Severus scowled down at the ingredients displayed in the stall and mentally counted the locations of each tunnel opening onto the market place. He could feel the slight tugging at the back of his mind indicating that Harry needed him for something but that it wasn't yet urgent or life threatening. No doubt once he got back to their current rooms Severus would be ensconced in bed with the others as they cuddled.
"I could just tell you the basic security so that you can shop properly," the goblin guard grumbled quietly. Severus grunted in response and selected the ingredients to make his own ginger based tea before moving on after paying.
"Honor duels and duels over disagreements are active parts of goblin society. We want your unit alive at least long enough that you can tell when someone is being an idiot or trying to knife you in the back," the guard summarized quietly as they moved through the stalls. "If you can prove basic knowledge of our people, your new people, then you wont need a guard under normal circumstances. The Dark Lord is under medical restriction as a safety precaution on both sides. Officially both of you are cleared as full warriors with a magical specialty and your son as the family apprentice. The difference between a family apprentice and a standard one is that a family apprentice is learning family or unit magics and skills or techniques and can also gain a standard apprenticeship. Every male goblin is a warrior first and whatever chosen craft or living they have second. Most female goblins have some basic training in combat for protecting any children and moderate levels of medical training. All goblins are taught basic first aid, basic weapons handling, reading, writing, and math up to but not past the quadratic equations. Anything past that is for Generals, engineers, architects, and siege specialists unless it is a normal part of their chosen profession such as your Arithmancy classes."
"If I could demonstrate that knowledge right now would you leave me alone?" Severus asked softly as he looked over a stall with armored vests in various sizes.
"I would change from being a guard to being a guide only and would only step into any disagreements you became involved with at your specific request or, because of your value, to stop a death blow," the goblin answered toothily. "Once you knew your way around enough not to get dangerously lost despite the protective magics on the tunnels you would be allowed to wander at will. The only reason your unit hasn't been formally introduced to the warrior class and various groups such as the Potions Masters is that you are still acclimating and the parchment pushers keep trying to imprison you. Once accepted they can't declare your unit unfit. Not that they have any chance of that now but we are leaving them their delusions to give you a chance to actually interact with the Nation instead of being dumped into the deep pool. We guards were briefed on your unit's basic skills and accomplishments and have no problem accepting your unit as brothers."
"Interesting..." Severus murmured as he set aside an enchanted leather vest that would work well on Harry.
"The Dark Lord qualifies as a dark specialist or, in more common reference, a Dark Dancer because he dances with the dangers of the dark. You qualify as a Potions Master and Shadow Scout, what muggles would call a ninja. Shadow Scouts specialize in information gathering but can act as assassins or spies. Your son... is a Breaker. He locates and breaks a threat before it can destroy an area or people that he guards. It doesn't matter as much to him, with a few exceptions, what he needs to do or become to succeed as long as those he values are as safe as possible," the guard explained. "He also counts as a Reality Catalyst - someone who reality bends around to either save him or get him into position. Reality Catalysts are often subject to prophecy and just as often initiate major change in some fashion regardless of whether that action is intentional or not. Merlin was a Reality Catalyst. Breakers often become leaders or troubleshooters specializing in the unique and unheard of."
"You are wrong, it does matter," Severus said abruptly, sending a nasty scowl at his escort.
"It wont stop him even if it means that he finds a different path or creates a whole new path," the guard smirked at the Potions Master. "Breaking applies to obstacles as much as to actual threats. Any morals he has are actually less prone to breakage because it helps protect his mind."
"That is my brat," Severus grumbled in grumpy agreement.
The Potions Master went ahead and purchased a slightly different enchanted leather vest from the one he had originally set aside with plans for a dragonhide one at a later date. The thick blue dyed leather with silver rune edges and a black embroidered eastern dragon would fit Harry nicely over any of his new shirts that actually fit him and would go with all of them for coloring. The three pants they had originally bought him were more or less a standard black with no protections as they had been planning on getting the robes set up with proper protective enchantments after the medical visit to the bank. Most of the expensive clothes buying had been planned for after Harry's bones were fixed to make certain that it would fit without issue.
"Boots for your son next?" the guard suggested with a smirk.
"Something to protect his legs and knees first," Severus corrected acidly. He was rather enjoying the company of his guard however much he didn't want to.
"You will want something he can wear over anything then, shin guards? Of course you can just get armored knee high boots instead," the guard recommended thoughtfully. "I'll show you both booths."
Severus found himself buying the dragonhide boots first but they only came up to mid-calf. However they were, happily, charmed to automatically size themselves and to act as light armor on top of their naturally high durability. Leather pants, charmed as light armor, with a side stripe of 3 fold heavy denim for breathability solved protecting Harry's legs. Two pairs were bought, one in a darker red-brown with a dark blue stripe and the other in matte black with a black stripe. Shiny black leather would just get his Imp killed when he had to sneak past the inevitable enemies that would appear. A wand holster with a spot for a potions blade, also purchased, made it into the shopping bags as did a knife bordering on being a dagger meant to be strapped to a person's thigh or belt.
The connection to Harry spiked briefly in the back of Severus' brain, causing him to whip around and start heading back to their temporary quarters. A lowly hissed "Something's wrong. We need to get back now!" had the guard taking the lead as they rapidly headed back at a double time pace. As they moved they picked up an extra two guards and Severus hoped it wasn't something stupid or, alternatively, that their small group would be enough to help. His brat was going to get an earful about getting into trouble while he was supposed to be resting.
*+ovo+*
Feel free to skip the Note!
A/n:
Reality Catalysts are real and often called "Favored by God" or Heroes. Anyone who believes that Jesus is the ever existing Son of God and has accepted him as their savior - ie. a born again believer - counts as a Reality Catalyst even if it isn't always overtly noticeable under normal circumstances.
Don't believe me? Watch for people who have impossible luck that either favors them or gets them into position to do something important or to share Jesus even if they don't take that opportunity.
This is what the world will lose when the rapture occurs as every single true believer in Jesus will be called away - commanded into the air that we might not need to face that which is coming. Every last one of us were adopted by God as his children in accepting Jesus and will eat at his table on that day.
It is something that you can become if you so wish and you don't have to believe me or even go through me to get it.
I am a mortal human and mortal humans are fallible. I screw up every day. None of that changes the fact that I am an adopted child of God. I am his daughter. How about you?