Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter in any way, J. K. Rowling does, I just borrowed some of her characters, ideas, and plots.
MAGIC/CHAOS
-A Harry Potter fanfic-
A/N: If you find any plot holes or theoretical flaws, some of them are there intentionally. Some of them might be my mistake. If you point out any inconsistency, I'll be more than happy to explain/correct them. Since I have no beta, there might be a lot of grammatical, splling or conceptual mistakes. Feel free to point them out too.
Thanks for all the encouraging reviews.
Chapter 1: Corruption is an emotion. It can be controlled.
It was Saturday night of a cold, bleak January.
Life is boring. I serve a maximum of ten customers a day. No news, no gossip. No one stayed in the rooms for over a month...
Tom was daydreaming about his small silly problems when suddenly, he heard the pop of a portkey.
Seedy looking kid.
"How may I help you, Sir?"
"I need a room. To stay for a week minimum."
I peer closely now. Interesting.. Boy's eyes look haunted. He looks quite shook up.
But.
His voice was very calm. Slow but determined.
And his Magic. I know that the boy doesn't know, but his Magic swirls along him. As if ..rejoicing wildly.
"Your good name, Sir?"
"Harry, Harry Potter"
And time froze!
Surely, no..
His eyes darted to the scar.
Good Lord!
His knees almost buckled,"Thank heavens, Mr. Potter! We all thought you dead after all these years. It's a relief to see you all right. Thank you, Mr. Potter Sir. Thank you for getting him." He all but seemed to control his tears.
"I'll show you to your room then. No luggage.. that's fine. Follow me please, Sir."
They stopped outside room 312.
"This is your room, Sir. Will you want anything?"
"I'll be fine from here. By the way, Lucius Malfoy might come in a few moments. Please send him up. Could you also set tea for the two of us as soon as he comes?"
"Of course, Mr. Potter Sir. Anything else, Sir?"
"No. And Harry will do."
"Sure, Harry."
Someone knocked at the door.
"Professor Malfoy to see you, Harry", Tom exclaimed from outside the door.
"Send him in."
The door opened slowly, noiselessly. Behind the door stood a man. Face in shadows. Completely still. Straight silver hair. The man stalked forward. I was immediately reminded of a Legolas gone evil. This man would kill you, and would do so quite gracefully. Magic coursed strongly through him.
"How are you feeling Mr. Potter? That little outburst could have taken a lot out of you."
"I'm fine. How are they?", Harry inquired guiltily.
"They are fine. However, I wouldn't worry about them. They are not a factor."
"Not a factor?"
"In any equation.."
"Who..", Harry was interrupted by a knock.
"Your tea, Harry."
"Thank you, Tom. Please leave it at the table."
After the door closed, I asked ,"Tea, Lucius?".
"Sure."
"And could you please elaborate as to why you refer to that incident as little? I rather thought that would be criminal." Harry finished darkly.
"Ahh.. Mr. Potter, what you did to them was some accidental Magic. Powerful but purely accidental. To do so intentionally would, I'd rather you not try it. Moreover mundane people, or muggles, hold no authority over a Mage. You are Nobility, Mr. Potter. We fix them and set their memories to boot."
"Set them to boot..", Harry was intrigued,"You seem kind of evil, Mr. Malfoy, no disrespect intended."
"There is no good or evil, Mr. Potter. No light or dark. The only thing worth having is power. And the only thing that you can build, is the courage to take power. So, chew on this for some time Mr. Potter, do you have courage enough, or, do you lack it?"
"Chew on that yourself. As for your answer, power corrupts. It pollutes your rationality as well as your code of honour. But at the core, Corruption is an urge, an emotion. It can be controlled."
It took every ounce of self control to stop himself from showing a reaction to this reply.
"How astute of you, Mr. Potter."
"So, it was Magic that I did? Stuff did seem surreal. Who are you? Are you the police? Why did Tom call you professor? Speaking of Tom.. why did Tom thank me so weirdly? Finally, what happens to me now?"
