Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 44 – Goblin Intervention
Harry was confused, to say the least.
"Business?" He asked even as he and Ginny, who's presence Griphook didn't seem at all bothered by, took the seats before his desk.
"Yes. Quite frankly, Mr. Potter, we at Gringotts are appalled at all you have endured since entering Hogwarts. It seems that each year you face some danger to your very life and the adults who are supposed to be responsible for you seem content to allow you to face said danger." Goblins were known to be quit stoic in their dealings with wizards, who never really knew what a goblin was thinking, but Griphook's anger, and even disgust, was there for all to see.
"I don't know if that's quite fair." Harry felt the need to defend at least some of the adults in his life. "Cornelius and Aldora, at least, do their best."
"Do they? When they stanchly refuse to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't really dead?" Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Please do not insult our intelligence, Mr. Potter, we are well aware that Tom Riddle still lives. However, instead of acknowledging that fact, bringing the aurors up to snuff, taking out his followers and training you to give you your best shot at survival, Cornelius Fudge has his head stuck in the sand, and the rest of him in Lucius Malfoy's pocket.
"He's got a point, you know." Harry scowled at Ginny.
"He's not bad on purpose…" It was a weak argument though, which Griphook was quick to point out.
"Not being evil is not a defense against incompetency. Especially where children are concerned." Harry looked confused. "Goblins are a warrior race, Mr. Potter, but there is nothing more precious to us then our children. All goblin children are trained in combat from an early age, but no adult goblin would allow them to see battle before they are of age in our society. We give our children all the tools they need to thrive in adulthood, but that does not make them adults, nor does it make it appropriate to allow them to use those skills before they are grown. You, on the other hand, are not only not properly taught the skills you will need, but have had to use what limited skills you have on several occasions. This became clear to us when you invited the Director and I into the Chamber of Secrets that day, and our anger has only grown as we watched all you have faced since, and investigated all you have faced beforehand. The incident with the Goblet of Fire this evening was the final straw. Especially after witnessing that once again the adults responsible for you were content to just let you compete without doing a thing to assist you. Gringotts could no longer stay silent when we can help."
"Help how?" Griphook's expression almost turned feral.
"Contracts are our speciality, Mr. Potter, as is finding loopholes. The rules of the Triwizard Tournament make the basis for the contract with the Goblet of Fire, essentially those that enter – or in your case are entered unknowingly – agree to compete in the tournament and abide by the rules agreed upon by the three schools and their respective governments. This is the rulebook for this year's tournament." Griphook pointed to what amounted to a rather small pamphlet on his desk.
"Surely there are more rules than that." Ginny was aghast, quickly realizing there could be no more than ten pages. Exploding Snap had more rules than this and it didn't involve magical contracts that could see you lose your magic if broken.
"This is the expanded rules with the additional safety measures for this year's tournament." Griphook seemed to agree with Ginny's incredulity. "I say expanded rules and not altered because no one saw fit to change any of the rules already in place, merely add in safety measures, and before this year the rules of the tournament had not changed since its inception. Not once. This is wizarding complacency at its height, and while I am pleased to see you are as disturbed by it as I am, in this case it works to our advantage."
"How?" Harry asked.
"The Triwizard Tournament was established in the 13th century, a time when fighting, or in this case competing, without a house, or school, banner to do so under was practically unheard of. Even mercenaries who had no house and owed their loyalty only to the highest bidder fought under their own emblem, more often than not. As such, it was written into the tournament rules that each champion is to fight under their school's banner. You do not have a school, Mr. Potter, but were entered under a fictitious fourth school. No doubt it was assumed that you would compete as a second Hogwarts champion as you are a Hogwarts student, but by the laws of the tournament you are entitled to compete under the banner of your own, and are entitled to the same concessions as the other champions: your own sleeping quarters, training facility, even your own guards."
"Guards?" Harry grimaced.
"Yes." Said Griphook. "Remember that the rules haven't changed since the 13th century, Mr. Potter. In the medieval era the champions would have almost certainly been people of some station, which generally saw guards following them around, and they would have certainly been targets of those who wanted to take certain champions out. You know many champions have died in this tournament, but it was not always during one of the tasks."
"Fantastic." Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and gave it a squeeze.
"I assume since no such fourth school actually exists, you have a solution?" She then asked and the goblin smirked.
