Hello all! I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the absolute sham of political nuances that I'll be writing. Politics, even in the wizarding world, are a nightmare and a half to understand. And I went and decided to dive right in the middle of it all. This is only the beginning of it, so there will be plenty to complain about in the future. Also, goblins are so hard to write personality-wise. I wish I were more capable of doing them justice, but I'm just not sure I'm ever going to get it right. This is honestly a bit past the time I had hoped to post this chapter, but I'm gonna call it a win that I at least didn't take a month to do it. I can't guarantee that won't ever happen, but I will try. Either way, I'm sure you've waited long enough, so please, enjoy.
When Harry joined us he looked extremely confused. I gave him an apologetic smile as he sat down beside me and the goblin who brought me here started speaking "Mr. Potter, I am Nadkoff, and my associate here is Gugrak. Ms. Snape has been kind enough to let you be present during these proceedings."
He nodded through his confusion "Er, right. Thank you."
Gugrak didn't seem to really acknowledge his presence, addressing me immediately "I am one of Gringotts' legal representatives in cases like this. Nadkoff has allowed me to look over your account records, and I can only presume you would like to file a case against Albus Dumbledore."
"Yes, he is not my magical guardian, therefore should never have had access to my account. Even if he was, he's been using my name to fund legislation I would never have agreed to with an account I never knew existed."
This fact alone would have bothered me, but the fact that most of the funding went to legislation against me was an even bigger insult. And it only stopped when he was told that I would be dying soon, which meant he was doing it to have a way to control me. I was having trouble coming to terms with the idea that I would no longer be spending the little time I had trying to enjoy life. Now I was going to spend what little time I had left putting Dumbledore in his place. Possibly. Hopefully.
Both goblins seemed thoroughly pleased with my decision "Good, now, we can handle the gathering of evidence and presenting of the case on our end, but unless you can find a Ministry official to bring it forth to the Wizengamot, it will really only ever prevent Albus Dumbledore from having access to any accounts in anyone's name other than his."
I frowned at the thought "But isn't fraudulent use of someone's account to fund legislation enough to have someone kicked off the Wizengamot?"
"It is indeed. Without a higher up official to bring the case forward, however, it is unlikely for the Wizengamot to ever even hear it."
I let out a frustrated groan, knowing I wasn't going to have much luck in that department. The only people I knew with parents who worked for the Ministry were the Weasleys, Cedric, and Malfoy. The Weasleys owed me enough favors that I could have them ask their father for me, but the whole family practically worshiped the ground Dumbledore walked on. Cedric's dad wasn't blindly loyal, but he also wouldn't willingly help me. The man never had nice things to say about me, going so far as to blatantly insult me in his letters to Cedric. And while I didn't think Mr. Malfoy had anything against me, I also didn't have any reason to believe he'd be willing to take this on.
I was just about to lose hope when Harry spoke up "I could always ask Mr. Malfoy. He seemed rather concerned for you after the basilisk, your dad was talking to him for hours when he came for the Ministry. He'd probably be happy to help you too, Draco talks about how much he hates Dumbledore all the time."
My face lit up "Seriously? Could you? Harry, I'd owe you big time for it."
He shrugged, smiling at me "Don't worry about it. After everything you've done for me these past couple of years it's the least I could do."
I let him believe I'd dropped it, turning to Nadkoff "Alright, I'll wait for a confirmation and let you know if he agrees, that way you can send the evidence to him." Normally I would be uncomfortable leaving this in someone else's hands, but goblins took things like this seriously. They wouldn't dupe me on this "Now, how do we get the old man's grubby hands out of my account?"
The goblins both grinned "Easy enough. You may be underaged, but you have your key and you have blood. Gringotts does not care about your age." He slid a few documents in front of me, along with what I recognized to be a blood quill "Sign these in your blood and the only names who will have access to your account from today forward will be the names you sign on there. Albus Dumbledore will be shut out from your account permanently."
I was quick to sign, making sure to put both of my names on the parchment just in case. While I trusted my father, I didn't want to risk anyone else having access to my namesake, so I stopped with my names. Nadkoff nodded in satisfaction after looking over my signatures, handing them to Gugrak before he left the room. It was a bit surreal leaving Gringotts after all the paperwork I'd just done. The goblins all seemed much less intimidating to me now, but that might have something to do with the fact that they were now helping me ruin Dumbledore's day.
Harry and I wandered around Diagon Alley for a bit, happy to step into different shops and explore to an extent we hadn't before. I had to warn him off from Knockturn Alley, but he didn't want to look in its direction after I explained it to him. The time we spent wandering gave Harry chances to explain to me little things that were different in the muggle world.
When we passed the quidditch supply store he talked about all the different sports that muggles had. The only one that made remote sense was football, but even that sounded ridiculous to me. The one that confused me the most was, what I think he said was tugby. The names muggles came up with confused me too. But it was a part of Harry's life. It was what he'd grown up with, and plenty of muggleborns adjusted to the wizarding world too.