"Yes. You did Magic. I am Lucius Malfoy, Lord of the Ancient and most Noble house of Malfoy, but you already know that. I am a vassal of the crown, just as all Mages are. As such, I'm to protect my Queen and all that's her by my life, if I can. I am also a professor of Battle Magic at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As for you, I was supposed to personally give the invite to join our school this week. If you accept," Lucius waited.
"I do." Harry quickly supplied. No reason to say otherwise, after all.
"Then classes commence on 15th of March. You would do well to get your school books and things before long. Seeing that you don't know anything about Magic, you can use this time to catch up with your peers."
*Blinks owlishly*
"This is for real.. isn't it?"
"Listen, I'm a Slytherin. I know that won't mean anything to you yet but I don't do this often, so don't expect me to do this next time. I, Lucius Malfoy, swear on my Magic and my art as a Mage that whatever I have said to Harry Potter till date is true to the best of my knowledge. So mote it be."
A green flame covered Lucius' hand when he finished and died in thin air.
"I would be dead from lack of Magic by now if I had lied."
"You didn't have to do that. And don't think that I've forgotten about my one question that you skipped. We'll talk about it later."
..
"By the way, where do you get all the Magical stuff in London?"
And there he was. Pointing right at the brick wall.
The brick wall!
It smelt of Magic. Old Magic.
This was no mere wall. This was a gate! I can feel it. Built of enormous strength, both mogical and non, and yet, something from beyond pushed and screamed itself, stretching the gate to the extremes. That way lay madness. Incomprehensible chaos.
And yet, I was drawn to it. A single brick stood out. To my Magic, it synced perfectly with my desire for a knob on the ancient guardian gate. Something between me and the gate connected. And the bricks began to fall away.
I looked back to see Lucius, staring at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I see. No one gave you the talk.."
*Blinks stupidly*
"I'll talk to you after our work here gets done, Mr. Potter. Meanwhile, please hold in any urges to do Magic. It might cost you your life. And it would do well to close your mouth. People are watching." The last part drew in to almost a whisper.
I turned around.
..
"What did I tell you about open mouths, Mr. Potter?"
The alley! It was no alley. It was an avenue. Cobbled stones inlaid with ..metal, filling up a street 20 feet wide. There were two rows of short but broad and leafy trees of unknown origins. The street was covered on both sides by strange houses and Manors. Most of them were of darker shades. Some of the biggest one though were white. Each of them had a lawn in front of them leading to the street. There were colored banners on almost all of the gates on the street. The funny thing about it was, if you looked at the street itself, it seemed to run at an angle from the gate. If you looked at the houses though, you would find them all in a straight line. Diagon Alley. Gave you a killer headache if you roamed long enough. The street seemed to end abruptly at a big black distant building.
The alley seemed peaceful enough. Even beautiful. But Harry was not deceived for a second. Even from the gate, he could feel the raw power from this place. The very stones in the masonry sang with Magic. Then, there were the houses. He could sense how deep into time their Magics came from. The last building. It was amazing! The Magic surrounding it was sentient! He could sense the old Magics pushing his consiousness slowly, but surely, away. He was highly intrigued. Could Magic be sentient? It opened up possibilities unknown..
Then, there were the people. Colors. Sounds. Sights.
"Ahem!"
"Well, wow", Harry said dully and added,"Let's go. Where to first? I don't have any money though. Do you know of some schemes to quickly get some?"
A long sideways stare later, "First, Mr. Potter, you inherit your birthright, your blood's leagacy, your heritage."
"Do all mages speak weird like you?"
..
"Care to tell me more about this place? While you are at it, I feel that last building protecting itself. Care to explain?"
Lucius regarded Harry for another long moment. "Sure to both. Well, the city of Londinium was established in AD 43. It was mainly five mages leading a group of muggles. It soon developed to be an established market for muggle-world and a good center of education for Magics. Unfortunately, Those were not peaceful times. Rest to know that the city was badly destroyed." Lucius paused.
