Reviews:
MiloJediWizardDemigodMagician: I'll try.
gginsc: Exactly why Knight did it.
avidnarutofan: Trolls, dragons and dementors as well but I get what you're saying.
Chapter 12 - King.
"I'm doing it!" Harry grinned as he levitated an entire book while using his wand, the three children were currently sat together in Clint's room and were practising with Harry's new wand, or rather Harry was practising with his new wand while Clint and Natasha watched.
Harry was especially happy to have this new wand, it was much better than learning without wand. Harry thought it was like the difference between trying to paint a wall with a roller and trying to cover it with a small, thin paint brush. It was just so much quicker and easier to use the roller.
"That's cool." Clint commented as he looked between Harry and the levitating book that was nearly touching the ceiling. "Just don't drop it on me, please."
"I'll try not to." Harry said with a grin.
"It is cool, but remember to try and get the spells wandlessly as well." Natasha said.
"Why?" Harry frowned, wondering what possible reason he could have for practising magic without a wand when he could easily do everything with his new wand.
"Harry, what if your wand doesn't work anymore? What if you lose it? Or what if it breaks?" Natasha asked in a patient voice. Harry's face instantly shifted into one of horror, as if he had only just realised that that was a possibility. "Exactly, you might just even forget it or go somewhere where you can't take it. You should learn to do magic on your own as well, I'm not saying do everything without a wand first, because that's hard and will take ages. But just try and practise both, okay?"
"Hmm, you're right." Harry said with a small sigh.
"She's always right, you get used to it." Clint said with a shrug, earning a laugh from Harry and a mock glare from Natasha.
Natasha smiled as she and her boys continued talking and playing and testing out Harry's new wand, internally she was beyond excited, she had learnt that her plan to keep Dumbledore away would soon come into action.
"Albus, what in Merlin's name had happened to you?" Madam Poppy Pomfrey, AKA Madam Pomfrey, the healer and nurse of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry asked as she magically fixed up Dumbledore.
"I am wondering that too." Said Professor Minerva McGonagall, she was Hogwarts's deputy headmistress, head of Gryffindor house and teacher of transfigurations.
"I...I was attacked by a nightmare." Dumbledore answered after Madam Pomfrey had fed him another potion.
"What was it?" She asked with a frown.
"No, you misunderstand me," He said with a shake of his head. "I mean an actual 'Nightmare'."
"You mean...you mean like...like those dark creatures that travel into nightmares?!" Madam Pomfrey asked, paling slightly along with Professor McGonagall.
"The very same," Dumbledore nodded as he sat up with the help of both women. "it was a particularly vicious one, one moment I was walking and the next I find myself dragged and dropped into a field, it was then that I saw the nightmare standing in front of me. It seemed quite angry with me for some reason."
"What on in the name of magic could you have done to anger a nightmare?" Madam Pomfrey said with a shake of her head.
"Nightmares are unstable creatures at the best of times, Poppy." Professor McGonagall told her. "It would not take much for a nightmare to want to attack someone, but with that being said...they do not just randomly attack wizards, at least not in day light and very rarely physically. For one to do so...well...it is odd to say the least."
"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed.
His mind was working faster than usual, what had he done to enrage a nightmare enough for it to attack him, attack him enough to injure him horribly but not kill him. He had been at the nightmare's mercy, he could have been killed, he should have been killed, but why hadn't he? Nightmares were angry, vicious and violent creatures. If one had your life in its control then you merely hoped for a death with minimal amounts of pain, why had that nightmare let him go?
"Albus," A voice squeaked as Professor Filius Flitwick, charms Professor, head of Ravenclaw house and part goblin, walked into the room. Professor Flitwick, due to him being half goblin, was particularly short, much like a goblin. He had white hair, a white beard and wore green robes. "I...oh..." Professor Flitwick stopped when he saw the state that the headmaster was in. "...what happened?" He asked.
"The headmaster has had the unfortunate 'pleasure' of coming across a nightmare." Professor McGonagall informed him.
"A nightmare?! Truly?!" Professor Flitwick asked, one did not need good hearing to hear the shock in his voice.
