A Pair of Peacocks
*****
Arianna sat in her office at Gringotts, buried in the latest documents from Ragnok that required her signature. After the Wizengamot meeting, all she wanted was to go to bed, but she figured she should try and work through the little things she could while she was in the area. And no one had said she couldn’t.
Hours later and no one had bothered her beyond her guard joining her once he returned from some errand. Artair sat in a comfortable seat in the far corner, behind his own desk, working through schedules and books on the modern magical community and his wand in his holster, prepared to defend her even while he worked. While Tharos had kept the guards fairly up to date somehow, Artair was determined to know more and often read through books she found quickly, incorporating new procedures in their guard rotation on her as he discovered something new. He seemed determined to guard her personally at all times and it was not irregular for one of the house elves to pop in after a few days, potion him to the gills, and pop him to a bed to rest for a bit. Even Moody was impressed with his foolishness after so long and could occasionally be seen calling for one when he noticed the signs of prolonged lack of sleep in the centuries old guard. At least today had been a good day. Artair had been off-duty when her godfathers and foster family had confronted her, catching up on sleep so she’d been saved from his overprotectiveness during their intervention. Yet he gave his own lecture before they departed for the Wizengamot meeting, railing at her as she curled around a cup of coffee so she could get what she’d wanted to get done.
Now, she wanted to capitalize on the adrenaline high she had from her speech to the stuck up nobles and manipulative assholes she’d spent the majority of the morning dealing with…. And the smoldering anger that had no outlet quite yet, with the exception of making life as miserable for those she hated as possible. So far, she’d managed to make a lot of progress. The business dealings had largely been gone over and the family ancestry books lay scattered around the rest of the large oak desk. She resigned herself to reviewing them as soon as she was done with Ragnok’s paperwork…. It would just stand to reason that the business deals she’d asked for made it into the immediate pile. Because why not?
She supposed it made sense, but her brain was hurting a bit from the sheer number of businesses her ancestors had invested in early. The various Quidditch teams and suppliers she was keeping, if only to keep Harry well stocked in his preferred sport, even if he would probably not be able to play professionally due to the number she owned. Favoritism and all, even if she knew it wouldn’t even cross his mind to play poorly against a team they owned. The shares in the Prophet were going as soon as she could inform Ragnok. It would be entertaining to see what the goblins did with a controlling share of the rag. She figured that was a more befitting punishment for the tripe they’d spewed over the summer than her taking them to task for it. She suspected the goblins would require truth clauses added to all employement contracts and certain reporters would soon find themselves looking for a new job when they refused. There were also a few proposals for newer businesses that either had a very small investment or should have one, including a somewhat strange publication call the Quibbler. That one looked interesting and she moved the proposal to her pile to take home to look at closer. She’d not heard one bit of falsehood out of them since she’d gotten out of her prison, even if more than a few of the stories were a bit out there. Even for the magical world…
The soft knock on her door startled her and she almost spilled her coffee. Artair groaned when his own surprise caused his quill to leave a huge smear of ink on his parchment even as he drew his wand and positioned himself between her and the door. A quick spell revealed the guests were trusted so he sat back down. When a caffeine disaster was diverted and the ink spelled off the parchment back into the inkwell, she called a quick welcome and settled back in her chair.
To see Sirius come in with a pair of familiar blondes behind him and a tense Remus was an even bigger surprise.
“Lord Black,” she said, instantly slipping into her Aiaia persona.
“They’ve been read in as much as possible without a full vote,” Sirius said, guiding his cousin into a chair gently, much to her astonishment. “Eir just finished cleansing Cissy.”
Arianna raised an eyebrow at that but kept silent until Sirius could elaborate on why they were here. She was still very much unsure of the pair, despite their son’s efforts at Hogwarts with Harry and the tales she was hearing of their desire to get free of Voldemort. The truth of the potions and spells was undisputed, but it was difficult remembering to apply it to some families. And House Malfoy was chief among those with the worst reputation during the last war. Whether Lucius was potioned or spelled would help alleviate the unease, but it would still take a while.
