Summary:Hermione and Bolt find an unexpected ally within Gringotts, while they discuss whether or not to reveal that Harry Potter is alive.
Chapter TextHermione looked up to see at least 15 rather bewildered-looking goblin guards brandishing axes, and spears rushing towards them. Intent on defending her husband from this attack, she reached for her wand, which was deftly plucked from her hands by Professor McGonagall. "Not in the bank, Mrs. Potter. Never in the bank". McGonagall said, handing her wand back to her, and then added more quietly, "Let us see what this is about before we resort to fighting our way through an army of goblins. There's no need to start a goblin rebellion without a good cause."
Once the goblins had them surrounded, a large, heavily scarred goblin armed with a mace stepped through the crowd. He warily eyed Bolt's unconscious form for a moment before whispering something to another goblin who promptly ran out of the entrance hall.
"Headmistress. Any particular reason why you decided to bring a transfigured dragon into our bank? Surely you know such a thing is a crime punishable by death," The surly goblin said, wondering why the well-regarded headmistress of Hogwarts would attempt something so foolishly dangerous.
"He isn't transfigured. He's a dragon animagus as well as the heir to one of your largest estates. We need to see Ragnok immediately." Hermione stated firmly, trying to sound as confident as possible, even though on the inside her gut was churning at the thought of what would happen to Bolt if they were arrested. The goblin eyed her skeptically before looking back to Bolt and nodding.
"I see. Please heal his nose, he's getting the floors bloody," he barked, allowing Hermione to draw her wand and heal his nose with a muttered episkey. The goblin then attempted to levitate Bolt's unconscious form, which, much to his frustration, wouldn't budge.
"I'm sorry, sir. Most spells won't work on him." Hermione explained without going into detail. "The only person whose magic can get through his magical resistance is mine. I can levitate him if you'd like." She added, to which the goblin reluctantly agreed, muttering under his breath all the while. Once Bolt was levitated, the goblin led them through a maze of corridors and into a large office, where a large goblin that Hermione instantly recognized as Ragnok, the goblin king, was waiting for them.
Hermione's anxiety was through the roof by this point as she wondered what on earth the goblin king himself could want with them. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she sat herself in a large armchair, before levitating Bolt and sitting him in the chair next to her.
"Welcome, Mrs. Potter. I am Ragnok, the goblin king as well as director of Gringotts Bank. It's good to finally meet you. I apologize for your husband's current state. I wasn't expecting the wards to react to him so strongly," he stated, getting straight down to business, immediately noticing Hermione's eyes widen when he called her by name.
"You know of me?" Hermione squeaked, surprised that such an important being would know who she was.
"Of course I do, Mrs. Potter. I am constantly on the lookout for intelligent wizards and witches, as they can be a valuable asset to the bank, and I must say I've had my eye on you for some time. My cousin, whom you call Fillius Flitwick, has told me great things about you, and you have a reputation for being exceptionally brilliant. I must say that your plan to dispose of the basilisk was that of a truly cunning warrior. I had planned on reaching out to you and offering you an apprenticeship with Gringotts after you graduated," he explained, causing Hermione to blush furiously.
He then pulled out a large bronze medallion shaped like a galleon from a drawer inside his desk. "Place this around your husband's neck," he said, putting the medallion on the desk where Hermione could retrieve it. Noticing her wary look, he added, "It will just wake him up. There's no need to be so worried, Mrs. Potter. We goblins haven't eaten a human in centuries." he chuckled, to which Hermione smiled nervously, not completely certain as to whether he was joking or not. Nevertheless, she placed the medallion around Bolt's neck, and as soon as the metal touched his skin, Bolt jerked awake.
"What happened?" Bolt said, groggily sitting up. He scanned the room warily, relaxing only when he realized his treasure was right beside him. He reasoned that if his treasure was calm, then they must be safe.
"I apologize, Mr. Potter. I am Ragnok, king of the goblin nation. You ended up on the wrong side of the wards we have around the bank that were placed to incapacitate any of the dragons we keep in the cave system. Though McGonagall explained your situation to me in her owl, it didn't even cross my mind to adjust the wards. We'll key your magical signature into the wards as soon as possible so that you can travel to and from the bank freely." Ragnok explained. Seeing Hermione clearly about to ask about the wards, he added, "Do not worry, Mrs. Granger. Only goblin magic can erect such wards, and no goblin would dare ally himself with someone like Tom Riddle."
