Arms shaking where they hung limply by his sides, Harry stared hard at the trolley tracks where he'd just thrown yet another stone. The stone blew apart as soon as it hit the hard metal and Harry couldn't even find the energy to sigh. All his breath had been taken away from the past hour or two of manual labor. All the heavier, more damaging stones were gone now and the ones that remained were nothing more than clods of dirt, hardened perhaps, but unable to produce the effect he wanted.

Perhaps his eagerness had blinded him to the futile nature of their attempt to attract the proper attention.

He'd thought that the force of the stones hitting the tracks might cause vibrations that would travel along until someone noticed and came to investigate. Turning slowly, Harry stared down at his dirty trainers and willed his hands to stop shaking. He could not remember the last time he'd felt so exhausted.

"It's not going to work, is it?" Lizzie asked from where she sat next to her brother, both of them turned in such a way that they could watch Harry thrown stones out of the mouth of the tunnel and into the wide cavern below. They'd been energetic at first, trying to help Harry with the larger stones and throwing their own smaller ones, yelling in delight when one 'dinged' off the tracks below.

Harry closed his eyes quickly to hide his own disappointment and willed his voice to be positive.

"This may not work, Lizzie, but I'll figure something out-it may just take patience."

Frowning, Parker spoke up, "Mum says something about patience all the time, something about patience and bate..."

"No, Parker," Lizzie said with an eye roll that Harry thought was a bit too mature for her, "she says, 'Patience young reprobates' not bate, we aren't fish."

Parker frowned and opened his mouth but Harry jumped in. "It means rascal, or miscreant, Parker, but your mom means it in a nice way, I'm sure."

Parker blinked once, and then said timidly, "So, I can call you a 'little piss ant' as long as I mean it in a nice way?"

Harry busted out laughing, "Um, no. Some things can't be nice, no matter how you say them-where did you even hear-" he realized he was rubbing his face, trying to stop the smile that was spreading against his will, because he was the good example now...that was a sobering thought.

He'd never consciously tried to be someone's hero before, never thought about how words would be perceived or been entrusted with the safety of small children before. Was caring for others something taught to you from a young age? Because if so, he was royally screwed over. The first and last person to take an interest in raising him had died...actually, it would be better to say that the first people in his life to care for him had died and then the last person to show some sign of parental concern had died as well. No one had been around long enough to teach him how to care for others, sometimes it felt like he was barely getting by caring for himself. The Dursley's certainly hadn't helped in that area.

The deep well of pity that had tried to swallow him soon after Sirius' death, began to rise up...and then a small hand grasped his own.

"I won't say it again if it makes you sad," Parker whispered in concern, his vivid blue eyes gazing up at him.

It took Harry a moment to remember the conversation he had just finished a few moments ago, and when he did, he couldn't help the smallest of smiles from appearing on his face. Without thinking about it, Harry knelt down to envelop the little boy in a tight hug...and maybe some things didn't have to be taught, it just came natural.

"You could never make me sad," he whispered, and Parker's little hands tightened their hold on his shirt.

"Why can't we just blast the tracks to smithereens! That would get the Goblin's attention."

Harry eyed Lizzie over Parker's shoulder, her arms were crossed as she stood looking down into the Gringotts' opening. "Has she always been this violent?"

"Mummy said that she takes after dad," Parker mumbled. "They are both too curious for their own good, and too Gryffindor."

Harry stood back up and moved to stand next to Lizzie, looking out at the constantly burning candles, and the tracks below that would be too dangerous to try and jump onto. Even if he could levitate them all down, he wouldn't know what way to start walking.

"A blasting spell is too hard to aim properly," Harry muttered, and Lizzie looked up at him and sighed sadly before walking away. It was true though, it could provide the results they wanted, but it could also destroy the tracks and then they really would be in trouble. Destruction of property, breaking and entering-even though he hadn't know where he was until he saw the trolley tracks. Goblins were sneaky, they would find something to accuse him of. Even the known titles the Wizarding World were trying to force upon him would not necessarily be enough to save him from the Wizengamot. Certain people with power there would have loved to see him knocked down a peg, or perhaps even put into Azkaban. They would find a way to overlook the whole 'kidnapped out of his very bedroom' bit.

Harry looked down at the stolen wand in his hand. Perhaps he should have fought harder to keep his own wand, stood up to his uncle the way he wanted to...pulled a few punches himself. Dumbledore would not approve, he would want him to keep the peace, to bow his head and 'stay safe' and Harry had done just that. He felt like a wimp for it too.

As grateful as he was to have Thomas' wand, it just didn't feel right, almost as if the magic wasn't pleased to do his bidding. Who knew how it would react to anything stronger than the small charms he had cast so far.

A slight breeze across the nape of his neck caused Harry to close his eyes with a shiver...and then his breath caught in his throat.

