Chapter 18: Bonds, seats, and votes

Harry woke up feeling better than he remembered ever feeling. Somehow he felt lighter, happier, rested, and loved. As he tried to move, he felt a weight on his body. When he opened his eyes, everything was a little less blurry than usual. He could smell Hermione. She was apparently asleep on his chest. She looked like she had been crying. There was a misty gold glow over them and an even bigger sphere of energy that glowed in an iridescent hue. He stretched his neck to see around him.

As he took in his surroundings, he started growing concerned. He had no clue about what had happened. The last thing he could remember was seeing Father Martin and feeling queasy. The only light in the vault was the glow coming off the mists around him and Hermione and around the room. The first person he saw after Mione was Father Martin had apparently been thrown against a goblin, and both were unconscious a few feet from the marble bed. The priest's hand that had a rosary wrapped around it seemed like it had been burnt by said rosary given the shapes of the blisters. Sirius and Remus were in a similar position, but their hands were almost touching. Their palms were seriously burnt. Mr. Granger had his arm wrapped around his wife's middle. Both of their hands were scorched, and their faces seemed reddish, as if sunburnt. Several other goblins were strewn around the vault. Sharptooth was lying against the side of the wall nearest to Harry's feet.

Harry lightly touched Hermione's cheek. To his surprise, the point he touched glowed gold and expanded in a wave, just like when a stone hits a calm lake. When the wave reached the girl's eyes, they opened. Chocolate ponds with golden specks met emerald green irises with turquoise specks. Both children smiled sleepily. They just knew somehow that everyone in there would be fine. Just as Hermione was about to ask Harry how he felt, the kids heard the slow creaking caused by the opening of the vault's circular door. A shocked, gaping King Nagkrat stood there with his bodyguards who had similar expressions on their faces. The king reached out a shaky hand to touch the iridescent mist. His eyes widened. He gasped.

Nagkrat turned to his guards and whispered commands in Gobbledegook. Then, he took a small step forward and felt a strange tender resistance pushing him back. He decided his best course of action was to ask some questions and try to awaken those who were inside. What he thought this meant… It couldn't be true. This was the stuff of legends.

"Your Majesty?" Hermione said with a hoarse voice.

"Miss Granger, Mister Potter, are you alright?" the king said with a soft, concerned voice.

Hermione looked at Harry, who nodded. She put weight on her hands to sit up and regretted it immediately. One big blister ruptured under pressure on both palms."Ouch! I think my hands are burnt," her eyes filled with tears. Harry winced. He felt pain in his hands. He helped Hermione sit up next to him. When he turned his own hands palm up, but he saw no damage. He frowned in confusion.

"I am okay, I think," Harry said, shaking his head to try to make sense of what happened.

"Can you get off the platform?" Nagkrat asked.

Harry tried to jump down, but his thigh felt glued together to Hermione's. The girl attempted to jump with the same result. Something inside him told him to hold her hand, but he was scared to hurt her. He wrapped his hand around her wrist and their legs unglued. Boy and girl looked at each other in amazement. They jumped off together. Nagkrat's face looked even more in awe.

"Children, can you try something for me?" the children nodded at the monarch's question. "Mr. Potter, can you please grab both of Miss Granger's wrists and turn her hands' palms up?"

Harry stood facing the girl, and tenderly took her other wrist and turned both hands. Her palms were covered in two large burst blisters. There were many other blisters on the skin of her fingers. Both kids grimaced.

"Mr. Potter, can you try to wish Miss Granger to be healed?"

"What?! H-How?"

"Just think about her hands healed really hard. Go over that thought over and over again," the king explained.

Harry closed his eyes hard, and suddenly, there was a blinding blueish sphere of light that engulfed both children's hands.

"That should be enough," Nagkrat said, trying to sound calm and collected. Internally, he was freaking out. It was not in goblins' nature to freak out. They thought it was unbecoming to a race of brave warriors, but this, what could -in theory- not happen ever again, was happening!

Harry opened his eyes, and the light vanished. Hermione's palms were healed. Both kids gasped. They turned to the king with wide, confused eyes.

"I know you must have many questions. However, those are going to have to wait. Can you wish me to be able to come inside the vault?" the king requested. Both kids closed their eyes, and the king felt his feet leave the ground. His body was pulled forward as if he was being drawn in slowly by an invisible magnet. "Thank you. Whatever you do, don't stop holding hands."

