"Mr. Potter..." a stern, nearly irate voice spoke from behind the Rebels, causing the five students to suddenly stop in mid-stride and look back in a sheepish unison that seemed almost unnatural. The frowning face of Poppy Pomfrey, resident nurse of Hogwarts glared daggers straight through the boy in question, seeming to grow in statue to the small boy. "You missed a potion last night..."
It took all of half-a-second for Harry to realize what she meant and the boy sighed heavily. "Yes ma'am... I... I'm sorry... It won't happen again..."
"I should hope not, but we still have to do a check-up... before breakfast if you please..." The matron stated with no room for refusal in her voice. "Don't dawdle, come along now."
Harry smiled nervously before stepping away from the others a little. Waving to them he offered, "I'll see you guys later… I guess..." before heading over to join the nurse, wondering if he would survive the next half an hour.
"Hold up Harry, I got you into this trouble, least I could do is make sure it doesn't happen again..." Fred offered while signaling George to stick with the girls. And with that the two groups of three separated, one set heading down to catch the early line-up for breakfast, the other to the medical ward for Harry's check-up. "Sorry about this mate, if I had been thinking..."
"N... no Fred, it's fine... I was the one who forgot, so don't worry about it..." Harry offered with a nervous smile as they made it to the infirmary and he saw more potions sitting out on a tray near one of the beds.
Madam Pomfrey fortunately led him past that collection of potions of various colors, to an empty bed near the windows. "Sorry about the mess, I'm having to do the weekly inventory today. Now Mister Potter, please sit on the bed, and we'll get the check-up taken care of. Mister Weasley, if you wouldn't mind standing behind the curtain..."
At Harry's nod, Fred ducked behind a curtain and began looking over some of the items that all the beds had tucked neatly underneath them. The first item was a bed pan, which if he remembered right would make a useful weapon of opportunity. Next came the spare blankets and linens. After that was the bandages, creams and if he had to guess some sort of oil. Finally there was a pile of extra pillows.
All in all, not a bad set-up and if Harry ever needed to defend himself while in the infirmary again he had a selection of tools to aide him in that aspect. Now if only there was someone to teach him how to use them. There might even be a book on the subject in either the Ravenclaw shelves or the school's library itself. It might be a good idea for all the Rebels to look into self-defense courses, he couldn't say why but it was just something he felt would be a good idea.
A deep frown creased Fred's lips as he realized that Harry still hadn't talked to the other Rebels about the first attack, and they wouldn't know if it hadn't been for Dumbledore talking to Professor Flitwick while they were in earshot.
For some strange reason, he felt that Harry was trying to take on all his problems alone, and he shouldn't feel the need to.
"You may return Mr. Weasley... I've finished with Mr. Potter," the aged nurse stated, snapping Fred out of his thoughts. Stepping around the curtain again, he caught sight of Harry's torso before the shirt hid it again. The first thought he had was that they needed to get Harry some clothes that fit him better the first chance they got, too bad Hogsmede didn't have a clothing store, or he and George could just nip off to get some one night. The next is that while his ribs were still far too visible for his liking, despite the fact that Harry was definitely gaining weight. Which was good, now he wouldn't go flying away in a stiff breeze.
"I have good news and bad news Mister Potter, which would you prefer first?" Pomfrey asked curiously while writing something down on a clipboard.
"Um... bad please..." Harry selected with uncertainty in his voice. After all, it would be best to get the bad out of the way, so the good could seem that much better.
Fred couldn't really fault that logic, but he really hoped the bad wasn't that terrible, after all, some things good just cannot overcome. "Your potion intake will have to increase to once before every meal..." certainly fell into that category, especially upon knowing what Harry had once described the nutrient potion tasting like.
"But... if I do that, I'll never make it to any of my classes..." Harry protested, remembering that the nutrient potion had the habit of knocking him out shortly after drinking it. He really didn't want to even think of how hard it's going to be to try and stomach the increase potion intake.
"The good news is you no longer have to take the nutrient supplement, and instead are going to be getting an appetite increaser, since you're still eating far too little. However, what you are eating is being processed properly..." the matron of healing arts commented casually while putting down the clipboard. "I believe that your magic is helping you recover, and instead of instantly digesting itself, triggered your body into getting the most of what it could get first."
