The Gathering Swarm

Disclaimer: I have not claim to characters or scenes from the Harry Potter series, which belongs to JK Rowling and associates. I get nothing from this except the enjoyment of imagining and writing the story. If I did own any of the Potterverse, I could stop having to work for a living.

Time frame – Post–DH except for the epilogue which I am ignoring, for reasons that should become obvious.

When the newly engaged couple returned to Harry's home in England, reactions were mixed, to say the least.

Most of their friends sent congratulations on their engagement, and asked when they could expect either a wedding invitation or birth announcement of the first new Potter (or both).

Ron's note wished all the best to his two best friends. He said that he knew that Harry and Hermione were well suited to each other's temperments and talents, and knew that their house would be quieter than his (apparently Magda was also a yeller).

Pansy and Luna both wished the couple well, and hoped for an expedited wedding, as both had their own matrimonial ambitions as they pertained to Harry (Pansy as a possible Mrs Black, and Luna as a concubine in the House of Potter now that it was decided which house Hermione would preside over).

Molly and Arthur Weasley sent best wishes, and commented that they had always felt that both Harry and Hermione were part of their family and hoped both would still consider themselves honourary Weasleys.

Ginny Weasley's reactions were themselves mixed. Part of her was telling her that Harry was hers, and Hermione was trying to steal her property. Part of her was saying "Well, I'll going out with every guy I want to and I'll show him what he gave up. I'll make him so jealous he will leave her and come back to me." Part of her was thinking, "Hermione is my best female friend. She wouldn't hurt me, and if I can't have Harry, I am glad it's her". Part of her was saying, "It was nice when it lasted but it's over for us". And part of her was saying "What the hell have I done?"

Ginny realized that she still had a lot of the spoiled little girl in her, who had lost her favourite toy. But she also realized that she was a grown woman, and that Harry and she were not right for each other, and that 'they' were over. But it still hurt. She wrote a note to Hermione, reminding the older girl that they were sisters in all but blood, and wishing her well. Her note to Harry asked him to remember his 'little sister' fondly, and hopefully without pain. Then she smashed every dish and bowl in her apartment.

Shortly after returning to England, Harry called a meeting of Pansy and all his elves, with Hermione sitting in. The plan they had put into action, before he left for the south, was starting to bear fruit. All the families with connections to the old Death Eater families had extra elves in quiet attendance. Not that they ever noticed, as for most of them elves were just as unnoticeable as their furniture, and they treated them with as much attention and respect, which is to say, none.

They had had to work out some limits on their surveillance, as their purpose and intent was somewhat contrary to the loyalties of the resident elves. However, the elves bonded to the families were often very disturbed themselves as to the goings-on, as the contempt that the Death Eaters (and much of the wizarding world) had for the other magical races was well known, as was the equality and friendship practiced by Harry Potter and his friends. Soon, there were small bands of guerrilla elves all through England and much of Western Europe.

As most people could not tell one elf from another, unless they paid close attention, the additional elves were effectively hidden in plain sight.

Most of the old families were keeping themselves clear of suspicious activities, as they had seen what happened to those who backed Voldemort in the past few years. Those who were lucky and had been not pivotal in the Dark Lord's activities had their property and wealth confiscated by the Ministry and many were serving long prison terms; those who were in the inner circle and had been primary perpetrators on some of the horrors had either been killed in battle, or sent through the Veil after their property was passed to those they had harmed (or at least their surviving relatives).

However, the elves reported that there were a few families, or more exactly, some members of the old families, who were up to no good. Many had moved their gold out of Gringott's (to the goblins' distinct displeasure) and as much of their other property out of reach of the Ministry as possible (usually violating several statutes about removing valuable assets from the UK without paying appropriate taxes and duties).

A number of small groups of these less respectable wizards had formed a number of companies with overseas operations, officially dealing in the import- export business, usually of various kinds of contraband, and the production and distribution of pornography. One such group were the ones 'employing' Millicent Bulstode. Pansy's teams had not yet located the young witch, but had rescued a number of muggles and muggleborns who had been tortured and otherwise abused (for the entertainment of those who had been too young or had not yet been recruited to wear the Dark Mark themselves, and so had 'missed out' on all the Dark Lord's fun).

Harry thanked the group for their excellent work, and asked if there were any areas where they needed added resources. Pansy indicated that there were some holes in the coverage in Ireland and central and eastern Europe, which needed some work. Harry said he would contract Seamus Finnegan and Viktor Krum, and see what he could arrange.