The pulling stopped, and Nagkrat was able to land slowly and walk towards the kids. He began waving his hands all over the kids, hovering at about one inch off their skin, hair, and clothes. It was true. A genuine double voluntary bonding had occurred inside this vault within Gringotts, and he missed it! The worst part of it was that the meeting with the Irish branch leader wasn't even that important. He could have witnessed a once in a lifetime event. He stopped his motions and brought his palms to his face. He sighed.

"Are you okay, your majesty?" a concerned Hermione asked, noting how pale the goblin looked.

"Yes, I am just sorry I missed it."

"M-Missed what?"

"What happened here."

Harry looked at Hermione with questions written all over his face. She shrugged. "What happened to everyone?"

Mr. Granger snored lightly. Nagkrat frowned pensively: "They seem to be merely asleep. I will awaken my goblins."

The king hit his staff against the stone floors, which caused sparks, and the goblins began to stir. The one who had the priest over him looked questioningly at his king, who using his staff once more, levitated the Father, and lay him on the floor. All goblins knelt, then stood shakily. They looked around slowly at the mist surrounding the children, but especially at the iridescent mist that surrounded the vault wall to wall.

Bonecrusher stammered a "Your Majesty?"

Nagkrat held up his hand. "We will discuss this later. Help me awaken the humans."

"How?" Harry asked, looking at the king.

"What?"

"You said to help you awaken the humans…" Harry and Hermione replied in unison.

All goblins looked at each other in shock, then, their expressions turned fearful and confused as they looked at their king. Nagkrat silenced all questions by moving his staff up and down a few inches.

"I meant for the healers to help me. Can you please sit down on the platform?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Can we just hold two hands instead of four?" Hermione asked.

"Try and see if you can," Nagkrat suggested. They did. It worked.

The healers began walking around, running diagnostics on all those asleep. However, every couple of seconds, at least one of the goblins would look at the kids in awe.

"Five more minutes, auntie," Father Martin mumbled as one of the goblins began shaking his shoulder. The man opened one eye and jumped back. The spell that made him see the goblins as human doctors had been lifted at some point. "Heavens! Where am I?"

"Father Martin, it's okay," Hermione said, waving at the priest who was looking at the goblin in fear. "Mr." Hermione squinted to see the name on the shield on the goblin's back. "Mr. Sharpclaw will not hurt you."

Father Martin looked at the girl and around him. Where was he? What were those Misters? Harry could hear those questions as if they had been spoken out loud.

"F-Father Martin, you are at Gringotts. They are goblins."

"G-Goblins?" the man's eyes widened comically.

"Yes. These goblins are like doctors," Hermione explained with a smile.

"Don't worry, Father," a now awake Dan Granger said. "They are not exactly like Tolkien's Orcs, but perhaps they are similar." The priest looked momentarily less pale.

Emma dashed past the priest to hug her kids tightly. The children smiled and squeezed Emma with their free arms. Daniel joined in on the hug. To King Nagkrat's surprise, the golden mist surrounding the kids gave a pulse of energy and engulfed the Grangers. Sharptooth recovered the quickest and started speaking rapidly with his king in whispered Gobbledegook.


As the Grangers asked Harry how he was feeling, Sirius was trying to wake Remus. The blisters on his boyfriend's body looked painful. Would they heal? It was a déjà vu to Snape using Sectusempra on the man he loved all those years ago. The healer kept scanning Remus. When Harry saw his distressed godfather crying, holding a hurt uncle Moony, he looked at Hermione, who nodded, and both jumped off the marble bed and ran to their uncles.

"Sirius," Harry placed his small hand on the shaking man's shoulder. The boy began "Can we try-"

"To wake him," finished Hermione.

Padfoot hugged both kids tightly. He could see they were okay. He moved aside and saw with amazement how they put their free hands over Remus' temples and started to wish him to wake. The same blueish light engulfed Moony's head and extended down to his body. The man opened his eyes. His blisters were gone. He wrapped his arms around his cubs and inhaled deeply. Oddly, he could only smell a mix of the cubs, but it hit him as one smell instead of two. Padfoot joined in the hug and kissed Moony's forehead. The golden mist that was around the kids was still glowing softly. The iridescent glow dissipated.

"Ahem," said King Nagkrat in a commanding voice. "Healers, your nation thanks you for your service. Go back to the clinic and check each other for consequences. You have tomorrow off. Rest. Do not speak a word of what you have seen here to anyone. There will be an official notification. Everyone else, follow me."


