Harry woke up blearily and once more took a moment to appreciate the ability to view the world perfectly fine without glasses. He then noted that he was not alone in bed and turned his head to find Hermione still asleep. 'When did she get here?' Harry mused in confusion at the pleasant surprise of sharing his bed with his girlfriend.
As if summoned by those thoughts he vaguely remembered a nightmare where he failed to keep the people he cared about safe from the goblin horde. Then Hermione appeared and pulled him out of it before a more restful sleep took over once more.
'She really cares for me.' Harry thought as a smile crept on his face. He slowly took her hand in his own and laid back. Enjoying the warmth he felt in his heart for the obvious love and care Hermione held for him. Suddenly however Hermione's hand squeezed back and Harry turned his head to find a pair of brown eyes looking back at him.
"Good morning Hermione." Harry greeted and he tried to fill his tone with the love he felt for the witch. "Good morning Harry." Hermione replied. Harry's smile increased as he felt like Hermione did the same with her own voice. He shifted so that he was on his side facing Hermione. "Thank you for pulling me out of the nightmare." Before Hermione could muster a reply he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.
He broke the kiss with some regrets later only to find Hermione rolling towards him to be on her side as well and return the kiss. He idly noted a curious hand diving under his shirt and exploring chest. Feeling emboldened his own curious hand slithered up her thigh to her backside. As Hermione made no sounds of protest he started to explore just how firm that area was.
"I do think this is the moment I step in before the two of you go a step further." An amused voice said. The pair of teens would have jumped away if they could and the flash of camera indicated that their intimate moment had been caught on film. A grinning Remus Lupin lowered the camera.
The two teens were too embarrassed to notice Remus actually looked quite tired. "Now the next time Harry you should mimic Hermione. She had the right idea to start exploring under your clothing." he mimed a motion with his hand. "Do that the next time for some nice skin on skin contact while you feel up her derriere."
Harry for a moment considered just blasting the werewolf into tiny pieces or praying that Hermione's embarrassed glare would immolate the man. "Now up you get. Breakfast will be soon. So no fun under the shower." He made to retreat but he was too slow to close the door as Harry flung his cushion hard enough it broke open and nearly slammed Remus into the wall.
A howling laughter erupted which indicated Sirius was now also aware of what happened. "Please kill me now." Harry moaned as he flopped back and hid his face in his hands. As he uncovered his face he found Hermione hovering above him. A deep blush still stained her cheeks. She still pecked him on the lips before scurrying off. "I see you downstairs!" she called out before rushing out of the room.
Harry once again smiled as he watched her go. He shook his head a minute later and got started on his own morning ablutions. Muttering dire threats upon interrupting werewolves under his breath as he did so. He would remember the said werewolf's tip. But he would never admit that to anyone.
He made his way down to find Sirius eagerly shifting on his seat at the table. His eyes sparkling with amusement. 'And bad puns, jokes and innuendo.' Harry thought and he cut Sirius off before the dog animagus could make his first comment. "One word and I will have you neutered." he threatened.
Remus broke out in guffaws as Sirius seemed to seriously weigh the cost of making his jokes. "Don't be mean Harry." Hermione said as she gave Harry a hug from behind. "Listen to your girl Harry." Sirius agreed rapidly. "Don't be mean to your old godfather." "Oh he can be as mean as he likes to you Sirius." Hermione said with a smile that held more teeth than was deemed acceptable. "I didn't want him to be mean and take my fun of neutering you."
"Eesh, put away the claws." Sirius muttered as he mock recoiled away from Hermione. "And I didn't ask Dobby to make pancakes so stop making syrup." he added as Harry and Hermione shared another kiss.
"Should we be expecting an heir soon?" Cressida asked dryly as she slipped past the pair of teens. It was clear she had had a long night behind her. Mia was close on her heels "Hmm, that would mean babies. I am not sure if I signed up for babysitting." she teased. When Hermione broke the kiss Harry fired off an ineffective glower before joining his girlfriend at the table as Dobby started popping in the food.
They broke the fast with some good natured teasing as Remus shared how exactly he found the two teens. It soon ended however and the conversation flowed towards more unpleasant subjects as the owl carrying the Daily Prophet flew in and dropped its cargo. "Someone broke into Gringotts and succeeded?" Harry asked, surprised at the idea.
The pair of Marauders kept their poker faces firmly in place. "Six people are responsible and the goblins want to talk to Lucius Malfoy, Amycus Carrow, Avery Jr, Crabbe Snr, Igor Karkaroff and Goyle Snr… why would they break into the Lestrange vault?" Harry asked the rest of the group. "I do not think it was them. Most of the 'imperiused' death eaters would not want to work with Igor since he sold others of their group out." Cressida replied.
