Recognising that he was seated on a comfortable window seat with his left arm attached to the window, Dumbledore thought, 'Am I dreaming still…again? I don't understand this dream.'
He could not pull his left arm away from the glass. The enormous serpent remained enclosed in the glass though it thrashed about less. Above the snake, Tom Riddle's diary and Slytherin's locket are attached to a windowpane. With a twinge in his arm beginning to ache, Dumbledore noticed that his left arm attached to the windowpane was turning black. And the golden egg whistles that annoying song by the mermen from Black Lake.
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Hedwig and Family Matters (4 July 1996)Two days passed. Waiting for Treacher's potion, Harry wrote letters to Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Neville. He sent the letter to Ron with Hedwig to the Burrow but the others he sent in the Royal Mail. When Hedwig didn't return that day, Dobby went to the Burrow to investigate. The elf returned two hours later and let Mr Harry Potter know that Mouth had locked Hedwig in an empty room at the Burrow and refused to let her out when she flew against the windows.
"Howler yelled at Missy Hedwig that she had to stay at Burrow all summer to protect 'Harry Potter' from Death Eaters."
"We gotta save Hedwig!" exclaimed Harry.
Grinning from ear to ear, the little elf laughed and shouted, "Dobby did. He blasted a hole in the side of Burrow and let Missy Hedwig fly away. She come back to Mr Harry Potter when she rested and not mad."
"Is Hedwig mad?"
Dobby grinned and said, "She visits all her friend owls and asks them to visit Burrow and mark roofses with owl caulk."
Treacher popped in with a box of potion bottles and Harry grimaced, "All that to get rid of the soul piece?"
"No, Mr Harry Potter," replied the elf. He held up one potion bottle and said, "We pour some in golden egg and you drink rest. Then soul piece leave scar and move to golden egg."
"And the others?"
Treacher explained, "Lord Black must be taller and strong enough to knock armoured knight from his horse. Drink one potion each morning before breakfast to heal bones, muscles, and mind. We heal scars and eyes."
Harry grinned to hear the elf's plan and wondered if his ancestors did fight in armour while mounted on horseback.
Before midnight, the piece of the Dark Lord's soul flowed from the scar on Harry Potter's head and into the Golden Egg from the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The sides of the egg sealed tightly, but the elves 'felt' the soul shard wail in distress to be in darkness. To not awaken the sleeping Mr Harry Potter, the elves quickly shoved the possessed egg into one of the iron boxes Dobby bought in Knockturn Alley. (The egg was much bigger than the box but the magic in the egg made it shrink around the iron and fit inside.)
At breakfast the next morning, Harry consumed a large amount of food after drinking his potion. He noticed he no longer needed his glasses, and his pants and shirt were tight as he began growing. The elves used simple enlargement charms for the day, but Dobby went on a shopping trip for larger pants and shirts for the next day.
Luna Lovegood wrote back that she was glad to know Harry had good company now and knew he would be busy the entire summer. She and her father were travelling to Mexico to look for enchanted dogs but telling everyone they were going to Norway to look for purple-backed humdingers.
Harry grinned. 'This is a good strategy. Now no one knows if you went to Mexico, Norway or even Arabia.'
Neville wrote that he was busy with the Muzzle Pear seedlings that Luna told him about and the other plants in his greenhouse. But there wasn't any response from Hermione. 'She and her parents must be on holiday somewhere.'
After studying the account statements for Potter and Black vaults, Harry and the elves worried that Dumbledore and Sowsbreath would continue to plunder them. Harry asked, "Can we move the money and goods to Gringotts Paris?"
The elf hesitated as he said, "We can but…"
"What?"
"Preacher must beat head to disagree with Lord Black."
Harry cried out, "No! I need your honest opinion on things. How else am I to learn? When I am making a mistake, you must tell me!"
"Truly?" asked Preacher as Dobby popped into the room, shook his finger at the Black family elf and lectured him on the honesty of Mr Harry Potters.
Nodding his head in understanding, Preacher said, "The money and goods need to go to bank run by dwarves in Zurich. Will cause more stink in Gringotts and mean more beheadings of account managers who lost the accounts. Goblins will never tell wizards either for fear of all wizards running away with their gold."
"Okay. How long will it take?" asked Harry.
Preacher and Dobby spoke for a moment and then Dobby answered, "Takes three or four months for the four of us to complete move gold and treasures to dwarves bank."
Frowning, Harry said, "I don't have that long. It's got to be moved before Dumbledore returns in August and messes with things again."
The smallest elf said, "Dobby thinks we ask Hoggiewattle elves to help. They bored in summer month because no children to clean after, not many foods to cook, library in stasis and no dust."
