Harry Potter and The Metamorphmagus' Heart
Chapter 1
Privet drive was perfectly normal in every way or so the residents thought. Only one seemingly normal family had a secret that they desperately fought to keep hidden.
The Dursley's, of Number 4 Privet Drive, had received a surprise the morning of November 1st 1981. It was a most unexpected surprise, and it was heralded by a high-pitched shriek from Mrs. Dursley. A tall thin blonde-haired woman with about twice as much neck as any normal person. Her husband, Mr. Dursley, came running at the sound of his wife's shriek.
"Petunia? Darling what is it? Is there some hooligan or wild animal threatening you?" he said from behind. He reached for his wife with one large and rather beefy hand and gently moved his wife to the side. This was a necessity because Mr. Dursley was a large and beefy man who was nearly as wide as tall and in contrast to his wife had almost no neck. His hair was dark and thick and very well kept, but his pride came from his thick and very bushy mustache. Giving the man a very walrus like appearance.
He looked out the door expecting a gang of hooligans or perhaps a snake based on his wife's shriek. Instead, he found a baby lying on his doorstep. Wrapped in a heavy blanket and clutching a litter in one little hand was a baby boy, with thick black hair that spread wildly around his head and an angry red lightning bolt scar on his forehead.
Mr. Dursley reached down picking up the baby in his beefy hands. His touch caused the boy to stir awake and look at him with two brilliantly emerald-green eyes. The boy's face scrunched in concentration looking at the man before making a little laughing coo.
"Petunia darling, could you perhaps read the letter that came with this little tyke. I wonder who would have thought to drop a child on our doorstep instead of dropping him with one of the orphanages run by the state." Mr Dursley stared at the boy as the boy stared back at him. "I must say he has the most vibrant green eyes. I've only seen eyes like that once, your sister Lilly had eyes like that." Mr. Dursley said more to himself than to his wife as he wondered what the process was for depositing an orphan into state care.
"Vernon," Mrs Dursley said in a rather shaky voice. "That boy is Lilly's son, Harry. It seems my sister and her husband were killed last night by some dark lord and we're to be saddled with her son. Something about magic in our blood protecting us and Harry from this Voldemort's followers. That boy is Harry Potter, my nephew and I'm sure he'll be one of her kind." Mrs. Dursley said the last part with a stinging venom that would have wilted anyone it had been aimed toward.
Vernon held the boy away from his as if he were dangerous. "Can't we just dump him in an orphanage. I will not have any of that…. Freakishness in this house! We couldn't possibly raise him and expose our little Dudley to such an unnatural child." Vernon said slamming the door as he was starting to yell, his face turning purple a clear sign he was going into a rage.
"The note is from the Headmaster of that school! It says not to try putting the boy in an orphanage. That he is watching and will know if we try any such thing. It looks like we're stuck with this little freak. Why don't we keep him in the cupboard under the stairs? We could set it up as his room. He's about Dudley's age but he's so much smaller, we can just give him things Duddikins has outgrown and not have to spend any more money than necessary on him." Petunia said leaning against the wall of the entry. She was shaking and feeling faint, so she just let herself slide to the floor.
"Well, if we have to keep the boy there will be no freakishness in this house! Even if I have to beat it out of him." Vernon said heading to the kitchen to finish his breakfast. "You see to setting him up, I need to get ready for work. We will discuss it more this evening."
So, the Hero of the Wizarding World, the Boy Who Lived, the Vanquisher of Lord Voldemort, and perhaps the most famous child in the wizarding world began what he would come to look back on as the worst years of his life…at the hands of the Dursley family.
Andromeda Tonks yawned as she set a squirmy Nymphadora in her high chair. "My, my, Nymphadora aren't you in a good mood this morning." she crooned to the toddler sporting bright lemon yellow hair as she babbled and played with her little spoon. Andromeda, or Andi as her husband Ted and most of her friends called her, smiled to herself as she put the kettle on the cooker and got ready to make herself a rather stiff cup of tea. Lord knew she was going to need it since little Nymphadora was a ball of energy this morning.
