Chapter 05: Bonds Created and Destroyed
"Let me get this straight, Mr. Potter. You wish to undergo the 7-soul ritual with these four witches and Dobby, the Elf. You wish to have a Goblin as part of this ritual." Ragnok, the chief of all Goblin tribes in Europe asked, "Why a Goblin? Why not a familiar like a snake? I heard that you can speak to them. Wizards don't usually like us Goblins."
"Mr. Ragnok" started Harry, which earned a sharp intake of breath from all the Goblins, Elves and humans alike. Knowing that Harry had committed a faux pas, Harry continued, "I am sorry if I have not addressed you according to the acceptable etiquette. I have had a very isolated life and I hardly know anything about the magical or even the muggle world. My relatives hate me and my BELOVED headmaster in all his grandfatherly wisdom, wants me to be kept ignorant of almost everything other than what he tells me. I did not even know my own name until I started muggle school, which was required as per muggle law. I have nothing against any magical races, Goblins, Elves, werewolves, giants, vampires, centaurs etc. I do have a problem with Dementors as they tried to suck out my godfather's soul."
"Otherwise, every race has its share of good and bad people. Take wizards for example. There is the side that wants to oppress all other magical races, the ministry included among them, and there are these few individuals who strive to bring about harmony among them. My goal is not to force anyone to become equals with others, but to bring about harmony amongst species. The centaurs would certainly laugh at the idea if I propose that centaurs and wizards would be equal. So... why trust Goblins? you have never given me a reason to distrust you. I see you as a very honorable race, bound by your law. You abhor stealing, so I don't see you working against me. If I can compensate your time and the Goblin who will help me, I will surely do so. If I don't have enough money in my vault for that, maybe I can work with Gringotts in the future and help clear off my debt to you. I do not ask you to choose sides in this wizards war, but I request you to please help me defeat Lord Voldemort by breaking this connection I share with him."
"Mr. Potter, it is obvious that you have no idea of wizarding etiquette but you are an honorable man. Gringotts will perform the ritual for you free of cost, an honor that has not been extended in many centuries now. We however ask that you become our Goblin friend and help improve harmony with other magical races. We also expect you and your bond-mates to maintain Gringotts privacy, for you will learn a lot about Goblins and Gringotts by bonding with a Goblin. Are you okay with this so far, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes Sir, please call me Harry. What about compensation for the Goblin involved?"
"Of course Harry! Please call me Ragnok. You may have to compensate the Goblin. The going rate for such a ritual would usually be a million galleons for a 10-year bond. But you should not have a problem with that kind of money. Though the Goblin may choose not to accept the payment as it is considered a very great honor to be bonded with a Goblin-friend."
Again, Harry heard sharp intakes of breath and wondered if being able to afford a million galleons was a rarity in the wizarding world. Surely it must be a pittance for the Malfoys.
"Ragnok, please pardon me if I seem too straight forward. I would prefer Griphook for the ritual provided he is okay with the arrangement. He is the Goblin I have known the longest and he has been very friendly towards me. I would definitely want to pay him for his services. Also, I would want to take this opportunity to really learn about the Goblin race. All I heard about Goblins was, am sure a biased version, about Goblin revolutions in Professor Binns' classes. I still don't understand why they let him teach." Harry mused.
"Mr. Potter, I would be honored to take part in the ritual", Griphook volunteered.
"Thank you Griphook, please call me Harry."
"Harry, in the interest of time lets plan this out. How about we start the ceremony right away? It will take about an hour for the preparations. I will be present to ensure that everything goes well. Please follow Ripenclaw into the ritual chamber. We can talk about other things later tomorrow." An elderly Goblin, Ripenclaw, came forward and indicated the party towards a door.
When Harry, the four witches, two Elves, two muggles and Griphook entered the ritual chamber, Harry was surprised at what he saw. The whole room seemed to have been created out of one really huge black rock. There were many Goblin, Elf and wizard runes etched around the room. The most shocking surprise was what looked like the Nazi symbol on the floor in the center of the room.
Hermione commented seeing the perplexed look on Harry's face. "Harry, that symbol is an ancient Indian rune called 'the swastika' which symbolizes harmony and prosperity. The Nazis have bastardized the symbol and used a laterally inverted image of the swastika signifying the opposite of harmony. Unfortunately most westerners only associate this symbol with the Nazis when they see the swastika. Sad, really!"
