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batsutousaiTitle: Gelosaþ in Écnesse
Chapter: 15 of 18
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: Teen
Pairings: Harry/Salazar, Harry/OFC
Warnings: OCs, OoC, character death, minor cliché-age, homophobia, racist actions and slurs (from secondary character), time travel
Summary: Caught in the backlash of Voldemort's Killing Curse, Harry is thrown through time to a world so very different from his own.
A/N: Long chapter is long. XP
Nobody Knows Our Names
-0-0-
Harry and Salazar were upstairs, reading in the library, when Sirius found them. "People are arriving," he offered.
"Thank you, Sirius," Harry said with a smile as both he and Salazar set their books to the side and rose to join him.
At the bottom of the stairs on the ground floor, they found their way blocked by the youngest four Weasleys and Hermione, all of whom wanted in on the meeting. Mr Weasley and Lupin were trying to get them to go back upstairs, both casting worried looks over their shoulders at where Mrs Weasley was directing guests into the kitchen, as if afraid she'd come down on their heads for the children's refusal to disperse.
"It seems to me," Salazar said in a sharp voice, "that if you're endeavouring to prove yourselves mature enough to be invited to the meeting, whining pathetically when you're told no is only reinforcing the fact that you're yet too young. You must conduct yourselves in a manner befitting an invite before such will be granted unto you."
"Harry gets to go," Ginny complained, looking up at the young man in question.
Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Harry is twenty-two years old and more than capable of waiting patiently when he's told no," he said coolly. "You can either go back upstairs under your own power, or we'll stupefy the lot of you and levitate you up."
"You can't do that!" Ginny snapped.
"If he doesn't, I will," Salazar replied, eyes narrowed. "And Harry will be far kinder about it than I will, so you'd best hope he gets to you first."
"Come on, everyone," Ron said, voice subdued, and started up the stairs past Harry, Salazar, and Sirius. Hermione followed without a word, dragging a glaring Ginny behind her.
"Levitation might actually be fun," one of the twins said.
"I quite agree, Gred," the other one agreed and they both looked hopefully towards Harry.
Salazar's lips curled with a mean little smile. "There's this variation on your petrification curse I know, which causes the victim's bladder to swell while they're under it. They spend the duration of the curse suffering through a full bladder, and the moment it's ended–"
Both twins disappeared with a 'crack', leaving the stairwell clear for the three adults that had been trapped above them.
"That may have been more effective than threatening the Blue Balls Curse," Harry commented idly as he made his way down the cleared stairs. Salazar smirked while the other three males all blanched at the thought.
"Harry, dear, are you sure you don't want to stay upstairs?" Mrs Weasley said as he made to walk past her and down to the kitchen.
Harry smiled at her. "After Uncle asked me to come all the way from Egypt?"
Mrs Weasley looked away, understanding the gentle reminder that he wasn't Harry Potter any more and she couldn't treat him as such in front of the rest of the Order. "Of course," she whispered.
Harry, Salazar, Sirius, and Lupin continued down to the kitchen, leaving Mr Weasley with his wife. In the kitchen, Lupin stepped forward to introduce Harry and Salazar around. Some of the older members seemed surprised to find that Albus had a nephew.
"Father wanted to keep me out of the public eye, considering how well known Uncle Albus is," Harry explained when asked. "Father did try telling me to stay in Egypt, but I'm more than capable of handling any enemies of Uncle Albus' that think I would be an easy target, given my youth, and both Father and Uncle Albus agree, however much they might prefer I stay out of the spotlight."
Members seemed content to leave it at that, though a couple asked where all he'd travelled, unable to place his accent. Harry was more than willing to tell them of his travels, though they were a bit doctored, to match the changed time period.
One of the last to arrive, Severus Snape sneered in Sirius and Lupin's direction, then did a double-take at the sight of Harry, who resembled James Potter from the side just enough to send up warning bells in his mind. He stalked over and grabbed Harry's shoulder, spinning him so he could get a better look at the younger man's face.
"Can I help you?" Harry enquired coolly as he brushed Snape's hand away with one hand, the other moving to cover the hilt of Salazar's sword, which the Founder had one hand on to draw.
Snape narrowed his eyes at the familiar face, but this man's eyes were a bright green and were shaped wrong to be James Potter, never mind the faint hint of red in his black hair and the lack of distinctive glasses. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Now see here, Sniv–" Sirius started.
"Gentlemen, please," Albus interrupted, arriving through the floo just in time to halt the brewing storm. "We're all friends here."
"Are we?" Sirius spat, glaring at Snape. Snape was too busy glaring at Harry, waiting for a response to his demand, to care.
Albus sighed. "Yes, Sirius, we are."
"I'm Harry Dumbledore," Harry told Snape, expression cool. "And who are you, to be grabbing shoulders and demanding names from those Uncle Albus invites into this house?"
"Uncle?" Snape repeated, looking towards Albus with surprise.
Albus smiled and rested a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder. "This is my nephew, Harry, and his husband, Salazar." He nodded to where Salazar stood just behind Harry, waiting for Snape to give him a reason to hurt him. Snape's eyes widened at the name and he looked at the Founder. "Harry, Sal, this is Severus Snape."
"Oh, is he now?" Salazar said, tone icy.
Harry raised an eyebrow at his husband. "Sal."
Salazar glanced towards Harry, took in the disapproval in his eyes, and finally released his sword hilt. "Very well," he allowed.
"Shall we all take seats?" Albus suggested, waving towards the table. As everyone started that way, he squeezed Harry's shoulder and pulled out a rolled parchment. "The list you requested," he said, holding it out to his supposed nephew and Salazar.
Harry took the parchment and handed it back to Salazar, who slipped it into the small pouch he kept at his belt. "Thank you, Uncle."
