Story Arc 5, Chapter 7

Thursday was moving day for Harry, Sirius, and Remus. The three floo'd to Alphard Place right after breakfast. Dobby met them at their new house where Bennie and Dolly were waiting for them. In the short time since they'd first visited the house had been cleaned from top to bottom. While Sirius would take the Master Suite, Harry and Remus needed to pick their rooms. There were two smaller suites with ensuite bathrooms. The other six rooms shared bathrooms between two rooms. Harry had first pick of the rooms and chose the one that overlooked the rear of the house. Remus took the other one that overlooked the front of the house.

Dobby looked around the room and found it acceptable for his master but needed personalization. He thought for a minute and then snapped his fingers and the walls changed to a seafoam green. The draperies turned into an emerald green almost as deep as Harry's eyes. The bed looked like it came straight from the Gryffindor dorms.

"Does Master Harry want the curtains?"

Harry thought about it. While they would add an extra layer of privacy, this was where he was going to be living permanently. He'd just have to see how noisy his housemates were. He could always have Dobby add them.

"No, I think I'll be fine without them, Dobby."

"Master Harry needs a proper desk and chair to study at and a nice sitting area. Oh, and a bookcase!"

"Sirius is going to take me shopping tomorrow and to just make a list of what I want. He's going to take me into the Potter vault and see what's stored there. Cassie may also have some spares I can choose from. I definitely need an owl perch for Hedwig, though."

There was another snap, and an elegant owl perch was standing near the window. Another snap and the window became an owl window – owls could come and go, but otherwise, it was a regular (but very large) window.

Sirius knocked on the door, "Looking good, Pup! Dobby's done a fine job so far. We definitely need to get you some more furniture. Don't forget to write down pictures and posters for your walls, too."

"Oh, yeah! Just as long as it's not a Chudley Cannon's poster!"

"There is that," he chuckled.

"Are we going muggle shopping tomorrow or just Diagon Alley?" Harry asked.

"We can do both. Is there something specific you want in the muggle world?"

"Yes! They make these nice squishy bean bags you can sit in instead of a chair. They're very comfortable."

"Sure, we can do that! Maybe we want to add a couple of them to the library in case you and Hermione want to study down there."

"That would be great!"

They talked about other things they wanted to get for the house before adjourning for lunch. It was just a simple meal of soup and sandwiches, but it was enough to fortify the three males before getting back to making this house their home. Remus had gone back to his home and brought furnishings from there that he wanted to use, but still had a couple of things on his wish list. Dolly had shown them the attic and the furniture stored up there, but there wasn't anything any of them really wanted. They all felt sure that the Potter holdings would have a better selection.

Dobby was watching this discussion closely before piping up, "If Masters don't find what they want, we can check the Come and Go Room at Hoggywarts."

Dolly and Bennie were both nodding their heads in agreement.

The two Marauders had never heard of this room, so the three elves explained it to them. All three were looking forward to exploring that room on their trip to Hogwarts on Monday. A room with a thousand years of junk would probably have whatever they needed, even if it needed some repairs.

Harry spent some time making his list of things he wanted. Over the years he'd developed a mental list of things he'd like to have if he ever had a real room of his own (the oversized closet known as Dudley's second bedroom didn't count). The list was long, but he also knew he really didn't need all of that. And some of them wouldn't even work in this house (anything electrical). He then wrote a letter to Ron letting him know he was now settled in a house and maybe they could get together soon. He didn't want to leave his second friend out of all that was happening, but he also knew he couldn't share everything either. It was a conundrum he'd have to work out.

- Scene Break -

Friday morning the group was up bright and early. They had a nine o'clock appointment with Griphook at Gringotts to discuss the basilisk and other things they forgot to discuss at their last meeting. Harry also had a list of things he wanted to do with the money from the basilisk that would help Hogwarts, too.

Griphook was fascinated by the description of the battle and asked Harry for a copy of his memory. He asked for time to review it so that he could accurately estimate the value of the basilisk. They would use this time to go down to the Potter vault and see what they could find in there.