Honestly, if we didn't have to hide magic the world would be so much easier to understand. The more Harry told me about muggles, the more I felt that was true. Muggles had this thing, eleksitee or whatever, that powered their lights and stoves and so much more. If the wizarding world didn't work so hard to keep us separate then we could use it too. And really, long distance travel was a pain since nothing could take us straight to somewhere. Even the trains took several stops if you were leaving the country. But Muggles had planes that would fly straight to a destination.
There were some things that muggles could bring to the wizarding world that could be good for us. But the Statute of Secrecy meant that wasn't going to happen in my lifetime. Still, the things Harry told me gave me a deeper understanding of how he grew up. There was no potion making or wand waving before he came to Hogwarts, and I knew he was treated poorly, but his experiences were still far different from mine. For once I felt like I could actually understand my brother a little better.
We went to buy our school supplies two weeks later. It wasn't something we found overly exciting, but it was the first time my father was letting me go without him or some other adult. I did have to go and buy some more henbane, so it felt a lot more like a milestone for me than it could have. Harry stuck close to me as I made my way through Knockturn Alley, extremely wary of the leers we were getting from everyone around. One look from me kept most of them at bay, and we made it out without incident.
Once we were done there, I started for Flourish and Blotts "Got your book list, Harry? Hopefully we can carry everything back in one go. Dad will kill me if we have to come back."
He nodded in confirmation, likely not wanting to deal with my father's ire either. He was always stressed right before the school year, and it made him a nightmare to deal with. Flourish and Blotts was always easier to navigate at this time of year, seeing as most students did their book shopping here. They had bookshelves dedicated to each class, each shelf their own year's required books. First years were always at the bottom, and seventh years at the top. It was the most efficient system that could be made, and it worked most of the time.
This year, however, the manager seemed distraught over the Care of Magical Creatures textbook. He seemed absolutely relieved when I told him I needed the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes books, and Harry was all too apologetic to tell him he needed one of the rabid books. I was pleasantly surprised when Harry followed me to get the textbook for Arithmancy, and then again when he decided to pick up a few extra books on potions. We made one last stop at Madame Malkin's so Harry could have his robes adjusted, thanks to the rapid growth spurt he'd had this summer, and then went back towards the Leaky Cauldron to floo to Spinner's End.
The sound of Harry's stomach growling made me laugh, and knowing there would be no lunch prepared for us when we got back I suggested "Why don't we have lunch at the Leaky before we go back? I'm sure my father wouldn't mind us being out of his hair a little bit longer."
Harry smiled at me sheepishly "Yeah, that sounds good to me."
We took a table in the corner to avoid any stares, especially since the Weasley family had apparently decided to make themselves at home in the center of the place. Tom took our orders the moment we sat down, bustling off to the next customers. I eyed the Weasley twins as I spoke "So what made you decide to take Arithmancy and Magical Creatures?"
He shrugged, ducking his head when he noticed someone behind me staring "I wasn't sure what I wanted to take, but Muggle Studies seemed a little useless to me, Ancient Runes didn't interest me, and I've heard plenty about how rubbish Divination is. They were my last choices, really."
My eyes rolled "Of course, that would be the process you went through."
I wasn't bothered by it, Harry had every right to take the classes he wanted. Although, the book trying to eat our other books was something I could live without. Eventually I grew annoyed enough that I stepped on it, holding it shut the best I could. We ate quickly, grabbing our things and heading for the fireplace when we saw the chance to slip by unnoticed. Relief flooded over us when we stepped out into Spinner's End, parting ways to unload our things.
My father took us to King's Cross a bit earlier than he normally did, a whole hour earlier really. I didn't quite understand why at first, but figured it had something to do with Harry being with me this time. I was wrong. We stepped through the barrier easily, where Nott and Granger came charging over to greet Harry. Malfoy stayed back with his father, clearly not willing to run up to Harry like his friends had. Had I not been used to getting on the train just before it left, I would have looked for my friends too, but they wouldn't stay out here to look for me.
I followed my little brother when he pulled on my arm, slowly approaching the Malfoy men. I gave the older man a respectful bow of the head "Mr. Malfoy, good to see you again."
He nodded to me before looking to his son "Go on Draco, the train will be packed soon."
Malfoy gave his father a brief goodbye, following after his trio of friends. Once they were out of earshot Mr. Malfoy addressed me "Mr. Potter has filled me in on some matters concerning you."
I made sure my face revealed nothing, this was probably the biggest negotiation I would ever have to make in my life "Yes, I've recently discovered my name has been used for fraudulent purposes to fund legislation in the Wizengamot."
"That is quite unfortunate indeed. Have you already filed a case?"
"Yes, the goblins at Gringotts are gathering all of the evidence to file. I just need a Ministry official to present the case to the Wizengamot so that the fraud can be removed from his position."
He raised an eyebrow down at me "The fraud holds a position of power?"
I gave him a stiff nod, the anger bubbling under my skin again "Unfortunately, he does. I have no misconception of my own standing in the world, so unwilling as I am to admit it, I need help."
"Might I inquire as to who this man is?"
