The Great Goblin Rebellion 1991

What triggered a goblin rebellion in October 1991? Harry Potter's introduction to magical Britain goes differently and Hagrid's trip to the secret vault…well the cart gets tipped off the track completely.

Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling, the creative lady who shared her wizard and his life with the world. She's kind enough to allow others to play on her beach for a while.

&& BEGIN: Off the Coast of England, 1 August 1991

On a small island off the coast of England where the Dursley family sought refuge from wizards, morning came. Once everyone was awake, the confrontation between Vernon and the giant visitor was renewed. Vernon declared, "The freak isn't going to your school! We're his guardians and say he stays here in the real world!"

"What you want don't never matter!" Hagrid replied. "Harry's mum and da wanted him to go to Hogwarts! And he'll go to Hogwarts!"

"No!" Petunia argued. "You wizards take people and get them killed."

"Why do you care?" Harry asked. "You hate me."

Petunia snarled, "I should have drowned you that first day!"

Before anyone could say or do anything else, an angry Hagrid pointed his umbrella at Petunia Dursley and shook it. In a puff of smoke, Petunia was transfigured into a goat. Vernon roared in anger, but the umbrella turned toward the fat man and transfigured him into a large pig. Dudley screamed in fear before the umbrella pointed at him, transforming him into a large pig that was not as large as his father.

Hagrid sighed and said, "I shouldn't ha' done dat."

"I think it's brilliant!" Harry said. "The Dursleys never looked better."

"We better get moving," Hagrid said. "Don't want to be here if Aurors come to investigate."

The journey from the island to the nearby coast took almost thirty minutes, and Hagrid had to use his umbrella to guide the boat. They landed on the coast and climbed a path to walk through some woods until they came to a road. Hagrid muttered about portkeys or buses for a few minutes before sticking his umbrella into the air. Harry grinned when a large bus appeared with an incredibly loud bang.

"Brilliant!" the boy declared before Hagrid herded the small boy on board, paid their fare, and shoved Harry into a seat.

"Hold on tight," Hagrid instructed Harry as the bus accelerated forward at incredible speed and dodged around trees and bends in the road. Once they were on regular highways, Harry saw regular cars and lorries vanish behind them. They were in London in less than ten minutes, and when the bus stopped outside a dingy-looking tavern, Hagrid led the boy from the bus into the smoky interior.

The smell of food made Harry's mouth water, and his stomach rumbled, but Hagrid's ears were too far above the boy's stomach to hear the gurgles of hunger. The crowd of people in the tavern made Harry nervous because they wanted to touch him – something no one else did except to hurt him. Hagrid and Tom, the barkeep, made the customers leave the boy alone.

"Hurry now," Hagrid commanded as he led Harry into the alley through the magical portal.

&& CHANGE && Gringotts

In Diagon Alley, Harry nervously followed Hagrid into Gringotts Bank. At the counter, while the teller and Hagrid spoke quietly, Harry noticed that no one except the guards paid any attention to him. The boy purposely opened both of his hands to show he carried nothing concealed and kept his hands visible at all times. Hagrid was busy pulling things out of his pockets, and this kept the attention of the guards and the teller.

"I know I got Harry's key here somewhere," Hagrid assured the teller.

After fifteen minutes of debris and small animal carcasses falling to the lobby floor, the teller said, "Rubeus Hagrid, why don't you visit that special vault first? Mr Potter can wait here until you return."

"Are you sure?" asked Hagrid, scooping up all his belongings with a swipe of his umbrella, impressing Harry and the teller.

The teller nodded and added, "If I remember correctly, you are interested in exotic magical creatures, aren't you?"

"Yes, I have lots of magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest," replied the half-giant.

"I'm sure you do," the teller said. "But I wonder, would you care to visit our dragons? The high-security area where the vault lies is protected by three dragons. Your cart driver, Griphook, will stop there and allow you to inspect each of the creatures."

"Dragons? Real live dragons?"

"Yes, fire-breathing dragons."

Glancing at Harry, Hagrid said, "You be good and wait here with the teller until I get back."

Once Hagrid vanished down a tall hallway, Harry moved to stand with his back to a wall. The teller motioned for the next client to step forward while another goblin moved closer to Harry.

"Mr Potter, I am Sowsbreath, the goblin who deals with your vaults?"

"Vaults? I don't understand."

The goblin smiled without showing his teeth not to scare the child. "I am not certain of everything yet, but I am beginning to understand several things."

Motioning Harry to move behind the counter where the wizards in the queue couldn't see or hear him, Sowsbreath said, "Let's move out of the way and talk."

"Okay," the boy stated, still not understanding the events that were occurring around him.

"Who are your guardians, Mr Potter?"

Sighing, the boy replied, "I live with my aunt, Petunia Dursley. Her husband is Vernon Dursley."

"Dursley? I don't know any family by that name. Is Petunia Dursley your father's cousin?"

"No, she…she is my mother's sister."

"Lily Evans had a sister?" asked Sowsbreath. He watched as the boy-who-lived nodded once, slowly, and sadly.