Since Harry was now Lord Potter, the restriction on not accessing the vault until he was of age no longer applied. He was free to take anything out of the vault, including money. He was completely overwhelmed when the door opened into a vast room filled with money, gems, jewelry, and all types of valuables. They wended their way through until they found several display cases with miniature furniture. Sirius gave a low whistle before picking up a bed that would probably fill the entirety of his bedroom when resized.

Remus couldn't help it and said, "I see you have big plans for the future there, Padfoot."

"No. I was just thinking about how hard it would be to find sheets to fit this monster! I think it's even too much for this old dog to handle."

Harry had been searching through the furniture looking for a desk and bookcase. There were quite a few of them, but his eye was caught by an elegant carved desk in cherry wood. He pulled it down and started playing with it only to discover the top lifted up on an angle.

Remus said, "That's what's known as an architect's desk. See how the top adjusts to different angles to allow for easier drawing? It also has a lot of different drawers and cubbyholes. There's probably a secret compartment or two as well. I'm sure it's something you'd have a good time discovering."

Sirius had picked up another desk. It was a typical roll-top desk in a deep mahogany. It also intrigued Harry, but he kept coming back to the architect's desk. Making up his mind, he then looked for bookcases to match. He found two three-shelf bookcases that were close enough. They could always be refinished to match. Harry also found a wardrobe and dresser he liked. There were quite a few bedroom suites available, so he was able to pick out a matching set. He was quite happy with the bed he already had.

Remus decided that since Harry was taking the architect's desk, he'd take the roll-top one. He also found several bookcases for his personal library. Neither he nor Harry had found a chair they were happy with. That was something they'd look for in the muggle world.

Back in Griphook's office, they found another goblin waiting for them. He then escorted them to a reception room where Griphook was in discussion with Ragnok. The three men gave the Goblin King a short bow before approaching.

Ragnok motioned them forward. There were several other goblins present. Griphook introduced Master Beastmaster Darmok and his assistant Longstake.

Darmok gave Harry an appraising look, "This youngling has fought with honor befitting our best warriors. Clan Mok would be honored to welcome him into our Clan and name him Vipermok."

Ragnok laughed then said, "Let it be known within these halls and all of Gringotts that the wizard known as Lord Harry James Slytherin Potter is now Vipermok and is counted as one of the worthy warriors of this day. Your deeds will be legend within these halls, young Vipermok. Now, let us get down to business."

Harry looked at Sirius with a "why does this always happen to me?" look. Sirius just shrugged his shoulders.

The goblins had never seen a snake this large. They had several stories of basilisks through the years, but the largest one was only six feet long. It had been used to guard a tomb in Egypt. The ICW had a standing order that contracted Gringotts to kill any basilisk in any member country. Since Harry had killed this one, it was his to negotiate the rendering. They would need a team of the equivalent size of that used to render the largest dragons. With the basilisk already dead, they didn't need to bring their security guards with them. Still, it would take a team of 20 goblins two days to fully render and remove the basilisk.

Gringotts had a standard 20% of the value of the beast as their rendering fee. The split of the remaining 80% was up for negotiation. With Harry now being considered a goblin for these negotiations, the standard fee was reduced to 10%. That left 90% of the value up for negotiation. Harry had not come unprepared.

"King Ragnok, I'd like to explain what I plan to do with the proceeds I receive. One-third will go to a fund for the victims of the basilisk. These are Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione Granger, Penelope Clearwater, Ginny Weasley, and Myrtle Warren. I'd also like to give a small sum to Mr. Filch for the suffering of his cat, Mrs. Norris, and to Ron Weasley for going with me. I'd then like to use a third of it to fund a scholarship for muggleborn or muggle-raised students. The last third I'd like to split evenly between myself and Hogwarts."

Sirius asked, "Are you sure you want to give that much away, Harry?"