The three took seats around the table and the meeting started. It largely consisted of Albus setting up a rotation of people to guard the prophecy, as well as asking around for any new information everyone had picked up in the days since the reformation of the Order. Snape reported on Voldemort's lack of movements, while Tonks and Mr Weasley reported on the Ministry's continued lack of reaction to Albus' statement that Voldemort was back, as well as how the search for Sirius was going (apparently, it was something of a joke, with conflicting sightings leaving the aurors on the case scratching their heads). Others around the table had updates on how average magical folks were reacting to the news – most bought into the Ministry's insistence that Albus had lost it – or the movements of the magical underworld.
All told, there wasn't much happening, beyond the slandering of Albus. And, through it all, everyone stepped carefully around the elephant in the room: Could they manage to win this war if Harry Potter was dead?
Finally, Albus dismissed them. As people stood, he waved to McGonagall, calling, "Minerva, could you be troubled to join me for dinner tonight?"
"It's no trouble, Albus," the woman insisted and started her way around the table towards the floo.
Albus turned to Harry and Salazar as he stood. "Are you two coming back to the school tonight?"
Harry shook his head. "We've got some business at Gringotts in the morning, and since we're already in London..."
Albus inclined his head. "Of course."
"We're planning to spend tomorrow night at the castle," Salazar offered, "so we'll see you then."
"Excellent. And I know how to reach you if something comes up. Have a good evening, then, boys." He turned to followed McGonagall to the floo.
"He's the only person I think can get away with calling you 'boy'," Harry commented to his husband.
Salazar snorted. "Ignoring the time difference, he's more than old enough that I see no reason to tell him off about it."
The five children came hurrying in then, stumbling around various members who were slow to leave and had clumped near the stairs, talking. "So, what all happened?" Ron asked, dropping to the bench next to Harry.
"A lot of talk about how everyone thinks Uncle is completely barmy," Harry said with a shrug. "Absolutely boring. Might take a nap during the next meeting."
"You can take a nap while we sneak in as you," one of the twins suggested with a wide smile.
"Exactly!" the other twin agreed. "Everyone wins!"
"I refuse to be an accessory to one of your pranks, especially when there's a good chance your mum will catch on," Harry informed them. "Try with someone more gullible and less terrified of Mrs Weasley."
The twins turned hopefully towards Salazar, who raised an eyebrow and said, "If you plan to emulate me, you must be willing–" :–to break out in Parseltongue at awkward moments, just to watch people jump.: He smirked as everyone in the room jumped. Even those who knew they had Salazar Slytherin in the house looked around with fear, as if expecting Voldemort to pop out of the woodwork.
"Sal," Harry hissed, giving his husband an irritated look and waving reassuringly at those who knew who his husband was, leaving it to them to calm the guests. "I told you not to do that."
"No, you told me these fools think it's something only dark magicals do," Salazar pointed out. "And that it disturbs people."
Harry sighed. "Disturbing your allies is not a good way to endear them to you."
"I don't want to endear them to me."
Harry rolled his eyes and decided it wasn't worth arguing over.
"Anyway, if they hear it from me often enough, they might be less likely to freeze up if Voldemort starts hissing in their hearing range," Salazar added.
"That's not a bad point," Hermione admitted. "I'll bet that even the Death Eaters are bothered when he starts hissing, and they'd be used to it."
"Used to it, or conditioned to expect pain after hearing it?" Harry asked, eyes dark with the memories of his last meeting with Voldemort, where his words would take on a slight hint of a hiss when he was angry.
Salazar set his hand on Harry's leg under the table and offered his husband a faint smile. Harry smiled back and took the hand on his leg in his. "I know," he whispered and Salazar nodded.
All further conversation was put away when Mrs Weasley called, "If you're staying for dinner, take seats so I can set places. Everything is nearly ready." A couple of people made their way upstairs to leave, but most of them settled in around the table. Sirius looked for a moment like he was tempted to boot Ron out of his usual seat at Harry's side, then shrugged and let it go; Ron had the same right to sit next to Harry at meals as he did.
With the extra Order members in attendance, talk was careful, everyone avoiding the chance that they might let Harry or Salazar's true identities slip. (That Mundungus was one of those who'd stayed only doubled the need for care.) Finally, Hermione solved the problem by asking, "Do you know what books you'll be assigning, yet?"
"Oiy, Hermione, can't you spend ten minutes without talking about school work?" Ron complained.
Harry snorted. "Books? No, not yet. I suppose we'll have to drop by Flourish and Blotts while we're in Diagon tomorrow," he added, looking towards Salazar.
"Maybe we can collect more than just possible school books," Salazar agreed.
Harry chuckled. "Healing or potions?" he asked his husband and Salazar's responding smirk said 'both'. "I don't see why not," he agreed easily enough, thinking it might be nice to start up a personal library in their rooms of the subjects they were interested in.
"You're teaching Defence at Hogwarts this coming year, then?" Hestia Jones asked, curious.
"I am, yes," Harry agreed. "I've done a fair bit of study in various forms of defence, and when I decided to come back to help with the war, Uncle suggested I might save him some trouble and take the open position. Sal's going to help me, assuming he's not stolen away by Madam Pomfrey."
"Yer a mediwizard, then?" Mundungus asked Salazar.
The Founder shrugged. "I'm not licensed, so it would be more correct to call me a 'healer'. But, yes, I've training in magical medicine."
"Wouldn't've pegged you the soft type," Mundungus said. "More like Snape, I'd think, with his potions and his dark arts."
"More like my namesake, you mean," Salazar said coolly, eyes narrowed.
"Him too," Mundungus agreed, eyeing Salazar's dark look with some trepidation.
Harry touched Salazar's arm and shook his head when the older wizard looked at him. "It's not worth it," he murmured in Arabic. "And you can't disprove over a thousand years of legend in one night, especially not if you intend to keep our cover."
Salazar nodded and turned his gaze to his food. "I know," he responded in the same language. "I just don't care for the way my name has been dragged through the mud over the centuries."