He continued, "Now on to business, I'd just like to say congratulations on your recent marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. It's good to see that Mr. Potter is back living amongst his own kind, even if not completely human." Upon seeing their shocked reactions, Ragnok continued. "Gringotts has known for a while that Mr. Potter was alive, as if he was truly dead, his vaults would have been sealed, as well as the fact that he was an accidental animagus. Unfortunately, we were unable to do anything about it as our treaty with the ministry prevents us from interfering with human affairs. We did attempt to purchase him from the reserve on a few different occasions, but we were always denied," he admitted.
"Still, when Gringotts heard he was to be sold for the tournament and slaughtered afterwards, we offered a frankly outrageous amount for him, but the ministry isn't fond of allowing "dangerous magical creatures" to own other dangerous magical creatures."
"Why would you do that?" Hermione blurted, confused. "I mean… I'm very grateful for your efforts, but what would you get out of it?
"The prophecy," Ragnok stated uncomfortably, shifting in his seat. "Severus informed us of the situation after Dumbledore's arrest, and we knew we had to keep Voldemort from coming back at all costs. So in the unlikely circumstance that his transformation could be reversed, we were going to train him. If his transformation couldn't be reversed so that he could be trained, he's still powerful as a dragon." Ragnok explained anxiously, avoiding her eye.
"So you were what? Hoping he'd eat the dark lord?!" Hermione demanded, glaring at the goblin.
"Better that than letting him die, along with the hope of the entire magical world. Voldemort's return would be disastrous for the goblin nation. Once he was finished with the muggleborns, he would come for us. He would never let what he sees as an inferior species manage the entire country's wealth." Ragnok explained tiredly. "Trust me, we would have done our absolute best to turn Mr. Potter back first, but we knew that after a few years as a dragon, that would almost certainly be impossible. According to Professor McGonagall, even with your soul bond forcing him back, he's only half human."
Hermione sighed, deflating slightly. As much as she loved Bolt and hated that he was a child of prophecy, a lot of people were relying on him to defeat Voldemort. It made sense that they would want to ensure his destiny was fulfilled. She just hoped he'd be able to handle it, but she knew she'd be there by his side no matter what this fight brought their way.
"Now I was told his appearance was altered by his transformation. I'm assuming this is the work of a glamor?" He asked, turning to Bolt in an obvious attempt to change the subject to something a little safer.
"Yes, sir." Bolt confirmed shyly.
"Could you remove it, please?" Ragnok asked curiously.
Bolt removed his wristband, allowing his eyes and horns to become visible.
"Astounding," Ragnok whispered, amazed. "The first of a brand new magical species."
"What? What do you mean by a brand new magical species?" Hermione questioned. "Bolt isn't a magical creature. He's a human who spent too long in his animagus form, causing his forms to become fused together."
Ragnok just gave her a toothy grin. "Haven't you ever wondered why so many so-called "creatures" are capable of producing offspring with humans?"
"I always assumed it had something to do with the fact that they all possess magic. Are you implying that isn't the case?" Hermione asked, wondering where this was going.
"In some cases, such as with vampires, Veela, and werewolves it is simply a case of a blood curse gone wrong with normal magical humans. Goblins, trolls, giants, and house elves are really distant cousins of humans, evolutionarily speaking. Sometimes hybrids are due to human interference, such as dementors or the blast ended skrewts Hagrid has created. Others, such as dementors, are from wizards meddling with forces they don't fully understand. However, centaurs and merpeople are something totally different. You see, your husband isn't the first person to be permanently stuck in between animagus forms. Back in ancient Greece, there was a wizard by the name of Chiron. He was a seer as well as a farmer. Even though he had no formal magical training, he rather foolishly decided to become an animagus in the hopes that having an animal form would allow him to complete his farm work more efficiently. In his haste to complete the process, he botched the transformation and became the first centaur as a result. Something similar happened with merpeople. As a matter of fact, it is theorized that Parseltongue is actually a genetic ability that Salazar Slytherin's descendants have due to his extensive time spent in his animagus form, that of an ashwinder," Ragnok explained.
