If you just want to skip to the changes the edited text will be underlined for a week
[008]
Jimmy winced and dodged around an elderly couple, using them to hide him from Susan Bones and he kept them between himself and the thirsty red-head as he inched his way over to the refreshment table.
He sighed in relief as Susan exited the ballroom into the gardens in her search. If he had to keep avoiding her and clingy hands all night he would have screamed.
He poured himself a glass of gillywater and took a deep sip. Socialising was tedious enough even without having to dodge witches who thought 'no thanks' meant 'try harder.' Susan's aunt, Amelia Bones, had been unable to attend due to work and the lack of her chaperone only seemed to encourage the girl's forwardness.
Jimmy absently rubbed his bruised rear. The girl had a mean pinch.
Most boys would have loved for the voluptuous young woman to be hanging all over them and Jimmy couldn't deny that Susan's curvaceousness held a certain appeal but honestly, tits weren't everything, ya know? He preferred the slenderer look, with legs that just kept going on and on… 'like Ginny or his mum'.
Jimmy coughed into his glass at that intrusive thought. Stupid hormones.
He surreptitiously drew his wand and cast a quick drying spell on his shirt. A quick glance around the ballroom and it looked like no one had seen him make a mess of himself. Thankfully. 'The Boy-Who-Lived Blunders Big: Beverage Blooper Baffles Birthday Bash!' did not need to be the next Prophet headline.
He took the moment of respite to look around. The ballroom was filled with ministry officials, various influential members of society and a smattering of other guests and journalists. Which really just meant a bunch of old codgers showing off women way too young to be their dates, an assortment of family heads schmoozing their way through house politics and Rita-fucking-Skeeter, her name being a curse unto itself. Damn… that woman was a bane to his existence even if she was fucking hot.
What he would do to the woman with some time, some rope and a paddle… He shook his head vigorously. The woman would eat him alive.
Putting thoughts of the way too attractive yet vindictively bitchy journalist out of his mind, he glanced over to a nearby corner of the room eyed Draco and his father holding a small court with other members of the Dark faction at one of the tables.
Jimmy grit his teeth at their presence. It stuck in his craw how many Death Eaters had managed to talk their way out of prison. Those with enough social prominence made a point of attending the Annual Boy-Who-Lived birthday gala and their donations to the various charities the event supported were often grandiose, yet their presence always put Jimmy on edge, he felt he could feel their insincerity. Sirius and his father had explained what these monsters had done.
Draco looked over in that moment and caught his eye. The blond ponce sneered at him before turning and saying something to his father who also glanced in Jimmy's direction with a smirk of smug superiority before turning back to his fellow deathmunchers and continuing his conversation.
Jimmy considered if it was worth casting a spell to try and listen in on whatever they were talking about but decided it was too risky. Straining his ears he only caught the words 'Auction' and 'Veela' over the din of the room but was certain that they were up to no good. Fucking Malfoys.
Jimmy purposefully turned away from them and scanned the rest of the room.
Rose was near the entrance to the gardens chatting away with Ginny who looked absolutely amazing in a sleek blue dress that looked really, really pretty against her pale skin and the smattering of freckles. Her hair was pulled back into a neat braid at the back of her head and highlighted her slender neck which trailed down to a pert and tight bust. She had the body of a Seeker. Lithe and sleek.
"Young Mr Potter, the man of the hour, the boy of the night, ha-Ha! Admiring young Ms Weasley again, are you?" Jimmy startled as a jovial voice interrupted his staring and he couldn't help but smile.
"Good evening, Professor." He turned to the overly glamourous man.
"Why, I remember when I was your age. Couldn't keep me away from the pretty girls either, ha-Ha!"
"Are you sure that was just when you were my age, Professor?" Jimmy joked and the man's already bright smile just grew wider.
"That's why you're my favourite, Potter. You're always ready to quip back," Gilderoy Lockhart grinned, "or curse back. You almost got me with that lock-knee combo last year."
Jimmy shook his head, still smiling. "No, I'm pretty sure I didn't. If I remember right, you dodged easily and returned with a nasty banisher. I was bruised for days."
"Jimmy, my boy, you're allowed to use a little bit of creativity when talking about your skill with a wand, ha-Ha! Both kinds." Lockhart gave an exaggerated wink.