I had to force myself not to sneer as I spoke "It's quite dangerous for a student to accuse her headmaster of anything like this, Mr. Malfoy."
His eyes widened marginally before he could stop it "That is quite a dangerous accusation indeed." He cleared his throat "As long as there is enough evidence then I will present the case to the Wizengamot. Do tell the goblins to send me evidence pertaining other accounts if there are any as well. I need not know the names of them, just the proof that they exist."
I tried not to bounce excitedly, but I'm sure he could see it in the way my eyes lit up and my tone changed "Of course, thank you Mr. Malfoy. I owe you a debt for this."
He gave me a smirk, one that told me my words would carry a heavy weight one day "I am happy to help, Ms. Snape. I will be sure to thank your father for giving me the time to meet with you. Safe travels."
Well, that explained why we were so early. Still, I gave him a smile "And to you, Mr. Malfoy."
We parted cordially, and I made my way onto the train to track down any of my friends. Cedric was made prefect this year, so the beginning of the train ride he was going to be out of reach for me. Once I reached the car most Slytherins sat in I passed by Harry and his friends, waving to them briefly before continuing forward. A small squeak escaped me as I was yanked into a compartment, something that made my friends laugh wildly as I sat down. The ride was as normal as it always was, until about an hour before we were meant to reach Hogwarts.
The train came to a steady stop, confusion writing over all of our faces "Why are we stopping?"
My brow furrowed, until I saw the windows icing over. Once I realized what was happening I drew the shades down, locking the compartment door and huddling in the corner "Dementors."
Myra stared at me incredulously "How can you know that? We haven't covered them in Defense yet."
Graham's arms came around me, and I tucked my head into his shoulder "It's alright Vanessa. They're just looking for Black."
Despite his reassurances, nothing would calm me. I'd never encountered a dementor before, but I did know what they could do to a person. They fed on happy memories, so people with traumatic pasts were affected by them more than others. Someone like Harry is likely to relive his worst memory, but someone like me – well, there's too much bad. The first three years of my life were riddled with abuse, and as loving as my father has been to me there was still so much wrong with my life. Chronic pain, lying to people I loved about who and what I am, the absolute shitshow of a silent war with Dumbledore, the fact that I am dying. Dementors could drive me mad.
Soon enough the cold started creeping into our compartment, our breaths fogging in the air. I cringed as tears started welling in my eyes, pain and sadness starting to overwhelm me. The bony, rotten hand of a dementor slid the compartment door open, the sound of the lock shattering like it was nothing ringing around us. Not even Graham's arms around me could protect me from the thing floating over me. A flash of red hair flickered in my vision, black hair in the corner of my eye. A disdainful sneer one second, the feeling of my body hitting the floor the next. A hissing voice, my head hitting a man's leg, green light, purple light, everything started swirling together in my head.
I didn't know it was happening until the memories stopped playing through my head. Then I could hear my screaming for it to stop, my nails digging into my scalp "No more! I don't want it anymore! Please! Please take it away! Stop!"
I felt a pair of steady hands pull mine away from my head, cradling me against their chest "Hey, shh, it's alright. I'm right here, it's over now."
I sat in tears, digging myself deeper into the chest of whoever held me as people spoke around me "Which one of you cast that patronus?"
"It was me, sir."
"What's your name?"
"Lucian Bole, sir."
"Right, I'll be sure to give you points for that once we're at Hogwarts." There was a rustling sound "Give this to her when she can muster up the strength to take it. It will help."
Whoever was holding me started to pull away, but I gripped them tightly to stop them "Vanessa, I need you to let me give you some chocolate."
I shook my head frantically, more tears pouring down my face as I tried to avoid facing anything "No! No, don't leave me!"
"Harry's passed out, and I'm pretty sure her screaming could be heard down the whole express. What the hell happened to her?"
"A dementor, just like Potter."
"I think he's referring to the fact that the dementors don't normally cause such a strong reaction."
The train rocked as it started moving again, and the person holding me shifted again "No!"
"Shh, it's alright. I'm not going anywhere."
A comforting hand started smoothing down my hair "Glad to see you caring for her, Diggory."
"It was hard not to get down here when I heard her screaming like that." I could hear something crinkling behind me before there was a tap on my shoulder "Van, I'm not going anywhere, but I need you to eat this for me, alright?"
I carefully peeked my head up, taking the piece of chocolate with a shaky hand and nibbling at it slowly. My skin started to feel warmer the more I ate, until finally I worked up the nerve to look at who was holding me "Ced?"
His face lit up with relief, a tenseness falling from his shoulders as he smiled giddily at me "Hi."
I burrowed back into his arms, muttering quietly so only he could hear "I've missed you."
The laughter coming from my friends told me he'd lit up like a tomato at my words "I'd say she'll be alright, now that she realizes it's her boyfriend holding her."
I didn't even look up as I kicked out in the direction of Adrian's voice "Shut up, Pucey!"
I was thankful that no one could see my face as Cedric spoke softly in my ear "I've missed you too."