"What? But how did they reproduce?" Hermione asked.
Raagnok shot Hermione a toothy grin and chuckled. "The same way anyone else does. Chiron did have a human wife after all. Chiron's and even Bolt's DNA still have a human base, and magic can take care of the rest. As a matter of fact, magical traits usually tend to be dominant, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if your own children had Mr. Potter's dragon abilities as well. "
Hermione blushed, picturing what her future children may look like, when a thought struck her.
"Why isn't this taught at Hogwarts? We should be taught these things," she asked, upset that such important information was being kept from her.
Ragnok frowned. "The Ministry of Magic has done its absolute best to erase all evidence of the origins of centaurs, mermaids, and most other magical creatures. They prefer the idea that wizards and witches are the purest race, and they silence any research or study that shows otherwise. The very idea that so-called creatures such as centaurs, goblins, and merpeople could be in any way related to humans is abhorrent to them. Which is another reason that Mr. Potter's dragonside needs to be kept secret, at least for now. If his abilities are revealed to the wrong people, the ministry would likely try to study him, maybe even deeming him dangerous and locking him away, or even resorting to euthanasia. I'll owl you copies of the texts I have if you'd like, as well as a few on the origins of dragons themselves," Ragnok offered.
"That would be amazing, thank you!" Hermione gushed, determined to learn as much as she could about other species in the hope it would give her a better understanding of other magical beings as well as insight into her new husband's situation. While Hermione and Ragnok had been discussing his origins, Bolt only had one question he wanted to find out.
"How do you know so much about dragons?" Bolt interrupted.
Ragnok smiled at him. "Gringotts are the magical world's leading experts on dragons. You see, goblins and dragons have had a sort of symbiotic relationship for the last few thousand years. We even have goblins that are experts on healing dragons, and when a dragon reaches a certain age, or they are otherwise injured and are unable to hunt on their own, they come to us. We do our best to heal them, but sometimes we are unable to heal them enough for them to live in the wild. So they instead choose to stay here as we provide them with food and shelter, and in turn they guard the deepest levels of Gringotts, where we keep the oldest vaults and the entrance to our underground civilization lies," he explained. "As a matter of fact, before we continue our meeting, I'd like one of our dragon healers to take a look at you. As great of a healer as Poppy Pomphrey is, you are half dragon, so I think it'd be wise to make sure you truly are healthy."
Ragnok said, before turning to one of his guards and saying something in gobbledegook, who turned and left the room, coming back a few minutes later with a younger female goblin, who looked at Bolt with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
"Hi. I'm Thorn. It's so nice to meet you. I'll be doing your checkup today. You know I've never met a dragon wizard before, but of course you already know that, as you're the only one of your kind." She blurted excitedly, not stopping even once to take a breath. "Please follow me."
Ragnok caught Hermione's eye and grinned. "She's young, but she's the most knowledgeable dragon healer we have on staff. Remember, Thorn, calm and professional." He called after them as she led Bolt and Hermione to a side room before asking Bolt to take off his clothes. Bolt paused at this, looking at his treasure for permission.
Hermione noticed his hesitation and questioned him, wondering if he'd suddenly become shy. "What's wrong Bolt?"
"It's just… you said this morning I was only allowed to be naked around you." He explained shyly, not wanting to upset her.
Hermione chuckled, swatting his shoulder. "Doctors don't count, love. Go ahead and get undressed so the Thorn can give you a checkup".
After running the normal checkup tests (heartbeat, ears/nose, magical x-ray and diagnosis, etc.) and taking some blood, Thorn had Hermione extract a memory of Bolt in his dragon form as well as the memory of his broke wing before and after it had healed before hurrying out of the room so she could test his blood after telling them they could return to Ragnok's office while they waited.