Later that week, Seamus popped over (quite literally, as his apparition skills were not as noiseless as he would have liked), bringing with him a couple elderly elves, one of whom wore an 'Irish' style beard. Seamus said that this elf was a leader of the elves in Ireland, and so was someone of considerable knowledge on elven kind and perhaps would have some useful influence. The elf indicated that he and his people had heard of Harry Potter and the great Hermione Granger – he told Hermione that he had heard of Mikey's suicide, and that he and his folk did not hold it against her in any way; humans and elves had always kept their own secrets and so misunderstandings, even tragic ones, were inevitable. The elf also said that the elves knew that Hermione's heart was good and her intentions honourable although misguided. The others of Harry's elves who were in attendance, along with Hermione's two, nodded their heads in sad agreement.

This elf was the only one that Harry or the two ladies had ever seen with a beard, and so they asked the elf about it (apologising in advance if the diminutive creature found their questions rude). The old creature indicated that he was from the line of elves who had been kicked out of Spain in 1492, with all of the other Jews.

This was the first that Harry (or Pansy, or for that matter, Seamus) had heard about religious beliefs among the elves. Harry had already noticed that most people of the wizarding world were either secular or held religious beliefs similar to those of the more general population (although often in more archaic forms, due to the slower evolution of ideas in the wizarding world). The fact that at least some of the Irish elves were Jewish was a distinct surprise.

The old elf indicated that his name was Moishe Cohen, and that he was of the priestly clan in Judaism (the Levites). His grandfather had been one of the elves who left Spain when Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand expelled all the Jews, the same year that Columbus sailed for what he thought were the Spice Islands of the Indies. As an orthodox Jew, and a rabbi of his people, he felt it was only right to wear a beard, and living in Ireland, he had "conformed to the wearing of the local style". Harry and the others were amused to hear the elf's Irish lilt.

Moishe indicated that most of the elves from the Galatia region of Spain had moved to Ireland, as it was a very tolerant Catholic country (at the time) with a Celtic heritage and language (and people with red hair, as were the more hirsute of the elves) and so they felt there would be less of an adjustment for their people. The leader of this immigration was the great rabbi 'Lepra', Moishe's great-uncle. When they arrived in Dublin, they told the locals that they were the people of the great Lepra Cohen. Moishe chuckled. He said "When the name got used for all of us, and mangled by the pronunciation of the locals, we didn't have the heart to correct them. After all, they were such kind people who were giving us sanctuary".

Hermione's eyes twinkled as she worked out the elf's reference. She asked "And what about the green jacket and breeches we see in the pictures." Moishe smiled at her and said simply "Party clothes; that's the only time most humans saw us, and so they thought that was our regular dress. And young lady, before you ask about the pot of gold, the family story is that, as the ship bringing us to Ireland entered the harbour at Cork, there was a brief rain-shower, and a beautiful rainbow ended right on the quay where we were to disembark. Some were heard to say that being welcomed by the indigenous Irish elves to the new land, where we could be safe from the inquisition, was like being handed a pot full of gold, and the phrase got passed around and made it into the muggle population."

Moishe grinned and said, "You know, we were also the ones who introduced praties for Ireland, in partial payment for their welcome."

Harry looked at the elf in puzzlement. "Praties?"

Seamus shrugged, "Potatoes, Harry! You'd think that rooming with me for six years, you would have learned at least some rudimentary Irish!"

Harry looked back at the elf, with a suddenly very interested look in his eye. "When was that? I thought potatoes were introduced once the Spanish took Peru, much later."

Moishe shook his head. "We elves knew about such things from our relatives in the Americas. You use the 'Accio' spell; we have similar magic to pick up supplies from all over."

Harry asked intently, "How far away can you pick something up?"

The old elf looked back at Harry, seeing that there was something quite serious behind this question. "I don't know? Praties from Peru was easy; it's not too far, although it was easier when I was in my youth. Since I hit my third century, I'm not as spry as I was."

"When I was young, we used to have contests to see who could reach out the farthest. I could easily pick up rocks from that debris pile beyond Mars, and some brought in snowballs from the rings of Saturn. They were pretty tired after such an effort, though."

Harry asked "Did you ever try to work together to reach out farther?"

