Disclaimer: My house belongs to the bank, my work belongs to my boss and my money is always confiscated by my wife. And Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling... Damn...
AN: Sorry for the delay, but the chapter started ballooning on me, and it didn't feel right to throw in a massive 50-60 page chapter in between the stard 30 pages I aim for. Especially one where nothing would get the attention it deserved, so I ended up splitting the chapter a bit shorter. Took some time to come to this conclusion, though...
To choose the lesser evil
By DerLaCroix
Chapter 5 - Rolling stones...
The non-peaky blinders proved useful, once again to traverse the Alley. Harry was not aware of any other order members, but he did see Tonks having a break at Fortescue's, which was more than enough reassurance to him that he needed to keep away from the Alley, as much as possible.
Casually strolling into Gringotts, they were ushered past the waiting hall and into the office section with just enough time for their caps to keep them disguised from random spotters.
"Welcome back, Master Potter, Miss Edgecombe. I hope you had an entertaining walk. The seal was delivered about an hour ago, and I have settled the bill, according to our agreement. There has been a slight change to the procedure, though."
"To what extent?" Harry asked with a tired sigh.
"Master Potter, you may not be aware, but your exploits have not gone unnoticed among my kind. When I approached the bondsmiths in your name, they flat out refused to believe that you would be capable of acting so vile towards a female."
"Really? I was not aware this boy-who-lived thing was popular among your kind," Harry groaned. "Or rather, I hoped."
"Oh, we don't care about that, Master Potter. It is obvious to anyone with a brain that your survival must be due to some clever magics wrought by your parents, which managed to protect you after they failed to do so in person, maybe weakening their foe enough to make sure it did," Pikeshaft responded evenly, waving the comment off. "But I had to explain your motivation to have the bond forged, because they were adamant that the 'Guardian of females' would never do anything to hurt one."
Harry almost choked on his tongue when he heard the new moniker. "The what?"
"You see, with how important females and their safety are to our kind, there is no higher honour than if a warrior risks his life for one. And in your case, there have been multiple, quite noteworthy and heroic occurrences of this very action," Pikeshaft explained, and went on to list the occurrences as he could see Harry was sputtering in denial.
"First year at Hogwarts, you subdued a troll, rescuing a female classmate, Miss Granger.
You then, according to a sibling of the victim, slayed a sizable basilisk, and some presumed dark spectre in your second, rescuing another young girl, Miss Weasley, and avenging a series of girls and boys, among them, again, a certain Miss Granger who had been petrified by the beast," he ticked off on his long fingers, and while Harry wanted to dispute the cases, he could not quite dismiss their validity.
Harry had been listening with a growing amount of unease, and could not keep quiet, anymore. "How do you know about all of this?"
"We have our sources, Master Potter. I was also notified that Gringotts would like to offer you their services in rendering and selling the basilisk corpse, which, to be honest, most likely is now just a skeleton, but those bones also present a significant value. Provided you could grant us access to the location, or deliver the bones, of course," the Goblin briefly allowed himself to lapse into business.
"In third year, you were seen driving off a werewolf, and multiple dementors, and according to some sources, Miss Granger was with you during these events, as well. Fourth year, you rescued a certain Gabrielle Delacour from the Lake at Hogwarts, and later assisted her older sister, Fleur Delacour, when she was knocked out in the tournament, and instead of just passing by."
"As you can see," Pikeshaft started to explain the situation, " you have earned the title of Protector and Guardian many times over, and these are only the major things, we know of various minor events where you also acted to protect a female from harm. With this reputation, and knowing how the bond is usually exploited by wizardkind, the bondsmiths simply refused to believe I was telling the truth, until I explained the intention behind the bonding with Miss Edgecombe."
"And this means the bonding procedure is now changed, how?" Harry asked warily, still stunned by this itemised list of his deeds.
"Usually, such a bond between humans would be done in a bank office, as a mere formality with no more afterthought as given by the humans requesting it, per the treaty, as the bondsmiths would never allow to have the Bondhall sullied by such vile intent," Pikeshaft began, and Harry groaned slightly as he realised that he once more was going to be singled out for something.
"But due to the fact that you are seeking this bond to protect a female, in accordance with the true spirit of the bond, you have been granted the honour of being truly bonded, in the Bondhall, down below."
"Down below?" Harry parrotted, not yet cottoning on.
"You don't mean?" Marietta gasped, being far ahead of Harry in comprehension. "Are we even properly dressed? I mean," she started to worry.
"Don't worry, everything is in order, Miss Edgecombe," Pikeshaft responded. "Now, if you were to follow me."
After a brief stroll, they found themselves in front of a minecart like it was used to visit the vaults, but bigger, as if it was supposed to transport more people than the usual vault carts. Harry had no reservations, and Marietta was obviously used to cart travel, and climbed in without any protest. Still, once both were seated and the cart jerked into motion from a dead stop, Harry found out that she possessed a healthy amount of strength in these dainty hands of hers.
By the end of the - at least to him - quite enjoyable spiralling ride in the mostly downward direction, Marietta was in need of assistance to leave the cart. To her credit, she had not made a peep during the descent.
Stepping out through a hallway and finally, a door, they found themselves in a large hall similar to the Gringotts atrium, just larger. About double the size. More tellers, multiple stations, and walkways leading to who knows where, and a huge, bronze door in the distance. The main difference was that it was Goblins milling around and waiting in line. And the signs were in a script Harry could not decipher, but recognized from the print on his coinage.
Turning around, he noticed guards next to the door he just passed, and the slight shadow of confusion briefly visible on their faces before they returned to staring into the distance, unmoving. There was a large sign over the door which he was sure would read "Staff only" or something, if only he could read Goblin.
There was a pool of silence centred on their group as they were led through the room. Ahead, Goblins would chatter amongst each other, then notice the approaching humans, fall silent and gawk, and quickly start talking again once they had passed by. Harry felt strongly reminded of his first visit to Diagon Alley, or anywhere with lots of magical people who never met him before, and was able to weather the awkwardness with only a slight sense of dread and annoyance. Marietta was pretty much terrified by the experience and clung to his arm like a shipwrecked sailor to a piece of flotsam.
Stepping out into the 'open', they found themselves in a large cave, gigantic even, if you were a fan of understatement. But since Harry was missing the knowledge of a more appropriate adjective, he stuck to that. It was semi-natural, with the vaulted roof being obviously worked into enormous arches, easily a hundred metres above them, spanning dozens of metres, resting on large columns of stone, with the pattern repeating into the distance. At each highest point within the vaulted roof sections, a large ball of light was floating, granting illumination. It was distinctly dimmer than daylight, more like a very early dawn through a solid cloud cover. You could look at these light sources, it was not blinding, but you were always standing under multiple of these, the cones of light caused by the vaulted roof intersecting and overlapping. The way the buildings were clustering around and up each pillar, terraced down towards the roads and squares meant that you were also standing directly under the centres of the vault ceilings while travelling outside. With those buildings all painted in a white glossy colour that reflected the light back, as well, there was nary a shadow cast anywhere. The multiple sources of light caused a weird, almost ambient light that made everything look slightly whimsical. Looking down, Harry realised he could not make out his own shadow, which was a disconcerting view.
Walking along for a while, with the ever present bubble of silence centred upon them, they took in the sights of a city barely ever seen by human eyes. The ground floors next to the street were filled with shops, bars, restaurants, and workshops. The upper floors seemed to be residential, and the roads were filled with goblins strolling around. Unlike Pikeshaft, they were not in suits, but mostly in pants and shirts, occasionally wearing a vest. The fact that all of them were male adults, even the ones leading small groups of children around, made it even more weird, even though they knew this before. Or should, given Pikeshaft's tales of goblin society. But seeing was always different than just knowing.
