Friend Since Birth

*****
Ron studied the elegant woman in front of him thoughtfully. He was so confused, but his brothers seemed to trust her and he wanted to know what in Merlin’s name was going on. He’d never seen his mother like that or his brothers so cowed by her anger. The twins hadn’t even slipped into Twinspeak. Even though he hated it with a passion, he realized it was a sign of their comfort, something he’d picked up on over the last few years seeing them at school. It dawned on him that it might have been because they were away from their mum.

And Charlie? Charlie was the perpetual bachelor! He never entertained ladies except for brief periods and never with any seriousness. But here he was, cradling the woman who spoke with the leader of the goblins like they were old friends.

He was starting to wonder if she’d enchanted them.

“Cast detection spells on us if it will make you feel better,” George suggested.

Ron narrowed his eyes but wracked his brain for one he knew Hermione had drilled into him just after the whole mess with the polyjuiced Moody. It stood out because he’d only had a few weeks to master it before school had ended. And Hermione and he had decided to take no more chances. Especially when those chances tended to have Harry alone with someone trying to kill him… They’d both agreed that, after Ron’d pulled his head out of his arse about the Tournament and how many times Harry had forgiven him and how many times his best mate had almost died while at school, they’d do what was necessary to protect their friend. Even if they couldn’t get him away from his relatives. As it was, he’d have to get better at remembering to test anyone they came in contact with that was new.

When the spell revealed that the magicals were indeed clear of any spells, he studied the parchment on the table, then the dagger still held out for him.

“What is it?” he asked, wary. Despite his reputation at school, he’d learned to be cautious after the last year.

“Inheritance test,” Ragnok said promptly. “It will reveal all your heirships and any spells, blocks, compulsions, or potions on your person.

“Why would I need that? I’m well aware of my lineage and I’m not on any potions,” Ron asked dismissively.

He instantly noted the angered expressions of his brothers but before they could explode in typical Weasley temper, like he could see they were seconds from, the woman spoke up.

“I thought so as well, but, after the test, discovered a number of blocks, compulsions, spells, and other such things applied when I was very small, before I would have been able to remember. They had been reapplied a number of times without my knowledge.”

Ron was horrified and demanded an answer, “By whom?”

Again, his brothers almost explained and again the woman cut in. Ron was not stupid and knew she was the leader here, but he still wasn’t sure why his brothers were listening.

“That is something I cannot divulge until you take your own test. Should you decide not to, we’ll still go shopping, as I promised, and I’ll be sure to pick up extras of certain things, since I know you have a younger sister, but then you’ll go home and we’ll remain here. And you will have to keep wondering. It is nothing against you personally, Ronald. I trust only eight people at the moment and I will risk none of them to satisfy your curiosity.”

“Just trust us,” Fred almost pleaded, snatching the parchment up and offering it to Ron almost roughly.

“Normally, that phrase from you would have me terrified of what prank I’d missed you planning,” Ron said bluntly, earning a chuckle. “But I’ve also never seen you so serious. Alright.”

He gently took the blade and smiled when Charlie immediately swept the woman fully into his arm then kicked a chair far enough from the table that he could sit with her in his lap.

A few minutes later and his blood was boiling in anger. He could instantly understand why they’d been cautious when Dumbledore’s name appeared next to a magical leach on his core.

“Looks to be the same as ours,” Fred muttered, studying the parchment. “But he’s not got a soulbond block listed or marriage contract.”

Before Ron could ask what he meant, another goblin stormed into the room and the woman shrank into Charlie’s arms sheepishly.

“What part of bedrest did you not understand?!” the goblin snapped.

Ron was shocked to realize she was female. The goblins were incredibly protective of their females, even if there were tales that the females were just as bloodthirsty, if not more, than the males. The last wizard to actually see one, though, had been over a century ago. Yet here was one, berating the woman like she was a toddler.

“The part where the bed and healing ward and bed were all I was going to be seeing for a while,” the woman snarked. Braver than Ron would have been in her place apparently.

The gobliness growled at her, the snapped her fingers and the woman was levitating, only to follow after the goblin as she marched from the room without a word. The Weasley brothers shared a look then scrambled after her, ignoring the cackling Ragnok.

*****
“I still don’t see why I couldn’t walk!” Arianna’s whine preceded her and Harry glanced at the door in time to see her levitated through by an irate Eir. “I walked there just fine. Got dressed by myself and everything.”

