FicWad

Authors notes: Also see notes at the end.

For disclaimer see first chapter’s notes.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG Equals scene break

With thanks to my proofreaders: Muggledad and Tumshie.

Inspiration for one plot strand in this chapter goes to Chem prof.

He gave his permission for its inclusion to my little story. Thanks!







Chapter Nine



After the old man finished eating he vanished everything on the table including Draco's unfinished meal. Draco grumbled under his breath but did not complain, as he was very wary of the old man. The old man bustled about the small room while Draco stared at the space where his meal had been forlornly while his stomach rumbled.



'What did you do to me?' enquired Draco.



The old man ignored him and went about tidying the small ramshackle room. Again Draco pressed him on what he did. Just as Draco gave up questioning the mad old man he replied with a nasally voice.



'I gave you a gift.' retorted the old man, his face a picture of resentment.



'I asked you what did you do to me? Do you know who I am?' demanded a very proud faced Draco.



With a smirk the old man quickly responded, 'You are Draco Malfoy, you are a spoilt Pureblood and live in an antiquated bigoted society that believes everything will come to you on a silver platter.’



Draco smiled when the old man revealed that he knew the name but his smile fell from his face as the old man spoke.



‘You are a vain pretty boy, but behind it all you are petty coward that hasn’t got the power to match your ambitions, however, not anymore and when I am finished with you everybody will fear you.'



At Draco’s questioning glance the old man explained.

‘Your mind is a very easy tapestry to read my young foolish apprentice.'



'Apprentice, what the fuck is going on...’ angrily interrupted Draco.



'Your answers will come in good time' interrupted the old man.



'What happened to me?' persisted Draco



'I said your answers will come in good time' barked the old man in annoyance.



'What happen...ahhhhhhhhhh'



The old man lifted his walking stick and gestured. Draco’s question was cut off mid sentence. A powerful force that felt like an invisible giant hand excreted a crushing force on Draco’s muscles and limbs. The old man made a slight gesture with the walking stick. Draco felt his body slowly levitate up off of the stone floor. The old man swung the stick as if it was a fishing rod and he was fly-fishing. Draco was blasted through the wall and crashed into a snow-covered boulder that was about two hundred yards from the old hut and the stone cracked from the force of the impact. The old man slowly hobbled towards Draco's prone form. Draco looked up in shock, it never occurred to him that he was uninjured.



In an icy whisper the old man explained, 'Now I said you will get your answers in good time. That means when I decide you are ready and deserving I will explain everything to you in simple terms.'

Draco tried to glare but the wind was knocked out of him and he just looked like a petulant child. 'Now are we clear, or are more lessons required?'



'Ok' mumbled Draco as he sulked about his situation.



'Ok WHAT?' barked the old man.



Draco looked up at him in confusion.



'Are you not my apprentice?’ demanded the old man.



As Draco did not want to be sent flying into another bolder he nodded in agreement.



'As you are my apprentice, therefore it stands to reason that I am the Master, understood?'



Draco mumbled, 'Yes Master.'



The old man barked 'UNDERSTOOD!'



Draco angrily roared 'YES MASTER’



'Good. Are you ready for your training now or do you want to mourn your pitiful life?'



'Training' asked a puzzled Draco.



The old man glared down at Draco. A chill went down Draco’s spine at the icy stare.



'Yes master.' responded Draco quietly.



'Good' said the old man as he turned to the hut. The hut had a large hole in the side.



‘The first task my Apprentice, is for you to repair the damage you caused to my home.’



Draco glared. The old man had caused the damage by blasting him through the wall. He had no control of the situation. Sighing he contemplated his options; he did not have his wand for it was broken. The old man seemed to be very powerful.

‘Yes Master.’ Draco almost choked on the word. It was beneath him he felt.



'Good.’ Replied the old man ignoring the disrespectful thoughts for now.



Draco slowly started to collect the rubble from the hole in the wall all the while wondering how he was going to repair it without magic.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Deep underground workers were loading mining carts with gold Galleons. Security Guards stood silently observing the worker Goblins as they went about moving the gold around. The air in the tunnels and caverns was hot and smoky from the trapped security Dragons breath. A lone well-dressed Goblin approached an open vault door. In his hand a clipboard was clasped with gobbledygook on the page. He skidded to a halt as he observed vault number eleven being empted of its gold bullion.



'What's going on? Who authorised the empting of this vault?' demanded the irate Goblin in gobbledygook.



The workers ignored him and went about loading the mining carts. A supervisor heard the complaints and slowly approached the irate Goblin. The irate Goblin was puzzled why the vault was being emptied he did not know as it was an old vault belonging to the Malfoy Clan. The Clan hired the Goblin many years ago and the Goblin had earned a lot of gold from the deal. But one of the clauses was that any vault transactions had to go through him.



'Vaults being confiscated.' explained the Work supervisor.



'What? Why?' demanded the Goblin.



'Under orders from Ragnok.' explained the Work supervisor as if that was reason enough.



The irate Goblin cursed and turned to hurry out of the bank. He had heard that Ragnok had taken on a very lucrative client the mysterious Lord Black. He sighed he would have to go inform the head of the Malfoy Clan that his vault was being emptied into one of the vaults owned by Lord Black. He screamed in frustration when it dawned on him that he had just lost all of his gold. He had left his gold in vault eleven and he had seen the work order. The work order had said that the entire contents were to be placed into the Black vaults being built especially. He had left his gold in the vault, as Goblins were not allowed vaults of their own so that they had to use clients’ vaults. These worked to Goblin thinking as they could charge their clients for larger than required vaults and use the excess space for their own ends.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Minerva sat at the kitchen table; a Muggle A4 foolscap1 pad was in placed in front of her on the table. Lying on the writing pad lay a red and blue biro.2 Pages of notes lay in neat bundles in her precise handwriting. The Potter Book of Magic was propped up open on a section about the nature of magic. The book was propped up with a tin of beans for easy consultation. Minerva massaged her forehead in frustration. It had taken her over five hours to discover what was wrong with Jane but the solution she had found was not very good. It would appear that the solution was for a male mind to enter Jane's subconscious and heal the affected area of the mind. The two eligible wizards were Harry and Remus. Remus would not be able to help, as Werewolf magic was not compatible with Vampire mind magic. Harry ruled himself out due to his bond to Hermione and the fact that sharing a mind was a very intimate affair. It was one of the contributing factors that resulted in the marriage of Hermione and Harry. Forgetting the fact that Snape's failed lessons in Occlumency with Harry could be considered a form of mental rape. He was supposed to be teaching Harry to shield his mind against Tom Riddle but instead he was working against any natural talent Harry may have had. Minerva thought that the Potter Book of Magic was an invaluable asset as with out it she felt that she would be still looking for what was wrong with Jane.



Jane's mind was essentially operating on a basic level. The Vampire thrall left behind a kind of parasitical infestation that has to be healed before Jane has a chance of coming to terms with what has happened. Minerva knew that as a male mind caused the problem and messed with a female mind a male mind was required to fix the problem. She decided to reread the section on magic again as she felt there was something off. She felt that she was missing something or not understanding long forgotten principles of magic. She felt that some clue was just out of reach.



Minerva looked up when she heard a person pour water into a kettle from the tap. She noticed Hermione's pale complexion, she still looked a little green after vomiting earlier. Hermione took down two mugs from the press and added tea bags as she waited for the kettle to boil after having put it on the turf fired solid-fuel cooker. Hermione got a carton of milk and poured some into a small jug and placed it on the kitchen table away from Minerva's notes.





'What seems to have you stuck Minerva?' enquired Hermione as she noticed the word magic underlined in red ink with a question mark beside it.



'I have gone back over my research and I know that the solution involves a man performing mind magic on your mother. Remus is ruled out due to the fact that the magic between Vampires and Werewolves is very different and incompatible and that if he attempted to help her it would very likely kill her. You yourself know why Harry can't really help as the Male mind has to go deep into your Mother's mind and would likely learn her intimately.' Minerva sighed as she finished outlining the problem.



'So you think magic could be a solution?' clarified Hermione.



'Yes, in an ideal world your father would do it but he is not a wizard and does not know Occlumency furthermore he has no magic.' explained Minerva.



'Actually that is not true both Mum and Dad have magic it's just that it is at a very low level. When Harry and I were in the other place we developed a great sense of magic. When we returned home we learnt that there is magic all around us even here in this house. Both my parents have magic it is just very faint not enough to power a wand.' explained Hermione.



Remus had gotten over his embarrassment for his earlier antics of running around in glee at having mastered the wolf after all these years. He had gotten a shower and gotten dressed. He checked on Harry who was taking stock of the contents of the Granger household that Minerva had hastily packed in their rush to get away. He heard the whistling kettle and come into the kitchen for a cuppa. He had entered unobserved and sat down to listen as the two brilliant intellects discussed the situation with Jane.



'So you’re saying that your Mum is a witch?' questioned Minerva.



'No, by the Wizarding world’s definition she is Muggle. It is just that she really has some magic and without it I would have never gone to Hogwarts and met Harry.' replied Hermione



'What do you mean?' clarified Minerva



'Well, do you know anything about a Muggle science called genetics?' asked Hermione as she studied her Professor.



'Umm no.' admitted Minerva.



