Here's the newest chapter for the "Harry Potter: the Serpent Lord", enjoy!

* Review response:
Naginator, Kine X, god of all, Impstar, ElementalMaster16, Awsomeness7, Penny is wise, Danget the critic, nokeyunderscore, Dark Dragen, thanks for your reviews, folks.
m-f42, niciK, I've answered you via personal message.
Still Not Dead Yet, in my understanding, right now Harry exists as two persons in the eyes of the law: he's both Harry James Potter and Hadrian Jameson Slytherin. But I shall look more into this topic: I might have made an unknowing mistake...
Goldrune09, you have to wait for about... dunno, 10 chapters (at least 6 of those will be the summer before the third year).
Heart of Aiur, there was one?
Emeraldfireblade, the contract will be revoked for ...another reason. As for the other point: Harry keeps being lord Slytherin a secret, and Potters technically are on the same level as Malfoys (a century older (as a Noble house) and more respected, though), while Draconica's contracted is from a house that has a higher standing. What is that house will be revealed in about 5 chapters.

* Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" and its characters in any shape or form.

"human speech"
"wraith speech"
'human thoughts'
"spells / parseltongue"

Great thanks to NARUHAREM FOREVA for beta-reading this chapter.

chapter 27: Back to the Chamber

Harry spent several hours in the Slytherin vault, as he had a long and quite enlightening talk with one of the Hogwarts founders... well, his portrait, but still... As it turned out, Salazar's reasons for denying entrance to the school for muggleborns, at least those who did not want to cut their connections with their families, had nothing to do with blood purity, and were more of a safety measure to protect the school against witch hunters. So Salazar Slytherin was not happy with his house turning into a blood supremacist camp, not at all. He even told Harry to cast Tom Riddle out of the house, even though the man was no longer a part of it anyway...

Another reason why the young wizard spent so much time talking to Salazar's portrait, which, for some reason, was the only portrait active, was the fact that the Hogwarts founder was a skilled medic: he had to learn this to heal himself when his potion experiments went wrong (which they did at least once a month). So he and the newest lord of his house spent some time talking about medicine, both magical and not. And Salazar was quite impressed with the knowledge of the young man in front of him. So much that he deemed the boy worthy of his knowledge about healing and potions and told him where his personal journals were hidden in the vault.

Finally, Salazar told Harry where his personal cottage – and the only property house Slytherin still owned – was. The house was under a charm that was predecessor of fidelius, and while Salazar's portrait was the secret keeper, Harry was allowed to tell the locations to others (they, though, could not spread the knowledge further, and the knowledge about the house would be wiped from their memory, once Harry, for whatever reason, death included, was not in on the secret anymore).

Thanking Salazar for his generosity, the young Potter-Slytherin picked up the journals that he was told about and, after another short talk with the Hogwarts founder, left the vault – he still needed to visit the Potter vault after all...

Since it was quite late in the afternoon when he finally left Gringotts, Harry decided to visit 'Carter, Bridget & Ashford' after the weekend and his 'visit' to Hogwarts to collect the basilisk carcass. And if he had enough time that day, he'd also stop by the Ministry of Magic to get a couple of licenses to make his life much easier: after all, as he was a legal adult, there was no reason not to get portkey creation and apparation licenses... But those were plans for later. Right now the green-eyed wizard felt tired from his Gringotts business and just wanted to call it a day...

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On Monday morning, Harry arrived to Gringotts. His estate manager, a bit surprisingly, was not in his office, but was greeting him personally in the main hall. Good thing that the bank wasn't working yet, or many arrogant pure-bloods would have had heart attacks from seeing someone treated this well, while they were forced to wait in queues before talking to a sneering goblin bastard... Goldsaw led young Lord Potter-Slytherin through the maze of corridors to one of the staff rooms, where a group of about a dozen goblins, in their battle armor and with various magical tools on them, was waiting.