"We would like you to compete for the Gringotts Academy, Mr. Potter. We would provide all the assistance needed to get you through the tasks unscathed, and would then be on site to assist whenever the person who put your name in the Goblet of Fire makes their next move. A part of this assistance would be setting up a training facility for you and providing you with all the instruction your guardians should have given you to one day face You-Know-Who." Harry and Ginny were shocked. Whatever they had anticipated when Dobby had brought them here, it wasn't this. "We know a war is coming, Mr. Potter, one that will not just affect wizards, but goblins and all other magical creatures, and you will unfortunately be at the centre of it. We wish to provide you with the help you need to face this threat."
"Why?" Ginny asked for a moment. "My brother works for Gingotts and if there's one thing he's taught me it's that goblins don't do anything for free. He's also taught me that you are among the most honourable beings in our world, so I doubt you're making this offer with some nefarious plan, or simply for riches, but there has to be reason, or something you want in return." Harry looked to Griphook, waiting on his answer. The goblin actually smiled, seemingly glad that Ginny had asked that question.
"You are aware, of course, that goblin and wizard relations have never been good, to put it mildly. There is a long history of aggressors, on both sides, that has resulted in goblins being classed a creatures with very few rights in the wizarding world. Now, while there were certainly goblin aggressors throughout history, it is wizards who, in the last two hundred years or so, have shot down any attempt we have made to bridge the gap between our societies. You, Mr. Potter, hold a great deal of influence throughout the entire wizarding world, influence that will only grow as you take your place as the head of the Noble and Ancient House of Potter and become one of the leaders of your society. Should you defeat the dark lord again, well…your influence will almost be absolute."
"And you want me to use this influence to help the Goblin Nation and see the laws relegating you as nothing but beasts repealed." Griphook did not deny this, but he also wasn't finished.
"That day in the Chamber of Secrets, I said you were a unicorn among wizards. I did not just say it because you didn't think of the fortune the slain basilisk could bring you. You treated the Director and I, not just with a courtesy unheard of in wizards, but as equals. You then called a house-elf your friend and without thought or hesitation insisted that the basilisk be used for the protection and benefit of others above all else. Since then we have watched you closely, perhaps more closely than you would have wanted, had you known, and it became clear that your actions that day were not an act, nor a rare occurrence, but that they defined who you are. You are a rare wizard, Mr. Potter, who does not hold to the belief that wizards are superior to all. You do not care if someone is wizard, goblin or house-elf, you care simply what kind of being they are and are happy to call any one of them a friend. While it is true that we would like the Goblin Nation to benefit from your influence, we were never looking for you to pick up a crusade for goblin rights, but merely to continue to treat us as equals, something we wholeheartedly believe you would do with or without our help in this tournament. We offer our assistance, Mr. Potter, not just for what you may be able to do for goblin rights, but also simply because it is the right thing to do. A person who does not hold to old prejudices simply because they have been around for centuries is one who deserves our loyalty, and is someone we want to stand beside, and behind." Harry was blushing as Griphook all but sang his praises, but Ginny was smiling softly at her boyfriend.
"He is indeed a rare sort." She murmured. Nothing Griphook had said was a surprise to Ginny. Harry's ability to see the world differently, his conviction that just because something is a certain way doesn't mean it is right and his drive to do something about it was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. And Ginny knew she was in love. There was no question in her mind that Harry was who she was meant to be with, it didn't matter that she was only thirteen, she knew in her heart, and by the very magic that flowed through her, that he was the one. She just hoped Harry felt the same.
"Right…" Harry cleared his throat awkwardly. "So what now?"
"That depends on if you will be accepting our offer or not, Mr. Potter."
"Oh, he's accepting." Ginny answered for him. "Something that will prepare him better for this tournament and against Voldemort? Of course he's accepting." Harry scowled at her but Ginny glared in return, daring him to contradict her, and he quickly nodded causing Griphook to laugh.
"A wise decision, Mr. Potter. It is always best to agree with one's life mate." If Harry hadn't been sitting already he would have fallen over, his legs giving out under him, and a quick look to Ginny showed she wasn't any better off.
"W-what?!" They both stuttered. Again Griphook smiled, though this time sardonically.
"Life mates." He said slowly, as if explaining something to two dunderheads, not unlike Snape would. "Two beings who have chosen to spend their lives together. Your bond is quite obvious, though admittedly rare in two so young."
"Bond? What do you mean bond?" Harry demanded, sounding panicked, though it wasn't the thought of spending his life with Ginny that caused the panic, but rather the fact that she had six brothers, all of whom would cheerfully murder him if they thought he'd been in anyway inappropriate with their sister. Luckily for him, Ginny could tell exactly what he was thinking, or she would have cheerfully killed him herself.
