Disclaimer: Not Mine….Not Mine….

"Speech" "Other Language" 'Thoughts' Parseltongue

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Chapter 13 – Lion-heart

Diagon Alley was bustling with traffic on this midsummer's day. The shoppers were mainly adult wizards who, despite the unusually high temperature, would go about their business, many of them shopping for the traditional feasts to celebrate the sun.

Fortescue's Ice Cream parlour was, naturally, full. Sweaty wizards in heavy robes, tired of constantly re-casting cooling charms, would sit in the shade provided by umbrellas and happily devoured chocolate and raspberry ice-cream with chopped nuts. The fact that Fortescue offered a free sundae on the half-hour made his customers in no hurry to leave.

Harry frowned at the wizards around him, who, dressed in long, bulky robes, seemed to have no appropriate summer attire. Naturally, there were some wearing thinner robes, from a silk-like material, but they oddly formed a minority.

He gave up trying to figure them out, and ordered another round of ice-cold pumpkin juice. He eagerly let it slide down his parched throat.

He sat back further on his chair, putting the – now empty – glass of juice aside and opened this morning's prophet. His eye captured the title immediately.

Ministry feud draws on.

This year's epic feud in the Ministry's hierarchy continues, as the Minister for Magic,
Cornelius Fudge, made several scathing comments earlier today on the policies of
Bartemius Crouch, Head of Magical Law Enforcement. In his speech, the Minister called
Crouch a "fanatic" and his methods of operation "On the same level with Death Eaters,
without any legal considerations." The minister also expressed fears that Mr Crouch was
cultivating a wave of paranoia with the goal of becoming minister and turning the British
Magical Commonwealth into a police state. In a retaliatory statement, the Head of Law
Enforcement called the Minister's claims "groundless" and claims that the Ministry is
suffering from crippling bureaucracy and that Fudge is being driven by death-eater
money. This is sparked by new revelations regarding the actions of Mr Crouch during….

Article Continued on pages 2,3 and 7.

Turning the page, he read:

BartemiusCrouch: Not as noble as he pretends to be.
By Reeta Skeeter.

We have all heard of Mr Crouch's "honourable" exploits in the war, which reportedly
kept death eaters from taking over the ministry. Yet who is this man? This reporter has
taken it upon herself to investigate the Head of Law Enforcement's past, with some
shocking revelations.

"I always thought that Crouch was a little overboard." Says Hogwart's classmate Melinda
Oppentrist. "He would always suck up to the teachers, until they made him prefect and
later, Head-boy. From then on, he made Hogwarts into a hell for the rest of us."

Another Classmate, preferring to remain anonymous, stated:
"Once he got into a position of authority, he enforced the rules with an iron fist, not
hesitating to take points off for the smallest offence and often reducing some of the
youngest students to tears. I have never seen a man as cruel and power-hungry as Crouch,
save perhaps He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"

The daily prophet has also shed light on the mysterious events that resulted in the Death
of Mrs Crouch and Crouch Jr. The revelations were startling: Crouch Jr was a Death
Eater.

Yes, that's right, the son of the Head of the Department of Law Enforcement was a Death
Eater.

The fact that the son of such a prestigious member of society could be turned at such a
young age to the dark side raises questions about the way Mr Crouch served his role as a
father. Mr Crouch is very likely to have played a direct role in the death of his Family,
which may not have been purely accidental….

Harry stopped reading at this point, and flipped quickly through the pages, his eyes passing over articles entitled: The Tragedy of Sirius Black, What you didn't know about Crouch's Laws and another one entitled: Crouch on the way out?

Harry put the Newspaper aside carelessly. It didn't really offer him any new information.

The fight between Crouch and Fudge had by now reached epical proportions. Harry preferred it like this, rather than one side dominating the political field. After all, neither of the two politicians was exactly on his side.

Crouch was a fanatical dark-wizard hunter, and wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice common citizens on the altar of what he perceived as "Justice". The ministry would be better poised to face any threats from Lord Voldemort, that much is true, but Crouch was also likely to take measures limiting Harry's power…or even try to arrest him.