She smiled to herself, humming happily as she set about making breakfast. It was amazing how happy she was now. Her marriage to Ted was wonderful, he was such a kind and mellow man and his business as a solicitor was taking off rapidly since he'd started 5 years ago. Especially, since he was licensed to practice both muggle and wizarding law. This fact alone had garnered him a large muggle-born clientele. She had a beautiful baby girl who had inherited one of the rarer black family gifts. There hadn't been a Metamorphmagus in the black family for 300 hundred years and Andi for one couldn't be prouder.
So what if her stuffy pureblood family has disowned her. Their inbreeding had done nothing to keep the family strong magically and had led to more than a few members going stark raving mad.
She leaned against the kitchen counter, looking over the spacious kitchen containing a few muggle appliances and sky-blue walls and ceilings. Her spacious cabinets wrapped around three walls and were all oak and stained a light brown color. It was the perfect mix of old and new and she couldn't be happier. She set her cup of tea down on the kitchen island and turned her attention back to making breakfast for her daughter.
She yawned as she did. They had stayed up late celebrating the fall of He-who-must-not-be-named the previous night. She'd been too excited to hear that her family was safe to pay much attention to the rumors. Instead, they had finished off a bottle… Ok, two bottles of a rather good red wine they had been saving. She hadn't got much sleep, but it was a fair trade off in her opinion.
She had just set down a bowl of cereal with banana slices for little Nymphadora when she heard a knocking at the window.
"Oh Nymphadora, look, the mail is here." she smiled as the baby babbled having learned to say the word owl the other day. She repeated the word with much excitement between shoving chunks of banana in her little mouth with sticky hands.
Andi chuckled looking forward to the day when her daughter could feed herself and not require a bath after the meal. She walked to the window, opening it, to let in the owl. A rather smart looking screech owl swooped in landing on the kitchen table with her copy of the Daily Prophet and held out it's leg for the payment.
She crossed the room to her purse fishing out five bronze knuts and slipped them into the pouch on the owl's leg. The bird let out a screech and flew back out the window. Andi sat down at the table near Nymphadora and unrolled the Daily Prophet.
"Now my little Nymphadora, let's see what the paper has to say about the fall of the Dark Lord." She said scanning the front page with a gasp.
"Oh no, the Potters are dead, but little Harry survived." she said her voice near breaking as tears filled her eyes. "Oh, that poor boy lost his family. Well, he's still got us Nymphadora." she said to the baby who smiled back at her with a face covered in banana mush. The child's hair had become raven black and her eyes bright green at the mention of her cousin.
"That's right Nymphadora, your little friend has lost his family, but I won't let him be alone in the world. We're cousins. Third cousins, but still cousins, so he's family, no matter how distant." she said, Nymphadora cooing as she continued to feed herself banana and cereal. Yet somehow, was managing to wear as much of her breakfast as she got into her mouth.
"Be a dear Nymphadora and don't make a big mess. I need to write your father and ask him what we can do to make sure Harry Potter is taken care of by his family." Andi said as she hurried out of the room grabbing a ball point pen from the desk beside the phone and piece of parchment. She returned to the room and sat at the table across from Nymphadora to write.
Teddy dearest, I've just read in the Prophet that the Potters were killed last night. They say that young Harry survived. I know we both liked the Potters since James was my second Cousin, once removed, but no matter how distant, Harry is still family. We can't allow the boy to grow up with no one who cares about him.
I know it's a lot to ask for but try and see if you can find out what's been done with the boy and if Sirius has claimed him. He's Harry's Godfather, isn't he?
Either way, I'd like you to treat this as an urgent matter and let me know what you find out.
Love Andi.
She stuffed the parchment into an envelope, sealed it with wax and set it on the hall table.
"Ok Nymphadora, let's get you cleaned up. We're going to Diagon Alley so mommy can send an owl. If you're a good girl maybe you can have an ice cream." she said as the baby squealed with delight.