“Yes,” Eir snapped as she set the pouting woman on her bed and switched her elegant robes for the comfortable linen trousers and shirt she’d been in with a simple spell. “And I will be having words with whomever retrieved those clothes for you. They will not be allowed alone with you again if they’re willing to facilitate your poor health habits.”

Harry winced in slight fear and made note to warn Griphook as well. He had forgotten she was confined to the bed until Eir said otherwise so had thought nothing of asking the goblin for a selection of Lady appropriate clothing or Arianna then asking him to show her the way to the meeting room. Arianna’d been sleeping for so long it had slipped his mind while he worked through his accounts. It had been a very mentally taxing three days and they’d only really made a dent in the bequeathments…

He focused back on his papers in an attempt to keep attention off him and his suddenly red face, but a familiar shocked intake of breath had him snapping his attention to the door again.

“Harry?” Ron ask as he stood frozen in the door.

“Get in the room, wizard, and close the door,” Eir snapped as she fiddled with Arianna’s sheets. “The protections on the room will not be fully effective with the door opened and we’d like to keep the young dragoness appeased for now.”

“Protections? Dragoness? Harry? What the BLOODY HEL IS GOING ON?!” Ron demanded as he stormed the desk Harry was standing at only to freeze a few feet away.

Harry held his wand tightly, backing up slightly from his best mate. He couldn’t fight the instinct to put a weapon between himself and danger, not after Uncle Vernon, not after the Tri-Wizard Tournament, not after bloody Voldemort. And he really didn’t want to. Did he want to hex his best mate? No. Would he? In a heartbeat if it meant he wouldn’t be hit again or cursed or any number of other things he’d suffered lately. He was done letting others walk all over him.

He also wasn’t sure if Ron was truly on his side or not. Gods, he hoped so. He dreaded finding out any of his friends were only so on Dumbledore’s orders, but he wasn’t naïve enough to think none of them were. But if it was Ron or Hermione? He was fairly sure it would break something in him. Something that nothing would be able to fix, no matter how much time he gave it.

“Mate?” Ron called, sounding worried.

Harry realized he’d zoned out a bit again. He’d lost a few minutes of time in his panic and fear. It had happened a few times since the graveyard, but he’d hoped it had gone away with his cleanse. Apparently not.

Otherwise, how could he miss his sister suddenly between him and Ron, despite Eir’s vocal protests.

“Remember when I said we’d answer questions if you took the test?” she asked gently, distracting Ron enough that Harry could start calming down. He still couldn’t put his wand back down, but he was at least able to breathe and was aware of the room.

When the twins immediately bracketed him again, he relaxed further, and George was able to gently pry the holly wood from his numb fingers. They guided him to the bed they’d been sharing, too often woken by nightmares when apart to really care what the adults thought. Harry wished he’d thought of it before. He’d never done well sleeping alone but it was a rare night he gave up his pride to crawl into Neville’s bed to curl up. His fellow Gryffindor hadn’t even said anything, just cuddled Harry close and set an alarm spell to wake them before anyone else before going back to sleep. That there was nothing in it besides avoiding nightmares helped him feel a little better about it. Sometimes, he just needed a constant reminder he wasn’t alone. And Ron’s snoring didn’t count.

“You’ll explain that too, right?” Ron asked, pointing at the three of them as Fred eased Harry back onto the pillows and pulled his glasses off.

“Well, not sure there’s much to explain there,” she said with a smirk.

*****
Arianna studied the youngest Weasley boy closely. He was staring at his brothers in confusion and, when glancing at the twins as they tucked Harry in, a bit of protective anger. Given that the twins had been pranking the Marauders since day one here, she wasn’t surprised. They had a reputation after all. But Harry was in good hands and she wasn’t worried. They wouldn’t like the consequences if they dared prank her brother just after a pretty intense panic attack.

It had taken them ten minutes to get him to focus again.

“Ronald?” she called after a few minutes watching the twins.

He snapped his attention to her, a demand for answers burning in his eyes.

“Perhaps we should start with, do you know everyone?” she asked, gesturing to the room. She had no doubt he had met both Sirius and Remus, but whether he remember that or not was up for debate. It would not shock her to learn Dumbledore had obliviated him to hide certain truths from the boy that was Harry’s brother.

“Professor Lupin? Sirius Black! But you’re on the run! What are you doing here? What if the goblins call the Aurors?”

Well, that answered that.

“The Goblin Nation is neutral territory,” Sirius said with a smirk. “It’s why the Death Eaters can still do their banking, even if there’s a Kiss on Sight order or arrest warrant out for them. I’m just utilizing it for a bit until Black Manor is livable.”

