This story about Harry Potter playing with runes and upsetting the applecart that is Magical Britain is shared with everyone on FanFiction for fun. I wanted to get back to Harry playing with runes…but goblins leapt forward and said, "NOW!"
How long until that new movie gets released?
Chapter 10: Goblin WarsBloodhook was ambitious as the next goblin, but the only blood on his chosen weapon was blood drawn during training exercises with his trainers, peers and a few hit wizards who were well paid to suffer wounds with enraged goblins. His axe hung on the wall in his quarters where he did not yet have a mate.
The young goblin's luck changed the night he was the goblin on duty to answer the house-elves sent to Gringotts. Most elf arrivals came in mid-morning when the lazy wizards began their day. Usually, the fools needed galleons, rings, or jewels from their vaults. It was unusual for elves to arrive in the middle of the night, and it was very uncommon for elves to come with deposits at that time. (Most deposits were made at the end of the business day.)
Bloodhook remembered the elf's appearance – the creature was happy and bubbly – a personality not often seen in elves in Magical Britain. Then the bag of gold was produced, and the scent was immediately overwhelming. Barely able to control himself, Bloodhook placed one of the delectable stones on his tongue. The effect of the purely magical gold was better than anything the goblin had ever experienced in his life.
He slobbered and danced for many minutes as though he was in the middle of a battle against dwarves or wizards. But he was able to summon other goblins who joined in the slobbering and dancing. Finally, Bloodhook took the gold and provided the shell-shocked elf with a key to the new vault.
"Tell your master that this is pure gold, and the purest gold is magic for goblins. Gringotts will pay ten times the weight in old gold for more of this gold. But tell your wizard when he makes more of this gold using their magic to use small stones as the base. It'll add more taste to the gold."
"What that mean?" asked the elf.
The goblin smiled, "Your wizard will be wealthy. Gringotts will pay 78 galleons for every gram of this magical gold."
The elf vanished without another word, and Bloodhook spent several hours meeting the elders who examined the gold cast many spells upon the nuggets.
"If the supplier proves reliable, we can begin to 'cure' the contaminated gold in Britain and then in Europe."
Bloodhook was present when the elf appeared one week later with another bag of the 'Fresh Gold' as the goblins now called it. The nuggets tasted good but with the flavour of Italian marble, and the wizard sent the elf once a week with another bag. The elders and goldsmiths experimented with the contaminated gold. They melted some of their old gold and blended it with a small amount of the new gold. They were overjoyed when their efforts proved effective with a ratio of 1 gram of new gold with 100 kilograms of spoiled gold.
"How can such a small amount of the new gold cure Nicolas Flamel's gold?" asked Ironstream.
Grinning, Bloodhook replied, "It's the magic, revered father."
The following week, there was a note in the sack asking for advice on the best gold to use when making a ring. Bloodhook sent a copy of Metals for Magic, Rings and Runes with a coded note inside the cover without discussing his actions with anyone. He wrote 'gifted By LOOn Down Helping bOOK' with his own hands.
Bloodhook thought to himself, 'It'll take him a year to figure out how to make a ring with runes.'
A week later, Bloodhook found a letter of thanks for the book from the wizard and three magic rings that he was asked to return to three families – Abbot, Bones and Weasley. With some help from the elders again, the goblins determined which ring went to which family, and they decided they were ancient keys to long-closed vaults deep underneath Gringotts. The rings were sent to each family's account manager, and Bloodhook forgot about the trinkets after that moment.
Another week and the elf appeared with another delivery of Fresh Gold, but this time, a ring around its neck seemed to vibrate with power. He hurried to speak with his father (Ironstream) about the elf with this powerful ring. And after sharing his news with his father about the book and then the ring, Bloodhook waited while his father seemed to consider everything.
"You say the wizard received the book only two weeks before, and he has already created a ring that holds power," Ironstream said. "I shall tell the elders, and we must watch for him. Whoever he is, he will accomplish great things."
Ironstream also added, "And as long as he provides the Fresh Gold, we can cure the gold in Britain, and then in Europe. It'll take fifty years, so it's necessary that 'our' wizard remains happy, content and thinks good of goblins. And we can celebrate the death of Nicholas Flamel. Our brothers in France confirm that pimple on a troll's scrotum and his wife died last year. They loaned Whitebeard their stone for some unfathomable reason, and then Dumbledore lost, destroyed, or hid it from Flamel. After more than five hundred years, the alchemist died in agony without his elixir."
They sat for a moment, and then Bloodhook continued, "What does the half-human at Hogwarts report?"
