Chapter 17: Chapter 10

Notes:

LIFE'S BEEN A MESS YALL
I moved, I changed unis I am studying for exams I am stressed

Fair warning, I got a new tablet since my pc died rudelyso I cannot use grammarly any longer
So it might be full of shit and typos and errors SORRY

Also I know I had promised one more chapter only and this one is basically exposition and Tell not Show but it would have been too chunky and without sense otherwise SORRYYYY
Next up will be the last one with siruis and Remus and harry I SWEAR!!!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Despite the reassurance the General had given him right after leaving Healer Katara's Infirmary, Harry had still been a little hesitant at the prospect of meeting new people.

On one hand, without the Dursley's influence, he had thrived and hopefully would continue to do so. Yet, on the other, it was hard to remove years of conditioning, hard to break the habit of believing himself to be a burden, hard to allow himself to believe that good things could come.

But Harry had decided he would be brave, as brave as his parents had been, as brave as he believed they would want him to be, and so, with purposeful steps, he had walked alongside the General towards his office, trying to ignore the tight knot that had appeared at the bottom of his stomach.

He had never been one to knot things over, after all.

In the end, it was easier done than said.

The General had already told him about who they were going to meet, had given him a general round down of what he could expect, to sooth his nerves.

They started with Lady Bones who was, apparently, "one of the only wixen I would trust with the life of a child", according to the General, and who ended up being a kind-looking woman with a curious monocle on her right eye and a pencil tucked behind her left ear, definitely not resembling the bored and stern social workers Harry had seen in passing at his previous school and most definitely not behaving like the barmy detectives on Aunt Petunia's telly programs, despite being part of the Law Enforcement herself.

She did mention having gotten a promotion to the General, but she had grimaced as she spoke, so Harry hadn't known whether to congratulate her or try and comfort her. The General didn't seem to have his qualms, for he simply laughed loudly.

Lady Bones, "Please, do call me Amelia, I was well acquainted with your parents and I would love to know you a bit better," had asked him a bit about his life at the Dursleys, merely questions that needed to be "properly acknowledged" so she could start the charges without disturbing him on the matter later on.

He had felt a bit guilty at having to answer, given that he was sure nothing nice would come out of him and he didn't want to be a bother, but she assured him that the Dursleys were adults and had to answer for their own actions and that Dudley, even if still a child, had to learn how to behave, and that he had nothing to feel guilty about, which eased the knot in his stomach a lot.

Every now and then, whenever he told a particular story, still marveling at the fact that she believed him, she would pursue her lips and write something down on a piece of parchment. At some point, while he was regaling her the tale of how he had changed his teacher's wig blue so he could stop picking on him, and the subsequent punishment Uncle Vernon had lashed out, her pencil had snapped in between her fingers, but she had merely smiled sheepishly at him and waved her wand around to repair it, as if nothing had ever happened.

Then, once Harry was done with the answers, she solemnly promised him she'd do her best to make sure he never had to see them again. For the first time in his life, Harry had trusted a human adult and they had believed him.

It was surreal and heartbreaking and wonderful, but he managed to keep his composure and not cry out of happiness.

Before leaving, she had commented that her niece Susan was his same age and that they would "love to have him around for tea sometime," once he was settled with his new guardians.

To Harry, who had never been invited to have tea with anyone, was a great honour.

She had also told him to "Floo" her immediately if his godfather didn't behave, as she would "sort him out the way I did in school, although I'm sure Lupin will manage to reign him in just fine," which made Harry giggle and feel warm inside.

With a last promise to the General to "make them pay a tenfold", she bid her farewells, leaving her address written down for Harry to use, no matter the situation.

Then, after her, was the turn of a small army of Goblins, or at least that was what they looked like to Harry, who hid partially behind the General's chair as all of the newcomers beat their feet and, some of them, their weapons on the marble floor in salute. The cacophony did cause the General to yell at them in their mother-tongue, though, so Harry felt a bit better about his reaction.

They all introduced themselves by name and clan and title, but the General took one look at his panicked face and told him that he would have time to learn them all. Apparently, they were his small army.

Well, they were not technically an army, although he didn't doubt that all of them knew how to fight valiantly and how to use their weapons efficiently. They were an assortment of account clerks with different seniority, of solicitors, and of bookkeepers, all led by a woman called Brunhilde of the Throatslasher Clan, who was his new Account Manager.