Fudge on the other hand presented a different danger. While he was corrupt and driven by "honourable" donations, he would never give up his stranglehold on power. The situation with Crouch was likely to make him even more paranoid than usual. The man had already started a press information war – a bad move, for now Crouch would unleash all the little secrets he knew about Fudge's regime. The minister was likely to issue himself emergency powers to get rid of Crouch, but the latter was too firmly entrenched in the ministry to do so.

The end result would be that either one of them would remain as a puppet minister, or that both would fall and the people would turn to Dumbledore for help.

'As much as I may have my disagreements with the headmaster, he is more trustworthy and competent than these two politicians…he fights for our side, as opposed to only serving his interests.'

He got up and, after paying and eagerly thanking Mr Fortescue, he left the shade of the parlour for the busy alley.

He moved swiftly through the active crowds and passed the shining white of Gringotts as well as Olivander's, when he turned into a side alley.

The buildings here were noticeably different. Higher, newer, made from red-brick, they did not look like the more traditional ones in Diagon Alley…nor were they obviously magical. Or at least it wasn't obvious if you ignored the children riding toy brooms or playing with gobstones that spat in their face.

This was the residential heart of Magical London. Ministry Employees who wanted to be close to their work, Shop-workers and owners and Hogwarts graduates who needed a cheap place to live could all be found here.

Harry moved towards one of the larger buildings. He entered the shadow of the lobby and, after identifying himself to the security guard, went up the stairs to the top floor, where the penthouse that Sirius had bought was.

Life with his godfather was fairly good. The man had suffered in Azkaban and, even though Sirius tried to hide it, Harry could see it in his eyes. Sirius looked after Harry with fervour, as the boy seemed to be the only thing he had left to keep him together, and he felt guilt for the death of the Potters. When Sirius had tried to apologise for this, Harry would have none of it.

Today, Remus had come over, and Harry had decided to take a walk, knowing that the two men needed to have a long discussion to get over what had happened in all these years.

As he walked in, he could hear voices from the living room.

"Well, remember that time James accidentally set Lily's head on fire?"

"She wouldn't talk to him for almost a month! And the slap he got when he dared comment that it went nicely with her hair."

"Ouch…I can still remember that….sounded in the entire great hall."

"Poor Prongs had a red handprint on his cheek for over a week! Snivellus was very glad to comment on it."

"I still can't believe he became a teacher…"

"Harry said he is as much of a git as ever….and he is biased towards Slytherin."

"I'd imagine so….oh, hello Harry." Said Remus, as Harry walked into the room.

"Talking about Snape? You'd think that there are much more pleasant things to discuss. Like lunch for example." said Harry.

Sirius quickly adopted a guilty look, while Remus's eyes danced with amusement. "Let me guess." he said "Sirius was supposed to cook wasn't he?"

"He was" answered Harry, with a mock frown "But since his cooking is not exactly…well, not at all edible, I think it may be a good thing he forgot."

"Hey!" exclaimed Sirius "I am just a little rusty! A little practice and I'll be at my top form!"

"Which is? Face it Sirius, you and James would always make a hames of the meals….much to Lily's dismay." came from Remus

"Well. You certainly neglected mentioning that. Looks like I'll have to cook…again." Sighed Harry, going to the kitchen

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Night fell heavy over London, most of which now slept with all windows open to combat the heat. Even if that meant that over half of them would wake up with numerous mosquito bites.

In the darkest shadows of Diagon alley, a figure moved through the littered and abandoned roads. Curiously, the same person could be seen sleeping in Sirius's apartment, but upon detailed observation, it would be revealed that the latter was an illusion. In front of him, a large white marble building was visible against the clear sky. The reason for his visit, delivered by owl that morning, was now a pile of ash in Sirius's fireplace.

He entered the bank which was empty and dark, with the exception of a few lone tellers with torches over them. He proceeded to the back of the bank, absently waving at the guard who examined him with interest as he let him to the back offices.

