CHAPTER 24- THE GOBLINS TAKE OVER
Snape had actually pranked someone!
Once the shock wore off, the kids really thought it was great. In fact, Luna really got into the colors. Blue with pink poka-dots seemed to be just crazy enough to pull her out of her rut and get her talking again.
Cassy thought it was the 'cat's meow' and wanted to stay that color forever and ever. The only one that was really put off by it was Albus and that was because he had two appointments at the Ministry the next day. Now, he would have to call in sick; sick of poka-dots.
Lupin was also supposed to be somewhere the next day but would have to put it off. Hermione caught his attention and asked if she could talk with him and he agreed. They walked to Lupin's quarters and called for tea. While it was hard to remain serious and talk to someone who had poka-dots all over them, Hermione finally asked if he could tell her more about the rat 'Wormtail' and what he looked like. He shared with her the story of Sirius' betrayal of the Potters, killing Peter by blowing him up, leaving only the tip of a finger as evidence. He told her Sirius was in Azkaban while Peter, the rat, was dead. Hermione thanked him for his time and told him she needed to head back to the dorm.
After she left, Lupin thought about why she might be asking him about the 'rat'. Hermione was not stupid and it looked like the kids might be getting themselves wrapped up in another adventure. He figured he had better warn Albus and Severus, although he didn't want to talk to Severus for a couple days.
Today was Harry's birthday. They had already celebrated but today he actually turned twelve years old and eleven was gone. He didn't feel much older but he figured it was early, he had only been twelve for a few hours. Little did he know he would never forget this particular birthday.
At breakfast the kids decided to share with the adults what they did during detention. Hermione spoke for them and Severus was all ears. "You know it's not that big a deal" said Hermione. "All we did was use the Muggle principles of assembly lines in business and applied them to our detention tasks. With the bats, we all had experience cleaning bats, some more than others, from detentions during first year. We divided up the labor so that each person only had one task and after doing it many times they became very good at it. That way the work went smoother, quicker and more efficiently. That's it, no great secret."
Severus stared at her like she had lost her mind. Then he thought back on what he had actually seen that day. She was being honest they didn't use magic, just their brains. He had wasted all that time thinking, reflecting, contemplating, and wondering how they did it and it was so simple. He looked at her again, shook his head, feeling totally stupid, then waved his wand and all the students turned back to normal. The adults were still 'pretty' as Cassy would say, but at the moment she was really upset. Severus had taken her 'colors' away and she was sitting there with a very long face. Alice gave Severus a dirty-look, he looked at Alice then at Cassy and quickly waved his wand again and turning Cassy back to 'pretty'. This brought a big smile to Cassy's face and she was very happy once again. "I'll be pretty with you Grandpa" she said to Albus. Albus smiled at her but not at Severus.
They attended their classes then Hermione and Percy locked themselves in one of the classrooms with a bunch of books, to work on the 'rat' problem. Nobody had heard a peep from them. Harry and the guys were planning their afternoon out when all of a sudden Harry felt that uncomfortable squeeze in his gut, as he was transported out of Hogwarts.
He landed on his bum in the middle of Gringotts. He was not alone, next to him stood Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Lupin. All had been yanked out of Hogwarts, a place that everyone thought was safe from such acts, and brought to the Bank in an undignified manner.
Standing before them was Griphook, He was the Goblin assigned to the Potter accounts. Griphook was looking at them strangely. "Are you people OK, do you have a disease? You are strange colors."
Harry said, "No it was just a prank pulled on them by an angry teacher, they'll be fine in a day or so."
Dumbledore was really angry and started flinging questions at him right away. The rest of them were in shock and Minerva just thought to herself, 'rage all you want old man, I think they caught you in the act'.
Griphook just looked at them then said, "If you will all follow me please, your questions will be answered and all will be explained."
