Summary:
Wizards Suck by ares.granger »
Begins summer after fifth year. Harry is stuck at the Dursleys until a phone call changes his life. With goblins, the muggle government, and one Hermione Granger at his back Harry is ready for change and eager to leave an unjust, cruel, and stupid magical world behind. AU, summary not as good as it probably could be, H/HrHarry Potter, T, English, Romance & Humor, chapters: 12, words: 32k+, favs: 4k+, follows: 1k+, updated: Nov 10, 2013 published: Oct 28, 2013, [Hermione G., Harry P.]
Chapter 1
A/N- This fic was inspired by "Harry Potter and the RAF" by Ravengrad, and "Damn Wizards" by sprinter1988. I want to thank them for their brilliant works that have and continue to inspire me in my own. Alright, here we go then. This fic begins the summer after fifth year. Harry is at the Dursleys, being ignored by the Order and his alleged friends after having watched his godfather die. Obviously this fic is AU or non-canon. If you want canon, I recommend JKR's books. Except the last three. And especially that horrid epilogue.
*ahem* But I digress. Harry's trapped at the Dursleys but Hermione comes to his rescue with some help. She always does come through for Harry...go Hermione!
Disclaimer- I don't own HP in any way, shape, or form. I make no money from this work of fiction. JKR gets all the credit for her characters I've borrowed, though the characters I've created for this story are in fact mine so no stealing ;-)
Harry didn't understand why he was being left alone. No owls, no visible people outside of the Dursley house. When the phone rang one day while the Dursleys were all out Harry walked down and looked at it. The caller id showed the only phone number that he'd ever memorized. He picked it up eagerly, "Hermione?!"
"Harry!" Hermione let out a sigh of relief, "Oh Harry are you okay?"
"I'm all alone all the time," he said. "I'm sorry I got you injured."
"Harry, don't apologize. I'd walk into hell by your side and you know it. Are you alone?"
"Yeah why?"
"How long?"
"The Dursleys are having a shopping day where they're all gone. They won't get back until late tonight."
"Perfect," Hermione took a deep breath, "Harry I'm going to bust you out of Dumbledore's imprisonment."
"How?"
"Muggle methods," she smiled. "My parents are on the phone with the police in your area. They're reporting all the abuse you've undergone there. You just have to confirm it to the police when they come and you have to show them where they kept you locked up. My parents are claiming guardianship; just tell them we're friends from school and that you'd be delighted to stay with us."
"Okay," he said. "Thanks Hermione."
"Don't blame yourself, Harry. It wasn't your fault. However, if you think you need my forgiveness I'll let you hug me as much as you want to make amends."
Harry smiled. Hermione knew him so well. "So Dumbledore said no contact?"
"I've sent you eight letters. All of them come back to me. Unless you suddenly hate me then the old bastard is intruding." Harry had never really heard Hermione curse. To hear her say such things about Dumbledore was surprising. But then, ever since he'd been back here he'd been thinking about it. He didn't trust him. The old man was constantly denying him the knowledge that would have kept Harry ahead of the curve or at least from making decisions that would lead to him and others getting hurt; or in Sirius' case, killed. He wasn't training Harry to fight back. He was raising Harry to die. Harry decided that wasn't happening. And clearly Hermione was of the same mind. "Pack what you want to take with you and don't want non-magical folk to see and I hope to see you very soon Harry."
The police arrived shortly and Harry answered their questions, even showing them the cupboard that had been his home for eleven years. All of the officers gave him looks of sympathy and he soon had all of his things packed as he headed to the police station. He did what Hermione had said, telling them he had no clothes that fit him properly; they had then supplied him a t-shirt and some track pants from an officer's bag as well as a cap and some sunglasses. That ought to confuse whichever Order member was making sure Harry didn't leave.
Soon Harry was in the station, eating a burger & chips that a detective brought him as he told his story to them. "Will I have to testify? I don't really want to see them again. Uncle Vernon always seems ready to strangle me. I know he'll be mad at me for this."
"The Grangers will be here soon."
"Hermione's coming?" Harry lit up, "When?"
"Very soon son," the older man gave him a comforting smile, "they're going to take you back to their place with them, if you don't mind."
"I could stay with Hermione? That'd be great," Harry smiled. "I miss her alot."
When she arrived with her parents she almost leaped into his arms. Harry held her tightly, "You saved me," he whispered.
"I told you Harry. I'll march into hell at your side." He could see a determination in her eyes and smiled, hugging her again. "Are you okay?"
"Feeling better now that you're here," he admitted. "I've missed your hugs."
She smiled and squeezed him tight, "If I had my way you'd always be trapped in one of them," she whispered.
"I would accept that," he responded.
She kissed his cheek, "Harry I know how we can get actual training to take him on."
"How?"
"Her Royal Majesty's government," she answered. Harry had to admit, she had a point. Death Eaters were pureblood wizards, and they didn't know any purebloods that knew anything about Muggle technology. Parts of the government had to know about the magical world. "I know how to contact the right people," she promised him, "but first let's get you some clothes. We're not going back to my house."
"Where are we going?"
"London," she answered. "They set up a safehouse for us. I told said right people about everything and they've agreed to help."
"You're brilliant."
She smiled at Harry's admiration, "Come on Harry. We have many things to do, with limited time." Harry put on the clothes Hermione had brought him and thanked the officers repeatedly for everything.
Harry noticed a man in a dark suit approach them, "Hello Mr. Potter. You may call me Grant."
"I'm Harry," he said.
"I will be escorting you and the Grangers to the safehouse," Grant handed the detective a card, "if you need Mr. Potter for anything else call this number and leave a message. These two will be in service to Her Majesty soon."
"Grant is a squib," Hermione told Harry once they were all in the large car that fit all six occupants, "and the driver, Mark, is a Muggleborn who left the wizarding world because of all the prejudices. He couldn't get a job after Hogwarts but he also couldn't get a job in the real world. He has no diplomas or education records."
"Nice to meet you Harry," Mark said. "Hermione speaks highly of you."
"Nice to meet you too," Harry said, settling into the seat of the car and leaning against Hermione. Her hand slipped into his and he squeezed it, "I've really missed you. Your injuries are healed?" As Harry and Hermione held hands her parents shared a mutual look and smile before they went about filling out the necessary forms for guardianship for Harry.
She nodded, "The scar is gone. I looked through some potions books and made up a few of them. I'm fully healed."
Harry let out a sigh of relief. He felt his guilt completely vanish. Hermione was healthy, and clearly she was coming up with a plan. "I don't want to go back to Hogwarts, Hermione."
"Neither of us are," she promised. "Grant can you help explain to Harry what we're doing?"
Grant nodded, "Hermione wanted out of Hogwarts. She also wanted to know if we could get you out of Hogwarts. We can. The magical world cannot interfere with our government. If you two are agents of Her Majesty's government, then you're safe." Grant looked back at them, "And you two are going to begin training body and mind. We have a wonderful library of magical and non-magical books.
"Imagine walking up to Voldemort with a gun," Hermione smiled at Harry. "He has to cast a spell, you just pull a trigger."
Harry smiled. "Magical shields can't stop Muggle means, because they all think they're better than Muggles."