"I don't like it, either," Harry allowed, "but there's nothing we can do about it."
Salazar shrugged. "I know," he said again.
Harry shook his head and looked over at the five students at the table, switching to English to ask, "Which Defence books that you've used so far during your career at Hogwarts were the best? In your opinions?"
Hermione and Ginny traded speculative looks while Ron rolled his eyes and the twins grinned madly. So sparked a debate that got them through the rest of dinner and beyond, and which some of the adults around the table joined in on. All of the students agreed that the books Moody and Lupin assigned had been the best, and the twins both seemed sure that a book the professor before Quirrell assigned was the best. Mrs Weasley insisted that Lockhart's books were excellent – the students and Harry all ignored her – and Tonks had a short list of books they used in auror training that she thought Harry might look into for his sixth and seventh years. Sirius seemed certain that a particular book on hexes and jinxes was the best out there, but Lupin caught Harry's eye and shook his head to disprove the claim.
By the time everyone got up to either return to their homes or get ready for bed, Harry had a good list of titles – he'd transfigured writing implements out of his unused silverware and a napkin – which he could start with at the bookshop the next day.
"Happy, are you?" Salazar asked drily as Harry closed their bedroom door behind them.
Harry grinned. "Definitely. I'd forgotten I'd have to find books for this year, and it's nice to have somewhere to start; I don't remember which books were good any more, and being as far behind on modern spells as I am leaves me at even more of a disadvantage."
Salazar's expression smoothed out and he cupped Harry's cheek. "I know," he murmured and they took a moment to smile at each other before getting ready for bed.
Salazar was just drifting off when he felt Harry shifting restlessly next to him. Years of learning how still Harry was while sleeping and their discussion that morning told him something was wrong, so he shifted so he could get a look at Harry's face, which was mostly turned away from him and scrunched into a grimace. "Your back?" he asked.
Harry nodded. "It's twinging."
Salazar touched Harry's back with gentle hands and frowned at both the way Harry flinched away and how it felt hot to the touch. "That's not from the time travel," he said with near certainty. "Does it hurt?"
Harry shook his head. "No. It's just keeping me up."
"It's hot to the touch," Salazar said.
Harry frowned and reached back to touch it himself, wincing as the skin jumped unnaturally at his touch. "Huh," he said, surprised. "It is, isn't it?"
"You didn't notice it?" Salazar asked with a frown of his own, and Harry shook his head. "That's interesting."
"I'll not be one of your experiments, Salazar," Harry warned, recognising his husband's tone.
Salazar smiled. "Of course not. I can cast the charm to relax it again, and maybe a cooling charm? I don't know what else to try." And didn't that rankle?
Harry sighed. "Yeah, okay."
Salazar cast his spells and Harry relaxed against the bed, not having noticed how tense he'd been. "Better?" the older wizard asked, touching Harry's back lightly to make sure it was behaving. It was no longer hot, at least, and Harry didn't flinch away.
"Yeah," Harry said, relieved at how still his back was. "I wish I knew what was going on."
"Makes two of us," Salazar admitted, drawing closer and draping an arm over Harry's waist. "I'll see if I can't find anything tomorrow while we're at the bookshop."
Harry nodded. "Maybe try down Knockturn, too. Though," he added, tone sardonic, "the likelihood of finding another situation even vaguely like this one is laughable."
"Indeed," Salazar agreed, and nothing more was said about the subject that night.
Without a sleep potion making him get eight hours of sleep, Harry woke before Salazar and got ready in silence. He was ready to make his way downstairs when Salazar began to stir and he sidetracked long enough to kiss his husband, grinning when Salazar cast a breath-freshening charm on himself before their mouths met.
"How's your back?" Salazar asked as Harry started towards the door.
Harry paused to consider that, then shrugged. "Well enough. A bit stiff, I think, but nothing to worry over." He shook his head. "I'm going to head downstairs and make something quick if Mrs Weasley isn't already up; I'd like to leave for Gringotts before the morning rush."
"I'll be right down, then," Salazar replied and Harry slipped from the room.
Mrs Weasley wasn't yet in the kitchen, but the Black family house-elf was. Harry hadn't actually met him yet, as Sirius generally kicked at him if he saw him, and he paused in the doorway to watch as the house-elf puttered around, running a dirt-streaked rag over the long table and muttering disparaging words about the house guests under his breath.
It took Harry a moment to place the house-elf's name – he'd only heard it once, briefly, during their first visit to the house – then called, "Good morning, Kreacher."
The house-elf froze for a moment, then looked over his shoulder at the human, eyes narrowed. "Good morning, Master's guest," he replied loudly before lowering his voice to mutter, "Mudblood he is, no doubt, ruining Mistress' portrait and dirtying her house with his filth–"
"Your mistress verbally attacked my husband; I was well within my rights to respond to her words in whatever manner I so pleased," Harry pointed out drily as he started across the kitchen to the stove. "And, to set your insults straight, I am, in fact, a half-blood, not muggleborn. My husband is the same."
Kreacher considered that while Harry set out everything he'd need for a fry-up. Finally, the house-elf muttered, "Master's guest says he's half-blood as if that's somehow better than being a mudblood–"
"Isn't it, though?" Harry wondered. "I come from a line of respected purebloods on my father's side – as does Sal – so what should the blood status of our mothers mean in the grand scheme of things?"
"Master's guest wouldn't understand," Kreacher demurred.
"You're right, we don't," Salazar said, having caught just enough of the conversation to understand what was going on. "In my time, house-elf–"
"Kreacher," Harry supplied.
Salazar nodded. "Kreacher, then. In my time, there was none of this pureblood or not pureblood nonsense. There was no real communication between magical people, and so we married whoever was at hand. Most magical people didn't even learn proper spells, before Hogwarts was created, unless they were lucky enough to have contact with a Master, and that was as likely for those born to non-magicals as it was for those born to magical parents. More likely, perhaps, as proper Masters would often move to villages where a young witch or wizard was causing magical havoc and attempt to teach them how to control it, so they might stand a chance of living long enough to find someone to marry."