Andi took the time to wash up the breakfast dishes, finish her tea and wipe the baby down with a wet rag before taking her upstairs to dress her for the day.
Once Nymphadora was dressed in a cute little pink dress with matching shoes, Andi grabbed one of her better cloaks and threw it over her shoulders. She scooped Nymphadora up and headed downstairs setting her in her stroller. She stepped out of the house pausing long enough to lock up before stepping to the curb and raising her wand into the air calling the night bus.
On the wild and crazy ride to the leaky cauldron she read the rest of the paper seeing that her sister was still at large. She cursed under her breath at that thought.
"Who knows what Bellatrix would do now that her precious Dark Lord was gone. I hope they catch her soon." she mumbled.
Knowing she looked exactly like Bellatrix except a little older and her eyes a grey instead of violet, she pulled her cloak's hood up over her head as she stepped off of the knight bus and entered The Leaky Cauldron, pushing Nymphadora's stroller.
She passed through the Cauldron trying to attract as little attention as possible and stepped into the backlot tapping the correct brick with her wand. She waited for the bricks to reform the entrance into the alley before stepping through in Diagon Alley.
She walked quickly to the owl post, but not so fast as to attract undo attention. It was a skill she had developed over the course of the war. Between not wanting to be confused with her sister by the public and not wanting to attract death eater attention she had become very skilled. A skill used during her daily walks between St. Mungo's and the apparition point in Diagon Alley. Sadly, her days as a healer were over until Nymphadora was a little older. With thoughts of restarting her career as a healer in her mind she entered the owl post.
The owl post was small cramped but quaint building and smelled of bird droppings and feathers. There was tall counter loaded with piles of parchment, ink pots of various colors, assorted quills, and envelops. Behind the counter were stacks of boxes, wrapping paper, and various ribbons. The walls were lined to the left with postal boxes and to the right with numerous perches for the various post owls at the post office. Standing behind the counter was a pleasant, if bored looking old man, with thinning grey hair, a kindly face and bespectacled blue eyes. He was dressed in his postal uniform and appeared to have lost much weight recently for it hung loosely upon his spare frame.
"Ahh good morning young lady, what can I do for you this fine morning." The clerk whose name tag read Basil asked in a jolly tone.
"Good morning… Basil, is it? I need to send a letter. I've already written and sealed it. I need one of your fastest owls to take it to this address. And I'll be needing to send a second letter to Hogwarts, I think." Andi added as an afterthought. Surely if anyone knows where the boy is, it would be the old codger Dumbledore, she thought as she jotted out her letter to the head master.
She had just finished sealing her second letter and was handing it to the clerk when Nymphadora started to get fussy. She scooped the little girl out of her carriage and leaned her against her shoulder rubbing her back.
"How much to send both the letters?" she asked bouncing Nymphadora and rocking side-to-side to calm the young girl.
"Oh, for a young mother such as yourself, I could post them both for a single sickle." Basil said pleasantly. "My you have such a lovely daughter." he said almost absently as he tied the letters to two different owls.
"Thank you, Basil." she said as she shifted Nymphadora to her hip so she could dig a sickle out of her purse. "Here you are. That should cover it." she said giving the man a dazzling smile.
"My you look just like…" Basil started to say as Andi turned pushing the carriage out the door with one hand and still carrying the baby on her hip with the other.
"I appreciate the help Basil, but busy day I really must get going. I promised this little one ice cream and I should get her some before she gets too cranky." she said as she left quickly before the man could confuse her with Bellatrix and she got to spend a better part of her morning with the aurors… Merlin knows it wouldn't be the first time that had happened.
She smiled to herself for narrowly avoiding a scene and settled Nymphadora into the carriage with a smile booping her little nose with the tip of her finger.
"Now little one, what do you say to us getting some ice cream?" She asked chuckling as the baby squealed happily and her hair turned bright red. "Oh I think someone wants cherry flavored ice cream." She said to the baby and smiled as she pushed the carriage towards Fortescue's.