They followed Griphook down many isles, corridors, and hallways until they were completely lost. At last they arrived in front of a double set of doors. Griphook told them to wait. He then turned and knocked on the doors loudly. The doors swung open after a couple minutes and they were led into a very fine office. The desk was ten times as big as Dumbledore's and the Goblin behind the desk was rather large for a Goblin also. His teeth were very visible and he wasn't even smiling. As soon as they reached the front of the desk and Griphook made the introductions Dumbledore went bonkers. He had still not recovered from the fact that someone had lifted him out of his well warded castle and plopped him down in the middle of a bank. It was rude, and he was scared.
Harry and Hermione had been talking a lot lately about Goblins. Harry couldn't believe that Binns could take something so interesting and make it so boring. He found out that he was really into the history of Goblins and that Hermione was also interested. So when the kids were playing their games, they had talked about the Goblin culture. With this in mind Harry could tell right away that things were going to only get worse if he didn't do something fast.
He stepped in front of Professor Dumbledore, interrupting him and causing Albus to shut up and the rest of them to look at him shocked. He then bowed very low and said; I am Harry Potter, and I apologize to Ragnok for the terrible behavior we have displayed in his presence. I also want to say; may there be nothing but Gold in your future and the future of your Spawn. May this piece of gold," at that Harry laid a gold piece on his desk, "bring honor to you and power to my wish for you!"
Harry stayed bent over until he heard Ragnok say; "Harry Potter, well spoken and my family and I accept your apology and your token and consider it precious," then he picked up the coin and swallowed it making it a part of him. Harry didn't want to think about how he would retrieve it later.
Harry then stood up and chairs appeared for all of them to sit. Albus, having realized how rude he had been kept quiet for the time being, but was still a bit miffed about being yanked out of his castle.
Ragnok, following custom, snapped his fingers, and his helper brought in two trays of food. It became obvious that one was for the Wizards and one for the Goblins; One was filled with long finger-food, fruit, vegetables and crackers. The other with raw meat, roots, and many different kinds of fungi.
"Dumbledore, you need not look at me like that" said Ragnok, tossing a piece of raw meat dipped in fungi into his mouth. "You brought this on yourself and you know it. This sharing of information should have taken place a year ago and you chose not to do it, you sat on it for whatever reason."
"You have no right to meddle in this business" said Dumbledore. "This is a family affair and not Goblin business."
"There you are wrong" replied Ragnok. "Unknown to you we were also under a vow from Lily Potter. We were hired as 'Watchers'.
There was a moment of quiet so Harry walked forward and took some food off the tray. He was not hungry but he knew that custom dictated that both sides participate in eating or the offended host could hex them and get away with it. Ragnok, who always had to deal with offensive Wizards, would probably not have hexed them but Harry didn't want to take the chance. He gave Lupin a look and Remus took the hint and took some food also.
Dumbledore became very pale when Ragnok mentioned 'Watchers'. He knew that Watchers were those hired to ensure that a vow was carried out no matter what it took, even death.
Ragnok continued, "She asked us to be lenient for one year as long as Harry's life was not in danger. We were two seconds from stepping in at Privot Drive when you arrived. If you had not arrived when you did we would have had to kill you. And even now you have not taken steps, to see to it, that the promise to fulfill the vow and inform all the parties involved."
"Now," said Ragnok, "Do you want me to continue or do you want to complete the promise that you made to Lily Potter?"
Dumbledore was livid! He loved his family and he knew that they loved him. But Dumbledore saw things a bit differently than most people. He saw the end as justifying the means or the 'greater good' being more important than the people who had to work to make 'good' happen. He often confessed this shortcoming but once in a while, like now, he could not get his brain to re-focus.
Since Dumbledore said nothing Ragnok continued. "Lily Potter knew that the Dark Lord was going to kill her eventually so she took drastic steps to protect her son. She arranged that the Dark Lord killing her would place a ward of deep love debt on Harry and when he tried to kill Harry it backfired. It didn't kill him but it incapacitated him for a very long time. The Dark Lord still lives, not in a very completed form yet, but he still lives and will be among us very soon."