"Exactly," Grant nodded. "Which is why this is going to be so useful."
Hermione added, "Wizards also just blindly accept what they're told and don't ever look for alternate solutions."
"They're also lazy," Mark spoke up, "so if you two are fit you'll be able to outrun them easily."
Harry looked at Hermione, "Remember how Mr. Weasley treated your parents when he met them? Like they were puppies or something 'oh but you're just so cute and simple!' ugh it annoyed me."
"It annoyed me too," Hermione nodded, "Harry I don't want to pressure you but I don't think I want to return to the magical world at all. If Voldemort starts getting into the non-magical world then I say we nuke him."
"We have a goblin who will meet us at the safe house. He wants to do scans of your bodies to remove any traces and quick health checks. The goblins do like working with our government," Grant added at Harry's surprised expression, "probably because we aren't asses to them like wizards are."
Harry pulled Hermione into a hug, "Hermione, where you go I go. I don't want to be part of a world where people can treat you the way they've treated you and not only get away with it, but no one can see that there's something wrong with it."
The safe house was in a very busy section of London. There was no way a wizard would know how to get here. They entered and the goblin greeted them, "Greetings to you all. I am Bonescar and I am a goblin healer. First I'd like to use detection charms to see if any spells have been cast on you." To be safe Mark, Grant, and Hermione's parents were all scanned. They showed up clean and then Bonescar scanned Hermione, "You have evidence of a compulsion charm, but you must have feelings for someone else that overrides it."
"Compulsion charm?" Harry asked.
"Used to make a person do something they wouldn't otherwise do. This compulsion charm is keyed to Ronald Bilius Weasley. It is of the romantic feelings sort."
"So my feelings for," Hermione whispered the next part, "Harry," her face was bright red but she hoped he hadn't heard her, "overrode the forced feelings for Ron?"
"Indeed," Bonescar nodded. "All of your wizarding mail is coming through Gringotts. We will take care of hexes, curses, portkeys, you get the idea." He made short work of that one as well as a small magical trace before saying, "You'll be safe now. Now onto you Mr. Potter."
Harry wasn't listening to Bonescar. He was too focused on what Hermione had said. Her feelings for Harry had overcome the compulsion charm. "Bonescar how strong must feelings be to override a compulsion charm?"
"Oh very deep," he nodded to himself, "a crush would not be enough. No, to overcome a compulsion charm only love is the cure."
Harry stared at Hermione. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Harry no one chooses the know-it-all with bushy hair who spends her time in libraries. Besides your type is obvious and I'm not it."
"Interesting though your failing love lives are, I would like to scan Mr. Potter please."
He nodded but looked at Hermione, "We're talking about this later Hermione."
Bonescar scanned Harry and his eyes grew wide, "That bastard turned you into a horcrux! Dumbledore should have brought you to us! We could have healed it immediately!"
"A what?" Harry frowned.
"Come lay down on the couch," he removed the tracking charms, the monitoring charms, and the traces that were on him. All were from Dumbledore. This is going to hurt, Mr. Potter. I'd suggest Miss Granger stays by your side."
"Call me Harry, Bonescar."
"And call me Hermione," she knelt down beside the couch and held Harry's hand without question. Harry squeezed it and closed his eyes as Bonescar began chanting. He felt an intense pain and squeezed her hand on instinct as the pain increased. "Harry…"
The scar seemed to flash suddenly and then opened with black ooze pouring out of it as a green wraith exited the scar as well, emitting a ghastly scream as it did so. When Bonescar was finished he growled, "Stupid wizards. They don't know how to do something, so they just leave you with part of the Dark Lord's soul in your head. Your connection with him will no longer be present. No more visions, no more possessions."
Harry sighed in relief, "That's fantastic."
Hermione looked at his forehead, "Harry your scar is alot thinner than before."
"Soon it will vanish," Bonescar said, "No more scar for you, Mr. Harry Potter."
The grin on Harry's face made them both smile. Bonescar left to go talk with the adults while Harry sat up and pulled Hermione onto the couch with him, "Now, let's go over some things. First, my type isn't something that exists. There have been two girls I've had a crush on and they couldn't be more different." Harry looked at her, "And you're wrong, Hermione. Because I choose you over everyone else."
She smiled and Harry pulled her into a hug, "I love you Harry."
"And another first for me," Harry chuckled, "You were the first to hug me, the first to give me a kiss on the cheek…now the first to say you love me."
"First kiss?"
"Well I'm looking forward to that first," he smiled. Hermione leaned in and they shared a gentle, sweet first kiss.
"You took that first from me, too," she whispered when she pulled back.
"Good because Krum was a jerk."
She rolled her eyes and pulled him to her, "Shut up Harry and kiss me."
"Happily," he smiled.
When the four adults entered the room with the goblin it was to see Harry and Hermione lying on the couch together, snogging. "I could have gone without ever seeing that," Dan Granger muttered.
Emma smacked his arm, "Dan, Harry thought Hermione was seriously injured and she didn't think he'd ever like her. Let them have their moment. All they have in the world is each other. If you try to intimidate Harry you remember that your daughter will hate you for that. She's very protective of him."
Grant smirked, "If you two want to cook dinner I will prepare my discussions for tonight with them. I think they both deserve some privacy."
With that Mark and Grant went one way while Hermione's parents went another and the two teens continued to express their feelings for one another on the couch, never even noticing that for a brief moment, they hadn't been alone.
Remus Lupin gazed out at Number 4, Privet Drive. Earlier Dung had reported that some Muggles in costumes had approached the house and spoke to Harry before he'd let them in. Not understanding the Muggle world, neither man thought much about it. Dung had said that they left in vans and cars with lights on them and Harry hadn't been out since. Perhaps, if wizards weren't ingrained to obey authority, Remus would have wondered why he hadn't talked to Harry before his third year at Hogwarts or why he didn't talk to him again until his fifth year after Remus had left Hogwarts. But Remus Lupin accepted Dumbledore as infallible, and did not question it. He settled in for his shift. He'd pulled a long one.
A/N2- Oh Harry...he's a convincing actor ;-) Also we're just going to ignore that whole Cho Chang episode. Good? Good. P.S. I'm an American, and I'd rather use the wrong terms by using American ones than use incorrect English ones. I will strive to get certain things right but others I probably won't. So don't yell at me too bad for using American titles in lieu of British ones.
Chapter 2
Harry's mind felt so much clearer since the removal of that horcrux. Although that feeling paled in comparison to the feelings as he snogged Hermione. Her lips were very addictive. It wasn't until she felt him pressing against her that they parted for air, "I think Little Harry's a bit excited."
"Sexiest woman in the world pressed against him, how could he not be?" Harry brushed a stray hair away from her face, "I love you Hermione."
"I enjoy having all these firsts with you," she leaned in and kissed him again, "Harry we should do something about your vaults. How much do you want to bet that the old coot is stealing from you?"
"I'm certain he is," he sighed. "We'll talk to your parents and Grant and Mark about it and see what we can do."
Hermione nodded and pulled him to her, "I don't want to let you go, Harry."