Albus Percival Wulfric Bryan Dumbledore sat in his office watching two of his many silver instruments spin busily. He let out a long-suffering sigh and smiled to himself. The blood wards he'd set up around Number 4 were taking nicely. If the Dursley's took care of Harry and he felt like he had a home, there they would keep the boy safe from any of Voldemort's followers seeking revenge upon the boy.
Headmaster Dumbledore was a person that no one would fail to identify. Whether it was from his outlandish, sometimes even garish, choices in robes… Today he was wearing robes of lavender silk, embroidered in silver in patterns of alternating stars, moons, and shooting stars. He wore half spectacles upon a crooked nose that looked as if it had been broken at least twice, and a tall floppy wizards hat also in lavender. His hair and beard were silver in color showing his great age and both had grown long enough that he could easily tuck them into his belt. His beard was bound in the middle by a silver clasp bearing the shape of a phoenix with a single blood red ruby in the center.
"Fawkes do you think I did the right thing, leaving the boy with the muggles?" he said looking towards the perch beside his desk upon which his familiar perched, Fawkes. Fawkes was a phoenix, truly a glorious bird with plumage in bright golds, crimsons, reds, oranges, and yellows. A long, graceful neck ending in a well-shaped head with a long beak and a feathered crest not unlike a male peacock. Fawkes had broad wings that shimmered like flames when he spread them and a long flowing tail with ornamental but exceedingly strong feathers resembling those of a peacock. Right now, the glorious bird was in his prime having just matured after his latest burning day.
The bird looked over at his long-term companion and let out a sad trilling sound before settling back into his perch.
"Really old friend, do you think it will really go that badly for the boy? Even so, I fear his safety may require such adversity in that home." Dumbledore said with a sigh.
He had just finished his thought when a post owl flew into his quarters through a window in the domed ceiling and swooped down to his desk in a slow circle. Once it landed it immediately stuck out a leg to which was tied a letter.
"Well, I wonder who this is from." he said noticing the bird waiting as if on a reply. Without hesitation he opened the letter an scanned its contents.
Headmaster Dumbledore,
I write to you in inquiry of the location of my third cousin, Harry James Potter, and seek to inquiry about who shall have custody of the boy now that his parents are dead. By rights it should fall to my cousin Sirius but if needs be I would like to offer up my home for the boy. He would be well raised by Ted and myself and would have another his age in our own Nymphadora.
Any news you could provide as to his whereabouts and who will be caring for the boy would be greatly appreciated. He may be a distant relation but he's still a black and therefore family. I know you know that after I was expelled from my family, I became close to my cousin James and have known little Harry since his birth. I implore you Headmaster if you have information about the boy, please share it.
Yours cordially,
Andromeda Tonks nee Black
Albus set the letter down upon his desk and removed his glasses rubbing the spot between his eyes. This was the last thing he needed. Mrs. Tonks was a determined and willful witch and every bit as powerful if not as blood thirsty as her sister.
As much as this would cause him problems, he would find himself in trouble if he had to fight the woman's claim that the boy should come to her if Sirius was unable to care for the boy. The Wizengamot would take her side as she shared blood with the boy.
As he put his glasses back on, he penned a quick reply to the woman thinking carefully how he wished to answer.
My dear Mrs. Tonks,
I appreciate your concern as to the whereabouts of young Mr. Potter. I cannot reveal his location, but rest assured he has been housed with his remaining family on his mother's side and is safe in the Muggle world. I have gone to great lengths to place the strongest wards I know around their home and have situated a squib I know in the neighborhood to watch over little Harry and report to me anything out of the ordinary.
I hope this sets your heart at ease, but please know Harry is with a loving family who will see to his best interests.
Sincerely
Albus Percival Wulfric Bryan Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First Class, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He rolled the letter up and sealed it with wax before tying it to the owl's leg and watched it as it promptly flew off with his reply.
"Oh Fawkes, let us hope that satisfies young Mrs. Tonks. I'm afraid she's just as spirited and determined as her more famous sister and could be a world of trouble if she wanted to be." he said with a long sigh taking a lemon drop from the glass dish on his desk and popping it into his mouth.