“And?” she asked.
“And she found a disturbing trend confirmed, now that she’s had the chance to cleanse a number of people from various houses,” Sirius said, coming to stand by her side and subtly showing support for her despite what he was about to say. “Cissy already agreed to share her results, which helped confirm the issue. Obviously, Slytherins that wanted out were kind of hard to come by, since they’re almost all Death Eaters, but now Eir’s ready to report on the various spells, potions, and compulsions each House tends to get when in school. After is still up for debate, due to access and lordships and a lot of other factors.”
Arianna nodded, gesturing for him to continue, but he simply shook his head and called out to the healer.
“I want his head,” Eir snarled when she made her way in, parchment clutched in her hands and murder on her face. “I did not fully believe his actions could be worse than what he did to the young Lord, but he just had to prove me wrong. He will face Goblin justice. You magicals are far too lenient when it comes to your own.”
“What is it, Healer Eir?” Arianna asked, still using her American accent and subtly showing Eir just how much the pair of Malfoys knew. She also wasn’t quite sure which ‘him’ the healer was threatening so viciously. Goblin justice was just as ruthless as it sounded. But both Dumbledore and Riddle had committed enough atrocities to warrant it.
“He put the Squalidum curse on all the Slytherins to make conceiving a child almost impossible!” the goblin snarled. “It is a miracle any of them have been able to bear a child, let alone carry to term and birth a healthy infant. It certainly explains the number of carriers dying in childbirth. Lady Malfoy herself almost died bringing Heir Malfoy into the world safely. She is lucky in that she can still carry, now that the cleanse has removed that abomination from her core. Should she wish for another child.”
Arianna tensed, staring at the healer in horror. Artair rose from his desk slowly, making his way over and it was only when he turned her chair to face him that she realized he was concerned for her. It wasn’t until his lips moved but no sound came out that she realized her ears were ringing. It wasn’t until the concern morphed into true worry that she realized she wasn’t breathing.
She took a conscious breath and startled when she gasped. Then sound came back and she heard her guard murmuring to her soothingly even as Eir waved a wand around her. When she felt more normal and the world stopped spinning, she turned to Sirius and ordered, her tone hard and brooking no argument, “Call a vote, now. Get Kingsley, Moody, and Tonks in here as well. I don’t care that Kingsley is still recovering from a cleanse. We’ll need him to liase with the DMLE.”
She didn’t disguise her voice and she could tell he understood how serious she was. So, instead of arguing or teasing her for ordering him around, he just nodded and left to follow her orders.
“You are not American,” Lucius felt the need to point out as soon as the door clicked shut, thereby reactivating the privacy wards.
Gods she loved the goblins’ paranoia…. The paranoia that led them to having more stringent wards around the office they’d installed in her healing ward that just added to the charmed necklace she still wore. If this news got out, it was not because the people in the room told…
“Only as much as you are,” she answered, still with her native accent shining through. She continued before he could ask the questions obviously burning in his eyes. “But I’m not elaborating until the people I sent Siri off after arrive. Best to do it all at once. So, for now, I’m simply a very important new lady who can help you get free.”
“And how is that possible?”
“The Aiaia title isn’t fake,” she said simply with an uncaring shrug and a glare at her chuckling guard. “If I wanted to, I could probably simply buy you out of Voldemort’s clutches and set you up comfortably in any one of dozens of properties I now own. Or build you a new home on any number of pieces of land. However, I have other plans that will result in your freedom and his capture without handing over enough Galleons to fund his mad schemes for decades.” She ignored both of their flinches. “But if you prove not to have turned over the leaf Sirius and my brother believe of your family, you will burn. And I have no problem ruining your entire family before that, including the ones still in France. Nimes, correct?”