'Well genetics is a discipline of biology specifically the hereditary and variation in living organisms. Jim taught myself and Harry a bit about it. Scientists have learnt that traits can be passed on from parents to children. For example Draco's pale blonde hair and grey eyes, he more than likely got them from his father, Harry inherited his green eyes from his mother and his unruly hair from his father. Jim thought that it was highly likely that in my family tree there must have been a few witches and wizards on both sides of the family and this inherited magic was passed down until the two strands met when I was born a witch. So therefore my parents must have some degree of magical genes to give me my magical ability. Harry believes that the magic my parents have is slightly above that of the background ambient magical energy.' explained Hermione



'Makes sense, but how does this help?' said Minerva as she nodded her head in understanding.



'Is there some way to turn my dad into a wizard only temporarily?' asked Hermione.



'Yes but it is the darkest of Dark Arts. Your book covers some rituals that may turn a Muggle into a Wizard. One such ritual involves raping and then killing twelve virgin girls under the age of fifteen on a full moon.' said a pained Minerva as she was sickened by recounting the ghastly details of one dark ritual.



'Okay that is not a solution.' stated Hermione as she looked stricken at Minerva's answer



'Why was it in the book?' asked Minerva as she pondered confiscating the book.



'The book is tied into Hogwarts, so why is their a restricted section in the library there?' replied Hermione defensively.



'What's that got to do with this discussion?' asked Minerva primly.



'Well everything in the library is in the book regardless if it is in the restricted section or not. Show me where you found that vile ritual.' ordered Hermione.



Minerva frowned but flicked through to the section of the book where the dark ritual was contained. Hermione took one glance at the script down the side and said.



'That section is tied into the Chamber of Secrets; Riddle hid some of his vile books there. The magic of Hogwarts that created the book included them into the directory in the book. That is why you found the ritual. It is one of the downsides in the way that the book is indexed. The only plus is that any of the compulsion charms on the originals in the Chamber does not transfer while you read from this book.' explained Hermione



'How is that safer?' asked Minerva



'The reason most Dark Arts books are considered Dark is due to the compulsion and addictive charms cast upon them. Any sane person reading them would have to be sick in the head. I have only read the section from the Chamber of Secrets on Horcruxes so that we can destroy them.'



'I would still be very careful about consulting those sections in the book.' cautioned Minerva.



'Yes, I know but being aware of them can't be wrong. I know all about Horcruxes now but would never dream of creating one like Riddle has. Unfortunately I have been forced to kill and I hated it. I fear that Harry and I will be forced to take more lives before this thing is finished. Sorry can we get back to helping my mother please?' said Hermione in exasperation



'Okay, is their any other way that Frank could get magic that did not involve the Dark Arts?' pondered Minerva.



'Maybe you are looking at it all wrong.' interjected Remus.



Remus had thought that they were too close to the situation to come up with a simple solution to the problem. He felt that they were over analysing the problem. The way he saw it if Frank was turned into a Wizard for a few days it would take time to train him in how to read minds and help his wife, Hermione's mother. So it was not an ideal solution. Then it hit him he maybe able to offer a solution. The two women were startled by the intrusion, as they had not noticed him nursing his mug of tea as he listened in on the conversation. Hermione and Minerva waited expectantly for Remus to continue even though it was rude to eavesdrop.



'Lily was a very clever witch and an unofficial fifth member of the Marauders. Before she started dating James she was working on a personal project with Snape.' Remus almost spat out the name Snape. 'That was before they had a falling out. It is only after viewing his memories that I realised that he brought it on himself calling Lily that vile tag “Mudblood”'



Remus looked distantly as he recounted the past.



'Lily cared for Petunia, her sister and wanted to find a way to share a small part of her gift.'



'Gift?' quizzed Hermione.



'Magic, Lily considered it a gift to be cherished and not to be abused.'



Hermione's eyes widened as she glanced at the floor. 'Oh! That's one way to look at it.'



'Yes well she was researching a way to allow Petunia to practice magic. Lily figured that Petunia being her sister must have magic in her even if it was a minuscule amount. Snape helped Lily brew a special potion while they were in the third year. Snape stopped helping her out after their falling out over James and the fact that Snape called her “Mudblood.” She had a falling out with Petunia when she married Vernon but decided to continue her research when she realised how ground breaking it was. She was almost finished her research when she discovered she was carrying Harry. The day after she visited the Healer's she went to Gringotts to safeguard the project should anything happen to her. I don't know where the key for the research vault went.' explained Remus as he sipped his mug of tea at intervals.



'How could this help Jane?' asked Minerva.



Remus continued explaining: 'Lily crafted a special ring or necklace that allowed the wearer to perform magic. I saw an early prototype, it was fairly crude but it allowed the wearer to cast some simple spells such as Lumos and Wingardium Leviosa simple spells really. I do know it was tested on a Squib and that it worked in that test. It may work for what you need to do. The research notes and charmed jewellery would be at Gringotts.'



'So Lily programmed that piece of jewellery to cast some simple spells?' asked Hermione.



'Ahem yes, you could adopt her notes to help Jane. I don't know maybe Harry could imprint on the piece of jewellery the necessary spells so that Frank could go in and fix the damage.' suggested Remus.



'Yes that might work.' replied Minerva.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Rodolphus Lestrange groaned in annoyance when one of the Dark Lord's lowly followers approached and told him a Goblin was looking for him. He was in charge of one of the Dark Lord's cell of Death Eaters. The cell had stolen this Wizard's house and killed the owners. After setting up some low level wards that the Ministry would not detect and posted sentries, Rodolphus contemplated the ongoing struggle against Mudbloods, He frowned when he realised that the Goblin had been specifically looking for him. The only Goblin he could think of that would have been informed of this location was supposed to be at the bank overseeing his Vault’s security. Puzzled at this turn of events he bade the Dark Lord’s follower to let the Goblin in. His eyes widened in shock as he recognized the Goblin as the one that oversaw all the Death Eater holdings at Gringotts. If the Goblin had broken orders and come looking for him this was very worrisome.



The Goblin was acting very odd and refused to look up.



'What is it? Why has the bank shut it’s doors?' demanded Rodolphus impatiently.



The Goblin mumbled incoherently.



'What? Speak up. Clearly or you will be punished.'



The Goblin paused and slowly looked up. As their eyes met Rodolphus realised that the Goblin was extremely worried he wondered why.



'Lord Black has enacted Fealty Rights over all the Vaults that I handle. The reason I came was for you to inform the others.' Explained the nervous Goblin.



'WHAT' roared Rodolphus in shocked anger as he realised that all the gold that funded the Death Eaters was now gone.



'Lord Black has invoked his Fealty Rights on your account meaning that you can no longer access your gold and possessions’. repeated the Goblin as his eyes looked at the floor.



'I know that you foolish Goblin but who is Lord Black? I understood that he was blasted through the veil by my Wife.' retorted Rodolphus.



'The current Lord Black inherited the position only recently. His identity has been guarded as per the terms of the will of the previous Lord Black. Grack the last Goblin in charge of the account disappeared with his considerable earnings from the transaction and let the Goblin nation believe that the current Lord Black would pull his vast resources from the bank. Ragnok stepped in and has enacted a very strict security policy I did not learn any more. The current Lord Black has been far more proactive and Goblin-like than the previous Lord by claiming all your vaults through deception and funny wizards laws. The amount of vaults involved and the vast quantities of gold and heirlooms forced Goblin security to close the bank to make sure the Lord Black’s assets were secure, now that Ragnok has taken over the Black accounts the bank is in complete lock down with the only exception to the current Lord Black.' responded the nervous Goblin.



Rodolphus sagged into his chair as he realised the implications. His wand snapped into his hand and a flash of red issued forth and the Goblin was rendered unconscious. The Dark Lord would have to be informed. Thought Rodolphus. He slowly approached the Goblin and searched the vile creature. He found two knives of exquisite design and workmanship along with a large leather bound book. He opened the book and discovered that it was an accounting ledger in gobbledygook that detailed all the moneys belonging to Death Eater’s that was stored in the bank and that was claimed by the bloody current Lord Black. His eyes widened in shock as he slowly read the ledger. His father had not trusted the Goblins so had learnt the foul language and kept private accounts of the amounts kept at the bank. As a result, Rodolphus had no trouble reading the ledger and shared his father’s mindset ‘The Goblins were not to be trusted even though they had the best security’. He decided that the Dark Lord would have to be informed after coming to the conclusion that the new Lord Black was far more troublesome than Sirius ever was. All Sirius had done was locked the vault so that the vast Black fortune was unavailable, but the new Lord Black had used an old obscure law and some old contracts to clean all the Death Eaters out. Another spell issued from his wand and the stunned Goblin was bound in steel cord. He reached out and grabbed the Goblin by the collar of his coat and activated the emergency Portkey to Malfoy Manor.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Remus went back to the sink to fill the kettle with water for another round of tea. When Lily and James moved into Godric's Hollow, Remus noticed that Lily would make tea the Muggle way and asked why she did not just magic up a cup of tea. In response Lily smiled and made tea the Muggle way and when it was ready she made a cup the magical way and offered both for comparison. After sampling both Remus agreed with Lily that tea made the Muggle way tasted better. Lily further explained after researching house elves that although magic was used in food preparation the ingredients were not. Ever since when the opportunity arose he made tea the Muggle way besides he did not want to damage the kitchens appliances, as he did not have Harry or Hermione’s control around electricity. Hermione appeared to be much happier as they now had a potential solution to the Thrall problem. As Remus turned on the tap to fill the kettle with water he racked his mind trying to remember where Lily might of hidden the key to her Vault. Time was of the essence, as Jane was getting progressively worse. Remus was pulled out of his thoughts as water started to spill down the sides of the now full kettle.