"Do be seated," Nagkrat motioned with his hand, and chair appeared behind those present. Father Martin jumped in shock. They sat. "I have reasons to believe we will be interrupted by Madam Bones very soon. So please, listen to me and withhold questions until the end."

Everyone nodded: even Father Martin, who was still scared and confused.

"I was called to come back from my meeting for an emergency code six hundred and sixty-six. That code has only been uttered about two other times in goblin history. Both times occurred over one hundred years ago. That code stands for an evil spirit. As I am sure the cleric here knows, that number also stands for the mark of the beast as his religion calls it. Us goblins do not like to deal with spirits. Our race keeps a respectful distance from the spiritual realm. We respect them from afar. That being said, when I was told the emergency involved Mr. Potter, I came as fast as I could. When we as a nation offer an alliance, friendship, and protection, we mean it. However, when I was about to get here, there was a massive pulse of energy that made everywhere go dark: candles, oil lamps, lumus spells, everything went dark. I couldn't move for a few seconds. As soon as I got here, I flew to the healing vault, and when I opened the door, I was absolutely stunned. Lord Black and Mr. Lupin may have heard of this. What I saw in the vault is the stuff of legends. There was an iridescent glowing mist surrounding the vault in the shape of a sphere. I could feel the intense energy coming off it. Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, though, were surrounded by an additional mist. The one you can still see surrounds them. The last time these events happened was in times of Merlin and Morgana…" King Nagkrat took a deep breath.

All humans in front of him had different degrees of confusion and concern all over their faces. Sharptooth was pale. King Nagkrat continued, "I couldn't go in the room. I tried, and the energy of the iridescence pushed me out gently. The children were awake. Hermione's hands were badly blistered, and when she tried to sit up, the blisters ruptured." Emma grabbed her daughter's free hand and turned it over. There was no sign of damage. "I needed to make sure I was right about the theory I had. When the kids tried to separate, they couldn't. That was a good clue. I saw Harry wince in pain when Hermione's blisters ruptured, but he was unharmed. That was another clue. I tested my theory by asking Harry to take Hermione's hands and to wish them to be healed." The Grangers looked at each other in disbelief, but they were not going to interrupt. Nagkrat continued, "He closed his eyes tightly, and this blueish light surrounded both their hands, and when the light faded, miss Granger's hands were perfect: no blisters at all. Then, I asked the children to wish for me to be able to come inside the vault. They did, and the iridescent energy pulled me in, levitating me towards the kids." The king took a deep breath. "Before I tell you what I believe is happening, I need to know exactly what transpired when I wasn't here."


Remus Lupin had been the second-best student in his years at Hogwarts after Lily Potter. He was very smart and well-read. But nothing could have prepared him for what King Nagkrat described. It was impossible. It was unheard of. It was just stories people used to tell. Bonds were extremely rare. Double bonds had never happened before. Wait a minute! They had. Only once. But that couldn't be happening again. It just couldn't. He looked at his cubs. Was that why their scents had combined? He felt his eyes widen and fill with tears. He felt more than saw Sirius' piercing look that demanded one thing "Tell me what you know now!"

"Your Majesty, what you are saying can't be happening. I mean, they are five!" Remus said in a voice full of despair. The Grangers got alarmed at their tone. Harry and Hermione frowned, looking at Moony, the king, and each other.

"Mr. Lupin, I am aware of their age, but I assure you that this is true. They could understand me when I asked the healers to help me wake you."

"But sir, you spoke very clearly," Hermione countered. Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"My sweet child, I thank you for the compliment, but you shouldn't have been able to understand me. I addressed the healers in Gobbledegook, the goblin language," the king replied with a smile.

The kids gasped.

"Okay, everyone, stop beating around the bush. Someone, please be straight and tell us what happened to our kids?"

Harry blushed. He really liked being considered as their kid.

"They bonded," King Nagkrat replied, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes. What this meant for the children, for the wizarding world, for magic as a whole was insurmountable.

Sirius gaped. The King of Goblins had tears in his eyes? Was the world coming to an end? Then the words played back in his mind: They bonded. In different circumstances, Padfoot would have loved to snigger and make juvenile dirty jokes about the phrase, but this was his godson and a girl he loved like a niece. They couldn't have just bonded.

"Whoa! Wait a goddamn minute!" Sirius exclaimed.

The priest quickly admonished him with a sharp "Language!"

"Sorry, Father. Just what type of bond are we talking about here?!"