"We are departing to Hogwarts?" A goblin that looked like he was the superior there, even to Goldsaw, asked with a sneer. "I would like you, wizard, to know that the castle is protected by the anti-portkey wards and you are wasting our time."

"Chamber of Secrets is located underneath the castle and is not protected by the Hogwarts wards. It has its own set of wards, and the anti-portkey ones aren't among those. Most likely because the last time the wards on the Chamber were updated was before the invention of the portkey traveling method." Harry replied as calmly as he could to the fearsome goblin. The said goblin nodded slowly.

"Very well. But if you have deceived us..." He left the threat unsaid, but the green-eyed wizard was sure it would be something he definitely would not wish even to his enemy. Well, maybe he'd wish that to Voldemort... After providing the goblins with the most accurate coordinates of the Chamber he could produce, Harry watched with great interest how they created the portkey to take the group to the destination, his interest steaming from the fact that goblin magic was so different from the human one... The portkey, a piece of silvery rope, was finally ready, and the leader of the goblin ...squad, told everyone to touch the rope. "We will be departing in three seconds."

Harry started counting sotte voce, and as soon as he reached 'three', he felt a pulling sensation, like he was dragged by a hook attached to his navel, while the world around him started spinning rapidly... Roughly five seconds later he was roughly dropped onto the cold stone floor of the Chamber of Secrets, while the goblins were standing like nothing had happened to them. Forcing himself to stand up, despite the feeling of nausea, Harry drew his wand.

"Point me, basilisk carcass." His wand spun on his palm, its tip indicating the direction towards the basilisk. "Let's go." The young wizard said, as he started walking towards the pipes leading away from the Chamber... Several minutes of walking later they reached their destination.

"This thing is huge." Goldsaw whispered, as he saw the size of the slain basilisk. "I can easily be sold for at least six, maybe even seven, hundred thousand... Unless you wish for a sizable part of it to remain in you possession."

"I want fifteen square meters of hide, a liter and a half of its blood and half of the venom you manage to extract from it. Also, I want both fangs to be turned into ...sabers would be the best fit there, I think. The rest can be sold away." He said.

"As you wish, Lord Potter-Slytherin." Goldsaw replied, before telling the goblins to start working. "You shall get about five and a half to six hundreds thousands galleons from the part of the basilisk you are selling." Harry thanked the goblin. Unfortunately, he'd have to stay there for as long as it would take the team to do their job on the basilisk: goblins didn't trust him much, and, thus, he wasn't allowed to leave their field of vision... Otherwise he'd have gone to the Room of Requirement and retrieved the diadem horcrux. Oh well, he'll have a lot of chances to destroy the abomination Voldemort created later on... Plus he planned to bring the diadem, once the horcrux in it was destroyed, to Rowena's grave, something that goblins wouldn't allow as the item, initially, was crafted by them. Ravenclaw did only the enhancements...

Several hours later the goblin team finished their work and had the basilisk parts sealed in several dozens of big jars that were then shrunk, so that the goblins would be able to carry them. The venom that was taken from the carcass was split into two bottles that looked like they were a liter each. One of those was given to Harry right away, and the green-eyed wizard, after making sure that the bottle was charmed unbreakable, shrank it and put it into one of the pockets of his robes.

The group then returned to the main Chamber, and the goblins turned the rope that brought them there into another portkey to get them back to Gringotts... Once again the voyage by portkey left Harry in a heap on the floor and feeling nauseous, so he was starting to have second thoughts about using this method of traveling ever again... Still, portkeys were useful when you needed to get the hell out of the area, so, he decided, he would still get a license. Just in case... Once he was back to his feet, Goldsaw lead him to his office: there were some things that they needed to discuss, and Harry had several arrangements to make.

"So, let us finalize the deal." Goldsaw said, once they both were seated in his office. "First, which vault do you want the money to be deposited in? I would suggest the Slytherin vault as it will give you better percentage." The green-eyed wizard nodded.