Moishe looked at Harry sharply. "Aye, we did, once. And I know you are wanting to ask how far we could reach out then, so I will. One time a long while ago, back before our people were kicked out of the Holy Lands by the Romans, we got about twenty of our strongest 'gatherers', and set them the task. They practiced for several months before making their great effort. They all rested up for a number of days before the 'Great Grab', as they were calling it. The claim is that they reached out to the small, almost invisible, companion of the brightest star in the winter sky, and grabbed a chunk of it. It was very heavy and very hot, so they thought it safer to release their grip on it just above the top of the air where their success could be seen by all. As the pressure and heat released, it appeared like a stationary bright star, over a little town a little ways away from Jerusalem, where a young Jewish family from Nazareth were staying for the Roman census. They kept it contained to a degree, so it took a couple of weeks to cool down, but it did remain visible for some time. That was the time that a baby was born who became that famous rabbi from Nazareth, whose teachings many of your folk follow; we respect his teachings, but not necessarily the practices of some of his followers, as they have caused my folk, both large (like you) and small (like me), such grief over the years."

Hermione's eyes widened. "That was The Star over Bethlehem?"

Moishe smiled, "Aye, that was The Star."

Harry had gradually worked out that the star Moishe had referred to was the white dwarf companion of Sirius. As he smiled at this reference to his godfather, he asked the elderly elf, "Could your folk do it again? If you had help?"

The elf smiled and asked "Now why would you be wanting a chunk of a star? You can't hang onto it, too heavy and too hot. The elves who did the task were completely exhausted by it, and had to spend a long time recovering." Seamus had given him some idea of the tasks that Harry had taken on.

Harry asked, "What if we had more elves to help, and some other magical folk to hold it in a confined space, like a protective box?"

Moishe looked suspicious, "That sounds like goblin magic, young man."

Harry smiled and said thoughtfully "Yes it does, doesn't it. How about if you just took a bit from our local star, instead of reaching out so far?"

Moishe smiled, and said, "Now that, I could still manage meself on a hot day relaxing in the shade, without even breaking a sweat to take the chill of me mug o' beer."

Harry thought for a moment. "How big a chunk?"

The elf looked at him, wondering what the young wizard's mind was up to. "Well, If I did the job meself, just from our own sun, I think I could manage a piece about the size of this room. One of my young men could manage a chunk about the size of this house. Now the chunk from the Great Grab was said to be about the size of a sports ball, say a quaffle or beachball – they are said to have remarked that, once they had a good hold on it, they might as well bring as big a lump as they could - that's why it took a couple of weeks to cool off to invisibility. I gather that there is still a band of radiation where the bits of it dissipated.

Later that week, Harry and Hermione made an appointment with the goblin who had been looking after Harry's accounts at Gringott's. The following Monday, the two were ushered into the office of Accounts Manager Grippinghand. The accounts manager was accompanied by two (what appeared to be, to their untrained eyes) younger goblins, whom Harry and Hermione assumed (correctly) to be the elder goblin's assistants.

Harry bowed his head and greeted the goblin formally, "Accounts Manager Grippinghand, thank you for meeting with us. I am Harry Potter, head of the Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, and of Black. My companion is my intended mate, my fiancée, Hermione Granger."

Grippinghand bowed and said, "Welcome Harry Potter, Mr Potter and Lord Black. Welcome Miss Granger. How can Gringott's be of service?" Goblins had little use for chit-chat, and tended to get down to business quickly.

Harry asked "Please address me as 'Harry', as I have little time or use for my formal titles."

Grippinghand smiled (a goblin's smile being a rather scary sight). "In that case, please address me as Grippinghand". Both nodded.

Harry then said, "I have a number of requests today. First, I wish to arrange to my fiancée to have access to my assets in my vaults here at Gringott's. Second, I would like to look into making some investments both inside and outside of the UK. Third, I would like to deal with some matters of my inheritance and family issues. And fourth, I wish to learn more about the nature and powers of goblin magic."

Grippinghand nodded "Ah. I understand. I can assist you with your first three requests, only. Your fourth request has been anticipated, and I have been instructed to request the attendance of Senior Strategic Analyst Farflenurg. The Senior Analyst's time is valuable, and I will not request his presence until we have dealt with your first matters."

"I can arrange access for your intended mate, who I understand is the first of at least two and possibly more; however, you must realize that there are necessarily restrictions which apply to this request. I must first ask this question - which of your two houses will Miss Granger be marrying into?"

Harry smiled at Hermione, and said, "We have decided that she will be the mistress of the House of Potter." The goblin nodded. Harry thought for a moment, looked puzzled, and asked, "What restrictions might those be, and why would they apply? I presume that your comment about the number of mates has to do with my being the head of two houses."

