The New Story
Filius Flitwick had not expected to live through such a tragedy. He had also never expected to remember any type of Goblin magick. The truth was he had remembered and his body had paid for it. He had been severely injured and had been rushed straight to Gringotts’ underground sanctuary.
He had barely made it.
It had been months since that accident and for the most part, Filius had slept and healed and ate. His day was easy-resting and healing and eating. For weeks this had been his routine. Until one of the other goblins had brought him the Daily Prophet and Filius had gone white.
Sirius Black was free and seeking full custody of Harry?!
“I need to leave immediately, IronBlood!”
The goblin known as IronBlood stared at him with an exasperated look. For the most part, IronBlood had kept Filius sedated until it was clear he was stable enough to begin his own physical therapy. Filius had proven he certainly had goblin blood in him. The man was as stubborn as they came. IronBlood glanced at the rag of a newspaper on the floor.
Some wizard must have dropped it.
He snarled-wizards were always dropping things, be it coins or rags of printed trash. It was always the same. Still, he knew Filius to be a reasonable goblin. The man would never overreact over nothing.
Lord Sirius Black to take over custody of Harrison James Potter
“Is this what troubles you so?”
Filius nodded, watching IronBlood. He wouldn’t beg-goblins didn’t beg for anything but he would offer all his gold if it meant that he could leave. Filius says nothing, but IronBlood can see that he is determined. Gruffly, he throws the man some new clothes and walks towards the door.
“Don’t drip blood on your way out,”
“May the enemies fall before your mighty feet,”
“May your gold overflow.”
IronBlood nodded and began to make his way down to the vaults. He hardly ever traveled this way, preferring to stick to his own kind, but he was curious about the Harry-boy. He’d heard the stories, there wasn’t a wizard or creature alive that hadn’t, but he had noticed that despite the rush of Hogwarts students, friends and family alike, the Potter vault remained untouched.
Even now, as he stood before it, he could see the dust gathering on the vault-it was an impossible task to maintain clean as they were underground. Not that it mattered much. The goblins had a saying, the dirtier the door, the richer the family.
The heir vault for the single Potter son has not been touched in years (thirteen to be exact). For the most part, IronBlood knows the same facts that every other goblin knows. The Potters were not part of the Sacred Twenty Eight families, most were predominantly light, save a few here and there, and each Potter has amassed a tidy fortune either through working within the ministry or as potioneers, save for one Potter-James. James was a respectable, if not a bit devious, who did not care to neither add nor subtract in his time among the living. IronBlood could understand that notion about the man.
He had wanted to build his own reputation, not simply ride on the curtails of his father’s work as a potion’s master. James Potter was stupid however. He did not hide away behind ancient family wards, instead choosing to believe his own wards would be enough.
He left behind an orphan who did not know anything of his legacy. IronBlood did not understand why the man had chosen such a stupid way of life, but the dead do not leave answers for the living.
The goblin knew this to be true and left back towards his home.
—————————————————————
Katherine screamed in frustration, no matter how many times she rewrote the story, the words would blur out and remain the same.
Harry James Potter walked beside Sirius Black, head bent as he wistfully looked at the ground. Hedwig followed her master at a respectful distance, sharp eyes watching Sirius. Sirius for his part, did not seem to notice the melancholy mood of his godson, or if he did, he ignored it. He was too busy speaking about their new home.
“…you’ll love it! I’ll teach you all about quidditch! You know James played quidditch too! Man I can’t wait to see you out there! Bet you’re a natural!”
Katherine flung the book away from her and sobbed harder. She had never cried so much in her life.
“You know how Mother Nature is, Katherine, her word-“
“It’s not fair! Why is she so mean?! HARRY DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!” Her voice rose, graveled and strained from her crying. Ombric knew she was not angry at him and let her be. He walked out of her library and out of Big Root.
Pitch’s imprisonment was just as still and dark as ever, even with the spider-like cracks. Pitch Black was still lost to his own dreams and memories. Ombric let his eyes travel up and down the monolith for a moment.
“I do not know if you remember your life before becoming Pitch Black, but your daughter-Emily Jane? She is bitter and needs her father. Koz, you were-are a good man. Somewhere deep inside I know the general is there and below that, Emily Jane’s father lives as well.”