"Well, what happened?"
"The surviving families, the best ones, stood a last ground on this place. Many muggles willingly sacrificed themselves to save their children. The resulting Magic drew something out from the very pits of Hell. It was beautiful. To our sides. Nothing remained of the oppositions existence."
After a heavy pause,"This place has seen a war, Mr. Potter. It has survived through a Magical war using numerous willing sacrifices. Places like this are powerful.. and dangerous. Remind me of it during our talk if I forget it. What you sense as protection is the power of the guardian of the Fort of Gringotts. It is the only bank of the mages. The guardian has been given life through the powerful ambient Magic of the fort and alley. Not to say that a complete nation of Goblins, 103 tribes in total, live under the caverns under it. Their magic fuels the guardian as well. It also gives the compulsion to act in it's own good interest. The guardian exists completely for and through the fort. It's terribly powerful and ancient and has a very strong sense of righteousness. I would not advise you to do anything, not even to think against the norms in Gringotts."
Harry grunted in response.
"Never grunt Mr. Potter. It's downright demeaning. while we are at it, never snort, itch, scratch or fiddle either."
Harry glared in response.
"That's accepted. Learn to frown, frosty nose, frosty eye, raise one eyebrow and smirk superiorly as well."
"Great! Get a PMS. Perfect Malfoy Solution..",he thought. Wouldn't say it aloud for his life.
All through the talk, Harry could feel the Magics in the houses flaring as he reached out. It was as if they were crooning him to come and play with them. They offered rewards. Some hinted to terrible powers. Powers buried deep in the sands of time..
"Get out of it!" Snapped Lucius, "They are just luring you for the money."
Amazingly, once you knew that, the lure was easier to avoid. Now he could visualize their inventories as he strolled on the street though. As soon as he started marveling at how this piece of Magic would work, his senses suddenly started registering the items on sale.
"Broomsticks! Mages fly on broomsticks? Boys have the dignity to fly on a broomstick?"
"Are you sure you are a Potter, Mr. Potter?"
"What's this? Cauldrons! Amazing.. Wands! I want a wand.. Oh. I didn't even think.. Thought thunderbolts through my fingers..", Harry's words trailed off into nonsensical sounds.
As he babbled on, the Fort grew closer. It looked like no fort. It seemed to be carved, rather hewed out of single monolithic black rock. The Gate looked like a cave entrance set amidst two massive stone column. As he came near to the entrance, he could feel the guardian checking him. It got into his mind. Checked all intents and purposes. Even laughed at some of his notions. Suddenly, the feeling was off. Harry noticed that he had drawn himself tight. He let himself loose and regarded the surroundings again. The place seemed much warmer now, almost inviting.
He shrugged and walked ahead.
Standing Behind, I gaze at the boy in wonder. Not that my face showed it, but that was the fifth reaction that I was not expecting from a muggle-raised such as him, no disrespect meant. This boy is different. Indeed, Draco could benefit greatly if he was his friend.
Potter had power. That was for sure. Magic danced around that boy in utter delight. And he seemed to understand it almost immaculately. Potter reminded me of an old friend. A friend from another lifetime. Similar in power, similarly attuned to Magic. Did miracles almost everyday.. damn the consequences. But he had so much anger, the wrath consumed him in the end.
No.
What he sensed in this child was different. He knew his emotions. Probably more so than the Dark Lord himself. But he had something that the Dark Lord did not, would never. He had complete control over his self.
Voldemort, at heart, was an animal. An animal that ran through instincts and had no control whatsoever. Powerful, yes.. but his motives were always unclear. At least to him.
But Potter. He was saner. More Human. He did commit insanity, but it seemed to be for the sake of his sanity. He would grow powerful. Oh, yes. Great and powerful.
Harry, meanwhile, was examining the exotic gate with fascinating interest. The two sentinels standing guard were giving him long, suspicious looks.