Grippinghand nodded "That is correct. Gringott's keeps track of the legal obligations of its account holders, and as the head of both the Potter and Black families, you are the possessor-of-record of two of our longest standing accounts. Therefore, it is customary for us to know something of your situation. We have been following your progress and, as you asked, have been working with your associate Miss Parkinson. This is also why your request to learn more about goblin magic was anticipated."

"As to the restrictions, we mean no disrespect to your fiancée, but Gringott's has been in operations for two and a half millennia, and we have seen many attempts to gain unauthorized access to the accounts of major investors. These attempts have been both legal and illegal, and one of the more common ways of trying to gain access is through romantic liaisons. Therefore, there are standard restrictions for unmarried account holders, and in the case of heads of hereditary accounts, further restrictions as to what items may be accessed."

"As your fiancée and the future Mrs Potter, Miss Granger would be allowed access to only one-half of one percent of the Potter family accounts, and this would be restricted to the liquid assets only. She would not be allowed access to heirloom items, except with the explicit and detailed permission from yourself. As she is to marry you as the head of the Potter family, she would have no access to the Black family accounts, and it would be vice versa for your future Lady Black. Upon your marriage, she will be allowed access to forty percent of the Potter family holdings, including heirloom items. If, on your death, she is the sole survivor with no issue, then she would take full control of the account. If at that point, you have other wives surviving, she would, as first and primary wife, have access to seventy percent of the assets, including all heirloom items, while the other thirty percent would be shared among your concubines and secondary wives."

Harry looked at Hermione, who looked puzzled. He turned to Grippinghand and asked, "Why are the amounts restricted? And how much would that one-half of one percent be, roughly?"

Grippinghand looked at Harry and Hermione and said, "You have to remember that our responsibility, here at Gringott's, is the preservation and advancement of the financial well-being of our clients. The human portion of the wizarding world, at least here in England, is extremely patriarchal, so the preservation of the family fortune is in the hands of the male head of family. In the case such as yours, there must be provision for the support and well-being of additional wives and concubines, as it would be unwise to have one branch of a house destitute while another is in luxury. There have been cases in the past where the first wife tried to starve a second wife to death. We find that to be unacceptable behaviour and contrary to the financial welfare of the house, and so policies were put in place. As to the access limit," Grippinghand turned to an assistant, who passed over a piece of parchment, "according to a current evaluation of your family account, Miss Granger will have immediate access to roughly one quarter of a million galleons. Is that adequate?"

Harry had to laugh at the stunned look on Hermione's face, even though he knew he would pay dearly for it later. She mumbled "That's over 12 million pounds. Bloody hell!" She turned to Harry and said, "I knew you had money, but bloody hell!"

Harry turned to the goblin and with a smirk, asked, "If we had decided that she would be Lady Black, how would this change matters?"

Grippinghand looked at Hermione, and said "It would change it a great deal. The Black family has been very wealthy for many years." The implication that the Potter fortune was not of the nearly same level as the Black treasury was not lost on the young, and rather stunned, woman.

The goblin then turned back to Harry. "You had some other business for me to attend to. Please proceed."

Harry explained his ideas for the schools and holiday camps. The goblin was a bit taken aback by the idea for the schools, as this would require the expenditure of funds, with little opportunity for a financial return, and that was not usual business practice. However, Grippinghand could see that the long-term improvement of wizarding society, particularly the reduction of prejudice, would be a long-term benefit to all.

The idea of the holiday camps excited the goblin. These could make some serious coin for Harry, and significant fees for Gringott's as well (as investment bankers and real estate brokers), particularly when it came to acquisition of additional properties in Africa and South America. Grippinghand said that the appropriate documents would be prepared, and could Harry return in three days to sign the papers.

Harry asked if Gringott's had branches in Tahiti and Australia, and possibly in Brazil and Vanuatu. Grippinghand advised him that Gringott's had major branches in all major world capitals, and either subsidiary branches or reciprocal arrangements with other banks in most major cities. For a client such as Harry, provisions could be arranged for whatever banking needs he had in mind.

Harry then asked whether he could arrange for the transfer of funds into accounts in Australia and Tahiti to start, to the initial amounts of twenty million galleons, for the purposes of the investments into the first few summer camps. These funds would be drawn from the Black family accounts.