Fawkes let out a hopeful trill and Albus' mood lifted.
"Thank you, my friend." Dumbledor said as he stood and walked to his familiar's perch and stroked his fine plumage. "I'm sure you're right. It will all settle down soon enough."
With that thought and the pleasant tart sweetness of a lemon drop on his tongue, Albus took a seat behind his desk and picked up his quill to take a run at the seemingly never-ending mound of paperwork on his desk.
Ted Tonks sat in his office studying the legal briefs for his upcoming case. His blue eyes scanned the byzantine law book beside his notes with a determination of one trying to unravel an acient mystery. Ted was a handsome man, but not so handsome as to draw unwanted attention. He had light brown hair and a ruddy complexion showing his excellent heath. He was broad shouldered and tall, but his time behind a desk and his wife's excellent cooking had resulted in him packing on an extra ten pounds he just couldn't seem to shed. Overall, this gave him the satisfied look of an unassuming gentleman, happy with his lot in life.
In truth, his business partners and friends knew Ted to be a kind and considerate man of great charisma and razor wit. Who, when the situation called for was a determined and sometimes viscous fighter, with a sharp tongue, that could cut as deep as the strongest cutting curse. Ted did his best to not use those traits unless necessary and he was a bit ashamed to admit that those traits were one of the few ways he could manage the famous Black families' temper. On the few occasions his wife would truly wind up in an uproar it was his only safe bastion.
At the thought of his wife, he looked at the picture on his desk of Andi holding little Nymphadora, both smiled at him brightly and waved. That picture always brought a grin to his face. There was a time in his life where he would have never thought that he and Andi would make it this far, but despite the adversity and their start in poverty, after she was banished from the Ancient and Noble house of Black for having the temerity to fall in love with a common Muggle Born like him. They'd made it. They were well off now, with a house, a lovely daughter, and a comfortable nest egg in Gringotts, along with growing investments in the muggle and magical worlds.
Thinking of what they had achieved together always made Ted smile. He was brought out of his reminiscence by the sound of something knocking on his window. He looked up and saw a post owl waiting to be let in.
"I bet that's a letter from Andi, she's the only one who sends me letters directly and bypasses my secretary." he thought to himself as he opened the window allowing the bird into his office.
Absentmindedly, he gave the bird an owl treat as he removed the letter and opened it barely noticing when the owl took to wing and flew from his office. Ted broke the seal on the letter and began to read:
Teddy dearest, I've just read in the Prophet that the Potters were killed last night. They say that young Harry survived. I know we both liked the Potters as James was my second Cousin once removed, but no matter how distant Harry is still family. We can't allow the boy to grow up with no one who cares about him.
I know it's a lot to ask for but try and see if you can find out what's been done with the boy and if Sirius has claimed him. He's Harry's Godfather, isn't he?
Either way I'd like you to treat this as an urgent matter and let me know what you find out.
Love Andi.
Ted sat the letter down on his desk and leaned back in his chair thinking. He could tell his wife was passionate about this, but it would be a difficult task at best. It was likely that the boy had been hidden by Dumbledore, his best bet would be to pursue the reading of the will of James and Lilly Potter. Assuming the Ministry of Magic had not sealed it yet. There was a chance, slim as it might be, that he could get a reading of the will. The Wizengamot was unlikely to have met in order to rule on sealing the will and any records regarding the disposition of young Harry and the events of last night.
He knew what he had to do, the first thing would be to write Gringotts and have his contact there investigate the wills of the Potters and the instructions for the care of young Harry. He also penned half a dozen letters to various contacts at the ministry and a Private Investigator he often used for some of his cases. He knew if anyone could find where Dumbledore might have hidden the boy it would be Jacob.
