They began to sit in the goblin's room for hours at a time, constantly looking over maps of chambers and passages of the great bank. There were so many twists and turns in the hundreds of tunnels, Percy couldn't help but be reminded of the labyrinth. As promised, there were many obstacles and sells to defend the treasures, as well as depletion of one of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's potions that could make them look like other people.

"We don't all need to have some" said Harry, "It will look strange if a whole group of people went to the Lestrange's vault."

The more time they spent together, the more Percy grew to dislike the dislike the goblin. Griphook was unexpectedly bloodthirsty, laughed at the idea of pain in lesser creatures and seemed to relish the possibility that they might have to hurt other wizards to reach the Lestrange's vault. He could tell that his distaste was everyone else in the group, but they did not discuss it. They needed Griphook.

Even after his legs had mended, Griphook continued to request trays of food in his room, like the still-frail Ollivander. The goblin ate only grudgingly with the rest of them after Bill put his foot down and forced him to leave (following an angry outburst from Fleur) saying the arrangement could not continue. Thereafter Griphook joined them at the overcrowded table, although he refused to eat the same food, insisting, instead, on lumps of raw meat, roots, and various fungi.

Percy couldn't tell Harry felt responsible for the trouble Griphook was causing.

""I'm sorry," he told Fleur, one blustery April evening as he helped her prepare dinner."I never meant you to have to deal with all of this."

She had just set some knives to work, chipping up steaks for Griphook and Bill, who had preferred his meat bloody ever since he had been attacked by Greyback. While the knives sliced behind her, her somewhat irritable expression softened.

"'Arry, you saved my sister's life, I do not forget."

So Harry had saved Fleur's sister's life, what else had he done.

He had had another dream of Harry last night. He was in graveyard with another boy. Percy had witnessed with Harry the murder of that boy and return of Voldemort. Harry had dueled him and then escaped with the boy's body and a huge trophy.

"We'll be off your hands soon." Said Percy. "We'll be leaving with Griphook in a few weeks."

"But, what do you mean?" she said, frowning at him, her wand pointing at the casserole dish now suspended in midair. "Of course you must not leave; you are safe 'ere!"

Harry sighed and Percy could tell many people had said those exact words to him. That night, Mr. Ollivander left for his home, and agreed to take a goblin made tiara that Fleur had borrowed back to it's owner.

The other inhabitants of the Shell Cottage did not fail to notice that Griphook and the six of them were plotting something together. Eventually Bill took them all to the kitchen for a private word.

"You all are planning something with Griphook." He said when no one else could here.

They nodded in sync.

"I know goblins," said Bill. "I've worked for Gringotts ever since I left Hogwarts. As far as there can be friendship between wizards and goblins, I have goblin friends…or, at least, goblins I know well, and like." Bill hesitated.

"What do you want from Griphook, and what have you promised him in return?"

"We can't tell you that," said Nico.

"Sorry, Bill." Said Ron

The kitchen door opened behind them; Fleur was trying to bring through more empty goblets.

"Wait," Bill told her, "Just a moment."

She backed out and he closed the door again.

"Then I have to say this," Bill went on. "If you have struck any kind of bargain with Griphook, and most particularly if that bargain involves treasure, you must be exceptionally careful. Goblin notions of ownership, payment, and repayment are not the same as human ones."

Percy felt a slight squirm of discomfort, as though a small snake had stirred inside him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We are talking about a different breed of being," said Bill. "Dealings between wizards and goblins have been fraught for centuries. But you'll know all that from History of Magic." (Percy, Annabeth, and Nico did their best to look like they knew their Magic History)

"There has been fault on both sides, I would never claim that wizards have been innocent." Continued Bill "However, there is a belief among some goblins, and those at Gringotts are perhaps most prone to it, that wizards cannot be trusted in matters of gold and treasure, that they have no respect for goblin ownership."

"I respect -" Harry began, but Bill shook his head.

"You don't understand, Harry, nobody could understand unless they have lived with goblins. To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the buyer."

"Well that's just silly." Said Annabeth. "Once you buy something, it's yours. The maker made an agreement let you keep it in return for money."

Bill shook his head. "They would consider it rented by the one who had paid the money. They have, however, great difficulty with the idea of goblin-made objects passing from wizard to wizard. You saw Griphook's face when the tiara passed under his eyes. He disapproves. I believe he thinks, as do the fiercest of his kind, that it ought to have been returned to the goblins once the original purchaser died. They consider our habit of keeping goblin-made objects, passing them from wizard to wizard without further payment, little more than theft."

Percy had an ominous feeling now; he wondered whether Bill guessed more than he was letting on.

