A/N: Thanks to those of you who are reading this. I had the first 3 chapters and part of this one pretty much ready to go. I finished this one today. Some excitement and some more plot foundation here. Let me know what you think. From here on out I will try to post a couple times a week until it's finished but I'm writing with just a loose outline guiding me from this point on. I know where I want it to go but the how is still a work in progress. Looking forward to hearing some feedback.

Thanks,

Drunken Prince

Standard Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter. Just the stuff I make up about him.

Chapter 4-The Goblin Council

As Harry followed the goblin guards down a dark hallway, he noted that he could see just fine in the almost non-existent light. He hadn't worn his glasses since the first change. He didn't need them. His eyesight was the first and most obvious benefit to this new magic that seemed to be stirring in him. He also noticed that his body seemed to be changing a little in his human form as well. It wasn't much and most people wouldn't notice, but his robes came up his shin almost an inch more than they did two days ago. He also noticed that the muscles and tendons in his arms seemed to be a little tighter and more defined. Again not that anyone would likely notice, but if things continued in the same manner, it wouldn't be long before there were real and noticeable physical changes to his body. His thoughts were interrupted when the gravelly voice of one of the guards said "Wait here please."

Noticing the set of double doors in front of him for the first time, Harry responded "oh… of course."

The goblin who had spoken slipped into the room in front of him and disappeared. Harry waited patiently for the goblin to return. When the guard returned he wasn't alone. The double doors opened and Griphook greeted him and welcomed him in. "I trust your time with Rockfang was productive?"

"Yes, very much so, thank you. It was an enlightening meeting. I learned some things about myself and my family that have only ever been hinted at before. I am grateful to the goblins and to Gringott's for being so thorough."

"It is our pleasure Mr. Potter. Thank you for noticing the quality of our work. Now if you are ready I believe we have a Portkey waiting and council meeting to attend."

Griphook led him to a large circle of a much lighter and less polished stone than the rest of the room. It was outlined in what could only be gold and at five points around the exterior of the circle there were large statues of goblin warriors, and each was holding a frightening weapon of some sort in their right hand. In their left hand each statue held a large rectangular tablet, or maybe they were shields, that had a prominent and elaborate rune facing the circle. Harry didn't know what language it was and he didn't ask. He just observed and kept quiet.

Griphook produced a long but obviously blunted and dulled dagger and held it up to Harry. "If you touch the dagger I believe we can be on our way."

Harry placed his hand on the flat of the blade and waited. Griphook said something in Gobbledegook and Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel. When they landed, Harry was surprised to find that he had no trouble landing on his feet. Maybe his new animagus form helped him with that as well. They were in an identical circle in a nearly identical room to the one they had just left. Griphook started towards the double doors and encouraged Harry to follow.

As they passed through the doors Harry was surprised to find a well lit chamber on the other side. The room was large, probably the same size as a quidditch pitch, and was obviously a hallowed out underground cavern. However the goblins had taken great pains to make the room grand. The ceilings were chiseled rock but spanning the length of the cavern were polished mahogany beams. Hung from the beams at regular intervals throughout the room were beautiful hanging chandeliers made of gold and silver. Each had a hundred or more lit candles. As his attention made its way downward he noticed the goblins sitting at one end of the room. There was a semi-circle of five, what could only be described as thrones, made of polished stone with gold inlay. In the center, and noticeably higher than the others, was a magnificent throne with red velvet backing and gold coated arm rests. The goblin sitting there was without a doubt a warrior and obviously old. He had a vicious looking scar from the top of his right brow, past his nose and extending to below his chin. What hair he had was white and his ears drooped a little more than the others. Scanning the other members of the council Harry was surprised to see Rockfang sitting just to the left of the older goblin.

"Ah welcome young Mr. Potter. I have been looking forward to meeting you since Griphook informed us of recent events." The speaker was the older goblin in the center. Harry gave him his undivided attention. "I am Ragnok. In your language I would be called the king of the Goblin Nations, but to our people and in our language my position is better described as a caretaker or protector. It is my job to ensure that the Goblin Nations are prosperous and safe. To my right and left are the leaders of the four Goblin Nations. You have already met Rockfang, he is the Director of Gringott's London and represents the Goblin Nation of Europe. Next to him is Faruk our representative of the Goblin Nation of Africa. To my immediate right is Bonehammer of the Americas, and to his right is Belemak of the Asian Goblin Nation. We are here to determine if the Altor Regnum have returned and to set a course of action should it turn out to be true. Would a demonstration of your newly acquired abilities be agreeable to you?"

"Whatever is necessary to prove myself to your people Ragnok. I am at your service."

Ragnok turned and nodded to one of the many guards that were stationed around the perimeter of the cavern. The same guard disappeared through a side door. From the large double doors behind him, Harry watched as a group of 12 goblins dressed very much like muggle monks came in and took up positions around the outside of the cavern between the goblin guards. Another nod from Ragnok and the 12 newly arrived goblins began chanting in gobbledegook. The guard who had left the room returned flanked now by two more guards each shoving along a bound and silenced prisoner. Each prisoner wore the unmistakable garb of Voldemort's Death Eaters, white mask and all. Harry discreetly pulled his wand out of his robes and prepared himself for whatever was about to happen.