"Polyjuice potion must have been used." Remus agreed. "Brewed by a skilled potion brewer. It would have expected one of them to be Snape." "They couldn't get hair. It's one greasy clunky mess. Or there was a seventh man and he is still looking for a good reason to explain his current state." Sirius joked as Hermione sported a sudden blush and hid her face before any awkward questions were asked. Harry did notice and he had a good reason to suspect why. He however did not say anything.
"Harry." Cressida cut in politely. "There will be a vehicle to transport you to the Leaky Cauldron in half an hour or so." "Is it that late already?" Harry asked in confirmation as he glanced at the clock. "Right.. Hermione, do you want to go home or stay here?" he asked his girlfriend. Said girlfriend blinked in surprise, put things together and her expression changed to indicate that a storm was approaching.
"Excuse me mister Potter. Are you planning to go alone?" she asked with faux friendliness. "Yes." Harry replied firmly. "If the goblins are spoiling for a fight I am not bringing you all with me." He saw his explanation did not impress anyone. "And who is going to watch your back?" Mia challenged with an raised eyebrow. "Or advise you?" Cressida added mildly. Harry could see her disapproval from miles away however despite the neutral expression she sported.
"And it is not like you pay any attention during the history of magic lessons." Hermione noted. Harry wanted to point out if the story caught his interest, like the tale of the sword of Gryffindor he did pay attention instead of snoring through. He was wise enough however to know that making that comment would be a bad idea.
Sirius and Remus exchanged a look. "We claim Marauder privileges to tag along." Sirius declared with a fake snooty expression. He didn't want to admit it but then he waited with a tense silence as a myriad of emotions played over Harry's face as he swung between telling them to stay here or letting the group with him.
"I… Fine." Harry half spat. He pointed to the two marauders. "But the two of you pull Hermione out if things go wrong." "Harry!" Hermione started to object as she shot out of her seat but then saw the determined glare Harry shot her as she started to speak. Her words died in her throat. She collapsed back into her seat and wondered what had just halted her.
'Some side effect of being a Campione… or that Harry really cares that much about me?' Hermione asked herself in her thoughts. "Well." Sirius said carefully after a few moments of silence. "I suggest we all start unpacking whatever armor we have and can find. That should impress the goblins as well."
It took some digging and coaching the old house elf into action to find the stack of enchanted leather vests the Black family kept on hand in case the goblins got uppity. Since this was most certainly the case they brought them out and hurriedly found sets that matched their sizes after Sirius and Remus had confirmed that all the spellwork on them was benign.
"Damned old house seems to keep secrets even after I got it inspected and cleared out from top to bottom." Sirius grumbled as they set out to the minibus waiting for them. "Who knows. Maybe you would find Andromeda's torture room the next time." Remus joked with a grin. "Bellatrix I would understand, but Andy?"
"Well they do so it is always the one you are not expecting it from." Remus suggested innocently. "Heh. I suppose I should ask her husband Ted when we got a private moment." the animagus agreed with a grin that signalled that he had an idea for a prank. "What are the two of you plotting?" Harry asked suspiciously as he waited at the minibus.
"Nothing!" Sirius chirped innocently well aware that no one would buy it and they would brace for a prank not aimed at them. Thus it would be a prank on his own. Being expected to always be up to something had its advantages.
Harry was surprised by how empty the alley was. A tired looking Auror by the name of Shacklebolt had greeted them and had explained that the minister and his undersecretary had been indisposed. So the two representatives of the Witenagemot with Albus Dumbledore and Amelia Bones went to talk with the goblins. The last order to the aurors was to keep the alley empty should things go horribly wrong.
Without anyone on the alley the road was clear. Harry could see a group of goblins with polearms at the ready with four aurors hanging nearby. Harry glanced at the two groups and could tell there was no real tension. As he came closer however the goblins spotted him and shuffled nervously into a battle formation. It was clear that this group of goblins had no intention of getting in the way of a Campione with an axe to grind if they could and were merely putting up a show for their bosses.
"I suppose I am a couple of minutes early." Harry noted conversationally as he double checked the time from one of the clocks hanging outside one of the closed shops. "It is usually a good thing to be early to a meeting." Remus replied in the same tone. His eyes however were firmly on the goblins looking for any signs of aggression.
The aurors meanwhile scrambled to attention as well and another group of four jogged into the area as well. Two of them immediately set to work trying to shoo away the press that seemed to be literally crawling out of the woodwork. Harry gave it a minute but he could tell the aurors only managed to round up a quarter of the people present that were not with his group or an auror.