He knew it was rather pessimistic to believe Dumbledore would have stolen the boy away into hiding, but he doubted the old meddler would allow someone like Sirius Black, or even his God Mother Alice Longbottom to take possession of the boy, removing him effectively from the old goat's chessboard for at least a decade. There was not a doubt in Ted's mind that Dumbledore would seek to manipulate the boy who lived for his own arcane purposes. Even though Ted didn't trust the man's actions, since there was always an angle focused on his own goals, he knew that Dumbledore wasn't evil and wouldn't actively hurt the boy. It was simply that he knew Dumbledore couldn't be bothered enough to pay attention to the boy's formative care at least until he entered his undisputed domain of Hogwarts.
As much as it needled him sometimes, his wife was correct in this matter. The boy needed someone who would seek his best interests and treat him as their own child. Ted hadn't met young Harry more than twice, but he had to admit he was fond of the boy and had developed quite the friendship with Lilly. It would be best that he did all he could to see her son well looked after.
To be perfectly honest, Ted had learned to pick his battles, and knew that he would never win an argument against his wife where family was concerned. The Blacks may be dark pure-blooded bigots, but they took nothing more serious than family. This trait had stuck with Andi even after she was kicked from the family for marrying a Mudblood, as her darling aunt Walburga would scream to the heavens so loudly it was a testament to the black family wards that the neighbors didn't hear her shrill cries.
He chuckled to himself remembering Andi telling him how that vicious aunt had nearly had an aneurysm when she found out that Andi had eloped and then married, "That uppity good for nothing Mudblood." He knew it was a tad petty but it still brought a smile to his face knowing just how much he ticked that nasty old woman off and how scared she was of his wife's wand that she had never tried to kill him.
He shook his head of the memories and went back to work on his legal brief. The sooner he finished up his notes on this case, the sooner he could pop over to Gringotts and see what they had found regarding the will.
It was 2 o'clock that afternoon when he finally finished the last of his notes, packed them away in his briefcase and pulled his cloak over his muggle suit and apparated himself to the steps of Gringotts. He nodded to the goblin guards as he entered and was pleasantly surprised when they nodded back.
Ted had prided himself since he opened his law firm on working for any client who's cause he believed in regardless of blood status or species. He had muggle clients, squib, muggle-born, and pure blood clients. He had even handled half a dozen cases for the goblin nation to their satisfaction. In doing so he had made the effort to learn their language and customs. This had improved his relations with the goblins and had made all the effort and cost of tutor's worth it.
Ted continued through the silver double-doors to the lobby of the bank and across the black and white checkered marble floor until he found the teller with the shortest line. He stepped into line and waited patiently until he reached the teller who's golden nameplate red Bonespur.
Ted gave the teller a shallow bow and spoke in gobbledygook.
"Good afternoon teller Bonespur may your axe drip with the blood of your enemies and your coffers overflow." he said in a customary friendly greeting.
Bonespur looked down at him from behind the counter and flashed his teeth in a way the common wizard would see as threatening but Ted knew to be an actual smile.
"Good afternoon, Ted Tonks, may you bathe in the blood of your enemies and may their gold fill your vaults. What may I help you with today?" the goblin asked cordially.
"Ahh yes, I was hoping I might be able to have a meeting with account manager Gorefang? I sent him an owl this morning regarding some urgent business. I was hoping he would spare a few minutes." Ted said.
"I'll see if he's available, please have a seat in the waiting area. A goblin will come to let you know if he can see you or not. Considering the amount of gold, you've made us; I wouldn't expect a long wait." Once again Bonespur graced Ted with that disconcerting goblin smile and waved him over to an area screened off from the rest of the bank in which several benches were sat against the marble walls.
Ted bowed and said his goodbyes to Bonespur and walked to the waiting room taking a seat on an empty bench. He pulled a muggle fantasy novel from a pocket inside his cloak and began to read. He chucked internally wondering what the author would think to know that an actual wizard was reading his book about a young boy becoming a wizard.
It was only a few minutes before a much younger goblin who introduced himself as Griphook opened a door beside the waiting room and called. "Mr. Tonks, Gorefang will see you now." he said looking at Ted and gesturing for him to follow.
The young goblin led him through a maze of richly appointed marble halls and past several offices until they came to a large ornate wooden door bearing a gold name plate reading Senior Account Manager Gorefang in both English and Gobbledygook.