There was a shifting in the air behind him and Harry threw himself to the side as a cutting curse would have sliced him arm clean off his shoulder. It bounced off the charmed wall of the Gringotts' tunnel and sliced into the tracks below with a horrendous screeching sound that echoed around them in a terrifying way.

Gaping, Harry hugged the wall and scanned the area for signs of his attacker. Lizzie and Parker were huddled in a groove farther down the opposite wall, their faces frightened. Harry held out a hand, palm flat out to tell them to stay there-and jerked it back as a stinging hex hit the side of it.

"Agh!" Harry cried and shook out his hand, throwing an expelliarmus in the area he thought the attacker might be hiding.

"Do you want to slice my limbs off or play schoolyard pranks, which is it?" Harry shouted and dove just before another slicing curse would have hit him. After a moment, Thomas' voice responded, echoing in the low chamber.

"Before you decided to poison me and take my wand, I would have said the latter-now though," he shot another curse at Harry, this one a bright blue like lightening, "I think I just want you dead."

Coughing as he inhaled dust their spell casting had caused to fill the air, Harry moved slowly forward.

"Thomas-sad, I thought for sure Voldemort would have found out about your little escapee problem and killed you by now. He's growing a bit soft, don't you think? Or, maybe he's just playing with you-like he did to your besotted father."

In response, Harry could hear a snarl before Thomas answered and he aimed his wand there, the dust providing him with a small amount of cover to hide his intentions.

"I told him I could find you and bring you back myself, my wand and I have a special connection-"

"Incendio!" Harry spat, the charmed fire flying out of the stolen wand and onto its master. The flames caught on the corner of Thomas's robes and the young man screamed in anger from under his invisibility charm.

"Your wand seems to like me just fine," Harry lied easily as he watched a rather flustered looking Thomas come back into view, his aguamenti dowsing the flames. "Maybe it's jealous-whose wand are you using now, Tom?"

"Don't call me that!" Thomas spat and then stepped closer, a thin smile on his face. "I took this wand from a certain young lady, corpses don't have much use for magic."

Paling, Harry refused to look at the children and continued to hold his wand as steady as possible. His heart beat loudly in his ears, and it sounded like a name, Eliza-beth, Eliza-beth, Eliza-beth.

"Oh, how remiss of me-you knew her didn't-"

"Accio Thomas!" Harry snapped, his mind focused on the figure standing ahead of him. Thomas hadn't sensed that coming, he tried to throw up a shield charm but Harry's will was stronger.

"Ahh!" Thomas screamed as the summoning charm pulled him roughly across the cavern, and Harry jumped aside to watch him slam sideways into the stone.

Thomas grunted painfully and threw himself away from the wall to aim his wand at Harry. "Ossis Effergo!" he shouted just as Harry had fired off a quick, "Expelliarmus!"

The bone breaking curse hit Harry's right shoulder and screaming he bent over clutching at his useless arm, a second later his spell struck Thomas squarely in the chest. Elizabeth's wand flew out of his hand and landed at Harry's feet, his eyes watering with pain as he stared down at it.

"Harry!" Lizzie yelled, voice terrified from where she was watching wide eyed. He looked up to see Thomas hurtling at him across the short width of the cave, his hands landed on Harry's arms and he shoved him harshly against the opposite wall. Their wrestling feet kicked gravel which fell out of the mouth of the cave and over the side, they were dangerously close.

"I never promised Voldemort I'd bring you back unharmed," Thomas hissed, spittle hitting Harry in the face as he leaned his entire weight against him. "It's too bad the children got caught in the crossfire," he murmured close to Harry's ear. "The whole Murdock line...gone, extinguished in just a matter of days."

Roaring with fury, Harry fought against Thomas' hold, but the lack of rest, food and water had done its damage. He was so weak, his body aching with numerous wounds new and old.

Thomas laughed at his pained expression, his head pulling away slightly so he could grapple for his wand Harry still held tightly even as his shoulder and arm throbbed.

It was then that the rock, easily the size of Harry's hand, hit Thomas in the left temple. It was so surprising that Harry's own head jerked back in fear.

Thomas's mouth was open, his eyes blinking fast as a thin trail of blood started to flow down his face. Harry stared a second longer before shoving Thomas off him with as much force as he could muster, the man stumbled back, his hands falling off of Harry easily.

"You-" Thomas said even as his hand rose toward his head and he took a halting step forward.

It was almost as if the world had slowed down to listen and watch. Clearly off balance, Thomas' step forward turned into a slow fall...right out of the mouth of the cave and into the open air. He disappeared from sight.

Lizzie was gasping behind Harry, her hand still raised. She hadn't moved from the spot she had thrown the rock from, and her quick breathing sounded almost distant to Harry as he carefully stepped forward to look over the edge.