"Let's get this over with." he grumbled and stepped forward. The goblins stiffened and a pair of halberds crossed forbiddingly far in front of him. "I do believe I informed everyone I had an appointment." Harry challenged in a haughty tone. 'I might as well play it up a bit before I start swinging my sword again.'
"No human without an order of passage will enter Gringotts today." one of the halberd wielding goblins replied. "Does that mean that the goblin nation is reneging on its agreements made after the last goblin/human conflict?" Sirius asked in a commanding tone. "As it is a normal workday without any human or goblin holidays there is no reason for the bank to be closed for business." Hermione recited. Harry held back the need to point out that a Campione fighting the nation might be a valid one.
"No human without an order of passage will enter Gringotts today." the same goblin repeated. Harry mused if he was imagining the sweat gathering at the goblin's brow. "Mia." Harry whispered. The woman was at his side immediately and presented the sword of Gryffindor to be drawn. "So I can assume the goblin nation stole my heritage then?"
Remus gently forced Hermione a pair of steps back as he drew his wand. Sirius suddenly had his own pointed to the ground but ready to aim upward to cast a spell. Mia's hand twitched in readiness to summon her own sword while Cressida placed her hand on her grimoire.
The goblins meanwhile pointed their variety of weapons to Harry's group while the aurors started to curse under their breath and got their wands in the ready position. A tense standoff followed as the humans and goblins stared each other down.
The large doors opened slightly and a goblin slipped through. Unaware or uncaring about the standoff she ran towards the leader who had blocked Harry's way and had spoken. Harry could not understand or properly hear the whispered instructions. What he could see was how the goblin sagged in relief.
"Campione Potter. You and your companions are welcome to enter." he greeted with sudden courteousness. Mia took a step away and the wands were stowed as well. Halberds meanwhile started to point skyward again and the aurors let out sigh of relief. "Thank you." Harry replied with a nod as if he hadn't been ten seconds away from beheading the goblin.
A bark had a trio of goblins push the door open wider and Harry led the way inside. The great hall still bore the signs of his assault the previous day although all the debris was cleared out. The female goblin guided them directly up a floor and into a large meeting room where a group of goblins, led by an austere goblin whose personal decorations were surprisingly underwhelming for one of his presumed rank.
"Campione Potter." the goblin leader in a manner of greeting. "I am Gragolt, the new goblin king after you have slain the last." Harry was surprised there was no tone of accusation in his tone. "If he was the goblin clad in golden armour, then it was Ugruk who cut him down." Harry replied.
Gragolt's stoic expression broke for a moment to allow a flicker of surprise to pass over his face before his mask reasserted itself. "And that is why we insist that the lore to summon heretic gods is destroyed." A man clad in a formal black suit with a red tie. "Harry Potter, my daughter speaks well of you. I am Duke Goddodin." he introduced himself.
Considering that the man was a duke Harry assumed the unnamed daughter would be Princess Alice. "Headmaster Dumbledore, Madam Bones. I believe we will meet for the first time face to face." Harry greeted with a nod as he found a spot on the 'human' side of the table to sit down. Hermione joined him at his side while Mia, Cressida and Remus took up positions behind him. Sirius meanwhile sat down next to Dumbledore wedging the two Witenagemot representatives between them.
"We will take your words under advisement with this new information." Gragolt responded to Goddodin's earlier comment. Harry had the feeling whatever negotiations had been held before, this was a major point of contention of Gragolt wanted to see the back of it as soon as he could arrange it.
The Duke and so far unintroduced companion did not look happy about it. "Now shall we move to the main point of this discussion?" "Yes. The unpleasant situation about mister Potter and his house's belongings that created this incident." Dumbledore agreed. Harry managed to keep his disbelief off his face that Dumbledore could call this an 'incident'.
"We have gone through the laws with a fine comb. Since the inheritor of the Potter estate was marked as alive on the family tapestries it is clear that the Goblin Nation had no right to initiate the laws of repossession. As those are considered leading for the families who agreed with this, as the Potter house has done."
Harry was not heartened by the news Gragolt shared as he felt it was too easy. "However before we can start the restoration of house Potter's misappropriated wealth there is the matter of the destruction of goblin property and the loss of goblin lives as a result of Campione Potter's rampage."
"As the Goblin Nation initiated the attack, House Potter was free to defend itself. All costs that came from the result of this are the nation's burden to bear." Hermione answered instantly and Harry gaped unashamed at the swiftness of the response before he gathered himself. He was not the only one surprised although Gragalt and the rest of the goblins seemed to have expected it.