"You won't ever have to," he promised. She smiled and they kissed again, their snogging session beginning anew.
When they separated for the second time it was to Emma announcing dinner. Harry and Hermione took a minute to gather themselves and adjust their clothing before going in for dinner. There were some knowing stares that had both teens blushing. "It's very nice to see you two together," Emma said, "Hermione talks about you all the time."
Again they both blushed, stealing glances with one another. Deciding to change the subject Harry spoke, "Hermione and I both think that Dumbledore is stealing from my vault."
"The goblins have warded this house for us, and we can floo directly to the leader of the Goblin nation's office," Mark said. "He has offered his nation's support in this endeavor."
Hermione smiled, "We can talk to him after dinner then Harry. We don't want Dumbledore making a move to block access to your gold."
Everyone agreed with this statement and no one teased the two about their newfound relationship. Harry wondered if it was because he'd thought Hermione was hurt or that Sirius had died so recently.
Going to Gringotts was very different this time. Harry had only been in the main area of the bank and then to the vaults before. Hermione had never even been to the vaults. They emerged from the floo to the director's office. "It's a special floo connection," Mark said. Grant had stayed behind to deal with the non-magical side of things. "It connects to Gringotts and a special office that we'll be working with in Her Majesty's government. Nowhere else."
"That is useful," Harry said, looking around the office. Hermione was by his side. The Grangers had stayed behind with Grant since Mark was going to act as Harry's advisor along with Hermione.
When a goblin entered the room he smiled, "Mr. Potter. I knew you'd be here sooner or later. I am Ragnok, chief of the goblin nation and Director of Gringotts. Please, have a seat."
"It's very nice to meet you Ragnok. This is my girlfriend and best friend Hermione Granger."
Ragnok nodded to her, "A pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise, sir," Hermione smiled, bowing her head out of respect.
"How can I help you?"
Harry licked his lips, "I want to know if anyone other than myself has been accessing my vault."
The goblin frowned, "Don't you mean vaults? Your family has three, including the one you've been using."
"Three vaults," Hermione squeezed Harry's hand, "Dumbledore never mentioned that did he Harry?"
"He didn't tell me I had a horcrux in my head either," Harry growled.
Ragnok's eyes narrowed, "Yes Bonescar told me of that." He looked over some sort of logbook, "Mr. Potter several million galleons have been removed from your vaults by Albus Dumbledore. He claimed magical guardianship."
"But Sirius Black was my guardian!"
Hermione squeezed Harry's hand and debated offering him a reward if he didn't have an accidental magic discharge. He was very angry. Ragnok seemed to sense the impending blowup as well and spoke, "Mr. Potter, Harry, the Wizengamot sealed your parents wills after their death."
"Sealed them? They can do that?" Hermione asked.
"Albus Dumbledore is the one who leads that body. He can do that."
Hermione suddenly felt everything click into place, "He wantedHarry to go to those horrible people's house. He wanted Harry to be broken down and beaten down. He wanted Harry pliable. Is it because of the horcrux? We know the prophecy."
Ragnok nodded, "It is the belief of Gringotts that everything happened to make Harry pliable and desperate for affection. Then he could be molded and shaped into a weapon. It is also our belief that many friendships were paid for by Albus Dumbledore."
"Not Hermione," Harry said, feeling angry. Hermione got up and sat on his lap, rubbing the back of his neck to try and calm him down.
"I would never do anything like that Harry," she promised, kissing him gently. This seemed to subdue the teen and they both looked at Ragnok.
"The Weasleys were paid," Ragnok said.
Hermione looked at Ragnok, "I know how goblins feel about public affection but if I don't do this I don't know if you'll have an office." With that she pulled Harry's head to hers and kissed him.
Harry had never kissed before today but he realized that he and Hermione were very, very good at it. His arms tightened around her and she deepened the kiss, her tongue brushing up against his and making him want to moan. When they parted a few minutes later Harry looked much calmer. "That was great," he whispered.
"I enjoyed it too," she gave him a gentle kiss before turning her attention back to Ragnok, "Now where were we?"
Ragnok chuckled before speaking, "We can reclaim a portion of those funds from both parties. However much has been spent and we believe that Dumbledore will seek to access them again."
"What do we do then?" Mark asked.
The goblin chief gave a frightening grin, "Mr. Potter's vaults can't be accessed if they aren't his."
Harry was confused, but Hermione smiled. "If we put them in my name Dumbledore can't touch them."
Ragnok nodded and Harry grinned. "That's brilliant! How do we get them over to Hermione?"
"It is easy, for me anyway. We shall move them all to a vacant large vault and place it in Miss Granger's name. Then Miss Granger makes a list of people who can access the vault."
Hermione smiled and nodded, "I'm okay with doing this if Harry is."
"Hermione is really the only human I trust in the wizarding world. Of course I'm okay with this."
"We will also place liens on the vaults that have taken money from you," Ragnok promised, "and anything we can do to make up for this error we would be happy to do."
Hermione looked at him, "Harry was a horcrux. Are there other horcruxes? I mean, I don't know much about them but I doubt Voldemort would just make one. And who's to say that Harry was even intentionally a horcrux? Things went wrong that night."
Ragnok nodded, "That is a very interesting point. Our sources are different than most and very reliable. We will begin investigating that side of things and, should we find other horcruxes, destroy them free of charge. We have wronged you, Harry, and we will make it right."
Harry nodded. "I don't hold the theft against you; however I'll accept your offer to make it right."
"Thank you," Ragnok smiled, "you are a very gracious young man. It is a pleasant change from the wizards we usually deal with."
When Harry and Hermione and Mark returned to the safehouse the Grangers and Grant were there. "Is it taken care of?"
"Dumbledore can't get my money now," Harry smiled, "all of my accounts are now in Hermione's name."
"Harry and I are the only two who can access them," Hermione said, "Harry's a billionaire."
"The goblins are going to go through all of my properties and remove any dark items from them. I'm Sirius' heir, apparently," Harry sighed. "The goblins are also going to look for any more horcruxes and destroy them. They say it's their form of apology for letting Dumbledore steal from me."
"Ragnok also gave us a list of vaults who've taken money from Harry through Dumbledore. He's placing liens on them until the money is returned but they won't announce it until Mark and Grant give the go ahead that we're safe from the old bastard's intrusions."
The rest of the evening was spent going over what a horcrux was. Ragnok had supplied them with books about it so that they understood what they were facing. "I can't imagine making one of these, much less multiple ones," Harry said.
Hermione nodded, "Alot of alleged 'dark magic' isn't even dark. But this…I don't think there's anything darker. Or more dangerous. I mean think about it, Voldemort made you a horcrux and didn't even know about it."
Harry nodded. "He must have been really desperate." Hermione moved to sit on his lap, "Thanks for keeping me calm in Gringotts. I was really angry."
"I'm really angry at them too but blowing up Gringotts' director is not a way to deal with that," she kissed him, "you said 'Not Hermione'. Were you defending me or hoping I didn't do that?"
"Both," he answered. "Are you mad at me?"