The Goblins then shooed them each through a different door out of the ritual room, that lead to a ritual bath. The temperature of the ebullient was slightly warmer than comfortable. As soon as Harry stepped into the bath, a sponge started magically cleansing him thoroughly. Harry was surprised to note that as his bath progressed, the ebullient in the bath changed colors. While initially it was the earth colored, it changed to green, red, orange, yellow, blue before finally becoming clear which Harry presumed to be water.
After a thorough bath, Harry dressed himself in the Goblin ritual robes and walked into the main ritual chamber. Harry found the others dressed in similar robes and wondered if they had to go through a similar bath. The Goblins and Elves started chanting in Goblin and Elven languages. The chanting was very rhythmic with a crescendo and a decrescendo. After 7 such cycles, the lead Goblin, Ripenclaw, lead Harry first towards Dobby. Without realizing what he was doing and not knowing that he was speaking in Elven language, he went down on his knees in front of Dobby gave him a hug and said, "With this hug, I thank you Brother Dobby for your gift. I promise to work towards the improvement of the Elven race as a token of my gratitude." There was a flare of magic which surrounded Harry and Dobby as an earthen dome.
Ripenclaw then lead Harry towards Griphook. Harry went down on one knee, held out his right hand and gripped Griphook's right forearm in a traditional Goblin handshake, while Griphook did the same. He said in gobbledygook, "With this Goblin handshake, I thank you Brother Griphook and I accept your gift! I promise to be a good Goblin friend, improve the life of the Goblins and help increase profits." There was another flare of green colored magic which surrounded them.
Ripenclaw then lead Harry towards Hermione. Harry walked towards Hermione and said in English, "With this kiss, I solemnly swear to you that I shall ensure your happiness forever. I shall be there for you, the way you have always been there for me. Thank you Hermione, I accept your gift." Harry gave Hermione a soul-warming kiss on her lips and there was a flare of red magic that engulfed them.
Once the flare subsided, Ripenclaw lead Harry towards Luna. Harry walked up to her and said in the Fay language, "Luna, you have always been a great friend to me. You say it like you see it. With this kiss, I solemnly swear that you shall forever have a friend in me. I shall make sure that you will never feel unloved. Thank you for your gift, I accept it!" Harry proceeded to give Luna a kiss on her lips. As he deepened the kiss, there was a flare of orange magic that surrounded them.
Ripenclaw then lead Harry towards Susan. Harry told her in French, "Susan, you are the happiest person I know. I promise to keep you as happy as you have always been, if not more. I also promise to be happy and a better company. Please let my kiss show you how much I appreciate and accept your gift." Harry held Susan in his arms and gave her a mind-numbing kiss. There was soon a flare of yellow magic that surrounded the kissing couple.
Ripenclaw then lead Harry towards Daphne. Harry walked up to her and spoke to her in Latin. "Daphne, we have hardly known each other till now. I promise to get to know you better and also promise to ensure your safety and happiness. Please feel free to ask me for anything and within reason, I promise to help you get it. With my kiss, I appreciate and accept your gift!" Harry cupped Daphne's face with his hands and proceeded to give her a deep kiss. There was a flare of blue magic that surrounded the couple.
Ripenclaw then lead Harry towards the center of the room. Harry observed that the four witches, Dobby and Griphook were now lying down on thin floating mattresses with three bands holding them down. Harry walked to the center of the ritual chamber and stood on the swastika rune and chanted in Parseltongue, "With the gifts provided to me with love by my six friends, I cast thee, Thomas Morvalo Riddle, out of my soul."
As soon as Harry finished chanting in Parseltongue, he drank from the cup that was floating in front of him. Harry would later find out that cup contained three drops of blood from each of the participants of the ritual. He suddenly felt a severe pain and ripping feeling in his forehead, which was much worse than the Cruciatus curse and felt himself falling. But Harry never reached the ground as he began floating in the air. In his pain, Harry failed to notice that four witches were positioned in the North, East, South and West directions around him and the Goblin and Elf were above and below him. There was a huge flare of white colored magic that surrounded all the participants and the six started revolving around Harry at high speed. A few minutes later, the flare of magic subsided and all seven participants returned to the floor. All of them had passed out due to magical exhaustion. Not many people noticed a screaming black mass being expelled from Harry's scar as the huge flare of white magic engulfed all the participants of the ritual.