"This is why you're my favourite Professor; you're got skill and flair. Much better than Quirrell anyhow." Jimmy couldn't help but think back to almost dying at the end of that arsehole's wand in first year.
Thankfully, Lockhart was a much better Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Sure, he had been a bit awkward and… well, embarrassing at the beginning of his first year as a professor but he had really come into his own. Not to mention he was the first DADA professor to seemingly escape the curse and last more than one year.
"You do say the nicest things." Lockhart snorted in a moment of unrefined humour that was more real than his usual persona. "I do have to ask though, what's wrong with your father?
Jimmy turned to face where Lockhart had gestured with a nod of his chin and saw his father talking to the minister and some of the other Lords. Yet, even from across the room, Jimmy could tell that he looked distracted. Likely thinking about Harry.
"Ah… well, it's complicated." Jimmy struggled to think of what to say. No one had said the whole 'Harry' thing was a secret and there was an official investigation happening considering what Sirius had said that morning. It would get out eventually.
"Turns out my twin brother never actually died. He was just kept… somewhere else for his own health or something." Jimmy shrugged awkwardly. "Something about being injured the night You-Know-Who attacked."
He wasn't sure how to feel about it all. On one hand, he had a twin brother that he really wanted to meet and get to know. Yet on the other, what do you even say? Did his brother resent him for having his parents all to himself? Sirius made it seem like Harry's homelife was not good to say the least.
Gilderoy's eyes seemed to bore his like dark sapphires. "Truly? Well, that is a bit of a scandal. But if it was for his own health, I can see why your father would go to such extremes even if it is weighing on him now." He put a hand on Jimmy's shoulder as if to say that it must be weighing not just on his father.
Jimmy ducked his head but appreciated the gesture and Lockhart had enough tact to change the subject.
"Why, is that not young Miss Clearwater?"
Jimmy looked in the direction that Lockhart was looking to find Percy's ex-girlfriend in a sleek black dress and looking decidedly uncomfortable surrounded by a collection of older men from the ministry.
"Yeah, that's Penny. She recently got a position with the Department of Wizarding Registrations."
"Ah." Something heated flickered in Lockhart's eyes. "She's a muggleborn, if I'm not mistaken?"
Jimmy nodded, unsure where he was going with this.
"It's impressive that she was able to get such a position within the Ministry. Despite the efforts of Dumbledore and your father, the system is slow to change and there aren't many in such positions that aren't related to the one hiring them, at least a little."
Jimmy nodded. But he guessed if anyone was going to buck the system it would be Penny. She was Head Girl last year, after all. Yet what Lockhart said next shocked him.
"I don't think she'll last long."
"What?!" Jimmy whisper shouted. He honestly didn't think Lockhart was the type to hold such prejudices.
Gilderoy picked up on Jimmy's thought process and he shook his head. "No, not because of that… well, not completely." He grimaced. "Young attractive muggleborn women don't get offered those positions for free and soon enough there will be expectations of her that, if my memory of Ms Clearwater's personality holds, she will vehemently refuse."
Jimmy glanced back over at the young graduate and noticed how one of the men had casually placed a hand on her arm and Penny had stiffened at the contact and drawn herself away. Suddenly, he sickeningly understood what Lockhart was alluding to and the surrounding circle of older men around Penny now looked predatory rather than casual.
"Perhaps the young miss would appreciate a dashing hero, sweeping in and saving the day?"
Jimmy was all about to follow that suggestion and stride over when Lockhart's hand gripped his shoulder again.
"Me, Lad. I was talking about me, ha-Ha!"
"Aren't you a bit… old for her?" Jimmy glanced down at the hand, the candlelight catching on the large back stone that adorned a ring on the professor's finger. It clashed with everything he was wearing.
"Nonsense! She's not my student this year, after all. Now, I have a damsel to save and you have a damsel to entertain."
He let go of the confused boy to stride over to the young woman with a flair in his robe and a shine in his smile. He easily cut through the older men to offer Penny a hand and an invitation to the dance floor and Penny took that hand like it was a lifeline. She was even blushing by the time Lockhart had pulled her away.