"No Harry I'm not mad at you," she leaned in and gave him a kiss of longing, "I understand why you were worried. And I'm glad that you were defending me." Hermione kissed him again, "Tonight I think we should share a bed." Harry stared at her and she shook her head, "Not to do anything physical. I just want to snuggle with you. I've been having nightmares and I think if I was curled up to you that they'd go away."
Harry smiled and they kissed again, "I'm happy with that, Hermione. You might save me from some of my own nightmares too."
"Sirius' death?"
"Imagining yours," he answered. Hermione smiled and Harry tightened his arms around her, "I'm glad we're here, together."
"Do you want to go over the list tonight? See who we can't trust?"
"Tomorrow. That way I have time to relax."
Harry Potter woke the next morning curled up in bed with his beautiful brunette girlfriend. He smiled and nuzzled into her thick mane of hair. Harry appreciated uncontrollable hair. His own was quite unruly. Hermione's hair was beautiful, to his eyes. As wild and untamed as Hermione herself was. He grinned against her neck and he kissed it, "Good morning gorgeous."
"Good morning handsome," she whispered. "Little Harry seems to enjoy pressing against me."
"Well you're the one who's beautiful and sexy and amazing," Harry smirked. She turned to face him and they kissed, "I love you."
"I love you too," she smiled and they kissed again. "We should get up." Reluctantly Harry nodded and they exited the bed to get ready for the day. They did have alot to do today.
Downstairs they decided to prepare breakfast when Hermione suddenly spoke, "I think we stopped the prophecy Harry."
Harry, who'd just taken some orange juice out of the fridge, turned and looked at her, "How?"
"The horcrux in your head."
Harry's eyes widened before he grinned and pulled her to him, kissing her madly. Hermione returned the kiss and her arms slid around his neck to pull him against her. Neither noticed when Dan and Emma Granger entered the room. Dan winked at his wife and cleared his throat, "Harry Potter get your mitts off of my daughter before I get a hold of a gun."
Harry jumped away from Hermione, who glared at her laughing father before pulling Harry back into her arms, "He's just teasing Harry. They both like you very much. They wouldn't have trusted us in the same bedroom otherwise."
Dan walked over and shook Harry's hand, "I trust Hermione's judgment, and she's been writing to us about you even before you saved her from the troll."
"You know?"
"I keep no secrets from them Harry. They even read my schoolbooks. Mum and I brew potions in the summer together. Daddy altered our basement so we could brew together." Harry smiled. Hermione was still close to her parents, despite the fact that she was magical and they weren't. She continued, "The only reason I stayed at Hogwarts was because of you. They understood that I could never leave you behind."
Harry's smile grew and he hugged her, "I didn't know it was possible to love someone more than I already love you but I think it's happening." Hermione kissed him again before burying her head against his neck, "I need new clothes."
"We'll take care of that I promise," she kissed Harry once more.
A/N- Coming next chapter: The list of untrustworthy people, going into the service of the Queen, and going after Dumbledore! Plus some other stuff but if I listed it all you'd have no reason to read on!
Chapter 3
A/N- Originally I was thinking of sticking Harry into the Armed Forces, but instead I've gone with MI5. Secret agents and spies are just sexier at the end of the day, plus Hermione will be by his side through it all so this way she's on equal footing. Now, I looked. I really did, but couldn't find much on titles for MI5 superiors and so I went with section chief (Criminal Minds viewers might recognize said title). If you like the Weasleys you won't like this chapter. But this story requires it. There are no reprieves in this fic. I have other fics where the Weasleys are nice; this won't be one of them. I fully intend to eviscerate the wizarding community (I'd say magical but I like the goblins).
They returned to Gringotts a few hours later at Ragnok's request. "Bonescar has alerted me that you need treatment for malnutrition," he looked at Harry sadly, "We'll heal you as part of our debt to you. The potions take care of all those years of malnutrition. This will also aid your hiding. You won't look like you do now. Even Miss Granger might not recognize you."
"I'll always recognize my Harry," Hermione ran her hand over his thigh and he smiled.
"How do we do this?"
"You take one potion every day," Bonescar said as he entered with a tray, "for two weeks."
"Okay," Harry nodded, "I think Hermione can make sure I take it." She nodded and he smiled.
Discussion turned to horcruxes and they revealed that they'd found one in Gringotts already, it was the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. Harry's eyes widened, then it hit him. "The diary!"
"Riddle's diary?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded and her eyes widened, "Oh dear Merlin it was a horcrux! Well then that means three have been found and two destroyed," Hermione said.
Ragnok stroked his chin, "May I see the memory of this diary? I'd also like to see all your dealings with Dumbledore and these adventures; especially anything to do with Tom Riddle."
"Sure," Harry nodded.
It took Harry 30 minutes to get out all the appropriate memories for Ragnok. The goblin leader decided to look at them tomorrow and offered to go over the list of people who'd taken money from Dumbledore. Harry shook his head, "I know I'm going to get angry, I'd rather get angry with Hermione in private than angry in public and risk hurting our relationship with you, sir." Ragnok nodded and saw them out after giving them both a debit card that they could use in the non-magical world to get clothes and whatnot.
Back at their new home Grant was smiling, "First things first, we're getting you sworn into duty."
"Harry's not even sixteen yet."
"Doesn't matter for this job," he said. "We're going to a special division of MI5. All squibs and Muggleborns. You two will take an oath and then the goblins can go after Dumbledore."
Hermione smiled and looked at Harry, "Take your first potion, Harry, then we'll go."
"Yes dear," he sighed.
"Less than 24 hours and you're already whipped?" Dan laughed, "Oh Harry you have it bad for my little girl don't you."
"I can't imagine my life without her," Harry answered honestly. This saw him rewarded with Hermione's lips on his. Unseen by the teens Dan smiled proudly. All he could ask of a suitor was that they were devoted to his daughter, would treat her well, and thought she was everything. Harry accomplished that without even a lecture from him. It was nice to see that his upbringing hadn't destroyed him.
When they exited the floo they were in a very governmental looking area. "This is the magical section of MI5," Grant explained to the teens and the Grangers. Mark and Grant led them through the floor to a room, "Here's our section chief, Katherine Vance. Ma'am we have here Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. These two are Miss Granger's parents."
Katherine Vance was not what Harry was expecting. She had straight, blonde hair with a few streaks of grey in it. Her eyes were hazel but were piercing and intimidating and while she was short he could see she was toned. Harry had the feeling that this was not a woman to cross. Not only could she more than likely destroy you verbally she could also crush you physically. She looked them over before smiling and walking around the desk toward them, "We are delighted to help you both."
"Thank you," Harry said. "How do we become agents?"
"You will take an oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II and we will go from there," Katherine explained curtly.
All told the process took several hours before Harry and Hermione were free from Dumbledore's thumb. Harry felt a sense of relief and freedom wash over him as they left. For now they were to be trained by Mark and Grant; once that was done they'd report directly to Katherine. Back at the safehouse Harry and Hermione went to the study. Mark and Emma went shopping for clothes from them both while Grant and Dan, who had served in the Royal Air Force long before Hermione was born, began a training schedule for the teens.
"Time for the list then," Hermione said. Harry nodded. There was no avoiding it. She looked at the parchment given to them by Ragnok, "First, the Weasleys. It wasn't given to the whole family, just individuals."