Griphook paused to open the door. "Please have a seat, Senior Account Manager Gorefang will be in shortly." and closed the door as Ted entered.
He looked around the richly appointed office. There were several wooden plaques bearing crossed swords and axes all appearing to be well used and cared for, there was a goblin sized mannequin bearing a shiny but well-worn suit of goblin plate as well as the stuffed heads of several magical creatures ranging from trolls to a rather large arcomantula.
Ted took a seat in one of the ornate and not too comfortable chairs in front of Gorefang's large hardwood desk. It was intricately carved so that the legs looked like stone columns and darkly stained, and other than a few style elements that indicated it was made for a goblin it could easily have been found in the office of any respected account manager at a muggle bank.
Ted was deep in his own thoughts wondering just how involved the goblins were involved in muggle banking when a door behind the large desk swung open silently and Gorefang entered.
He was a large goblin of middle years; his most distinctive feature was his wild and rather lion light mane of coarse red hair. He had a long-crooked nose that had been badly broken at some point in the past and deep scar down the left side of his face that had somehow managed to not permanently damage that eye. The goblins normally stern and intimidating glower eased into a smile as his sharp black eyes met Ted's.
"Theodore it's a pleasure as always. I have to say you certainly presented me a challenge this day, but I compliment you on the canniness of your wife. I just managed to secure a copy of the Potter's will before the ministry had it sealed and asserted the need for Gringotts to read the Potter's finally wishes as to the disposition of their businesses and investments so that they would be in good shape for when young Harry achieves his inheritance." Gorefang spouted in machine gun gobbledygook his face breaking into a genuinely disconcerting smile of goblin enjoyment.
"You should have seen the look on the Minister's face and that old meddler Dumbledore looked like he might blow a blood vessel, but they had no say in the matter, the treaty is very clear on the matter of preserving the inheritance of an underage lord." Gorefang chuckled.
"So, what did you find in the will Gorefang? Who should be Harry's guardian?" Ted asked continuing in gobbledygook.
Gorefang let out a sigh, "Well the Potter's had a very complicated chain of custody for their son, understandably due the fact that all of their friends and family were involved in the war against you-know-who in some way or the other. It goes in the following order: Should the Potter's both die Harry should go to one of the following in the order presented.
1. Sirius Black, Harry's Godfather
2. Alice Longbottom, Harry's Godmother
3. Remus Lupin, James's best friend.
4. Ted and Andromeda Tonks, James' cousins on his mother's side.
5. Arthur and Molly Weasley.
The only set in stone prohibition they gave was that under no circumstances should Harry be given to Lilly's sister Petunia and her husband Vernon Dursley. Lilly was incredibly adamant on that detail." Gorefang concluded.
So, what exactly can we do to ensure Harry is given to someone he was meant to be, and that will see to his best interests?" Ted asked rubbing at the stubble on his chin.
"Well, I'm afraid not much at this time. As we do not know for sure what happened to the boy nor where he is being kept or by whom. I fear our first task is to find the needle in the haystack." he said as he leaned back in his chair. "It's my instinct that he was taken by Dumbledore and placed with a family of his choosing. It's the only reason I can think of as to why Dumbledore would be pushing so hard to have the Potter's will sealed until Harry reaches his majority."
Ted slammed his fist on the desk in a gesture of frustration. "Damn, if he was taken by Dumbledore the old man has probably hidden him already and we would have no idea where in the whole of England that could be." he said running a hand through his neat hair.
"Dumbledore is no fool. He wouldn't have taken the boy to Hogwarts with him, even though no one could challenge him there. I can have a few of our investigators do some snooping and see if they can find the boy, but I don't have much hope as I'm sure Dumbledore would secret him away under the strongest wards he knows." Gorefang sighed. "I'm sorry Ted but I think the only thing we can do is keep our eyes open and ears to the ground. It could be years before we can find the boy. Certainly, once he goes to Hogwart's we can reach out to him and begin helping him at that time."