‘Remus? Would you know where Lily might have hidden the key to her vault? Or would she have kept it in the Potter main vault? As far as we know Harry has only got the key to his thrust vault.’ enquired Hermione.



Remus tipped some water out of the kettle and put it on to boil before he turned to the women sat at the table to respond.



'I have no idea, I think Hugh might know as he is now your family Solicitor as well as the Potter Solicitor during the first war with Riddle. I think he would have any records of any secrets Lily or James would have had. If there was another key, I never saw it.’



‘That’s a good idea I’ll contact him now.’ said Hermione, as she routed around in her handbag that was lying on the floor beside the table. Hermione withdrew the communication mirror and said Hugh’s name clearly. The mirror emitted a pale white glow while Hermione waited for an answer. The glow vanished once the call was answered.



‘Hello.’ Greeted Hugh as he answered the mirror.



‘Hello, Hugh, How did it go yesterday at the Bank?’ asked Hermione



'At first I had difficulty getting into the bank past a pair of security Trolls but I got in. Grack, the Goblin in charge of your holdings, did a runner and the rest of the Goblins were not happy at all. I did manage to see another Goblin who turned out to be Ragnok the Goblin leader. In the end the Goblins did a bit of grumbling but they are carrying out Harry and your wishes. Just before I left the bank, Ragnok gave me a Goblin transport stone along with a book for Harry.' relayed Hugh.



'Oh okay, it is good that you managed to implement our plans. I wonder why Ragnok would oversee Harry’s account personally? And what is the story behind the book and the transport stone?' asked Hermione.



‘Ragnok wanted Harry to have the transport stone, part of new security measures I think. The book I don’t know it is for Harry and has heavy Goblin warding over it so I have not been able to read it. It has no script on the cover at all so I don’t know what it may contain.’ explained Hugh.



‘Okay I guess I’ll have to wait until Harry sees the book before learning what it contains. The reason I am calling is my mother is sick and we believe that research Lily conducted may be of great benefit. We believe that Lily set up a vault to safeguard her research after she had Harry. We need to get access to that research as soon as possible. Are you aware of any such vault in either the name of Potter or Evans?’ asked Hermione as the worry for her mother showed on her face.



'I am sorry to hear that Jane is sick. The only keys that I am aware of are the one for the main Potter vault and the key to Harry’s thrust fund as well as the key to the Black vaults. I believe that Harry already holds the key to his thrust vault and I have not received the Black vault key yet to pass on to Harry and after meeting Ragnok I believe he will wait until he meets Harry in person. The key to the Potter vault went missing shortly after Lily and James were found dead. The first thing I did was to cancel the old key and instruct the Goblin Nation to do a full audit on the main Potter vaults. Unfortunately I only discovered the key missing earlier this year and had planned on meeting Harry during the summer as Dumbledore did not permit me to communicate with Harry.' replied Hugh.



‘So you have no idea if Lily may have had a vault in Gringotts?’ asked Hermione.



Hugh responded ‘No, I don’t. My father was the Potter Solicitor at the time, he was killed in an attack during Riddle’s first reign of terror so any secrets he may have had died with him. Anything of relevance at the office was destroyed in the Diagon Alley explosion. As you and Harry are now very important clients of Gringotts, the Goblins maybe willing to help. I suspect they will charge heavily for the favour though.’



'Oh, do you think the Goblins will help us, today hopefully? The sooner we find Lily’s notes the closer we will be in helping Mum?' quizzed Hermione.



‘Why not bring her to St. Mungo’s?’ asked Hugh.



‘That is not really an option. We are in Ireland and St. Mungo’s is in London. Besides I don’t think St. Mungo’s can help with her problem. Minerva has used the Potter Book of Magic in her diagnoses of my Mother. There was a Vampire involved in the attack last night and St. Mungo’s won’t have the speciality required to treat her. After Harry helped me I believe my Mother’s best chance is Lily’s research.’ replied Hermione.



'Okay, I understand you want to keep it to your selves, as I have already said, I was given a Goblin transport stone and an important looking tome.' replied Hugh. 'I think you maybe able to use the transport stone to gain access to the bank. But I think you should at least read some of the book before going to the bank. But that leaves the problem of how to get both the book and stone to your current location?'



'Oh that won't be a problem I'll just pop across.' replied Hermione with a smile.



'What Apparate to Hogsmead from Cashel? That’s too far for one jump.' exclaimed Hugh.



'It is a much easier feat than leaping between realities. I'll see you in a minute.' retorted Hermione.



Hermione placed the mirror onto the table and picked up her handbag. Remus and Minerva silently observed as a magical construct in the shape of a sphere snapped into existence around Hermione's body. After it formed it seemed to swiftly dissolve into nothing revealing that Hermione was gone. The whole process happened in the blink of an eye and seemed to be utterly silent. Minerva's mouth went slightly slack at the feat for it was almost instant and totally silent she wondered if they could breach the wards at Hogwarts. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Hermione's voice come from the still active mirror left on the kitchen table.



'Hello? Remus? Minerva? I'll be back in twenty minutes I want to meet little Claire before returning with the Goblin travel stone and book.'



Remus slowly reached out and grasped the communication mirror and told Hermione that was fine and they would see her shortly. Minerva pulled herself together and told Remus that she would check in on Jane.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



A figured sat hunched over a bubbling cauldron studying the colour emitted from the potion under examination. The figure leaned back as he made another notation about the recovered potion sample. Over by the door stood a pensive Spanish Unspeakable pondering why the Englishman would call in a favour for such a trivial matter as a forensic examination of a couple of potion and urine samples. He had heard through the grapevine that their seemed to be a problem with potions in England. This explained why Jack Bauer would leave the country to get some forensic work done. At first the Spaniard was reluctant to help, that changed when Jack explained that the evidence would lead him to his son’s killer. After learning of this, the Spanish Unspeakable eagerly let Jack use the facilities where he worked. He stood guard for any of his colleagues. He would be in a lot of trouble for letting a foreign agent into the Department of Mysteries of the Spanish Magical Council.



Jack leaned back and the bones of his spine popped and cracked.



'Learn anything?' asked the Spaniard in accented English.



'Yeah, there were a couple of Potions used. The first one was a very mature and potent mind control potion a nasty version of liquid Imperius. It was staggering in its potency. My son's fiancée was given a dose before she was fed a quantity of two potions.'



'What was she made do?' asked the ashen faced Spanish Unspeakable as he thought of his daughter forced to ingest the potion described.



'It looks like she was forced to deliver an explosive device to Diagon Alley in London.' replied Jack.



'Yes I have heard about that, it is the talk of the security community, an international delegation has been sent to investigate.' agreed the Spanish Unspeakable.



'I have identified one half of the lethal cocktail she was forced to ingest.' said Jack.



'Oh no.' whispered the Spaniard as he came to the correct conclusion.



'The potion was identified as Potion X.' said Jack.



'I thought all stocks had been destroyed' exclaimed the Spaniard.



'So did we. From my analysis the Potion is at least seventy seven years old, which means it was brewed about ten years before the enforced ban.' explained Jack.



'I could never figure out why it was called X, I guess it was before my time.' stated the Spanish Unspeakable.



'It was common practice to rename banned potions back then. There are seven banned Potions and X is the worst.' said Jack.



'What does it do?' asked the Spanish Unspeakable.



'I am not sure but during training it was made explicitly clear that X was the worst and how to identify it. And when it is mixed with another Potion it would appear that the result is a massive explosion.' explained Jack.



'What next?' asked the Spaniard.



'I need to get access to the list of banned Potions and see what information I can get on this blasted potion. I reckon that the attacker found Potion X in an old cellar or something. Maybe I can track him down through the other Potion.' replied Jack.



'I don't think you can just look up that information.' frowned the Spanish Unspeakable as he realised that Jack would more than likely have to use underhand tactics to get the required information.



Jack said nothing and began to pack away his things. The Unspeakable nodded and allowed Jack to pack in peace. When he was finished Jack slipped past quietly with a discrete nod. The Spaniard approached his workstation to find it as he had offered it to Jack. The meaning was clear from one Unspeakable to another, thanks.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



The emergency Portkey deposited Rodolphus and the stunned Goblin into one of the dungeons under Malfoy manor. Rodolphus made for the door as he dragged the stunned Goblin across the stone cobbles of the dungeon floor. He spotted two lowly minions and barked at the pair to flank the Goblin as he brought the creature to the Dark Lord. It was a short trip from the Portkey room to the throne room that the Dark Lord resided in. Rodolphus bowed low when he entered with the Goblin brought in behind him with the two lowly Death Eaters trailing in behind. Rodolphus spoke when he had the Dark Lords attention. He appeared to be reading a large tome written in an odd language.



'Forgive me My Lord, I bring bad news.' said Rodolphus as he stammered the word news.



'Go on.' said the Dark Lord Voldemort.



'This Goblin oversees all your Vault's My Lord. He has very bad news and brought it to me as he did not know your whereabouts.'



The Dark Lord closed the book he was reading and stalked towards the bound and unconscious Goblin. A slash of his wand and a curse uttered in Parseltongue had the Goblin startled awake in excruciating agony. The Goblin thrashed about in agony as the steel cords that bound him got tighter, thick blood oozed from the cuts caused by the bindings.



'You have news? Goblin, Speak' commanded the Dark Lord.



'All, all the accounts have been confiscated by Lord Black. Reason the bank is closed is to facilitate the movement of all the gold.' stammered the goblin.