"Which ones and how long?"
Hermione looked at him sadly, "Molly and Arthur, since you were two years old. None for Bill, but then maybe that's because of the large amounts given to his parents; none for Charlie either but the same reason is viable."
"Percy?"
"Yes, but it's minor."
"Fred and George?"
Hermione could see the hope in Harry's eyes and hated that she was the one that had to crush it, "The twins were also getting money from Dumbledore. Substantial money, Harry." The young man hung his head, "I think you know that Ron and Ginny were definitely getting paid. Ron's payments increased the year we began Hogwarts. Ginny's the year after."
Harry closed his eyes. Two Weasleys he barely knew were the only possible ones who hadn't stolen from him. But then, could it have been because he wasn't at Hogwarts with them? Even Percy was being given payouts and Harry'd never hung around with Percy. "Who else?"
She licked her lips before speaking slowly, "Cho Chang this past year."
Harry's eyes snapped open, "WHAT? Her interest in me was solely monetary? Bloody hell what a sl-"
Hermione's hand covered Harry's mouth, "Don't use that word in my presence, Harry James Potter. Even if the little tartlet deserves it." He nodded in understanding, "Look on the bright side, love, you didn't do anything with her."
"That's true," he admitted.
"Remus Lupin is on the list, Harry."
"We know he was watching the Dursley house to make sure I stayed there. It hurts, but not as much as my supposed friends and crush. Let's look at the rest of the list together. I might be calmer if you're in my lap."
"Or just riled up for another reason," Hermione teased, making Harry flush in embarrassment. She got up and sat on his lap, feeling his arms wrap around her as they looked at the list. Plenty of Gryffindors were on the list. A handful of staff were; pretty much the entire Order of the Phoenix was on the list. The only absences were again Bill Weasley and, unsurprisingly, Sirius Black. "At least Sirius truly loved and cared about you."
"And you," Harry reminded her, "and with all due respect to Sirius, I'd rather have you loving me."
"I'll bet," she leaned against him and Harry's lips landed on her jaw, "Harry that feels good."
He smiled and continued, "That's the point love."
The couple got lost in one another again, which Harry was grateful for. The betrayals were painful but since he wanted nothing to do with that world again it was easy to put it aside. Now he was free and the goblins could get back all the money. Honestly it wasn't even the money for Harry. He had plenty of it. It was the fact that people had presumed they could steal from him without any repercussions and used and abused his relationship with them.
When they parted Hermione shifted to sit next to him and leaned fully on him. "We'll always have each other," he said. "If it weren't for you I don't think I'd even want to live anymore."
That brought tears to her eyes and she shook her head, "We get to choose our own destiny now, Harry."
"You mean do we wipe out Voldemort or not?"
"Exactly."
"I say let the goblins deal with the horcruxes. They won't be easy to find and they'll have to find out how many he made. For now let's focus on our training." She nodded, approving of this direction. Harry was silent for a bit before he asked, "So do your parents do any other schoolwork with you?"
"Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, History of Magic," Hermione counted them off on her fingers, "and of course Potions. Pretty much anything that doesn't require a wand. They have read my other books, and my dad is not pleased with Defense Against the Dark Arts. He thinks they need a physical part of the class. I had to explain that purebloods are lazy and don't even cook without magic. This astonished my parents."
"I can imagine," Harry nodded. "It's nice that you do that with them, keep them involved in your life. I would imagine it's hard for lots of Muggleborn and even half-blood students."
Hermione nodded, "I could never keep my parents in the dark about the things I do at school. I've always had an open relationship with them; I'm allowed some secrets, of course, but I never deny them important things about my life."
"Like being petrified by a basilisk?" Harry offered.
"Exactly," she nodded. "Let's explore the house. We'll be staying here a long time." Harry approved of this so, hand in hand, the young couple wandered the house together.
Ronald Weasley did not understand why his owl refused to take a letter to Hermione Granger. He knew he had to start working on her to get her to date him and do all of his homework for him. He was now annoyed. Ginny's plan for seducing Harry couldn't begin until Harry went to Grimmauld Place. They were supposed to already be at Grimmauld Place but Dumbledore hadn't arrived to take them yet.
Albus Dumbledore was almost frantic. First Harry Potter had gone missing, with no one the wiser. Albus wasn't sure exactly when he left Privet Drive but the boy certainly wasn't there now. Then he'd called on the Granger household to find it empty and abandoned. By that point he was definitely worried. Hermione Granger was a thorn in his side, certainly, but he felt he could control her. Her last letter to Harry hadn't even made sense:
I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was a footloose man.
I went down to the Chelsea drug store
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man did he look pretty ill.
Albus had no clue what it meant. He'd tried to decipher it, even shown it to the teachers at Hogwarts. None of them had a clue as to Miss Granger's strange code. He was extremely proud of how he was able to copy her letters before making them return 'unopened'. He'd hope she'd desist. Instead she'd just got more cryptic. Clearly she was plotting something and somehow had been able to communicate with Harry since they were both gone without a trace. Then he'd headed to Grimmauld Place to find that he couldn't find the house. Or remember where it was. When he'd returned to his office the instruments to track Harry had all been inactive. Either Harry Potter was dead or he'd figured out how to stop the charms and whatnot. Even the horcrux in Harry's head wasn't being tracked. Now he was really worried. Had Voldemort figured out that Harry was horcrux and killed him?
Whatever was going on, Albus Dumbledore would get to the bottom of it and get the boy back under his control. Right where he belonged. Only death could destroy that horcrux and he would see Harry Potter dead. It was for the greater good.
A/N2- I would like to give full credit for the lyrics printed in italics to The Rolling Stones from the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want". I thought it was poetic justice and that Hermione would get a chuckle out of Albus Dumbledore intercepting that letter since she already had a plan in motion to get Harry out.
Chapter 4
A/N- WOW chapter 4 already! I'm really, really liking this story. Should I warn you about Ron bashing? Thus far it's pretty mild. Just a quick reminder- I don't own Harry Potter and only play with JKR's characters for my own (and hopefully your) amusement. I jinxed myself last night; writing the lyrics to "You Can't Always Get What You Want" led to the song entering my head and I found myself singing it in the shower this morning.
A panting Harry Potter collapsed on the ground. This was day six of their training and after making him do thirty crunches, thirty pushups, and then run five laps around the track in the Surprisingly spacious backyard he felt ready to die. Hermione was faring no better. They both felt like one giant bruise. Initially both teens had liked Mark and Grant. Now they were convinced that the two agents were actually evil.
"Tomorrow you two get a free day," Grant said, "you can relax in the pool if you want; we won't oppose it."
"A day in the pool with my girlfriend? I can only hope I can still move," Harry gasped out. It was hard to sound snarky or sarcastic when your lungs were struggling for air.
Mark looked at Grant, "Now or next week?"
"They've been pretty good so far. We should reward them."
Mark nodded and spoke, "You two, there's a hot tub in the house in a hidden room. You can both use it. It will relax your muscles and if you add a healing potion to the water it should take care of any strained muscles."