Under the bewildered scrutiny of the present population,they marched on, following in Pikeshaft's wake as the crowd parted for him and closed behind them.
Turning at an intersection, Pikeshaft gave them the briefest of warning before they stepped around the corner.
"We're now approaching the temple. Please keep all talking to a minimum. While we are invited, the priests and bondsmiths do have a low tolerance for visitors, and a rather high opinion of themselves. Getting them riled up will make things difficult."
The building was something akin to a stout round tower, similar in size to a quidditch pitch - about 50 metres in diameter - and about half as high. It seemed to be without a roof, as the walls were turning inside into a cupola, and these walls were bare grey polished rock, with nothing but a double door of similar polished white marble on the outside, but no windows. An armoured guard stood next to each door, their cuirass, helmet, and shield polished to the point that they were mirroring the group that approached them, their long spears held upright next to them. Harry was sure that if he were to measure them, these would show to be held exactly vertical, with not a fraction of a degree divergence in their precise posture and positioning.
These guards stood as if petrified, not even visibly breathing, but Harry could pretty much sense that they were like coiled springs, ready to explode into action at the slightest reason to do so. Marietta seemed to instinctively notice the same, as she clamped even tighter onto his arm as they passed them, and joined Harry in a slight jump as the doors suddenly swung open with nary a sound.
A goblin wrapped in flowing, wide red robes and a white sash, which to Harry, made him look like a colour-inverted roman Senator stood in the opening, awaiting them with a condescending gaze resting firmly on everyone. After a brief conversation with Pikeshaft in the goblin tongue, he turned, and preceded them into the building, immediately stepping through a wall of darkness.
Pikeshaft motioned for them to follow, stepping aside. Exchanging a brief glance, they steeled themselves and stepped forward onto the dark oaken floor, and into the darkness.
And stumbled to a halt.
This was no building.
Harry had seen something like that before, but only on a smaller scale.
Much smaller scale.
It was a geode.
A gigantic geode with a wooden walkway leading through the centre of it, into a dark hole on the opposite side. That, and the wall of darkness behind them were the only dark spots in a pandemonium, a visual cacophony, of light. Huge crystals were jutting out of the walls, which were encrusted in many colours from white translucent to soft and darker blues, and violent purple, clustering and intermixing, with hints of other colours spotted between them. Everything was sparkling and glittering as with each little motion you made, the light would assault your eyes from another direction.
Harry had been wrong with the assessment that there were no windows. There was one. On the top of the cave, carefully centred, was a large circle where the stone of the outer layer had been carefully removed so the light could shine through the multi-colored wall and into the cave.
A long, oaken walkway with a knee-high balustrade was spanning across the room, with a circular platform in the centre, resting on some enormous crystals, and suspended by strong chains that were polished to a mirror shine, their ends vanishing into the walls. On the round balconies formed by the walkway intersecting the platform, there were padded spots on the ground, some of them occupied by goblins kneeling there, with their hands resting on their laps, and their eyes staring into the distance, lost in meditation.
Their guide had stopped a few steps into the cave, carefully measuring their reaction, ready to admonish them for any perceived misbehaviour as only a priest could. Gauging their awe-struck reaction to this place of contemplation and worship, he seemed to deem them adequately cowed to hold off for now. He turned, and led with quick, but unhurried steps, Pikeshaft following him.
First stumbling after them, they found some semblance of bearings and hurried to make up ground before falling in step.
"You could have warned us," Harry whispered to Pikeshaft, barely able to overcome the urge to stop and gawk. Marietta just held on to him, still looking a bit shell-shocked, and nodded.
"And which words should I have used?" Pikeshaft whispered back, a soft smirk on his lips.
Stepping into the second wall of darkness, Harry had to admit that the Goblin had a point.
Entering the next room, a small chamber with two doorways left and right, and a spiral staircase leading down ahead of them, they almost immediately spied the display of a stretched hide on the wall directly over the entrance into the staircase to whatever deeper chamber. Pikeshaft noticed their awareness and confirmed their guess with a brief nod.
Neither of them really cared much about this, but followed their guide onto the staircase, trundling down the hewn stairs. Distracted and dazed, they could barely focus enough on the stairs to not tumble down the lot of them as the wall suddenly receded and they stepped onto a now open staircase spiralling further down into a large stalactite cave.
Glancing around the diffusely lit cave, they realised that the stair had started inside one of the massive stalactites that now formed the core of the spiral steps winding around and down below. Following their guides, they soon found themselves on solid ground and walking towards a group at a spot that was brightly lit by what looked like a beam of light from above. Craning his neck, Harry figured that this was coming from the underside of the giant geode crystal somewhere above them.
The spot was peculiar. Harry could not think of another word for it. There was a small pond of water dripping from the stones above, with some steam rising from it. This steam was illuminated by the sunlight falling through the crystal above, making it look like a pillar of light. It was quite hot here, and the water of the pond was slightly bubbling, making him realise that this was a thermal pond.
Even the floor was strange. The rock beneath their feet was blackish, but with spots of a milky cristal and streaks of yellowish discoloration, but there was also a spider-web like pattern in silvery lines all over it. And very prominently, an orange-brownish line about the width of a hand was leading through it.
As Mariatta and Harry were still gawking, trying to take all in, Pikeshaft had approached the goblins waiting for them.
With a few moments of hushed conversation, Pikeshaft handed over the seal to one of the waiting robed goblins, and after a longer conversation with the oldest and smallest goblin, at least a head smaller than Pikeshaft, he returned to them.
"We are readying for the bonding ceremony. Elder Bondsmith Kneebreaker insists on performing the bonding himself, a great honour," he informed them.
"This place is amazing," Marietta muttered.
"Yes, it is. I was tasked to explain the ceremony to you, as you will not understand it. The bondsmith will explain why this place is so special. It is underground, but yet under the sun. Dark, yet there is light. Inside a rock, but surrounded by air. The water is fed by rain from above, and by a well below. And at the bottom of the pond, fire and water are meeting. The steam of water meets the air. There is cristal above, and metal beneath. This is a place where many different things come together. And so will you."
"A beautiful sentiment," Marietta mumbled, tearing up a little.
"Being a warrior does not exclude you from being a poet," Pikeshaft replied, and noticed the others giving them a signal. "It seems we are ready to begin."
Harry took a deep breath and let go of a long sigh. "Well, this is it. Showtime. Are you ready?" he asked, holding out his hand.
"We kind of rushed this wedding, so I guess I can't complain about the lack of dress and catering, but the location is top notch," Marietta joked, trying to make light of her situation.
"You still need to bare your back for the ceremony, Miss Edgecombe," Pikeshaft mentioned. "If you would allow, I think I have an idea you would appreciate."
With that, he extended his hand, and within a few moments, Marietta's shirt fused with her skirt to become a dress. The black skirt turned white as her shirt had been and lengthened a bit, while the shirt became tighter and a thicker, stiffer material as the excess from the back fused into the front portion. Her shirt collar stood up and became a choker neck above a modest v neckline window, while she could feel her back suddenly exposed to the air all the way to her pantyline.
Pikeshaft paused for a moment in thought, and soon, the hooks of her bra were integrated in the back of her neck choker, while the rest of the bra fused into the dress, giving her some padding and thin shoulder straps keeping the sides from opening to the view. Another wiggle, and the buttons turned into some perl embroidery that looked very goblin, but gave everything a nice touch.