'WHAT!' roared the Dark Lord as he cast the killing curse in anger in Parseltongue. A dark green beam shot out of the wand causing the wand to buck up from the force of the magic leaving the wand. Smoke hissed from the tip of the wand as the intense beam of energy impacted the Death Eater to the left of the Goblin. The Death Eater's face paled as intense pain erupted around his body. He screamed soundlessly as his body exploded, forcing every one in the throne room to the floor bar the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord stared at his wand in shock for he had been reading a book in Parseltongue about casting spells in the powerful language. In his anger he did not realise that he had cast the killing curse through Parseltongue . Rodolphus backed up at the malicious grin that spread across the Dark Lord’s face as he realised the power he got from casting magic in Parseltongue. The still smoking wand raised, Rodolphus braced his body as the Dark Lord hissed a curse. A beam of energy pulsating between blue and purple lanced out and hit the other minion beside the now silent Goblin. The poor man glowed briefly before spontaneously exploding showering the room in a fine mist of gore. The gory mist ignited into a giant fireball that raced in all directions. A slash and hiss from the Dark Lord and a pulsating sphere of energy snapped into existence. The fireball splashed harmlessly against the magical sphere. Rodolpdus sighed in relief that he was inside the sphere’s protection.



'Excellent.' grinned the Dark Lord Voldemort.



'My Lord?' asked Rodolphus in trepidation.



The Dark Lord stooped down to look the Goblin in the eye.



'Are you informing me that all the vaults that contain my gold have been confiscated by Black?'



The Goblin nodded fearfully after witnessing the Dark Lord’s anger.



'I will let you live if you help me to reclaim my stolen property.' offered Voldemort.



The Goblin's eyes widened as he realised what the Dark Lord planed to do.



'Rodolphus, your arm.' ordered the Dark Lord.



Rodolphus pulled back the sleeve of his robe and offered it to the Dark Lord. Voldemort jammed his still smouldering wand into the Dark Mark on Rodolpus' arm; he winced as the flesh started to burn. The Dark Lord uttered a phrase under his breath. The pain was unbearable as it felt like all the Dark Lords followers were been called. Rodolphus' mind disconnected from his body to escape the mind numbing agony. Shortly after his organs started to shut down one by one beginning with his intestines. Voldemort hissed in disgust as Rodolphus' corpse landed in a pool of excrement after he finished the summoning spell. The summoning took five minutes, the last minute the spell was active it was only the magic coursing through the body that kept it upright. The room magically expanded to accommodate the large number of Death Eater’s that answered the Dark Lord’s summons, all looked fearfully at the scene in front of the Dark Lord’s throne. They were fearful of the pulsating ball of energy that obscured the Dark Lord and the poor Death Eater that was fuelling the summons. The Goblin cringed as he realised that the Dark Lord had declared war on the Goblin Nation.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Harry worked through the belongings that were unpacked from the Granger house in London. He felt responsible that the house was destroyed in the escape. After finding one of the large rucksacks he had brought from the other reality he slung the backpack and went out to the turf shed that contained the grey cube that imprisoned Snape. The turf shed that contained Snape’s prison was a large single room building, constructed of concrete blocks, with steel galvanised sheeting for the roof. At one end stood double doors, across from the door opening stood a small workshop area containing garden tools hung on racks with a small workbench and vice for minor repairs. Harry opened the bag and took out three smaller cloth bags coloured blue, black and green that were tied closed with a drawstring. Harry set aside the blue and black bags carefully on the small workbench. He opened the green bag and carefully removed the twelve rolled up blankets. They were in shades of brown with coloured patches in all the colours of the rainbow stitched on them.



Harry removed the roll with the black stitching. He carefully put back the other rolled up blankets and put them back into the green cloth bag. He then unrolled the blanket on the dust floor, removed a knife and started to rip the stitched seams. When that task was finished he grasped a corner of the upper layer and pulled sharply. A large black metal cabinet six feet wide by two foot deep by five feet high seemed to pop into existence. Harry rolled up the upper blanket and placed it on the workbench. With a thought the steel cabinet levitated and floated over to the wall between the workbench and Snape’s grey prison cube. With a thump it sank back down on to the floor. Harry gathered up the lower blanked and rolled it up and placed it beside the upper blanket.



Harry reached for a metal flap half way up the left hand door of the steel cabinet. The flap noiselessly slid up to reveal a stainless steel numerical keypad. Harry punched in a series of numbers from memory, the door swung open to reveal that the interior contained a gun cabinet. Harry opened the lower drawer on the right hand side and put away the two rolled up blankets. At the top of the metal cabinet was a shelf that held cardboard boxes with codes printed on them. Below was a rifle rack with spaces for eight rifles, seven modified rifles stood locked to the case. On the shelf below lay spaces for twenty pistols. Two of the Glocks were missing from the shelf along with one Desert Eagle. Frank and Jane were issued with the two Glocks and Harry had used the Desert Eagle so all the pistols were accounted for. Harry removed cleaning equipment from the shelf under the gun shelf and went to the workbench. With a thought, a sphere snapped into existence on the worktop leaving behind the rifle Harry had used in the escape. Harry went through the process of stripping the weapon down and cleaning while his mind wandered. Once he was finished he locked away the rifle ready for use again. Sighing in annoyance he slowly approached the grey cube prison and passed through the wall.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Snape groaned as he slowly got up, he did not know where he was or what time of the day it was. He remembered the last time he was awake a large lioness appeared in his grey prison cell and his mind seemed to want to drag up past memories. He shuddered as he remembered the early days in the Dark Lord’s ranks. He again started his futile search of the grey cell. He had found that the walls, floor and ceiling were perfectly smooth. They appeared to be made from a material similar to metal. The surfaces seemed to be slightly warm to the touch but offered no means of escape. All Death Eaters were trained in the art of escape once captured and naturally Severus had excelled in the test after training. He sighed, as the room seemed to be a perfect cell that had an Apparition ward around it. He had tried to Apparate with out his wand but could not maintain the concentration required for his magic to complete the task. Snape knew that he was one of the few Wizards capable of wandless Apparation as well as minor skills in wandless magic.



Snape got up again to examine the wall where the lioness had come through the last time he was conscious. At first he thought that he had hallucinated the whole encounter with the large feline but after examining the cell again he had found paw prints left behind in a rank pool of vomit. Another annoyance was his Dark Mark; it was causing the underlying skin to become irritated and terribly itchy. Snape was pulled from glaring at the cursed mark by a shadow. He looked up and fought with his body's desire to move back as the person casting the shadow had invaded his personal space.



The man that cast the shadow stood in the same spot the lioness had appeared earlier. The man appeared to be dressed like a Muggle. He was wearing black steel toed work boots, navy pants with large pockets on the legs, a strange black jumper with a hood and a crest on the left breast that Snape did not recognize. The man had unruly black hair and appeared to have marks on his nose signifying that he used to wear spectacles. Snape knew that the man looked familiar, he almost resembled James Fucking Potter but with out the glasses. He looked to old and well fed to be Harry Bleeding Potter.



'Hello, Severus, How are you today?' quizzed the man.



Snape's eyes narrowed when the man said his name. He almost recognized the voice it reminded him of James Potter.



'Not going to answer? Fine I have a couple of questions.' stated the man.



'You locked me up in this damn box with that pool of vomit and you have the gall to ask how are you?' retorted Snape.



The man smiled at that but asked another question. 'What were you doing at the Granger's residence?'



Severus mind screeched to a halt at that question. This guy was too well informed so he refused to answer. Again the question was asked as the man leaned in to stare into his eyes. Severus was mesmerised by the brilliant green eyes that radiated power and determination. Snape found his mind drift back to the night he ran into the Vampire and the death of one of his informers. He thought that he had lost the Vampire and had decided to check in on the insufferable Know It All to she if she knew the location of Potter. The plan was in jeopardy, they needed to find Potter and modify his feelings again because it would seem that he was developing a form of resistance to the conditioning program. He was startled that the Vampire had tracked him to the Granger residence. The last thing he remembered was stood in the Granger hallway looking at the scene on the doorstep in shock when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around startled and saw an older looking Harry Potter naked as the day he was born, before pain exploded in his face. The fog cleared from his mind and he roared Potter! as he lunged for Harry.



Harry smiled and said 'Took you long enough.' As he side stepped the attack and struck Snape on the shoulder with a two handed punch like William Shatner was famous for in his films and television programs. Snape fell hard and implanted his face in the bowl of what could be considered food.



'Fuck you Potter, you call that drivel food?' as he gestured to the bowl of cold soup on the floor as he lifted his face out of the slowly expanding pool of cold soup and glared at Harry.



Harry smiled and decided to inform his Potions Professor the lie of the land.

'I have had an interesting summer Snape. I have learned how to get blood from a stone, so getting the information I require from you will not be difficult. I want you to swear on your magic that you will tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth or you will lose your life and magic . . .'



'Fuck you Potter, I am not swearing any Wizard's oath, besides you need a wand to cast such an oath.' interrupted Snape.



Harry ignored Snape's protest and with a grin asked: 'You consider yourself to be a master and an artist in the field of potion making, yes?'



This question threw Snape as it did not seem relevant so he stared up at Harry waiting for him to elaborate. Snape braced his hands on the floor and slowly got up.



'Well Snape you need your hands for potion brewing and I have been educated in the gentle art of persuasion involving your hands and a Muggle sledgehammer.' elaborated Harry.



Snape's eyes narrowed as he said 'you wouldn't dare.'