He continued, "Dumbledore knew that and felt the need to make sure that his "spy" stayed a spy and that the "Boy who lived" would be trained up enough to finally kill off the Dark Lord when the final battle came."
"All this because of a stupid prophesy that we don't know is even true or not. But it doesn't matter now because it has become a self-fullfilling prophesy. Everyone has been doing everything they can to make sure it DOES come true. Harry has been marked, Dumbledore has accepted him as the "savior of the world', the Death Eaters are all trying to catch him by killing off everyone around him, the people are all waiting for some kid to do the work they should all be out there doing for themselves, using the excuse...the prophesy says. You Wizards can be so foolish at times."
Ragnok continued, "We noticed that you created the paperwork to name Severus Snape as guardian over Harry, but it has yet to be filed with the ministry. Why is that Dumbledore?" Severus and the other adults were looking at Dumbledore strangely now.
"Harry, that is enough information about that situation to keep you picking their brains for at least the next four years."
"Back to the subject at hand, 'the care and welfare of Harry Potter'. Harry this is a letter from your Mother which was to be given to you last year but was not. I will give you a few minutes to read it now and then we can talk about it. Severus Snape this involves you so here is your copy of the letter" Ragnok handed Harry and Severus a letter which they took gently with shaking hands.
My dear son Harry,
You are eleven now, or if your sitting in front of Ragnok, perhaps twelve. I have left a longer letter in our vault for you so this one will be very short and to the point as many others might want to read it and the longer one is a private letter just for your eyes.
Harry, James Potter is not your real father. Before James, I was engaged to another man. We were to be married but he had to fulfill a task for the Order, for Dumbledore, in order that this terrible war might end sooner than later. So many friends were dying Harry and so many children were suffering. I had to make this decision for them all, even though it will make life a bit hard for you.
When James and I married I was already pregnant. He was a wonderful man in that he took on the responsibility knowing that the child would not be his. He even set up the wills so that you can inherit the Potter estate no matter what name you choose to continue with.
Harry, your father is Severus Snape. He is a spy for the Order and if the Dark Lord ever knew about that or you he would kill Severus and everyone around him.
Dumbledore has agreed to protect you until the war is over and then let Severus know about you so that he and his son can be re-united. If the war goes on then he is to let Severus know when you have reached the age of eleven. Sooner or later I desire you to know your father as he is a very kind and loving man. He does walk to a different drummer and yes Harry, he can be strict, but he is an honorable man that you can trust with your life. He will be there for you and he will never lie to you.
I know you may hate us for what we have done but please know that you can't judge a person unless you walk in their shoes. There may come a time that you will have to face this crazy killer, the Dark Lord, and there is no better person to have by your side than Severus.
Now Harry, if you are closer to twelve that means that Dumbledore has done his thing again and tried to manipulate the people around him. Please remember that while his methods may be bad and his view of things off kilter, he does, in his own way, love us all very much and wants to bring the 'light' alive. Minerva knows this and you can talk with her anytime, just remember that while she knows him, she also loves him very much.
He is your Grandfather Harry and I ask you to always love him. You don't always have to like him or what he does, but please for my sake love him.
Please always know Harry that I love you and will explain much more in the other letter.
Your Mother,
Lily Potter
"I want you to know that Lily Potter signed over Guardianship of Harry to us if the conditions of these vows were not met and we choose to now activate that right now. We are Harry's guardians until Harry makes his own choice about all this."
"Harry you have some decisions to make. First understand that you now have full rights to the Potter Estate. This includes all the monies that are in the vaults or invested and the Potter real estate. You can choose to accept Severus Snape as your Father and Guardian or you can request us to find you another guardian. I know that at one time you considered becoming a Weasley and we would support you in that choice also. I also want you to understand that there are no glamours on you Harry. Your Mother devised a spell to allow you to stay the way you look for the rest of your life. She felt that changing your looks after eleven or twelve years would just cause you undue hardship."