"That makes sense..." Harry offered quietly while rubbing his arm nervously. "So, I can go right?"
"First you will drink the potion, and for the next three weeks, I will have a house-elf deliver it when you sit down. Drink it first, and then wait five minutes before ordering a meal. I suggest getting used to eating more than usual," Pomfrey instructed casually while sifting through a pouch she pulled from under the bed. Holding up a neon pink potion, she looked at the label carefully before holding it out for Harry. "Here you go, drink it all up... and Mr. Weasley, make sure he eats at least double what he has for the past week... or I will find you."
The gleam in the nurse's eyes reminded him too much of the last time he'd been in a doctor's office and immediately he snapped a very rigid salute. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"
Hey, he wasn't in Ravenclaw because he was an idiot, alright? A mad healer is a scary thing.
"Good," Pomfrey stated before waving the boys out. "Now unless you have any further questions..."
"Have you checked out Ron yet ma'am?" Fred asked curiously while Harry got off the bed, looking like he had just tried to swallow his own tongue. It was a fair sight better than the look from the last one, though, which made him look like he had tried to swallow dragon dung.
"Ronald? I assume that is your younger brother, correct? What seems to be the problem with him?" Pomfrey asked with a frown on her face, she honestly hadn't noticed anything wrong with him before today. And that indicated a failing on her part of monitoring her student's health. Perhaps she should institute a mandatory physical upon enrollment like they used to do during the war, and before that when Hogwarts first started.
"It's like this... he's been eating far too much for someone his size, and my twin and I have been worried about him..."
"Yeah... the rest of us noticed as well... but we thought it was a really high metabolism or something..." Harry commented as he moved to stand next to Fred. This talk of food was making him hungrier; maybe the cheery shoe-polish flavored potion was doing its job.
Madam Pomfrey tilted her head in thought as she covered a mental list of the various maladies that could cause such actions in a person, and adding in what little she had observed about the lad since his arrival, she could only reach the conclusion that a more thorough examination was necessary. "Thank you Mister Weasley, Mister Potter... I shall certainly look into this matter. Now be off with you youngsters, before Mister Potter here tries to eat his own robes."
Harry blushed and looked down at his robes quietly, they didn't look too appealing, but he supposed with a little bit of mustard... and a lot of ketchup, it might be edible. "Err... I don't think I'm that hungry yet ma'am..."
"Nonetheless, be on your way, the both of you... and Mister Potter? I will be watching..." Pomfrey assured him, taking her notes into her office and shutting the door. The pair escaped the infirmary without all due haste, not daring to talk until three connecting halls away from the nurse.
"How bad is it mate?" Fred asked curiously, trying to compare the last potion to the current one.
Harry paused, fighting to keep the potion down as he remembered the slimy feel and taste of the potion as it went down. After a minute, he resumed his stride next to the older boy and answered, "Ever have cherry syrup mixed into shoe-polish? A bit like that..."
"I haven't..." Fred stated quietly, as he wondered how Harry knew what shoe-polish and cherry syrup would taste like. Two steps later, he decided that he really would rather not know. Especially since he had an instinctive feeling that Harry's relatives were the answer to the question.
Briefly he wondered what happened to them anyhow.
***LINE BREAK***
In the deepest depths of the Ministry of Magic there was a dungeon, currently housing a woman and her son. The woman knew for a certainty that she deserved this punishment, and that her little Dudders was currently in a juvenile detention facility. The only thing she didn't know was what had happened to her husband Vernon after he'd been taken aside by that strange little goblin fellow.
She knew that he would be offensive to the 'freaky' goblin creature, even after she'd warned him about what her sister Lily had mentioned about them. Her only hope was that he hadn't done something so stupid that they did something he'd regret for the rest of his life. She'd heard that they could even extend his life beyond even what a wizard usually lived to, for the worst offenders to suffer even longer.
She'd known that her treatment of Harry would come back to haunt her, but it had been so easy to just take her anger out on him for the loss of her sister. Him and all those like him. Even if she'd been jealous of Lily's powers, she still loved her and eventually would have liked to try and connect with her... but now it was impossible.
