This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.

The story continues with the goblins discussing the plotting by the Potters, the plan for a blood adoption at a later date, and the true origin of the child now known as Harry Potter.

Chapter 6: Goblin Blood Magic

With the fate of the half-giant resolved for the moment, the goblins returned to the discussion of the journal.

Sowsbreath revealed the dark secret he'd hidden for ten years, "Lily and James Potter plotted to end the Dark Lord and were willing to sacrifice an innocent child to accomplish this deed."

But Ironstream was not listening and mused aloud, "So, the Potters knew they would never have an heir. Did they look for a distant cousin somewhere else in the world to be adopted?"

"No," Sowsbreath explained patiently. "I just told you they intended to blood adopt a magical orphan after killing the Dark Lord."

Ironstream turned to Sowsbreath, a look of surprize on his face. "Forgive me for not listening. Are you certain? They wanted a blood adoption… Most purebloods do not believe the ritual is truly a 'blood' adoption."

The ancient goblin nodded, "But the ritual performed in Gringotts is better than the one used by wizards – we replace all material of the original parents with the blood of the new parents. The ritual is already paid for and the Potters each had a litre of blood drawn and placed in stasis in their vault."

"So, they realized that they were mortal and could die in the fight."

Sowsbreath nodded. "They had a plan to kill the Dark Lord. And if they perished, James Potter left instructions to blood adopt an orphan when a suitable child was found."

"That is very farsighted for a wizard," Ironstream commented.

The older goblin smirked. "It was a convoluted plan and Potter recognized the danger of working with Albus Dumbledore to end the war."

"Everything Dumbledore touches is complicated and convoluted!" Ironstream nodded. "James and Lily Potter believed everything that Dumbledore said."

"That wizard's farts are not perfume!" cursed Steeltoe and the other goblins snorted in agreement.

"Forget about Dumbledore for the moment!" demanded Sowsbreath. "In her journal, Lily Potter wrote about a prophecy given to Dumbledore. There was something about a wizard who could vanquish the Dark Lord would be a child born at the end of July to parents who had battled the Dark Lord," Sowsbreath explained.

Seeing the other goblins did not understand, the former Potter account manager continued saying, "Frank and Alice Longbottom were expecting a son at the end of July 1980. Dumbledore told the two couples that this child would be the one to end Voldemort's terrible reign."

"A baby?" asked Steeltoe. "How would a baby defeat the Dark Lord?"

"That's how Dumbledore interpreted the prophecy."

"But what about every other child born in late July since the current calendar began being used?" asked Ironstream, exhausted by the stupidity of British wizards.

Sowsbreath pointed to the journal and explained, "To protect the Longbottom child, the Potters announced the birth of their own child the day following the birth of the Longbottom's child; they intended to lead the Dark Lord into an attack against them. They would set a trap to kill the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, save the Longbottom baby, and then continue with their lives."

"Lily wrote that they would to spend a year or two 'mourning' the death of their first child and then blood adopt a magical child as the Potter heir."

*(+++++)*

Sacrifices

Motioning toward the sleeping child in the other room, Steeltoe asked, "How did this innocent become involved in this mess?"

Sowsbreath returned to his narrative, "For twelve months, the Potters spread the tale of their son – Sirius Black lied as well and went so far as to file the papers with the Ministry and with Gringotts to be the child's godfather… The child is remembered in Black's will according to Lily's journal."

"Why did no one ever ask to see the child?" asked Steeltoe.

Sowsbreath snorted, "They did ask with growing frequency, but the Potters never 'showed' the child to anyone except for Sirius Black, and supposedly to Frank and Alice Longbottom. James and Lily always citied the danger of the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters as the reason they'd never brought their 'son' out into public."

"Finally, in late October 1981, Dumbledore told them that his spy in the Dark Lords circles reported that the Dark Lord would attack them the first evening following All Hallows Eve."

The other goblins were quiet until Steeltoe asked, "And they really were going to sacrifice an innocent child to kill the Dark Lord?"

Sowsbreath nodded. "In the journal, Lily Potter writes that she created a spell to overwhelm all the Dark Lord's protections and rituals. The spell was extremely powerful but to invoke it required the sacrifice of two lives. Their intention was to be absent from home that night, leaving the child and an unprepared caretaker as the two sacrifices."

"The last entry in the journal is from the afternoon of Halloween. The Potters had completed the spells and only waited for the friend to arrive the next day – someone named 'Moony'. Sirius and James were friends with the wizard while at Hogwarts but dropped the connexion after graduation. Lily writes that the baby was quiet and well-behaved, so she expected no problems for the friend to be relaxed when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named 'came to call'."

Ironstream frowned, "But the Dark Lord came a day early and killed the Potters in the cottage that night. There's no way to know if Dumbledore had a hand in their sacrifice by not giving them the correct date, or if it was purely chance that sent the Dark Lord a day early."

