A/n: This is cross posted to AO3

Disclaimer: I owen nothing claimed by J.K. Rowling

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

Harry could barely hear past the roar in his ears as Fudge tried to pronounce summary judgement only to be stopped by Dumbledore's late arrival. They had barely gotten past the snide banter of political power plays when Harry's magic slammed into place. The surge in magic saturating the room pinned everyone in their seats, forcing Dumbledore to his knees with a loud 'crack' of instantly bruising bone meeting stone, with Harry's shear want to be believed.

"I have had it with all of you treating me like a squeaky chew toy," Harry's voice growled out darkly, shocking the room. "First you arrange to leave me with magic hating muggles who attempt to beat the magic out of me even after I supposedly save your sorry arses from some stupid Dark Lord. Then you wait until I am bloody eleven to try and tell me that magic exists, no proof beyond minor transfiguration left to be manually cut away by muggle healers and a shopping trip. Something which both resulted in a vicious beating from my so-called relatives and loss of any food for a week! Next when I figure out that the same damned Dark Lord you were all so happy about being gone is in The School and try to warn you, you all decide that I am being a foolish child about wanting to keep him away from the philosopher's stone. This forces me to stop him practically ion my own/i with a few people who I thought were my friends. Next I practically beg not to go back to the beatings and no food for the summer, offering to work as a damned house elf so long as I can stay and you still send me back! An' that's only first goddamn year! Enough is enough! No more beatings, no more torture, no more attempts on my life every goddamn year! Since my dad saved Snape's life in school over Sirius' stupidity I'm betting he still owes a life debt. I'm calling it in. Professor Snape is now mine and he will act as my guardian until I reach whatever age you lot consider is adult. We are also leaving. I will not put up with being tortured for another day, much less year, under your care. I warned you about Voldemort because he decided it would be fun to play with me and try to kill me again in the graveyard and every other time we've run into each other. I'm done. I wash my hands of all of you. If Voldy wants you lot so bad he can have you. Hell, at this rate if he asks me to join him again like in first year I'd probably say yes!"

Hell, Harry had only learned about the Werewolf prank because Lupin had a nightmare over it after they were all put in the infirmary for Dementor exposure after that full moon at the end of third year. Enough was enough. Either they treated him with basic human decency and actually gave him enough food to eat or he wasn't going to even try to play nice.

Harry stood up from the chair as his magic pulsed... truth, Truth, TRUTH, TRUTH into their skulls and walked out the door of the court room. He completely ignored the pandemonium he left behind and focused on getting to his most snarky Professor in one piece, damn the underage magic rules. They had a bank to get to and goblins to ask for sanctuary.

Another surge of Harry's magic as he physically left the court room tripped the lock down magics, trapping everyone inside as he headed for the lift. The magic of the lift sensed his barely restrained fury and decided it was best to get him out of there as fast as possible. Since the Ministry wards had not marked him as a convicted felon or a pending felon (ie. escorted by Dementors) the magic of both the lift and the wards cleared the way for him. The lift its self stopped only once after Harry got on and dumped everyone but Harry on the previously requested level six using precise tilting of various floor panels to force them out without bothering Harry. All of this was a rarely triggered precaution buried in the Ministry wards. Anyone powerful enough and angry enough to bring down the building that wasn't marked as a felon was given priority escape routes when furious enough.

The floo in the atrium that Mr. Weasley had pointed out was in easy reach after the lift cleared out. Harry stalked across the room to the nearest one and a shouted "Diagon Alley!" got him away without further issue. The tumble of Aurors sent after him to see what the hell was going on to upset the wards so badly missed his exit by a mile.

Harry stumbled slightly out of the floo into the Leaky Cauldron and, ignoring the open glares caused by the character assassinations in the Prophet, headed firmly for the bank. He figured that the bank would be able to contact Professor Snape faster and more safely than he could. He also figured that bargaining for safe haven at the same time would likely be beneficial since he barely understood what a life debt entailed. Lupin had been very cagey about it when he explained the dreaded werewolf prank and exactly how Severus had been punished but the Marauders had gotten away scot free. Harry grimaced at the thought of the tirade that was sure to come from Snape once he learned of what Harry had done. It was going to be a long and expensive day but hopefully it would be worth it.

Harry would give up his entire vault and more for a safe place to sleep during the summers and three meals a day without being harassed in some fashion. It was something he barely managed at Hogwarts and was likely to disappear on him now that Ron and Hermione had proven their loyalty to Dumbledore and ignored him all summer. Ginny's stalker tendencies were also getting exceptionally creepy, especially with Mrs. Weasley shoving them together so much.