"I believe they have been Soul Bonded."

You could have heard a pin drop. The children looked at each other in confusion. All the adults were shocked.

"What does that even mean?" Mr. Granger asked, looking at the kids with worry.

"It means that their souls have united. Their magics have become one."

"In plain non-magical terms, please?!" Emma said with exasperation, looking at Remus.

"Well, have you heard the term soulmates?"

The Grangers nodded.

"It is like that, but in the literal sense. It is not that the children's souls are compatible. They are one and the same now. Magic has recognized their love for each other and their compatibility. They cannot be separated now. I know the comparison is daunting, but in the eyes of our laws, they are as good as wedded now…"

"WHAT?!," the Grangers yelled.

"They cannot be married! They are five years old!" Daniel yelled, standing up. "Undo this!" the man ordered to the king.

"King Nagkrat, Mr. Granger, means no offense," Sharptooth said, pulling Dan back down.

"Like hell, I don't! This happened in your nation! Fix it!" Daniel punched the desk in front of the goblin.

King Nagkrat looked at Sirius with understanding. One movement of his staff and the man was sitting down. "Mr. Granger, I can't do anything. Magic did this, not me. I wasn't even there when it happened. Even if I could do something -which I can't- you would regret asking me to interfere. Trying to separate them would kill them both…"

"What do you even mean it would kill them?!" Emma asked agitatedly.

"We can't let go, mommy," Hermione explained.

"What?!" Emma asked with a frown.

"Look. We will try to separate."

The kids stood up and walked in opposite directions, stretching the arm they were holding hands with behind them. As soon as their hands let go of each other, a swift magnetic pull stuck them to each other by their backs, and the golden mist which had been stretched sent off sparks. "See?" Hermione said.

Emma stood up to pull Hermione from Harry while Daniel tried to do the same to Harry, but the pull was so strong that when it brought the kids back together, Emma and Daniel almost hit their foreheads.

"Mrs. Granger, w-we can only separate our b-bodies if we hold hands. I'm sorry," Harry hung his head in shame. Hermione did the same.

"Daniel, Emma, we are as shocked as you are, but the children did nothing wrong. This wasn't done on purpose," Remus said with a small smile.

"Will they ever be able to let go of each other?" Emma asked with concern.

"Oh, certainly. Harry and Hermione will need to be touching while the bond settles. That shouldn't take more than a few days. As we said, there hasn't been much written about this because soul bonds are very rare. Which leads me to the other bond."

"What do you mean, the other bond?"

"Other than the kids' golden mist, there was an iridescent one. Soul bonds are usually blessed by Hestia."

"The goddess of the hearth?" Lupin asked.

"Mommy, what is a hearth?" Hermione asked in a whisper.

"A home, right?" Emma asked Remus. He nodded.

"The other bond, it may be The Bond of Hecate/Isis."

There were simultaneous questions of "What?!" "Who?!" "That's impossible!"

Before Nagkrat could reply, there was a knock on the door.


The doors swung open to reveal Madam Bones dressed in all white. She stared at the kids in awe for a while. She then remembered her manners and bowed. Another woman was with her. She, too, was wearing all white. However, her robes were much more adorned and looked expensive. She had on an elegant fascinator, and her gray hair was in a simple bun.

"Your Majesty, may I introduce our current Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold," Madam Bones said. The Minister gave the goblin a small nod. "Minister, this is King Nagkrat."

"A pleasure, I am sure," said Millicent with evident distaste on her face. "I am here in an official capacity to bring this letter to Lord and Lady Potter."

"I am afraid there is no Lady Potter. I am acting Head of the Potter family," said Sirius looking apologetically at the king. He was shocked at how disrespectful the Minister had been. Remus looked at Hermione for a few seconds and gasped.

"You are not Lord Potter, you felon. Not anymore. I meant Lord Harry Potter and Lady Hermione Potter," Minister Bagnold said with a frown. Sirius flinched at the word felon, and Remus looked ready to bare his fangs and bite the woman.

"What?!" Emma asked, looking at the woman in shock. She turned to Remus, "I thought you said the wedded part as a metaphor!"

The minister ignored the muggle and went on. "Magic has recognized them as a lawfully wedded couple. This emancipates them and gives them a right to use and practice magic consistently as much as they choose to. All the information is in the letter," the Minister said in an off-putting voice. She attempted to approach the kids to hand them the letter but was stopped when two goblins materialized in front of her and pointed two spears at her.