Quickly, the goblin asked, "Is Mrs Dursley a witch?"

Harry shook his head and added, "She hates magic…and she hates me."

"Why are you living with the muggle sister of your mother?"

"I don't know," Harry replied. "No one ever told me anything. Until last night, I didn't know my father's name was James."

The goblin hissed in anger but assured the boy, "I am not angry with you, Mr Potter."

Sowsbreath looked around and motioned for the boy to follow him down a hallway. They soon were behind closed doors where Sowsbreath summoned a tray with tea, sandwiches, and biscuits for the boy.

"Eat up, Mr Potter," the goblin said, motioning toward the tray. "I suspect the giant forgot to feed you."

&& CHANGE && Andrew Poppins

Andrew Poppins, a Cursebreaker working in London for a brief time to settle a family matter in London, found himself called into the offices of a vault manager. When he entered Andrew found an unknown goblin (Sowsbreath – Vault Manager Potter Family by the nameplate outside the door) and a small boy who needed a few meals, a good wash, and new clothing.

"Poppins?"

"Yes, Vault Manager, I'm Cursebreaker Andrew Poppins."

The goblin nodded and commented, "I know several individuals in your family. Honest, hardworking humans."

"Thank you, Vault Manager. I strive to live up to their standards."

The goblin motioned toward the boy, saying, "Let me introduce you to Harry James Potter."

Andrew bowed his head and said, "Good afternoon, Mr Potter."

"Hello, Mr Poppins."

The goblin spoke again, "Now, Mr Potter is my client, and he needs to visit several stores in the alley to purchase his supplies and uniforms for his first year at Hogwarts, but the first introduction to his fellow wizards this morning was contentious."

Andrew frowned and glanced back at the goblin. Sowsbreath grinned and bared his teeth before saying, "I wanted to send him with an escort who was talented with spells, knives, and fists if necessary."

"And can Mr Potter wear a glamour to hide his face and hair?"

"For certain, Mr Poppins. A glamour provided by yourself will make him anonymous, and you will use my personal vault ring to make his purchases in the alley. Nothing will trace back to Harry Potter."

"Except for Mr Ollivander's wand. The wandmaker has ways of knowing things about glamours on clients who step into his store."

Sowsbreath sniffed, "As did your grandmother?"

"As my grandmother still does. She knows things no witch should know, sir."

"Ollivander uses runes to gather information," Sowsbreath replied. "I believe your grandmother possesses a natural ability."

"In any case," Andrew said to move the conversation along.

"In any case, I want you to take Mr Potter into muggle London first. There you can purchase him a new wardrobe of muggle clothing. His muggle aunt and uncle dress him in rags and fail to provide suitable shoes. In proper muggle clothes, he can hide in plain sight."

Andrew's face mirrored his surprise to hear that the Boy-Who-Lived had muggle guardians and improper shoes. He knew that goblins were particular about their feet and everyone's shoes.

"Mr Potter, you have dark black hair," Andrew observed. "How about we glamour you with sandy brown hair like mine? I have green eyes so we can pass as brothers or uncle and…"

The boy spoke up, "Brothers…I don't like uncles."

"Brothers then," Andrew agreed. "We'll use another exit to the bank and go shopping for clothing first."

"In muggle London, use this Gringotts Card to pay for the clothing, toiletries, anything he wants within reason," Sowsbreath said handing over a plastic muggle credit card that bore the Barclays logo and name.

"A credit card, sir?"

The goblin waved away the question and explained, "They're a new service for Gringotts. The wizards are leery of them, but the fools are the ones with magic. I don't understand why they can't believe a bit of plastic represents the money in their vault?"

Andrew caught Harry's eye and quipped, "Mr Potter, you'll find that many wizards don't use any common sense."

In an underground station, a man and his nephew stepped out the door that no one noticed. Dressed in blue jeans, trainers and a Manchester United sweatshirt, the man led the boy toward the train where they rode through two stations, exited to the street above, and entered Harrods. After only an hour of shopping for trousers, pants, socks, four distinct types of shirts, pyjamas, and a dressing robe, Andrew led Harry into the shoe department. The boy was speechless when he was fitted with new trainers in two colours, bedroom slippers, boots, and casual shoes.

After each purchase, Andrew carried the packages further into the store where they vanished. When they stopped in the food court for a snack (tea, biscuits, and fruit), Harry asked, "Mr Poppins, what are you doing with the bags?"

"Call me Andrew, Harry, or we'll never pull off being family," Poppins told the boy. "I have a friend who takes care of all my things, and he loves it when I go shopping. All your packages are safe at Gringotts. When we purchase a trunk, he'll put everything inside."

Glancing around to make certain no one was listening, Harry asked, "Does he use magic?"

Andrew grinned and nodded. Then the Cursebreaker asked about Harry's adventures that day. He learned about the angry muggle relatives, the island with the lighthouse and the muggles being transfigured into livestock and how the half-giant and boy left on the island.

"Hagrid was great, and his magic is brilliant, but Uncle Vernon won't forget this ever," Harry explained. "They call me freak already and after being turned into farm animals, they'll beat me more."