Snape had only managed to get up into a kneeling position, his eyes widened as an invisible force grasped his right hand and pulled it out in front of him and held it immobile. Harry raised his two hands above his head and brought them together into a two handed grip as if he was grasping a long bar. A large sledgehammer materialised in his grip. Harry's biceps flexed as his arms accommodated the heavy hammer. The two arms holding the sledgehammer started to arc through the air in the now magically enlarged room. As the hammer swung down with increasing speed Snape realised what Potter was going to do. And unlike Harry's unfortunate incident with Lockhart vanishing his bones Snape did not think that Potter was competent enough to heal the damage he was likely to inflict. Plus by the time he managed to get to a certified Healer, the repair was never going to be perfect and he would have to then deal with the prospect of trying to brew potions with a severely damaged hand from the hammer blow. Snape struggled to pull his hand away as he blurted out. 'I'll take your damn oath but I'll need a wand.'



Snape's closed his eyes as he expected pain when all he felt was a two handed punch on his immobile hand. He opened his eyes to see that the large hammer was gone and a bruise was forming on his right hand. He glared hatefully at Potter as the ensnared hand was released.



'Do you think that I'm stupid, Snape, that I would be foolish enough to give you a wand?' asked Harry.



Snape just raised an eyebrow.



'I have learnt one thing about magic, it all boils down to intent, if you want to do a feat of magic all you need is the desire and will for it to happen.' replied Harry.



Snape's eyes widened as he considered this angle. He smiled as Harry seemed to stiffen and his hands snapped to his side. Snape grinned now, as he appeared to have stunned the fool. He gingerly got to his feet and approached Harry to search him for a wand when suddenly a fist lashed out and struck him in the stomach. Air hissed out of his lungs as he slumped to the ground clutching his bruised abdomen, he glared up at the smirking Potter.



'Severus, Severus, Severus. Why would I tell you how to do wandless magic if I wasn't already competent in the practice? As I have said I had an interesting summer and a brilliant teacher in the practice. That stunner was pathetically weak and besides I expected It.' said Harry with a sigh.



Snape glared and tried again to stun the foolish boy. His body locked up as it seemed to be reflected by an invisible force, Harry started to chuckle as Snape stunned himself.



'That oath if you don't mind? We can do this all day I don't mind.' sighed Harry.



The weak stunner wore off and Snape nodded his head reluctantly. Harry then instructed Snape in the exact wording of the oath he wanted. Snape's eyes widened at the doubled barrelled surname.



'I, Severus Snape, do swear on my mind, magic, soul and life that I will tell Harry Potter-Black the whole truth leaving nothing out so mote it be.' Snape glowed briefly as the oath took effect.



After Snape gave the oath Harry smiled and got down to the business of getting answers to some questions that plagued him the first of which was:



'What was your relation to my mother?' asked Harry.



'She was my best friend, I knew her since before Hogwarts. I loved her; she was the only witch worth knowing, besides the fact that she was a filthy Mudblood. Unfortunately she discovered my views on her kind during fifth year and ended our friendship.' answered Severus as images played through his head of all the good times with Lily Evans.



'Why did you become friends with my mother given the fact that you despise all Muggleborns?' asked Harry.



'She was kind and caring, beautiful and intelligent, almost perfect besides the fact that she was a Mudblood. Her intelligence, must of left her when she lowered herself to be ensnared by Potter's pitiful charms.' said Snape.



'Why did you hate my father?' quizzed Harry.



'Because he charmed Lily into his bed and I didn't.' growled Snape.



'Why did you reveal the Prophecy to Voldemort?' demanded Harry.



Snape's eyes narrowed at the question but he answered. 'I was a good little Death Eater and relayed any relevant information I over heard. It was only afterwards that I had learnt that he planned to attack Lily and kill her even though he promised her to me.'



'So why go to Professor Dumbledore?' questioned Harry.



'He was Voldemort's opposite number and my best chance of getting Lily.' responded Snape.



'How were you to get my mother?' demanded Harry as he grabbed Snape by his collar.



'I thought that working with Dumbledore would result in her staying alive while you and your foolish father died, I was wrong.' answered Snape.



'What do you mean you were wrong?' quizzed Harry.



'After working with Dumbledore I have learnt that he is a master manipulator and that you are his favourite puppet.' said Snape.



'What do you mean? Puppet?' asked Harry as his temper began to boil.



Snape started to speak. 'To began with, he placed you with your vile relatives. That line he spouts about blood wards protecting you there are all bullshit. For them to have worked in the first place your aunt was to love you as one of her own, Dumbledore saw to it that Petunia resented you as Lily's son. He visited her shortly before he dumped you on her doorstep to fiddle with her mind. Vernon was my job and it was far to easy he was a very easy mark . . .'



'But I thought that it was decided to leave me with my Aunt and Uncle after they had died.' interrupted Harry.



Snape smiled as he laid out some of the details of what really happened.

'Pettigrew was a scared insecure little boy at Hogwarts always afraid that he would be excluded from the Marauders. Dumbledore prayed on that fear, he manipulated Peter into joining the Death Eaters. He learnt that the Potter's changed secret keepers to Peter. A simple matter of mind control had Peter toddle off to Voldemort with the information firmly believing it was Peter's own idea, in the mean time he had your accommodation with the Dursley's all set up. I realised after I pieced it all together how far Dumbledore went with his plans. I was locked into servitude with a man worse than Voldemort. Dumbledore was happy to control things from behind the Grandfatherly Headmaster image. He had ruined many lives to set in motion his grand plan.



After depositing you with your vile relatives he ghost wrote all the Harry Potter children's stories that were very popular in our world. He stoked your public image and used it to amass a small fortune from donations sent to your charity fund. At the same time he had me mould Slytherin in to a recruitment camp for Death Eaters. The bastard had me ruin my house; Slytherin's were a shadow of what they should be all because of Dumbledore's orders.



Your first year was simply a test to see what kind of child you were and whether the conditioning was working. In second year Dumbledore was manoeuvring one of his pawns into to place to be your future wife. He never counted on Hermione or the fact that you would always visit her in the hospital wing. It was dismissed as concern for a friend and Dumbledore wanted to see how Miss Granger would develop her potential, plus there was the added benefit that he would be able to take a hands off approach to your training.



Third year was a surprise he did not expect Sirius to re-enter the picture. He did not help the Ministry capture him because if Sirius was caught some of Dumbledore's plans may have come to light and he managed to convince Sirius to hide in his parents' house even though he knew that Sirius would of rather be anywhere but that house of awful memories. In fourth year he could of easily stopped the Death Eaters plans to resurrect Voldemort but it aided his plans so he allowed it to happen.'



'What! He could have stopped Voldemort but didn't?' said Harry in shock.



'Yes, He knows that he can't fight Voldemort directly and win because of the prophecy besides he prefers for others to do the hard work for him. Last year he realised how close you came to Hermione and decided to put a stop to it. After you were informed about the Ball you asked Hermione, as you didn't have the confidence to ask Cho. I stunned the pair of you and wiped the incident from your mind and reinforced your infatuation with Miss Chang. It was a good day for Me.' said Snape with a smile.



Harry slumped at hearing that, he struggled to find the incident mentioned but discovered that he had no memory of bumping into Snape after finding out about the Ball.



'You must have been very good because I don't remember it all.' said Harry almost to himself.



'Well it didn't work by the end of the year she kissed you at the station. It may have only been a kiss to the cheek but due to your conditioning it was all you could think about that summer. Dumbledore couldn't have that so he visited you in Privet Drive at night and modified you feelings. During one of his visits you had an attack by Voldemort and Dumbledore witnessed the whole thing. He decided then that you needed some protection or your mind could shut down after an attack and render you completely useless.'





'So did you teach me to protect my mind or open it further to attacks from Riddle?' asked Harry as he was using his meditation exercises to try and calm his temper.



'Neither, after the summer you showed signs of caring for the insufferable Know It All, Granger. It was decided that it would not be wise to allow you to be side tracked by a love life or develop attachments until her mother could mould Ginny to be the perfect widow. If you were to become attached too soon, it would be a disaster and it was preferred to be someone like Ginny that could be controlled. Granger was just about tolerated as a friend as she was far too knowledgeable and a liability. During your sessions I was to do just enough that Voldemort was kept in the dark while I modified your feelings from that of a lover to that of a sibling like relationship.' explained Snape.



'WHAT, all of last year while you inflicted that so called training on me you were controlling the feelings I had for her?' asked an incredulous Harry as his meditation failed to stem his anger.



Severus looked smug while he answered 'Yes I had great fun messing with your memory's and feelings for Hermione all during the past year and I had the full support of the Headmaster to do it.'



'Was this just because of orders from Dumbledore to assist in my conditioning or was their another reason?' asked Harry as he reviewed his fifth year in Hogwarts trying to find the times that Snape modified his feelings for Hermione.



'A bit of both, but mainly because I enjoyed the assignment.' said a grinning Snape.



Harry growled low in his throat in anger. It was as if his lion aspect was to the fore. Snape found himself flying backwards to impact on the wall. The wall seemed to come alive and morph around his wrists and ankles before coming solid once again.



'What else happened this past year?' demanded Harry.



'While I opened you up enough to lure Voldemort out into the open and controlled your feelings for Hermione, Dumbledore searched for fragments of Voldemort's soul. Dumbledore learnt that Voldemort broke his conditioning of being Dumbledore's big stick to beat the Wizarding world with. The soul pieces were inserted into objects to make artefacts called Horcruxes. He has created Horcruxes six plus the piece in you. Dumbledore's plan calls for your willing death, if you fell in love with Granger you would have a reason to live, we couldn't have that at all so it was decided to take your love for her out of the picture. According to Dumbledore's plans he aims to have you defeat Voldemort before you graduate Hogwarts. That means you will never finish your education at all.' answered a smiling Snape. The smile distorted the cruel man's face.