"Back off," one of the guards growled. Amelia pulled the Minister back behind the door's threshold.

"How dare you give me an order, creature!? I am the sitting Minister for Magic, you oaf!"

"Your Majesty, I apologize. The Minister isn't well versed in etiquette. Brave guard, I am sorry," Amelia said apologetically.

"Madam Bones, you may come in and bring him the letter," King Nagkrat said, motioning her to come inside. He looked deeply into the Minister's eyes. "As for you, I would suggest you learn how to behave on Goblin territory. You have NO power here. The last wand carrier to threaten my life was Albus Dumbledore, and he's now buried in a cell right by our dragons awaiting goblin trial."

The Minister seemed genuinely surprised. When had this happened? Minister Bagnold was about three months late in her correspondence. Madam Bones' letters labeled urgent hadn't been opened.

She brought the letter and handed it to Harry, who looked very confused. The boy looked at Hermione and saw his expression mirrored hers. The girl asked, "We are married?"

"Yes, you stupid child, that is what I said," exclaimed the Minister with a frown.

"She is NOT a stupid child! She's very smart!" Harry yelled at the Minister. "You are a very m-mean and d-disrespectful grown-up!"

"At least I don't stutter, boy!" Millicent spat back. "You are a shame to your great pureblood name!"

"Hey! Shut up already! How dare you bully children!?" Father Martin stood up angrily. "Today has been a most trying day for all of us. I have no clue who you are, but I have never seen such a disrespectful minister in my life. You have been offensive to wonderful people I care about deeply and to a goblin that has been very patient and welcoming for me. Stop with this disgusting, unbecoming comments. There are children here."

"What is a cleric even doing here?" the Minister sneered. Father Martin realized that the word cleric was meant in an insulting way by her, but not by the goblins. What a horrid woman!

"Scribe!" the King yelled. A goblin sitting on a desk full of parchment, quills, and inks appeared next to Nagkrat. "I hereby declare Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold persona non grata for the Goblin Nation globally. She will have her vault closed, and everything inside will be put in her bedroom at Bagnold Manor. She has disrespected the King of Goblins and Most Ancient and Noble Houses that are our allies, friends, and under the protection of goblins. I will have her banished from the premises and into her office!"

"You cannot do that! You are the only bank in England! How am I supposed to conduct business?!"

"There are many muggle banks in London, Minister."

"You cannot do this! I have my key!" Millicent insisted.

"Do you now?" Nagkrat smirked. The woman palmed her robes and found no key.

"How did you do that?!"

"Keys are linked to the vaults they open. Your vault was removed, so there is no key anymore."

The woman's look of outrage was almost comical.

"The reason you are banished, Minister, goes beyond what happened today. It is retributive action for your comments on the Halloween we lost Lord James Potter and his wife, Lady Lily Potter. I have just been waiting for the day you stupidly decided to insult us as you did them so we could get our revenge."

"What?!"

"Charlus Potter was a dear friend of mine. I respected James and Lily and mourned their loss. You, however, directed wand carriers to party instead of mourn for all lost in the war. The public was concerned about the possibility of breaking the Statute of Secrecy with all the partying being hosted by the Ministry. There were fireworks and loud music that the non-magicals had no explanation for. Have you forgotten? You appeared on The Prophet's front page in an official capacity, saying, 'I assert our inalienable right to party.' Did you not?" Nagkrat's smirk went dark. Several gasps were heard.

"You did what?!" Siris growled. "You celebrated the cold blood murders of two of the brightest kindest people the wizarding world has ever seen?!"

"You encouraged people to celebrate a child been made an orphan!?" Remus' eyes were black with fury.

"How dare you even look at their son!?" Sirius yelled. "Be glad I have no wish to return to Azkaban!" Daniel put a restraining hand on Sirius' shoulder and mouthed Harry.

"Be glad it is not a full moon yet!" Remus said with little restraint getting up quickly. Emma jumped off her chair, hugged Remus' waist, and pulled him back.

"I'd be so glad to skin you with my own claws!" Sharptooth bellowed.

Harry was shaking with sobs. Hermione was holding him. Emma moved to wrap her kids in a hug. She started whispering soothing words.

King Nagkrat stood and gave a final warning "If you ever darken our threshold again or if we ever hear anything about you importuning our allies and friends, you will meet a horrible end." Nagkrat hit his staff harshly on the floor, and the woman disappeared. The goblin scribe vanished right after that.

Harry's shaky hand offered the sealed letter to Mrs. Granger.