"The ministry report states that James Potter died first and then Lily Potter was killed in the nursery. Dumbledore influenced the report to say that it was when the Dark Lord cast the killing curse on the baby that the spell flew back and killed him instead. But from the plans included in her journal, Lily Potter wrote the second death would invoke the spell; the Dark Lord never cast a spell at the child."

"And the scar on the child's forehead?"

"Possibly from debris falling from the explosion."

*(+++++)*

More Sacrifices

"Who is the boy then?" Ironstream asked. "She must have written about where they obtained… stole a baby to sacrifice."

Sowsbreath grimaced, "In the middle of October 1981, the McKinnon family home was attacked and wiped out."

"That was a Deatheater attack! The child would not have survived!" insisted Steeltoe.

"It only appeared as an attack by the Deatheaters," the ancient goblin explained. "Listed among the victims was a one-year old infant named Henry McKinnon."

Fourclaws frowned. "Wait! That child's mother was Olivia Ogden! The next week, her father made speeches in the Wizengamot blaming Gringotts for the McKinnon massacre!"

"Do you mean that child is Standish Ogden's grandson?" exclaimed Ironstream. "The wizard who hates all goblins!"

"There has been never a wizard who hated goblins more than Standish Ogden. Everyone of his speeches and articles in the Daily Prophet demand that wizards exterminate all goblins in Britain. He continually preaches about the evils of goblins!" declared Steeltoe.

Holding up a hand for silence, Ironstream asked, "Sowsbreath, is there any way that Gringotts could restore the grandson to Standish Ogden without him accusing us of participating in the murders of the McKinnon family and kidnapping of the child?"

The ancient goblin shook his head, "Nothing we could ever say would reconcile that mind-blind wizard to the possibility that Gringotts could do his family a kindness."

"But Gringotts will not harm an innocent!" insisted Ironstream.

Remembering what Sowsbreath said just moments before about the Deatheater attack, he asked, "Wait… Do you suspect the Potters of the massacre?"

Nodding, Sowsbreath added, "Not suspect – know. It's documented in the journal. Lily wrote that she and James wanted their manipulation to go beyond anything Dumbledore had ever accomplished."

Disgusted, Steeltoe said, "Apparently, the 'light' wasn't above using Deatheater tactics to get their way when they thought it necessary."

"How could they do this? Does she record that in her journal?"

Sowsbreath again nodded, "She mentions 'Padfoot' providing them with the information on a child. This is Sirius Black again, the best friend of James Potter and the heir to the Black family name. He'd just been dumped by a girl – Nancy McKinnon – who refused to continue a relationship after Black declined to propose marriage. She said some nasty things about him to his friends and Black wanted revenge. He provided details on the child, on the location of the McKinnon home and the wards protecting it. He even drew a map of the rooms. The wizard pointed Lily to the infant in his bed while helping James to seal the floo, windows and doors before igniting the fire."

"So why did Dumbledore condemn him to Azkaban without a trial?"

Sowsbreath rubbed his chin for a moment and then explained, "I'd speculate that Black would have inherited the Potter estate if there wasn't a child. Dumbledore sealed the wills and appointed himself magical guardian of the child. He thought to loot the vaults or inherit them today after Gringotts executes the child for attempted theft. Sirius Black knew there wasn't a child from the bodies of James and Lily Potter, and he should inherit…"

The goblin paused and closed the journal.

"Dumbledore was very quick to blame the Potters' deaths on Black; something about him being a secret Deatheater who betrayed their secret location to the Dark Lord."

"But, I don't think Dumbledore knew the complete story," Sowsbreath said. "Lily only wrote that Dumbledore knew they planned to lure the Dark Lord to his death. He knew nothing of the real child or their part in the McKinnon massacre."

"So, James, his wife and his friend were caught off guard by a change in the Dark Lord's plans?" asked Ironstream.

"Remember, James and Lily weren't to be at home," Sowsbreath said as he nodded. "The other friend named as 'Moony' in the journal, was to mind the child for the day while the Potters and Black were away on the evening of 1 November. This wizard had not been in contacted by Potter or Black for over a year. They wrote him several letters in the week before their deaths and apparently, the wizard was pleased to be invited back into their circle of friends."

"The day after the attack in Godric's Hollow, Dumbledore was heard around the ministry talking about how he'd saved the 'boy-who-lived'," Steeltoe said.

"So Black is locked up in Azkaban and out of Dumbledore's way… where is this other friend?" asked Ironstream.

"He vanished into the muggle world and was never even questioned."

"A loose end… that's not like Dumbledore," Ironstream observed.

"The wizard might have realized the betrayal and run," Steeltoe said with a shrug.

Sowsbreath asked, "What happened to the McKinnon wealth?"

Fourclaws frowned and explained, "Ogden managed assumed control of the McKinnon estate and of course, he withdrew all the gold and property contracts from management by Gringotts. We've picked up most of the properties for other accounts when they come up for auction and his home has been robbed several times with more and more gold disappearing. He'll be destitute in a few years but Gringotts has done nothing to bring this about!"

*(+++++)*

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