"I am no expert in human fashion, but I believe this is an appropriate style. It will also meet the needs of the ritual," Pikeshaft told the flabbergasted girl, who was moving this and that way, trying to take her new dress in. "How did you? I mean, where did you learn… This is beautiful!"
"I might be known to… embellish my wardrobe, Miss," the goblin answered, picking some lint off his highly embroidered vest while she kept on stammering about.
"Would it be inappropriate for me to hug you, Master Pikeshaft?" Marietta finally asked, her eyes glistening with tears barely held at bay.
"At the moment, yes," the goblin chuckled. "Go ahead, they are waiting."
With this, Harry once more held out his hand.
"Step into the centre and face each other," Pikeshaft whispered an instruction.
Doing as told, there was a brief moment where the goblin priest lifted his arms, paused, stretched a bit more and let his hands drop, muttering something. Pike shaft cringed slightly, stepped forward to stand behind Harry, and started explaining in a soft whisper.
"The bondsmith has run into a problem, he is not able to put his hand on top of your head. His height is a touchy subject with him, tough. Would you be willing to spare him the indignity of a step ladder and perhaps kneel for the ritual?"
Harry was kind of okay with anything to get this over with, once Pikeshaft mentioned that this would also get him out of having to hold up Marietta during the ritual, he graciously nodded at the priest and knelt, finding it natural to sit back on his heels once he had settled. Marietta tried to follow the instructions by Pikeshaft, made a few awkward attempts, and after a few moments of pondering, Pikeshaft created a long slit on either side of her skirt. While exposing a very attractive amount of finely toned leg, it was mostly to allow for motion, she was able to meet Harry, kneeling over his lap as she slung her arms around him, her face resting in the nape of his neck.
Under some appreciative mumbling by the gaggle of priests, Pikeshaft handed the seal to Harry, who had to hold it to the small of Marietta's back, whispering with her and Pikeshaft to get it adjusted just right, levelled, and centred.
The ritual itself was not a long one. First, the high priest was giving a small speech, which Harry figured was the introduction to the place Pikeshaft had mentioned, by how the Goblin was gesturing towards various parts of the cave. Meanwhile, Marietta seemed to have started gnawing nervously on the inside her bottom lip, and subsequently transferring a tiny bit of that jaw motion onto his neck, which along with her breath on it started to drive Harry to distraction as the bondsmith was continuing to blather on, reciting what ever liturgy the goblins used.
Harry almost jumped in surprise when the bondsmith suddenly stepped forward and put one of his gnarly hands over Harry's head, and the other on top of the seal. Then he started chanting, and Harry could feel a trickle of magic entering his head. First a tingle, then almost an itch. Suddenly, he could feel his own magic reacting out to it, and responding, reaching out as well. For a few moments, maybe a minute, he felt it build and swell, until it suddenly rushed through his arms and into the seal, which flashed white hot for a moment, causing Marietta to moan into his neck and squeeze him like Hagrid on a particularly emotional day. Bucking in his arms, she arched her back and gave a stuttering scream, and just as fast as it had begun, the seal went cold, Marietta went limp, and sagged forward into his embrace, panting, practically moulding herself into him as he clung to his form, and undulating against his body.
When Pikeshaft relieved Harry of the seal in his hands, they instinctively found themselves on her back, holding her up and causing her to shiver against him and starting to writhe and contort in his embrace in a way that made Harry feel guilty for actually enjoying it. When his hands slid lower, caressing the still extremely sensitive spot where the seal had been located, she twitched with a sharp intake of breath, grinding really hard into him as a shiver ran down her spine causing all kinds of reactions in her.
Mostly ones that would have been deemed inappropriate in polite company, but which she had no capabilities to ignore, right now. Shocked, Harry held her even tighter, asking if she was ok.
Her response was somewhat garbled, but she seemed to be alright - as far as he could discern, she did not really act as if hurt. Au contraire - she was now starting to really grind into his crotch, or rather, onto his left thigh, and Harry was gradually getting aware of what was happening, and that the Goblins were equally aware of it, if he were to decipher their smirks and shaking heads correctly.
"Umm, Marietta, please stop," he uttered, blushing brightly.
As if petrified, the girl froze in mid-motion, letting go of a pained grunt of disappointment without even realising she had done so.
"Could you please stand up, Marietta, I need to get up, too," Harry muttered, and again, the girl was jumping to her feet the moment he had uttered the command, blushing brightly as she was slowly getting aware of what she had been doing.
Harry did not notice any of this as he was slowly clambering to his feet, briefly stopping when he realised his pant's had a wet spot over his lap and thighs. Wondering, Harry looked up to see if there had been a stalactite dripping down on him. By the time he had gotten to his feet and brushed the dirt off his knees, she had her blush under control again.
Exchanging a few words and bows with the bondsmiths, Pikeshaft approached and motioned for them to vacate the premises.
"Shall I restore your clothes, Miss?" he asked as they started on their way back.
Marietta vehemently disagreed with this idea. "No, I want to keep it, please! Can I? Please?" she begged.
"Of course you can, but it's not the kind of dress that will let us walk back out of the alley unnoticed, don't you think?" Harry remarked.
"I don't care if I have to walk out naked, but I will be keeping this dress!" she insisted, blushing as she realised she might be giving him ideas. A second later, she again felt the weird shiver down her spine and the equivalent of a finger brushing through her folds. This time, it was strong enough to make her squirm and lean against the wall to steady herself .
"Well, that would catch even more eyes, I'd wager," Harry muttered to himself, turning to not look her way to hide his flushed face, missing the further squirming, and the grimace of self loathing that briefly flashed over her face. By the time Harry turned back, she had schooled her face, though.
"How about we put it in my trunk and you get some of my spare… crap. I'd need to unshrink and re-shrink it. I can't use a wand here," he offered, before continuing trying to figure the issue out by himself.
"Maybe we rush into the cauldron, you take my trunk and wand and change in the loo?" he mused.
"Or we could just briefly stop at a shop on our way back. Creating a new robe might be a bit more complicated than the amateurish alterations that I am capable of, but I am quite sure that it would take no time for one of our tailors to fabricate an acceptable garment for you to change into," Pikeshaft proposed.
Marietta perked up at him mentioning this. "This is possible? You'd be willing to do that?"
"Gladly. After all, you are still paying for my time. And for a fee, everything is possible at Gringotts," the goblin smirked back as he led them up the stairs and out of the cave.
ooOOoo
Soon-ish, they were back in the office, Marietta clad in a simple, but not quite plain charcoal knee-length dress, with black rope embroidery accenting, some matching robes, and a bag with her bonding dress safely tucked away for later storing.
While presenting a brave front, she would rather have crawled into that bag, as well, hiding from the world. Shopping for clothes was a very different kettle of fish when you were bodily experiencing the reactions of a teenage boy watching you. Being measured while the boy had nothing better to do than letting his mind run free led to said mind having nothing better to do than examining her figure and features, with the expected reaction. She had mostly been able to mask her reactions with nothing worse than a flinch, but when she finally was safely ensconced in a less revealing garment than her backless short dress, she felt thoroughly mortified and violated, and to make things worse, horny as hell at the same time. Drawing from her upbringing as a proper little pureblood bride to be, she locked it away behind a well-schooled face of attentive indifference.
"You have inherited the Black estate, with all accounts, deeds and heirlooms," Pikeshaft explained, finally back in his office and usual role. "This includes one mansion and a house-elf. To be honest, you should look for additional elves to keep up the place, one is nowhere near enough, you need at least two for an estate that size."