"Can you r-read me the letter?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Emma braced herself and read out loud.


Dear Lord Harry James Potter and Lady Hermione Jean Potter,

Heads of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter

Gringotts

The Department of Ceremonial Records greets you and wishes you the best in your wedded union!

Considering that:

-A genuine voluntary Soul Bound between you occurred today at 16.30h

-You were both minors to the WW and the MW

-It is our duty to provide guidance

Henceforth:

-Know that Soul Bonds are rare, special, and can't be undone.

-You are now considered emancipated in the WW. You may stop by a wand-maker of your choice and get your wands.

-You are now capable of managing your titles, your seats in the Wizengamot, your properties, and your vast fortune with no intermediation. Please reply if you want a copy of the only book on soul bonds we have. Eventually, you may know more about soul bonds than we do.

-You can expect your bond to settle within 48h. After that time, you can stop touching permanently. We recommend you still spend at least a few hours in really close quarters daily, especially given your age.

-You will notice heightened abilities and new skills. These will probably improve and increase with time.

-Be aware that your bond will make you feel each other's emotions and pain. If one of you breaks an arm, the other will feel the pain, but their arm will remain unbroken. If one of you were to die, the other one would follow soon enough.

If you need information on how too claim your seats, contact your former magical guardian Sirius Black. If you need information on how to claim your assets, contact your account manager at Gringotts.

With nothing further,

Marietta Crimstein

Head of the Department of Ceremonial Records


"Mrs. Granger?" Harry asked.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Do I have to g-go away from your h-home?"

"What? No, honey. Never! It is our home, okay? You can live with us as long as you want to. Right, Dan?" Emma asked in a loving tone.

"Of course, Harry. You are part of our family... So are Sirius and Remus now," Daniel offered with a genuine smile, ruffling the boy's already messy hair. "We just have many questions."

"Ask away," King Nagkrat said with a crooked grin.

"How is it that the Department of whatever here," Emma said, waving the letter. "Thinks that children can take on so many responsibilities. Harry is just halfway through learning how to read and write! No wonder they thought Dumbledork could do so many things at once!"

"What even are Wizengamot seats? I remember you said it was a High Court of Law, but wouldn't that be only for people like Mr. Tonks? I mean, people who studied the law…"

"Not really," Remus began, "Look, the Wizengamot existed even before the Ministry for Magic was created. This is a bit confusing, so I'll try to simplify it. The Heads of Most Ancient and Noble Houses get three seats per House and three votes per seat. This makes their votes decisive. Each time something is voted, those families' opinions are counted nine times. The Heads of just Most Ancient or just Most Noble Houses, get two seats and two votes per seat. Therefore, their opinion counts four times."

The Grangers nodded. "How many Most Ancient and Noble Houses are there?"

"Thirteen," Remus replied with a smile. He loved that the Grangers loved knowledge. They always asked good questions and reserved judgment.

Sirius took over "Then, the heads of just Ancient or just Noble Houses get one seat and two votes per seat. This makes their opinion counted twice. Lastly, Heads of Minor Houses get one seat and one vote per seat. So their opinion counts only once. The Heads of Families make up about seventy percent of the entire Wizengamot. Another twenty percent is made up of regular wizards and witches that are chosen… like a jury of peers?" Sirius tried to make analogies to things the non-magicals would understand. Things he had learned from Lily. Still, Father Martin looked like he was about to faint.

"How many of those are there?"

"Of the Ancient and Noble, there are just seven lines alive today… I think. Minor houses, there are five lines alive. Usually, because of old alliances, Heads of Houses do not want to vote against Most Noble and Ancient Houses. After the war, most alliances went dormant."

"I am going to need this in writing. So confusing!"

Remus carried on, "Then, there is five percent of seats which are appointed by the Minister for Magic, for political reasons, and another five percent there are Ghosts and Spiritual Leaders."

"So, no judges?" "Ghosts and Spiritual Leaders?!" Dan and Father Martin asked simultaneously with bewilderment.

"That would be the Wizengamot's Chief Warlock, who, in theory, should be impartial," Sirius answered grimly. Hemione had sat on her mother's lap, and Harry sat on Sirius' knee as not to stop holding her hand.

"And wizards and witches thought Dumbledore was impartial?!" Emma was shocked.