Nearly 45 minutes later she returned with the results. "He's surprisingly healthy given that he'd been living on a reserve for the last 8 years. In his current form, the only draconian characteristics he possesses are his horns, claws, eyes, enhanced sense of smell, hearing, and genitalia. Genetically, he's just as much dragon as he is human, but he should still be able to provide Mrs. Potter with children, though as Ragnok theorized, they will likely have the same draconic traits as Mr. Potter does. The magical structures that allow dragons to breathe fire are still present in this form as well so he should still be able to breathe dragon fire, but we'll get to that in a moment. He has the total magical resistance of an adult dragon, and from the memory Mrs. Potter gave me, his dragon form seems about the right size for his age, maybe a little larger even. I estimate his form to be around 6-8 meters currently, but this will grow quickly, to his adult size of around 12-13 meters, aging very slowly after that." She then turned towards Hermione. "Your husband will age normally until he's about 30, but after that, his aging will slow down dramatically. Hebridean blacks live to be around 4000 years old, and with him being half dragon, as well as soul-bound to you, I suspect his slow aging will bring your lifespan close to his, with them averaging out at around 2500 years." She ignored the look of shock from the two teens, continuing on.
"You truly did an excellent job healing his wing by the way. I'm not sure I could have done better myself. You may very well have a future as a healer." Thorn told her, causing Hermione to beam proudly at the praise.
"Most potions that he takes will need to be modified, as a potion that would heal a normal human could very easily be poison to him. I'll owl Severus with instructions on what to avoid. It might also be beneficial for him to teach you to make these modifications yourself. As far as his diet goes, he'll still need to eat some vegetables and greens," She told them, causing Bolt to turn his nose up in disgust, which in turn made Hermione grin, "But not as much as an ordinary wizard would, so don't worry. He will still need to eat plenty of protein and meat, though. Magically, he's extremely powerful, maybe even stronger than Dumbledore himself so he should have no trouble catching up with the Hogwarts curriculum. His human side is also, ironically, allergic to dragonfruit, so avoid that." Thorn explained. "His genetic test also showed that he was the heir to the house of Potter through James Potter, but the strangest thing is that he's apparently the closest living relative to Godric Gryffindor through Lily Potter. Apparently, Godric Gryffindor's descendants at some point branched off into a squib line," She explained, seeing the confusion on Hermione's face.
"What does that mean for us? Are there any vaults or titles associated with the Gryffindor line?" Hermione asked, turning to Ragnok.
"Well, the House of Gryffindor has been extinct for centuries, so it's really not that useful other than the fact that he should be able to call the Sword of Gryffindor to him anytime he wants." He turned to Bolt. "Go ahead. Hold out your arm, and think "I need the sword of Gryffindor" in your head."
Bolt shrugged and held out his hand, mentally calling the sword, and to his surprise, a ruby-encrusted sword dropped into his hand. Bolt grinned. Magic was so cool. He swung the sword in through the air experimentally, pretending he was in a fight, causing Hermione to duck as he nearly hit her. "Be careful!' She chastised. "You nearly chopped my head off!"
He stopped immediately, blushing as he realized that maybe he shouldn't be allowed to have a sword. Besides, what would he need a sword for? He could breathe fire and claws. "Here, Mione, you can have it." He told her, offering the sword to her. "I don't want it. Besides, I don't really need it, I have claws, remember?" he said, lifting a hand and popping his claws out of his fingertips.
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly, getting a nod in return before turning to Ragnok. "Is that even allowed?"
Ragnok shrugged. "It's his sword, he can do what he wants with it, and you are his bonded mate. As long as he's given it to you, it should answer your call as well."
Hermione hesitantly took the sword from Bolt before laying it on the floor next to her chair. "Thank you, Bolt." Hermione turned, kissing him on the cheek in thanks, causing him to blush shyly.
Ragnok clapped his hands together, getting their attention.
"Now that that is settled, I believe Thorn wanted to run a few more tests."
"Yes, sir," Thorn said, calling Bolt to come stand next to her and telling him to face the stone wall
"I want you to try to use your dragon breath. Don't worry about anything else, just focus on scorching the wall in front of you."
Bolt did as he was told, focusing on the wall in front of him before taking a deep breath and letting out a thick stream of fire that went nearly 6 feet in front of him before hitting the wall, leaving a circular scorch mark that left the rock wall glowing a dull red.