Lucius went paler than she thought was possible for a healthy human. “How do you know about them?” he asked aghast. “Even the Dark Lord doesn’t know of my cousins.”
“If you think for one moment Sirius would bring you to me without me knowing your age, weight, family, and seen baby pictures of you, then you do not grasp how protective he is nor how unlikely it is for him specifically to bring someone to me.”
“Please,” Narcissa pleaded softly, still looking worn and tired. Arianna studied her a moment and then looked to Eir, who stood to the side and eyed the room critically. At her nod, Arianna called for what was quickly becoming her favorite house elves.
“Bobbin and Thread.”
At the pair of cracks from their form of apparation, Lucius had wand drawn and pointed at the pair, only to come face to face with an irritated witch.
“You are a pureblood and you own House elves,” she snarled. “Surely you know the sounds when you hear them. Not only that, but this is Gringotts! You think for a moment they allow much to get through their wards?”
The blond eyed her coldly for a moment before nodding and retaking his seat, reaching to his wife to enfold one of her still trembling hands in his. Arianna watched them for a moment before addressing the elves she’d protected.
“Bobbin, my dear, do you think we could get some tea? I believe there will be at least nine of us.”
“Bobbin be bringing and Bobbin also be bringing food for the young Missy and guests,” the elf said with enthusiasm. She watched her son a moment as he idly played with his ball of light before looking back at her mistress. “Nice healer goblinsy said Missy is bad at remembering to eat and elves at Den tell Bobbin that Missy hasn’t eaten today. Bobbin will treat Missy like Thread if Missy don’t remember again.”
She blushed scarlet at that but her stomach rumbled before she could protest that she’d had something. After the tongue lashing she’d received yesterday, she could have sworn she’d remembered to at least munch today…. Gods, she hadn’t. Charlie better never find out.
“Please don’t tell Charlie,” she urged.
“Missy eat what Bobbin brings and Dragonny Redhead not hear from Bobbin,” the elf threatened.
“You’ve spent way too much time around Uncle Grey,” she muttered. “I see the loophole there, Miss Bobbin…. You won’t tell Charlie, but you’ll tell someone who will…”
Bobbin just grinned, grabbed her son, and popped away.
She turned back to her guests and grinned at their Slytherin masks. They were shocked at her interactions with the elves but didn’t want to show it. Severus had been much the same. So had Hermione whenever Arianna interacted with the elves on their increasingly frequent mirror calls.
“As you can see, I hold little stock in ‘how things are supposed to be’ so feel free to react how you would around other Slytherins. I’ll not say anything against you and your ‘lack of decorum’,” she even used air quotes for that one. “Will not leave this room. Eir is a goblin and gives literally no care how you act and Artair is my personal guard.”
“Not to mention I attended school sometime in the late 1500s,” he muttered. “Bloody stasis spells in that vault. Literally no one is going to believe I’m close to 500…”
“With that pretty face?” she asked, patting his cheek with a smirk.
“Infant,” he muttered before stalking back to his desk. “Since the blondes are in shock, I’ll just get back to the applications for your full guard, shall I? After all, you can’t get away with only five of us on duty at a time for much longer. Not with the hornet’s nest you intend to kick.”
“Five is still too much,” she grumbled but left it at that. She’d tried every argument known to magic over the last few months with the guards freed from the vault and not a one had even nudged the man from his duties…. If she could free him from his punishment, she would. At least then, she could have a new captain that might actually listen to her protests.
“Cissy, breathe,” Sirius ordered as he opened the door. “What have you been telling them, pup? They look about a second from passing out and I didn’t even know cold-hearted Lucius Malfoy could look like that, even with his mask still in place.”
“I think they’re just realizing how much political and financial power I have at my disposal and are afraid of pissing me off,” she said honestly as she moved to lean against her desk, waving a hand to call the needed parchment from their hidden compartments. At this point, she really should just have a file to hand over whenever they did this.