Kreacher peered uncertainly at Salazar. "Kreacher heard you're the great Salazar Slytherin, killer of one thousand muggles."
Salazar's eyebrows went up. "Indeed? And here I was, thinking I'd only killed a handful." He snorted. "I am your well-known Salazar Slytherin, founder of Slytherin House, yes, but I've none of the hatred of non-magicals that is accredited to me. I'm no lover of them, either," he added, recognising the disgusted turn of Kreacher's mouth. "Don't mistake me; I've plenty of reason to hate them, but there are those of magical blood who have harmed me as equally as those of non-magical blood."
"We're all human," Harry commented as he served the last of their breakfast onto two plates and waved the dirty dishes into the sink to wash themselves. "Or not human, as the case may be," he added, nodding to the house-elf, who scowled at him. "The fact is, we're all prone to hatred against our neighbour, if given sufficient reason, and that reason varies from person to person. Just as a person's worth varies from person to person, not to be based on their blood status or who they believe deserves what rights. The non-magical staff member who was one of the first Hogwarts' staff members was shown the same respect and awe as the sole pureblood staff member, because he was more than capable with his craft, for all that there was no magic in it."
"Roscoe was a force to be reckoned with," Salazar agreed fondly. "Thank you," he added as Harry set a plate in front of him at the table.
"Roscoe was terrifying when sufficiently angered," Harry replied drily. "I was afraid he was going to smash my head in with that huge mallet of his."
Kreacher made a disbelieving noise and jumped down to return to his hovel off to one side. "Weak blood traitors," he muttered just loud enough for them to hear.
Harry rolled his eyes, more amused than insulted, and Salazar shook his head, deciding his breakfast was of far more importance than an old house-elf with antiquated beliefs.
They were just finishing up when Mrs Weasley came into the kitchen. She blinked in surprise to see them with near empty plates and said, "You could have woken me and I would have come down to make you something."
Harry smiled, shaking his head. "It's fine, Mrs Weasley. I like making food, sometimes, and we wanted to be on our way fairly early." He rose with his plate and accepted Salazar's when he held it up. "We'll try and make it back for lunch, I think, but we'll probably take dinner with Uncle."
"You're planning to stay at Hogwarts tonight?" Mrs Weasley asked, taking the dishes from Harry and bustling over to set them washing.
"Indeed," Salazar replied. "We'll likely be by for lunch tomorrow, though I can't say any further on what our schedule might consist of."
"Of course. Well, I'll look for you at lunch, but I won't hold it on account of you," Mrs Weasley promised.
"Thanks," Harry replied and both wizards made their way upstairs and out to the stoop to apparate to the Leaky Cauldron.
They were greeted by a sleepy Tom at the Leaky, then made their way out into Diagon, which was mostly empty, as only a couple shops were open. The Gringotts lobby had only one other wizard in it, standing at the desk to switch magical money to or from pounds, so Harry and Salazar walked, unhindered, to a bored goblin.
"I've been informed that there may be a magical will that pertains to myself," Harry said to the goblin. "And my husband would like to make a claim of ownership on an object belonging to his family which has been lost."
The goblin glared down at them. "Names?"
Harry glanced to see that the wizard that had been changing money was gone, leaving the lobby empty, and said, "I'm Harry Potter and this is Salazar Potter, né Slytherin."
The goblin was still for a moment before saying, "One moment," jumping down from his chair, and running over to a door on the wall behind the desks. Harry and Salazar traded amused looks.
It took the goblin a few minutes to come back, and by the time he had, another couple people had trickled in to speak with goblins. Instead of returning to his seat, the goblin came around the desk and motioned for Harry and Salazar to follow him before turning and leading them through the door he'd just been through. Instead of the rocky, cavern-like halls that led down to the vaults, they found themselves in a marble hallway lined with doors, some open, others closed. Beyond the open doors, goblins sat counting coins or looking through scrolls.
At the end of the hall was a single gold door, edged with silver. The goblin knocked once on the door, then pushed it open to reveal the most lavish office either wizard had ever seen, the walls decorated with gold and silver designs, precious stones shaped into flowers blooming at the ends of silver vines or magical beasts running over golden ground. In the centre of the office sat a huge desk made of the same marble as the rest of the bank and edged in gold. Behind the desk sat an elderly goblin with sharp eyes, and it was he who ordered, "Humans, take seats. Sharprook, you're dismissed."
The goblin who had led Harry and Salazar bowed and left, the door falling closed behind him. The two wizards sat in a couple of heavy marble chairs in front of the huge desk and looked across at the goblin with calm masks.
"I am Ragnuk the twenty-third," the goblin informed them, a challenge in his tone, "current manager of the British Branch of Gringotts International Bank. You claim to be Harry Potter, the so-called 'Boy Who Lived'?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at that, but calmly agreed, "I do."
"And you," Ragnuk continued, turning to Salazar, "claim to be Salazar Slytherin, Founder of Hogwarts?"
"Indeed," the Founder agreed.
"And you have proof of these claims?" Ragnuk demanded.
"I have my scar," Harry offered drily and, at Ragnuk's sharp nod, untied the band he was using to cover his forehead and pushed it and his hair back from the scar. "Sufficient?"
Ragnuk gave the scar a long look, then nodded. "Sufficient," he allowed before turning to Salazar. "And you?"
Salazar gave the goblin an unamused look. "What evidence would I offer? A drop of my blood? An examination of my wand? Any records of me have been so twisted and convoluted by time that I doubt any 'proof' I offer you would hold any sway."
"We keep a record of the blood of all our clients," Ragnuk commented.