"Holy shit…" Hermione whispered. She'd seen Bolt breathe before as a dragon when cooking his food but seeing his humanoid form nearly melt a rock wall was somehow even more impressive.
Bolt turned, grinning at her. "Did you see that, Mione?" he asked excitedly, wrapping her in a hug. Bolt was clearly happy to see that he could still breathe fire, as he'd told her the night before that being in a human form made him feel weak and unprotected.
"Yes, I did. It was really impressive, " she beamed back at him proudly.
"So we now know he can still breathe fire. I just have one last test for you, and then your check-up will be over." Thorn said, before exiting the room, coming back a few minutes later carrying a steel ball about a foot wide and covered in what looked like runes. She carefully placed the ball on the floor before pressing the runes on the side in a complex configuration and stepping back.
"Okay, Bolt, your next test is to pick up that ball." She told him, gesturing toward the ball she'd placed on the floor.
Bolt just stared at it, confused.
"All I have to do is pick up that ball?" He asked, suspicious of being given such a simple task.
"Yep. Just try to pick it up. It's fine if you can't, though," she explained.
Bolt shrugged, bent down, picked up the ball with one hand, only struggling slightly, before setting it back on the ground. He looked up to find both Ragnok and Thorn staring at him astonished. "Is something wrong?" he asked, shy under their sudden attention.
Ragnok ignored him, instead asking Thorn what setting the ball was on, his face going pale when she told him that it was on the highest setting.
"What happened?" Bolt demanded, annoyed at not being told what the results were.
Ragnok seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and addressed him. "That was a runic weight ball. We usually use them to weigh down wardstones or anchor magical enchantments in a way that cannot be moved. The runes on the side adjust the weight. You just lifted a little over a ton with one hand," he explained.
Hermione, seeing Bolt have no reaction to this news as he had nothing to reference it to, took his hand and explained. "You just lifted the weight of a small car," she told him, watching as his eyes widened in shock.
When asked how that was possible, Ragnok only shrugged. "He is half dragon, so it sort of makes sense he'd have the strength of one." Ragnok reminded them.
After discussing his newfound strength and advising him to start exercising and doing strength training as a way to learn to better control his strength, they called McGonagall back into the room and moved on to the real reason they scheduled this meeting at Gringotts.
"Now, I assume you wanted to claim the Potter lordship?" Ragnok asked.
"Is that even an option? We want to keep the fact that he's really Harry Potter away from the public. How could he claim the Potter vaults without revealing who he really is?" Hermione questioned.
"The paperwork I filed with the ministry claims Mr. Potter is a distant cousin of his father. With there being no other Potters left, it would make sense for the next closest relative to claim the vaults. It happened often during the last war, as long as Gringotts verifies the claim." McGonagall explained.
"Unfortunately, that is not an option. As convenient as it would be to falsify bloodlines, it would be disastrous for Gringotts. When it is eventually revealed that Bolt is really Harry Potter, it would cause people to doubt Gringott's credibility. Not to mention that Voldemort will not care whether Bolt is really Harry or not. All that matters is that he is a Potter. I would recommend a story in the Daily Prophet announcing that Harry Potter has been found, and that during the house fire, young Harry accidentally apparated himself to a third-world country, where he has been ever since." Ragnok advised.
Bolt spoke up. "Does this have to be done now? Why can't we wait a little while before revealing anything? If I am really as famous as everyone says, then I want to avoid the attention for as long as possible. What if we wait to claim this lordship until I'm older and Voldemort is dead?"
Ragnok sighed, "Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Becoming lord Potter would give you and Mrs. Potter access to the entire Potter fortune, as well as the ability to hire a proxy to represent the Potter and Peverell Wizengamot seats that have been vacant since Dumbledore was arrested. If used strategically, those extra votes could make a huge difference in the political landscape."
Hermione, Bolt, and McGonagall spent nearly an hour talking it over, and in the end, they decided that is was Bolt's decision. Bolt reluctantly agreed that it would be for the best to go ahead and claim the Potter lordship, even though it meant revealing that he was Harry Potter. Hermione agreed, reasoning that it wouldn't hurt to have some extra money, though her basilisk money could easily support them both for a lifetime if spent wisely.