"That sounds like heaven," Hermione mumbled, eyes closed as she tried to will her body to breathe.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. Their trainers helped them up and then the two teens leaned on one another to enter the house.
Grant looked at Mark, "By this time next week they'll be fine."
"Definitely," he nodded. "This will just be a distant memory by then. I'll go get them that potion. They could certainly use it."
"We don't want them injured," Grant nodded. "I'll brief the Grangers on their status."
The hot tub looked great and the two removed their clothes. Mark had said they'd have to be nude for the potion to work and after Hermione spent three minutes assuring a flustered Harry it'd be okay they had undressed slowly. More because of sore muscles than any shyness. They entered the hot tub, then Hermione uncorked the potion and added it to the water. They both relaxed and sighed in contentment as the hot water soothed their muscles. "You are incredibly beautiful," Harry said, smiling at her.
She blushed, "Thank you Harry." She inhaled the scents of the potion, "This feels good."
"Oh yeah," he rested his head on the head rest, "I might even be able to bend after this."
Hermione laughed and Harry grinned. They'd both been using humor to lighten up the pain they'd been in for the past almost week. Once she composed herself she looked at him, "Did I tell you that I knew Dumbledore was reading my letters to you?"
He shook his head, "He was intercepting them and reading them?"
She nodded, "He'd reseal it but he overlooked something obvious. I never sent you letters in a wax seal. He couldn't seal it magically so he used wax to do so. But I could tell. So I began a game. I would send you letters about just random things. Snape's a bastard, Malfoy is a pig, Ron is delusional for thinking I would ever want to be in a relationship with him; basic things. Then for the last letter, since my plan to get you out was in progress, I sent him some of the lyrics to 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' by The Rolling Stones. Obviously not the chorus, but the first and second verses. I take great delight in the fact that he no doubt had no clue what that letter was about." Harry was laughing so hard she stopped talking.
When he eventually pulled himself together, which was difficult because taunting Dumbledore with the fact that he couldn't always get what he wanted was without a doubt the best prank he'd ever heard of and his Hermione was the prankster, Harry leaned over and kissed her, "I love you so much Hermione. That is bloody brilliant." She returned the kiss which led to Harry moving to her. No reason to add strained neck to the list of sore muscles and body parts.
How Harry kept his hands to himself in that hot tub would always be a mystery to him. He'd felt really good after thirty minutes in the tub. Mark had told them to stay in it for an hour and they had. When they got out Harry had admired his girlfriend's body, much to her pleasure. She pulled him to her, "You are very tempting," she nipped at his ear, "I love you."
"Well so are you when you do that," he shuddered as her hand moved over his bare chest, "our relationship is pretty intense isn't it?"
"Only because our feelings for one another are," she said, moving away to slide into her dressing gown. "And it's in a good way, Harry. We're a good couple together."
"No arguments here," he moved to her and slid his arms around her waist, "I feel much better now."
She was about to kiss him when Mark entered the room, "Ragnok has requested a meeting with you two. Apparently some other Muggleborns have sent letters to Hermione seeking help. We've run them against the list and they never got a knut."
Harry sighed and pecked her on the cheek before putting on his own dressing gown, "We need showers first to wash off the potion."
"We also need to eat lunch. Can we meet Ragnok after lunch?"
Mark nodded, "He said at your leisure. I told him you were recovering from your workout. He's offering goblin tutelage as well for the both of you. This would be under contract to MI5."
"What do you think?" Harry asked as they exited the room with him.
"I think you should do it. Other agents can tutor you but the goblins are better at it. Plus they know more than we do. He also got another horcrux."
"Which one?"
"He found a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin in Grimmauld Place."
"Four down then," Harry smirked. "I think the others will be harder to find."
"No doubt," Hermione nodded. "Come on, we're sharing a shower." Harry's eyes widened before lighting up with lust and desire. Mark just shook his head as they left. He'd known Hermione was special when he met her; it stood to reason that the young man she was in love with also was special. But seeing them go from serious students and focused agents to fun-loving and horny teens was a very amusing experience.
Harry had a very big grin after their shower together, which complimented Hermione's smug expression beautifully. A quick lunch was had before they headed to the floo to go see Ragnok. The goblin in question smiled at them when they arrived, "Always a pleasure to see such fine allies to the goblin nation. You look refreshed."
"Hot tub and shower are good for the soul," Harry said. Hermione gave him a saucy wink and his face flushed.
Ragnok laughed at their antics, "I have for you some information. First, another horcrux has been found and destroyed. We have reason to believe there are three more."
"So seven total?"
"Yes but only six are on purpose," Ragnok said.
Hermione frowned, "Well we knew Harry was an accident. What do we do now?"
"For now we will continue the search. Once they're destroyed everything will be much easier. I do have reports on the wizarding world. Given the implications of someone in the Order of the Phoenix being at Gringotts when people are being paid fraudulently through Harry's old accounts we have brought Bill Weasley in as a spy for us on them. It's either that or he loses his job and his life. Whether he is a party to it or not he should have known the funds were coming from somewhere. Weasley knows nothing about the two of you or that the funds have moved into a different vault. We are keeping him on a tight leash."
The teens nodded. That made sense. Harry took Hermione's hand in his and squeezed it. She smiled. Four horcruxes down, three to go, and the goblins had a spy in the Order. It seemed almost too good to be true. Ragnok continued, "Now onto the muggleborns seeking help. None of them were ever paid by Dumbledore and they are looking for help to get out of the magical world and away from the headmaster and the Death Eaters. Since your 'disappearance' in the world they think you might be able to help them."
Hermione looked at Harry, "What do you think?"
Harry thought about it before answering, "Our new friends should be able to assist, somewhat. We can't take them in but maybe we could get a note to them through an agent."
Ragnok smiled. These two were quite wonderful. So gracious and generous, but with strong moral fibers of their own. "If your agency can acquire a compound, even using a former military base, we goblins will ward it for free. We can even take care of some training, which we will have to charge for."
"I'll pay for it," Harry said. "We'll all need new, untraceable wands. Do you know any wandmakers?"
Ragnok's smile turned predatory as he nodded his head, "Custom wands will be more powerful and we can supply you with some special wand holsters that will remain invisible so you can easily access your wand. We have a few people we deal with for our own human employees."
"We don't plan on using our wands for very much, but having them as a backup might help," Hermione nodded. "Can the agency contact you regarding the Muggleborns?"
"They certainly can," Ragnok nodded, "I have not had council with wizards in the magical world ever. My only connections are with squibs and magical humans such as yourselves." Harry smiled. Magical human sounded so much better than wizard or witch to him and Hermione. They preferred that term very much. Both of them looked at magical ability as an immutable part of a human being that, while adding a dimension to a person, by no means made one superior to others. Like race or sexuality, it simply made a person different. "I will send you on your way for now. We both have much work to do. And might I say, Harry, you look much better without the scar."
"Thank you Ragnok. I recently stopped needing my glasses too. Those potions are pretty great." Harry smiled and the couple stood, saying goodbye to Ragnok before returning home. They had much work to do before their free day tomorrow.