The worst part is that she'd known all along that hating magic wasn't the thing to do, but Vernon had caught her at her weakest possible moment. He'd come in while she was drinking to try and forget about her sister marrying that... wizard. And she could only see him in young Harry, save the gleaming green eyes of her sister. It just made it all the easier to deny him the food and love that he reached out to her for, to just ignore the beatings her husband and son gave to the young boy.
She wanted to hate Harry in James' place, since he had taken her sister from him... and now it was time to reap what she had sowed.
"Mrs. Dursley?" a rough voice asked as her cell door opened slowly, allowing a little more light to slip into the darkened cell. Shielding her eyes from the light she tried to see the being that had just entered into the room she'd come to consider home.
"Y...yes? W...who are you?" she asked shakily, realizing that she shouldn't antagonize anyone that entered the cell.
The creature stepped aside, revealing it to be one of those goblin creatures that had taken her husband away. "My name is Slipkirk, and I'm your defense lawyer..."
"Oh..." Petunia answered quietly, looking at the goblin before her. "Please... just call me Petunia, or if you have to, Mrs. Evans..."
***LINE BREAK***
After a filling breakfast, the Rebels found themselves standing around Flitwick's office door waiting for him to answer after knocking. Before long, the door opened and the tiny professor waved them in. "Come in! Come in! Let's start your lessons."
The five students sat at the desks provided, with Hermione making certain that they each had quills and parchment ready for notes. Once they were situated, Flitwick strode to the front of the semi-circle and sat on a stool. "Today's lesson on Goblins Manners is just simply two essential rules."
"First, always be polite and formal. Goblin society is a very formal one," Flitwick stated calmly while the quills scratched away on the papers. "Now, this is not to say that you cannot address a goblin by name, but let them address you by your given name first, otherwise their job title and human name would be best."
***LINE BREAK***
In a room upstairs from where she'd been held, Petunia watched the goblin in front of her curiously, her hands wringing themselves slowly. "L... Lawyer Slipkirk... thank you for taking my case... I wish I could help you more... but I knew what I was doing at the time. I'm just as guilty, even if only as an accessory to the crimes."
"Miss Evans, by your own story, and the memory evidence provided by Mister Dursley, we have noticed that while you were complacent during most of the transgression, you have been the one saving grace to prevent Mister Potter's outright demise," the lawyer goblin stated while flipping to a page in his notes. "In fact, on more than one time you have taken injury for your actions. Though minor, we find these actions speak to your rehabilitation potential."
Even as she sifted through the words that her lawyer was saying, she couldn't help but wonder why he was smiling the entire time.
***LINE BREAK***
"Rule two: Always be honest with a goblin, they know more than you possibly think," Flitwick continued, watching his wonderful students digesting this information. "Seldom do Goblins enter any type of dealings with others, without detailed information prepared beforehand."
***LINE BREAK***
"Lawyer Slipkirk... I... I just want to know one thing before the trial...Is Harry safe from Vernon?" Petunia asked nervously, while studying her hands quietly. This was just something she had to know, if she was ever going to be able to move on.
"Miss Evans, I will not lie to you... Mister Dursley is currently suffering a fate that few others have incurred with the Goblins before, as he insulted our king directly..." Slipkirk answered calmly while putting away the files he'd had out for the past hour. "The chances of Mister Dursley so much as being in the same dimension as Mister Potter is exceedingly rare currently."
"Thank you Lawyer Slipkirk..." Petunia spoke with gratitude making her voice humble and quiet as a warm smile spread across her face. For the first time in years, the smile in regards to her nephew was an honest one. "I suppose I am going back to my cell now?"
"Actually... you will have a new cell until after your trial... which should be November 1st, unless new evidence is revealed before then," Slipkirk answered before summoning a guard to take Petunia to her new quarters.
***LINE BREAK***
"Now, as to Mister Potter's request to sending them a letter... I would advise against using an owl, as they take offense to the use of wizards doing so," Flitwick continued as he turned to pour out some tea for himself and his students. "If one volunteers that is different, but generally it is better to have a House Elf deliver it, or pass it on to a goblin nearby. Gringotts has its own mail system that is several times faster than wizards could hope for with owls."
With a flicker of a smile at the familiarity of being in class, he nodded to Hermione as her hand rose with a question. "Why do wizards use owls then professor?" Hermione asked with honest curiosity, getting nods from the two other muggle raised students, while the twins seemed to question it for the first time in their life. "They probably hate traveling by day as nocturnal creatures, and, as said, they're not exactly fast..."
