Squib Ch 30 Grandfather, Graduation, and Freedom

"Hello, Grandfather. I have come as quickly as I could. What is the urgent Family business you need me for?" Away from the castle and in Goblin terrritory, Filius was unaware that he had dropped the old-man Glamour and allowed his hair to smooth back to black. At home for the first time in ten years, he was relaxed, simply himself. He had gained some weight and was rather chubby instead of the whip-thin athlete who had once run these halls.

His Grandfather was in his Study at home instead of at the Bank. His desk bore a nice Tea, a steaming pot and an assortment of biscuits and cakes and tiny sandwiches, all familiar favorites to Filius. "Hello, Filius. Take a seat. Would you like some tea? I wished to talk to you about your work at Hogwarts. I would not interfere with your choices for the world, but I do not understand some of them. Could you talk to an old man for a bit?"

Filius accepted a cup of tea and filled a saucer with treats to nibble. "Certainly. I decided to accept the offer to teach. I have been doing so for ten years now."

Grandfather took his own tea and leaned back in his padded chair."Yes. First question – have you signed your renewal Contract? I am told there is a nice Raise this year."

Filius didn't even ask how he knew. Goblins paid attention to Contracts and always knew to the knut what someone was being paid. Grandfather would have seen Contracts others from the school had already signed and filed. "No. It IS due, and is one of the things I need to do as soon as I go back to deal with the Summer mail. It is sitting on my desk. I came here as soon as I recorded my grades, because I thought you were urgent?"

"I am feeling a bit less tense, now. I have always been curious. You were a top Duelist at age 20, at the very top of the ranks and earning great Honors. It was clear you had a shot at becoming one of the top Duelists in the World. One day you simply came home, packed your bags, and told us you were going to be a Charms teacher. Not even a Defense teacher? You could have been a Dueling Instructor, or a Coach in the lower caverns, but we never knew teaching attracted you as a career. So, what convinced you?"

"It just sounded like a perfect fit. I met Dumbledore at a Reception in Switzerland, and he invited me to visit the Castle. I had never been there, because you sent me to school in Switzerland. I loved it from the start. He needed a Charms teacher, and I have a Charms Mastery, so I offered to fill in while he looked for permanent help. I became the permanent teacher and then the Head of Ravenclaw later."

"You also have Masters in Defense and Warding. You are 8th Dan in Karate. You are even a top Gymnast, a Medalist. All of these helped you in Dueling. Beyond those, you are musically gifted. I hear you are the Choir Master and teach music club in the evenings. You are amazing, and I have no reason not to be proud of you. As I said, it IS your free choice. As Paterfamilias, I am going to make a request, a simple one. Before you go back today, I need reassurance that you are under no outside influence in making this choice. I want you to choose, to take either a full medical purge and examination, or simply eat these." He held out a small dish of Bezoars.

Filius felt rather defensive, even insulted. "It is extremely hard to potion anyone of Goblin heritage. We're resistant to potions, poisons, and addictions! Hogwarts has to keep special healing potions made up for me because the normal recipes don't work well. Even my daily Vitamin Tonic is a special recipe. We are also resistant to the Mind Arts. I see no need for the full examination, which would take days, but if you insist I will eat your Bezoars." He took the small dish his Grandfather was still holding out, and chewed them rapidly, one after another, washing them down with his scalding tea.

He woke slowly, blearily, in a darkened room. He knew he was in the Gringott's Hospital by the smell – he had been there before. But, why was he here now? A soft glow lit behind his head, and he could see - "Poppy? What are you doing here? Are you a Nurse here now? What am I doing here?"

"Shh, you'll wake your Grandfather. He hasn't left your side in days! He hasn't slept more than a few minutes at a time. I am here because he sent for me, because the same thing happened to me. I ate one Bezoar after 40years of potions. You ate 8 before yours affected you, and you had only been potioned for about 10 years. You are resistant, and you are younger than I am, but you are only part-Goblin and the estimate is that your dose was much higher than mine. I am here only as a friend. I resigned my Healer Vows because of the potioning and Compulsions. I did nothing deliberately in violation, so I did not lose my Magic, but I can remember everything I did that was NOT ethical. I must make that right."

"Poppa. Please Poppa, wake up! I need you! You were right! Help me, Poppa, get me out of this trap!"

His Grandfather stirred, pushed off the quilt Poppy had tucked over him, and then sat up abruptly. "Fili! You are back with us! You haven't called me 'Poppa' for more than ten years!" Carefully not disturbing the IV bag, the Goblins embraced while Poppy went to signal the Healers.

Squib 30 June 1976

Graduation was over, the families had left with their Graduates, and the elves were picking up the litter from the stadium and grounds, popping chairs and tables and tents back into storage for another year. Almost all of the Teachers and staff had left immediately after the families of the Graduates left.