"Truly," Professor Dumbledore confirmed with a nod before turning to Madam Pomfrey. "how long would it be before I am allowed to leave the hospital wing?" He asked, he needed to go and quickly locate Harry Potter, if there was a nightmare in the area then it could be a danger to Harry.
"Not for another day at least, Albus." Madam Pomfrey informed him. "You need to let your bones wrest, and you yourself need rest, especially at your age."
"Ah, I am afraid that Professor Dumbledore's rest must be postponed." Professor Flitwick said in an apologetic voice. "There is an urgent matter that requires his attention."
"Surely it can wait," Madam Pomfrey said as she gestured to Dumbledore. "look at him, he needs his rest."
"I am sorry, but no, no it cannot wait." Professor Flitwick said with a shake of his head.
"Filius, what is happening?" Professor McGonagall asked with a frown on her face, wondering what was causing her co-worker to behave this way.
"We have a special guest here to see you," Professor Flitwick said to Dumbledore in a serious voice. "he was quite insistent."
"Well, do not keep me in suspense, Filius." Professor Dumbledore replied. "Who is it?" He asked, wondering who it would be. Would it perhaps be one of the members of the school board? Was it someone from the ministry? Was it Minister Fudge again?
Before Professor Flitwick could answer the doors to the hospital wing opened and seven goblins walked in. Goblins are short and fair-skinned, as they spend very little time outside if they can help it. They have very long fingers and feet, dome-shaped heads and long, pointy ears.
Six of these goblins were clearly guards as they were dressed in silver armour and each carried a weapon, while the seventh goblin, the one in the middle of these goblins, was clearly the leader of this little group. He was immaculately dressed in a black suit, he had several rings on each hand and he had a small gold necklace around his neck, dangling from the necklace was a golden coin with a crown printed on the centre of it.
"Professors, allow me to introduce King Ragnok the eight," Professor Flitwick said as he gestured to the lead goblin as the other goblins stepped to the side. "King of the goblins and owner of Gringotts." Professor Flitwick added.
Professor Dumbledore's eyes had widened slightly when he had heard just exactly who he was talking to before he was able to bring them back under control, he didn't understand why the king of goblins was here but it was clearly for an important reason. Dumbledore knew he had to be clever here, unlike others in the magical world he did not underestimate just how difficult the goblins could make life for wizards and witches if they wanted to do so.
"It is an honour to meet you." Professor Dumbledore said, bowing his head as low as he could bow it while staying seated. "Forgive me, I would get up but I am not yet capable of that."
"Battle gone wrong?" King Ragnok asked in an almost casual manner, his voice was rough and low.
"I suppose you might say that," Professor Dumbledore nodded. "I do not intend to be rude but I am rather curious about why you have chosen to come to Hogwarts, as far as I am aware there is no business between any of us and Gringotts that require you to personally come to Hogwarts." He said in a questioning tone.
"That would be where you are wrong." King Ragnok responded. "I am aware that earlier today you tried to locate Harry Potter." Professor Dumbledore's eyebrows nearly shot into his headline at that response, what on Earth did the goblins want with Harry?
"Locate?" Professor McGonagall blurted out. "My apologies for the interruption but you must be mistaken; Professor Dumbledore has always known where young Mr Potter is. He is living with his muggle Aunt and Uncle."
"Wrong," King Ragnok bluntly told her. "Mr Potter has not been in Number four Privet drive for quite some time, isn't that right, Headmaster Dumbledore?" King Ragnok asked with a small grin, showing his sharp, razor like teeth.
"Albus, what is he talking about?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she and the two other Professors looked at Dumbledore.
"He is right," Dumbledore reluctantly admitted, knowing he couldn't just call royalty a liar, especially when the king in question clearly already knew the answer. "Harry Potter has been missing for quite some time..."
"What?!" Came the reply from Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall.
"Ladies," Professor Flitwick spoke up. "I am also quite upset about these events, but please do not raise your voice. Goblins consider that as a signal that one wishes to be violent." He informed them, the two elderly women exchanged looks with each other before taking several deep breaths.