"Then do so." After a small pause he added. "And have the materials I asked for deposited there as well. I will take my bottle of venom with me, though."

"Very well." The goblin said. "Now onto your ...sabers. First, crafting those will not be cheap. The money will be deducted from your Slytherin vault." Harry nodded: that was obvious. "And you know our rules about the ownership, right?" The young wizard nodded again.

"Yes, I do. But I would still like to propose an alternative." Goldsaw leaned forward, wanting to know what the human will say. "I propose a shared ownership. I will hold one of the swords until I fulfill the mission I need it for. Then I want the both sabers to be put on display in some conference hall in Gringotts or something – I'm sure, your master will make those sabers to be pieces of art. Meanwhile house Slytherin and Gringotts will own fifty percent of the pair each. The sabers can't be moved without explicit agreement of both sides, and should one of the sides break the deal, it forfeits the sabers to the other forever." Goldsaw nodded: this could be arranged, especially since the weapons would be stored at Gringotts anyway.

"I shall speak to out smiths about this. I will not promise it, but I will try to arrange the things as you propose."

"Thank you." Harry replied. "I also want a pair of wristbands with Slytherin coat of arms in silver to be made from the basilisk hide that is for sale. If those can be made before tomorrow midnight, I'll pay double of their normal price." Of course he knew that sending those as a gift to Draconica would be a bit too forward and more than a bit too much at their current state of 'friendship', but it was just so damn hard to think of any other good gift for her birthday... Plus she had helped him in uncovering the secrets of the Chamber, so she should have her own share of goods from the basilisk.

"Thank can be arranged." Goldsaw said. "Do you want the price to be deducted from the Slytherin vault as well." Harry nodded... At this moment a scroll appeared on goblin's desk. He picked it up and, unrolling, read the contents. "Gringotts is willing to pay six hundred and nine thousand, five hundred and thirty galleons for the parts of the basilisk you are selling." Of course, goblins will resell those at a much higher price later. "The sabers will cost you anywhere between fifty and seventy thousand, and the wristbands will make you another one thousand poorer."

"Now that I know how much money I get from the deal, I'd like to make some more arrangements." Harry said, while he started writing a list on the parchment he had on the coffee table in front of him. "I want each of these persons to get five thousands galleons." The green-eyed wizard said as he gave Goldsaw the list of the students that had been petrified by the basilisk. "If they have their personal vault, deposit the money there. If not, open a vault for them and charge the Slytherin vault for that. I want it all be done so that only they can access their money in the vaults." The goblin nodded, while taking notes about his clients wants. "I want a further five thousand to be given to a Ms. Hermione Granger and one Mr. Neville Longbottom. Ms. Draconica Malfoy and Ms. Daphne Greengrass should be given five thousand each as well." He made another small pause. "Also, send fifteen thousand galleons to ms. Aurora Sinistra with the same access rules. Five hundred are to be sent to Mr. Argus Filch. Finally, I want the treatment of Ms. Ginerva Weasley to be paid from the Slytherin vault for as long as it is under fifteen thousands." Another pause. "And now that I think of it, send fifty galleons to Mr. Ronald Weasley." Goldsaw nodded.

"That will be arranged." He said. "Depending on how much the creation of the sabers will cost, the total amount of money remaining in the Slytherin vault will be between four hundred thirty two thousand, nine hundreds and seventy five galleons two sickles and seventeen knuts, or four hundred fifty two thousand, nine hundred and seventy five galleons, two sickles, and seventeen knuts." The young lord Potter-Slytherin nodded: no matter how much money he had spent today, he still had more than enough left from the basilisk alone...

"Thank you, master Goldsaw." The green-eyed wizard said. "Now I'd like to discuss the investment politics for the house Slytherin." The goblin nodded. "I'm very pleased with how you've been handling Potter investments so far, so I think that having Slytherin money work the same way will be profitable for us both."

"Indeed. I shall make the arrangements for your investments." Goldsaw replied. "Will the muggle equivalent of twenty thousand galleons invested into each muggle firm be to your liking?"