The wizard frowned and explained, "I don't think Sowsbreath will let that happen, Harry."

"What can he do? No one – none of my teachers or the constables – could ever do anything. They didn't care if I was hurt or hungry," Harry complained.

He lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to tell lies to people and try to get normal people in trouble."

"Harry, your aunt and uncle are not normal people!" insisted Andrew. "You don't mistreat small children – especially one in your own family. Finish your milk, and we'll head back to Diagon Alley."

Once again on the tube, the pair travelled back to Charing Cross Road and entered Diagon Alley through the tavern. Inside the tavern, Andrew pulled out two wizards' outer robes. He shrank one, handed it to Harry, and showed him how to leave it open.

"This robe lets you dodge curses and spells from your opponents because you're able to move faster and easier than they can in closed robes," Andrew explained. None of the tavern's patrons paid attention to the wizard and boy who were dressed in muggle clothing with outer robes.

Stepping into Diagon Alley for the second time in a single day, Harry felt quite different. He was dressed comfortably and had been fed; Andrew answered all his questions and didn't tell him to hurry.

They spent an hour in the bookstore locating the titles on the list for first-year students and extra books about Magical Britain, Noble Houses of Britain, Recent Magical History (British Edition), Useful Clothing Charms, and Etiquette for Good Mannered Wizards and Witches. Harry was speechless when he saw the Harry Potter books on the shelves and the sign advertising Harry Potter Sightings around Diagon Alley over the last week.

Harry politely asked about open robes in the magical clothing shop and the witch explained that students at Hogwarts did not wear battle robes.

"Battle robes?" asked the boy. "What do you mean?"

"The robe your uncle dressed you in today is the style of robe a Cursebreaker, Auror or Hit Wizard wears when they are exploring, enforcing the law, or…fighting," the witch explained. "Children don't wear them."

"I like them much better than the dresses the other guys are wearing."

The witch smiled and assumed, "Muggleborn…"

Glancing at the Cursebreaker, she changed, "Muggle-raised for sure."

She explained that he needed one formal, closed robe to wear into Hogwarts the first night for the sorting and for other official feasts but he could wear the battle robes in his other classes. She whispered, "Read the rules about robes in Hogwarts A History before you go to McGonagall's transfiguration class, and Merlin help you in Snape's potion class."

The robes would be ready in an hour, and Andrew led the young wizard into the trunk store next. Andrew spoke about the value of a trunk with extra security protections and permanent feather-light charms carved into the inside of the lid.

The proprietor easily sold up from a basic trunk: "A quality school trunk is charmed to prevent anyone from carving runes on the outside of the trunk. Your Head-of-House can open and inspect the clothing and potion ingredients compartments, but he or she is prevented from accessing the food and money compartments."

Glancing at Andrew, Harry asked, "Do I need food and money compartments?"

"This one has a library function too," the shopkeeper told Harry.

"Good but he needs one that shrinks and enlarges with the touch of a finger," Andrew stated.

"Everyone uses their wand for that," replied the wizard, close to making the large sale.

"The finger offers more protection and doesn't require the use of magic that the ministry might detect."

Hearing those words, the proprietor sneered and pushed the trunk away from the student. "Muggleborn then?"

The young wizard stared at the shopkeeper strangely for a moment, turned to his 'uncle' and asked, "Andrew, what's wrong with being muggleborn?"

"Nothing…and you're not muggleborn."

The proprietor frowned and said, "I suddenly remembered this trunk is already promised to another client."

Stepping between the wizard and Harry, Andrew said, "Your service will be remembered."

"Mudblood, get out of my shop," the proprietor muttered, allowing his wand to slip into his hand. Andrew grinned, allowing his wand to drop into his hand and the glamour hiding Harry Potter to drop away. The wizard stared at the familiar black hair and lightning bolt scar.

"We'll leave certainly. Can you imagine the furore when the Daily Prophet learns how you turned away Harry Potter from your shop?"

Hurrying out of the store, Andrew and Harry moved away from the shop where the proprietor stood in shock. Harry Potter had been in his shop and was about to buy one of the most expensive trunks in the store before he insulted the Boy-Who-Lived.

Andrew led Harry toward the wand maker's shop in the alley, but Harry said, "I don't want to use my name like that. There are books about a life I've not had, stories about wild adventures while I starved and worked to death. The man wasn't nice, but I don't want to create problems."

Andrew stopped and apologised to Harry for using his name and recognised features to scar the man. He explained, "Too many people in Magical Britain are prejudiced against magical folk who are not born to parents who are witches and wizards. They never learn and most muggleborn run back to the other side as soon as they can."

"Why are you here in London then?"

"I'm from Magical USA. I came over to settle a family matter and will go home soon. We don't discriminate against wizards and witches born to mundane parents in America. We educate them and their parents early to make certain the Statute of Secrecy is protected. In MUSA, we live close to mundane people."

"And you got saddled dealing with me today?"

Andrew snorted. "Saddled? Harry Potter, you're a great kid. This has been great! Now, let's get your wand and a pet."

End of Chapter