Moon Blessed

He halted at the edge of the lake, staring at its still, dark surface. The moon shone brightly above the night sky, looking as ethereal as always. His magic hummed under his skin, alive and wild. His heart raced, excited.

If Harry had been more aware, he would have questioned how he was able to get to a lake and a cave filled terrain when he had travelled down, deep into tunnels. But he was not aware and as such he did not take notice.

He would be home soon. The water was calling him and he would obey its command. That was all that mattered.

He dived in.

Griphook rushed to his colleague, his entire being filled with dread.

"I presume you've already figured out our mistake?"

The paler goblin did not even twitch at his presence. "Yes. Moon spell. Could have beheaded myself for my foolishness."

Griphook glanced at the lake his colleague was staring upon. He could make an educated guess at where exactly his client was.

"Has Harrison come up to the surface yet?"

"No. He's been there for at least seven minutes, counting from the moment I saw him dive as I arrived at the entrance."

Griphook glanced up, sharply. "You were not able to stop him?"

Jadeclaw glanced up grimly. "No. I'm not even sure he heard me call his name and he has not been up. I've felt him brush close to the perimeter wards but never cross past any..."

Jadeclaw paused.

"Not yet at least."

Griphook paled at the revelation. He took a glance at the cave filled terrain around him, illuminated in the dark by the star-filled night sky. Most of the caves had pools that connected to the lake. Harrison could access any one of them easily since he already managed to get pass ancient wards and into the homes of the goblin nation.

"His Majesty is going to have our heads."

"I have yet to decide on that Master Griphook, though I will admit the chances are high."

Griphook stilled at the gruff and low voice. Turning to face the owner, he met his King – his very furious King if the vicious snarl on his face was any indication.

"Are you certain that there is no way to get him out as of yet?"

"We could send divers in, Your Highness but whether they will get him back successfully is questionable. There are too many unknown factors. The speed at which Lord Potter will be able to swim, whether he would welcome their presence considering he is not fully himself and whether he is willing to come out in the first place. Besides that none of our people often swim at this time. The lake is pitch black to our eyes and to swim deep for a long time while sustaining a light source would be taxing on their magic," Jadeclaw replied.

Griphook watched the conversation silently, glancing at the surface of the water every other minute. His King was furious, as he had every right to be, but thankfully he was not unreasonable. Yet, Griphook could not help but worry. How the King would explain this to the people would have a significant impact on how Harrison would be treated further on by the nation. And at the end of the day, Harrison's wizarding status would always be a negative point with the people despite how much they liked him. Some bridges needed an eternity before they could be rebuilt well – if they could be rebuilt at all.

Griphook sighed. He should have taken up weapon crafting when he had the chance. Would have saved him the trouble of being involved in this situation.

"Your Highness, I hope this question brings you no offence. I mean not to question your decisions or such but I'd like to enquire what will you be doing about Lord Potter?"

His King looked him in the eye. Griphook tried not to flinch away from the sharp gaze. King Kargus of Gringotts was feared for his sword in all the magical land for a reason.

"You care for the human, Master Griphook." It was not a question.

"Yes, I do my King."

"Why?"

"You know as well as every other goblin, my King, that we do not accept anyone outside our clan even if Magic herself vouches for them. Ever since I have got to know of Lord Potter, I've come to see that he is but a young one despite his behaviour. A young one who despite his somewhat mature and independent self needs people who wish him well in his life.

He has sought help with our nation and given us his trust when he had not done so to any being else, not even his own. He has taken the risk to trust us when he has never been given a reason to trust anyone in his young life. As someone whom he has entrusted that trust with, I cannot let him be punished for something that had been beyond his control. I believe that would be against my honour."

His King was silent.

"I will stand by Griphook in this, my King," Jadeclaw added, "I too have found it that the young one worthy of a goblin's trust. While he is no warrior, the child is honourable and honest, especially now that he has been allowed to take control of his own life. He, unlike the rest of his kind, is not tainted with prejudice."

"I am surprised it took you two this long to speak up."

Griphook shared a puzzled look with Jadeclaw.