“Why didn’t you do that before?” Ron demanded, storming to the Black lord hotly. “You had Harry terrified you’d be caught, running all over the bloody place over the last year!”

Sirius winced but explained. “I wasn’t Lord Black yet. I only took my ring last week. I didn’t know I was still the Heir until I came to the bank and asked. Figured, depending on who the new Head was, I could petition for sanctuary under the Olde traditions. My mother threw me out when I was sixteen, if you remember. Lived with the Potters for a while?”

Arianna smirked at that. A ‘while’ had been long enough for her to be born and a number of years after that. Sirius had only gotten his own place once his Hit Wizard duties had become too much for him to justify the possible danger he might bring home. He’d gotten a flat a few blocks from the Ministry only three months before Harry was born.

“I get the Professor, since he’d go anywhere for Sirius, but Charlie? Fred, George? What did you mean when you were looking at my test?”

“This will simplify things,” Arianna said, handing over the copies of all their tests. She very pointedly put hers at the bottom.

Half an hour later, Harry was sleeping soundly with the twins curled around him, Sirius and Remus were pouring over the last of the Lupin artifacts from his recall, Charlie was working with Bill on a few alterations for the wards on the branch that would incorporate the needed goblin spells without breaking the dragon magic, and Arianna was back in bed, spelled to the sheets. With the help of the elegant sliding desk that Eir had added that allowed her to work, she had started going over her own accounts while Ron processed and was answering dazed questions as he worked through it all.

“You’re his sister.”

“Yes.”

“You and everyone else here had way more potions than I do.”

“Yes.”

“You really do want to invest in the joke shop.”

“Setting up a pilot store come next September and a mail order business until then.”

“You like my brother Charlie, the dragon handler.”

“Yes.” She answered that one only because Charlie was gone and Sirius and Remus were too entrenched in a debate about a cursed teapot than on their conversation. She could do without the teasing.

“You’re lady of 15 Ancient houses, including three Founders of Hogwarts.”

“Yes.”

“Harry was beaten by those nasty relatives of his so bad it took the goblin healers a full day to fix everything.”

That yes was almost a snarl and Ron smiled at her viciously.

“There’s a plan for that, right?” The question had far more emotion in it than all the others.

“The beginnings of one, starting with ruining their sterling reputation,” she said.

“How does no one know you exist?” Ron finally asked. Arianna had been waiting for that one and she sighed, putting her pages down.

“I think it would be best to hold off on anything else until you decide how you want to proceed. The goblins can cleanse you of everything, but it will involve a bit of pain. And you’ll have to go back to the ‘Burrow’?” Her tone belied the question she had for the name of the place. “I hope I’m calling your home the correct name. The twins pretty much curse it and Charlie’s taken to ignoring it exists in favor of setting up shop here for now.”

“You’ve got it right,” Ron assured. “But why would they not want to go back?”

“Because there are a number of suspicions that are slowly being confirmed with every bit of information we unearth,” Arianna grumbled. “Starting with who’s been basically poisoning us and moving quite quickly into debates of the political situation as it stands. The acts done against my person alone will have crippling consequences once news hits the Wizarding world of my past and the titles I hold. But I won’t move until I have all my affairs sorted and all the evidence I can gather so there’s no question of the crimes perpetrated against me. I will not have any of the people I know for certain are responsible slipping free on a technicality.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my brain around all this,” Ron sighed. “How are you already plotting?”

“I’ve had five years locked in my own mind to sort through my feelings on everything and plan quite viciously,” was her prompt answer as she went back to the list of properties she now held, making note as she went of how long they’d been sealed, if they’d been sealed, and other such information the goblins had collected. “If you remember, Dumbledore spelled me to sleep until he woke me. I will inform you that I was locked in a coffin so he would have easy access to me to keep me under. It’s only sheer dumb luck I woke at seventeen when my core fully matured, even if I couldn’t move to get out. That kind of time with nothing to look at and no way to escape leads to quite some time in your own mind. Some might go insane. I built mental shields that would rival even the most accomplished Legitimens and planned for every contingency I could think of if I ever managed to escape. Never even considered apparation, but I figure I wouldn’t have been able to in any other scenario.”

“You’re being very open for someone so untrusting,” Ron commented.