"I have never been a client of your people," Salazar replied stiffly. "I never had anything I should like to safe guard, preferring function to beauty."
Ragnuk relaxed. "That's true enough," he said, and his tone was much more welcoming, making the two humans blink in surprise. "Most people these days believe you had an account with us, though you were the only Founder that didn't," he explained.
"There wasn't really a Gringotts branch opened yet when we left," Harry said. "But I remember Merlin said there was talk of installing one in Hogwarts Village?"
"The mayor refused to give us the rights to mine secure vaults under the city, and I believe someone in the castle didn't want non-humans that close to the school?" Ragnuk replied.
"That would have most likely been Angus," Harry agreed with a helpless shrug. "Godric had issues with some non-humans, but I know he befriended a couple goblins before Hogwarts. I take it you eventually set up shop in London, then?"
Ragnuk inclined his head. "Yes. Diagon Alley grew up around this building, and the humans eventually added their own spells to the ones goblins had first put in place to keep our business from muggle eyes, making the alleys more secure than we were capable of doing for such a large, above-ground area." He shook his thoughts away. "Leaving that; you two have business with us?"
Salazar glanced towards Harry, who shrugged and explained, "I was told that Ramona Hufflepuff gave a mention of me in her will, as did Merlin? Although I don't know what name they would have given for me, as I never used Potter," he said. "And Sal wants to know if he can make a claim on an object that belonged to his family."
Ragnuk frowned and jumped from his chair to riffle through a case of drawers behind him. After a moment, he pulled out a scroll and hopped back up in his chair before carefully unrolling it on his desk, the edges flaking with age. He glanced down it quickly, then read, " 'Should my belongings survive the test of time, I bequeath them upon my brother in all but blood, Harry Slytherin, who wears a flash of light above his eyes. At the time of his acceptance, should I have no other direct descendants, I also wish him and his husband to have whatever might remain in my family vault'."
Ragnuk glanced up at the two wizards and said, "The last of the direct Hufflepuff line died nearly fifty years ago and all her belongings were placed in her family vault. The Ministry attempted to claim the contents of the vault, as they have with many vaults when there's no clear heir, but Madam Hufflepuff's will protected it, though there was a long debate about the validity of the will, considering the length of time that passed since her death."
"I'm rather sick of this Ministry of yours," Salazar commented drily.
"Makes two of us," Harry muttered, shaking his head. "I don't suppose you have a ledger of the objects in the vault, Ragnuk? I'm looking for a gold cup with a badger engraved on the side. Ramona said Conrad gave it to her for her and Fane's wedding, and she gave it to her daughter, Lily, when she married."
Ragnuk frowned and shook his head. "That cup is not in that vault, though it is here at Gringotts. I believe it is currently in the Lestrange vault."
Harry frowned himself. "Lestrange?" he repeated. "I know that name."
"The two brothers, Rodolphus and Rabastan, and Rodolphus' wife, Bellatrix, are all in Azkaban, having been members of You-Know-Who's Death Eaters. I believe they tortured the Longbottom family."
Harry's eyes widened. "Oh. And they were also on that family tree in Sirius' home," he remembered. "Bellatrix was his cousin, I think?" He shook his head. "Voldemort must have got the cup, then," he decided. "Is there any way I can claim it?"
"And why did the Ministry not claim the vaults of those in Azkaban?" Salazar asked.
"Vaults cannot be claimed by a second party – be that through the process of inheritance through a will, or the Ministry's self-declared right to funnel vaults into their own pockets – until the current owner of the vault is dead," Ragnuk explained, lips curling with a sneer at the Ministry's self importance. "As for the cup, I believe I can make a case to give it unto your care. You have a legit claim to it, as her phrasing does not require that it be in her vault for it to go to you. I will have to discuss it with the High Council, however, so it may take a few days."
Harry nodded. "That's acceptable. If they agree to give it to me, either send me an owl telling me to pick it up from whichever vault, or send the cup itself to me."
"I believe that can be managed," Ragnuk agreed before turning to Salazar. "And the object you wish to claim?"
"A gold locket with an 'S' made of emeralds on the front, about this big," Salazar explained, motioning with his hands. "It was never mine, but I was told it was handed down to my nephew from my father."
Ragnuk frowned in thought for a moment, then hopped from his chair to sort through another case of drawers. After going through three drawers, he finally found the scroll he was looking for and returned to his seat. The scroll was much newer, judging by how easily it unrolled, and Ragnuk glanced over it quickly before nodding and letting the scroll fall shut. "The Slytherin family line didn't have an account with us until the twelfth century, and they emptied it within two centuries. There was a locket matching that description kept in there for a time, but it was removed when the account was closed and has not been seen in the bank since. I can put out feelers for it, but you'll have better luck looking in the shops down Knockturn Alley for it."
"We'll do that, then," Harry decided.
Ragnuk inclined his head and glanced back at the drawers he'd pulled Ramona's will from, but before he could speak, there was a pop and Slinky appeared between Salazar and Harry, her dress covered in mud and her ears hanging.
Harry dropped to his knees and faced the house-elf, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe some mud off her nose. "Slinky, what's happened?" he asked, concerned.
Slinky shook her head. "Slinky's been helpings Missy Helena, like Masters asked. Slinky and Missy Helena couldn't finds the diadem." The house-elf looked up with tears in her eyes. "Slinky's being sorrys, Master Harry."
"It's not your fault, Slinky," Harry soothed. "I didn't really expect it to be there. And you can tell Helena that, since I'm certain she's not looking much better than you. Here, stop that." He wiped a thumb under her eye as a tear fell.
Salazar left Slinky to Harry and said to Ragnuk, "I don't suppose a silver diadem with a single blue stone has passed through this building in recent years? It would be inscribed with the phrase, 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,' in Pictish on the inside rim?"