Harry was in shock. He could hardly understand the situation, much less digest all that had been just shared with him and felt he really needed a few minutes to think. "Could I have time to talk to whoever I choose for a few minutes?" asked Harry.
"That's not a problem at all Harry, in fact I would expect it. There is a room right over there that has a sitting room and rest room. If you want refreshment all you need do is push the button on the end table and a servant will come to assist you. The rest of you can wait in the room outside this office until Harry decides."
"Professor Lupin, can I talk with you?" asked Harry.
"Sure Harry, let's go in and have as seat" said Remus.
After making themselves comfortable, Remus called for tea and waited for Harry to begin.
Harry gave Remus the letter to read while they waited on the tea. When Remus finished he was a bit pale. "Well Harry it would seem that you really have some decisions to make but at least they are yours to make" said Remus.
Tea arrived then Harry said, "What do you think I should do Professor?"
"Harry, I can't tell you what to do but perhaps I can ask you a few questions to help you decide" replied Remus.
"First," asked Remus, "Other than your parents returning what is it you desire the most in life? Or what would make you happy?"
"The Weasley's would take me in but I think Professor Dumbledore is right, it would just make it even more dangerous for them" said Harry.
"I really liked it the way it was just an hour ago. Severus is tough and he is really strict but I really liked the feeling of someone caring enough to check and see if I ate my vegetables or put on clean underwear. Having a sibling was neat, even if it is Draco. I would never admit it to anyone but you but I felt safe with the rules although I guess I don't follow them like I should. I don't know why they make me feel safe but they do. I don't' like the consequences and sure wish he wouldn't spank me but I have to admit I knew when I broke the rules what it was going to cost. I could feel it and I don't mean the spanking, yeh I felt that alright, but afterwards, I could feel he really cared."
"My problem" continued Harry, "Is that I don't know if he wants me and I don't want him to take me in unless he wants to. Do you know what I mean professor?
Remus said, "Harry this is a big decision and I understand fully what you're saying. This is a decision I feel you need to talk to Severus about. I am sure that he is in as much shock as you are. He had no idea he had a son, much less that son being you. You had no idea your father was alive much less your father being Severus. You need to face each other and be honest about where you want to go with this new found revelation. I know you're scared he might reject you but I think he might be just as scared you might reject him."
Harry thought for a moment then said, "You're right the two of us need to talk. I'll go get him."
"No Harry," responded Remus, "I'm going out to be with the others and will send him in, Ok?"
A few minutes later Severus walked in the door. He sat in the chair next to Harry and poured himself a cup of tea. Then he looked at Harry and said, "Are you Ok Son?"
Harry was sitting on the edge of his chair, mostly so his feet would touch the floor, his back was straight as a board and his face ...well...his face was stoic but quickly his eyes were filling with tears. "No" he replied softly. "I just realized that I'm a barely twelve year old kid, trying to make adult decisions, and I don't know what I'm doing and I am very scared." With that Harry lost it and the tears began to roll down his cheeks and drip off his chin.
Severus rose and went to him, grabbed him up, sat in the chair, pulled Harry onto his lap and just held him close, letting him cry. The Goblin, who was watching from a secret peep-hole smiled as he saw the tears bubbling up in Severus' eyes also. This Goblin knew Severus and his reputation. There could be no better choice for guardianship over Harry if one was worried about keeping Harry safe. The icing on the cake seemed to be that there was great affection growing between them also.
As Harry calmed down Severus began to talk softly to him. "Harry, we are both scared. You are scared to be a son and give up control of your life to someone else because everyone has let you down. I am scared to be a father because I am so afraid I will be a bad one like my father. We both have a lot to learn about this family thing but I have come to love you very much Harry. Yes, you tend to get into trouble, but from what I can determine it's no more frequent than any other boy your age. You are a good kid and you are really trying to do all the right things. I would very much love to be your father if you would allow me to. I want nothing more than to take some of the pressure of all this adult stuff off your back and allow you to be just a kid for awhile. But it's up to you Harry and I will support whatever decision you make."