"I am aware of Lord Potter's story since he stepped into Gringotts this summer. Even I was alerted by the wards despite not being in the premises. And I have made my elites monitor his behaviour towards our nation ever since."

Griphook nodded. He had expected that from the King ever since the wards had – for a lack of a better description – sung at the young child's entry into Gringotts at the start of summer. It also explained why the King had not gotten involved even after they had gone out of the goblins' nature to help one from the wizarding world.

"Of course I will not be condemning a young one unjustly but we cannot have any loopholes in our defences when it comes to this matter. I will talk with Lord Potter before any decisions are made, fret not. And judging from what I have heard from the nation itself, I doubt the conversation would be problematic. The child seems capable enough of understanding us and our ways. And even if he does not, he has the sense to respect other beings' private matters."

Griphook nodded once more, giving a short bow. "Thank you, my King."

King Kargus gave him a nod. "Now, any ideas on how to get the young Lord back?"

Griphook and Jadeclaw shook their heads.

King Kargus sighed. "Well then, I will proceed to inform the nation of the situation. It would be better to have them prepared in case he enters the caves."

Deep underwater a little merboy swam about exploring the freshwater lake he was in, unaware of the chaos he was causing with his absence above water.

He laughed as he watched a pale water demon swim away from him, muttering about unfairly powerful predators.

"Silly creature," he thought, "It should not have tried to attack something stronger than him."

Harry swam on deeper into the water, a logical part of his mind wondering how he was able to see things so clearly within the dark lake. But he discarded the thought as the warmth in his chest distracted him. He was home right now; it would be silly of him to think such insignificant thoughts.

The lake was wonderful, filled with so many peculiar creatures and species Harry had not seen around in the ocean. He mused if this was due to the lake being freshwater.

"Maybe Griphook would know about it," Harry thought. "I should go find him."

But the boy was distracted from his train of thoughts as he passed by yet another glowing symbol that was beside an underground tunnel filled with water. He felt the magic within the symbol protecting something just like it had with the other glowing symbols he had passed by. The boy paused his swimming, staring at the symbol.

He was curious. Very curious. He had not thought much of the tunnels at first since he wanted to explore the majority of the lake. But he had swum around for quite some time and now he wanted something new to explore. And he was so very curious about these various symbols.

Giving in to his curiosity the little merboy swam forwards, entering the tunnel and feeling the protective magic wash over him as it let him enter.

He meant no harm after all and he was a part of the water. The magic saw no harm.

Harry swam eagerly onwards, excited to discover new things. "Perhaps I'll find something to gift Griphook and Jadeclaw for their help so long," he thought absently.

Settled within one of the caves, a goblette paused in her work as she felt her wards sing. The song was similar to that she heard a couple of hours ago.

Her memory replayed the words of her mate.

"It seems the wards let him enter freely. It reinforces him being one of Magic's. While that is reassuring, we have yet to know how Lord Potter behaves with his creature nature being in complete control. Be alert, love. And if by a slim chance of fate you do see him please try to get him on land. It would make it so much easier to help him when we can actually be near him."

The goblette turned to face the pool located at the back of her home, sensing something – or someone – approaching. She lifted her hand, letting her magic dance behind her fingertips, ready to be called in a moment's notice, just in case. It was better to be safer despite what she had been told about the human child's nature.

The water rippled. A mop of jet black hair that showed hints of red emerged from the water, followed by a pair of shy emerald eyes of a young human. She watched as the eyes took in the cave as the boy rose out of the water till the water was at his chest and noted the pure curiosity in his eyes.

She let her hand fall. There was no ill intent from the little one in front of her.

Her movement, however, caught the merboy's attention. Finally realising he was not alone, the boy gave a little squeak and froze on the spot in surprise. The water surrounding him faintly bubbled, conveying his distress.

She approached him slowly keeping her movements minimal so as to seem unthreatening. Reaching the edge of the pool, she knelt down on her knees carefully, trying to bring herself as close to eye level with the little boy who had gone back to submerging himself all the way into the water except for his eyes and forehead.

"Hello there, youngling," she started gently.

The water started calming down as the boy rose out of the water a little, the curiosity in his eyes piquing.

"I am Queen Akigla of Gringotts. Would you like to come out and explore?"