The monolith remained inactive, just as Ombric had known it would be. Hopefully, Pitch had listened.
—————————————————————
Filius blinked rapidly, he had been underground for some time and the unexpectedly bright sun hurt his eyes for a moment. Adjusting his spectacles, he made his way to the Ministry of Magic. He would meet with Minerva and Hagrid once there.
He hoped he could reach them before the trial was over; he could use his memories to testify against Sirius. Hagrid and Minerva had also offered their own as well.
—————————————————————
“Ay’ thought Sirius was different,” Hagrid spoke solemnly. He and Minerva had been forced to wait outside with the mass of crowds. Grateful for his large stature, Hagrid was able to see over the crowds with no problem at all. Minerva stood by him, her stern gaze more than enough to keep the more curious “gossipers” at bay.
“It would seem, we were mistaken,” she answered.
Minerva’s eyes had not left the doors since they had been closed. It was nearly midday, the deliberations beginning at eight sharp.
“Minerva! I’m here!”
“Oí! Let ‘im through!” Hagrid carefully moved two stubborn wizards aside as Filius pushed through the crowd, much to the displeasure of some.
“Are we too late?” Filius huffed, trying to regain some control over his breath.
“Unfortunately, yes. The entire ministry has been shut down today. I arrived at three minutes past eight and was locked out. Severus is inside, as well as Lucius and Narcissa. We can only hope for the best outcome.”
“Then we will wait here until that happens. We won’t leave Mister Bunnymund alone,”
“Aye, I didn’ abandon him as a babe, I won’ now.” Hagrid dabbed his eyes with a pink handkerchief, sniffling loudly. Minerva patted his arm in condolence.
—————————————————————
“Da! Jack!” Harry launched himself at both of them, arms wrapped tightly around them.
“Kiddo! Ohh thank MiM!!” Jack exclaimed, tightening his arms around the teen. Aster said nothing, tightening his arms around both of them and lifting them high up for a moment. It was worth hearing the peals of laughter from his small family.
Andromeda smiled warmly, seeing her own family reflected back at her momentarily.
“It is a shame that he’s being raised like that,” Molly said, eyeing the strange family. Andromeda looked around for Arthur but the man was nowhere to be found. It’s no wonder why Molly had spoken in such a crass tone.
“Choose your words carefully, Weasley, I won’t be held responsible for what happens.”
“Mind your manners, Tonks! I’ll say it, everyone here is thinking it! How could either of you raise a human child? You aren’t human and you! What are you? Some fairy?”
Jack made a move to speak, but a single look for Andromeda silenced them all.
“I wouldn’t say or do anything, Andy.” Sirius Black emerged from the room, giving away nothing except a small shine on his nose from a healing spell. Andromeda knew she couldn’t speak. As head of the house Black, Sirius could have her thrown out of the trial entirely. He was being generous allowing her to stay. “Molly, why don’t we see where Arthur is? He must know where they keep the good snacks!”
Taking her arm, Sirius gently led Molly away like a small child. Andromeda let go of a lungful of air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She had never expected Sirius of all people to take over as Lord. The house of Black had been without a head for many years that it was almost suffocating the amount of power he now held over them. She glanced at Harry and saw how pale he’d become in that small instant. It would do no good if he went to Sirius’ care. It would certainly take him years to become accustomed to such a level of power.
“It’s alright, Harry, just breathe…there you go!”
The teen slowly got his color back and stopped shaking. “Wha’ was that?”
“Sirius is technically Lord Black and he holds some power over those who have Black blood in them. For myself and Narcissa, it used to be suffocating but once we got married, we were able to bear the weight better. My daughter, Nymphadora, will have some trouble as well as she’s never been around a Lord for that long either. It will pass eventually and get easier,”
“You don’ think he’ll win, do you?”
Andromeda didn’t answer, a steaming cup of tea floated directly in front of her, surprising her. Nott Sr. smiled softly, “Teddy made me swear to make sure you drank something.”
Carefully, Nott Sr. handed out tea for everyone, giving them time to rest their minds. Harry stared at the cup in his hands and sighed. Aster smiled and nuzzled his hair, inhaling the lingering scents of springtime and paints. Harry held his Da tighter, smiling back.
A bell chimed as the doors to the courtroom reopened.
“Come, it’s time to go,”