The Business of Slytherin
Sirius Black and Severus Snape were both waiting at 9 Wisteria Walk. It was Saturday, and was the only day that Severus would be available.
Both were dressed in muggle clothes (slacks and jacket) – their robes being unacceptable in such a muggle nieghbourhood. Arabella Figg was serving them, in Severus' opinion, the most wretched-tasting tea he had ever experienced.
Finally, there was a knock on the door. Arabella opened the door and said to whomever was on the outside, "Can I help you?"
Both wizards heard a recognized voice, "Yes, Mrs. Figg. I am here to speak with your two guests."
Arabella, confused, moved to allow the muggle-dressed man to enter her home. As soon as he entered, she asked the two, "You know this man?"
Both nodded. Severus answered, "His moniker is Gary Seven. He is … an expert dealing with the wards on Privet Drive. He agreed to correct a slight problem."
Arabella was curious. "What was the problem?"
He looked over to Gary, who nodded. "Unfortunately, an earlier attempt to visit your young charge resulted in neither myself or Black here being able to find the place. We found that we had to be keyed in. As the Headmaster was too busy, Mr. Seven – immune to such wards for reasons various and uninteresting – agreed to review them and to ensure we were keyed in."
Arabella looked over at the new wizard. "That sounds … not right."
Gary shrugged. "The nature of my magic." He paused. "Actually, with your being a squib and not really a muggle, you might have some slight problems yourself. You might be able to visit and interact with them but you'd never see everything. We should key you in as well."
Arabella was concerned. "Albus didn't tell me."
Gary shrugged. "While he's powerful, he's not really a warding expert. He can set them up, but doesn't really seem to understand all of the intricacies."
Severus detected a small misdirection, but did not comment.
Arabella asked somewhat hesitantly, "Can you fix that?"
"Sure. I just need you to give me a small amount of blood – just a drop – so that I can use it on the ward."
Arabella quickly exited the room. Severus sidled closer and asked, "You were misleading." Sirius, who had also moved closer, was curious as to the answer.
Gary, who was speaking as quietly as Severus, replied, "I'll explain as we walk over."
The two nodded at Gary and moved to stand back.
Arabella soon returned. She had a small sewing needle and a small piece of paper. "Will this do?"
She handed the paper to Gary. He saw that she had placed a large drop of blood on it. "That's fine. We'll return this way to use your phone to call a taxi and I'll confirm that it's fixed then."
She nodded and then moved to return her sewing needle.
Gary looked at the two. "Okay. Let's go." He called out, "We'll be back in a bit!" He then led the two out of the front door.
The three began walking down the street. Sirius whined, "Bloody cold out here. What I wouldn't do to have a warming charm about now."
Severus, who loved to tweak his old nemesis asked, "Why didn't you apply it before we left Figgs? The monitors aren't close enough to register it where we're going."
Sirius gave the other man an irritated look. Gary chuckled. "Too late now."
Severus hid his smirk. "You said you would explain."
Gary nodded. "Wizard-repelling ward. Prevents wizards, owls, and other magical communication to the house. Only Harry was keyed in. His Hogwarts letter would have cancelled a part of the ward."
Sirius asked, "So how did you get around it?"
Gary looked at Sirius with amusement, "My true name is …?"
Sirius looked sheepish. "Oh, yeah. Already keyed-in."
Gary smirked. "I imagine Dumbledore was all prepared to tsk in contriteness that he couldn't do anything until little Harry was invited to Hogwarts – an oversight on his part when setting up the wards. I wish I could see his expression when he learns your visit is successful. Especially because he himself is unable to enter the ward either until the first Hogwarts letter drops that part of the ward or he drops them personally and deliberately. And he wouldn't do that outside of an emergency because that part of the ward can't be recreated once it's dropped."
Sirius and Severus both looked at Gary in shock. Gary's face had a smirk as he looked ahead. Severus and Sirius unexpectedly shared looks of amusement at that tidbit. It was the first one of many during the next nine years.
He looked at the two men walking with him. "You two must not key Dumbledore in. Profess ignorance, incompetence … I don't care. Dumbledore probably won't remember the exact placement of the stone due to the wards and neither of you two are experts. I'd rather the manipulative coot suffer from his own hubris."