"Oh, I know just the right guy for this," Harry chuckled, turning to Marietta to explain. "There is a friend of mine, a very eager house- elf named Dobby…"
"YES, HARRY POTTER, SIR?" A hyper-excited voice exclaimed, right after a really loud pop and a frightened squeal from Marietta as she jumped out of her seat, just as Harry and Pikeshaft had, as well. Shaking his head to get rid of the ring in his ears, Harry noticed two guards storming in through the door. While Pikeshaft was placating those, Harry addressed the new arrival. "Hello Dobby, we were just talking about you."
"WHAT CAN DOBBY DO FOR HARRY POTTER SIR?" The elf responded, bouncing in his place so hard that he almost seemed to blur as he just about vibrated in his spot. Marietta took a careful step back, placing her behind Harry.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, eying the elf warily.
"DOBBYHASNEVERBEENBETTERHARRYPOTTERSIR!" Dobby blurted loudly, and immediately went back to holding his breath and shaking with anticipation. The reason slowly started to dawn on Harry.
"Okay. Listen, Dobby, I need you to calm down, you are scaring Marietta, and to be frank, me. Seriously, I need you to calm down, now - can you do this for me? " Harry said, calmly, but determined, his hands in front in a placating gesture.
"YES, HARRYPOTtersir… Dobbycandothat," the elf answered through clenched teeth, closing his eyes and visibly forcing himself to stop bouncing. "Dobbybebeing calm…"
Taking whatever win he could get, Harry chose to just move on.
"Dobby, I have inherited a house," Harry started, and Dobby nodded eagerly, grinning like a kid on Christmas.
"Dobbyknows!" he squeaked, and started to twitch noticeably, before forcing himself to stand still, again.
Harry just burst into chuckles at the sight. "Okay, do I even need to ask if you want to work fo.."
"YES! Dobby do want be working for Harry Potter Sir, thank you Harry Potter Sir!" Dobby interrupted."Dobby be bestest elf in the world, Dobby doesn't want to be paid or have days off. Dobby be working day and night, never sleep!"
"Stop right there, Dobby," Harry called out. "You will not work yourself to death, I need a friend, not a slave. You will get paid, and have days off, and certain work hours so you are always well rested."
"Dobby will be happy if being bonded to Master Harry Potter, Sir, properly. Dobby don't need wages," the little elf mumbled.
"We have an agreement, then. We can sort out the details later," Harry responded, and the moment the word 'agreement' left his lips, he had Dobby attached to his leg and felt a slight pull at his magic.
" Well, that seems to be settled," he chuckled. "I've still got some work to do here, Dobby. For now, do you know where the Black Manor ist?"
"Dobby knows Master Harry Potter's home."
"Good. Can you go there, keep hidden from everybody and check the place for people present. I need to know if anybody is living there right now. And while you are there, you need to get a look at the state of the property, if you could. Could you be back in say, a minute or so, while we are signing the papers?"
"Dobbycan" POP!
Sighing, Harry shook his head and sat back down to get back to the paperwork. Seeing Marietta still staring slack-jawed, trying to make sense of what she'd just seen, Harry just sighed, again. "You'll get used to him. Usually, he is a LOT calmer. Not calm, I'm saying, just calmer…"
Looking up, Harry suddenly tensed. "Sorry about that, Master Pikeshaft, I did not want to waste your time with things like this, it just came up, and… you know."
"I have no issue with the situation," Pikeshaft replied calmly. "You were dealing with related business, and since you are paying for my time, you can sit back and talk about the weather, for all I care. I appreciate the intent to focus on business, though. Speaking of - these need to be signed on every page, at the line." With that, Pikeshaft opened another ledger and shoved the content towards Harry. Harry muttered to Marietta that she should better sit back down, this would take a while. The fact that she had to use most of her willpower to not immediately sit down on the floor, but make it to the chair did not lighten Marietta's mood.
ooOOoo
About five minutes later, Dobby popped back in, but quite muted. Not only the pop, but also the elf as a whole. Which was making Harry really wary. Dobby didn't do 'calm' - not on a normal day, at least.
"My apologies, Master Pikeshaft - would you mind if I deal with this, right now? My hand needs a break, anyway."
Once more, the goblin cited understanding conducting business, being still getting paid, and having to sort out some papers, anyway.
Thanking him for understanding, Harry turned to Dobby, who was by now showing explicit signs of distress.
"Are you alright, Dobby? Did you see anyone at the house? And is anybody there right now? Was there any trouble?"
Dobby had his eyes cast down, and was slowly traipsing from one foot to the other, wringing his hands, looking almost as if constipated. "Dobby be thinking so, yes, no, and Dobby not being sure about last one, Master Harry Potter Sir…"
Bewildered, Harry glanced towards Marietta, who responded with a shrug that seemed to say 'Don't ask me, this is your elf!', her mood not conducive to empathy towards his plight.
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and tried to unpack the message, which turned into a game of 20 questions as Dobby was very uncharacteristically sparse with his words.
"You're not hurt or anything Dobby?"
"Dobby isn't injured."
"You met someone there?"
"Dobby did."
"And? Who was it?"
"Old house elf Kreacher."
"Well, I kind of expected him to be there," Harry explained. "But there is no one else in the house right now, isn't there, Dobby?"
"Nobody being in the house right now, Master Harry Potter, Sir," Dobby answered, quite downtrodden.
"Ok, and why aren't you sure about any trouble?"
"Depends on what Master Harry Potter thinks of nasty old Kreacher," Dobby mumbled.
Harry sighed and cast an accusing glance to the ceiling above, cursing the heavens with an almighty sigh. "What did Kreacher do?"
"Kreacher be being bad elf in general, not cleaning or working, and then Kreacher be saying very nasty things about dogfather and Master Harry Potter, Sir," Dobby replied, quite forcefully, obviously scandalised by the things he witnessed.
"Well, sadly, that is quite normal for that wretched elf, Dobby. He's quite a menace," Harry sighed, figuring he would have to deal with Kreacher, somehow, soon, now being saddled with that elf, as well. "Anything else?"
"Dobby broke Kreacher," the small elf whispered in response, and then immediately started to babble in panic.
"Dobby be sorry! Dobby be punishing Kreacher for being bad elf, but Kreacher be bouncing wrong and hitting bannister. Bannister breaks and Kreacher be falling and not popping in time. Dobby did not mean to! Dobby being sorry and be ready for clothes, Master Harry Potter Sir." By the end, Dobby was in tears and sniffling, but trying to accept his fate gracefully.
Harry needed a moment to fully parse what he'd been told. Finally, he knelt down and surprised Dobby by giving him a hug. Marietta was equally surprised, she never had seen any wizard behave like this towards an elf. Pikeshaft just observed, re-evaluation his opinion of the new Lord Potter once more.
"It's alright, Dobby. You did me a favour. I'm pretty sure I'd have wrung his neck anyway the moment I saw him," he mumbled, stopping when he heard Marietta suddenly gasp behind him.
"That elf was directly involved in getting my godfather killed, conspiring with Bellatrix Black. On top of being such a pureblood supremacist that he'd only missed a cloak and a mask to qualify as the first elvish Death Eater," Harry tried to paint a picture, explaining himself to Marietta and consoling Dobby at the same time. "He's half the reason I had qualms to move to that house - mostly for fear of what I'd do if I saw him. I'm not going to miss him at all."
Turning back to Dobby, Harry gave the now semi-hopeful looking elf a small pat on the shoulder and a smile. "It's alright, Dobby. I am not angry with you and understand what happened. You didn't mean to kill him. It was an accident. Kreacher was an expert on getting people riled up and spitting mad, but just not mad enough to strike out at him, but I guess this time, his math didn't work out. I am sorry that it happened to you, but kind of glad that this means it won't be me who has to deal with him. I'm sure you'll get over this, soon. If you need to talk or something, I'll be there, ok?"