"That is quite correct consort." Gragalt agreed amiably. Hermione to the surprise of many did not bristle at the title the goblin had bestowed on her. "However this is only valid if it is considered without proportion. Hundreds of goblin lives have been lost. A ritual chamber and a water reservoir are completely destroyed. Uncountable galleons of battle damage now litter the halls of Gringotts."
"One can consider that damage negligible as the Goblin Nation saw fit to descend one of gods of the Goblin pantheon." Goddodin pointed out calmly. Harry wondered how much experience the man had with cleaning up after his kind since he sounded so certain about it. "It was a desperate attempt to protect the nation from the then rampaging Campione." Gragalt instantly responded to the Duke's accusation. Harry wanted to jump to his feet and call the new goblin king a liar.
"That is an interesting interpretation of the events. If Miss Layla, Develt and Campione Potter tale's timeline is to be followed. The summoning ritual was well underway before the first goblin axe was swung. One might even speculate the Goblin Nation intended to assassinate the head of house Potter." Dumbledore noted with a glance at his paperwork that seemed utterly superfluous.
Gragalt kept his expression serene at Dumbledore's point. But his aides were less capable of hiding their unhappiness. "Despite your role as the Supreme Mugwump or Chief Warlock the Goblin Nation does not share all its secrets surrounding the security measures we use to keep our clients gold safe."
"So the Goblin Nation had a method to know that manager Blackshield attacked and had a ritual prepared to summon a heretic god? Such thorough preparations for your day to day security." Dumbledore praised. "The previous administration had reasons to believe that Campione Potter would react impulsively to the knowledge his family's wealth had been taken."
"For the worry that they might anger a Campione would be upset with them, manager Blackshield most certainly picked a circuitous route through the many hallways of this bank." Cressida interjected. Help came from an unexpected corner "From someone with an unbiased perspective who now heard the story of both sides I am starting to suspect the previous goblin administration was looking for the conflict that happened yesterday." Madam Bones said in a speculative tone.
"As I was just a vault manager yesterday. I do not have that insight." Gragalt replied in a faux apologetic tone. Harry's teeth started to gnash as he wanted to express his annoyance somehow without either swinging the sword of Gryffindor and decapitating the goblin evading responsibility and trying to lay blame on his shoulders or shouting him down.
"King Gragalt." Goddodin said to draw both the goblin's attention to him and give him a moment to compose his words as he heard Harry's displeasement. "May I remind you are trying to obtain restitution from a Campione? Campione Potter has been a surprisingly mild and kind King. But he is a demon King nevertheless."
"Said King is also losing his patience." Harry added snidely. "And his Highness has been most patient indeed. For that I am grateful." Goddodin replied with a nod of gratitude. "Indeed." the unnamed second representative added. "His twin would have leveled the building now with his trademark destructiveness. The wolf would have devoured you all and claimed all the wealth inside for himself."
"Lord Salvatore would most likely contented himself with killing the best sword wielders and then take all blades that caught his interest. I dare not to predict the reactions of the other god slayers." the tone it was spoken in was calm and analytical despite the dire content.
"Indeed. That is why Gringotts had the preparations ready. We always do whenever there is a Campione nearby in the chance they vie for the gold entrusted to us." The new goblin king gave Harry a sharp look. "Although Campione Potter has shown that this was inadequate. A mistake we shall not make again."
"More importantly however is that the Goblin Nation does not recognize the authority the human wielders of magic see fit to bestow upon the Godslayers of their kind. The Nation is quite generous by accepting a mere monetary reparation instead of more traditional mounting of the offender's head on the pike." Gragalt finished.
Harry struggled with his temper as the urge to cut down the goblin for its temerity started to rise. He bit off the first angry declaration that they either gave him his things or he would start killing goblins until he found one that would. As Harry struggled to push down the anger from the sheer gall of the goblins to try to shift the blame onto him Dumbledore spoke up.
"It would be foolish for house Potter to pay for the damages that the Goblin Nation has invited itself." The old wizard's patience seemingly unaffected by the back and forth. "It would be even more foolish not to do so. The Nation will then simply claim all of House Potter's belongings. Which would be slightly more than the cost it would be to pay for the damages. My, it is almost as if you forgot that this incident was caused by your greed and claiming the Potter wealth for yourself in spite of the agreements. The ministry is just a convenient… scapegoat."
As the wand wielding magicians bristled and Sirius made to protest, Harry looked Gragalt into the eye. "Should I then assume this is the declaration of another goblin rebellion?