The two nodded in agreement.
Here Gary spoke again with a smirk. "But it DOES mean that magic within the house is shielded against detection until that ward is dropped. So you don't have to be so careful. Just make certain that you don't use any magic there after Dumbledore drops it. I'll teach you two a small diagnostic to ensure that it's still standing."
The three finally arrived at Number 4. Gary motioned them to wait. He cast a notice-me-not charm and then moved to the wardstone – cleverly masked as a half exposed foundation stone. Harry keyed Arabella in and then returned to the two men.
"You see where the stone is?" Both men nodded. "Hide that information in your mind. It's apparent Albus wanted easy access when he needed to get access. It's kind of brilliant because anyone who looks for a wardstone always looks for something buried and hidden. Its very placement makes it unremarkable to most wizards."
Gary pulled out two sheets. "Here are instructions to key someone in and the diagnostics." He handed these to the two men. "Memorize, and then destroy. Right now, it's Harry, you two, Remus, and Mrs. Figg. That's it. It would be better if it stayed that way until Harry gets his letter."
Both men nodded. Gary asked, "You two ready?" Nods again.
The three men made their way up to the front door. Gary rung the bell. Soon the door was being opened. Petunia Dursley began asked, "Yes? What do you …" She then saw a face she remembered with some bitterness. "You! What are you doing here?"
Severus, who remained calm, replied, "Perhaps it is best if we took this inside. I'm certain your nieghbours don't need to hear our business."
Petunia nodded reluctantly and moved back, giving the three room to open the screen and come inside.
Soon, five adults sat within the drawing room. Petunia and Vernon Dursley, looking decidedly uncomfortable, were facing three strange men. It was, perhaps, a good thing none looked out of the ordinary. Finally Vernon said, "What are you people doing here? We were told we'd get no interference until the boy was sent to that school."
Gary, who was given the lead by the other two answered. "A host of issues. First of all, this is Sirius Black. He's Harry's godfather, tasked by Lily and James to speak for him if they were unable. He was recently cleared of false charged he was framed for when they passed. He will be visiting Harry from time to time."
Both Dursleys looked faintly like they swallowed a lemon.
"This is Severus Snape, whom your wife knew as a child. He has been placed by Albus Dumbledore in charge of security to ensure that you nor Harry are endangered nor found by our crowd. His entire involvement is to keep you safe."
Both Dursleys looked slightly less disapproving at that.
"And my name, surprisingly enough, is Harry Potter. I am from what scientists call an alternate dimension. I am here to correct mistakes made by the locals."
Both Dursleys looked disbelieving, but Petunia studied his face thoroughly and finally gasped. She also turned white. She whispered harshly to her husband, "He IS a copy of the boy. Look at his eyes and forehead!"
Vernon did as his wife asked. He soon was looking a bit grey himself.
"Unfortunately, in far too many universes, I have found negative magic applied to versions of my Aunt and Uncle with whom I grew up with. I would like your permission to check."
Both Dursleys looked at each other. Finally Petunia hesitantly nodded. "I prefer there be … none of that within the house. If there is something – we want it gone."
Gary stood and walked over to the nervous couple. He performed a few diagnostics and then stood back. "Yeah. They're there." He paused for a moment. "You have the letter which was left with your nephew?"
Petunia, looking frightened, jumped up and rushed upstairs. Vernon, looking outraged, stared at the three wizards.
Soon Petunia returned and pushed a piece of parchment at Gary. "Put it down on the table."
Petunia did so and snatched her hand back. Gary performed another diagnostic and the letter glowed red and yellow. He then did a deeper diagnostic, and then performed the counter-charm. The glows disappeared. He then sat down and addressed the two wizards. "Merlin, Dumbledore is an idiot – whether stupid or malicious I don't know. But I find myself far too often wishing he'd get hit by a lorry."
Before either could reply, Vernon interrupted, his anger apparent. "What was it?"
Gary sighed and turned back. "There were compulsions put on the letter. The protections you have on your home are based on the relationship of Petunia and Harry by blood. One portion of the protections prevents all wizards from finding your home unless keyed in or Dumbledore drops them when Harry's school letter is sent."