His father revealed, "Flitwick provides many of the details regarding Dumbledore's machinations with the adults of Magical Britain and the children in 'his' castle. That wizard believes he is the only person capable of critical thinking but fails to appreciate that it is his fault none of the other adults in Britain can do so."
Panicked, Bloodstream asked, "Is Dumbledore the wizard making the new gold?"
"No," Ironstream replied. "He has the magical power, but if he discovered how to make gold with magic, he would not hesitate to arrive at the bank and announce his new-found power before declaring himself King of Gringotts."
"Wait…you said that he might have kept Flamel's stone," Bloodhook said, remembering his father's earlier comments.
Waving away his son's worry, Ironstream said, "If Dumbledore kept the stone and tried to use it, he would have been blown to pieces trying to make gold or died in agony after drinking Flamel's elixir. Another element had to be added to the elixir after creation before it would work."
"How do you know this information?"
Ironstream sighed and explained, "Other wizards have stolen the stone over the centuries and always died in agony after drinking Flamel's poison. When they try to make gold, something is missing and there's always a fire and explosion. The ones who are poisoned would come to the Gringotts Paris and pay the goblins to summon Flamel to the bank. They–or their family–would beg for the cure."
"And they lived?"
"No, it was too late, and they always died, usually with Nicholas Flamel and his wife watching. And our treaties with the humans meant Flamel always got his ring back."
Father and son sat in silence for a moment before Ironstream asked, "Do you have ideas as to the identity of the wizard creating Fresh Gold?"
Shaking his head, Bloodhook laughed and said, "I wouldn't say if I knew. There could be a jinx on his name."
His father frowned. "If you learn their name, make certain they know that Gringotts will move any mountain for them. The Fresh Gold is that important to remove the taint of the Ruined Gold.
END CONVERSATION
THINKING ABOUT GOLD PRICES: I am using a conversion of 1 galleon for 5 pounds. If the money figures irritate you, pass over this section. For some reason, I always write it so that Harry is safe financially. However, I believe vast amounts of gold create problems, just like fame.
Each bag of Fresh Gold created by Harry Potter contains twenty-five ounces of gold. In 1994, gold was valued at £263.00 per ounce (ʛ52.6 per ounce). Each bag (with 25 ounces) equals £6,575 (ʛ1315). However, the goblins are paying ten times the value (ʛ13,150 per bag). In eight weeks, Harry's new secret vault has ʛ105,200 (galleons). A lot I know, but the goblins are desperate to fix the gold contaminated by mixing real gold with the gold made by Flamel's stone.
ANOTHER CONVERSATION WITH FLITWICK
The Hogwarts Express was once again heading toward Scotland (with an escort of Aurors onboard for protection). The elves refreshed everyone's bed and prepared a feast for the returning students. With the staff preparing lesson plans and patrol schedules for the spring term, Harry made his way into Ravenclaw territory and knocked on Professor Flitwick's office door.
"Come!" called out the professor's voice, so Harry opened the door and walked inside.
The half-goblin looked up, smiled, and greeted the young wizard. "Heir Potter, how can I help you this afternoon?"
"You asked me to stop and talk with you some afternoon, and I thought today would be best since there are so few students about for a few more hours."
"Excellent reasoning," Flitwick replied. "Now, come in and sit.
Sitting in the same chair as the last time he had been in the office, Harry said, "I have been having a great year at Hogwarts until this last episode with Lupin. Well, a great year except for the Dementors being around all the time."
Flitwick did not correct the young wizard for not adding 'Professor' to the name but nodded. "The tragedy on 1 September kept Dumbledore hopping from one trial to the next, dealing with angry governors, furious parents, and frightened professors as well as students. He hasn't had time to meddle in your affairs."
"And it is unfortunate that even with the presence of Dementors, you think your third year is the best," added the professor.
"I don't want to talk about Dementors or Dumbledore today," Harry confessed. "I hoped you could tell me…would tell me things about my parents."
Flitwick smiled and pulled out a folder from a cabinet that he opened and motioned for the wizard to lean forward and view the contents.
"Your mother arrived at Hogwarts anxious to learn and then prove herself. I wish someone had spoken to Miss Granger about 'learning' before imposing her beliefs on others. She could have been the brightest and most influential witch of her generation if she waited before trying to convert Magical Britain into a real-life Euro Disney."
"What is that, professor?"
"A fantasy theme park built near Paris, and it opened about eighteen months ago. The park is like the original Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida in America."
"I have never been to any of those parks," Harry admitted. "And I've only seen snippets of the movies. My aunt and uncle thought they were freaky."