Jimmy frowned. What did Lockhart mean about a damsel to entertain?
"Found you!" A large pair of breasts pressed into his back and a surprisingly strong pair of arms wrapped around him with one half empty champagne glass in one hand.
Oh, shit.
+600 CP
1100 CP - Rolling…
Royal Jelly (Wonderland No More) – 400 CP
A transparent jelly used by Flying Elephants to transform into Queens. Usually, the jelly isn't as effective on other creatures, merely healing wounds (and eating too much at once can make you sick). However, not only does this special version of the jelly offer improved healing without the risks, but it retains the power of queens. When the jelly is fed to a wild(ish) animal, whether sapient or non-sapient, the eater will transform into a "queen" version of the species – an enhanced form that often has greater intelligence, size, power, and charisma over its own kind.
Accepted.
700 CP Banked.
Excess Charge Noted.
Assessing Soul Capacity…
Adjusting Acquisition Conditions.
The feeling of my soul being filled with more starlight caused me to wake with a start and it took a minute for my heart to stop thundering in my chest.
A slight murmuring caused me to look down at the head of the small blond who was sleepily nuzzling into my tits with a trail of drool smearing on my fair skin… it wasn't what it looked like, seriously.
I sighed and let my head thump back down against the pillow and unconsciously hugged Luna more tightly against me as I reflected back on my first day in this new life.
Waking up in a cupboard, fleeing the Dursley's, finding Diagon and getting screwed by the Goblins then getting kidnapped by Death Eaters and escaping to Luna's place after killing said Death Eaters. That… was a weird twenty-four-ish hours and I'm not sure I've completely processed it all.
I absently stoked the hair of the blond girl and she mumbled something about moon-fairies and Heliopaths happily and I struggled not to snigger.
Luna was certainly making this a lot better, even with just her presence.
We had portkeyed to her house, the Rookery, and I had proved that Veela were not graceful in all things by promptly falling on my arse when the twirling transportation dropped us on the grass of her front garden.
It was early evening when we arrived and Luna had dragged me to my feet and into the squat tower-like home. The interior was very… Luna. An eclectic mix of odd and interesting.
Nothing in the house matched but it did so in a balanced way that was pleasing when taken in all together. The walls were covered in maps, tapestries and paintings, most of which were either muggle or just chosen to not be enchanted. There was a lot of blues, pale yellows and bright silvers to contrast the dark stone of the building and the polished wood of much of the furniture. The couches were each lumpy and covered in a plethora or rugs and throws and lacy things yet still somehow managed to be incredibly comfortable, as if the lumps and such were carefully arranged to cradle to body just so.
What walls didn't hold art were covered in enough bookshelves to make Hermione a very happy girl. From a quick glance as I was led through the entry, the lounge and up the stairs, the shelves held a mix of everything from ancient biographies and forbidden texts on ritual magic to compendiums of household charms and eighties muggle sci-fi. Though… if there was a system to the shelving, I couldn't see it as I was swept passed.
Luna had dragged me upstairs and into a bedroom and gently pushed me onto the bed where the day's activities had finally caught up with me. I had had enough wherewithal to use my Dress-up ring and shift my clothes into my typical sleepwear of a pair of loose shorts before I fell unconscious.
Smiling at the blond sleeping on my chest, I can only guess that she decided that I shouldn't sleep alone… or maybe she needed the company. I hadn't seen Mr. Lovegood in the house as I passed through yesterday and the day had been stressful for not just myself. How much had Luna feared for her fate before we had escaped?
A loud gurgle of my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten anything in over a day and the recognition of that fact only brought my hunger into focus. Huh… It looked like I might have a habit of ignoring hunger. Fucking Dursleys.
As if on cue, a large brown glass pot of honey thumped onto the pillow by my head and I turned to read the label. 'Royal Flying Elephant Jelly the red and white label stated.
Right… the honey from the perk. Why did it take so long to appear? Could it be that I could hold off summoning items? That would be really useful should I get something large or dangerous in a place where pulling it out would be a bad idea. Something to keep in mind.
I reached over and picked up the jar and was able to easily thumb off the cork lid. The jelly inside, or honey? I wasn't sure of the difference, was a clear gloopy, syrupy substance that sparkled slightly in the morning light.