"An excellent question Miss Granger," Flitwick stated with a clap of his hands. "The short answer is that they've been doing so for so long that it was far faster than the muggle alternative. However, from what I have learned of the muggle postal system these past couple years, there is a certain narrowing of the gap. But there is also the fact that the owls will most times find a person for their letter without fail. That is no matter where on the planet they may be."
"Excuse me Professor Flitwick," Harry cut in curiously after being selected with his hand raised. "But you said 'most times'... so a person may intercept the post meant for another?"
Nodding his head, Flitwick summoned a blackboard from against the wall and began drawing on it with a piece of chalk. "Yes Mister Potter, in fact there are a few ways in order to perform this... The first is to intercept the owl itself, which is only a crime if it is on official Ministry business," at the mention of this, the three younger students frown deeply, looking decisively uncomfortable. "Another is to use a Fidelius Charm to cause the owl to lose track of you. And finally, the use of certain spells and potions can cause you to mimic another enough that the owl will deliver to you, instead of the original person."
"And this is all legal when not from the Ministry itself?" Su asked, still looking like it was rather distasteful.
"Correct Miss Li," Flitwick answered, getting another soured expression from the younger students, while the elder two seemed to catch on. "I take it that in the Muggle world, this is different?"
Hermione was the one to answer, standing up slightly in her seat so the others could see her properly. "Let me pose an example for you... say Harry is at home, awaiting a response from me via his owl Hedwig. What would happen if someone intercepted her, and prevented the letter from arriving?"
"They'd likely read your letter, and use that material to tease you," Fred answered, getting a nod from the Wizarding World born and raised.
"If they did it through the muggle postal system, they would arrested, on the federal level in most cases," Hermione stated while looking squarely at the picture of a caged owl that Flitwick had drawn on the board. "What you've just told me is that there is a legal way to ensure that Harry would be utterly isolated from getting any mail..."
"I see your point Miss Granger," Flitwick conceded as he wondered if someone hadn't done that to his own post in the past. It was a rather troubling thought indeed. "I believe you are correct in worrying about this, but that is a matter for another time..."
Even as he started to try and change the subject, he couldn't help but notice that the wheels were cycling in young Mister Potter's head. "Mister Potter?"
The young man blinked his eyes and shook his head as though to clear it. "Sorry Professor... I was thinking about something that just occurred to me... The only letter I received was from Hogwarts, and it was accurate down to the cu... room I stayed in..."
A quick glance over the rest of the classroom, showed that he wasn't the only one there to notice the slip Harry had started saying, and he worried once again just how horrid the young life had been. "But I'm told that in the Wizarding World I am something of a celebrity..."
"Too right mate," George cut in, "Why Ginny herself must have sent you... dozens... of... let... ters..."
Something seemed to click inside the minds of his students, as they all looked at one another, before scribbling something on their parchment that he just couldn't see due to his height. All he could tell was that one word was 'letters', and another was 'investigate'.
"Perhaps we should get back to our original subject?" Flitwick offered after their quills slowed and a couple of them were laid to rest on the desks. "Does anyone other than Mister Potter wish to send a letter to Gringotts?"
"I think..." Fred started, letting his eyes shift to his twin.
"We might as well sir," George continued, before both of them joined finished together.
"But we don't know a goblin at the bank."
"Surely you would know your family's account manager," the diminutive professor offered, before getting a slow shake of their heads in unison. He would have to look up how they could be so in synch. It was unheard of even in magical twins for two people to act in such unison. "Then perhaps you could ask the goblin Harry is writing to if he would mind passing on the message for you. You can trust goblins to protect your secrets to the grave and beyond."
Getting a nod from the other students, they all turned to look at Harry expectantly. Before the he could prompt, the young lad offered up the name. "His name is Griphook... I... I think he's a teller there..."
"If you are uncertain, you may use Goblin Griphook," Flitwick offered with a warm smile. "He will supply his title in his reply and you may use that for future contact. Now go ahead and write up a first draft, and I shall correct it for you if necessary."
"Yes Professor, thank you," came the response from the group, making him just how much the twin's unique ability was spreading to the others, and if it was contagious outside of the group. For the next few minutes, the only thing heard in the room was the scratching of quills on paper. It was little surprise when Hermione was the first one with her letter, but instead of bringing it up to him like he expected, she paused and reread it while nibbling her lower lip nervously.
