"Then what's the point of living forever if you're going to be all old and wrinkly?" Ron asked the wrinkly old man.
"That's why you make the Stone," Lichfield explained. "It keeps you young and healthy, but even that kind of immortality has a price: once you start taking the Elixir you can't stop or you're dead. Time doesn't like to stand still and the Stone only stops the clock for seven years, after that it'll rush to make up the difference, if not take more from you. It's a horrible way to die. That's one of the reasons I didn't like it when Barchoke told me about the Agreement years ago, the only real decision Flamel has left is to decide when to die."
Harry thought it a really depressing way to live: locked up in a tower on some remote island, free to do whatever you wanted as long as you didn't leave. You couldn't write anyone without a team of people looking over it, nothing you made could leave without being scrutinized for years just to make sure you didn't pass along your secret; and while people could visit, they'd be made to forget their trip out of fear of you doing the same, with few exceptions. It was a wonder why Flamel had bothered to live as long as he did in the first place.
"That's why he gave the Stone to Dumbledore," Harry said finally, remembering what the man had told him at the end of last year. "If he'd decided he didn't want to live anymore, it'd make sense to give the Stone to someone he trusted. Mrs. Weasley said they'd been working on cures for decades - he must've done it so he could continue on without him."
"It's a good working theory," Lichfield nodded. "It's probably what your professors thought he was doing, and why they'd be so keen to protect that area of Hogwarts. They may have even thought he'd gotten the go-ahead. The I.C.W. will investigate to make sure. If that's really the case, they'll end up looking like fools and the whole country will be embarrassed on the world stage, but it's better than being hauled off to Azkaban."
"What's Azkaban?" he asked curiously.
"It's a wizarding prison," Hermione answered. "From what I've read it's worst sort of place imaginable."
"It's the guards you want to watch out for," Ron said. "They'll suck out your soul if they get the chance."
Surely the Ministry wouldn't use some sort of soul-sucking vampire as prison guards, would they? If so, Harry'd rather put himself under goblin jurisdiction like Flamel did. When he looked to Lichfield for confirmation though what he saw was the grizzled old lawyer giving him the same kind of look he had when he was debating whether or not to bring something up.
Whatever it was the old man wasn't saying got pushed aside as the iron door to the room opened and a lean, hard goblin with a buzz-cut and a nasty scar over a milky white eye entered the room, scanning it for any threat. Lichfield put his hands flat on the table and slowly stood; he didn't look like he'd been anticipating this particular goblin to be the one to show up.
"Overseer Gutripper, I'm-"
"Barchoke's pet," the goblin interrupted. "I've heard of you. Why are you here?"
The fact the grizzled old bailiff didn't respond with a quip, the new arrival had the same rank as Barchoke, and the scar of his made Harry pretty sure this was the infamous goblin in charge of security.
"These three are clients of mine in regards to a civil issue of Mr. Potter's which may result in criminal fraud charges if our case is successful," Lichfield explained calmly. "Since ours has been a joint inquiry, I would ask to be with them when they are questioned, in case any new issues are uncovered - like this one has been - which may be helpful to our case."
Slowly Lichfield handed over the legal retainer paperwork to the Overseer. This Gutripper glanced at forms and tossed them back on the table before scrutinizing the three of them.
"Which of you has the insane father waiting in the lobby?" Gutripper asked Ron and Hermione as Harry noticed a faint pink blur in the center of his blinded eye.
"Er-," Ron said uncertainly.
"He's not dead, is he?" Hermione asked timidly.
"Take him to the Pit," the goblin commanded, pointing to Ron as others from the hall sprang forward. Ron seemed petrified, though whether from fear or what Lichfield said to do earlier was tough to say.
As he got to the doorway, Gutripper glanced back at the litigator. "Do I need a leash?" he asked before leaving the room.
"I'll be back - hopefully. Don't worry," Lichfield muttered as he picked up the retainer paperwork and scurried after them, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.
She sprang up as soon as the door was closed, pacing back and forth with her hands to her mouth like she wanted to puke. Harry stood as well since it seemed odd to sit, but really didn't know what to say. He felt like he should do something with his hands, like put one on her shoulder or something to help calm her down but quickly discarded the idea. Doing anything restrictive might also make her panic.
Barchoke had warned him that dealing with goblins was really nothing like what he'd seen with him and Lichfield, but Harry hadn't thought it'd be this different. It was almost like they were from a completely different planet.
'Well,' Harry thought, 'they are a different race of Being. The question is what do they want?'
He was kind of surprised at how quickly that changed things in his head. While it gave him some ideas to go on, none of them helped with the issue of Hermione's dad. They asked who had the crazy father but then took Ron first. Was that because they took his 'Er' as an answer, because they thought Mr. Weasley was crazier than Mr. Granger, or-
"I think they just want your dad out of the bank as quickly as you do," Harry said finally, his stomach squirming hoping he was right. After all, once they were through with the child the parent had no reason to stick around.
"You don't say something like that if they're already dead or were planning to kill them," he went on to say. "They just took the wrong person. Ron has Lichfield with him and I'm sure your dad will be fine."
Whatever he said must've been right because the next time her pacing took her near him she darted towards him and hugged him for all she was worth. Once again Harry didn't know what to do with his arms and hands. Comforting Dobby was one thing, but this was Hermione; she-
With a settling feeling in his stomach Harry knew exactly what was going on. Hermione's world had been completely turned upside down and he was her portable little island of calm. Glad for once that he could return the favor of being that for her, Harry put his arms around her and held her like it seemed she needed. It somehow made him feel taller.
Her hold on him shifted after a moment so it wasn't so tight, but she didn't let go.
"Thanks, Harry."
.....
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