"Thank you Gorefang, this information is more than I had hoped for." he rubbed his chin as he thought over the information. "Gorefang, would it be possible for you to keep track of the Potter accounts and report to me any out of the ordinary requests? I fear that Dumbledore may use his position as Chief Warlock to try to access the Potter accounts."
Gorefang cracked a wide and toothy smile at that.
"Well Mr. Tonks, I have to say thank you. Your diligence in making sure the Potter's will could be read before it could be sealed by the ministry. We can see that the Potter's gave control of their accounts to their account manager…who just so happens to be myself. Until such a time as Harry reaches the age of 15 and can assume his place as Lord Potter, it would appear your worries are unfounded." Gorefang said and let out a wicked chuckle. "I'm afraid the treaty between the goblin nations and the Ministry of magic is quite clear, that while the accounts are in the stewardship of the goblin nation that no ministry degree can give them access to the stewarded funds."
"That is good news. Thank you Gorefang, from myself and Andromeda and for young Harry where ever he may be." he offered his hand to the goblin shaking before he stood. "I do believe that concludes my business today, Gorefang. I'll leave you to your paperwork. May your coffers overflow." he said with a small bow before turning to leave.
"Goodbye Mr. Tonks, may your family prosper, and your vault be always full." Gorefang said as he showed him out of his office.
The door had not fully closed before Ted could hear the goblin cackling again at the idea of frustrating Dumbledore and the Ministry. Ted smiled at that and found his heart lightened. They may not be able to take custody of Harry, but at least he would be able to benefit from the inheritance his family left him.
His news wouldn't fully satisfy Andi, but he knew she would be more concerned with the boy's physical well-being more than in his future inheritance. Ted was concerned by that too, but the Potter name was well respected and part of that was the immense wealth that an ancient and noble family had accrued over the centuries. It was very likely that after the events of this Halloween that the Potter name would grow even greater in esteem among the common folk of Magical Britain and likely the world. Among the noble families the effect on their reputation would vary. It was likely to grow with the grey families, it would certainly grow with those families that aligned themselves with the light and for the most part it was likely to decrease with those darker families. Although some of the darker families would welcome the defeat of the dark lord if only in private.
Ted shook those thoughts from his head and made his way back to his office. He needed to send a letter to Andi letting her know what he had found out, and there were other clients to be served. After all, there were bills to pay whether the dark lord had been defeated or not.
He was chuckled to himself at that as he twisted in place and apparated to his office. He stepped away from the nearby apparition point in a back alley and unlocked his back door of his office with a tap of his wand. Once inside he relocked the door and followed the hallway that led to his waiting room. He nodded to his secretary, an attractive brunette in her thirties. She was a friend of Andi's through her sister who'd worked at Saint Mungos with Andi before she'd taken a break to stay home with little Nymphadora until she was old enough for schooling.
Good morning, Gladys, any messages of importance this morning?" Ted asked cheerfully as he hung up his robes on the coat rack.
"Nothing of interest, Mr. Tonks." Gladys said as she continued to tap her fingernails with her wand changing the color of her polish.
"Excellent, I've got to send a letter off to Andi about something important and then settle down to finish up the brief on the Johnson case. I'd like a cup of tea when you get a chance. I do appreciate it, Gladys." He said as he stepped through his office door and sat back at his desk. He picked up his quill and chewed on the end as he thought of the best way to break the news to Andi.
He eventually shrugged and sat to work writing her a note that outlined the positives of the situation. He said in as simple terms as he could that they were unlikely to find the boy before he started Hogwarts, but that due to his good relationship with Gringotts and their early start they had managed to have the will of the Potters read by the goblins and as such ensured that Harry's inheritance was secured.
He folded the letter, sealed it and took it to the office owl whose cage was in the corner of his office closest to the window. He gave the owl a treat as he tied the letter to his leg.
"Horace old boy, take this to Andi. No need to wait for a reply." he said and opened the window watching the owl fly away. "Boy, am I glad she's going to have time to cool off before I come home tonight." he said to himself before he sat back down and got to work.