Dumbledore was, for once, unsure of what to do. He was missing two high profile students. The third member of the trio, one spy by the name of Ronald Bilius Weasley, didn't know where they were. He didn't even know the prophecy. Albus wished that there'd been an intelligent Weasley Harry's age, but he had to make do with Ronald whose only goals in life seemed to be food, quidditch, food, chess, food, and girls.
But Dumbledore's problems grew worse. He could no longer access the Order's headquarters and when he'd tried to spend some money from Harry's vault the transaction had been refused. He'd tried several times, only to receive a refusal each time. Then he'd tried his own vault and that had also failed to work. Growing angry he'd gone to Gringotts only to be told by the goblins that Mr. Potter's vaults were empty. When asking about his own he'd been told that due to financial irregularities in Mr. Potter's vaults all vaults that had received money from the Potter vaults were currently frozen due to investigation.
Now he was sweating. That meant none of the Order could access their money. Dumbledore was stuck. The greater good demanded that Harry Potter die, so using Harry Potter's money for the war against Voldemort made sense. After all, Harry wouldn't live long enough to have an heir so that money should go to those that knew better. Like Albus himself.
Could Harry know about the withdrawals? Could he have fled the country with his gold and Hermione Granger? The sinking feeling in Albus' stomach grew. This was not good. Not good at all.
A/N2- Coming next chapter: Dean Thomas and others escape from the grip of Albus 'Greater Good' Dumbledore, Harry celebrates his sixteenth birthday, cool special wands are made special for our favorite couple, and Dumbledore begins to get asked questions he doesn't have the answers to.
Chapter 5
A/N- Well I first have to thank PairingMatters for reminding me I'd forgotten about the Dursleys and what happened to them. They get a brief appearance here. It's too soon for them to have gone to trial, but I will reveal the results of that trial in time. I created wands in this story using minerals as the shafts. I wanted them to be different and most wand generators were using wood shafts. But it did prove useful for cores, which is where I got the idea for kraken beak from.
Dean Thomas looked at the man in a suit sitting across from him in his parents' living room, "So you know Hermione? Do you know Harry too?"
"You can call me Grant and yes I know Hermione. She contacted me for help for herself and Harry, and I have since been assisting them in their service to the Queen and Britain."
Dean visibly relaxed and Grant smiled. He pulled out a letter from inside of his jacket, "Hermione asked me to give you this for confirmation that you can trust me. It has been authorized that any non-wizarding magical humans and their families can go into hiding from the wizards. I'll let you read the letter, then you can make your decision."
Dean and his parents read Hermione's letter while Grant left the room to give them privacy. He had a feeling that Dunhey's previously inactive military base was about to get its first customers. Just in time too; the goblins had finished the warding yesterday. When Grant was called back into the room Dean smiled, "We want to go."
Grant nodded and pulled out his phone, "I just have to make a phone call. You all should pack up any essentials and, Dean, I need your wand. Don't worry, the goblins are providing custom wands to use as backup." Dean nodded and handed over his wand before heading to pack up the things he most wanted, including his footy boots and ball. Maybe he could play with the others.
Dunhey Training Camp, or DTC for short, was soon the home of many of their former Muggleborn yearmates, as well as the Creevey brothers. Dean Thomas, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Terry Boot were now calling the place home. Upon seeing Harry and Hermione they all grinned and ran to them, thanking them repeatedly for helping their families. "We both know you have a million questions, so we'll answer them today. Then tomorrow you can figure out what you want to do. We didn't want to put too much into the letters."
They all nodded in understanding and so Harry and Hermione sat down with them in a lounge that the agency had created for all the teens to relax in. Harry looked at Hermione, "This is your story, love. You got this ball rolling, which I will be eternally grateful for. Oh and by the way, Hermione and I are dating," he looked at the others, "so no flirting with her."
Mandy laughed, "Harry I don't think any of these boys are dumb enough to try anything. We've all seen her take care of Malfoy." Hermione grinned and the others laughed.
For the next hour Hermione told them how she'd contacted Grant for help, how they'd removed Harry from the Dursleys, how they'd begun their training, how Dumbledore had lied and deceived Harry, how he'd stolen from Harry, and how people had been paid to be around Harry and distract him from Hermione. Everyone paid close attention and when she finished Harry could see that they had questions. "Go ahead and ask them but one at a time."
"Are we going to train with you guys?" Colin Creevey asked.
"Yes, if you want to. We aren't Riddle or Dumbledore, we won't force you to. They've just found another horcrux today which means there are two left. It was in Riddle's ancestral home."
Next up was Justin, "What are we training with? We gave up our wands."
Hermione answered, "The goblins have a wandmaker they use for their human workers. We will each be getting a custom wand, paid for by MI5. But we won't be depending on them. We're all well aware of the nonmagical world. We'll be training with handguns and rifles."
"But," Harry cut in, "we're not going to actively go against Riddle, the Ministry, or Dumbledore."
"Why do we need to train if we're not going to fight against the Ministry of Magic and Riddle?" Dean asked, confused.
Harry smiled, "Our purpose is to train to be able to defeat Riddle and his Death Eaters should the fighting spread outside of wizarding Britain. We'd rather train and not need it than not train and end up unable to help the rest of MI5."
"So we're really in MI5?" Terry asked.
"Well Harry and I are already. You all will have to discuss it with your parents but MI5's policy regarding our little group is that if you're willing they'll accept your entry. It will be great on our résumés," Hermione added, "since our education will obviously have gaps."
They all nodded in understanding. "What else do you do to train?" Dennis Creevey asked.
"Exercise," they both answered.
"We also have private tutors hired by MI5 that take care of our nonmagical education. The goblins will cover the magical side."
"We get one day of no exercise a week, but we get two days of no lessons a week."
Harry and Hermione soon found themselves back in Ragnok's office with a wandmaker. Ragnok greeted them warmly, "This is Stonejaw, a goblin wandmaker. He was chosen on the grounds that he would never tell anyone and his wands are excellent." That didn't matter to the teens but they both smiled and nodded their approval. Stonejaw then walked them through choosing the wandshaft, the core, and taking some blood to bind the wand to them. This goblin was certainly nothing like Ollivander, which both teens appreciated. The options for their wands were also very different. Not all the shafts were wood; some were even stone. Harry's wand ended up being made of black onyx and with a core of dragon claw. Hermione's was hematite with a core of kraken beak.
At lunch Harry finally asked, "How do you think the goblins acquired the beak of a kraken?"
"I can assure you, Harry, that I do not want to know," Hermione answered. "Let's just be glad that the wands will be done soon." He nodded. The more he thought about it the more he agreed with his girlfriend. The goblins were a violent, scheming race and he was glad they were on his side, even if it was in many ways only because of debt. Never would he want to run afoul of them. Shaking off his thoughts he squeezed Hermione's hand and smiled at her.
There was no smiling for the Dursleys. Petunia and Vernon had been arrested for child abuse, neglect, and any other charge the police and prosecution could come up with. Dudley was sent to a home for mentally disturbed boys after his role in harming his cousin. That was changed into a juvenile prison after he threw a tantrum in the police station. A stun gun had to be used to control the rampaging baby whale before they'd managed to cart him off.