'Why would Molly do something like that?' asked Harry.



Snape raised an eyebrow at the question.



'Why would Molly allow Ginny to be used as one of your pawns and was anybody else used?' quizzed Harry as he elaborated on the question.



'Well Molly is in charge of her household. She is a control freak and has a vision of a happy family. You and Hermione fall into her plan. Dumbledore approached her after fourth year to combine plans. He instructed her to back off with her plans as the Ministry were sending an investigator to Hogwarts. Hogwarts didn't need the scandal of a Love potions plot. In your fourth year I had to dose you with the antidote, as we needed you to be good enough to finish the Tournament. The plan called for you to win the Tournament and if you were to busy shagging Ginny you would of come last in the Tournament.' answered Snape.



'Is Ginny in on it?' asked Harry.



'No, she is far too much like her mother. She is too impulsive and brash to be involved. Molly has moulded her to be the fan girl since she was born she really does love you but is far to shy to approach the Chosen One.' answered Snape.



'Who else is involved in your plot along with Dumbledore?' demanded Harry.



'Dumbledore, Molly and myself. Pettigrew was an unwilling pawn. You and Ron sometimes play into our hands. If there is anyone else I don't know.' answered Snape.



Harry seemed to be miles away as if his mind was elsewhere. He suddenly looked sheepish and turned and walked through the wall leaving Snape stuck on the opposite wall. Snape was disgusted with himself for revealing the plan and his participation in it. It would appear that Potter forgot to let him down.



HPHGHPHGHPHGH



Helen Wallace sat on the bed breast-feeding her daughter Claire, she watched Hugh deal with a client through a charmed mirror. The mirror played a piece of classical music to signify someone was calling. Claire gurgled happily at the music and scrunched her nose up in disgust when the music stopped when Hugh answered the call. Her expression changed when her mother bared a breast and she started to fill her empty tummy. Helen smiled her daughter was a quiet baby.

Her eyes widened in fright when a large sphere of magical energy snapped in front of her. It stood a little over six feet high and radiated little to no light. As fast as it appeared it vanished leaving behind a beautiful young woman with wild brown hair in a simple peach coloured Muggle summer dress. Helen’s eyes widened as she saw the exquisite wedding band on the woman’s ring finger. She wondered who the lucky man was that had married the woman. Claire was finished her meal so Helen carefully put the baby in her lap and readjusted her clothes before she lifted the baby, Claire up to her shoulder to get her wind up so that she could sleep after her meal.



Hugh grabbed a cloth shopping bag and handed it to the woman. Helen watched as she settled her baby’s stomach after feeding. She saw the strange book and Goblin engraved transport stone when Hugh rolled down the sides of the bag to reveal the contents. Hugh rolled the sides back up and handed the bag over to the woman saying.



'I managed to open the book while at Gringotts. There is a short letter or note between the pages. I tried to open it when I got home but some sort of ward or spell stopped me.'



The woman looked at Hugh in curiosity at invading their privacy but placed the bag into her handbag.



Her husband looked sheepish as he apologised: ‘How very rude of me, I have not introduced you at all have I?’



‘No, dear you haven’t’ replied Helen with a smile, Claire gurgled on her shoulder at hearing her daddy’s voice.



‘Sorry, Helen I’d like you to meet Hermione Potter-Black, Harry Potter-Black’s wife.’ Said Hugh as he gestured at the woman, Hermione.



‘Hermione, my wife Helen and daughter Claire.’ said Hugh as he gestured to his wife and daughter.



Hermione smiled as she gazed at the now sleeping baby in Helen’s arms momentarily forgetting the reason for her visit or the time restraints she was under. Helen struck out her free arm and shook Hermione’s hand with a smile.



A cautious Hugh quietly said, ‘Sorry Hermione, you are the only clients I have now and in the current situation I don’t keep secrets from Helen.’



‘That’s okay Hugh but please don’t spread it around.’ Replied Hermione before she turned to Helen and cautiously asked, ‘Can I hold her?’ as she gestured to the quiet baby, Claire.



Claire studied Hermione’s face and saw the longing for a baby of her own, and thought that she would enjoy holding her daughter. She replied ‘Sure.’



Hermione sat beside Helen as Claire was passed into her arms. Hermione gently cuddled the baby to her breast. ‘She is beautiful.’ cooed Hermione as she looked down at the sleeping baby that snuggled up to Hermione’s soft bosom.



Helen smiled at Hermione’s loving nature and said, ‘She is a quiet baby.’



‘I hope to do this one day with my own little one.’ whispered Hermione almost longingly.



Hugh watched the two women quietly talk about babies and childbirth for the next half hour wishing he were with the lads in Cashel. He knew his wife suffered pain in childbirth and didn’t need to hear about it again or any other female problems for that matter.



With great reluctance Hermione kissed the baby on the forehead and said ‘Be good for your mother and do well in school.’ Turning to the couple she said. ‘I’ve got to go, time is of the essence.’



‘Bye, Hermione, your time will come.’ Consoled Helen.



Hermione smiled at her new friend and said. ‘Thanks for the chat, and stay safe. I want to hear that you survived this damn war.’



Helen held her baby close as it hit her; they were in a war with a mad man.



Hermione stepped into the next room and vanished into a sphere of energy.



Hugh raised an eyebrow at his wife.



‘She wants a child of her own,’ explained Helen. ‘She has been married for a while now and is feeling very maternal war or not.’



‘Oh, Harry told me they reluctantly decided not to have children just yet because they didn’t want to leave their children orphans like Harry was.’ replied Hugh



‘When did he tell you that? I thought blokes talked about Quidditch and brooms?’ asked Helen.



‘We do, but when the occasion calls for it we talk about this sort of stuff as well. It came up when I told them about you and little Claire.’ replied Hugh.



‘What are we going to do?’ asked Helen as she thought about the terror of the mad man, He Who Must Not Be Named.



‘We will get through, I believe that Harry and Hermione have a chance’ consoled Hugh as he hugged his wife and child close.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Remus looked up as Hermione popped back into the kitchen, as the sphere dissipated. He frowned at the melancholy look that graced Hermione’s face.



‘Hello Remus’ greeted Hermione as she shook her head to clear something. ‘Do you know where Harry is?’ she asked.



‘Hello Hermione, everything all right? The last time I saw Harry he was in the room where Minerva left all the stuff we brought from your parents house.’ Responded Remus.



Minerva looked up as Hermione thanked Remus and left the room in search of Harry. Hermione went to the room that was been used as a store and found no Harry. She noticed a backpack missing, after realising it was the one that contained weapons she headed out to the shed hoping that Harry was there. She found one of the gun cabinets beside Snape’s cell. She huffed in anger, Harry promised that he would stay away from Snape until her mother was better and they could both concentrate on the problem of Snape.



Her mind searched out her Husband's mind. She was disgusted when her suspicions were confirmed, Harry was alone with Snape in his cell. Harry apologised profusely saying that the temptation for answers from Snape was too much. Hermione asked him to leave Snape alone and he readily complied.



Harry looked sheepish as he left the grey cell. He was worried when he saw Hermione’s expression.



‘Didn’t you tell me we would question him together’ demanded an angry Hermione.



Harry hung his head and nodded.



‘Why did you do it?’ asked Hermione.



‘I was tidying up after escaping from London and working on the rifle and looked over at Snape’s cell. I guess that the temptation was too great.’ offered Harry.



Hermione huffed at that she knew that he wanted answers but still he left her out. ‘Fine, Harry, do what you want.’ She said with a tremble to her voice.



‘I am sorry.’ Said Harry as he gazed into her eyes.



‘I thought that my mother was more important than HIM.’ Said Hermione in annoyance as she gestured to the large grey box.



Harry looked pained as he realised why Hermione was upset with him. ‘Sorry, she is very important to me. I thought that Minerva and Remus were helping you and I felt like I was a fifth wheel and decided to unpack some of our stuff so we would be prepared in the event of an attack. It started to grate that he was in there and I could question him. I did send out a thought to you letting you know what I was doing but I got no response.’ Explained Harry.



‘I was collecting your mail’ spat Hermione as she removed the bag Hugh had given her and thrust it into Harry’s hands.



‘Sorry I know it is not an excuse. She will get better, Hermione. She has the smartest Witch I know working on the problem along with one Marauder and the best teacher of Transfiguration Hogwarts has ever seen. I should have waited for you I know and I am sorry. I hope you know that.’ consoled Harry



Hermione nodded and asked Harry to share his memories of his questioning of the vile ex-Potions Master. Harry frowned his temper had barely held in there and Hermione’s current mood he didn’t know what would happen. At Hermione’s glare he opened the connection fully and showed her all of what he had done since he last saw her and showed how sincerely sorry he was. She silently watched his memories wondering how he had managed to keep his temper in check and not give in and kill the vile despicable man. She was pleasantly surprised by his answer to not killing Snape.



‘I wasn’t finished questioning Snape. I figured that it would be a good idea to wait and bleed all the information I could out of him before deciding what to do with him. I really tested my meditation exercises to stay calm as I learnt some very disturbing information.’



Having forgiven Harry for questioning Snape and controlling his temper Hermione leaned in and very thoroughly kissed her chastised husband for his self control while in the presence of Snape.