"You have our sincerest apologies." Professor McGonagall said to King Ragnok who grunted his acceptance, once that was done she turned back to Professor Dumbledore. "explain." She said.
"I had hoped to quickly and discreetly find him," Professor Dumbledore spoke. "once I had assessed his mental and physical state then I would decide on a course of action. I had managed to narrow his location down to a muggle street, it was when I arrived on that street that I was attacked by the nightmare."
"From now on, you will cease all attempts to find Mr Potter." King Ragnok told Dumbledore.
"I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore blinked.
"Were you or were you not aware that the guardians you had selected for Mr Potter had abused him severely?" King Ragnok asked, glaring at Dumbledore.
"Abused?!" Professor McGonagall gasped, with Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick joining her a second later.
"Don't bother answering that," King Ragnok cut off Dumbledore before the man could respond. "either you are unaware and incompetent or you were aware and cruel, either way you shall stop trying to find him. That muggle address is a temporary home for Mr Potter to live in," That last part was admittedly a lie, or at least partly a lie, all homes are temporary. "from now on he shall be living in a secure, warded address, one that will personally be warded by Gringotts's best employees." He said, not mentioning that it would be the exact same address. It was made more difficult by the fact that they had to discreetly ward the property but he felt like it could be done.
"But...but why?!" Dumbledore asked, wondering why on Earth the goblin race was going to such extremes for Harry. "I need to find Harry, I need to make sure he is safe!"
"By the time that you had realised he was gone he could have been dead, your version of safe is clearly not sufficient." King Ragnok calmly responded. "The safety of Harry Potter is our top priority, he is currently living with a muggle family that will care for him and keep him safe, our wards will also prevent any harm from coming to him, even in the extremely unlikely event that they are not sufficient then they will at least warn us in time to take necessary action to protect Mr Potter."
"But...but that nightmare...the nightmare near the muggle address, it could harm..."
"The nightmare is not an issue." King Ragnok said dismissively.
"You've killed it?!" Dumbledore looked at him with amazement, he supposed it was possible, but still...it had likely taken a lot of goblin lives on the way. Dumbledore was also wondering where the goblins would be moving Harry.
"You will not try to find Mr Potter," King Ragnok said, not bothering to answer Dumbledore's question, if the old man came to the wrong conclusion then that was not his fault as far as he was concerned. "you will not try to have your ministry track him, nor will you send anyone else to find him. I understand that you've been receiving all of Mr Potter's Gringotts mail, from now on that stops, all mail will be forwarded directly to Mr Potter. If you try to intercept his mail or if you try to find him then war shall be declared." King Ragnok told him, causing Dumbledore to pale.
"W...war? Why?"
"Harry Potter is a recognised friend of the goblin nation and will be protected," King Ragnok answered. "that includes from you, rest assured that the boy will be living healthy and happy enough to attend this school should he choose to do so. I am not one who likes to be tested Dumbledore, do not test me by trying to find the boy, I shall know if you do." King Ragnok said before he and his guards turned and walked out of the hospital wing, leaving a gaping headmaster.
Years later a nearly eleven year old Harry Potter came down the stairs and walked to the living room, yawning as he did so. Once he reached the living room he stopped when he saw the rest of the Rushman family all gathered together in the kitchen, talking to each other about something. But that was not the odd part, no...the odd part was the fact that a brown owl was now perched on Clint's shoulder for some reason.
"Harry." Natasha said when she noticed him, she rushed up to him, holding a pair of letters in her hand, she handed one to him, while the other one she kept, so it was obviously meant for her. "These came in today, by owl. Apparently we've been accepted into Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" She told him with a bright smile.
"What? Really?" Harry said, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.
"I can't believe the three of you are going to Hogwarts." Jess said quietly, shaking her head with disbelief.
"Wait, you know about this?!" Clint and the other children looked at her with disbelief.
"I would, you see...I'm what magical people refer to as a squib, that means someone who has magical parents but cannot do any magic." Jess replied. "Let me explain, you see I was born into this magical family called the 'Black' family..."