That had her setting her papers down again and turned her full attention to Ron. “Don’t mistake my explaining these tests as being trusting. There are a lot of things we’ve yet to explain to you. This is just to set the most basic facts for you so you can make an informed decision. Note I haven’t explained what each of my houses are and mean in the wider world or any of our plans are in detail.”

“I had noticed that, yeah,” Ron said with a chuckle.

“And I also haven’t pointed out how much of a git you were to him this last year,” she said. The warning in her tone was enough to make Ron swallow nervously, all traces of humor gone.

“Yeah, I was a right arse,” Ron admitted.

“At least you acknowledge it. I’d be more worried if you felt you were justified,” Arianna said. “But I will not force anyone into the fiasco this is going to become, no matter how carefully we plan. I hardly want to ask anyone to go against their family, but Molly Weasley is not on my nice list and never will be. I will have to see just how far she is willing to take things before I decide how to deal with her. It may be as little as just simply ignoring her but it may be all the way up to charging her with illegal use of potions and possible Line Theft, if our suspicions prove true.”

Ron drifted into thought at that and Arianna turned back to her pages, grumbling at the sheer mess some of these things were. When she got to the listing of house elves, she about fainted at the ages and numbers. It looked like the magics had been thin for them for a very long time. She was about to proceed with the preliminary bond for them when Eir stormed to her, startling Ron and followed closely by Sirius.

“No!” she shouted at the witch, snatching the parchment from her and growling menacingly. “You’ve only just survived healing and cleansing. Your magic is far too weak to take on all of these elves, what with the bonding needing to pull on your magic to ground the elves. Elves old enough will significantly strain the bonded core if they try anything too big, especially one as weak as yours is at the moment. They’ve survived this long. They can survive a few more days.”

“At least let me bond to the oldest! They’ll die if I don’t and they deserve to feel a bond again if it’s their time if only a preliminary one. Even if they die in the next few days, the bond won’t hurt me and they’ll get the chance to at least feel it. They’ve waited long enough!” Arianna argued, mind calling up the oldest group. Eir glanced over the list herself and blanched at some of the numbers. It was unheard of for elves to reach these ages.

“Only the oldest fifty,” Eir finally conceded. “And only the preliminary. I don’t want either of you initiating full bonds with any of them until your core is stable and you’re not so drained.”

Arianna nodded, after checking the list carefully, pulled at her ladyship rings. She was grateful Ragnok had showed her how to position them so the rings could merge, allowing her to have only five rings for fifteen houses cluttering her thin fingers, but it was odd having to pull at the ring so the appropriate house seal shown for the appropriate spell or needed connection. She’d have to look into another option than rings, since she tended to work with her hands far more than most nobles. Once she had the rings how she wanted, she initiated the bonds. She could feel the flow of overwhelming happiness greet her in return but left it at that, sending a comforting thought of ‘soon’ to the newly bonded elves. Gleeful joy was their response.

That done, she looked to Ron, only to see him studying her closely, as if analyzing her.

“I’ll take the cleanse, help you all,” he said. “I’m not giving up on my brothers and Harry’s my best mate. We’ve been through too much together for me to doubt that he’s in the right, regardless of who’s standing against him, even if that’s Dumbledore and my own mother.”

Arianna beamed at him, excited to have some good news to share with her kid brother for once. She knew he’d be thrilled he wasn’t going to lose one of his best friends. Now she’d just have to see about the rest of them, starting with one Hermione Granger. That one was going to have be handled carefully, as Arianna suspected the girl’s know-it-all attitude was partially to blame for why Harry was turning in subpar assignments.

“Eir, we have another one!” she chirped to the healer, who had wandered over to check on the sleeping Harry.

“Fantastic,” Eir said dryly as she made a note on the parchment they used to keep an eye on the patients in the room.

“Oh, he’s gonna be easy! Least yet, even including Pads!”

“Grand. Will he be staying here as well or should we ensure he can walk after, unlike the two of you?”

“Hey! Are you implying you were able to cleanse me without making me bedridden for days?”

“I said no such thing,” Eir said with a smug smirk. “You inferred that. Though I will also point out you did not specify, when agreeing to the cleanse, any terms that would prevent such an outcome.”

Arianna narrowed her eyes at her before bursting out with a bark of laughter. “No, no I did not. I’ll remember that in the future.”

“You have been warned about such lapses when working with the Nation, milady,” Eir said sweetly. “I would suggest you become accustom to such measures in the future, less you forget and be unprepared for consequences.”