"How many elves could come help?" wondered Harry. "I'll owe the elves a great favour if they can help."
"Dobby go ask now," the elf said before he popped away. Less than three minutes later, he returned with the head elf from Hogwarts.
This elf was enthusiastic to help and explained, "We have seven tens elves who sit and stare at floor in Julys. Only five elves needed to care for castle without children there to make messes."
Dobby continued, "We will move gold, artefacts, furniture, everything to Zurich. Will create complete inventory for Mr Harry Potter."
"Can you move the Black library from Grimmauld Place, too?" asked Harry. "I don't trust anything about that house."
While they planned for the trip to Switzerland, Preacher came to Harry Potter and asked to speak about the Black family.
"What do you want to talk about Preacher?"
Taking a deep breath and fearful of making Lord Black angry, the elf began, "Missy Bellas is crazy and no babies ever. Missy Looking Glass gots one baby but he not wizard who can be a lord to rally people. Preacher think Lord Black must remove these people from family."
"Who is 'Missy Looking Glass'?"
"She be Narcissa Black who marries Lucius Malfoy and makes Draco Malfoy."
"Ugh, Draco is my cousin? And Bellatrix LeStrange?"
"Miss Bella never no wants no babies and elves won't touch her hair or robes. She gets mad and kills elves at LeStrange home."
"How much money are we talking about?" asked Harry as they investigated. Preacher went to the Black family manor house and found the betrothal agreements for both witches. Bellatrix was to bear at least two children.
"What happens if I kick her out of the family?"
Preacher explained, "You must declare her marriage agreement void, take back her dowry, and then disown her. Makes her Bellatrix Nobody."
Looking at the agreement for Narcissa and Lucius, Harry noticed the name Andromeda was struck thru and 'Narcissa' written above the other name.
"Who is Andromeda Black?" he asked. This question led Preacher to explain the scandal that erupted when the second Black daughter eloped with a muggleborn wizard the day before her wedding.
"Lord Black loses face with many purebloods when granddaughter left Lucius Malfoy without bride on day of wedding. Had to give Malfoy more money and last granddaughter who wanted to marry someone else."
"That's really sad," Harry told the elves. "Thoughtless of Andromeda and mean for Lord Black to force another of his granddaughters to take her place."
"Andromeda Tonks has one daughter but then no more," Preacher announced. "Her daughter Nymphadora Tonks is Auror and is guard outside this house every day."
"I remember her at Grimmauld Place last summer when I was there for a few days…Wait, what was that you said?" asked Harry. "What do you mean 'guard outside this house'?"
This is how Harry learned that the Order of the Phoenix wizards and witches were around to keep him confined to the house and yard of No.4 Privet Drive. Harry's anger was boundless for an hour, but he noticed a difference since the shard of Riddle's soul had been removed. He did not yell or impulsively attack the guards. However, he did consider several plans for dealing with the guards.
With prompting by Preacher, Treacher, and Breacher, Harry voided the marriage contract for Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, took back her dowry, and disowned her. As her vault in Gringotts was originally a Black family vault, it defaulted back to Harry. And as all of the LeStrange members were on the run from the Aurors, there was no reason for their account manager to ever visit the vault. An inventory of the vault of the disowned Bellatrix Nobody, provided yet another soul jar of the Dark Lord. Preacher brought Hufflepuff's cup from Gringotts and it was placed inside another of the iron boxes.
Now Harry plotted again. He had three soul jars in his possession at Privet Drive including the golden egg, Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. His elves used their knowledge of with soul magic to determine that another soul jar moved about at Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, one was stationary in Hogwarts and a third was also stationary just outside the muggle town of Little Hangleton in the north of England.
The soul jar hidden in the castle was Ravenclaw's diadem and Dobby retrieved it without trouble and arrived back at Privet Drive with the diadem already inside the cold iron box. The soul jar in Wiltshire was determined to be the snake familiar of the Dark Lord. The one in Little Hangleton was a ring in a shack that was protected by snakes and a terrible curse.
Preacher informed Harry, "Wizard who puts on that ring dies even if he is Harry Potter! Must not put on that ring!"
Harry sat and began a debate in his heart and soul about that ring.
'Preacher says that there aren't any wizards, goblins, dwarves, or elves who resist the compulsion or the withering curse on the ring. Whoever puts the ring will die…' He snickered, 'Old Tommy can't go fetch his ring because it'll kill even him if he puts it on. I guess he'll send some Death Eater to put it on if he ever wants it.'
'Send someone to put on the ring…' he thought as his eyes narrowed. 'Who could I do that to?'
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