Ragnok waved his hand and spoke some sort of incantation and the bonds were removed from the death eaters. Harry crouched into a ready position and watched as each death eater pulled a wand and prepared a curse. The first one turned and fired a killing curse towards Ragnok. Time seemed to come to a near standstill as Harry conjured a stone block to protect Ragnok. He moved forward and fired off a reducto curse at the first death eater and watched in awe as his curse not only hit his target but went straight through the death eater's chest leaving a gaping hole. His ill begotten killing curse struck stone and hurt no one. The second death eater had by this time cast a cutting curse at Harry. He was amazed that the curse seemed to be moving so slow. It was a simple matter to side step the curse and move into a position to strike. Harry imagined himself as a griffin and transformed as he leaped towards the second death eater. He reached forward and with one swift lunge the fight was over. Harry looked over to Ragnok with his talon still piercing the heart of his second opponent. The smile on Ragnok's face was frightening to Harry even in this form. He stepped back and transformed into his natural self and knelt down to remove the mask from his recent kill. Avery. The mask had already slipped off the dead man across the room with a hole in his chest revealing Nott Sr.

The chanting in the cavern suddenly stopped and Ragnok looked intently at one of the monk like goblins. The apparent senior monk just nodded his head then turned and left through the main double doors. The other eleven followed after him. Harry stared hard at Ragnok with fire in his eyes, demanding answers.

Ragnok stood and bowed as did the other council members and each of the guards in the room. "Forgive me Lord Potter. This little demonstration was necessary to determine the true nature of your magic. My enchanters have informed me that it is indeed the magic of the Altor Regnum that gives you your incredible power. What is it that the Goblin Nations can do for you? We are now at your service."

It didn't go unnoticed by Harry that he was now being addressed as 'Lord Potter'. "So that's it. I kill a couple of death eaters then just tell you what I want now and you do it!" He stopped and took a deep breath. Slowly and more controlled he continued. "Pardon me. I mean no disrespect, but I was under the impression that this was an ancient alliance. I do not believe in one way partnerships. I will only honor this alliance if it is just that…an alliance… between two equal partners. That being said, do not try and deceive me again. I was told before I came I would be under the protection of the goblins. I did not expect to have to fight for my life."

"Lord Potter I assure you that at no time was your life in danger. Nor were any of the goblins in this room. The enchanters made sure of that. The test was simply to assure the goblin council that the Altor Regnum have indeed returned. As to the alliance…I agree. We would like to be equal partners with the Altor Regnum. I simply state that we are at your service because with all due respect, I already know what you can do for us. I believe you already intend to do it. The Goblin Nations want nothing more than for magical England and Europe to be safe and secure once more. When humans are scared, they hunker down. They hide in their homes and they stop spending money. They stop building, and they stop creating. This adversely affects my people. Although you see representatives of four Goblin Nations before you, the homeland of our people is, and always will be Briton. The goblins are not at peace unless magical England is at peace, and England will not be at peace until the vile creature known as Lord Voldemort is dead and gone along with all who follow him." Ragnok paused and scrutinized Harry's face for a moment. "You do intend to face and destroy Voldemort, do you not?"

"Yes, I intend to destroy Voldemort. He killed my parents. He's made my life a living hell! I won't stop until one of us is dead."

"Then my question remains. What can the Goblin Nations do for you Lord Potter?"

"Well first you can answer some questions for me. The way you talk about the return of the Altor Regnum it sounds as if you expect there to be more. Is that true and if it is why is this happening?

"The magic of the Altor Regnum is blood based and very selective in nature. There have only been a few Altor Regnum since the original order was formed by Merlin himself. For lack of a better explanation the magic cannot come to full fruition unless certain requirements are met. First of all the magic can only be passed to male heirs. There has to be an unbroken line from the original Altor Regnum through the male descendants. That in itself eliminates most of the potential candidates. Secondly the natural magic of the individual must be strong enough by itself to initiate the change. Finally, the magic will only reveal itself in an individual who is inherently noble and good. Merlin wove safety nets into the original ritual because he feared the natural volatility of Sir Lancelot and Sir Erec would corrupt their descendants. This fear eventually proved to have merit as Lancelot's son as well as both of Erec's sons became evil tyrants that had to be destroyed by the Altor Regnum. Both families have been amongst the dark aligned houses ever since."

Harry thought on this for a moment before asking his next question. "So do you expect there to be others who make the change?"

"There is only one other alive right now who could," said the elderly goblin.

"Neville," mumbled Harry.

"Yes the heir of House Longbottom could also change. As well as any male descendents that either of you produce. This doesn't mean that it will ever happen to anyone else but you."

Harry was relieved to finally have some answers and told the council as much. They spent quite a while hashing out the formalities of the Goblin Nations involvement in the war. It was agreed that the goblins would publicly remain neutral however behind the scenes they would work to destroy Voldemort's infrastructure. There were many things that they could do to cripple the Death Eater's financially and those would be enacted, they also agreed to send out 'goblin hit squads' that would eliminate individuals or small cells of Death Eaters whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Feeling like the Light had scored a victory and honestly getting anxious to see his friends he caught Ragnok's attention and spoke one more time. "Before I leave I only have one more request…I want to see my home, Potter Manor and I never want a dark wizard or anyone who wasn't invited to ever find it again. Can this be done?"

Ragnok responded with that same disturbing smile. "It can be done and it will. Your ancestral home will be secure before the end of tomorrow. Is that sufficient?"

"More than. Thank you Ragnok, and thank you to the Goblin Nations. This may win the war for Light and I will be eternally grateful. May your gold be as plentiful as the salt in the seas."

"And may the rivers of this land run red with the blood of your enemies Lord Potter. It gives me great pleasure to count you among our allies."

As he moved to join Griphook to leave, he saw Ragnok smile once more. He suppressed a shudder as he walked away. "Oi, scary" he muttered to himself.