"Some did… To answer your question, Father, yes, real Ghosts, and Spiritual Leaders of different Faiths. Before you ask, your Pope is not part of this. He was invited, as all Popes have been, but declined on account of his other responsibilities. He assigned a Cardinal who represents your church and Pope. We have representations of all major religions in Britain."

Father Martin shook his head in disbelief. "Thank you. I will not lie and say I am less confused but thank you for answering. I had no idea. Now, before any of you get into more complicated things about this very interesting world… Where am I? What is this place? What happened to the doctors who were working with me? Who brought me here?"

"So many questions for a cleric," Nagkrat chuckled at his own joke. "I thought you'd have a bit more faith," the king laughed.

Martin looked at him in confusion. "I have full faith in God. I am just presently unsure as to whether I am awake or merely dreaming!"

"Martin, you are awake. We hadn't told you about this world because we are still trying to wrap our own minds around it," Daniel explained.

"I understand, I just want someone to answer my questions," the priest replied softly.

"You are in the Wizarding World. To be more specific, you are in Diagon Alley, within a bank named Gringotts," Sirius said slowly.

"The bank is also autonomous goblin territory. Think of Gringotts like your Vatican! Ha!" Nagkrat laughed. Sirius and Remus chuckled. Emma looked at them admonishingly. The King sobered up. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. The joke was just praying to be told!" the king laughed again. At Emma's glare, he took a deep breath to calm himself and said, "My name is Nagkrat. I am the King of Goblins. There were no human doctors. They were always goblin healers. We placed an illusion in your mind to see them as human."

"Goblins are powerful sentient magical beings," Remus explained.

"Next, you will tell me about your elves…"

"No, but we can show you… Neesy!" Sirius said. The elf popped in front of Sirius, and the priest jumped back. "This is the Potter head house elf and friend, Neesy."

"Master Black, what is yous needing?" Neesy bowed. "Master Harry, I is happy you are bonded. Mistress," the elf bowed to Hermione and Harry, who just looked at each other in confusion, but smiled at the eager elf.

"Neesy, we need pepper ups and burn balm if you have any, please."

"Neesy be having all yous need. Neesy was worried Master Harry would be hurt, so Neesy is been spending a lot of time making medicine," the little elf nodded quickly, which made her ears flap. Father Martin was beginning to hyperventilate.

Neesy approached him, "You is needing to calm down, rosarys man. I helps."

The elf didn't wait for an answer and waved her hands over the man's chest. His chest glowed purple. The priest calmed down immediately. His eyes widened, and he said a weak "Thank you."

The elf bowed, snapped her fingers, and vanished. Sirius sat Harry on his chair and got up.

"How did she do that?!" Martin asked in shock.

"The same way I do this," Sirius said, transforming into Padfoot. He stood on his hind legs and put his front paws on the priest's thighs.

"Pa-Foo!" Martin said, scratching behind the dog's ears. Padfoot wagged his tail and barked; he then licked the man's cheek and transformed back into his human form. "Incredible!"

"It's magic. I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you. There is this thing called the Statute of Secrecy, which is one of our most sacred laws. Not to show non-magical people our abilities so we can remain secret and hidden. I went to prison for a crime I did not commit, I don't want to return… After all, your kind used to burn us magical folk…"

"I understand. Personally, I have always thought that the Inquisition was one of the darkest times of the church. To kill the unknown just because we don't understand it isn't fair. But how could you tell the kids, then?"

"When I told the kids, I didn't break the rules because they are magical, and the Grangers, as parents of a witch, had already seen accidental magic. I can show you here because goblin territory doesn't care about those things." Father Martin scratched the back of his head. The kids are magical?

"We really don't. We have no care for silly human laws, races, religious beliefs, or sexualities," Nagkrat said, looking pointedly at a blushing Remus.

"They just care about battles, blood, and gold… or well, business," Sirius smirked.

"True," Nagkrat said with a chuckle


Neesy popped back in the King's chambers. She was holding a wooden platter. It had different colored vials, gauze, and small pots. She began distributing the vials to all those in the room. She gave all of them, except for the king, an orange vial, which Sirius and Remus drank greedily: Pepper Up potion. Then, she doused their hands and reddened face with a purple liquid soaked on gauze. She then handed them a green vial and instructed them to pour it on their palms and rub it like they would soap wherever they felt their skin was burnt. They did, and their blisters and red spots disappeared. As they were healed, the king asked them questions about what unfolded in the vault. Everyone answered to the best of their abilities and their answers solidified the king's belief that the two bonds had occurred. Nagkrat called for tea.