Hermione stepped back feeling better and glanced at the Goblin book lying on the workbench. Harry turned to look at what had caught Hermione’s eye, he pouted that they had stopped kissing. Hermione asked Harry to open the book as it was charmed to only open for him.



Harry reluctantly let go of Hermione to go over and look at the book the Goblin’s wanted him to have. He put his hands on the cover and went to open the book but it would not open, he frowned. Hermione said with a frown, ‘It wouldn’t open for me as well.’



‘According to Hugh, Ragnok wanted me to have the book, so there has to be a way to open It.’ said Harry as he studied the strange book.



‘Of course!’ exclaimed Hermione after studying the book for a few minutes. Harry looked at Hermione expectantly. ‘Goblin security is keyed to blood. So maybe you need to place a drop of your blood onto the cover.’ said Hermione.



‘But I didn’t have to give a drop of blood to gain the key to my trust vault.’ said Harry in confusion.



Hermione frowned at that but said, ‘Try it, it may just work.’



Harry removed his combat knife and nicked his fingertip. The wound oozed blood slowly; one solitary drop hit the cover of the book. Harry felt a strange magical sensation flow through him as the book faintly glowed. Harry sucked on the wound before applying pressure to stop the bleeding.



Harry tentatively grasped the cover and went to open the book and beamed at Hermione when the book easily opened. Lying between the first page and the cover was a sheet of headed paper. The header was in gobbledygook but the letter printed on the paper was typed in English.





Lord Potter-Black.



As you have now become our largest depositor through Goblin like means. Your previous Goblin liaison Grack has dishonoured himself and made off with our gold. Due to this treason I was made aware of your massive holdings and, as the Director of Gringotts, assumed control of your interests within our walls.



As your previous instructions have allowed you to become our largest depositor I enclose a book on Goblin rules and regulations translated into English. I also enclose a Transport Stone it is similar to your Portkey but much more refined. Use it in your future business dealings with our fine institution. The Stone will deposit you in our finest banquet hall. As you have deciphered the security charm on the book, it shows me that you are intelligent this is a pleasant anomaly from our usual dealing with Wizard kind. The Transport Stone is keyed by the same means. It requires the blood of those you trust that are to be transported by the stone.



May you always have profit in your vault.



Ragnok.



Director of Gringotts.





Harry frowned as he read the letter, if this was the way they dealt with important clients he didn’t want to think of the standard of service offered to minor clients of the bank. Hermione directed Harry to nick his finger again and pointed out the relevant Goblin rune. Harry raised an eyebrow in question but followed his wife’s direction. Hermione explained that she was familiar with all the various types of runes from studying the subject and having access to the Potter Book of Magic. Since the book was tied into the Hogwarts Library and the Library contained obscure books on Goblins she had access to the information. Harry nodded at that as he vaguely remembered a hybrid maths, runes class in the other realm. He studied the runes on the stone and marvelled when he realised that he had a rudimentary understanding of what they where for. Hermione then pricked her finger and placed the drop of blood on the rune that signified wife or consort. When the stone received both drops of blood it glowed blue briefly. Hermione took out her mirror and called Minerva and told her Professor that Harry and herself are going to the bank and would she kindly relay that information to both her father and Remus. Minerva replied she would and wished them the best of luck in finding Lily’s notes. Harry and Hermione touched the relevant runes on the stone and Harry said clearly ‘activate.’ The stone glowed blue and shimmered before vanishing with a soft pop. Harry and Hermione glowed blue and shimmered before following the stone a fraction of a second later.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



The Security Wizard stood silently to one side of the checkpoints that permitted access to the construction site that used to be called Diagon Alley. A bunch of forensic Aurors and Unspeakables were pouring through the rubble that used to be that Apothecary. The Security Wizard sighed for he could not see what they were doing as the wizards had erected hoarding that stood ten feet tall around the site. His partner was grumbling under his breath that he was distracted by what was going on behind the post and the fact that he was not doing his job. They were supposed to be keeping watch for any Dark Witches or Wizards that wanted to come and disrupt the rebuilding process. He was so busy gawking at the witches and wizards assisting in the rebuilding of the Alley that he did not witness his partner silently die from an eerily silent killing curse uttered by the Dark Lord Voldemort.



The body hit the table as it fell alerting the slovenly Security Wizard that something was wrong. The wizard spun around and dropped his wand in shock at the large number of Death Eaters stood before him with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stood at the front with a malicious grin on his face. The wizard trembled as he noticed the glee in those red eyes. He absently was aware of the throng of Death Eaters flow past himself and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.



'I have need of your services' hissed the Dark Lord.



The wand came up and one of the Unforgivables was cast in a hiss. The Security Wizard had a glassy stare as the Imperius took effect. The effects of the spell were twisted from the norm due to the fact that the spell was hissed in Parseltongue. The Wizard bent over and mechanically levitated the bound Goblin and slowly followed the Dark Lord his mind forever broken. The Dark Lord revealed in the fact that he had a totally loyal minion from his newly modified spell.



A lone Death Eater broke from the throng pouring in to the Alley and slowly approached the Dark Lord and bowed.



'Yes Dolohov.' hissed the Dark Lord.



'Forgive me, my Lord but I think I may be able to finish my previous mission.' stated Dolohov from behind his mask.



'Excellent, you are dismissed have the Potions Master at the Manor before I return.' threatened the Dark Lord.



Dolohov bowed and promptly left to get the Dark Lord’s new potions master.





The rest of the Death Eaters had filled the blackened cobbled street in front of the bank and appraised the security detail stood before the doors. The Auror's panicked at the sight of so many dark wizards and hid with the construction wizards behind the magical hoardings that were erected to protect the public from building works spread across the street on the various sites. The brave souls who stole peeks at the spectacle were curious to know the reason that the Death Eaters had not attacked yet. They seemed to be concentrating on the Goblin bank. One of the Unspeakables over seeing the forensic analysis of the Apothecary looked on in dawning horror as he realised that the Death Eaters were about to attack the bank. He trembled in fear for he was not a field operative as he observed the three beings that trailed behind the large group that assembled in front of the bank. One was an Auror who must be under the dreaded mind control spell. The Auror was levitating a bound Goblin dressed in fine clothes. The last of the three suddenly levitated above the crowd and two beams of energy pulsating between blue and purple lanced out and hit the two security Trolls in rapid succession. The two Trolls roared in agony before simultaneously exploding into a fine mist of gore showering the six security Goblins. The silently observing Death Eaters erected multiple shields and ducked their heads. The Goblins slowly advanced wondering at why anyone would be foolish to attack the bank. The thick gory mist suddenly exploded and was reflected back against the multiple shields towards the bank. As the front doors were simply vaporised the floating wizard cast multiple spells with the same pulsating colour cast through the gaping hole where the front doors used to be. The Unspeakable turned in the other direction and fled.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Albus Dumbledore was at the ministry at the behest of the I.C.W. trying to limit the access of the damn internationals when he heard the rumour that Voldemort was attacking the Goblin bank, Gringotts. He had been introduced to the small five-man team. There were two witches and three wizards from countries outside the I.C.W. bar Australia which should be under his jurisdiction. He never understood why the other magical nations set up their own international body, why couldn't they just join the I.C.W. that he headed. He hurriedly left the Ministry and bumped into a fleeing Unspeakable he recognised as a coward. The man was better using his massive intelligence behind a desk than out in the field. Dumbledore stopped him and questioned him on the particulars. It would appear that Voldemort was solely concentrating on the bank for an unknown reason but there was the side effect that the Goblins would now go to war. Damn. He noticed the Chinese wizard from the international delegation make his way to the scene of the ongoing attack. Cursing Dumbledore followed him to the chaos in front of the bank.





The Chinese Wizard started immediately to curse the Death Eaters standing guard at the front of the bank with smoke oozing from the gaping hole in the wall. Albus cursed under his breath at the fool’s efforts, the counter attack might have worked if he had consulted him before going off half cocked. Seven green spells impacted the Chinese Wizards shield charm. The sickly green spells passed through the shield charm as if it wasn't there and impacted his body. Only one of the curses was required to kill him so seven of them were complete overkill. Dumbledore sighed in annoyance before he stood out from the builders hoarding he had sheltered behind before sending seven red flashes of light into the throng of Death Eaters trying to get into the bank. Dumbledore summoned the hoarding to him as the Death Eater's returned fire with flashes of green. The hoarding demolished under the onslaught of spell fire. With a crack Dumbledore Apparated away before the green of the killing curse could hit him. One of the cowering Auror's groaned as the Headmaster broke through the Ministry's security enhancements erected over the area. Some irate builders followed the Headmaster and Chinese Wizards initiative and started to hurl building spells with horrifying effect. A spell that created brick walls caused flying bricks to impact against Death Eater shields. Some failed under the onslaught their owners died under the weight of a tonne of bricks. Another magical builder favoured a carpentry spell that cut out tenons in wood to create joints. When used against the Death Eaters the effects were bloody and lethal. Under the unexpected onslaught from the witches and wizards trying to rebuild the area the Death Eaters erected stone barriers and retreated into the bank.