Petunia was curious. "How are you three here then?"
Gary shook his head. "Um. I AM Harry, or a version. I am allowed and I can allow others. These two and another are now allowed. But not Dumbledore." Petunia nodded in understanding. "Anyway, there were compulsions to 1) Keep Harry within the wards as much as possible. 2) Control Harry so that accidental magic was minimized. 3) Keep him away from wizards and witches." Gary sighed again.
"Now, I've found that compulsion charms on those without magic mutate, and cause extreme reactions to satisfy their commands. When I was growing up, my Aunt and Uncle refused to take me any time they went on vacation – I was left with a neighbour. Likely because of a compulsion to keep me here. My Uncle also forced us to run and hide to prevent the letter from reaching us, fat lot of good that did. That part of the ward dropped when the letter arrived – not by answering it." Gary chuckled. "The eve my eleventh birthday found the Dursleys and myself on a little rock in the middle of the ocean, trying to prevent any more of the thousands of letters sent from reaching me."
The two wizards looked amused. The muggles – not so much.
"Anyway, I can just imagine that you, Petunia, remember my mother's alternate performing accidental magic when she was extremely happy. If you were to control him, you would have made certain he never got that happy. You see the beginning of why such charms should never be left long term on anyone, let alone a non-magical?"
Both Vernon and Petunia nodded curtly at that.
Gary sighed once more and then got to the business at hand. "Anyway, I've removed them. As long as Harry calls this place home, you will be effectively invisible to all magicals until he gets his letter. After he gets his letter, you'll still be protected from anyone with hostile intentions until he turns seventeen. The magical government will know where he is, but won't be able to interfere unless their laws are broken. You have at least nine years with only these two to deal with."
They two looked faintly relieved. Vernon said, "Well, we can live with that. So we must keep the boy here when we go on vacations?"
Gary shook his head. "No. As long as he isn't away more than a month at a time and resides here thirty two weeks a year until he is nine, sixteen when he's ten, eight when he's eleven – he'll have to live here the month before his first year and summer after first year he won't be able to leave until his birthday – four when he's twelve through fourteen, two weeks when he's fifteen and a week when he's sixteen. At seventeen they'll drop. If there are any troubles in the Wizarding world, you'll likely want to move the week before his seventeenth birthday. If everything is calm, there should be no problems."
Petunia and Vernon looked at each other. Vernon turned and said, "We'd like to discuss it."
Gary nodded. Sirius piped up, "I'd like to see my godson. I haven't seen him in four months …" Suddenly, with the entrance of Sirius' voice in the discussion, there was an interruption. All heard a door nearby slammed open and small feet running. At the door of the drawing room there was a very small boy in slightly oversized but clean clothes.
The little boy looked at Sirius with longing and said, "Pa'foo?"
Sirius smiled and got off his chair and turned into a dog. The Dursleys were shocked. Little Harry had a far different reaction.
"Pa'foo! Pa'foo!" The boy rushed over as fast as his little legs would carry him and ran into the large Irish Wolfhound looking dog. There were tears. "You come! You come!"
Gary nodded to Severus and stood up. Severus stood as well. He quietly said to the Dursleys, "We will go outside while these become reacquainted. You can go to the kitchen to talk."
The Dursleys had both also stood, and even they looked affected by the mixed grief and joy their nephew was showing at the return of his beloved godfather – whatever his form. They nodded and retreated into the kitchen and quietly closed the door.
As the two wizards sat quietly upon the chairs in the front of the house, despite the chilly temperatures (both had warming charms, unlike Sirius), Severus said quietly, "You deliberately wanted me to see that, didn't you? You knew I was fully prepared to hate the spawn of my childhood nemesis."
Gary calmly looked out at the neighbourhood and replied, a small smile on his face, "Well, the Sorting Hat DID want to put me into Slytherin for a reason."
Severus could barely contain his glare.
It was a good twenty minutes later before the group of adults was, once again, all sitting within the drawing room. There was the addition of a little boy who was now sleeping on Sirius' shoulder. Petunia wanted to glare – she really did – but she wasn't completely without a heart. Severus was privately astounded.