"Not exactly wood. I can't feel anything but pure distilled Magic. Oh! ahh.. I get it. It's the guardian himself. Well, Salutations Ancient one.."
The door creaked open.
The sentinels jaws were hanging in surprise. No one was supposed to open the door but the assigned sentinels!
Lucius sighed inwardly and picked his way towards his charge.
Harry made his way confidently towards a booth. The Goblin looked down from his high chair, peering through his glasses, right down his nose. An arrogant stare, if Harry ever saw one.
"Hello, I'm Grom. How may I help you, young Sir?"
"Mr. Potter. I want to know my financial statement as it stands.", Harry replied, giving a look right down his own nose, even though he had the disadvantage of height. He had got stared down by a lot worse.
"Mr. Harry Potter? Why, I'm surprised. As for your accounts, I'll have Griphook arrange a tour to your vaults. He'll explain some important things in between. Anything else you'd like?"
"Yes, I'm Harry Potter. The arrangement is fine though I'd like to ask, Why are you surprised?"
"It's just that normally, we would require your authorization to put to use your money. But all our attempts to reach you were wasted. We assumed the worse and the vaults remained closed for the past 11 years."
Anger. Like a beautiful red haze on the edges of my mind. It promised power.
"Lucius..Who stopped my mails?"
"I can answer that Mr. Potter," said Grom, "I think, it was your Magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore. I also need to mention that as you are the last of Potters, it falls upon us to fill you with the lore and knowledge of your Family. This is your Inheritance, Mr. Potter. Dumbledore willingly denied you your birthright by keeping this from you."
"Did he take anything out?"
"An Invisibility cloak and a pensieve."
Lucius gasps..
"I see.", pauses,"How do I become emancipated?"
..
They entered a door.
And the world changed.
Gone were the smooth marbles of the halls, here were sharp, uncouth stones. Looking like Earth's personal dental problem, the ground soon gave way to a vast, dark, eerie, open place. It was a behemoth of a cave. An infinity of darkness and monstrosity. Supported by columns of stones hundreds of metre long, the walls were invisible in the dark. The bottom was similarly endless. A bottomless abyss. A chasm right to the heart of Darkness. The beautiful horror.
Somehow, the place felt right to Harry.
From somewhere, there came a horrendous roar. And a burst of light.
Dragons!
Griphook let Harry take in the scene for a moment. Then he whistled. A shrill monotone that echoed progressively into nothingness in the infinite inky dark.
Something raced towards them. Harry could hear it. He could also feel it's magic gradually strengthening.
It turned out to be a kind of cart on rails. The rails built itself up infront of the cart as it went forward. It meant that the cart could go in any direction. Awesome!
Lucius suddenly interrupted,"Mr. Potter, it would be better if you went on alone from here. I would not like to hear about details of your family nor do I want to be privy of your wealth. I'll wait here till you return."
"Sure, Lucius. Though I really don't care either ways."
"Nevertheless, Mr. Potter. Have an enlightening trip.", with that, Lucius turned, his cloak swirling magnificently [Harry made a mental note to learn that technique] behind him and stalked out of the room.
Soon, Harry and Griphook were seated in the cart. Griphook gave a command, and the cart dashed off in a random direction, spouting railway tracks like confetti and making a strange whining sound. As if it was complaining about the work but loved it at the same time. Harry was thinking about the senility of the brain of the guy who dreamed up this toy, when he was interrupted by Griphook.
The Goblin had turned towards him and Harry had read enough people to recognize the 'speech mode'.
"Mr. Potter. Pleased to finally meet you. I'm Griphook the IVth and I've been the Manager of the Potter vaults and estates since seventy years. My family has been looking after the Potter vaults since 1232. I take this moment to assure you that I would do whatever it takes for the betterment of your Vaults and your family. I swear it on my Magic, my life and the Honour of my family. So mote it be."