And who needed a single signature from him to begin her new job and for him to officially approve the small army, since apparently, said small army was needed to make heads and tails about his finance.

"You have to understand now, young wizard, the importance of a well-kept account, and it will be quite the task to restore yours to its former glory, given that many tampered with your coin, hence our numbers, which are reasonable," she had told him once he expressed his doubts about the small army of people focusing only on his finances.

He had read quite the number of vaults and properties, sure, but he believed the goblins might have better things to do than work with him on them. Apparently, they were all more than happy to do so.

"It is with great pleasure that we dive into your Vaults, the artifacts are going to be absolutely fascinating!" a younger clerk said, showing proudly the various keys in her hands.

"I have always wanted to conduct an audit on the Major House of Lestrange," an ancient-looking bookkeeper exclaimed, "I know they have stolen from the Potters over two centuries ago and I can finally gather evidence to charge their Account Manager with negligence and fraud."

Another clerk told him that "The privilege of being part of the team that opens the Camelot Vaults will remain with my line for centuries to come."

In the end, Harry had been a bit overwhelmed by their fervour, but had entrusted Manager Throatslasher, "You may call me Brunhilde, as you are bestowing me the honour of tending to your many accounts," to do what she thought was best.

Her smile had turned wicked at that, causing Harry to shiver involuntarily, but the General merely complimented him on his quick acceptance and told him they'd "see the gold fly back" into his coffers in no second, leaving the work in her capable hands.

And, well, if the General was a good idea, who was Harry to go against it.

Once they left, this time with less of a ruckus in their farewelling bows, Guard Anouk had brought forth a witch straight out of the fantasy books, with a pointed hat and a stern look on her face and a tartan robe that covered her feet.

She entered the office apologizing for the interruption, merely stating in a thick Scottish accent that she wished to personally thank the General for allowing her to "say hello to my old friend and goodbye to the nuisance he had become". She was in the middle of asking the General if it was possible to have a Healer brought down, since "his bones might have been too brittle and didn't handle my farewells well," when she spotted Harry.

Immediately her face morphed: gone were the frowning lines on her face, gone was the austere air around her, gone was the sorrow Harry could feel at the loss of her friend. As soon as her eyes landed on him, partially hidden behind the General's desk, her face opened up in a wide smile.

She had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, newly minted Headmistress of Hogwarts, and that she would be counting the days until she could call him officially one of his students and, hopefully, one of her Lions, whatever it meant.

And then, while shaking Harrry's hand with heartbreaking gentleness, she had leaned down to his eye level, ignoring the creaking in her knees, and told him that, outside of school, he was to call her Minnie, and eventually Auntie Minnie once he felt he knew her enough, since his parents had wanted her to be a part of his life.

"Unfortunately, an old goat had to interfere with our lives," she had said grimly, "and he made it impossible for me to be near you as you grew up, despite my constant protests. But, now that that particular obstacle has been removed, I will be more than happy to know you more than I do already, given that my knowledge is a few years old now."

She then got a weird gleam in her eyes, looking exactly like a cat who had gotten the best cream possible, and told the General of how he had, apparently, taken a keen liking to her during his first months, how he appreciated the songs she sang to put him to sleep second only to his own mother's lullabies, and how he had spent his first Christmas partially on her lap, being fed mushy peas.

Harry didn't know whether to let the warmth spread happily through him or be mortified.

But the warmth did win out under her kind gaze and around the General's presence.

And, once it was time for her to leave, Harry had felt genuinely sad, clutching the piece of parchment with her address on it as if it was a lifeline, the promise he had made her to write to her weekly ringing in his ears.

She too did threaten to whip his godfather into shape in case he misbehaved, though, and to take him out of tight spots if needed, which made some cautionary bells ring in Harry's head, but he ignored them in favour of the joy he felt around her.

If anything, he had two powerful-looking witches, as well as a Goblin General, ready to square his godfather up at the first sign of trouble. It was a lot to take in for someone who had been raised to believe himself as a burden.

But a good lot, definitely.

And finally, with the conviction that he had people at his back in case he needed them, Harry swallowed the last lump of anxiety that had lodged in his throat, just in time for Guard Anouk to announce his infamous godfather and the famed partner.