Ragnuk shook his head. "Nothing of the sort. We've seen a couple replicas of that diadem – Rowena Ravenclaw's, I believe?" Salazar nodded. "Replicas, yes. The actual thing, no."
"It was worth a try," Harry decided, returning to his chair, Slinky gone. "Is that everything?"
Ragnuk shook his head. "Not quite. There are a number of other wills from the same point in time which make mention of a 'Harry Slytherin' or 'Salazar and Harry', which very likely refer to the two of you. Some of the vaults in question belong to a family, currently, and others have been closed due to a lack of funds or the Ministry's meddling, but about half a dozen have been collecting dust, as the saying goes."
Harry blinked in surprise, then glanced at Salazar. "Huh."
Salazar shrugged. "Ramona and Merlin said they both left you in their wills; it makes sense that others would have."
Harry sighed. "Yeah, I know." He ran a hand through his hair, then winced and reached both hands up to fix the cloth over his scar, which he'd dislodged.
Salazar nodded to the goblin. "At your leisure, Ragnuk."
Ragnuk gave them a slightly terrifying, toothy smile, then jumped down to collect a pile of crackling scrolls. He read out the parts that pertained to the couple, as well as whom it was from, for all seven scrolls. Most of them were from one of the group of Slytherins that knew Harry was from the future – Merlin was among the number, having left Harry the portrait, as well as a library of books from Camelot, which Harry decided he would look through later – but a couple were from students that hadn't known about Harry's past; Harry and Salazar figured it had, eventually, become common knowledge that they had travelled in time.
Once Ragnuk had read through the pile of scrolls and had keys made for each of Harry and Salazar's new vaults – they were only a little terrified upon learning that most of the vaults had been gaining interest for centuries, leaving them quite wealthy, and they'd sent a portion of it to the Hogwarts vaults for needy students or to help with the old building's upkeep – he pulled out one last scroll and opened it. "This one is slightly more complicated," he offered at the wizards' curious looks.
"Complicated is always fun," Harry said drily, settling back to listen for a bit longer.
Ragnuk allowed a flash of teeth in response, then explained, "There is a dispute over the ownership of the Gryffindor vault. Godric Gryffindor specifically said, in his will, that he didn't want anyone of the Slytherin line to have a claim to the vault, but Kenric and Duana Gryffindor both left their shares to the two of you, should anything survive to your return, and Bernia Gryffindor, who survived Godric, asked that Gringotts strike Godric's will from the record. While I am more than willing to ignore Godric's will, given the three contrary directions, there is a direct descendent of, I believe, Kenric's line."
"We've no interest in taking money from someone to whom it rightfully belongs," Salazar stated.
Ragnuk inclined his head. "Allow me to finish?" he requested.
"Apologies."
Ragnuk let the scroll fall shut. "Normally, when a line dies out, their vaults remain separate, but the last of Duana's line willed that his money be left to Kenric's direct line. Further muddling things, at some time in the history of Kenric's line, there was a question of who would inherit the family's vault, as the eldest was a female and the head of the family believed only males should inherit. He put it in his will that a female will never inherit the family vault, and since there's always been a male heir since, that's never been overruled.
"The current direct heir is female, and her parents and brothers died without changing the inheritance rules. She has sons, who should inherit the vault, but as she has no claim on it, she can't legally pass it on to them, for all that it is there. She tried fighting the rule, shortly after the deaths of her brothers, but that was during the last war with You-Know-Who, and things were not well for anyone; my predecessor refused her claim and the subject was left tabled.
"According to the wills of both Kenric and Duana, the vault goes, next, to the two of you. You may claim it, or overrule the will that it cannot pass to a female heir, thereby passing it to the current heir."
"We'll overrule the rule about what gender can inherit it," Harry said without pause, and Salazar nodded; they had more than enough money already, and neither wizard was much inclined to deny someone what they were owed because of antiquated ideals.
Ragnuk nodded and made a note on a piece of parchment he'd pulled from a stack of blank ones. "Excellent. Do you want to divide the vault, claiming Duana's line's half, or will you leave everything to the heir?"
"We'll leave everything to her," Salazar said, shaking his head. "She's due it, and we've no use for gold or pretty things. If there's something in there that's said to be an artefact of Godric's, however, it might be best if it was given to Hogwarts, where it can be cared for and viewed by his House, as he would have liked." The last was said in a dry tone.
"I don't believe there's anything in the vault, but I'll look into it and pass your recommendation on to the heir," Ragnuk said, noting the comment down. He nodded and glanced up at them. "Any other questions, gentlemen?"
The humans traded looks and both shrugged. "I don't think so," Harry said. "Though, I'm a bit curious as to who Kenric's heir is?"
Ragnuk smiled that toothy smile. "Molly Weasley, née Prewett."
Harry blinked. "Oh," he said, expression oddly blank.
Salazar let out a loud laugh and shook his head. "I hope we're there to see her face when she reads that owl," he said wistfully.
Ragnuk pulled over a fresh parchment and re-inked his quill. "You're welcome to give it to her yourself; we've been having trouble getting owls to the Weasley family since they moved to whatever hidden building they're in right now, and William has been serving as a delivery boy."
"Do owls usually have trouble with the Fidelius Charm?" Harry wondered, having regained his equilibrium.
"Unless they've been brought into the warded area by the Secret Keeper or one who knows the secret, yes, they can have trouble seeing through the wards. Particularly talented owls can get past the spell with only minimal difficulty, but most will return to the sender if they can't get in on the first pass," Ragnuk explained, long used to explaining human magic to other goblins; that this was a human and not a goblin didn't faze him in the slightest. He actually quite liked the two humans, who hadn't argued over returning a couple goblin-made items to the bank like other humans would have, and who had also worried over a house-elf, which not many humans did. They'd also used his name when speaking to him, rather than the more common usage of his species to refer to him.
That wasn't to say that Ragnuk would be willing to let them get away with anything, or that he'd put them above another goblin, but, rather, he wouldn't mind having dealings with them again.