Finally Vernon stated his demands (quietly – there WAS a sleeping toddler in the room): "We'll accept that you have the right to visit the boy. And we'll keep him safe from that world. But! We won't allow any other of your kind other than the two of you and that Redmus bloke you mentioned" ("Remus" Sirius correctly quietly) "to come here. If something strange happens because of the boy, you're to come here and fix it; I don't want any more interruption to our lives than can be helped. If we want to go out as a family, Pet, Dudley and I, you're going to watch the boy here or wherever you live. And a growing boy extra is an expense we didn't plan for. I won't go to the government for a handout – I'm a good Tory – but someone has to cover reasonable costs."
Sirius, who was the person being spoken to, replied, "I'm going to be buying and living in a non-magical house. With a fellyphone." ("Telephone" Gary corrected quietly) "Severus here," he nodded at the man, "explained that I have to learn how to live without magic if I was going to visit here." Both Dursleys looked approvingly at the dark man. He barely withheld his sneer. "As his godfather, I'm responsible to ensure he's cared for. So if we can go to the bank in Diagon Alley, we can arrange for you to receive a stipend from his parents' estate. He won't have access to it till he's an adult, but normal expenses are supposed to be covered."
Petunia and Vernon looked at each other. Vernon turned back. "Fine."
Gary interrupted. "It's probably better if we go there today – that cut on his forehead contains some nasty magic and, although I can remove it, I don't want to do it here where Dumbledore might have some monitor up to see the discharge. Better to do it away from here."
Vernon and Petunia looked at each other again and then Vernon stood. "Pet will stay here with Dudders. We'll take my car."
The three wizards stood. "Can we call Mrs. Figg? She isn't magical but knows about the magical world. She moved here to keep an eye out for anyone who shouldn't be around."
Petunia looked both interested and annoyed. "Well, at least there's someone around who can watch the boy in a pinch."
Very soon, Vernon Dursley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, and Gary Seven were walking into Gringotts Bank. Harry was being carried by Sirius under a slight notice-me-not charm.
Vernon looked around at the goings on, including the way that the goblins were treating the ruder customers. His face took on a small smile. When there was a free teller, Vernon shockingly took the lead and walked over.
"Hello," he glanced down at the nameplate, "Rockcrusher. I have to say, you people have a good operation going here – quiet and efficient. Especially how you deal with the idiots who try to waste time. And with that in mind, we need to speak to someone about my Nephew," here his voice dropped, "Harry Potter," and his voice went back to normal, "and money. Can you help us?"
The goblin was a bit taken aback by the confident and friendly muggle (goblins could sense these things). Normally muggles were nervous and hesitant, are tried to ask far too many or far too few questions, leading to inefficiency. This one was different.
"Wait here please." He turned his Open/Closed sign and dropped off his chair. Vernon nodded and stepped back
The wizards with Vernon Dursley were somewhat shocked and amazed. NONE of them, even the Lone Traveler, expected THAT.
Vernon stood quite calmly until the goblin returned. "Follow me, please."
Vernon quickly followed directions and moved to follow. He noted the goblin didn't move. He turned and saw the wizards still in shock. With some irritation he said, "Come on now, get a move on. You're wasting the good teller's time."
The goblin looked at the large muggle with some approval before turning and leading the group through a door.
The group entered a room where another goblin was waiting. Before the teller could move off, Vernon turned and said, "Thank you, Rockcrusher. Have a good time annoying the hell out of those idiots you deal with out there; I hope you made a good profit from their stupidity."
Rockcrusher was amused as he replied, "And I hope your time here is profitable."
Vernon nodded and moved to meet with the new goblin. None of the visitors saw the subtle hand motion the teller gave the account manager.
The three wizards were still a little shocked. Finally Gary said, "My name is Maarek Ilumian. We're here to, 1) Rent a room to perform some arcane release of dark magic and, 2) arrange for Harry Potter's care from the Potter estate."
The goblin nodded and asked, "Who are you all?"
Vernon, who recognized a businessman when he met them and was feeling quite comfortable, replied, "Vernon Dursley, Head of House where he lives, Sirius Black, the boy's godfather, Severus Snape, in charge of securing us from the idiot wizards, and the boy in Black's arms is Potter himself. This is an alternate universe version of him." He turned to Gary. "How long will it take and what kind of room?"