While I know that actual food would be better at the moment, I was too curious not to stick my finger in and pull out a scoopful to taste. The small star that represented the item within my soul was certain that it wouldn't harm me and I couldn't see a downside to a little healing.
I sucked the jelly off my fingers and considered the taste. Sweet. Obviously. But with a hint of astringency like elderberries and a faint herbaceousness that was delightfully refreshing… I was tempted to add some to soda water because I'm sure it would be a great summer drink.
The effect of the Jelly was immediate. Despite what people tell you about sharing the bed with other people, until you find the right positioning for each individual then you're going to end up sleeping in an awkward position. The jelly had sent a wave of spring warmth though me that eased sore muscles and swept away the tingling dead limb feeling where Luna was laying on me. I felt like had just had one of the best sleeps of my life… though, looking back on my history that might actually be the case.
My pondering was interrupted when a tongue attacked my left nipple to lick up a small amount of jelly that I hadn't noticed had fallen onto my chest. My response was a not-so-ladylike "Eeep!"
"Mhmm, tasty. Are you eating gumdrop fairy nectar in bed? That's how you get ants, you know." Luminous grey-blue eyes looked up from me and the little devil maintained eye-contact as she closed her lips around my pert pink nipple and licked off and lingering sweetness.
"Luuuna!" I gasped. "Please don't do that." Be still my heart; I was not ready!
"Oh phooey." The girl pouted yet quickly recovered. "Whatever that is, it's really nice."
"It's 'Flying Elephant Royal Jelly.'" I picked up the jar and showed the girl who crawled over me to see it better and I got a good glimpse under the covers, enough to note that Luna apparently slept au naturel.
"From Wonderland?" Luna asked and I started, looking down at her in shock.
"Yeah… how do you know that?" I asked. Was Wonderland an actual place here? Just how far off the canon track was this messed up version of Harry Potter?
"My great-grandma was Alice Liddell." Luna revealed with a casualness that was astounding. "I'm fairly certain we still have the first edition of Alice in Wonderland that Carroll wrote for her somewhere." Luna looked around as if the book was going to appear on one of the nearby shelved. "It has notes and ideas written in the back that didn't make it into the original two books and Flying Elephant honey was one of them."
I heaved a sigh of relief that it was just that Luna recognised the item form the books and that the insanity of Wonderland wasn't hiding behind a looking glass within this world.
"It also has a really steamy sex scene between Alice and the Dodo inserted in at the back."
This girl… I'll just ignore that.
"I think we should get up now. I need to pee and I also have some questions I was hoping you could answer for me."
"Sure!" Luna beamed. "But I get the shower first, unless you want to share?" Luna said as she crawled out of bed and allowed me to look over her nudity. She winked at me as I gulped and then sped out the room giggling.
I shook my head. Girls are still confusing even when I was currently one. From a few rooms away Luna started singing something without words. It was nice.
I used my Dress-up ring to change my boxers into a simple bathrobe and then followed Luna's singing to the bathroom where I lingered awkwardly outside the door reading the spines of the books on one of the nearby bookshelves for the ten minutes it took Luna to wash. I expected her to take longer but either she was being considerate or witches could just do magic in the bathroom.
Luna emerged in a dress very similar to the one she was wearing yesterday but different enough for me to guess she was making use of her new ring. If she was disappointed that I didn't join her; she didn't show it, for which I was grateful.
I quickly showered while trying not to admire my own lithe and curvaceous body. I wasn't sure if it was just me being weird, the absurdity of being in different body or that Half-Veela were just that vain. I dried off, created a new outfit of hoodie and jeans from the robe and hurried downstairs where the smell of a full English breakfast beckoned.
Luna was in the kitchen happily chatting away with Pixie who had followed us to Luna's under her own power and who was directing the floating cooking pans and knives with deft movements of her fingers. Luna eyed my still damp and tangled hair but said nothing.
I sat and Pixie quickly had two laden plates before us and we both dug in with a ravenous hunger.
For the next fifteen minutes there was silence as we both ate with the singlemindedness of the truly hungry. Eventually I mopped up the last of my egg yolks with the last bite of fresh crusty bread then sat back in the chair with a heaved sigh of contentment as Luna consumed her last forkful of stacked hashbrown, bacon, tomato and, for some reason, blackberry compote.