“So you managed to break Malfoy,” a gruff voice snarked from the door. “Good on you.”
“Mr. Moody,” she greeted, nodding at the scarred retired Auror. He nodded back then reached behind him and shoved a somewhat familiar face into the room ahead of him. “Auror Shaklebolt.”
Kingsley nodded after he caught himself on a chair and turned to glare at the older man. “Lady Aiaia,” he greeted before taking the same chair.
“Milady!” a voice chirped before darting into the room, only to promptly trip over the leg of the chair Kingsley just sat in. A swirl of brightly colored hair stumbled and crashed into Arianna, causing her to sprawl over the back of her desk and knocking her head against the wood.
“You know, Tonks, if you wanted me sprawled on the desk for you, all you had to do was ask,” she muttered, rubbing her now sore head.
Tonks blushed scarlet, her hair swiftly changing to match, but Arianna’s innuendo caused Sirius to start cackling in glee and the rest of the room to sigh in exasperation.
“So, we here for a reason or are you just looking to bed my protégé?” Moody asked.
Arianna had to bite back her retort, but nodded, picking herself up carefully and glaring at Eir before the healer could bustle over. “I’m fine, Healer,” she said.
Before the goblin could protest, Bobbin popped back in, a tea service in hand and a tray of sandwiches floating behind her. When she noticed the lack of clear table space, she sighed and juggled the tray to one hand so she could snap her fingers and conjure a table.
“Missy be eating at least two sandwiches with her tea,” Bobbin ordered. “Bobbin also ask Head Elfy Zoe to assign a personal house elf for Missy so Healer Goblinsy doesn’t worry as much and Missy miss few meals.”
The room chuckled at her exaggerated groan, but she nodded and gathered a small plate and her tea. Then she put together a tea for Narcissa and handed it over gently, mindful of her still shaking hands.
“Drink,” she ordered softly. “It’ll help. Cleanses are never fun but I’m sure Eir was as careful as possible.”
“Thank you, Lady Aiaia,” the blonde muttered, taking a sip.
She nodded then got settled back against her desk before studying her audience closely as they got their own tea.
“Your given name isn’t Aiaia, is it?” Moody asked after a few minutes of silence.
“No, no it’s not. But first, Sirius?” she answered, turning to her godfather.
“It was unanimous for the ones I could get a hold of with such short notice. Give me a minute,” he muttered, closing his eyes and muttering under his breath. She knew he was adding those in the room but said nothing until he was done. “We’re good. Remus already added them on his end.”
“Added us to what?” Lucius demanded, fear evident in his eyes if not in his tone.
“The Fidelius we have set up,” she answered promptly. “We tweaked it with help from the goblins to allow someone to be added without needing to write down all the information and to have two secret keepers so it was harder to break. The lessons learned from the Potters’ betrayal and deaths will not be forgotten for a great deal of time. No one person should be trusted with such a secret. And what I’m going to explain is too important to risk and too involved to follow the usual procedures. There’s too many levels and we keep having to add information as we go…. If we had to write it all down, we’d take weeks to add anyone. So, it’s basically more a TellMeNot at this point…. But even that spell wasn’t strong enough.”
“Hence Gringotts,” Kingsley said, understanding flashing in his eyes.
“Hence Gringotts,” Arianna agreed. “We’re technically standing within a four level ward to guarantee the information is as protected as it can be. Gringotts, the separate ward around this healing hall, one around the room, and the one I wear constantly. And none of that is including the physical protections we have going. There’s the Fidelius itself. Each parchment is spelled to only show the information to those within the Fidelius. And then there’s the lovely Artair.”
“What could be so important that requires such overdone protections? Not even the Ministry uses such overkill.” Tonks asked. “Aside from you being a badass for taking over the oldest vault in Gringotts?”
“Arianna Potter at your service,” she said in answer. “Lady of thirteen houses, including Aiaia, Hogwarts, Emrys, and Le Fay.”