Petunia sat in her cell, looking at the wall. Her little Dudders was somewhere without his mummy and she couldn't take care of him. Her poor little boy. No telling what those monsters were doing to him. It was all the fault of the boy. She wished she'd never taken the arrogant brat in.
Vernon was just short of foaming at the mouth. The little bastard would get what was coming to him. He wouldn't be speaking for a long time when Vernon Dursley was through with him.
Dudley had been beaten up four times since moving to the prison. He hated it here. He just wanted to go home with his parents. He heard footsteps and whimpered. The hunter was now the hunted.
Bill Weasley had a dilemma. On the one hand, the goblins wanted him to spy on a man he greatly respected. Albus Dumbledore. On the other, if he refused to do so some 'financial irregularities' made would be brought down on Bill. He didn't know anything about these supposed financial irregularities; he just knew no one in the Order could access their vaults and the goblins weren't budging on that stance. Harry Potter's disappearance was even being tossed aside in favor of the fact that no one could access their money.
Maybe if he knew what these 'irregularities' were, he could explain that it was all a mistake. That's what Dumbledore and his parents kept saying. He decided that was the best idea and headed to Griphook's office, "I need to see these so-called irregularities."
When Ragnok had placed all of the Potter and Black fortunes into new vaults for Miss Granger Harry had suggested that Griphook be the goblin in charge of their vaults. Griphook, who was far too young for this position, was grateful to the young humans who trusted him and after much discussion with Ragnok agreed to help them in any possible way they could. Potter and Granger were decent magical humans. They liked them. "Evidence of theft is not available to those that have profited from the theft," he said casually. Ragnok and himself had worked out how to play this situation. Griphook looked at the tall redhead, "Now it seems you've made your decision. Director Ragnok will be most displeased."
"My parents are not thieves!"
"Seven children means a total of 49 tuitions to Hogwarts, not to mention the costs of books, wands, and more. All on a low-level office head's meager salary? Did it never occur to you that the money had to come from somewhere?"
Bill shook his head, "We all went to Hogwarts on scholarships."
"The only scholarships at Hogwarts are to children who are from orphanages," Griphook said, "Those scholarships provide for a wand, books, robes, and uniforms. Did you ever get a new any of those?"
"N-no," Bill stammered.
"Scholarship accounts are closely monitored by the Ministry and Gringotts. Should conditions be unmet by guardians to scholarship students the punishments are very severe. We would have known and your parents would be in Azkaban for misappropriation of student funds."
Bill had to sit down. He held his head in his hands before speaking, "Who were they stealing from?"
"Harry Potter," Griphook answered.
Suddenly the boy's disappearance made a great deal of sense to Bill. Dumbledore and the Weasleys were stealing from Harry and the goblins had helped him escape. As well as shut off the avenues of theft. "The vaults aren't merely blocked, are they? You've removed all of the gold in them."
"That is standard procedure," Griphook stated. "Now there are two people in your family who were not directly given gold by Dumbledore. Yourself and your brother Charlie. Where do you stand, Cursebreaker Weasley? With your parents and Dumbledore and his Order of Thieves? Or do you stand with the goblin nation?"
There was only one answer to those questions. He had no choice but it wasn't even the fault of the goblins. His parents and Albus Dumbledore had forced him into an impossible situation that could have seen him killed. He had profited from the thievery and as such could easily be killed. Bill swallowed hard. "I stand with Gringotts and the goblin nation."
Griphook nodded, smiling viciously, "I can continue my story then. Mr. Potter has decided not to go after you and presumes that because you were out of Hogwarts before he arrived that you were not paid to be close to him like the others have been. His vaults have been emptied and the funds placed elsewhere, in a location you will be unaware of. We of Gringotts owe Mr. Potter a great deal for letting this go on for almost 16 years and anyone who gets in the way will pay with their lives."
"I understand," Bill nodded. "Can I inform my brother Charlie about the truth of the theft? My parents keep calling it a mistake and he deserves the truth. I would also like to promise to pay Mr. Potter back at least a portion of the money stolen. I might not have known about it but I profited from it."
Griphook debated this before nodding, "I will make sure the gold gets into the right hands. Either make payments directly to me or authorize a certain amount taken from your vault and I will take care of that."
Bill smiled and nodded. "Thank you."
-July 31rst-
Harry woke on his birthday with his girlfriend curled close against him. "Good morning birthday boy," she smiled, leaning in to kiss him. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," he nodded, squeezing her affectionately, "Did you?"
"I always sleep well when I'm with you," she kissed him again before sitting up, "come on we have to get up before anyone ruins our wonderful morning together."
"Grant and Mark do tend to do that," he admitted as he got up and walked to the bathroom. "So what's my present?"
"Go take a shower," she said.
"You could join me," he offered.
Hermione shook her head, "You get your present from me tonight, mister. Now go shower."
"Yes dear."
Harry pouted as he entered the bathroom and Hermione rolled her eyes. "I created a monster," she mumbled. But the puppy dog eyes he'd given her were still fresh in her mind and so Hermione entered the bathroom to shower with him, much to Harry's delight. "Don't let it go to your head, Potter."
"Wouldn't dream of it," he smiled, leaning down to kiss her. He'd grown almost seven inches taller with the potions, which meant Hermione's height and his weren't so comparable anymore. "What's my present?"
"Let's just say you want to go to bed early tonight but you won't be tired when you enter it. I think we'll both go to sleep quite tired, though." Harry looked like a fish out of water at her admission. He suddenly couldn't wait for the day to be done.
Albus Dumbledore was running out of excuses. Most people now knew that Harry Potter had vanished. The terror that followed that revelation was quickly removed as people realized that they couldn't access their Gringotts vaults. At first he'd got away with accusing the goblins of making a mistake. However when each person sought to discover this 'mistake' the goblins had reiterated that evidence of theft was not available to those that had profited from the theft.
They'd looked to their fearless leader, the great and mighty Albus Dumbledore, for answers. He had then accused the Ministry of Magic, hoping to distract them until he could get Bill to get into the vaults. Bill had refused and that lie had not lasted long. Now he simply had no answers. Not even blaming Voldemort was feasible; the goblins did not ally themselves with wizards and everyone knew that.
Albus Dumbledore was, for once, out of ideas. He was so distracted by the Harry Potter problem he'd forgotten to even go horcrux hunting this summer. When he finally had the ring was gone from the Gaunt property. That didn't bode well for the light side. Unfortunately other than the ring, the diary, and Harry he didn't know what else they could be. He was even without Harry. The hope for wizarding Britain was fading fast and only Harry Potter's appearance could help him. He'd just have to up the search for the boy. Harry Potter had to be found so he could inspire hope before he died. It was so hard, making sure people did what they were supposed to.
A/N2- I received an anonymous review from a 'guest' indicating that my story is stupid and lazy and it's 'too easy' for the goblins to 'fix Harry's problems'. I've since turned on the moderation of anonymous reviews. If you don't have the courage to receive a reply from me, you don't get to degrade my work. It's that simple. I really pity people who click on a story that they're not interested in (the summary does kind of guide where this story is going), then proceed to leave a review about how horrid it is. It doesn't say much about someone's life that that's how they spend their time.