Harry nodded his understanding to Ragnuk's explanation, then said, "In that case, if there's further correspondence for Sal or myself, it too can be sent with Bill, or you can address it straight to us at Hogwarts, where we have rooms; if we're not there to take it, Albus is posing as my uncle for the time being and can accept any owls for us, if that's agreeable?"
"I'll make a note to do that," Ragnuk agreed as he finished his letter to Mrs Weasley. "Do you wish us to address all letters to Harry and Salazar Dumbledore, then, or is there another name?"
"Harry and Salazar Dumbledore," Harry agreed.
"Very well." Ragnuk held out the letter and Salazar took it. "Gentlemen, a pleasure doing business with you. And it's not often I say that to humans."
"I'll believe that," Harry replied as he and Salazar stood. "Have a good day, Ragnuk. And thank you."
"Certainly. Will I need to have someone show you the way back to the lobby?"
"I don't believe so," Salazar replied and they left Ragnuk to his work when he waved them out. Once they were back in the now-busy lobby and on their way out into the alley, Salazar commented, "That was both slightly disappointing, and extremely profitable."
Harry smiled. "It was. We'll have to check through the list Uncle gave us, then, and hope Ragnuk can get the High Council to give me the cup."
Salazar nodded. "Indeed. And we'll have to set aside time to go through the vaults."
"Perhaps we'll alternate a bit: one day we hunt for the objects, the next we work with the vaults, then we hunt a bit more..."
"That could work," Salazar agreed as they entered Flourish and Blotts. "I'll be with the healing or potions books," he said before fading into the shelves.
Harry rolled his eyes, then walked up to the counter, where a wizard was reading a book as he waited for customers. He cleared his throat and smiled pleasantly enough when the shopkeep jumped and hurried to hide the book. "I'm looking for the defence section, especially books for teaching from," he said. "I've a list, but if you have any suggestions, I'd be grateful."
"Don't use Lockhart," the man said immediately and Harry laughed. "You takin' the Defence position at Hogwarts, then?" he added as he led the way towards the shelves Harry would need.
"Yes. My uncle asked if I wouldn't do it as a favour for him, since I'm back in the country," Harry agreed. "It worked out all around, since he knows he's got another professor he can trust on staff – where he can keep an eye on me –" Harry rolled his eyes, earning a grin from the shopkeep, "–and I get a job and a place to stay for a year; gives me plenty of time to find somewhere else to stay and another job for next year."
"Assuming you survive the curse," the shopkeep cautioned.
"Assuming I survive the curse," Harry agreed good-naturedly.
The shopkeep nodded and pointed to the shelves they'd stopped in front of. "This is pretty much it, then. Like I said, ignore the Lockhart books – I've been trying to get Mr Blotts to move them to fiction, but he's refused, saying they sell better in defence – and you might want to steer clear of Slinkhard, too, since he has a tendency to oversimplify things, and the students won't thank you for that."
"No, I shouldn't think so," Harry agreed, pulling his list out. "What about Trimble? I've been told to look at his books."
"Trimble's not bad," the shopkeep said, frowning, "but I'd keep him for just the first two or three years; they start to grow out of him a bit after that, and Moody assigned it last year." He pointed to a book Harry vaguely remembered from his first visit to the Alley years ago. "Vindictus Viridian isn't bad, when it comes to the less Ministry-accepted spells, but his sister–" he pointed to the series of books next to Vindictus' "–Victoriana Viridian is a decorated auror and an excellent author; I was surprised that Moody didn't assign her, though I suppose he just didn't like her as a person."
"Or he didn't trust his students to keep up," Harry suggested, glancing at his list. The eighth and ninth books in Victoriana's series were in the list of titles that Tonks had given him and he pulled down the first book to flip through it. "Thanks," he mumbled as an after-thought.
The shopkeep grinned and nodded. "Let me know if you need any further help," he said before leaving to return to his desk.
It didn't take Harry long to figure out why Mad-Eye had probably avoided Victoriana's books: The dead ex-auror had preferred a very hands-on approach – assuming the fake Mad-Eye had behaved as the real one would have in classes – and Victoriana's books had more theory and not many actual spell lists. Starting in the third book in the series, there was a spell list in the back, where an index might have gone, and she listed pages with notes that would help with the casting of the spell. The series was also all quite Ministry-friendly, as one might expect of an auror, and the fifth and seventh books focussed heavily on subjects that regularly showed up on the OWLs and NEWTs, respectively.
"Find anything?" Salazar asked as he joined Harry, a pile of books filling a hand basket held on his arm. A quick glance suggested it was mostly books on healing magic, but Harry had hardly expected it to be anything else, considering that alchemy wasn't popular.
"Sort of," Harry murmured, flipping through the eighth book in the series. It was definitely auror-level material, and a lot more hands-on as a result. "I think this auror wrote a series of books for the Defence position, but they're a bit too Ministry-standard for my tastes, and previous professors likely felt the same, which is why they're not much used. Tonks said some of the latter ones were used in auror training, and they're certainly better, but..."
Salazar sat his basket down and picked up the first book in the series. He flipped through it briefly, then said, "The theory is a little heavy, but you could use it to supplement a class?"
Harry considered that, then looked back at the shelf. "Maybe..." he agreed, setting the eighth book down and picking up Curses and Counter-Curses, by her brother. Flipping through it, he sort of tilted his head to one side, then pulled down the third book in Victoriana's series to compare the spell lists. Vindictus had a lot of spells that weren't quite Ministry-approved, but he lacked the theoretical approach that was important in a classroom.
"I know that look," Salazar said, watching as Harry traded the third book for the fourth, then the fourth for the fifth, checking the spell lists in each against Curses and Counter-Curses and finding them similar, but with additional spells in Vindictus' book. "You're planning to supplement the series with a fun book."