Gary, who was surprised at Vernon taking over, replied, "Actually, I could do it here with permission. Take probably two minutes at most."
Vernon nodded. "Well, if they're going to give permission, they're going to need to be paid for the privilege and it's up to Sirius to pay as his godfather." He turned back to the goblin. "What money do you use and how does it compare to pounds?"
"We use Galleons and they convert 5 pounds to 1."
Vernon nodded. "Ten galleons. That's fifty pounds. Is that good enough for one of them to get permission to do his hocus pocus?"
The goblin considered it. "A hundred." The wizards nodded. Vernon scoffed.
"A hundred? That's ridiculous. Although I'm sure it's annoying to allow, I'm sure it isn't worth that. Twenty galleons."
The goblin grinned at the reply, completely ignoring the wizards. "We can't allow such a precedent for such a paltry sum. Eighty galleons – not a knut less."
The three wizards watching were shocked as the Vernon Dursley and the still unnamed goblin haggled back and forth. Finally a price was settled: 40 Galleons, 7 Sickles, and 14 Knuts. The two shook hands at the end.
Even little Harry was watching with wide eyes.
Vernon turned to Gary. "Okay. You do your thing. Black can provide the money."
Gary, still a bit surprised, did as he was told. He got Sirius to calm Harry down and then performed the finite. Little Harry's scar emitted a dark fog and the boy cried out. It took a few minutes to calm him down.
Vernon, watching as the three wizards dealt with the boy, said under his breath, "Idiot wizards."
The goblin asked, just as quietly, "You don't like wizards?"
Vernon scoffed again. "Lazy, egotistical bastards. They think because they have this little ability that they're God's gift to the world. If you ask me, they could all use a good swift kick in the pants and then a hard lesson on what it takes to really live. They're so used to their tricks that they'd probably fall over dead if they were confronted with a real day of work. My nephew's alternate is a bit different, but the rest? Idiots."
The goblin was feeling very friendly with the muggle. "By the way, I'm Ragnok VI, son of the Goblin Leader."
Vernon turned his head and reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you. Vernon Dursley, Sales Manager, Grunnings Drills."
The goblin was curious, "What kind of drills?"
Vernon answered in an expansive voice. "All kinds! Everything from tiny drills for dentists to use on teeth to thirty foot drills for mining and tunneling. Stainless steel, iron, diamond, carbide – bits for metal and bits for rock, we make and sell all types."
Harry Potter, Lone Traveler, also known by a whole slew of titles, stood back finally and let Sirius deal with his dimensional alternate. Severus was helping to ensure that the scar was cleaned. He noticed Vernon and the goblin talking. They seemed quite friendly.
THAT was a shock. He had never, in any world, ever saw Vernon deal directly with goblins. He had always assumed that Vernon Dursley would hate dealing with Gringotts. He was surprised to see the two shake hands as though in agreement on something.
Finally, Harry had been calmed down and the business was done. Severus was going to make his way back to Hogwarts and Sirius was going back with Vernon to Privet Drive.
Gary had spoken with both Sirius and Severus about the final pieces of Voldemort's soul: The Diary and Locket. Sirius would take care of one and Severus the other. He finally let his curiosity get the best of him.
"What were you talking to the goblin about, Vernon?"
Vernon was very cheerful as he replied, "I'm coming back on Monday to talk about diamond and rock. Grunnings and Gringotts will likely do a bit of business."
Harry shook his head, even as Sirius and Severus stood back amazed. Little Harry was once again asleep again.
Harry felt the call – his job was done. "Well, good luck. Goblins are tough businessmen." He turned to Severus and Sirius. "If you can take care of those two items – Harry probably won't have to deal with the Dork Lord later. Good luck." The two nodded.
Gary turned and disappeared in his normal fashion. Those left behind heard a haunting tune – which nonetheless sounded both amused and confused in equal measure.
AN: Okay. This is the end for the Lone Traveler thread as he just left. There will be two more chapters added in the stand-alone version. (10825089 – Slytherin Chronicles). And the final chapter will be both in Chronicles and in the Omake thread (10763021 -Consequences-and-Omakes. That's where we'll see Lucius' response to what he and Severus talked about).