"Dobby not being punished?" Dobby seemed to have trouble understanding that he was forgiven, even after Harry confirmed his answer to this question.
"Thank you, Master Harry Potter, Sir! Dobby be working hardest any elf ever worked! Dobby not rest or sleep! Dobby will…"
"That's a firm no, Dobby," Harry declined, sharply. "You will not work any harder than a normal elf would, end of discussion," he admonished the once more flabbergasted elf. "It just means we two will do some of the housework ourselves to assist you, and in the long term will need to find some help for you, somehow, somewhere, I guess."
"Master Harry Potter will be looking for another elf?" Dobby asked, completely ignoring the indecent proposal of the Potters helping with the housework.
"Well, once we figure out how to find one that will be willing to work for us," Harry admitted, realising that Dobby was once more looking almost constipated, trying to not say something, just like he had been before..
Harry had a small smile on his lips when he thought things through, realizing he knew the answer, already. "Let me guess, you already have someone in mind for that position?"
"Winky be hurting for family, Dobby doesn't think she be holding on for much longer, MasterHarrypottersir…" Dobby responded, faltering as he explained his reasoning.
"Is she still coping as badly as she was when we saw her the last time?" Harry asked, his hesitant tone triggering another panic attack in Dobby.
"Dobby sure Winky will be better once she be having family, she will be working hard! Winky good elf! Please, Master Harry Potter sir! Dobby will accept any wages and days off! Please!"
Harry had to laugh out loud. "You drive a hard bargain, Dobby. Go, get her, let's ask her if she's willing."
It was only moments later that Dobby had a waif of a house elf standing next to him, swaying on her feet. Harry was sure her pillowcase dress was only clean thanks to Dobby trying to make a good presentation, but he knew Winky, and that she had been suffering. She seemed quite out of it, but there was a spark of hope in her voice as she addressed him.
"Dobby be telling you want Winky?"
"I need another elf, and Dobby told me you would be a good elf," Harry confirmed. "He really wants to work with you."
This surprised the small elf. "Dobby be saying this about Winky?" She asked, surreptitiously eying the other elf beside her.
"Dobby even offered to take wages and days off if I'd let you be my elf," Harry responded cheekily, chuckling when both elves visibly blushed at his teasing.
"Winky… be… Winky doesn't know," Winky finally stuttered, looking fearfully at Harry. "Winky also be having to take wages and… da… days…off?" she asked, almost choking on the words, tears brimming in her eyes.
"No, there will be some… pocket money for you to spend, and you… yes… you will need to be well rested to work properly," Harry carefully re-worded the 'W'-word and the 'D'-word into less offensive terms. "Can you work with that?"
The small elf briefly pondered the situation. "Winky can."
"Good, then we all agree in principle," Harry responded, and again felt the immediate tug on his magic as Winky bonded with him at his declaration. Elves and Goblins seemed to share the habit of not wasting any time. Which reminded Harry of something.
"Go and get started on cleaning the house, I still got work to do here. We'll talk about the details later," he quickly sent the elves off, turned, and once more addressed the Goblin across the desk.
"My apologies, once more, Master Pikeshaft. I hope this situation is solved, for now," Harry made his excuses for ignoring the goblin.
"Not an issue, Master Potter. I was compiling the papers, anyway," Pikeshaft rebutted, shoving another stack of similar size as before towards a sighing Harry.
ooOOoo
Finally, Harry heard the sweetest words he could remember anybody ever saying to him. "With this, all of our business is concluded, Master Potter."
"Well, barring the second reading next week, of course," the goblin immediately amended.
Harry nodded to himself, massaging his aching hand, trying to get the blood flowing, before voicing a stray thought that hit him. "Would it be possible to keep my inheritance secret? I mean, do I have to show up at the second reading or do you have to tell the others who got the rest? "
"We are not required to give any information beyond the notice that this is only the secondary reading for the minor bequests, nor are you required to be present, Master Potter," Pikeshaft responded, causing Harry's face to light up with a smile.
"Great, that should put the old meddler off my trace, don't you agree, Marietta?"
"That won't work," Marietta interrupted almost immediately, unable to keep it to herself, freezing Harry's happy grin.
"What? Why?"
This time, Marietta could pace her response, explaining her reasoning instead of blurting out the first thing that came to mind.
"Dumbledore intercepted your letter. Since the only reason to do so is to keep you unaware, and to keep control over you and your assets, he will most likely show up, either to help himself to your share or trying to bury the issue so you don't learn of it. He isn't stupid, either. If he hears the main portions of the will are already settled in the other reading, and nothing is given to you in the second, he'll figure it out. It's not exactly the worlds hardest riddle, you see."
"Bugger," Harry mumbled, flushing brightly when he realised he'd cursed in company. "You're right. He'd figure it out in a second."
He pondered it for a minute or so, before he perked up and addressed Pikeshaft.
"Could we just slip in a note about me getting some money or so, to throw him off?"
"For a fee, everything is possible in Gringotts," the goblin replied with a grin. He liked the idea to pull the wool over the eyes of the old sanctimonious bastard. Dumbledore was always talking a lot of nice platitudes, but aside from always displaying his oh-so-enlightened attitude towards other races, he surprisingly never used any of his political clout to advance the status quo. To a goblin, that reeked of dishonesty.
Harry nodded and gave a little laugh, before turning and asking Marietta what she thought of this idea. He'd already realised that she had a keen mind, and without Hermione or Ron present to bounce his plans off against, she was the next best thing. "What do you think?"
Marietta again fought the instinct to snap back a response and thought about the proposed measures. To her, it felt not quite right, yet. "Not enough. I don't know the man, but I'd think that as your godfather, and not able to leave you the lot, he'd definitely add some personal objects on top of the money, and certainly leave a message for you," she concluded. Pikeshaft, having executed a lot of wills over the years working in his current position, immediately agreed with her.
"Yes, he would, I think," Harry agreed. "He used to tell me about his motorbike, sometimes," he added. "That sounds like something he would give to me, at least. He thought Hagrid knows where it is, that's when he saw it the last time…" he pondered. "Can I get back to you later, Master Pikeshaft? I'll try to set up a message that sounds like him, and would like you to slip that into the second reading, along with an appropriate amount of money that would be left to me. Something that doesn't seem out of place against the other amounts?"
"And, of course, I will be paying the appropriate fees for this transaction," he added, causing the goblin to smile back.
"As you wish, Master Potter. Now, regarding your request about rewarding the property. I have arranged for a team to meet you after their work for today is done, so you may expect them at the property around six o'clock, if that is alright with you."
ooOOoo
A brief discussion, a hasty walk under their caps, and a brief floo travel later, Harry and Marietta found themselves outside the Leaky Cauldron. Of course, Harry found himself on the floor, but he was getting used to that. Trying to ignore the amusements of the patrons, he dragged Marietta out of the door and along the road, before stowing their caps in a garage recess. From there on, their pace was a bit more sedate.
"It should be about 2 miles to Kings Cross", Harry guessed. "Fancy a walk? Or would you rather take the underground?
"That sounds scary," Marietta retorted. "What is it?"
Harry scoffed and chuckled to himself at her response. "No, nothing to be scared of. Well, it can be rough at night, like all places a lot of people travel, but it is not dangerous by design. It's pretty much a train network. People dug a couple of long tunnels under the city so they could run proper train lines underground for people to quickly travel across the city. Like the Hogwarts Express, but in a tube."
Once again, Marietta was flabbergasted by the casual mention of something so extraordinary. "I won't even bother asking if you are kidding me. But I, for one, think the thought of tunnels big enough for that, spanning miles and dug by hand is quite scary on its own. It'd be a struggle to do with magic, but without?"