"I think it will be good to call the rest of your potential guardians to be informed of this development," King Nagkrat said. "Once this becomes public knowledge, you will be targeted."

"Targeted by whom?!" asked Daniel with his arms crossed.

"Voldemort."

"Isn't he dead?" Emma asked with a frown.

Remus said, "We don't think so."

"Regardless of if he survived… his followers are still out there. With Dumbledore going dark on us, we can't trust that he wouldn't replace or at least work with Voldemort. Otherwise, why would Bellatrix and Lucius have come to Gringotts break him out?"

"This Bella person is the one with the crazy hair and makeup?" Emma asked as she checked her kids' pulse.

"Yes, she's Andy's twin"

"No way!"

"Yes way. Fortunately, Andy is the complete opposite of her sister. She was cast out of the family when she decided to marry Ted. Her parents were hardcore blood supremacists."

"Cast out? What does that mean in the Wizarding World?"

"She was removed from the Black family tree and lost the name black. She also had her wand taken away and snapped by the head of the house. My uncle said that if she wanted to marry a muggle, she could live like a muggle," Sirius answered darkly.

"That must be horrible for her…"

"It is. At least she can still do wandless magic, but she is not that good at it. It takes a lot of concentration and more magical energy."

"Uncle Sirius?" Hermione asked, climbing into his lap and putting her small hand that wasn't holding Harry's on his cheek.

"Yes?"

"Are you the Head of House Black now?" she asked. Sirius nodded. Hermione continued, "Can you remove the cast out?"

Emma gasped. "That is such a good idea, sweetie. Can you uncast her?"

Sirius looked at Remus. Moony looked equally pensieve. "Perhaps, we need to check. Augusta surely knows."

"I'll write to her tonight," Remus said.

"Anyways, I just want you to know that if you have security concerns, you will need to move to a safer location," Nagkrat suggested after clearing his voice.

"Move where? We work in London, we can't move that far out?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be far out. But it does have to be concealed. If it comes to that, we will help you with everything. I suggest you talk to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall about the pair bond and what that means. She will be able to explain it much better. I will notify her while you go home. It has been a long day. Father, I am sorry for the inconvenience. We hope you hold no ill will towards my nation."

"No ill will, I am just still so confused…"

"Write to Cardinal Poupard at the office of Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Your church's authorities keep hiding us in that council as if magic were a religion," the king shrugged.

Martin gaped. It was strangely fitting. Paul Poupard had doctorates in Theology and History. If Martin recalled correctly, some catholic authorities had issues with him for being interested in the relationships between faith and reason, Church and state, and even science and religion. What a fitting representative. The priest nodded and attempted a small smile. At least he could get one full side of the story now.

"I will write to him. Thank you."

"You can also write to me. Forward the letter through the Grangers. Let us set up a meeting for later this week once the bond has stabilized," Sharptooth said with a smile.

The king stood up. Everyone present stood up as well. Nagkrat touched a rather large feather pen with his staff, and it glowed. He told everyone to hold on to the feather. It would take them home. They all said their goodbyes to Sharptooth and the king. Hermione and Harry broke protocol and jumped to the monarch's arms to hug him. Nagkrat was shocked. He awkwardly patted the children's heads. Hermione whispered, "I know you are worried. But you will always be our friend," she then kissed the king's wrinkly cheek. Harry whispered, "We t-take care of friends." Sirius was pale. All guards had stopped at a look from their king, but they looked ready to chop the children. Nagkrat smiled at the bonded pair and said in Gobbledegook, "I appreciate that. I fear for my nation. But out of all the possibilities, I think you are a great source of hope for a better future."

"Kids, come on." Dan held out his hand in a motion for them to get closer. They smiled and hugged Sharptooth before they went towards the feather. Father Martin pinched the feather just like the Grangers did. Harry and Hermione held on to a bit of the feather.

Sirius gave Remus a rather passionate, but quick kiss. Harry and Hermione giggled. Seeing people in love and happy made them giddy. Their bond sparked. The men separated at a wolf-whistle from Emma. "Sorry, boys. We should go. Remy, come for lunch tomorrow, okay? We will need your help to explain everything to the Father."

"I'll be there at noon."

"Perfect, come on you old dog, no puppy eyes. We're leaving," Dan said with a smirk.

Sirius gave Remus one last peck, bowed to the king, who waved him off and held on to the feather. In a blink, they vanished.

A/N: All I own is my plot bunnies. Thank you for reading. -Lux