"All I am saying," said Bill, setting his hand on the door back into the sitting room, "is to be very careful what you promise goblins. It would be less dangerous to break into Gringotts than to renege on a promise to a goblin."

Percy sighed. They were doing the two most dangerous things in the wizarding world.

"Right," said Harry as Bill opened the door, "yeah. Thanks. We'll bear that in mind."

They all headed back to the sitting room. It was a stormy night outside, but in the cottage, everything was calm.

Harry-

There was a bang on the front door. Everyone's head turned toward it. Fleur came running out of the kitchen, looking frightened; Bill jumped to his feed, his wand pointing at the door; Harry, Ron, and Hermione did the same. Silently Griphook slipped beneath the table, out of sight.

"Who is it?" Bill called.

"It is I, Remus John Lupin!" called a voice over the howling wind. Harry experienced a thrill of fear; what had happened? "I am a werewolf, married to Nymphadora Tonks, and you, the Secret-Keeper of Shell Cottage, told me the address and bade me come in an emergency!"

"Lupin," muttered Bill, and he ran to the door and wrenched it open.

Lupin fell over the threshold. He was white-faced, wrapped in a traveling cloak, his graying hair windswept. He straightened up, looked around the room, making sure of who was there, then cried aloud, "It's a boy! We've named him Ted, after Dora's father!"

Hermione shrieked.

"Wha-'? Tonks -Tonks has had the baby?"

"Yes, yes, she's had the baby!" shouted Lupin. All around the table came cries of delight, sighs of relief: Hermione and Fleur both squealed, "Congratulations!" and Ron said, "Blimey, a baby!" as if he had never heard of such a thing before.

Percy, Annabeth and Nico smiled. They didn't know this Lupin, but he seemed to be a nice guy.

"Yes, yes, a boy," said Lupin again, who seemed dazed by his own happiness. He strode around the table and hugged Harry; the scene in the basement of Grimmauld Place might never have happened. Seeing the three strangers didn't even dampen his spirits, he simply went up to them and shook their hands energetically.

"Remus Lupin." He introduced himself to Percy, Annabeth and Nico

"You'll be godfather?" he said as he turned Harry.

"M-me?" stammered Harry.

"You, yes, of course ¨Dora quite agrees, no one better."

"I-yeah. Blimey …"

Harry felt overwhelmed, astonished, delighted; now Bill was hurrying to fetch wine, and Fleur was persuading Lupin to join them for a drink.

"I can't stay long, I must get back," said Lupin, beaming around at them all: He looked years younger than Harry had ever seen him. "Thank you, thank you, Bill"

Bill had soon filled all of their goblets, they stood and raised them high in a toast.

"To Teddy Remus Lupin," said Lupin, "a great wizard in the making!"

"'Oo does 'e look like?" Fleur inquired.

"I think he looks like Dora, but she thinks he is like me. Not much hair. It looked black when he was born, but I swear it's turned ginger in the hour since. Probably blond by the time I get back. Andromeda says Tonks's hair started changing color the day that she was born." He drained his goblet. "Oh, go on then, just one more," he added, beaming, as Bill made to fill it again.

The wind buffeted the little cottage and the fire leapt and crackled, and Bill was soon opening another bottle of wine. Lupin's news seemed to have taken them out of themselves, removed them for a while from their state of siege: Tidings of new life were exhilarating. Only the goblin seemed untouched by the suddenly festive atmosphere, and after a while he slunk back to the bedroom he now occupied alone. Harry thought he was the only one who had noticed this, until he saw Bill's eyes following the goblin up the stairs.

"No... no... I really must get back," said Lupin at last, declining yet another goblet of wine. He got to his feet and pulled his traveling cloak back around himself.

"Good-bye, good-bye ¨C I'll try and bring some pictures in a few day's time ¨C they'll all be so glad to know that I've seen you ¨C"

He fastened his cloak and made his farewells, hugging the women and grasping hands with the men, then, still beaming, returned into the wild night.

"Godfather, Harry!" said Bill as they walked into the kitchen together, helping clear the table. "A real honor! Congratulations!"

"Who was that?" Annabeth asked, but she was smiling. Hermione told her a bit about Lupin's back story then returned to the celebration.

Harry walked over to Percy.

"Congratulations, Mr. Godfather." Said Percy.

"Thanks." Said Harry. He looked at the smiling faces around him and Percy voiced his thoughts.

"None of these people have to worry about breaking into Gringotts tomorrow." Percy sighed. Harry shivered with nervousness as he remembered tomorrow would be the day they put their plan into action.