Serpent's Bloodline: Legacy of the Basilisk

"You know, you should not come here." The voice was just whispering, while the person speaking was bowing down to him to stop being overheard.

"I said they will come in a few days - and don't worry, the Dursley's won't miss me. They have after all forbidden me to leave my room."

"And still you are wandering out in the street - out in broad daylight!"

"Stop worrying, Reg. You're here with me - so what could happen?"

"S… Harry! There is no 'what could'! You are a wanted person…"

"You let it sound as if I was a criminal, Reg."

"You know what I mean! You are famous! What will you do when they find out that…"

"When you would stop to scream - then maybe they never will find out" Harry answered, rolling his eyes. "I am wearing a glamour, Reg and I am also wearing my normal clothes - there is no way they would connect me with Harry Potter."

"Could you not just have changed back to normal and come here like that?" Reg asked, still uncomfortable, while looking at the wizards and witches walking on the street around them.

"Nope, sorry" Harry answered, popping the p.

"You sound like a fifteen year old teenager" Reg said irritated.

"I am a fifteen year old teenager" Harry corrected grinning.

"No, you might be looking like one, but I am sure as hell that you aren't one." Reg answered still looking like wanting to be elsewhere.

"Oh, shut up, Reg, and have a little bit fun!" Harry answered while nearly dancing down Diagon Alley to Gringotts.

They entered together. Harry's glamour fell.

And suddenly Harry's childish behavior was gone, as if it never had existed in the first place.

He walked to one of the tellers and said.

"May you join the warriors today, clan-brother!" his voice suddenly sounded rougher, changing with the language. The Gobbledygook that left his mouth was fluent but accentuated with a more ancient accent.

The teller looked up, stunned to be greeted in his own tongue.

"And may your business go well" he finally answered Harry, intrigued what the wizard-boy in front of him wanted.

"I would like to meet Nardog" Harry said. "My name is Potter."

The goblin blinked again, then his gaze flickered to Harry's scar. Harry sighted, but said nothing.

"Very well Mr. Potter." The goblin finally answered. "I will bring you to him immediately."

And with that he closed his post and brought them through the hall and into the depth of Gringotts Bank.

Harry was not afraid. He knew most of the wizards were either uncomfortable or afraid to enter more than the lobby and their Vaults in Gringotts, intimidated by the golden walls, the figurines out of marble, gold or silver and the floor-high paintings of the goblin wars.

No, Harry wasn't afraid.

He even once stopped and looked at one of the paintings while walking through the holy halls of Gringotts. The goblin also stopped when noticing Harry did not follow anymore.

"Ah… yes… the battle of the great North Fields" he said proudly. "One of the greatest victories in our history - and thanks to the healers the one with the least deaths."

"And a very bloody one" Harry said, still staring. "It might have been a huge success, but the causality rate was intimidating. It took three days and a lot of Stasis Charms to prevent the most of them from dying."

The goblin stared at Harry, this time angry looking.

"Whatever your history books say, whatever you heard, wizard " he said coolly. "It is wrong. The goblin are a proud and strong race! They were fighting and winning - not lying on the ground dying at the end of the day."

"Winning and dying do not exclude each other" Harry answered but went on. The goblin huffed and followed.

"Wizards" he snorted. "Always want to be stronger then everyone."

"They may want to" Harry answered despite the distance between them which would normally prevent to understand the whispered comment of the goblin. "But my comment was not about power. It was about causalities."

The goblin looked surprised at that.

"Don't you think, talking about goblins dying in masses while fighting against your kind and putting our race down, isn't quite the same?" He asked.

Harry shrugged.

"My kind never fought against goblins - so maybe it might be the same."

The goblin opened his mouth to tell Harry, that they had fought against wizards before - the painting was clearly showing it - but Harry did not let himself be interrupted.

"But it is not, when talking about the war against the wizards." He continued. "Having lethal wounds and surviving it - that's not about weakness, that's about strength."

The goblin shut his mouth, then he finally uttered.

"You have a strange way of thinking, Mr. Potter."

"Normally the people around me get eventually used to it" Harry answered casually. "Maybe it's because I am an Olde one - maybe they all think differently then the rest. That even would explain some of Oncle Nick's behavior, I think…"

The goblin stared at him, but before he could utter another sentences, he was interrupted by Reg.

"Or maybe it is just you" Reg answered Harry. "Being a child all over again could have done something to your brain, after all."

"It could" Harry answered grinning while following the goblin through a door. "But then I would have gone crazy way before now."

"Maybe you have."

Before Harry could answer, a second goblin entered.

"Mr. Potter I presume" the goblin said, inclining his head.

"Nardog!" Harry answered, bowing. "Have you fought today, my friend?"

The answer was a grin.