"I, ah, think I mentioned this yesterday, but I'm Harry Potter." I began, trying to organise my thoughts and what I needed to know.
Luna nodded. "Yes. You did mention it but it's still a bit odd. But your wrackspurts are in too much of an order for you not to be."
Why did I think getting answers from Luna would be easy? "Yeah… well, I guess to put it simply, I have no idea what's going on. I was raised with non-magical folk until I escaped early morning yesterday." I explained.
Luna tilted her head, her eyes boring into mine, unwavering. "Escaped?"
I grimaced at the memories of the belt and the phantom shadow of the cupboard walls closing in. "Let's just say that my living conditions weren't healthy in the slightest."
Luna nodded slowly but didn't press and I was grateful for that. "You seem awfully accepting of magic given that you were raised muggle." Luna blushed. "You were impressively confident yesterday."
Pixie held back my response as she floated over fresh cups of tea, Earl Grey, and I nodded to the elf, formulating what I wanted to say before replying to Luna.
"I'm not a normal wizard." I started but was interrupted by Luna's snort.
The girl eyed me up and down. "Certainly, not a normal Wizard indeed."
I rolled my eyes. "That's part of it actually. I'm a guy, male that is, something happened on my birthday and well now I'm like this." I gestured to, well, all of me.
"This has something to do with the starlight this morning, doesn't it?" Luna asked with surprising perceptiveness.
"Starlight?"
Luna nodded. "Yes, you were suddenly filled with more of it. I was on the edge of dreaming and so could see it more clearly but you have starlight inside you."
I digested her words. That… sounded a lot like she could see some part of the Grimoire in action.
"I think," I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat but pressed on, "I think I died and while I was dead something bound itself to me and sent me back." My memories of that were almost non-existent, more feeling than memory.
"Hmm? Well, you're not an inferi, nor do you look like a vampire or a draugr. But I guess calling you the Boy-Who-Died is still only half wrong."
I… what? "The Boy-Who-Died?"
"Mhmm, that's what Harry Potter is known as, though very few will say the title out-loud considering. James Junior is the Boy-Who-Lived and you supposedly died that night, ergo: the Boy-Who-Died." Luna explained.
I knew the wizarding world was pretty bad at times but to actually label a murdered kid such was just tacky.
"Does your female form have a name?" Luna suddenly asked.
I blinked at her. "A… name?"
Luna nodded rapidly. "Yes! A name. Harry is a perfectly fine name for a boy but you aren't one right now. So should I call you Harry or maybe Harriette?" Luna tilted her head to the side. "Heather?"
I hadn't really thought about it. The whole switched gender and species was so new that I hadn't considered the logistics at all. Would it be strange to keep going by 'Harry Potter?" I didn't think so, but at the same time I could see the issue with it and there could be some advantages in taking on another name. I had a new face after all; so I could, for a time, avoid some of the hassle with being Harry Potter. But what name should I take?
The answer came to me surprisingly quickly. A name based on myself or more specifically the Harry that was.
"Holly." I answered. "Holly Greaves."
Luna considered it. "Holly, hmmm, a plant name that keeps in the tradition of the Evans family, it symbolises protection, eternal life, happiness, peace and optimism yet also suffering or at least least suffering for others or a cause."
Huh… I just… it was Harry's wand wood but that works too.
But Luna hadn't finished. "And Greaves from the Old English 'grǣfe,' meaning thicket or from a type of armour yet also sounding like 'grieves' which is the sorrow after the passing of a loved one." She nodded. "The protective flower that mourns for those she loves… fitting maybe?"
I.. really hadn't thought that hard about it.
"It's a good name, Holly." Luna beamed at me then snorted. "Better than James Junior at least"
I felt the name sort of settle in on me and had a moment to wonder if Names had some sort of power in this universe. I think they did… sort of. Owls seemed to be able to find people with just a name after all. Would a letter addressed to Holly Greaves find it's way to me now?
I shook the thought away as there was something else that needed discussing.
"James Junior?" I asked but I already suspected the answer from my memory of the Goblin's blood test.
