Chapter 19

The bad woman's power destroyed and the strange people from the Ministry of Magic were apparently done bothering him. One of the frightened aurors whispered to him as he left Hogwarts that he was of an ancient and noble house and had money in Gringotts.

Now Harry had learned of Gringotts from Big Tooth and her family. Money might buy him boots, tea and flour and maybe books and parchment. And Harry needed to talk to the goblins about what he had done. He stood outside, still dressed in his ridiculous robes. Personally he could care less. He was proud of his robes that he had made from hand. It had taken a lot of hard work to make them.

He wondered if the goblins would be scornful of his appearance. 'What would impress goblins?' He thought and looked at the large white building that hosted the Goblin Bank. His magic sung to him of Goblins, gold and numbers so he was pretty sure it was the correct place.

He walked to the entrance, and the Goblin guards came to attention.

"Hail brethren of the earth, makers of treasures, keepers of gold, warriors of iron. Is this Gringotts?" He asked in perfect Gobblelygook.

"Yes, human child, "said the oldest looking guard, "do you have business with us?"

"Yes brother," Harry answered and gave him the bow of honor to a warrior and protector. The two guards stood at attention, slight expressions of shock and pride on their grizzled countenances. They were both shocked at a human knowing their ways, and honored by his respect for them.

He walked inside and stared about him. Gold everywhere, busy goblins, counting, discussing, working with humans, who treated them as invisible slaves. Harry could see the hard expressions, the curling lips, the cruelty. It offended him.

He sighed and felt magic itself's touch. He walked to a teller and waited respectfully until the Goblin was ready. Suddenly Avalon whispered to him, "English".

Surprised but obedient, he bowed to the teller and explained in English that he wanted access to his account. The Teller now scowled at him, "Do you have your key?" He asked sternly. Harry slumped,

"No, Sir," he said politely.

"Child come back with a parent or guardian and your key."

Harry bowed respectfully to him, wondering what Avalon had him speak in English for.

A woman was in line behind him, and he stepped out the way. She curled a lip at Harry and then at the Teller and began to berate him for some slight offense.

Again the cruelty seemed to physically assault Harry. He walked to the center of the great hall of banking business and felt the evil of it.

"Wizards have strayed from the way of Magic," he muttered and then asked magic what he should do to heal this. He opened his heart to every nuance of magic in the room and felt magic crying out, imprisoned.

He gently placed the bottom of his staff on the floor and thought about the goblin race and felt the song of magic. He closed his eyes and felt magic's will. Goblins were forbidden wands and treated with contempt.

Harry's mouth open and he sang. Magic sang through him, laughing and free, and did its work. His song turned into a paean of love and honor. He sang of dark caves, of lava flows, of jewels and rocks yet unseen by men.

In the center of the bank's open area, magic swirled. Harry paused his song and realized all the humans were frozen in placed and he was surrounded by Goblins. He smiled and one Goblin said, with a longing expression, "Sing more, please".

Harry started in again and sang more, of warriors, of honor, of the affinity the goblins had with gold and all precious metals, of forges and how all goblins put all their love and pride into everything made by goblin hands. Magic gave his voice power, and more goblins heard the song and came into the great hall. Many closed their eyes, drinking in the magic of the song.

The swirling clouds of magic and become a dance of color.

And a tree, shining with mithril, gold, silver and all manner of precious stones rose through the marble floor effortlessly. It stood, twinkling in the dim light, flowers made of rubies, leave of emerald, birds and tiny dragons composed of tiny gems flew among the branches and made merry in this gift to the Goblin people. Light shone from it, twinkling and sparking with different colors and sheer joy and he looked about him. The room was now crowded with more goblins; all looking at the tree with longing.

"Brothers," he said in their tongue in the dialect of honor, "This tree is of magic for goblins. It can only be seen by goblins or those that love you. When the humans insult you, remember the tree and look upon it and be refreshed. If they go to war against you, go to the tree and it will drop gems to each goblin, and each gem will be capable of magic just as the wizard's tiny wands are. This gift of magic is to help balance the evil that humans have done to you."

The goblins are stared at him. The teller now asked, "Why didn't you speak in our tongue when you came to my desk?"

Harry was beginning to feel tired from all the magic. This, fighting Voldemort and healing his professor had used up the huge amount of extra power in his staff that he had stored fighting the tsunami.

"Avalon's magic guided me," he told the goblins quietly and longed for rest.

"Who are you child?" they asked

"I am one who loves the Goblin people," he said softly, "If it is permissible, could I lie down and rest somewhere. I used an awful lot of magic."

A very tall and distinguished goblin came forward and smiled at him in the human fashion. "Come with me little one. I have a resting place in my office and you can be undisturbed there."

Harry followed him happily. He didn't have enough strength for a good pop to Avalon or the tree right now, although he did put his usual protections on.

The office was beautifully furnished with weapons of great skill adorning the walls and a lovely couch just right for a tired wizard child. Normally Harry would have enjoyed inspecting the weapons but he was nearly staggering in fatigue, so after bowing politely and blessing the Goblin for giving him rest in safety, he lay on the couch and fell asleep immediately.