"Could work," Harry said. "Bit torn about the first two books, though; the first one looks like it might help first years quite a bit, especially those with a non-magical background, but the second book is sort of a slightly more complicated variation on the first one."
"So move all of them up a bit." Salazar shook his head. "Use the third book for second years, the fourth book for third years, and so forth."
Harry considered that for a moment, then shook his head. "The fifth and seventh books are best where they are. Ginny said Mad-Eye used a different book for the third years than he did for the fourth years, so it would make sense that not everyone's yet had to read The Dark Forces. I could substitute that one for the second years, then use the Viridian books for everyone else."
Salazar considered that for a moment, then nodded. "It could work. But spend a couple days looking everything over before you tell Albus for certain."
"I know," Harry said as he pulled down one copy each of the Viridian books, including the second one – just in case it was better than the first one, in the long run – and up to the ninth book in Victoriana's series, figuring he could read them himself. He didn't bother grabbing The Dark Forces, as Albus had had his trunk delivered to their Hogwarts room, and his copy of the book was in there. He also grabbed the book Fred and George had suggested, as well as the other two books Tonks had recommended and a book one of the Order members had sworn by.
At the counter, the shopkeep smiled at Harry, and his smile widened when he saw the pile Harry and Salazar unloaded. "Decided to go with Viridian?" he asked.
"Decided to spend a couple days with them," Harry replied, shaking his head. "I might be back in a couple days to raid the shelves again."
"Better than some professors we've had through," the shopkeep commented as he rang things up. "Too many of them just grab the first book that catches their eye and use that, even when whoever's at the desk suggests they might try something different."
"Those professors don't have to sit with their uncle at meals," Harry replied drily and the shopkeep laughed.
Quite a few galleons lighter, Harry and Salazar slipped down Knockturn Alley and glanced through a couple shops, but they saw neither locket, nor diadem, and it was getting close enough to lunch time that they didn't loiter, instead returning to Grimmauld Place.
Lunch was just being set out as Harry and Salazar entered the kitchen, and Mrs Weasley smiled and gathered settings for them as they traded greetings with the others around the table.
"So, did you pick out our books for next year?" Hermione pleaded, looking hopefully at the Flourish and Blotts bag that had been left next to the cloak rack.
"I found some options," Harry said with a smile. "Perhaps you can look at them with me tomorrow and give me your thoughts; I won't turn down a third opinion – or however many I might get offered, now that I've opened myself to that – but Sal and I have business after lunch, so that will have to wait," he finished, seeing Hermione's excitement. She deflated slightly at learning she'd have to wait, but still looked pleased.
Salazar glanced at Mrs Weasley as she finally took her seat and said, "Ragnuk gave us a letter for you, Molly."
"Oh? Usually he sends things with Bill..."
"We were there and mentioned we'd planned to join you for lunch," Harry explained as he slipped the scroll from his belt pouch and handed it down.
Mrs Weasley slit the seal with her butter knife, since it was at hand, then unrolled it. She was just taking a bite of beans when she let out a shocked sound and let her fork fall back to her plate.
"Mum?" Ginny said, concerned. Everyone else looked down the table at her, concerned and curious. Harry and Salazar managed masks of curiosity, as if they didn't know what news the letter contained.
"I–" Mrs Weasley took a gulp of air. "Oh, Merlin. This is– I don't–"
Lupin, who was sitting at Mrs Weasley's side, gently took the letter from her numb fingers and read it over. His eyes widened and he read it again. Then he looked at Harry and Salazar. "You had a hand in this," he accused.
"A small one," Harry admitted, shrugging. "We didn't know who, exactly, was the current Gryffindor heir until after we'd signed the money over. But," he added, raising his voice to be heard over the startled exclamations of the students and Sirius, looking at Mrs Weasley, "you should have had that vault for years now; we wouldn't deny you your birthright."
"Thank you," Mrs Weasley whispered, tears in her eyes. "I don't know–"
"No thanks necessary," Harry replied gently. "It should have been yours to begin with."
"Mum," Ron said when there was a momentary silence, "you're descended from Gryffindor?"
Mrs Weasley nodded and wiped at her eyes. "Yes. There are a couple cousins who have some distant claim to the bloodline, but it's usually been kept fairly insular, and the ruling one of my many times great grandfather made kept any females from claiming the inheritance, so it's been kept in the Prewett line. I didn't think I would ever have the chance to see the vault again, let alone get the chance to use that money."
"How much money?" one of the twins asked; both of them wore strangely constipated expressions.
"About five hundred thousand galleons," Lupin said, reading it off the parchment.
There followed a long, stunned silence. Then Ron asked, "Can I get a new broom?" and everyone laughed.
"I'll see what we can do," Mrs Weasley agreed. "And perhaps some new robes. For all four of you." The Weasley children traded smiles, pleased at the prospect, and they continued lunch in a cheerful mood.
And if Mrs Weasley wouldn't let Harry and Salazar leave for Hogwarts without hugging both of them, tears soaking their tunics, well, Harry hadn't expected anything less from her.
-0-
A/N: I swear I didn't plan to make anyone of the Gryffindor line; it bloody well wrote itself! XD
Both the reason for Harry's back issues and Neville will be in the next chapter.
~Bats ^.^x
EDIT: Change made to the amount of money Molly inherited, because people kept making comments.
01 - Impossible Distance || 02 - Layers of Harmony || 03 - Breaking Inside
04 - Let It Flow || 05 - White Horses || 06 - Disturbs Your Slumber
07 - Heart Worth Breaking || 08 - Keep It Inside || 09 - Like the Stars
10 - I'll Breathe Again || 11 - Set Fire to the Rain || 12 - Generation Built on a Lie
13 - In Defence of Our Dreams || 14 - Night Falls In ||
16 - I'm Not Drowning || 17 - Beating of the Storm || 18 - Let Me See Your Fire
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