"James Junior is your twin brother and the older brother of my friend, Rose." Luna supplied.
"Ok… Ok. I just want to confirm somethings," I began. "Are my parents alive?"
Luna blinked slowly. "Yes, both James and Lily Potter are still alive, at least last I saw them at Platform nine and three quarters."
I repressed the sudden spike of… something. Anger? Certainly. But also grief and longing and sadness and resentment. My feelings about my parents were complicated to say the least and I had to take a sip of tea to cover the burning lump in my throat before I asked another question.
"Does James Junior have a scar like mine?" I shifted my hair to show the faint silver line on my brow.
Luna leant in closer to inspect the scar, her eyes also flicking to the similarly faint tracing of the Mind Fortress rune before she answered. "Yes, his is a little smaller but he has one. All the Potter Children do."
My mind ground to a halt. "All of them? Even Rose?"
Luna nodded.
I frowned as I tried to figure out why we would all have matching curse scars and with that thought an idea came to me. 'Were they ALL curse scars?'
"Did either Jame's or Rose's scars ever look red and inflamed, as if they never healed correctly?"
Luna's eyes widened. "Most certainly not. That sounds like the effect of Dark magic and the scars are from Lily's ritual which was most certainly not Dark."
"My mu- Lily did this?" I gestured at my head vaguely.
"Mhmm, I asked Rose about it once. Lily conducted some secret ritual that would have exchanged her life for her children's. She had to link the magic to them with a rune and she figures a small scar on the forehead was better than her kids dying.
Well… that explained that. Lily had tried to protect all her children with whatever she did that stopped Voldemort from killing Harry and it was her that created the lightning bolt scar, not the Killing curse. Or at least that's what happened here. I was becoming increasingly aware that I couldn't make assumptions between my canon understanding of the books and this reality I found myself in. If anything, it was looking like I was in a bad, trope filled, WBWL fanfiction of the angsty sort… that sucked.
"So why?" I bit out in frustration. "Why did the Potter's put me with the Dursleys? Why did they abandon me?"
Luna reached across the table and placed her hand on one of the fists I hadn't realised I was clenching.
"I don't know. But we can find out."
I let out small chuckle and was about to reply when I felt the Grimoire reach out to me again. The conceptual falling star writing words of light into my soul.
+100 CP
800 CP - Rolling…
Confession (Generic Cleric) – 100 CP
When you tell the truth, you can choose to have it be believed as the truth. This works based on what you believe to be the truth, not what is actually the truth.
Accepted.
700 CP Banked.
Huh? That sounds really handy actually. Sometimes I feel like the grimoire is trying to push me towards certain outcomes… and then I remember the Veela transformation and remember it's just an asshole.
"Your starlight just increased again!" Luna's eyes glimmered in excitement.
I swallowed. I was hesitant about revealing everything because even though this is Luna Lovegood, the full extent of it all was just so unbelievable. But I guess the Grimoire wanted me to have someone to rely on because this latest perk meant that as long as I believed something to be true, then when I told that to someone, they too would believe it.
"I'm Harry Potter." I said, again, and Luna nodded along with the only change in expression being one that said 'yes, I already know that' I guess she already did believe me.
Well, in for a penny I guess, I decided to put some trust in the little blond.
"Well, it's something called the Celestial Grimoire."
Deep below the streets of London, deeper than the metro, deeper than the infrastructure access tunnels and the old war tunnels, deeper still than the Royal Bunker, a conclave of Goblins discussed the incident.
"We still do not even know where this half-Veela, murderer has come from or where she is now!" Ragnar, voice of the table, King of the Goblins, shouted out over the sea of discussion, his one good eye glaring over the assembled hoard. "We cannot seek restitution without answers! Why was the Potter account manager targeted thus? What do you know, Brodaxe?"
Brodaxe was quick to respond to his one-eyed king lest knives be brought out. It was not uncommon for blood to be shed during a debate in Goblin culture yet time was money after all. "With the death of the previous manager, Kilcut, I have taken over as the House Potter account manager." A goblin with wearing the black face-paint of mourning growled at his mention of the deceased and so Brodaxe continued with some measure of haste. "This was found in the office of Kilcut!" He slammed a charred piece of parchment onto the table.