Soon, he reached Brandok's office. He knocked on the door, which opened promptly.

"Ah! Mr Potter! How pleasant to see you again!" exclaimed the Goblin, shaking Harry's hand. "Tea?" he offered, and Harry graciously accepted, sitting down.

"The pleasure is mine Brandok. I trust that gold flows in your coffers as always?" He said, while the goblin returned to its desk.

"Naturaly. Our partnership has been very advantageous for the Goblins…and for me personally. The Ministry had been pressing us to allow them access to the Black inheritance…"

"And the Ministry interfering in Goblin affairs is unacceptable. They hold enough influence over Gringotts already."

He could swear he saw the goblin grin a tiny bit, even though Brandok's face remained as unemotional as always.

"Indeed. That is one of the reasons why doing business with you is so profitable for us…thanks to you, we have managed to ground the ministry in internal factionalism, which we are able to direct to a certain extent." Here, Brandok stood up from behind his desk and walked to the back wall of the room, which featured a large golden disk encrusted with diamonds.

" Fighting each other means that they cannot…attempt to challenge our economic power. Now, we hold a certain extent of power over them. Normally, I wouldn't disclose this to a human but…this victory, however small, has excited the people." Here, he turned back to Harry. " There are calls within the command for greater action against the ministry."

"Rebellion?" asked Harry, his eyes widening slightly.

"Yes…but we do not want another bloodbath that in the end will mean nothing for us. This time, it has to be different. And that the reason why I was ordered to call you here today."

"Ordered?"

The Goblin really did grin this time. "It is time Mr Potter, for you to meet some important figures in the goblin community." Brandok turned towards the wall and muttered some words in an ancient tongue Harry couldn't identify.

With a rumble, the golden disk retreated, revealing an entrance to a high-ceilinged corridor with magical torches illuminating it with green fire.

"Follow me please Mr Potter." came from Brandok, before he led the way across the marble floor, his steps echoing strangely.

Harry followed him, eyeing the golden torch holders and the extravagant ceiling decorations depicting goblin wars and heroes. Finally, after walking for what seemed like a long time, they came to another golden disk, which Harry presumed was another door. Brandok again muttered something, and the door opened, revealing a large circular chamber, lighted by a single emerald orb on the dome which served as a ceiling.

"Harold James Potter your excellencies." Said Brandok respectfully. Harry could see some figures gathered around a circular table in the centre of the room. Prompted by Brandok, he moved to them, while the door echoed shut behind him.

"Please sit down." Said one of the goblins, indicating the only empty chair in the table. Harry sat, his eyes trying to absorb all the details of the 4 goblins around him. "These are Gushend, head goblin warlock, Margok, the official goblin liason with the ministry and Ragnok, the head of Gringotts." Said the one sitting directly opposite him, while indicating each of his comrades in turn. "I am Wundeg, leader of the Goblin Liberation Organization."

"A pleasure to meet you sirs." said Harry.

"Now Mr Potter, I am certain you are wondering why we have called you, a human, to such a meeting." said Wundeg

"It is not exactly an opportunity that many of my kind would get." Answered Harry.

"Certainly. In fact, other than yourself, only Lord Gryffindor, Lord Slytherin and Merlin have met the entire Goblin leadership." Came from the Head of Gringotts, Ragnok. "And you seem to have an unusual relationship with the first two."

"Ragnok is right." Said the warlock Margok. "You are a parselmouth, Slytherin's magical heir and yet you slew Slytherin's basilisk with Gryffindor's sword."

"My great-grandfather forged that sword." Said Ragnok "He made certain that only someone with a just cause should be able to wield it, as well as someone who would hold steadfast by the Goblin race. We have been watching the business dealings between you and my brother Brandok with interest Mr Potter. You have helped the Goblin cause greatly, and Brandok speaks most highly of you. There are some things we should discuss."

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Three gruelling hours of negotiations later, a satisfied Harry watched the goblins leave the room. He was escorted outside into the hall by the leader of the G.L.O, Wundeg.