Below him, hanging onto the edge of the trolley tracks, was Thomas. He looked up, his eyes still dazed, his once handsome face terrified and no trace of cockyness left.

"Help," he choked out, obviously struggling to breath as his arms held up his weight. His hands were bleeding, the metal he happened to have latched onto was the same section damaged by the cutting curse he had aimed at Harry just minutes earlier.

Harry hesitated.

Blood ran down the palms of Thomas' hands and wrists and fell into his eyes. He gasped and swung his head wildly to try and clear them out.
"Help!" he said again, more desperately and this time Harry threw himself onto the floor of the cave, his broken shoulder screaming in pain and his hand reached out as far as it would go.

"Grab-grab on!" Harry called breathlessly and stretched his arm out farther still.

Thomas gulped and quickly shot one hand up, bloody fingers trying and failing to grasp Harry's hand.

The edge of the trolley tracks Thomas was grasping at groaned and bent suddenly. His blood slicked hands failed to hold on at the sudden sharp movement and he fell unceremoniously into the darkness below.

Harry continued to stare down into the vast darkness long after Thomas' screams had ended.

It wasn't how Severus had expected to spend his day. But, then again, the entire summer had been one annoying surprise after the other. He would rather be grading mediocre papers written by self absorbed students than spend one more day of bowing to the mad requests of a certain Headmaster.

The contents of the satchel in his left hand clinked together in a telling way, and his Goblin guide Mernok, leading Severus' down the long hall shot a look back over his shoulder, greed in his dark, beady eyes.

Raising his eyebrows in challenge, Severus slowly placed the cloth bag in one of the inner pockets of his robes. Toying with the emotions of the Goblin's wasn't in his best interest for the job he was here for, but some internal instinct told him that if the Gringotts' staff saw any weakness in him, they would take advantage of it. It was just their nature.

Albus knew Severus wasn't one to be taken lightly. He reckoned that was why the man had sent him here today, with rather specific instructions.

"I have been informed by someone who would rather remain nameless, that there is something of great value that needs to be removed from Gringotts' as quickly as possible, and in such a way that no attention would be drawn to its removal...I trust you can handle this for me, Severus?"

Gritting his teeth, Severus had responded as lightly as he could, "Is that condescension I hear in your tone, Albus?"

The Headmaster had feigned surprise, and then showered him with light praise in an attempt to help lower his Potion's Professor's raised hackles. Sometimes the man was almost too much to bear, Severus wanted to turn and stride out of the office, go back to the potion that waited for him under the stasis charm. Could the old man not see that he was trying to save his little Golden Boy? Surely his time was better spent perfecting the potion, then being sent off to complete the odd chore.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts had pushed the sachet full of gold across the wide expanse of his desk with one aged hand.

"Just in case they decide to be difficult about the whole ordeal," he had murmured, an odd smile on his face.

"Perhaps you could get one of your other lackey's to fetch me a personal item of Potter's while I'm away?" Severus had sniped, "For the potion I've been brewing to help find him before the Dark Lord does, or is that job to fall on my shoulders as well?"

The old man had been smiling in a most infuriating way when Severus turned to march out of the office. Even a few of the portraits had looked frightened at the look on his face. His acrimonious temper was legendary, something to be feared and ran away from, just as he liked it.

Now, Mernok led him into a round room with short, dark furniture and turned to look at him suspiciously. He hadn't liked it when Severus told him of his reason for being there, had even tried to refute him, pretending that he knew nothing of a package for Albus Dumbledore.

Severus had gazed down his nose at the Goblin until he had blinked and went to 'double check'.

"Wait here. Someone will be with you shortly," he said in a peevish voice and turned to make his way out, his domed head wobbling with each small step.

Severus noticed that he hadn't been offered a chair and smirked knowingly. It would take a lot more than that to offend him, he had worked around both a Dark Lord and belligerent children...both of which could be amazingly rude.

The room around him was rather grandiose; the walls were lined with detailed fabric wall hangings, the largest depicting a family tree with names obviously of Goblin origin. It was an odd thing to see considering that Goblins mainly worked with metal and did not seem to think very highly about tapestries and the art of weaving. They were more likely to carve their names into a gold plaque than sit quietly with thread and a needle.

It made him wonder just who he was supposed to be meeting and Severus gritted his teeth. The years he had spent spying made him wary of unknown situations in general, to be purposefully sent into said situation-that was maddening.

Dark eyes roamed dismissively across the rest of the decorative pieces lining the room-and his eyes caught on the shadows he could see from the small space under the door he was waiting to be invited through.

It was an awfully fast moving shadow, for a Goblin...surprisingly quiet footed too. Severus narrowed his eyes and damning the consequences he cast the strongest counter curse he knew at the silencing ward.

"-no right to keep us here against our will!" Harry Potter's angry voice said from just beyond the door.