Ragnok left, coming back a few minutes later with a ring, engraved with the Potter crest, which Bolt put on, watching in amazement as it automatically resized itself to fit his hand as the magic in the ring accepted him as the new Lord Potter. Bolt teared up slightly as he realized that the last person to wear the ring before him had to have been his dad. Hermione squeezed his hand, knowing what he was thinking, and wishing more than anything that they could be here to see him.
Nearly 2 hours later, they finished filling out all the necessary paperwork and mailed off a letter to the Daily Prophet announcing that Harry Potter had been found alive. Bolt was disappointed to find out that he couldn't access the vault with all his parents' things until he was 17, even though he was emancipated. However, he was able to get a goblin to retrieve his parents' wedding rings, which he eagerly presented to Hermione. She tried to argue that they were his parents' rings, but it was mostly for show, and Bolt knew it. She was ecstatic to finally have a ring on her finger. They said goodbye to both Ragnok and Thorn, with Thorn reminding them both to owl her on any changes with Bolt's health, and Ragnok promising Bolt that when it came time to fight Voildemort, he'd have the full strength of the goblin nation behind him, before heading back to the Hogwarts hospital wing to process everything they had learned from both Ollivanbder and Ragnok, and to prepare for tomorrow's announcement that Harry Potter, defeater of Voldemort, was alive.
Unbeknownst to both Bolt and Hermione, while they were busy rehearsing Bolt's cover story for tomorrow's announcement, on an unplottable island in the Caribbean, a tipsy Sirius Black sat on the balcony of his beach house, casually sipping a Margarita, when an owl landed in front of him. It was strange, considering owls were rare in these parts, but Sirius instantly recognised the wax seal on the envelope. It was a letter from Hogwarts. Wondering what Hogwarts could want with him, he opened the letter, only to become confused as the note was mostly blank, the only text reading, You know the phrase.
He frowned. As far as he knew, the only people who should know about that phrase were either in hiding or in this house. Nevertheless, he spoke the password, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good,"and read the text that filled the page, only to let out a strangled gasp halfway through.
Dear Mr. Black. You are urgently needed back in Britain. Your godson is alive. He goes by Bolt Potter now, is my soul-bound husband, and has been living as a dragon animagus for the past 8 years. Bring Professor Lupin as well, as he told me he was leaving to find you when he left at the end of the last school year. He can vouch for my honesty. Attached is a photo of him.
-Hermione Potter nee Granger
Sirius examined picked up the photo with shaking hands, examining the photo. It showed a young boy who looked nearly identical to James, with striking emerald eyes that he'd recognise anywhere, sitting in a hospital bed, with a teenage girl with bushy brown hair curled into his side.
His mouth went dry. Could it be?
Sirius bolted down stairs, finding Remus cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Remus looked up as he came in, only to do a double-take at Sirius's pale face.
"You okay, Padfoot?"
"Hermione Granger…" he asked. "Do you know her?"
Remus frowned. "She was one of my students last year. Brilliant girl, reminded me a lot of Lily. What's this about?"
Sirius ignored his question, pressing on. "Is she trustworthy? Has she ever lied to you?"
Remus nodded, confused at the sudden questioning. "Well, yeah. She's one of the most honorable people I've met. She found out about my condition within a week of the first term and never said a word. Did something happen to her? Tell me what this is about, Sirius." Remus demanded, concerned at Sirius's demeanor.
Instead of answering, Sirius shoved the letter into Remus's hands. "Read it…" Sirius insisted, voice wavering as if trying to hold back a sob.
Remus sighed, reading the letter. By the time he was done, his hands were shaking just as badly as Sirius's, and tears were streaming down his face.
"Oh god. Sirius… He's alive. She wouldn't lie about this," he croaked, remembering the evenings he'd spent teaching her advanced defense techniques, and the way they'd bonded over their peers being afraid of them.
Sirius grabbed him in a hug, sobbing. "Pack your things. We've got to get to Britain."