"The only bonds between two people I know of is either a marriage bond, or a soul bond." Said Ginny.
"Marriage?!" Harry squeaked. Again Griphook laughed.
"Relax, Mr. Potter, you are certainly not married." Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and again it was only Ginny knowing the reason for it that saved him. "I am surprised, though, that you did not know. If nothing else I thought that Curse Breaker Weasley would have told you."
"Bill knows about this?" Ginny asked and Harry shuddered.
"If he doesn't then we need to rethink his employment with us. The bond is an old one, no longer used by witches and wizards, though still favoured in the Goblin Nation, so he has come across it many times amongst us, and he certainly should be able to recognize such a bond, whether the two beings are goblins or not."
"Griphook, would you mind explaining before I have a heart attack?" Harry asked wearily. "Only I'd like to know if I should run for my life before her brothers get their hands on me."
"The bond you share is the most basic commitment between two magical beings." The goblin was obviously amused. "Normally, when two beings decide they want to spend their lives together, they pledge themselves to each other wholeheartedly and their magic binds them together. This bond has no legal status, at least it hasn't for several centuries since marriage became more of a business transaction rather than between two people who love each other. You see, the bond will not form if your hearts and your feelings for one another are not true, so it was not a possibility for couples marrying for wealth and status."
"You said 'normally.'" Harry noted. "I take it we're not normal?"
"It is rare, but sometimes the requirements to form the bond are met without the conscious knowledge or consent of the individuals. It is also rare for a bond to form in ones so young as in most cases adolescents do not know their hearts or minds well enough, but occasionally your minds can be made up, even if you don't realize it, and magic itself takes it from there."
"Isn't that a soul bond, though?" Ginny asked. "I thought they were just a myth."
"A real soul bond, wherein a single soul resides within two beings, is indeed almost unheard of. The only known true soul bond was between Godric Gryffindor and his wife. Ever the teachers, they wrote extensively about their experience in the hopes of teaching others who might have a similar bond, only none have, at least none who have come forward, and so soul bonds became relegated to the stuff of myths and love stories. Your bond differs greatly. You are your own selves, your souls are your own, and the only real difference you will see is that you will be hyper aware of each other, kind of like a sixth sense."
"What would explain a lot." Said Ginny. "Like how I knew you needed me to stay with you at Sirius' trial, or how you know when I'm getting upset before I do. It's not a concrete thing, or even something I can explain, we just…know."
"Precisely." Griphook nodded approvingly at her insight. "This type of bond is very common among many magical beings, including goblins, but means very little to the rest of the world. Or I should say, to other witches and wizards. I should tell you that within The Nation it is the only kind of bond between mates that we have, and as such is viewed as the equivalent of a marriage."
"Dear Merlin…" Harry groaned.
"Do not fear, Mr. Potter, most witches and wizards would not even be able to recognize such a bond, as evidenced by the fact that the Boy-Who-Lived having a life mate has not made it to the papers yet. I am also willing to bet that if Curse Breaker Weasley has not murdered you yet, then he likely has no intention of doing so." Harry relaxed only slightly.
"And you're ok with this?" He asked Ginny hesitantly, though she merely raised an eyebrow. "Yeah I know…I can feel somehow that you're happy about this."
"As I can feel the same from you." She said, pecking him on the lips. If the observer in the room had been a teenage witch he would have been sighing at how cute they were together, but as it was a goblin he got right back down to business.
"Before we sort out any further details, the Director would like a word, Mr. Potter, now that you have officially accepted our help." Griphook stood and made his way around his desk and to the door. "And you now too, Miss Weasley, we would never keep a life mate out of something of this magnitude."
"Magnitude?" They knew that meeting the Director of Gringotts, the leader of the Goblin Nation, was a big deal. He rarely left the bank and almost never met with witches or wizards, but they had already met him, albeit years ago and in Slytherin's fabled chamber.
"Yes, the Director wishes to bestow upon you Friend status." It was said nonchalantly, as he paused in the doorway. Again he looked amused and the casual way that he dropped that bomb was clearly done for maximum effect and he wasn't disappointed. The teens' eyes widened, the colour drained from their faces and they fell back into their seats, their legs not able to hold them.
"Bloody hell!" Ginny murmured, borrowing her brother's favourite phrase.
A/N - I like Harry and Ginny having a bond of some sort, but certainly didn't want it to be the same as my last Harry Potter fic. Hope this works instead!
Review please!