Thinking about it briefly, Harry found himself agreeing with her. "You got a point there. The whole thing was a huge project, boggles the mind. Took years, decades even. And a couple tens of thousand workers with hundreds of digging machines the size of a bus or even larger, I believe. They are still on it, planning to add tunnels where needed."
Considering his growling stomach, he figured that there were other pressing needs. "I just realised neither of us had lunch. I'm starving, and I bet you are the same. Do you have anything you'd prefer? Pizza? McDonalds? We could get some sandwiches or fish and chips to go somewhere, if that's more your alley. We might even have time to sit down, we should have more than an hour to get there."
A brief check on another car's clock later, he confirmed his guess, and a few minutes later, they found a small spot where they sold what turned out to be some amazing kebab. At least Harry thought so, Marietta did stick to a more traditional fried fish and mushy peas for herself. Along with a coke for him and an ice tea for her, the meal was quite enjoyable, but due to the public venue, most of their topics they could talk about were off limits.
School or magic in general was a no-go, due to them being well aware that they could be overheard, as were their current nuptials, and family and friends weren't too hot of a topic at the moment, either. Thus, their conversation was stilted and awkward, general chit-chat about the city and brief dips into school gossip and stuff they brought up, but had to censor heavily, around their mutual consumption of calories. Once finished, Harry found that they now needed to take the underground, anyway, and that was enough of a distraction on its own, with some whispered conversation about things and how-to's.
Once they made their way north, and a brief walk of a few blocks, the mood was well enough that Marietta even started asking questions about the Muggle world once more, which made for light and safe conversation. Finally, they met up with a wizard and a couple of Goblins using some type of disguise amulets - which the youngsters inferred by the fact that they were standing in broad daylight on a Muggle street, with some fancy, rather identical necklaces on display around their necks - in front of where Grimmauld Place was supposed to be.
While watching the house muscle itself into being, Harry noticed Marietta's expression showing her disapproval.
"Yeah, the outside is a dump. It had been neglected for about two decades, but I'm sure the elves will get it tidied up in time for us to move in," he agreed.
"You can see it?" Marietta asked. "I can't see the number 12."
"Neither can we, Miss, which is concerning," answered the wizard warder after a brief glance at his teammates. "We've been trying to detect it since we arrived, and the fact that we know the address, but still can't see it is quite puzzling."
"It's right there," Harry stated, pointing at it.
The wizard made swaying motion, peering over Harry's shoulders at where he was pointing at. "Negative. You are pointing at the bannister of the stairway to number 13, or the drain pipe corner of 11, depending on what direction I'm looking at you. Try approaching the door and do as instructed to claim the house. Maybe as the owner, you will be able to at least lead us in."
Harry shrugged and sighed in exasperation, but stepped forward nonetheless, saying his verse and taking formal ownership of the house. Opening the door for the warders did nothing, he ended up having to lead them in one by one. One of them remained outside, doing whatever it was that warders did - Harry had neither clue nor care at the moment.
He then proceeded giving the warders and Marietta a brief tour of the premises. Luckily, being used by the Order, those rooms were in a better state than the outside. Lived in, run down, but not completely trashed.
Finally they ended up retreating to the drawing room, seeking to rest their feet from all the stairs while the warders swarmed out and started doing wizardy and gobliny things with wands and crystals, assessing somethingamagic or -bob about the wards and their state. Since the kids didn't understand the first thing about what they did, and the warders were not being too keen on talking while working, parting ways seemed the better approach. Harry briefly had a slight pang in his chest when he mused that Hermione would have been stuck like glue to the heels of the warders. Marietta seemed very interested in what happened, too, but respected the unspoken plea to be left alone while they were working at the problem. Entering the room, though, they were immediately approached by Dobby, while Winky cleaned in the background, ferociously.
"Master Harry Potter, sir?"
"Yes, Dobby?"
"Dobby sorry, but didn't think it be proper to tell with other people around, but Dobby be sure books be missing from library."
"I'm sure they didn't take any - we were barely in the library, just passing by!"
Dobby was shaking his head, making placating gestures with both hands. "No, Master Harry Potter, Sir. Not thems be taking books. Books be being missing before we arrived."
"Are you sure? How would you notice that?" Harry was quite curious about how the elf had come to this conclusion.
"We elves be doing light cleaning and checking house for needs to look where to start best. When tidying library, some shelves be missing books. Be empty spaces, but Book of Books saying a book should be there that isn't. Dobby and Winky be looking in whole house for losey books and return them. Still be missing some. Somebody has taken books." Dobby sounded very sure about this. Harry did take a moment to ponder the riddle and came up with something he remembered from one of his talks with Sirius.
"Oh. Right… I think Sirius mentioned once that some books have been removed by Dumbledore to be destroyed."
Dobby shook his head, vehemently, his ears making flapping sounds. "Books still be. Not destroyed. Elves can feel books being far away, but still there."
"You feel the books? How?" Harry inquired, quite puzzled.
"Elves can feel books belonging to house. These books be being here very long time, be part of library, feeling of House. Some other things be missing, as well. Empty spaces in cupboards.
Should elves get books and things back?"
Harry could feel his temper rising. Somebody was stealing Sirus's things. "Of course you should! You can do that, can you?"
"Elves can find and bring back. Most things being taken have strong connection to house. Be easy finding. Dobby not feeling all books that be missing. Some books may be new, not having as strong connection as old books have, or may be destroyed. Dobby will be making list of books missing and will compare names of books near stolen books Dobby can feel."
"That sounds like a plan, my friend. Make sure to figure out who was the thief - maybe look at things in the house. Don't let yourself be seen - you can return them without anybody knowing, right?"
"Dobby does not need to ask to get back Master's property if Master doesn't want Dobby to. If there be elf in house, other elf would notice Dobby be there, but would feel books belong to Dobby's Master's House. Elf may tell master, but unless elf been told to help stealing, they not stop Dobby taking property back. Dobby be long gone before elf be getting order to stop Dobby."
Harry did not believe that anyone would bother to tell an elf to do so. Pondering the issue, he figured any stealing would most likely have been done by Dung, but it was Dumbledore who had taken books he deemed too dangerous for other people to see. Which would mean those not destroyed are most likely somewhere at Hogwarts, his best bet was right in the Headmaster's office. Harry thought it was likely that Dumbledore would notice them missing. Or might get tipped off by Dung that things had been taken back, and check the books.. Maybe even ask an elf at Hogwarts, add things together, and show up here.
"Ok. Listen. Do not retrieve things until this warding business is done and they live here - once we are safe here, try to get the books first, all in one go, if possible. Only then, go after the stolen things. Try to not be seen either way, ok."
"Elves will do. Master Harry Potter, Sir, have any orders for elves what to do?"
"Did you sort out what to do between yourselves?"
"Yes, Master Harry Potter, Sir. Winky be better at cleaning, Dobby prefer cooking. Will be sharing other work."
"You guys have everything in hand, I guess," Harry mused, not noticing how both seemed to be standing taller at the statement - though Winky never even slowed down in her fight against the dust bunnies.
"If you have any needs or questions, come to me, other than that, just keep doing as you do, you're doing great, thank you my friends," he finished. If possible, Winky had sped up her cleaning at that. Seeing her tiny form scrubbing with vigor, he reminisced if he would have looked the same as he was scrubbing Privet Drive to a shine.
At that moment, he was hit by a stray thought. Of course, it fell straight out of his mouth.
"You know, we need to do something about these rags you wear," he said with a derisive sneer. "I hate seeing you in those, you need something proper to wear."