He then added a request which stuck both the goblin and Hermione as odd. He asked that half of the funds be in the form of the local muggle currency, and be accessible from muggle banks if required. Grippinghand asked for the reasons for this rather odd arrangement, as most wizards only dealt with the magical side of the bank, although all Gringott's branches have non-magical outlets, primarily staffed by humans. Harry responded that the construction and supplying of the holiday camps might require the hiring of non-magical local contractors or staff, particularly if they were to serve non-magical people as well, and so would need ready access to means to pay for these services. Harry thought it might even be useful to have some sort of outlet (similar to the automated bank machines becoming universal in the muggle world) on site at the camps – these would be Gringott's ATM's of course. Grippinghand nodded at this rather well thought-out request, and agreed to look into it.

The goblin asked "What other matters did you wish to discuss today?"

Harry said "As I am now engaged to Miss Granger, I will need to prepare a will, in case of unfortunate circumstances or events." Hermione looked at Harry sharply, wondering what he was starting to plan. He saw her look of worry, and reached out for her hand. "Hermione, love, I am not planning to get hurt or killed. It's just that, given my history, and that there are some people who hate me, it is prudent to prepare for the worst while you hope for the best. You know that it is only in the last couple years that I have even had the option of hoping for the best."

Grippinghand nodded. "This is wise. However, I must point out that, as the head of two families, you will require two separate wills. I assume Miss Granger, soon to be Mrs Potter, is to be your principal beneficiary for the Potter assets. You will need to modify this will on the event of your marriage, and for any changes in your family conditions or numbers."

Harry nodded, and then added, "I would also like to make some declarations and changes to the line of succession as Lord Black."

Grippinghand said, "I might need to consult goblins and human experts in our legal department, but this can be done. What is it that you wish to accomplish?"

Harry said, "A number of things. First, I wish to correct an injustice, by reinstating my godfather's cousin, Andromeda Black Tonks, to the family. Second, I wish to declare her grandson, my godson, as my principal heir and the heir to the title of Lord Black as the head of the House of Black. Third, I wish to arrange to on-going protection for both of these relatives – there are a number of people who hate me and consider Mrs Tonks a blood-traitor, and declaring her to be a favoured relative may make her a target."

"Fourth, and I don't quite know how to word this so I will need your expert advice, I wish to disinherit Narcissa and Draco Malfoy in such a way that Draco will never get his hands on the Black estate, but to do it in a way that may benefit them and the rest of society. I have not discussed this with Hermione, or my social advisor, who may have some ideas to add as well, but my basic idea is this. One, disinherit the two outright. Two, provide a trust fund for Narcissa Malfoy, to the tune of one hundred thousand galleons, provided that for a period of not less than twenty years or so, she not abuse or advise others to abuse any other magical creatures, with the condition that if she does abuse anyone (and I suspect that it would most likely be a house elf), the trust reverts back to the Black family and a final stipend of ten galleons would be hers. She would have access to the interest only, until the twenty years is up, and then, if she has complied with the conditions" (Hermione thought, 'meaning she behaved herself') "she would have the money free and clear."

Grippinghand asked "Why do you propose such generous terms for someone who you mean to disinherit?"

Harry said, "I have come to understand that her actions have been almost completely a matter of family and social politics, not due to inherent or personal malice. Much of what she has done was out of love for her son and heir. She is the blood sister of Andromeda Tonks, and the cousin of my godfather. If she can change her ways, I would want to encourage it. I would also like it known, among the pure-bloods who can be turned from the Dark side," (Hermione snickered at this phrasing), "that I am not the monster that some try make me out to be."

"However, when it comes to Draco, I am content to be the monster he expects. With him, there was malice and it was personal. I do not wish him to ever inherit the Black family titles, or fortune, or as much as a paving stone from in front of the house. However, I also see that, unless giving something to strive for once he has served his sentence, he has no reason to change his ways. Therefore, I was thinking of a trust fund of ten thousand galleons, to which he will have access to the interest only for a period of forty years after his release from Azkaban, with the same behavioural conditions as his mother, and the same free access if and when he completes the test, and the same final payment if he doesn't."

"Both are to be informed of the trust funds and the conditions, and I want to arrange for surveillance to confirm their compliance. I would think that a grace period would be where compliance doesn't need to be complete, say three months, after which any slip and the trust ends. What do you think?"

Grippinghand nodded, and said "I don't know that we have ever prepared a trust fund which is so generous, both financially and personally, where I would expect a more vengeful attitude. I will consult with our people, and we can discuss it when you return in three days. Is this acceptable?"

When this was agreed, Grippinghand stood and said "Thank you for working with Gringott's. I wish you and your intended mate health and prosperity. I will now summon Farflenurg."