"Yeah, they went through as much as I did, so they should get something for it. And I know Dennis' father is a milkman and his little brother is also magical. This way they won't have to worry about paying for two students. But I want to make sure there are some minimum standards they have to meet to continue getting it. The same thing with the Hogwarts share. I definitely want to make sure there are some restrictions on it based on what we've learned the last couple of days."

"Well, before you put this in writing, let's hear what King Ragnok and Master Beastmaster Darmok have to say about its value. I think you may be underestimating just how valuable this beast is."

"Well said, Lord Black," said Ragnok, "Darmok, have you had enough time to work out an estimate of the value of this monster?"

"I have King Ragnok. With the enormity of this specimen, I've had to extrapolate based on the figures of the last one we killed. I'd say we're looking at a conservative estimate of four million galleons. I suspect we are looking closer to six million. I would make a recommendation that the parts be sold over a period of time such as ten years to not flood the market with all of these parts."

Ragnok looked to Griphook as he was the financial representative for the lad, "I agree with Darmok about selling the proceeds in batches. We need to determine the potency of the venom, for example. I think Vipermok's distribution plans need to be fleshed out more thoroughly, but regardless, there will be funds for all of his projects."

That's when the hard negotiating began. Harry was just as hard a negotiator as the goblins. The final numbers were 10% fee for rendering the beast, 20 % profit for Gringotts, and 70% to Harry for his distribution. Both would be able to take a portion of the beast itself as part of their share, but no more than 10% each of any one item. Harry made sure to specify that he wanted some of the skin, venom, and a few fangs. Once they got the snake into its bits, he would look at anything else. He thought gifting Olivander with a few more parts would be a good thing to do too.

Everyone left the meeting feeling like they had won. Harry would work with Sirius and Remus on his plans, but he made one thing perfectly clear – the first thing he was doing would be to buy new brooms for the school.

- Scene Break -

Shopping in Diagon Alley was relatively quick. They went to Madam Malkin's and had several new sets of robes made for each of them. Sirius told Remus he was not representing the Houses of Black and Potter looking like a scruffy wolf that's been dragged through a briar patch. Dobby would pick them up later. From the Leaky Cauldron, they hailed a cab and went to Harrod's for their, pardon the pun, serious shopping.

While Remus and Harry were familiar with all things muggle, Sirius was like a kid in a candy shop. He wanted to try EVERYTHING. They were able to get him to focus on the essentials for now. They could always come back.

The men went to the men's clothing department and got their essentials fairly quickly. Harry was a bit more difficult. He really didn't know his correct sizes, plus he was still on the nutrient potions and growing. An eager saleswoman was more than willing to help the young man out and quickly helped him assemble the essentials. He went a bit crazy in the toy department finding board games and others to stock his room. He got a wide variety of games to try out with the idea of getting a stock of the most popular for the four common rooms. They were able to find a secluded spot near the restrooms to shrink their packages and put them in their pockets. They then headed to the housewares and furniture floor. They were disappointed in the available desk chairs, but the salesman whispered that they might find what they were looking for at Andrews Office Furniture on Old Street. Harry did find the bean bag chairs he had told Sirius about. Sirius and Remus both tried them out and wanted one too. They decided to come back for them when they had a believable source of transportation. When the salesman offered to have them delivered, Harry quickly gave them the Grangers' address. Dobby could pop over there and pick them up.

Another taxi ride over to Andrews Office Furniture yielded better results for desk chairs. They had a wide range of chairs from simple student chairs to leather executive chairs. While Sirius went for the leather, Harry and Remus went more for comfort and found some of the adjustable chairs more to their liking. After arranging for them to be delivered to Hermione's, they were done shopping for the day.

As soon as they were home, he sent Dobby to Hermione with a note about the deliveries. She was proud of Harry for thinking on the fly and coming up with a quick solution for their problem. She sent a message back with Dobby that she'd be happy to accept any other deliveries they needed in the future.

- Scene Break -

Sirius was up early Saturday to go to Grimmauld Place. He was meeting a team of goblin curse breakers to go through the house and clean out all of the dark objects. First, he would have to talk to Kreacher about the locket and Regulus' death. He wasn't looking forward to that at all. Remus was also going as backup. Harry wanted to go, but Sirius thought it might be too dangerous until he knew the status of the old house. Instead, Harry floo'd the Burrow to do some flying with the Weasleys.