“Agreed,” she admitted. “So, yes, he’ll need to be able to walk. Also, preferably not exhausted. We need to send him home today, with the appearance of only having spent the day shopping with an eccentric lady. Tired is fine, but not falling asleep while walking. If that is all possible.” Eir gave a short nod and bustled to the door to charge a goblin with getting it all set it up.

“How will we cover not actually going shopping?” Ron asked. “Mum will definitely check if I have everything I need for school and we still need to schedule my ‘interview’ with the Prophet.”

“Sirius and I can handle the shopping, if you have Polyjuice and a voice changing charm,” Remus offered.

“You’re playing Ari,” Sirius instantly commanded as he sorted through a stack of books Kreacher had delivered earlier.

“I’m fine with that,” Remus said sweetly. “At least I won’t have to act like a fifteen-year-old boy going shopping for five hours.”

Arianna cackled at Sirius’ horrified realization.

“And Arianna at least chose an outfit that doesn’t include a dress,” Remus muttered.

“I think I looked fabulous,” Arianna said haughtily, nose in the air and mischief in her eyes.

“Very beautiful,” Remus agreed with a nod.

“Bloody sexy,” Sirius put in.

“And your goddaughter,” Remus pointed out.

“Which means I get to hex anyone that agrees with me!” Sirius said, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

“Eir, if you would be so kind?” Arianna said, gesturing to the gob smacked Ron as he watched the pair.

“We do indeed have stores of Polyjuice potion, with small flasks that can be rented for the needed timeframe. We also have charms that could possibly be used for altering one’s voice. However, if I may be so presumptuous as to suggest? Milady also has a number of such items in the Evans vault. It would seem a number of experimental prank items from a group called the Marauders ended up there per request of the late Lady Lily. I believe a few cauldrons of Polyjuice, with needed accompaniments, were placed under Goblin stasis charms before the vault was sealed upon the Lady’s death.”

“Marauders?” Sirius and Remus called excitedly.

Eir gave them a knowing smirk, but Arianna was fighting sudden tears at a flash of understanding hit her.

“They knew,” she said softly, sniffling. “I don’t know why I didn’t make the connection when I saw the name, but they knew there was a good chance they’d die. They prepared for a betrayal and put things they knew would be important in a place no one would think to look. Mum was muggleborn. She wouldn’t have a vault until she graduated, since most muggleborns either use school funds or their parents convert muggle money. And she married Da right out of school, with me coming not long after. She would have used the Potter vaults. For there to be a separate vault under her maiden name? They wanted it hidden. That’s why there are Marauder things there. They knew most people would throw anything made by you four out, since they’d not trust it or it could be seen as dark. And the Polyjuice, under Goblin stasis charms that wouldn’t rely on either of their magics to sustain? How much you want to bet they worried we’d have to run and would need to not look like ourselves?”

“Well reasoned, young one,” Eir said softly, suddenly somber and willing to ignore the tears now running down Arianna’s face. “You would be correct. Your parents came to us in the few months leading up to their deaths. They shared their concerns and requested our help in protecting the two of you. Unfortunately, our hands have been tied by the laws concerning us, by the sealing of their wills, by the Minister, and by Dumbledore. We were under strict orders to never reveal anything within hearing of any but yourselves and your trusted few. And only then, when you’d made the connection yourself that they were aware. They didn’t want to burden you if you were truly happy, nor risk exposing your lives if you started to move before you were ready. I suspect you would have learned the truth of their suspicions when you reviewed the audit of the Evans vault, as there are a number of letters there for you and people they trusted.”

“Pull them all, with the needed supplies for today’s outing. I’ll deal with the letters later as I’ve got too many pages to sort through today and apparently, I’m not leaving the bed anytime soon,” Arianna ordered promptly, still respectful of the goblin but not as polite as she might have been before finding out the goblins had been so restricted.

“Don’t take this out on us,” Eir warned softly. “We did everything in our power but not even we goblins can break an Unbreakable vow or risk the entire Nation to go against the Wizengamot.”

Arianna took a deep breath and sighed, nodding in acknowledgement.

“I’m sorry, Eir…. It’s been a trying week.”

“I suggest you take time to yourself at regular intervals, then,” Eir said. “It is no doubt going to get harder and we cannot afford setbacks because you’ve unintentionally insulted someone due to exhaustion.”

A nod in agreement was all that Eir seemed willing to wait for. Then she was making her way out of the room and Sirius approached Ron to work out what supplies he’d need, taking his school list and comparing it to the one that had been diverted to the bank for Harry.