The old Goblin was more than a bank official, he was a powerful elder in the goblin tribe. He didn't hate humans in particular; he merely despised them, but this child who glowed with magic like no wizard had before, the child treated him with perfect courtesy and gentle respect. He took a seat and watched over the youngster as he slept, pondering how such a child from Avalon had graced them with his presence. As he waited he realized he felt towards the child as he would have any child of the tribe needing rest and comfort. He magically and silently sent for a report of the conversations the boy had been involved in since entering the bank and requested that they be sent to him silently so the child could rest.

The wonder of the tree filled his heart with old hopes and deepest respect. It was a Master work that was on par with ancient goblin treasures and indeed would be a treasure of his people. Even now, invisible groups of his people were visiting the tree, while humans smirked and demanded. Their King who rarely left the bowels of the earth, came and gazed upon the tree and wept at its beauty and message for his people.

GiantSlayer thought on these things, but wondered most at the mystery of this child. A new report came to his hands that a child had but recently defeated Voldermort and stripped the monster of all magic. Rumor was that the child was Harry Potter, whose death had caused such dishonor and sorrow in the clans.

The loss of Stabber, Snipper and little Hard Tusk had broken his heart. Their clan head had cast them out and taken all their possessions. The goblin people had made songs about their loss in the caves of eternal sorrow. The goblin courts had discovered that the clan head was the one who had used magic to cloud Stabber's perceptions and assist Dumbledore in taking funding that should have been held under the Potter family account till the boy reached his majority. He had been fed to the dragons. GiantSlayer supposed he should hate the boy for their loss, but he could only wonder how he had survived to come to Avalon, and how he knew Goblin ways so perfectly.

He could not blame the child for their loss of honor and loved ones. He blamed Dumbledore.

The boy woke and looked at him with green eyes that reminded him of emeralds that decorated his king's great sword.

A new silent message informed him that food had been sent to him. He smiled at the boy and opened the door to a small excited goblin from the kitchens. "Zipoor!" the youngster said in delight, "to celebrate the new treasure."

GiantSlayer was about to request food that a human would eat, when the boy exclaimed, "Zipoor! Oh how wonderful!"

He turned and said, "Would you share a meal with me, young one?"

The boy jumped up and gave him a sunny smile, "I would be honored, Elder," and to the surprise of all, took the serving tray like a son of the house would do, bowed to the little goblin, placed the tray on the table, bowed to him, and then lay out the food in the traditional ceremonial way of celebration.

Then the boy sang, "Today we rejoice in beauty from the earth with the gift of the earth, Zipoor."

Astonished and touched, GiantSlayer sat across from the boy who served him with humble courtesy and delight.

"Eat first, father of our people," said Harry, "for the strength of our fathers is our protection and mainstay."

GiantSlayer had no children for Voldemort's death eaters had killed his family many years ago. He found himself wanting this boy as his own son just for those words. But, of course, no one would want such a thing and adopting Harry Potter would probably enrage the humans.

Harry laid out the food before him. "Look, Elder, how well cooked it is. The sauce is perfect,"

Giant Slayer took the first ritual bite and then said, "Eat next, son of my heart, for the future of our nation is in your young hands."

This was not the correct response, it should be Son of our people, and Harry looked at him and blushed with pleasure shyly.

GiantSlayer had a sudden desire to pull the child in his arms, but surely even a human child who claimed to love his people would prefer to love them from afar?

So he ate with the boy and watched him eat spicy zipoor worms with wonder. Humans would be astonished and disgusted, but the boy had obviously eaten this before and held to highest courtesy.

When the meal was finished, the boy wandlessly cleaned the dishes and stacked them and then suddenly looked perturbed.

"Elder, I may have transgressed," he said, "I forgot in my fatigue and hunger that my goblin family was cast out. Forgive me," he cried and gave the bow of submission to punishment.

This was too much for GiantSlayer. He gathered the boy in his arms and said, "Child, if your family is cast out I will take you all into my own clan with renewal of honor. Tell me about them."

The boy looked at him with astonishment and then what he recognized as love.

"Father Goblin is named Stabber; Mother Goblin is Snipper and my sister is Hard Tusk. Avalon woke me in the night and send me deep in the earth to find them starving and cast out. I adopted them into the Potter Family, so they are in my clan and my family now."

GiantSlayer's mouth flew open in astonishment and he stood with the lad in his arms and kissed the boy on the head and affectionately bit the tip of his ear. Then still holding the boy, he danced.

The door opened and his honor guard and the server rushed in and he shouted, "Our honor has been returned to us from the dead. Stabber and his wife and child live!"

This had been great trial for the people of the earth and the whole lot of them began to dance as well.

GiantSlayer wept tears of joy and still held the boy. "No wizard has ever adopted a goblin. Yet you took them in to an old and honorable wizard family, and you come here and give us a treasure of magic that will protect and enrichen our people."

Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter

Piers was walking the last of his littles home when he heard a twig snap nearby. With instincts that would surprise people, he shrieked, "Run" and the littles got away just as a baseball bat cracked the back of his head. He turned and saw Dudley with new friends and reached forward and grabbed the bat out of Dudley's hands and slammed it into his knees. Another boy, one he'd never met before, stuck Piers in the side with a knife and this time, he fell.

He woke up in a place with bright painful lights, and heard his Mum crying. "Mum the littles," he said. "They're all right, they called the police and they got there in time," she said in strained tones.

He hurt all over and then finally slept, but he could feel pain in nightmares that didn't end.