"Mr Potter." Said the goblin "There is something I would like your opinion on. Please follow me."

The goblin went through a side passage, to a room overlooking an azure pool of liquid. The goblin waved his hand over it, and a map of central Europe appeared.

"There is a certain Vampire Clan in Switzerland, the Rhhyist clan, that has been causing trouble for the traditional goblin communities nestled in the Alps, our ancestral home."

"The Rhhyist clan? Weren't they…" began Harry

"Yes, some of Voldemort's and Grindenwald's greatest supporters. Both of them studied in the clan libraries, which contain some of the greatest secrets of the dark arts, though nobody has ever been permitted full access. The recent movements of the clan mean that there is likely to be Dark Wizard involvement."

"I thought that Vampires did not fight goblins…nor do they venture into the Goblin caverns." Questioned Harry.

"Normally, that would be true. Our two races have co-existed peacefully, save for a few periods of warfare. But since vampires cannot feed on our blood, they must have an ulterior motive to attack us. This is one of the reasons why we suspect wizard involvement. Recently, the Vampires raided one of our convoys. They did not kill anyone, but they stole an important Goblin artefact. How they managed to gain the necessary intel as to where it is, we do not know."

"What kind of artefact?" asked Harry.

"It is a golden orb engraved with runes. Unfortunatelly, I am not at liberty to disclose its function, for it is a secret known only by our highest sages. I didn't even know it existed prior to it being stolen. However, I am assured that it could cause us great ruin in the wrong hands. Now, I face the question of how to get it back."

Wundeg waved his hand once more, and the pool changed to a map of a specific area.

"This is where we believe that they have taken this orb. However, we do not have enough information about its defences and mounting an assault would mean large casualties...there is also the matter of the ministry…"

o0o

After briefing Harry on the entire situation for almost half an hour, Wundeg turned back to look at him.

" As you can see, this is quite a dire situation. We were wondering if you could help us by gathering some information from the ministry and persuading Dumble…"

"I'll get the orb" cut in Harry. The goblin's eyes widened.

"What? But the area is full of troops! An army would have difficulty…"

"A spy would work better than an army. Trust me on this Wundeg, I will be able to do this."

"I think you are marching to your death Mr Potter. I would strongly advise you to reconsider."

"Oh, but death can no longer touch me" said Harry smirking, his eyes shining.

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With a flash of light, Harry Potter landed in the middle of the reception area of Gringotts in Zurich.

"Mr Potter?" asked one of the nearby Goblins, while the others regarded with curiosity this thirteen-year old boy that had been sent to them.

"Yes, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

"Commander Burlic sir. Wundeg has instructed me to provide you with all information on the vampire camp and give you what assistance we can." Said the Goblin smiling.

"You do not need to follow me into combat. Stealth will be the focus of this operation."

"Maybe, but I am sure you would benefit from some of our weapons." continued Burlic smiling with glee at the thought of charred vampires.

"Weapons?" asked Harry curiously. He knew that the goblins had a different brand of magic, but no-one knew what they fought with.

"This way please." said one of the other Goblins, leading them to a nearby storeroom.

"Here we are" Burlic pointed at a stack of items on the wall that looked like grenades. "These devices can compress about 40 cubic meters of any gas or liquid into that tiny space. When you release it, it fills up everything around you. We find them very useful when used with substances like kerosene. We have taken the liberty of filling them up with that already. Just make sure you don't get cooked as well."

'Nice…I wonder if I could fill some up with tear or mustard gas… death eaters defeated by muggle chemical weapons…would be quite entertaining.'

The goblin continued, gesturing to some small stones inlaid with runes. "These will release a powerful blast of concentrated sunlight. Contrary to muggle myths, it won't kill them, but it will certainly cause sever sunburns and temporarily blind them….effectively, it means that it will be hard for them to fight back." Then he turned towards Harry. "You know how to fight with swords Mr Potter?"

"I am not a master, but I am fairly proficient." Answered Harry, remembering some of the training he undertook under Moody.