In fact, it was Su who came up with her letter first, a simple and formal request into setting up an account accessible in both England and Hong Kong. A few flicks of his pen and he had her wording corrected, but overall he was very proud at the progress she'd made with her English. He would have to add a few points to Ravenclaw for that. A warm smile and she was back to work on her letter, copying it over with the corrections made he hoped.
Next came Miss Granger, who was wondering about investment opportunities within the bank, and a bit about the currency exchange rate. All-in-all a very complete and proper letter, with a nod of his head, he accepted her letter and allowed her to seal it in an envelope. While she was doing that, the twins came up with their letters.
The first one he read was George's who was surprisingly enough about loan rates for start-up companies, and if it was possible for a family member of an established family like the Weasley's themselves to set up an independent account, rather than a joint account with the family head.
A few quick corrections, and a suggestion in word usage in the third paragraph and George was sent back to his desk to work out his letter again. If George's had been a surprise, Fred's was doubly so.
First he wanted to know about the types of security that the goblins employed, while stating that he wasn't looking for specifics, he wanted to know if they only used physical magical beings as protection, or if they included special goblin wards and rituals as well. After that he asked if it was possible to add such protection, and how much it would cost. Then there was a part inquiring about their myriad of other services available, and what seemed to hint at being employed there in the future. And in closing he asked about setting up an isolated account, in much the same manner as his twin had.
All this curiosity into the security of the bank made Flitwick wonder what exactly Fred was asking about, until he got to the inquiry about the various other aspects, and he realized that if the prankster had caused so much havoc in Hogwarts with his limited resources, he could excel in the security and protection field with the expanded resources available at Gringotts. Perhaps he should nudge the lad into ancient runes next year.
And oh how he wished that the boy's essays were this neatly done for his homework, why he almost wanted to frame this and hang it in the staff room as proof that Fred Weasley could write properly. Instead he marked a couple grammatical and word choice errors, before sliding it back to the red-headed twin with a knowing smile. "I dare say I might just be expecting more out of your essays in the future Mister Weasley..."
Oh that blush was the stuff that a teacher could spend their entire career longing to see, and never receive.
While he was savoring that delightful response, Harry had managed to come up and was fidgeting slightly as he held out his letter. Taking it from the lad, he began reading it over, taking the time to ensure that all the topics Mister Potter had wanted to check into were taken care of.
It seemed that he was rather concerned about his fiscal responsibilities, as well as ways to improve the Wizarding world. The concerns over his mail, things from his parents, and the other matters spoke much to his state of mind. However, it was the request for Flitwick to be used as the contact point that really touched him deeply. "I think it's ready to be sent as soon as you make it ready to be mailed..."
"Thank you professor," Harry answered with a small smile on his face. The silence in the room was a pleasant one that he'd learned to enjoy in the decades since he'd become the head of Ravenclaw. There was just something soothing about the scratching of quill on pen that one could grow to love given time.
After the letters had all been piled in his hands, he ensured they were all properly addressed, before calling out, "Jobby? Could you come here please?"
A house elf wearing a faded pink dishrag as a toga appeared with a wide grin on his face. "What can Jobby do for Professors Flitwick?"
Holding out the stack of letters, he smiled warmly at the creature that was probably just as tall as he was. "Would you be a dear and take these to Griphook at Gringotts?"
"Yes sirs, professors sirs," the elf answered before collecting the letters and disappearing from sight. This seemed to catch Hermione's attention as she muttered, "I thought one couldn't apparate from here..."
"That is an excellent point Miss Granger," Flitwick stated with a clap of his hands. "Since we have a while before lunch, how about a lesson in non-human magical creatures that we deal with everyday?"
To his surprise, none of the students seemed to protest this idea; instead they simply pulled out another scroll of parchment and prepped to take notes.
'Aaah, true Ravenclaws…" He thought happily.
"Very well... let's begin with House Elves and Goblins... and go from there."
Harry's letter will be found on the forum linked in my profile. http : / magi-tower . forum-free . net / - sorry but right now it's only accessible if you're registered and logged in... but I'll approve of people signing up... and there's lot of room for people!