As Grippinghand left the office, an even older goblin entered. This one was even more expensively dressed with the previous one, and was accompanied by four assistants.

The goblin spoke, "I am Senior Strategic Analyst Farflenurg. I understand that you have some questions concerning goblin magic"

Harry responded formally, "Senior Strategic Analyst Farflenurg, thank you for meeting with us. I am Harry Potter, head of the Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, and of Black. My companion is my intended mate, my fiancée, Hermione Granger. Please just address me as 'Harry', as I have little time or use for my formal titles."

The goblin smiled. "I have heard that you are an unusual wizard. Most that we have dealt with insist on their titles and trappings, in a vain attempt either to curry favour or to impress. I understand, from the notes that Grippinghand's assistants recorded, that you wish to set up holiday camps where all magical folk would be welcome, as will non-magicals. This is also unusual, but I and my superiors feel that this has many benefits to both your people and mine."

Harry was amazed at how fast word of his plans had gotten around and been assessed by the goblins.

Farflenurg then said, "Harry, I am required by my superiors to ask you some questions concerning your dealing with Grippinghand."

Harry was taken aback by this declaration, and waited for the questions. Was Grippinghand in trouble for agreeing to the schools (as a bad business decision)? He said "Please proceed."

Farflenurg looked at a parchment set in front of him by one of his assistants. "Do you have any concerns in your dealings with Grippinghand?"

Harry said "No. Grippinghand has dealt with me, as far as I can tell, fairly and honestly."

Farflenurg nodded, and made a mark on the parchment in front of him. "Are you satisfied with Grippinghand's advice to you concerning your properties and fortune?"

Harry responded "Yes"

Farflenurg asked, "Would you be prepared to continue working with Grippinghand to handle your financial matters?"

Harry said "Yes, I would."

The elder goblin nodded, and made some notes on the parchment and signed it with a flourish, whereupon it was handed to one of the assistants and carried with apparent reverence out of the room. "She will be pleased to hear your words. With your confirmation of satisfactory service, Grippinghand is hereby promoted to Senior Accounts Manager. Such a promotion can only be achieved when the head of a senior house expresses satisfaction. I do not use your term of "Ancient House' as goblin hereditary records go back well beyond the setting up of the human dynasties."

"Grippinghand will appreciate the promotion, as it comes with the provision of a higher salary, more assistants, and she also would appreciate a lighter workload at the moment, as she has a new clutch of eggs to attend. As she has been handling the Potter and Black estates, it has been many years since an opportunity to obtain this declaration of service satisfaction was possible"

Harry gasped, and Hermione spoke up. "You called Grippinghand 'she' and said she has a new clutch of eggs."

Farflenurg smiled (a truly frightening sight for most people). "Yes, 'she', and this is her seventh clutch. I gather you thought Grippinghand was male, as she does not have the secondary sexual characteristics that you mammals possess," gesturing towards the shocked Hermione's bosom. "We are related more closely to the great dragons and birds, than to you humans. Our ancestors were predators. When we, in your terms became 'civilized' or as we remember it, when we shed out tails for the last time, we found that the financial services business suited our temperments. Hence, the foundation of Gringott's. Lord Gringott was the head of the goblin nation and founder of the bank two millennia and a half ago. We keep the name for sentimental reasons, and to remind us of the stability required to engender trust among others."

As Farflenurg grinned at this bit of historical information, Harry and Hermione responded with their own grins.

Farflenurg spoke again. "I have told you these things in confidence. Some of your people have called us many things, and the fact of a reptilian ancestry would lead to further derision. Harry, you have asked for information about our magic and our powers, and these are closely guarded secrets for my people. Your actions over the years have indicated to us that you are worthy of our trust and our confidence – from your look of surprise I gather that you thought I just analyse financial trends. Harry, as a Senior Strategic Analyst, my work involves consideration both the political and social aspects of our world, as these strongly affect the financial sector. I must warn you, though. Do not violate this trust or we will become angry. You would not like me when I get angry."

The goblin was puzzled when Hermione started to giggle at this blatant threat. Soon Harry joined in to her laughter. The goblin frowned at this rather odd reaction to a very serious issue.

After a moment, Harry turned his regard to the goblin. "Senior Strategic Analyst Farflenurg, please forgive us our reaction to your warning and much-appreciated statement of trust. There is a muggle movie picture and television show about a man who has been exposed to a strange radiation, and when he is angry he turns into a monster. You used the same phrase as he used to warn others of the consequences of his anger. Again, our apologies."