"Clothes?" Winky gasped, her hands frozen in mid-dusting, her tiny face contorted in fear. Dobby just stared. Even Marietta, who had been quietly sulking in the background so far, was looking at him strangely.
"No, no - not clothes. A work uniform," Harry quickly retorted, defusing the dreaded 'C'-word. "Maybe a suit for Dobby, and perhaps a maid's dress for you, Winky? Something like that?"
"Elf not be having clothes. Not be proper," Winky protested, still looking scared.
"Winky, many jobs do have a certain uniform that you wear while doing that work. An Auror has a uniform, a healer has one, too. In the muggle world, many people work as servants to other people, and they also have uniforms. They dress a certain way that shows they are cooks, cleaning people, repairmen, gardeners. For every job, you have the proper uniform that you wear while doing the job. That is a normal thing, and it is not considered 'clothes'- it is a 'work uniform', you understand?"
"But elves not be worth wearing pretty things. Elves be wearing tea towels, not clothes like wizards," Winky continued to protest, although weakly.
"As far as I am concerned, a Potter or Black elf is worth more than any handful of Malfoys, so he IS worth proper clothes," Harry demanded, and for a moment, he thought that he had heard Marietta stifle a snort of laughter in the background.
"Am I a great wizard, Dobby?" Harry asked, trying another angle. He was barely finished with asking for Dobby to practically fall over himself to approve.
"And Winky, do you know that you will be working for House Potter, and House Black? Do you know how prestigious these Houses are?" The little elf gasped in response, signalling that she did.
"And no servant of the great Harry Potter or the great House of Potter and Black will run around in rags," Harry concluded. "I was raised in the Muggle world, so I think like a Muggle. And to Muggles, this would be an insult to my House, implying I can't afford to properly dress my servants! Do you understand that?"
Seeing the elves nod, semi-uncomfortable, but kind of getting what he meant, Harry nodded back at them, preparing to unleash his final weapon on them. "So get yourself some proper servant uniforms. To avoid any issues, I am not going to give them to you - you are going to make them yourselves. This is a part of what you will need your allowance for. You make proper uniforms for your tasks, and will keep them neat and clean. That is part of your chores if you work for me. To represent the House, you understand?"
The prospect of having to do additional work to keep up their appearance finally kind of sold the idea to the elves, and they quickly popped off into other areas of the house to continue cleaning, lest Harry had more improper ideas they'd need to agree to.
Marietta had watched the exchange in silence, wondering about what he was aiming for with his demands to the elves. Now that it was done, she had to ask why this was such an issue to him.
"My relatives used to keep me dressed in hand-me-downs. Threadbare, washed out, a couple sizes too big, some ripped in places. Just good enough to not be rags. They did it to humiliate me, to show me my place with them. The few pounds for a new, fitting shirt - even a second hand one - was too much to spend on me. I wasn't worth it. And everyone should see how little I was worth. That feeling stays with you, trust me," he said, staring off through the wall into the distance as he spoke.
"How'd you feel if I were to put you in a pillowcase elf dress, and parade you in front of people at school?" he asked, not having to turn to know that she was blushing brightly at the thought of such a humiliation. "I had to stomach this for years. Nursery school, infant school, junior school. Kids are cruel, you know," he sighed, before shaking himself, throwing off the memories he was wrangling with.
"Let's have a closer look at the library, alright? Bet you are dying to get your hands on it," he suddenly changed the topic, marching off without waiting for a response, clearly running away from the conversation. Marietta was quite willing to not have this conversation, either, so she quickly followed, the moment soon forgotten as she was looking forward to getting a glimpse at a quite renowned collection.
Before they could get into the library, they ran into the goblins assessing the wards. "We have finished our evaluation," the leader of their group spoke.
"First of all, there are some complications with the Fidelius on the property. The caster wove it into the master ward, and combined it with the notice me not wards. This is quite the height of insolence - doing this, he pretty much made himself Master of the wards. Only the fact that your taking possession of the wards as a new owner triggered some subroutines that reassigned the control to you made you able to lead us in. The prior owner would not even be able to let anybody into his house without permission of his secret keeper, and no possibility to keep people out that had been told the secret. The way this works, I believe that even if struck from the ledger, they would still be able to enter, as long as they know the secret. The whole wards have been superseded by the Fidelius."
Somehow, Harry failed to muster the strength to be surprised.
"With things as they are, we need to let the wards collapse to remove the Fidelius. This will most certainly not remain unnoticed, especially by the secret keeper, and would render the wards completely inoperative for a day and weakened for a couple of weeks after. We are able to quickly erect separate notice-me-not wards to conceal the property from the Muggles to prevent a breach of the Statute, but that is about the extent of our abilities of what can be done on the fly to a property of this size. In a standard case, we would prepare the second set of wards beforehand and raise them quickly, but we cannot ward the outside of something we can't see."
"Crap. Trust Dumbledore to bugger up my plans," Harry snarled. " So we can't really do anything to secure the property, because you can't see it? But in order for you to see it, you need to collapse the wards and expose it, which will alarm everyone, did I get that right?"
"Yes. As I said, this was done highly unprofessional, and with questionable intent, at least. If you had obliviated the owner of the secret, he would have been completely locked out of his own property. This is just a small step shy of theft, in our opinion."
"Let me guess," Harry sighed. "It is a small step inside of legal, though, right?" He frowned and used mental expletives when the team leader nodded grim. "So there is nothing we could do to keep him from showing up and trying to take back control, unless we want to fight it out?"
"I'm afraid so, Master Potter. Even if we could put up wards over the existing ones - which we can't - we cannot ward something we can't see."
"Great!" Harry growled as he tossed his hands into the air in frustration and started walking off..
"Excuse me if I am saying something stupid, I don't know a lot about warding," Marietta piped up. "But you can see the inside of the walls, can't you?"
"Sorry miss - there are already active wards on those - we can't add anything permanent there that isn't woven into the existing wards or we might cause a cascade failure, right there. There is nothing we could do to prevent damage to the walls until the old wards came down and we put new ones in."
"But you could prevent entry?"
"Well yes. But anything that is going to prevent entrance after the walls have breached would need to be pretty violent to keep people from just trying to barge in, Miss. I don't know if you would want to have something like that indoors."
At this point, Harry stepped back into the conversation with a wide grin on his face."You have my attention, good sir. Violent is exactly what I am currently in the mood for. If they chose to go through the walls, I have no reservations about the severity of our response. As far as I am concerned, this would mean they are willing to kill, so anything is fair game, I'd presume"
A brief discussion later, the warders came to a solution. Since the doorway was the most fortified part of the wards, they needed to keep some space from that. Also, it dealt with the hassle of having lethal wards right behind the entrance doorway, which might inconvenience guests.
Since they were amenable to the idea, the goblins proposed something they called a citadel. They would ward the upper floors, ceding the ground floor to any attacker, but making the stairways a deathtrap. The idea was that you could retreat upstairs, and fire at attackers who would need to deal with you and the wards. Once they breached the next layer, you would simply retreat further up.
Doing so turned out to be a bit easier than expected - the entrance hall's really high ceiling made it unnecessary to bother with the various walls on that side one by one, and just ward it in one piece, and the staircase entrance and the inside of the street front wall. Which means they most likely only need two days or so. Due to the restriction on entry, they would camp out inside the house during work.
Still, with the state of the house, Harry thought they should give the elves a day or two to fix things before starting, in case of major stuff popping up, so he figured it would still take 3 or 4 days to be completed. Well in time before the will reading would tip people off.
After letting the others in to his thoughts, the Goblins quickly agreed that structural work needed to be done before warding. With this tacit agreement he led the warders out and returned to the library.