"It doesn't matter," Flitwick agreed. "Miss Granger seems to be very quiet now, and perhaps she'll learn. In any case, we are talking about Lily Evans and James Potter when they were students at Hogwarts."
Harry nodded and looked at the folder again as Flitwick showed Harry his mum's grades in Charms in her years at Hogwarts. "In her fifth year, studying for her OWLS, Lily began thinking about the rules imposed on runes by the rules taught in the class. In her spare time, she experimented with new ways to do things. Utilising charms to augment her carvings and practice cartouches, she made several runic arrays that shouldn't have worked but did. Professor Babbling was flabbergasted and worried that Lily would fail her exams."
"Did she?" asked Harry. "I mean, obviously Mum passed…but what happened?"
"Lily took her OWLS with a Magical British mindset, but in her sixth year, she leapt ahead in the curriculum by mixing the runic alphabets with great success. Babbling and other persons raised in Magical Britain had a terrible time understanding Lily's ideas or believing what their eyes and ears told them when she demonstrated bells playing complete tunes without hours of preparation time or robes being able to deflect a jinx weeks after the runes were applied to the cloth."
"And my Dad?"
Without as much enthusiasm, Flitwick said, "James was great at transfiguration spells but didn't have interest in the theory. Lupin pulled James, Peter…and Sirius through fifth and sixth years with his classwork and essays. That summer between their sixth and seventh years, your Mum finally paid attention to the good side of your father – and James grew up. He was forced to grow up when the Death Eaters killed his parents, and then Lily lost her parents as well that summer."
"In their seventh year, they were Head Boy and Head Girl. And they married about three days after they graduated from Hogwarts."
"That's young, wasn't it?" asked Harry.
"There was a terrible war being fought, and James went directly into Auror training the day after the wedding. He never took up the Potter seat in the Wizengamot. Meanwhile, Lily went to work with the Unspeakables. They wanted her in their ranks, and she worked there up until the day you were born.
Harry frowned, believing there was more to the story, and he decided to look for those details another day.
"What about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew? Black is after me, and he's been inside the castle twice this year."
"Twice?" asked Flitwick. "I knew about Halloween, but when was he here again?"
"In January…he made it inside our dorm room, stood over Ron's bed and shouted that he was going to kill Peter. Percy's Patronus chased the man off, and McGonagall said it was just a nightmare and accidental magic that damaged the door to Gryffindor Tower.
"I never heard this story," Flitwick admitted. "And I imagine the headmaster doesn't want anyone to talk about it with all the other problems he has in the press."
Harry shrugged and pressed, "Tell me about my dad and his friends."
"Lupin was a werewolf before he was admitted to Hogwarts – he was bitten as a child. And Dumbledore arranged for his admission with a plan to provide the boy with a safe place to transform each month. But Lupin made three very loyal friends in James, Peter, and Sirius. Those three broke all the rules to help their friend and went so far as to become Animagus wizards when they were only fifteen years old.
"Really! What were their animals?"
Flitwick closed the folder, frowned and said, "Heir Potter, I want you to listen to me very carefully now.
"Yes, sir."
"It is hazardous for any witch or wizard to become an Animagus before their magical core settles around age twenty. Professor McGonagall only became an Animagus at age twenty-three, one of the youngest on record. Sometimes I think she prefers her cat form, but that's not germane to our conversation today."
"Now, understand this! Your father and his friends were reckless and paid the price for their behaviour," the professor explained.
Harry asked, "What do you mean?"
"Peter became a rat, and he quickly adopted the characteristics of a rat by sneaking and hiding under tables and around corners all the time. Sirius Black was a dog and resembled a Grim, the hound that brings death to anyone who catches a glimpse of him. But that dog scratched constantly and laughed with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He'd pee against trees and lampposts regularly, telling everyone he was 'marking' his territory.
"And Dad?"
"He grew very cautious, could move silently through the halls of the school and forest at all hours of the night. And he sprouted horns…they were just nubs that he could hide with a glamour used to hide baldness, but he resembled Pan with his horns in his seventh year."
Quiet for a moment, Harry said, "You say they adopted the characteristics of their creature – rat, dog and stag."
Flitwick nodded, and Harry continued, "Then why did a loyal 'dog' betray his friends? And why was the 'rat' not suspected of betraying my parents? Rats leap from the sinking ship or scurry down the first hole that appears when there is a fight? Dogs stay and fight to protect their pack."
Flitwick stared for a moment and then admitted, "I don't know, Harry…Heir Potter."
Waving his hand, Harry said, "Professor, you may call me whatever you like. I believe you are trying to help the students at Hogwarts without regard to blood, birth, or house affiliation."
END OF CHAPTER