Farflenurg made a mental note to view this muggle movie, smiled and continued. "Forgiven. What aspects of goblin magic are you interested in? I would presume this is with regard to your efforts to eradicate prejudice and bigotry from your, rather from our world. I say our world, as there is prejudice everywhere, and it would be better for all if this could be reduced or eliminated, and we could just hate each other as individuals."

Harry was stunned as he realized he had just heard the goblin make what could be construed as a joke.

Harry asked "I am curious to know about some ways that goblin magic differs from human magic. In particular, I assume that the anti-theft wards you place on vaults prevent people from coming and going without permission."

Farflenurg nodded. "You may have noticed that whenever you have had access to your vaults, there is always a goblin in attendance. I believe that Vault Attendant Griphook is the one assigned to your accounts. The vault attendant's presence deactivates certain protective charms, which would otherwise kill the miscreant attempting entry."

Harry nodded. "Later today when I access the vaults, I will remember to thank Griphook. His courtesy and attention for detail is appreciated."

Farflenurg smiled. This was definitely a different sort of wizard.

Harry continued, "Do the wards prevent things or energy from entering or exiting, or do you need special charms for that?"

Farflenurg looked puzzled. "You will have to be more specific. Things cannot be taken out of the vaults through the wards without permission as this would constitute theft, but energy is generally allowed to escape. All matter has some inherent radioactivity, which gives off particles and heat. That is how the core of the earth remains molten, which powers volcanoes and continental drift. If the heat was not allowed to escape, over time the temperature in the vaults would rise. In the case of the Black family vaults, certain artifacts have been there sufficiently long that the heat build-up would have melted the gold coins and ignited documents and books, which I am sure, you would prefer not to have happen."

"From what I know of your fiancée, she would very much like access to some of the rare old books in the Black family vaults. She will have to wait for you to allow her specific access (in your position of Lord Black), or will have to coax your future Lady Black to allow her this favour.

Harry decided that this goblin's quiet sardonic sense of humour was a sign of the possibility of a long and enjoyable friendship.

Harry asked, "What about the radiation itself? I have heard it is not good for magical humans. Does it affect goblins as well?"

The goblin got a shrewd look on his face. He asked, "What do you know of radiation?"

Harry shook his head. "Not much. I know that non-magical humans use it in their medicine, and there are a lot of materials that give it off, and that atomic weapons give off a lot of it, which stays around for a long time. Other than that, nothing really. I am told that non-magical people study it in physics, but that's not a topic they teach at Hogwarts."

Farflenurg nodded. "Radioactivity is nature's way of changing one material into another. In most stars, hydrogen atoms merge together into helium, producing a lot of radiation and giving the star its power. This is also the principal source of power in muggle hydrogen bombs. In the older so-called atomic or nuclear bombs, heavy atoms were split into lighter ones, giving off energy and a lot of radiation. Most of the immediate radiation in bombs and stars is in the form of gamma rays, which is an extremely powerful form of light, which is then absorbed by other materials, causing the other materials to become radioactive and eventually degrading to heat. In natural radioactivity, some particles are also given off. The vaults contain the particles, but as the gamma rays are absorbed by other materials, the heat that is generated is allowed to escape. "

"As to your second question, yes, radioactivity does affect my folk, although not the same degree as for magical humans. We can survive the same levels as non-magical humans, but just as with non-magicals we get very sick with radiation poisoning. If and when we recover if the dose is low enough, our magic is gone.

Hermione thought for a moment, and said to Harry, "You know, my grand-dads probably know a lot about this radiation stuff. They both studied stars in school, and I remembered Grampa Lafee (Mum's dad) telling me about working with a famous physicist named Fred Hoyle, who was figuring out how stars made the elements."

Harry nodded, and said "Hermione, I would love to meet all your family. You have never mentioned them before, and as my family was all killed, I just assumed they were all dead too, and you didn't want to raise a sad topic. I would very much like to know what is going to be my new family. Thank you. We have to do that soon."

He turned back to the goblin. "I have been told that radioactivity will destroy the magic of a magical human, and most likely kill them. If there, shall I call it, an intermediate dose, where would destroy the magic, but not physically harm the person otherwise?"

The goblin nodded thoughtfully. "This I do not know. What little I know of this branch of magic, the horror of the destruction of the person's magic came as so much of a surprise that I do not know if anyone looked into the phenomenon to that level of detail. I shall enquire of our research department. They may have to go back to the original records, and may have to restricted military files to find out – fortunately, we at Gringott's are the ones who hold those files.