A magical projection appeared in the air, allowing all to see the lineage test and the name that adorned the bottom of the parchment. "Somehow, the Potter scion was either within the bank or the Veela wretch had taken his blood with magics foul." He continued. "Should it be the former then House Potter can be said to be involved on an attack against the Goblin Nation!"
Brodaxe let the angry growls filled the room and those spears or polearms banged the butts against the stone floor while those with blades rattled them within their sheaths.
"Enough, Brodaxe." Ragnar spoke spoke over the noise which faltered with his words. "You know as well as I that James Potter, head of House Potter, disinherited his firstborn. We have no legal standing to claim them responsible for the bitch's actions." Whispers of agreement followed his words. "What is the other possibility?"
Brodaxe lowered his head to the one-eyed goblin and continued, though maybe with not as much vicious glee in his deep voice. "The alternative is that the Potters are as much victims as we are" He spat. "Somehow the Veela bitch had tricked our detection methods with her cursed magics, she had somehow disguised herself as the disinherited Potter scion!" More shouts of outage followed this pronouncement.
Ritual line-theft was not unheard of within the magical world. Magic was as wonderous as it was terrible yet the Goblins prided themselves on seeing through all but the most powerful and dark magical methods of stealing someone's identity and wealth. It was an option most Goblins didn't want to accept.
"None the less, this girl has either claimed the name of a child of House Potter or is connected with the family! We should claim the restitution that is rightfully ours!" A scratchy voiced Goblin slammed a clawed hand in the table, drawing attention to the slightly singed parchment that bore the name of the Potter scion. Even if faked, the parchment was damming and could be used to back a claim against House Potter and their vaults were filled with gold ripe for the taking.
Many of the gathered goblins hollered their support of the notion. It was better than the alternative and the wealth gained would find its way into their claws eventually.
Gilnut, brother of Kilcut and the one wearing the black face-paint, cried out from the other side of the table. "Do we just let Goblin killers go without proper recompense?! Gold is all well and good but blood is better! Would you spout such weakness if it was your brother who had been murdered by the girl! I say an eye for an eye, a son for a son and a brother for a brother."
"You would kill the Boy-Who-Lived? What foolishness!? Would you start another war for the life of one Goblin, known to try and take more than he could claim? Your brother, Kilcut, was a fool. He tried to take from one he thought was weak; he was wrong." A tall thin Goblin cut in over the hissed agreements to the other's words.
"We must find this Harry Potter and exact restitution from he and the Veela bitch alone, less we want to make ourselves appear foolish to the wizards. They will not care for a lone mixed blood Veela and the wizard has already been discarded by his family." A Goblin standing to the side of the one-eyed one spoke up.
His words received mutters of agreement and derision. Some wanted to strip the offender's family of all their wealth and call it a day, some wanted to push for more, to use the situation to spark yet another unprofitable, if enjoyable, rebellion and others simply didn't care or thought that Potter account manager had brought his own death unto himself and the soldiers who had attempted to assist.
The murmuring cacophony of many opinions suddenly lulled as the Goblin's present stuttered in their thought processes.
The large, one-eyed Goblin King, slammed the butt of a large spear onto the stone floor and the conclave went silent.
Ragnor, son of Ragnok, spoke now with the authority of his station rather than just a part of the conclave. "Brodaxe, speak to the Head of the House Potter, seek what they know on the matter. There is the possibility that this was also an attack upon the House of Potter though if that is not the case then we will fine them heavily for their scion's part in this poor dealing."
Ragnor took a breath while hushed acceptance filled the room and then he continued in a growl.
"Still, if there have been magics used that can defeat our securities then we must know if them and create new counters. We cannot afford such an situation happening again."
Finally, he turned to eye Gilnut. "Should the murderess bitch be found, we will have her delivered to your clan for recompense. Take what of value is hers or flay the skin from her body, I care not. But the matter rests with this. We cannot afford another war, not yet."
The gathered Goblins bowed low to their king and left the room, though Gilnut still looked mutinous he too followed the exodus of Goblins.
The Goblin king remained; eyes fixated on the projected parchment and the name that adorned the bottom of the page. They would find the Half-Veela, they would get answers from the Potter's on this 'Harry Potter.'