"Albus," Severus muttered darkly, his fists clenching as a number of dark thoughts ran across his mind. The man purposefully let him think that Potter was still in danger, oh, there would be words said later about this. None of them nice or suitable for young ears.

"You were found lurking in an unauthorized section of the mines owed by Gringotts Bank-" a voice hissed at Potter and Severus stepped closer to the door so that his side was almost pressed against it, wand raised should he need to intervene.

"Lurking? I'm sorry, is that what I was doing? I could have sworn I was waving for help, but, maybe you're right and I was just lurking under the shade of my hand!"

"There's no reason to raise your voice-"

"Yes, there is, I've been here for an hour at least, Lizzie and Parker," Severus blinked in surprise, he'd forgotten about the children, "are hungry and tired, I'm bloody bleeding-"

"Bleeding on my rug, my ancestral rug, which you would not be standing on had you not broken into the mines."

Severus could almost hear Potter take a deep breath before continuing. "If you would just contact Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, then I would happily remove my bleeding body from your office. Hell, I'll even spell it clean for you before I go."

Severus closed his darkly amused eyes momentarily, trying to remember just why he found Potter so annoying. There was a deep sigh, followed by an explanation as to why common cleaning spells wouldn't work on a rug 'so delicate with age'. Was the Goblin honestly trying to make Potter pay for a cleaning service to be done to his carpet?

"You know, it's funny," Potter said, voice suddenly bright in a way that made Severus stand up straight. This voice meant trouble. He had heard it before when Potter toyed with his Slytherin's...and by Slytherin's he meant Draco Malfoy.

"It's a funny situation we find ourselves in," Potter continued, voice still jolly, "because this is the only Wizarding bank in Europe, it's renowned for the massive amount of protection it offers patrons and their belongings, it has very complex and very strong security measures-which is why I can't help but find it hilarious that two small children and a skinny teenager managed to find their way inside..."

Severus fought against a smile.

Potter's voice abruptly changed, "I imagine there are quite a few papers that would also find the news quite laughable."

"You will be placed in a very dark place, Mr Potter before I allow you to blaspheme against-"

Opening the door to the office, Severus stepped smoothly inside and gazed quietly at the inhabitants, all of which were turning to stare at him. The office was large, with high windows and burgundy wall paper, but besides tension, it held far less than the waiting room outside did.

"My apologies," he said, taking care not to sound the slightest bit apologetic. "I thought you must have forgotten about me waiting to have an audience with you," he directed toward the red faced creature standing indignantly on his chair behind his magnificent desk. Severus could see that while he certainly had Goblin roots, blood had been crossed somewhere down the line with a tomato. No full blooded Goblin turned that color when angry.

"I can see now that you were just extending pleasantries with our resident hero."

He turned his eyes toward Potter. The teen was standing quite still, probably to try and keep from passing out if Severus guessed correctly. He looked like hell, but the two children behind him didn't seem to think that was any sign that he couldn't protect them should the conversation escalate. They were clinging to Potter's filthy shirt most diligently, faces streaked with dirt and hair matted together.

Severus noticed that one looked very much like their mother and it took him a moment to tear his gaze away.

"You've caused quite a kerfuffle, Potter," Severus said severely, watching with hidden amusement as Potter mouthed the word 'kerfuffle' to himself. "I daresay that half the Ministry's supply of Aurors will be knocking down the door soon."

Potter's eyes seemed to glow for a moment before he managed to hide his glee.

"I was just excusing myself to Mister Tinork, Professor," Potter said, "Wouldn't want to involve the Aurors...they'd want to launch a full investigation and I'm sure their time would be better spent chasing after certain masked individuals."

"Get...out," Tinork growled, leaning forward even as his face reflected disappointment.

"Perhaps we might use your Floo?" Severus asked, stepping closer to a relieved looking Potter and the children, and gesturing with his wand toward the large fireplace. It was considered rude to make such gestures, but Severus thought that perhaps reminding him that he was an armed Wizard would be beneficial to their current circumstances. "Wouldn't want their bedraggled appearance to alarm any of your patrons."

"Yes, fine. Just get out, and try not to bleed anywhere else."

Raising an eyebrow at Potter, and noticing how the boy held his right arm protectively against his chest, Severus held out the container of Floo powder and told them their destination.

"I think it would be wise for you to go through first Potter, with the children, of course," Severus said quietly with a slight tilt to his head and a quick glance at Tinork, who was positively shaking with badly misplaced self indignation.

"Yes, sir," Potter said. He arranged the children carefully around him in the fireplace and hesitated, the Floo powder trickled through his fingers and Severus frowned at the grateful look Potter gave him.

"Thank you," he said earnestly, making sure his eyes met his teacher's. They disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and Severus was left staring curiously at an empty fireplace.