Harry nodded. He looked at Hermione, who was starting to get a horrified look on her face as she wondered just what Harry was considering. Turning back to Farflenurg, Harry continued "Thank you. However, to the more immediate point, I have a hypothetical case. If I had some things in a vault, could I put something very hot and highly radioactive inside a vault (a non-Gringott's vault, in this hypothetical case) and arrange for Gringott's staff to put a ward on it so that the heat and radioactivity would not get out and harm people?"

The goblin nodded. "That would be possible, should you want to contain a radioactive item in a way that would not harm people." He immediately thought of the commercial possibilities as muggles had been looking for a way to safely dispose of radioactive waste in a safe manner, for a very long time. He added, "Harry, you have raised the possibility of a potentially profitable line of business. If it proves commercially viable, you would be receiving the standard ten percent inventor's or finder's fee. I will contact you through Grippinghand, should this work out. Is this arrangement acceptable?"

Harry smiled. "Farflenurg, it is acceptable. Thank you." With the goblins, everything was seen from a financial point-of-view, first, last and always.

Harry continued, "Now, if someone had something in a vault (a non-Gringott's vault, you understand), could I put something inside the vault that was highly radioactive, with goblin wards on the vault so that they could approach the vault safely, but not open it or have safe access to the contents. I wouldn't want to be accused of being a thief. I would also post warnings around the affected vaults warning of the consequences of opening the vaults."

Farflenurg smiled "I gather that the things in the vault are things that would be illegal or very harmful to the general public, and that their removal from accessibility would serve the public good?"

Harry said, "Well, I can't guarantee that all of the things would be strictly illegal, as there may be things like money or other valuables. However, I would say that they would be the proceeds of criminal activities, or the products of illegal or immoral actions. And I can't say that the actions would necessarily benefit the general public, but they would certainly hamper some less than honourable members of society."

Farflenurg nodded. "I believe I understand what you are trying to accomplish. To, as you humans and those goblins who play poker say, lay our cards on the table, there are some members of wizarding society who are conducting disreputable businesses and activities, such as smuggling dark artefacts, or other such things, to the harm of society in general and some of your friends and family in particular. You wish to effectively destroy the materials, but in such a way that the people themselves are not harmed directly, unless they do not accept your warnings and attempt to access the materials, in which case they would die, or be very sick, and in any case would lose their magic. Have I got that correct?"

Harry nodded, and Farflenurg nodded as well. The goblin said "Agreed. There are many of your human families who either were Death Eaters or supported them, who are again following their old ways. They are using their money in ways that speak of a pure-blood agenda, which relegated many of your people and certainly your close associates, and also folks such as mine, to subservience, or death. My superiors, and I personally, find this unacceptable. We will assist you."

"They need to have their ways corrected. It would seem that they need to be persuaded, perhaps not in exactly the manner that you persuaded their Lord Voldemort to desist in his efforts, but in an equally unmistakable manner. For some, we would even prefer the Voldemort solution, but they are your people so that is your affair. We have kept track of funds which had been removed from Gringott's to prevent confiscation when their nefarious activities become known, and can advise you of the location of the 'hypothetical vaults'. We look forward to working with you on this unfortunately necessary project."

"Now, is there something else we can help you with today?" The goblin sounded like it was just business as usually, and not that he may have just signed some death warrants.

Harry thanked the Senior Strategic Advisor for his insight and his help, and asked to see Vault Attendant Griphook about taking out some cash for his immediate needs. Farflenurg said, "Perhaps, you would like to see Grippinghand about arranging for credit cards for yourself and Miss Granger, to allow for convenient access to your funds, in both wizarding and muggle forms of money, for use in both worlds. Would this be preferable?"

Harry nodded, and said "That sounds like a very good idea. Thank you for the suggestion. However, I would also like to visit my vault with my fiancée, to see if there are any old books or things that she might like me to arrange for her to have available." He wisely braced himself against the impact of an incoming hug.

A/N: Unfortunately, I cannot remember whose story suggested a re-evaluation of the relationship between the galleon and the British pound, to a rate of roughly 50 pounds to the galleon. I would give appropriate credit if I could just remember which story it was from – to the (sadly) un-remembered author, thank you. The principle was that the Tri-Wizard tournament winnings of one thousand galleons, at a rate of two pounds to a galleon, would be totally inadequate to fund the start-up of a business (Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes) involving inventory and the leasing of a building in the heart of London (one of the more expensive cities in the world), as well as operating capital until the sales start coming in. I find the argument compelling.