"The preferred weapon of a vampire is the blade. They coat them with a specific poison that will paralyse the victim with excruciating pain, much like the cruciatus curse you wizards use. These are antidotes, each one will be good for half an hour or so." said Burlic, handing him some vials with a clear liquid. "You should also take this" he added, handing him a silver short-sword engraved with twin serpents. "It was commissioned for Lord Slytherin, along with Griffindor's sword, but we refused to hand it over to him after his betrayal. Since you are the first parselmouth allied to us since, the command feels you should have it."

"Impressive collection Burlic." Said Harry appreciatively.

"Oh…I'm sure you will like them…and the other little things we have." grinned Burlic.

o0o

Harry moved swiftly over the deep snow in the high peaks of the alps, aided by special skis that the goblins had provided him with. Soon, he arrived at the area the Vampire camp was supposed to be located. Immediately, he felt the already cold air turn even colder, biting into his bone and even his soul.

'Dementors. Great.' He groaned inwardly.

He moved with even greater caution to the edge of a nearby pile of snow. Waving his wand he conjured some heat-sensitive binoculars and looked with them at the distance. After looking through them for a few minutes, he banished them and tried to keep himself from smashing his head on the frozen snow.

'Vampires are dead! They emit no heat! And neither do dementors! Idiot Idiot Idiot!' he thought, and then muttered another charm, making his eyes sensitive to magic auraus. Immediatelly, the area in front of him filled with spheres of black and deep crimson, corresponding to the dementors and the vampires.

He disillusioned himself and cast a silencing charm on him, and then moved slowly towards the building.

'Dorre! Dorre!' He shouted in his mind, silently forcing the two vampires guarding a door in front of him into a deep sleep. He disposed of some of the equipment he was carrying, using his wand to bury it deep under the snow. He moved into the stone building, passing strange defence mechanisms. He stopped when he heard some footsteps in front of him.

Two wizards appeared, followed by three vampires. Harry grabbed one of the sunlight-producing stones from his pocket, and launched it towards the group, while at the same time closing his eyes and shouting the activation word.

With a flash of light, the Vampires were writhing on the floor, while the wizards were grabbing the eyes and swearing in some Nordic tongue.

'Sectumsembra!' cast Harry, making one of the wizards fall down into a rapidly growing pool of his blood.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" came from the other wizard who had apparently recovered already.

Harry flicked his wand, pulling one of the vampires into the path of the curse. Despite being already dead, it seemed to die again, as it stopped its screaming. Harry slashed his wand with fury, making the wizards head explode, filling the nearby area with blood.

Meanwhile, the two remaining vampires stood up, a crazed bloodlust in their eyes, and charged at Harry with inhuman speed, wielding their swords.

Fast as they were, they couldn't match up to Harry's magic. He conjured a few dozen knives and sent them to the Vampires. One of them managed to dodge, only getting hit by one in the shoulder. The other one however wasn't so lucky, and his legs were completely penetrated by two knives, while three more sunk to the hilt in his chest and stomach. It fell to the floor, clutching its stomach and was soon engulfed by a fireball.

The last vampire glanced at Harry hatefully, looking for a chance to attack. The only thing it got was a barrage of curses it had to dance away from, until it was finally hit by a bone-shattering curse in the chest and it fell, chocking black blood as its lungs collapsed. Its suffering did not last long, as Harry promptly turned it into a burning corpse.

Harry leaned on the wall for a minute, recovering his breath, and moved on along he dark corridor. He found a large door and opened it marginally, peeking into the room. Paling, he closed it as fast as possible without making any noise.

'Maybe it would be better to pick a route that doesn't pass through a gathering of a few hundred vampires.'

He backed up the corridor, choosing a side passageway instead. He came face to face with a wizard, who looked at him amused

"Where is what you are guarding?" Harry asked menacingly.

"Like I'm going to tell you kid." Laughed the wizard, reaching for his wand, only to find it was already in Harry's hand.