The slow blinks of disbelief were a bit funny, but she bowled over them and proceeded to explain. She was getting good at the speech by this point. And no one had fainted yet.
Maybe that should be a goal….
*****
Charlie sighed as he collapsed into a chair in the temporary dorm room at Gringotts. It was only a few tunnels away from the Aiaia vault and was usually used by the Creature Care Team, but they were moved to the new location to coordinate the habitats for the creatures they were inventorying and preparing for transport.
As the most experienced with the creatures they were moving, it was decided to have them present at the new destination to offer comfort to the creatures, especially since almost all of them had never even been outside the vault, born and raised there in the artificial habitats. Reports were already filtering back that the ones already moved had taken to their customized islands gleefully once released. It was likely to be an extremely popular place once finished, since each island boasted one or two species and had cabins to stay in for the ones that were friendly so magizoologists could study them without interfering with their normal lives.
Those left behind for the vault had decided to stay close to minimize travel time. They could have used the barracks, but the guards were still using it. Arianna spent more time in Gringotts than anywhere else since Harry went back to school. Well, at least until the house elves were done with the rooms at the Den for the official Guard. Apparently, the house was pretty updated, but Helga Hufflepuff wasn’t as dedicated in her spells for the other buildings on the property. There was an actual barracks there, but either the preservation spells had worn off or it hadn’t been used much. So, the elves were fixing it up and preparing to move the number of guards there when Arianna stopped spending almost every day in the goblin’s realm. And the guards found it more comfortable in the barracks in the vault until they were more adjusted to the world they now found themselves in. It was vastly different than what many of them had ever known so they were using the guard duty as adjustment tool to great affect.
But all that meant Charlie was sharing a room with his brother for the first time in years. It could be worse, he supposed. It was a large room, with lots of comfortable spaces. But the lack of windows and sharing sometimes caused issues. Such as after today…. He was exhausted and in a bit of pain. And he’d rather retreat to his own space to lick his wounds than have to interact with the cursebreaker. Oh well. At least he wasn’t alone in his pain.
The dragon eggs just HAD to hatch as they were preparing to move them to the new habitats that had just been finished for the large creatures…. He may be a dragon handler, but it had been a bit since he’d handled hatchlings and these ones were from a species thought extinct…. So not as much knowledge in how to handle them as the common Welsh Greens he was more familiar with. There were a few adults that had agreed to play mummy, though, so they’d just had to get the little menaces through the tunnels to the adult dragons. In theory, it should have been easy. But he’d forgotten how hatchlings acted when just out of the egg and hungry. And this species could apparently breathe fire at hatching…
He’d only gotten a few new burn scars.
And he’d saved Bill from losing his gorgeous locks, even if he teased his older brother about his long hair mercilessly.
“Food?” Bill asked with a groan as he joined him, both of them smelling only slightly of soot and brimstone.
“Too tired,” Charlie denied, slipping deeper into his chair and already feeling himself slip into sleep.
“Anna will shout,” Newt denied, almost manic in his excitement as he bustled into the area they shared. How the man was energized by dodging small fireballs, Charlie could only partially understand, but he made good use of it by immediately heading to the kitchen they had. “She’ll know we didn’t eat.”
Charlie groaned but pushed himself up to help. He knew better than to get completely comfortable until they were done for the day. And a legend like Newt Scamander shouldn’t have to feed them all the time. No matter how comfortable Charlie was getting interacting with his idol as the weeks went on and they worked together. His fellows at the reserve were beyond jealous when he’d shared he was working on a special project with the man during his leave. But they all insisted he learn as much as possible so he could share when he got back. He honestly wasn’t sure if he would go back. At least not permanently. Maybe do a lecture series or something…
“Still makes no sense,” Bill muttered as he got slowly up as well. “The woman can’t remember her own food, but never fails to know when we’ve skipped a meal when she visits…”
“Hufflepuff,” Charlie and Newt said together.