"I had a blessing challenge" he answered the question. It was a traditional goblin-greeting, normally only used in formal occasions. The wizard in front of him instead used it since they had met for the first time.

"I normally would give you my dagger to answer" the boy said grinning. "But today I am not equipped with it, so an invitation to train with me will have to do."

At that, Nardog raised an eyebrow.

"No dagger today?" He asked, grinning slightly. "You are lacking, Mr Potter."

"Oh - I do have daggers with me" the boy answered shrugging, "but I laced them yesterday with my venom. I do not recommend using them in a traditional greeting at the moment."

Nardog shuddered.

"I am in complete agreement, my friend" he answered, still shivering at the thought of Basilisk-venom laced daggers in a traditional greeting where the blade was handled with bare hands. "I think I will accept your verbal invitation today."

The boy grinned.

"I thought as much" he answered. Nardog nodded and then waved at the goblin to send him away. Reg looked a moment at Harry, then he, too, left. He had to do some own business at the bank. As soon as the door was closed and the privacy-spells were in place, Nardog returned to their business.

"So, what can I do for you today, Morganaadth?"

The boy's demeanour changed again. His eyes getting cold and calculating.

"How far are you with my plans?" he asked.

"Quite far" Nardog answered while searching for his documents. "I have bought you shares of several companies in the wizarding and Muggle world."

"Mundane" the boy said.

"I beg your pardon?" Nardog asked.

"It's 'mundane world', not 'Muggle world'" Harry answered.

"Mundane world" Nardog corrected, not sure why it was important.

The boy nodded.

"The share is on different names?" He asked.

"Yes, Morganaadth" the goblin answered. "I used every name I could use."

The boy nodded again.

"The other things I asked you to do?"

The goblin handed him a large folder.

"It's everything in there since the death of the last Lord." He said. "I sorted it by person - not that there is so much to sort."

"Thank you. That will do nicely" Harry answered while shrinking the folder with a wave of his hand before putting it away.

"Is there anything else, Morganaadth?" Nardog asked.

Harry looked at him, inclining his head.

"There might" he said casually.

"I will need a barrister soon. Do you know someone I can trust with this" he pointed at the pocket he had stowed away the folder. "And all the other stuff?"

"I will look into it and send you my answer." Nardog said. "You can read Gobbledegook?"

"I think I should manage" Harry replied. "My knowledge is not up-to-date anymore but it sure will do for this."

"Then I will use it to ensure privacy."

Harry inclined his head again.

"It will do for now" he said. "I will tell you as soon as I have installed something saver."

"Something saver?"

"Just one thing I have in my mind" Harry answered.

"So, this would be all for today?" The goblin asked.

Harry pondered, then he nodded.

"I will have to look over the facts you gave me, before doing something further," he said. "Is there something else you want to share?"

The goblin showed his teeth - the gesture a goblin made instead of shaking their head the negative.

"Then the only thing I need today is to make a withdrawal" Harry finally said. "My vault, not Harry's Trust Vault."

Ten minutes later Harry left Gringotts.

Reg still wasn't there so Harry guest that the business of the other wizard was taking longer than planned.

Well, Harry had still some things to do in Diagon Alley.

So Harry left the stairs leading into the bank and went to Ollivander.

The room he entered hadn't changed at all since the last time he had been there - the time he had been eleven and started Hogwarts. It was still packed with wands, old, dusty and lit in dim light.

But there also was a difference to the last time.

Last time the old Ollivander had been able to surprise him, this time his senses already told him, where the old man had hid himself.

And when the man emerged he looked straight in the other ones pale, wide, moon-like eyes.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter" Ollivander said, tilting his head and studying him intensely.

"I was not aware, that you are again in need of my arts."

"I am not" Harry answered. "I still do have my wand."

"Then how come I find you here in my shop?" Ollivander asked, now even more intrigued by the young wizard in front of him. Normally there were just a few occasions a wizard would find his way to Ollivander's shop - and usually he heard about a broken wand before the owner would stand in his door.

"You are not here to buy a second one, are you, Mr. Potter?" he asked.

"What would you say, if I'd answer 'yes'?" The boy asked interested.

"Then I would tell you, that carrying more than one wand was forbidden in 1955 for everyone who was born after the law or who did not have at that time a second one already." Ollivander answered.

"It was?" The boy looked at him surprised. "This is something I must have missed…"

"Then you were here for a second wand?" Ollivander inquired interested.

"I wasn't" the boy answered. "I do have enough wands. I do not need another."

This answer startled the wand-maker.

"You have enough wands? Beg to tell how many do you have in you possession to say such a thing?"

The boy shrugged and waved his hand dismissively.

"That does not concern you, Mr. Ollivander" he said simply. "And it is better when I stay silent about that when possessing them might be a crime."