"Silencio, Crucio" said Harry in quick succession. The man fell to the floor, his mouth open in an inaudible scream.

"Finite Incantatem. I will not ask again, where is it?" he snarled, his eyes unknowingly lighting up with an emerald fire.

"In the dungeons. Past the nesting grounds." Said the wizard fearfully.

"Avada Kedavra." said Harry, moving on, the man's body prone behind him.

'Nesting Grounds…that doesn't sound good.' He thought as he sent a rope down a nearby chute.

He climbed down to the end of the rope, jumping over the blood-stained spikes on the floor and landing in the nearby gravel. Suddenly, something within him told him to fall to the floor, and he flattened himself on the ground, two sickly green curses passing inches from his head.

"Infernus!" he called, slashing his wand towards the source of the spells. In the light of the fire, he saw some robed figures, one of which was rapidly trying to extinguish the flames eating up his robes. A second later, the wizard fell to his knees, his throat constricting painfully. Before the other wizard could react, he too had fallen, his heart fatally stopping its beating.

Harry did not have time to celebrate however, as his shoulder exploded with pain. Wincing, he whipped around, sending sharp fragments of glass to the witch, who clutched her bloody eyes, screaming.

"Sectumsembra" whispered Harry, cutting short her screams. He conjured some bandages wrapping them tightly around his fractured shoulder. He walked on along the dark tunnel, reaching a point where it forked into two different routes. Gambling on his luck, he picked the left one.

He moved for a long time, meeting no-one. He started wondering whether he had picked an abandoned tunnel, when he felt a familiar chilling cold.

"Expecto Patronum!" he called, focusing on the world he was guarding. A blinding white stag burst from his wand, charging towards the creatures. To his surprise however, some mist appeared as well, focusing into some large cat-like shape, before vanishing.

Harry shook his head, disregarding the figure, and moved along the path that his patronus had carved through the dementors. He held his breath, as if that would help him keep his head clear against the influence of the dark figures to his sides.

'At least the dementors keep the other wizards at a certain distance. It would be hard to fight both of them at once.'

He glanced at his wristwatch, and drank some more anti-venom to protect him from vampire attacks. He strided across the remaining tunnel space, reaching a large engraved stone door. He opened it, and crept slowly across a gigantic hall, full of columns which disappeared into the darkness, as the ceiling couldn't be seen. He could hear the screeches of bats, and it unnerved him. At one end of the hall, he saw an opening that stood out against the surroundings, perhaps because of the heavy wrought iron door that stood there.

He cast some strong spells, bursting through the powerful locking charms on the door, and peeked in. There was no opposition there. He went in, glancing across the papers and books that looked centuries old. Finally, he located the goblin orb and picked it up, stuffing it into his pocket. He turned to leave, knowing he had little time left, when a blood covered tome drew his attention.

The strange text on the book looked almost like Arabic, yet Harry could see that it was no language a muggle could speak. As his eyes moved across the lining of the book, the words suddenly and magically became clear to him.

'Serpent Purity? Slytherin wrote this?' he carefully cast preservation charms on the tome, and wrapped it carefully with some cloths. Looking around him once more, he left the room. Once he stepped outside what was presumably a silencing charm in the room, he heard a blaring sound all around him.

'Bloody Hell!' he cursed, and burst into a run. With the corner of his eye, he could see countless figures moving around him, and curses fracturing the stone ground. Suddenly, his road was cut by 20 vampires, while several more surrounded him from all sides. Harry could also hear the voices of wizards muttering and could literarily feel the wand-points concentrated on him.

"Hand it ober!" said a voice with a heavy accent.

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Sorry Sorry Sorry…..I know this took way too long…but it is almost as if I drunk a bad luck potion….first, my computer's memory crashed, and I lost the chapter I wrote. Then, I had to go on holiday, so I couldn't write much, and when I returned, my internet connection had problems and I had a mounting level of work. I know, excuses are not acceptable….and I am so evil I left you on a cliff-hanger…but the next chapter will be up shortly.