"Yes, thank you." Harry said. "That would be all. I shall no longer spend your valuable time, senior estate manager Goldsaw." And after bowing to the him, he headed back to the main hall of Gringotts, accompanied there by the assistant goblin.

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Arthur Weasley was leaving his 'department' in the Ministry of Magic, already in the atrium, when he saw a box of forms near the wand-weighing orderly's table. Being a bit curious as it wasn't there in the morning, the redhead approached it and read a piece of parchment that was explaining the purpose of this box: apparently, the ministry decided to hold a lottery for its workers with a prize fund of one thousand galleons…and participating in this lottery was absolutely free.

Not thinking much more about this, Arthur conjured a piece of parchment and scribbled his name and occupation in the ministry, before dropping his 'form' into the box. Surely, the chances of him winning the money were barely above zero, but it didn't cost him anything, and, should he happen to win... With Ginny being in a coma at St. Mungo's, his family needed all the money they could get.

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Even though he should have started writing his Potions essay that Professor Snape had given to them – two feet of parchment on a group of commonly used moderately-difficult medical potions, such as the star grass salve and the wound-cleaning potion – Harry was reading Salazar's journals instead. For one, he felt too tired from the today's events to write something more than a couple of sentences. That and the journals of the Hogwarts founder were much more interesting...

Plus, the young wizard felt that after he had completed his Charms and Transfiguration essays over the weekend, he could allow himself to laze a bit. True, he had some grand plans for the summer, but he couldn't start on them in the next couple of weeks anyway, and so with a third of his homework already done, one day of doing nothing wouldn't mean much of anything at all...

Another thing that drew Harry to the journals was a unique chance to catch the occasional glimpse of the lives of the Hogwarts founders – those among the greatest wizard and witches of the European history – on the old pages, among the potions, spells and rituals recorded by Salazar Slytherin himself. Who would miss such a chance?

Still, tomorrow he was going to contact 'Carter, Bridget & Ashford' firm, and needed to be prepared for the meeting – their services weren't cheap and he wasn't about to waste either his or their time by stuttering while trying to figure what to say next. So the green-eyed wizard reluctantly put the journal away, not forgetting to bookmark the page he was reading, and pulled a piece of parchment to write down the things he'll need to talk about tomorrow.

From the information given by the goblins, he knew that long-standing partnership the house Potter had with the firm was a sign that they were doing their job well and should be trusted with his legal business, so continuing this partnership would be most definitely beneficial and he should do his best to ensure that it happens. Not right away, of course.

Once he would have the partnership reestablished, he needed the wills of his parents to be unsealed: with him being a lord of either of his houses, there should be reason enough for that, but it would be better if those experienced with how the Wizengamot works would present his case.

There was another thing, related to the Wizengamot that needed to be dealt with. While he was accepted by his Potter ring, he did not believe was ready to become a part of the Magical Britain's governing body. That and he definitely couldn't be attending sessions when he is at Hogwarts, so he needed a proxy. Asking a law firm to find one seemed to be so much better than looking for one himself... He would have done the same for his lord Slytherin title as well, but he didn't want to reveal it just yet. Maybe several years later, though...

Finally, Harry wanted to bring Dumbledore to justice. The old man did several things that were against the law, including memory-charming him and his friends, and needed to be punished for that: no matter how good his goals might be, the ends were not justifying the means that the Hogwarts headmaster was using, and since he wasn't above the law... Bringing such a politically powerful, well-loved and intelligent and sneaky man down would not be easy, so a solid case should be built first, and that would be yet another task for the 'Carter, Bridget & Ashford' firm.

Looking over the list he had written, Harry was satisfied with what he had written down. Of course, there were other things that needed to be addressed, but they were minor compared to these ones, so they could wait... Nodding to himself, the green-eyed wizard began more in-depth planning of what he was to say tomorrow...

That's all, folks!
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