Minerva sent off the final Letters and the Grades, and the elves bundled the papers and tests to also return to the students. Booklists could not go until later, because Albus had not signed a new Defense teacher. She left the class schedule as it was. All individual schedules were finished and stacked by Year and House, with the requested Electives filled in. She had checked these against Grades, so they should be correct.

Now she started on the huge stack of 'other' paperwork. Albus peeked in at her but wisely decided she was too busy to bother! Castle elves and her own elves (distinguished by being dressed in tea towels or her family tartan) were popping out with papers as she finished them.

Much of this was her personal paperwork. She had tickets and reservations to confirm, and names to check off her own list of who would be able to go to Egypt with them. All of the children would be, but not all of their parents could get a full month off work. Some parents could come for a few days at the beginning or the end. Since it was a bad idea for children to travel alone, she was checking who could pick up which child. These papers went into her expanded shoulder bag.

She gave a last, general instruction to the castle elves. It was a normal instruction, though she expanded on it more than usual. "Clean, repair, and return all lost, forgotten, borrowed, or mislaid items you find while cleaning, to the proper places and owners, even if you need to pop to a child's home and hand whatever over to their own elves. If you have to leave something in a muggle home, stay unseen and unheard. Clean everything in the castle: repair, polish, paint. Do not forget empty rooms or unused halls." Children were always losing stuff! Madame Pince would be tracking Library books all Summer!

She had her own elves cleaning her quarters and offices in the Castle, packing every book and trinket. She was leaving nothing here. She could sort it out when she got to Corsica. Her own, and Minnie's, winter and muggle clothing had already been packed and taken the flat. Minnie was at a last All-Day-Skate Party.

She was almost at the bottom of the pile when she found her new Contract. She patted it and set it aside. She had forms from the Bank filled out to go as soon as she sent this. She wanted the Goblins to go over her account now that she was retiring. She was applying for her Pension. She wrote a proper letter of Resignation to the Board of Governors, returning the unsigned Contract to Augusta. The castle elf took it, and her own took the Bank papers. She was done.

She left the office, which now looked quite bare as her elves packed the last of her furniture. Even the desk and chair had been her own, brought from the Manor when she sold it. The long table by the window, piled with the Acceptance packets, supply lists, booklists and extra envelopes, remained, because it belonged here. Her own things had been collected from all over the Castle: books, pictures, quite a lot of furniture, and several trunks of clothing. All were cleaned of tracking spells and other random bits of spilled Magic, shrunken, and packed off to Corsica. She didn't remember the last time she felt so free!

"Goodbye, Albus," she called up his open stairwell as she passed. "I'm finally off!" She kept going, not wanting to be drawn into conversation. Her last elf met her at the Great Doors, and they popped to the flat.

She was keeping the flat. Minnie would be coming back to school in the Fall. It might not be quite as convenient a commute as the castle, but they had been going back and forth to Corsica for holidays all year. Actually staying here during the week would not be a hardship. Forcing Minnie to change schools again would not be good for her. Minerva put on her wrap and headed to the skating rink to watch the end of the party. Their Summer clothing was all in Corsica.

On the wall behind her gleamed the embroidered picture of the dragon-stone castle surrounded with fantasy animals playing in the fields and lake. A gold and red sun, if examined, was a beautiful bird spinning high in the air. Skipping up the entrance stair of the castle was a very tiny girl in tartan, with long red braids, carrying a huge peacock feather. An embroidered banner declared, "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus."

When they returned to the flat that night, her elf held a note from the Bank, asking her to stop in their account office when she got to London. They needed some clarification on what to do with certain of her accounts. That confused her, because she thought there was only one.

At the Bank, there was only more confusion. First they asked her to eat a Bezoar. Well, she knew that would be all right, because she had been taking them for years, and said so. They asked her to eat it anyhow, so she did, and nothing happened. The Healer in the room checked her eyes and confirmed that she was fine. Little Minne, exhausted, curled on a couch and went to sleep. A goblin brought a soft blanket and wrapped her.

Now they explained what they meant by 'accounts'. It was true she had only been married to Elphinstone for three years, but she was his widow and his Will listed no other heir. His savings Vault was hers. She was also due a Ministry Pension by being his widow, and another for her own years working in his offices. Well, those were nice, if unexpected. Then they got to the messy stuff. Where, they demanded, were her other contracts from Hogwarts? They had her series of Contracts as Transfiguration teacher. They were already gleeful over these, because they had the same problems Poppy and Filius had. She was due thousands in unpaid salary and bonuses, as well as sick leave, accrued vacation time, and personal days she had never claimed. Then there was Interest, and unpaid taxes! Her Pension Credits had been incorrectly calculated. But, that was only the one position, and according to their records she had also filled the positions of Head of House AND Deputy Headmaster, AND functioned as a personal Aide to the Headmaster. All of these were valid positions for which there were unsigned Contracts. They wished her to sign for those as well. Stunned, she did. They told her to have a nice vacation, and they would take care of everything!

Oh, and when she came back, the DMLE was going to want to talk to her about Dumbledore.