"Dobby, Winky? Could you please come to the library?" He asked, waiting for them to pop in.
"Thank you. The warders have a plan, but for it to work, we must make sure that the stairs are in perfect shape. Could you guys focus on getting this fixed? Do you need money for materials or stuff?"
"Dobby will fix it. Will not take long, Master Harry Potter, Sir. Dobby be taking money from house elf jar."
"House elf jar?" Harry parrotted the weird words.
Dobby nodded happily. "Be jar in kitchen of house, made by goblins. Jar be filling from family vault each day. Elves be buying food and things for work with jar money," he explained.
"Okay, I guess. Didn't think this was a thing," Harry admitted.
"Most houses have house elf jar. Is good thing. Elves not need bother Masters for money. Would not be proper," Winky agreed. Harry was fine with it. As long as they could get what they needed, it didn't matter to him how they got the money they needed.
"Ok, then this seems settled. You have two days until they come back and then they will camp here during their work, so make sure the work is done and things are as good as they can be by that time. Also, make sure some rooms are available for them. Gringotts has already arranged for Marietta and I to move into a hotel suite for the next couple of days until the reading, so we will move in here in a week's time. Plenty of time to gt everything ready, right?"
"Elves will tidy guest rooms as well, then. Dobby has started with master suite already. Can Master Harry Potter, Sir, be telling us where to move old Master's wardrobe and things now, so he does not need come back later?" Dobby asked.
"Sirius's things? Why move them?"
"Because Harry Potter, Sir, be the new Master, and be moving into Master bedroom," Dobby explained. "Is biggest room, biggest bathroom, biggest bed. Be only bed good enough for Master Harry Potter and Miss."
"Oh right," Harry replied, blushing brightly when Dobby was being so blase about things. The elf didn't seem to mind the natural order of things too much, but Harry's teenage mind didn't need much prompting when reminded of the fact that he would not be sleeping alone, anymore. He was squashing the feeling, vigorously, but he could see Marietta flinching, anyway.
"You know what, I think you've got it right. How about I go and… and look through his stuff for things to keep, things to put away, and stuff, and you stay here and check out the library, Marietta?" Harry proposed, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. "It shouldn't be long."
Marietta agreed, by necessity. The moment Harry told her to wait here, she had been unable to disagree as the bond immediately enforced her compliance. Realising the implications of her new situation once more, she was barely able to keep her composure long enough to have Harry walk off to fix the rooms, before she flung herself into one of the chairs and started crying the tears she had been holding back most of the day.
As she was having her cry, she slowly became aware of a voice near her.
"Don't be crying, we sure be having plenty of work for you. Master just forgot giving you your duties, he be doing soon," the Winky elf cooed to her, standing at her side, trying to calm her, but obviously looking not quite sure how to handle the situation.
Marietta was a bit out of her depth, she had thought house elves would not talk to humans unless spoken to, but then it dawned on her. She was one of them, now! Her tears doubled at that realisation as her head hit the cradle of her arms, again.
"Don't cry, don't cry," Winky doubled her efforts, as well, now softly patting her back. "You can be helping Winky with cleaning for now until Master be giving you own work. He sure be giving you soon, you see."
"Oh, he'll be giving it to me soon enough," Marietta snapped, angrily. Winky was looking confused, took a step back and looked intently at Marietta, trying to figure something out, while gazing right through her into the distance, or so it seemed. Suddenly, not that Marietta would notice, with her head now back in her arms, crying, Winky's ears tinged a deeper shade of green, as she uttered a soft "Oh."
"You be having duties, already."
Marietta could not help but bark a pained laugh at that statement. "You could say so," she stated morosely, looking up at Winky. Her crying was briefly interrupted by the events, but still close by, waiting to erupt again at a moment's notice.
"Then why Marrrreee... Mariiiee..." Winky tried, but kept stumbling over the name, "Why Mar-Etty be crying, then?" Winky finally asked, bewildered. "You can be doing light chores till Master calls you, Master sure not be minding you keeping busy while waiting. Just stay clean, Winky thinks, and it be okay."
"I'm not crying over work," Marietta explained, realising that the notion that work was everything to a house-elf was not coming even close to reality. "I'm crying over my parents."
Winky again did that quick examination of her, her gaze moving quickly all over her, while focussed in the distance. Marietta was just about to ask what she was doing, when Winky suddenly straightened up, and then launched herself at Marietta and engulfed the girl in a hug. "Winky being sorry for Mar-Etty. Mar-Etty go cry as much as she wants. Winky being there," she stated, her voice strained with sorrow. This set Marietta off again and soon, Winky joined in.
"Thank you, Winky," Marietta sighed as her tears had finally run out, giving the petite elf a squeeze.
"You be family, now," Winky sniffled. "Winky never again is letting family down. Winky no longer bad elf."
"I think you are the best elf," Marietta responded, giving Winky a hug, which was fiercely reciprocated. "A lot better than me, at any rate," she added, the sadness rolling over her again.
"Mar-Etty not bad. Why be saying such... mess," Winky chided. Marietta had a brief urge to chuckle when she could clearly hear that this seemed to be a curse word for elves. It did not help her mood, though.
"I did some really bad things, Winky," she sighed.
Winky sported a pained look as she responded. "Winky very sure she be being doing worse things than Mar-Etty."
"You think?" Marietta rose to the challenge, starting to count off her sins. "I betrayed the secrets of my friends, one of them Harry, causing Headmaster Dumbledore to get fired from school, Hogwarts taken over by the Bitch, and in the end got my parents tortured and killed over it. How on earth do you think you can be worse than me?"
Winky blinked a few times, and then, in a low voice, she responded. "Winky be causing wizard war."
It took a few moments for Marietta to get her sputtering mind back into gear to even start processing that statement. Meanwhile, her sputtering of "What? Why? How?" had already prompted the elf to elaborate on her claim.
"Winky being elf to Master Crouch Senior. Winky was to watch over young Master Crouch, who was spelled to sit in his room and stay there. You see, young master be supposed to be in Azkaban for being Death Eater, but Mistress begged Master to exchange her for young Master before she died. She being ill, you see. Old master did, and Winky was to watch for young Master. One day, Winky reading to young Master, he be excited over Quidditch world cup. Winky thinking it be good for young Master, and asked old Master to allow visit. Old master agreed. Changed spell so young master could go there and watch. But something wrong with spell, and young master stole wand from other wizard and did bad things. Winky bad elf, not stop him. Old Master giving Winky clothes for it," Winky recounted, sobbing at the end.
"Master being right. Young Master then be killing old Master, then helping hurt new Master Harry Potter, and help bringing back Dark Lord before dying being eaten by Dementy thingy monster. All because Winky being bad elf," she managed to summarise under her own heavy sobbing.
Marietta found herself in the reverse situation of just a few moments before. Now she was the one holding on to a sobbing girl, trying to console her with no idea what to say. She could not really refute the story with just the facts she had, and, truth be told, it really sounded that Winky was the one who kicked the pebble that caused the landslide. Sure, Winky meant no harm, and who could have foreseen that chain of events, but wow. It really helped putting her own troubles into perspective.
"That be enough dilly-dally for today," Winky suddenly proclaimed, pulling herself up and together with a fiercely determined look on her face. "Work be waiting. Winky need be looking for sewing book. Book of books be saying library had book on servant uniforms. Winky be making them. Mar-Etty be helping - you is better looking in top shelves," she stated, and before she knew, Marietta was shang-hayed into looking for this mysterious book. She got a good overview about how the library was stocked and sorted while doing so, so she wasn't about to complain.