to him, but not too surprising, now that he knew the truth.
As Firedagger, Swordclaw, and Stormaxe comforted the sobbing boy, they shared a glance. They were all in agreement. They would do anything to keep Harry happy and safe. And the Dursleys had to pay.
Once his tears had dried up, Stormaxe declared in an overly chipper voice that they should go visit the hospital wing. Firedagger, not wanting Stormaxe's irate expression directed towards him, agreed. Together, the foursome set off towards the hospital wing.
After an exhilarating ride down to the depths of the goblin caverns. Harry was ushered towards the hospital wing. The healer, who Firedagger introduced as Savageblade, directed him to a bed, and started performing diagnostics on him, muttering incomprehensible spells and causing glowing symbols to appear. He looked at them sharply before doing much the same thing again, except this time, different symbols appeared. He repeated this over and over.
At this point, Harry was quite frankly exhausted from his emotionally draining day. He must have dozed off, for the next thing he heard was a loudly shouted, "By the Goddess!"
Harry jumped, opening his eyes and shooting straight off the bed. As soon as he realized that he was no longer at the Dursley residence, Harry calmed down and sheepishly climbed back onto the bed. No one else seemed to be paying attention though, as they were all watching Savageblade who was staring gape-mouthed at the symbols glowing on the stones.
Savageblade finally spoke, "I apologize for my outburst. It's just that- that there is a soul fragment in that curse scar of his."
Audible gasps were heard. "You can perform the ritual, I presume?" Firedagger asked, his voice a forced calm.
"Yes," Savageblade confirmed, answering Firedagger, "Although in addition to that soul fragment, there are also signs of severe physical abuse, neglect, and malnutrition."
Firedagger nodded, "Perform the ritual as soon as possible. Please also compile an official healer's report for my records. I do intend to get revenge, after all."
"What is going on?" Harry interjected.
"There is a soul fragment from Voldemort stuck in your scar. I suspect it came from the night that he murdered your parents. We need to remove it as soon as possible and Savageblade will be performing the ritual to remove it," Firedagger explained.
Harry nodded, satisfied with the explanation.
"Now," Savageblade said to Harry, "I suspect this ritual will be quite painful. I will have to immobilize you for your own safety. But no matter what, you need to will the soul fragment out. Can you do that?"
Harry nodded.
Savageblade laid a sheet of metal on Harry's forehead. With a flick of his dagger, Harry realized that he could no longer move. He tried to relax and calm his racing heart beat.
Harry could hear Savageblade start to chant. As the pain grew stronger, the words seemed to fade. He tried to remember what Savageblade had told him - will the soul fragment out. He tried his best to do that, pushing that soul fragment out of his head. He didn't want it there.
Suddenly, the pain stopped, all at once. Savageblade immediately plucked the sheet of metal from his forehead and handed it to Firedagger, who rushed out of the hospital wing, presumably to ensure that it was destroyed properly.
Turning back to Harry, Savageblade handed him a tray of potions that he seemed to have suddenly acquired. "Drink up!" he said to Harry.
As Harry obediently drank the potions, only making the occasional face at the absolute horridness of their taste, he found himself slowly drifting into darkness as the adrenaline wore off. Just as he succumbed to sleep, he saw the concerned expressions of the goblins hovering above him. He realized that this was the first time he could remember feeling cared for. He felt a warm bubbly feeling in his chest. For the first time in his memory, he was loved.
Harry was jerked out of his reminiscing thoughts by a surprised cry of, "Harry! Why are you here? I thought you were still at that wizard school of yours!"
Harry broke out into a beaming smile as he spotted his friend Sharpblade running towards him. With a grin, they settled into their usual pattern of banter as Harry began to detail the events of the past month.
-o-o-
A/N: A little backstory! Harry's backstory is just as fascinating as what is happening present day, and I figured it was time to give you all the flashbacks I had promised. There will be more throughout the story, fear not, and another chapter set in Gringotts before we head back to Hogwarts.
Thank you for reading! I am in absolute shock/joy that there are now 500+ followers for this story. I never would have thought that would ever have happened when I first started writing, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you! And especially to those who have reviewed, I love hearing your thoughts! Thank you everyone!
Chapter posted: January 6th, 2020
Tentative update date: January 13th, 2020