Grimmauld Place was even darker than Sirius remembered. Entering the hallway was normal until they closed the door loudly. The next thing they heard was a woman's voice screeching, "Who dares enter the House of Black?" Kreacher was there in an instant, ready to banish the intruders.

Sirius had moved in front of the screeching portrait, "Well, hello Mother. So nice to see you there INSIDE A PORTRAIT!"

"YOU! Shame of the family! What are you doing here?"

"I am now Lord Black and I've come to reclaim this house and return it to its former glory. That glory does not include YOU."

"You can't do that! Kreacher, throw them out!"

Sirius kneeled down to Kreacher's level, "Kreacher, I'm here to finish what Regulus started. Will you help me?"

Kreacher was shocked at the gentleness of the new Lord Black, "Lord Black would help poor Kreacher?"

"Of course. Regulus was a hero. We want to honor him. Will you get me the locket?"

Kreacher popped away and came back holding a locket with an S on it, "Kreacher tried, but couldn't open the locket. I threw it in the fire and it wouldn't burn. Kreacher failed Master Regulus!"

"No, Kreacher. You didn't fail Master Regulus. You kept the locket safe until someone was able to help you. The goblins are waiting for this. Once they have it cleansed, they will return it to me. If you want to keep it, then, you may."

Kreacher was sobbing and grabbed Sirius, "Master Sirius is too kind to mean, nasty Kreacher."

"Kreacher, I have a team from Gringotts coming in a few minutes to help clean this place of all the dark objects. I have help for you, too," Sirius then called Bennie and Dolly, "Kreacher, Bennie and Dolly are also Black elves. I want you to let them help you. I also want you to teach them what it means to be a proper Black elf."

Throughout their discussion, Walburga Black had been screaming obscenities at them, but they just ignored her. Finally, Kreacher turned towards the painting, and with a snap of his finger, the portrait was gone.

Sirius was surprised, "Where did you send her?"

Kreacher replied, "I think Mistress will be happier in the owlery."

Both Sirius and Remus were laughing so hard they almost didn't hear the knock on the door.

Remus was closer to the door so he opened it to see a tall, muscular red-headed man.

"Lord Black?" he asked.

"No, just a moment," said Remus.

Sirius came over and introduced himself.

"I'm Bill Weasley. Gringotts sent me over to do a preliminary estimate on what we will need to do to get this place cleaned out."

"Call me Sirius, please. You must be one of Arthur and Molly's brood. My godson, Harry, is over at your house flying with your brothers."

Once Bill was inside, Sirius handed Bill the locket. Bill had been briefed that there was one in this house and was pleased that he wouldn't have to go searching for it. Sirius went to the ward book and wrote Bill's name giving him access to the house as necessary. He then introduced Bill to the three Black elves, with Kreacher being the senior elf. They slowly made their way through the house with Bill casting spells and making notes. When they reached the drawing room, he saw all three elves in a battle royale with an infestation of doxies. It looked like the doxies might be winning. Sirius called for Dobby and it was all over for the doxies. That was one crazy elf, but he could outsmart the doxies. There were three very tired elves, but Dobby was ready for more. Sirius told them to take a break and asked Dobby if he could be on call to help again, which he was happy to do.

Other than the magical pest infestations, a grandfather clock that shot bolts at passersby, and a boggart in a writing desk, the major problems were found in the library. Some books had curses on them that even Bill hadn't seen before. He'd have to get another curse breaker in to help with this room. With the locket out of the house and the elves actively cleaning up the rest of the house, it should only take about a week to neutralize the rest of the house so it could be inhabited again. While Sirius planned to use the house to conduct only the most official Black house business, he wanted to be able to bring people here and not fear the house attacking them. Bill said he'd work out a schedule with Remus to come in and clean things out. At least they now had a plan.