Dumbledore appeared behind rubble in the area that used to be Knockturn Alley. His eyes widened as he observed the magical builders attack the Death Eaters and more to the point that they were successful. He never noticed the small beetle stuck to the hoarding over his shoulder soaking in the sights and sounds of the battle.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



Inside the bank klaxons were roaring as the doors were destroyed. Two large portholes opened just above the front door threshold. Two Goblins peered down on the marauding Death Eaters swarming in to the bank. Two large cauldrons tipped over spilling boiling oil down the holes onto the heads of the Death Eaters below. Goblins watched impassively from behind the tellers’ desks as the front row of Death Eaters boiled alive from the special Goblin oils. The Goblins behind the tellers’ desks had drawn bows ready to fire. A wizard floated above the Death Eater and sent a pink spell at the ceiling. The ceiling glowed briefly and the two portholes sealed instantly. A Goblin roared an order and the bowmen let loose with a volley of arrows. The Death Eaters bathed the area in spell fire but none had the energy to cast the killer curse green bar the one that floated above the Death Eaters. A lone bowman took aim at the floating wizard and let loose. The arrow seemed to simply dissolve before it struck the wizard. The floating wizard returned fire with a beam of energy pulsating between blue and purple. The bowman dropped his bow and screamed before exploding showering his fellow bowmen. The resultant fireball consumed the Goblins first line of defence.



The Death Eaters were in the bank with only ten percent casualties. They held the public spaces of the bank, the entrance hall and the main bank hall. Three wizards slowly approached the door leading to where the carts would take you to the vaults. Three blasting charms impacted the locked door. The door vibrated but held. The three wizards repeated blasting the door a further three times before Voldemort became impatient and cursed them with the modified Cruciatus Curse. The resultant explosion imploded the door. In the room beyond stood four Trolls in full battle armour from head to toe. Not an inch of skin was exposed, two wielded large maces and the other two large battle hammers. The four trolls waded into the Death Eaters. The spell fire just bounced off the thick knight like armour. The Dark Lord cursed and tried the killing curse spoken both normally and through Parseltongue to no avail. One enterprising Death Eater managed to do a Ron Weasley and jam his wand up a narrow crack on one troll's helmet and into the it's nasal cavity and use a Reductor. The victory was short lived however as he was crushed by the now dead troll. The second troll was brought down by five Death Eaters working together to super heat the armour and cook the troll’s brain. Some of the Death Eater's with a weak disposition lost their lunch from the smell of burnt troll.



There were now two trolls left and a small handful of Goblin’s. The armour on one of the remaining troll’s started to crack under the force of the spells impacting the armour. The Troll roared in agony as the armour cracked and fragmented. The fragments were driven into his skin from the force of the spell fire. The troll went into a berserker rage and started to swing his hammer around wildly killing both Goblins and Death Eaters alike. A blasting hex connected and the armour was blasted from the troll’s body like a nail bomb. The Death Eaters hurriedly cast shield charms. Voldemort cast his new favourite spell and the troll vaporised. The resulting explosion knocked down the last troll. The nearest Death Eater ran forward and jammed his wand into the crack between the troll’s helmet and body armour and uttered Sectumsempra. The head separated from the body. The troll’s head was then blasted towards the remaining Goblins like a large cannon ball.



The Death Eaters now had access to the tunnel network below the bank. The Goblins had plunged the tunnel network into a pitch-black darkness. The Death Eaters Lumos spells barely brightened the tunnels two feet beyond them. The ground below them reverberated as a pack of six faded grey dragons moved into view. Their wings were clipped and there were saddles across their backs. A Goblin warrior sat astride the saddle holding on to the chain reins. With a roar the Dragons converged on the Death Eaters. The first Dragon went down from the sheer number of spells cast at it. Its rider was dismounted and trod under foot of the Dragon behind. The Dragon behind reared up and unseated it’s passenger before issuing forth a great gout of flame. The flame attack burnt a clump of Death Eaters unfortunate enough to be consumed be the fire. The only protection the dragons had was their thick magic resilient skin. In the Triwizard Tournament it took between five and six wizards working together to stun one dragon. The Death Eaters had many times that number blasting at the Dragons. The second Dragon fell over dead as it’s heart failed due to magical shock, it was the oldest dragon the Goblin’s had. Three of the Goblin riders took stock of the situation and turned to escape into the tunnels. That course of action brought the downfall of the third dragon, as all the Death Eaters now concentrated their fire on it.



The Death Eater’s now had access to the low security level vaults that were unaffected by the recent gold transfers occurring. Among the depositors were the Weasley Twins and other innocent Witches and Wizards. The Dark Lord, Voldemort stood in the middle of his pack of surviving Death Eaters. His numbers had diminished by seventeen percent since the beginning of the assault on the bank. He beckoned to his Auror puppet to bring the bound Goblin to him. He studied his smouldering wand; it seemed to be holding up to the harsh punishment he was inflicting by pouring so much magical power into it. The Goblin looked at the devastation caused to the bank and shuddered.



‘Goblin, I want all the security enhancements destroyed on all these vaults. Understood’ hissed Voldemort as he gestured to the vault doors lining the cavern walls.



The Goblin stared into the Dark Lord’s red eyes and gulped before nodding.



With a gesture the steel bindings loosened, and the Goblin struggled out of them. The Dark Lord turned to his followers and ordered three quarters of his Death Eaters to claim the mid security vaults while the Goblin worked on these ones.



HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG



The Goblin banquet hall was deep under the bank. The Transport stone set off a warning chime just before it arrived giving the Goblins a chance to prepare for their guests arrival. Ragnok left his office and made his way to the Goblin banquet hall wondering at why Lord Potter-Black would visit the bank so soon as he was currently the only wizard issued with a stone. He arrived in time to see the stone transport two people one male and the other female. The male looked older than Ragnok expected. He was expecting a fifteen-year-old boy easily managed and not a man that appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties. The woman had wild brown hair and wore a simple Muggle dress. So that meant she was not a bigoted pure-blood, so there was hope yet, he decided.



Ragnok studied the couple as they took in their bearings. He observed that the made a quick survey of the room and made note of the exits and the number of Goblins in the hall. He noticed that the pair did not emit magic like so many Witches and Wizards did. He knew instinctively that the male was Harry Potter-Black as the stone was keyed to him alone. He guessed the woman was Hermione Granger as she was the only female that had similar features to one of Potter’s friends that were in the intelligence reports. It was good business practice to keep tabs on your biggest clients. It would appear that the woman was a close friend of Potter’s for he had given her access to the stone. Maybe the information that they had married was correct. He wondered how they had managed to do that without the Headmaster finding out.



He sat at the banquet table and came out of his thoughts as the couple looked at him expectantly. He observed that the couple had taken easy stances so they could flow into action at any perceived treat. He directed them to the pair of chairs and they sat.



‘Hello, Mr. Potter-Black. My name is Ragnok and I am director of this fine institution.’ said Ragnok by way of introduction.



‘Hello, Ragnok. I am sorry but I am in a hurry and was hoping that you could help me. This by the way is my wife Hermione and I hope that you will keep our confidence in our dealings with each other.’ said Harry as he released a small portion of his magic in a pulse. The magic pulse acted as a sort of sonar, pinging any and all magical devices in the room.



Ragnok’s eyes widened at the display but he held his tongue as he wondered what was so urgent. He answered, ‘How may Gringotts serve our largest depositor?’



‘About fifteen years ago or so my mother Lily Potter tasked Gringotts with the secure storage of some research she was conducting. I am in need of those notes. So I need immediate access to the vault the information was stored in.’ said Harry as his green eyes bored into Ragnok's eyes.



Ragnok frowned and asked, ‘don’t you have the key?’



‘No the only key I have was given to my by Hagrid, when I turned eleven for my trust vault’ answered Harry.



‘What! Was the key not keyed to your blood?’ asked Ragnok as he wondered why standard banking procedures were not adhered to.



‘No. The only time I shed blood was to activate your transport stone.’ answered Harry.



With dawning realisation Ragnok reluctantly asked his next question. ‘How many keys do you have?’



‘Just one. The one that activates my trust fund. Hugh my solicitor said that the bank would issue a new key for the Black vaults after all the transfers were complete’ answered Harry.



'Oh I see. I'll instruct my staff to cancel the old keys and order them to do an audit of your vaults. Is that to your satisfaction?' asked Ragnok.



'Yes.' replied Harry. 'But we need access to my mother's vault.'



Ragnok reached for the bell by his left elbow and rang for assistance. A Goblin appeared in a servants uniform. The pair conversed in gobbledegook before the servant left again. Ragnok turned to Harry and said. 'Grot my personal assistance will check the records for what you seek.'



'Thank you.' said Harry.



The doors suddenly banged open at the end of the room. A large security detail of Goblins rushed in as Ragnok roared at them in gobbledegook. They took positions around the table. Two blade tipped lances were pressed into Hermione's throat. Three Warrior Goblins brandished swords around Harry's head.



In anger Harry demanded. 'What is Going on.' as he glared at Ragnok.



The leader of the security detail rapidly conversed in gobbledegook with Ragnok. Ragnok looked shocked and then turned to Harry and with accusation in his face said. 'Wizards have assaulted the bank, they hold one of the vault levels. Why have you attacked?'



Blood oozed from the nicks in Hermione's neck where the two lances touched her skin. Grot returned holding a large black book in his hand and stopped short at the strange standoff in the room.



HPHGHPHGHPHGH



Authors notes:

A/N1 Foolscap pad. Is a bound note pad. Size 297mm by 210mm with either 2 or 4 holes punched down the left margin. The pad is usually stored in a Ring binder.

A/N2 Biro. Cheap blue, black or red ink ball point pen.

Both are commonly used by students on this side of the pond.



Sorry for the long delay.

Delay due to a combination of factors, RL, time of the year and the muse deserting me.

Chapter's will be revised for spelling and grammar once I get another Beta.

Chapter 10 is 2/3 done so story is not abandoned.

Please review.