An ethereal blue glow surrounded the Goblin for a brief second, then condensed and entered Harry.
"W..What was that?"
"It is customary for each manager to swear on his life, magic and honor to the new heir. The mages would never trust the Goblins would their galleons otherwise."
"Whatever. The point is, I don't want you to die or lose your magic or honor if something happens to my money. I would die of guilt. I absolve you from your vow." Harry said the last part in absolute confidence.
The Goblin laughed.
"I must say, Mr. Potter, like father like son. Anyways, since now the oath is done, your point is neither here nor there. As for your accounts", the Goblin droned on, ignoring Harry's gasp," The Potter vault is not open to you till you come of age. That is, when you turn 17. You could speed up the process by getting emancipated. You can, however, authorize us to invest in your behalf. You can rest assured that you won't get a drop.", He waited.
"Sure. Anything else?"
"Yes Sir. You have a trust fund in your name which is directly accessible by you. You cannot, however, invest any of it. The clause firmly states that the gold should be used to purchase items or services. The fund however, receives a share of the income from the Potter estate."
"what is my total worth? And tell me the individual figures as well. And stop calling me Sir."
"Ok Mr. Potter. The Potter family vault amounts to roughly Ninety thousand galleons. Your trust fund is currently twelve thousand galleons. The Potter estates and valuable in vaults combine to about One and a half million galleons. Your profit from Potter estates equal ten thousand galleons annually. One tenth, that is, a thousand galleons go to your trust fund each year. Though I'd wager that the returns will be much higher when the money is not sitting here".
I remembered Lucius' advice and closed my hanging jaw.
"Hmm.. I'm rich. Get those signatures as soon as you can Griphook. And Harry will do."
"As you say, Harry. By the way, we are now headed to your trust vault to get some money."
"Do you have some kind of bag from where I could pull out galleons without coming here every time?"
"Sure Harry, we have a pouch. It behaves as a wallet in the mundane world. You can pull out the currency of the region directly from your vault. Also, remember that 1 galleon roughly equals 50 pounds. And 10 sickles make 1 galleon. 100 knuts make 1 sickle. Got it?"
"Sort of."
The cart screeched to a stop. Harry looked wildly in darkness and spotted a glowing crest.
The crest was ..glowing.
with Magic.
The Magic was irresistible.
It pulled something in his heart ..home. It understood Harry's sorrow, for it was family. It understood each and every loss, every bad memory, understood for it was a part of him. It cried with him and there was no reason to hide. Not from this. This, he understood, and he cried in pain of what he had lost and cried in hapiness of what he had gained.
When his eyes opened, Harry was amazed, and a bit ashamed to notice that tears were flowing freely from his eyes.
"What was t..that?", Harry finally managed to stutter out.
"That was your family Magic Harry, welcoming you back. It recognizes you, understands you, and weeps for your loss. This Magic will never fail you Harry."
"..I didn't understand that last part."
"You will when you need to."
Harry looked towards the crest again. The Potter crest. A red griffin, surrounded by a golden fire, rampant on an azure field. He could now feel the familiar Magic and knew that a part of it will always follow him, had always followed him, he had just failed to notice.
He turned towards Griphook who was waiting patiently at a small door on the side.
"I need your blood.", Griphook said solemnly, handing Harry an exquisite dagger,"Just a drop will do."
Harry punctured his skin and handed back the dagger to Griphook.
The Goblin placed the dagger on a designate place. The door suddenly melted into nothingness.
Mounds of gold.
Heaps of silver.
Stacks of bronze.
"I can have that purse immediately. Right?"
"Of course, Harry."
"Then let's get going. No point in staying here."
A/N: That's it folks.
Please review. I've got nothing better to do on a Sunday other than looking forward to reviews.
If you like this fic, then tell me and I'll update it faster. If you hate it, then tell me and I'll decide to improve or kick it. Anyways, you have to understand that I love reading reviews. Deep critiques/questions on nature of Magic and mages is more than welcome.