Ollivander stared at the boy, but he had to give it to him: It really was better to stay silent about something like that.

"So what can I do for you, Mr. Potter?" he finally asked.

"I need a wrist-holster" The boy answered while revealing an old and worn wrist-holster on his right hand. He loosened it and put it on Ollivander's counter.

"I need something like that" he said, "and it needs to be high quality."

Ollivander blinked and studied the leather of the wrist-holster and the wand-shafts he could see looking out of it.

"May I?" he asked gesturing at the wands.

The boy shrugged.

"You may" he said casually, as if he had no problem with a wizard touching his wands. Every other wizard definitely would have denied Ollivander the request or at least would have been wary.

Ollivander first withdraw one of the wands.

It was the one the lad had bought here when he was eleven. This time it was in a good condition - different then the last time Ollivander had seen the boy's wand at the Tri-Wizard-Tournament in Hogwarts. It was neatly clean and polished.

Ollivander put it down on his desk and withdrew the other one.

The only thing he could do was gasp when he held it in his hands - and suddenly he knew why the lad had not been worried about Ollivander having his wands.

While the other wand had felt alright in Ollivander's hands, this definitely didn't.

It had power - Ollivander could feel it radiating off from it - but it also wasn't willing to bow to any master except for its own.

"Where did you get it from?" Ollivander asked, his eyes following the midget carvings of the wand. Runes? "It surly is powerful."

And old, so very old…

Ollivander could not even detect who had crafted it but he could feel the masters present all over it, nearly embodied in the wand itself. Whoever had used this wand, he had used it for a very, very long time. And not only that…

"Does it matter where I got it from?" The boy asked. "I can use it, that's enough."

"You mustn't use it!"

When he nearly screamed that, the boy looked at him surprised.

"And pray tell why not?" he finally asked.

"This one was used for dark magic" Ollivander said. "It is not a good idea to use something like that. Using an object like that will harm you eventually, Mr. Potter."

"It won't harm me" the boy answered. "And it wasn't used for the Evil Arts."

Ollivander sighted at that.

"I do know my métier, Mr. Potter" he told the boy. "And I can tell that this wand was used for rituals. Let me tell you, Mr. Potter, I do not know any ritual that is used for good."

The boy chuckled.

"Do not worry about that, Mr. Ollivander" He said, "There is always something in the world you do not know. But I guarantee you, this wand was never used for evil. It might have killed, it might have healed - but it never was touched with the essence of true evil."

Ollivander wanted to protest, but was cut off by the lad.

"The wand-holster I need, please." He said. "Because even if I know that the other one never was used for evil I do not like the thought of it resting with my other wand in the same holster. Their magic works too differently that it would do both of them any good when it stayed like this for too long."

That Ollivander could not deny, but one moment he still hesitated. Then he sighted and took out his wand-holsters.

"What kind of holster do you like?" He asked. "There are some with some practical spells on it…"

"I want a plain one" The lad answered and Ollivander raised an eyebrow.

"This wand-holster also isn't plain" he finally said, gesturing to the holster on his counter.

"It isn't" the boy answered. "But I can do these runes by myself. I just don't have the time to craft the holster also."

Ollivander stared at the lad, surprise in his eyes.

"Runes like that aren't easy. To be able to do them you must have not less than NEWT-level Ancient Runes. I don't think you're old enough…"

"Don't worry. I am able to." The boy said and to Ollivander's surprise he suddenly could not even doubt the boy. Whatever had happened in the last five years - the young boy in front of him had definitely aged beyond his years.

"So you just need one holster or will you replace that one?" He pointed at the worn holster on his counter.

"Just one" the boy answered. "I don't want to replace the other one just yet. It belonged to someone dear to me - I will use it as long as I can."

Ollivander guessed that the holster was one of the boy's parents' ones. He could not blame the boy for wanting to keep it.

The boy paid, put the old wand-holster with the old wand in it back on and then the other one right beside the old one with his own wand in it, then he walked out.

Ollivander's gaze followed the boy out in the sunshine. For one moment Ollivander thought that he saw a dead man waiting for the boy.

"Do you have it?" the boy asked the dead.

"I do" the other answered. "It took some time, but I got it."

"Stow it away until later." The boy commanded. "Best would be near you-know-where."

Then Harry Potter and his companion vanished, apparating away - even if the boy should still not be able to.

Ollivander blinked again. And then it dawned to him, that he just had witnessed something from greater importance he had ever seen, a secret buried deeper than all other secrets he had ever come across…

"Maybe today is the day I should actually forget something" Ollivander reasoned. "I think I don't want to be in young Mr. Potter's way if he decides to act by himself."

And acting he would. Ollivander could not see the future - but this was written clear as day on the month that would follow…