Harry had to dodge something with wings that went by too fast for him to identify, bringing him out of his brooding, as he headed for the bank. At this point he really didn't care if he got spotted as long as they didn't manage to actually stop him. A shout from behind him had him mentally groaning as he broke into a jog and finally darted into the bank lobby, giving a respectful nod to both the openly placed guards. Taking his place in line he prudently ignored the people who had followed him into the bank. It was only when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder that he decided enough was enough. A sharp elbow to the stomach of the person started a scuffle that was quickly broken up by the guards.

"I just want to conduct my own business. Trying to kidnap someone inside the bank is really stupid," Harry pointed out scathingly. "You do not touch someone near the neck without immediately becoming a threat."

"Dumbledore sent a patronus and told me to collect you," the Auror that Harry didn't recognize spluttered.

"Fuck Dumbledore! I am not his fucking plaything! He has no right to restrict my movements or order me around. I am not his servant or slave and I will not stand for being treated as such any longer. You go back and tell the bastard that I was serious. I would rather side with the Dark Lord at this point than continue siding with the rest of you lot!" Harry snarled. "Master Goblin, I came here today to seek sanctuary or at least arrange for something that would get them all to leave me the hell alone. I had hoped to discuss it with someone without disrupting your other business but this idiot made that impossible."

"Your petition will be considered sir. If you will just come with us," the guard said politely. This young wizard wasn't fighting them, had legitimate business, and had tried to avoid causing a fuss until grabbed. All good points in the guard's opinion. The Auror on the other hand grabbed without warning and was being successfully fought off by the young wizard until he had started for his wand just as the security staff intervened. This was goblin territory and attempting to take someone like that was a direct violation of their sovereignty. The Auror would not be leaving alive and the wizard's Auror office would be receiving a note of his termination. His actions, regardless of reason, had signed his death warrant.

Harry happily accompanied the guards as he was led away. It wasn't what he originally wanted, drawing far too much attention, even though he had made no secret of what he was aiming for when he stormed out of the court room. On the upside he no longer had to stand in line!

Griphook sighed as he watched Heir Potter being led away by the guard. The young wizard would be checked over for damage from the tussle as the clear victim and provided compensation from the vault of his assailant. The other paperwork would give Griphook enough time to round up the Director and the various concerned account managers. With a little luck they could also sort out some of the probable account irregularities and get several of the vaults gifted to Heir Potter working again, using the gold rather than letting it just sit there.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

Severus Snape felt a rough yank on his magic as his wrists began to burn with the force of invisible bonds. With an audible gasp in response to the sudden sensation his mind cataloged the source or rather sources. The first one which blazed in his mind's eye and was the source of the twisting yank on his magic was the Life Debt to Potter forced on him by Dumbledore. The other two though were the Unbreakable vow to protect Lily's child and the Loyalty Oath connected to the Dark Mark. Three times he was bound to whatever this was and by three times within the magnified magic none could stop him from obeying. With a vicious curse he sent his potion into stasis and headed to the floo, allowing the magic to speak his destination before disappearing into the fire.

Stalking out of the fireplace at the floo entrance to Gringotts he moved with confident precision as he picked up at least two guards. Ignoring his wary escort he moved quickly down hallway after hallway until he found his magic guided destination. A breath of courage filled fury and he entered the office, leaving the guards to wait outside the door.

"What have you done?!" Snape snarled out his demand as he stormed into the office where his magic told him Potter was waiting.

"What I did was inform the Wizengamot that I am not a fucking pose-able idoll!/i Enough is enough," Harry said shortly, on the edge of snarling right back at the man he had just designated his guardian.

They glared at each other for several minutes before Harry moved his gaze to the wall just beyond the Potion Master's head before making his next statement.

"I will take whatever punishment or beating you deem appropriate for my actions. I only ask that as my new guardian I at least get a proper bed, three meals a day, am allowed to do my school work, and Hedwig isn't hurt for my actions," Harry informed the snarky man. Since he was looking past everyone at the wall as he answered he didn't see the shocked and appalled looks on everyone present. Nor did he see the Potions Master violently flinch away from the suggestion of a beating.

"Are you aware of what a life debt fully entails?" the goblin asked carefully.

"Not really. Its some sort of important favor for saving someone's life? Snape may hate me but as far as I know he's never lied to me or hidden his opinion of me. I'll take that over sweet words that hide love potions or a poisoned dagger," Harry explained his point of view, still refusing to look at anyone. "The same for Voldemort. He hasn't lied to me beyond basics to avoid discovery when he was in the castle during first year. If I thought he would actually listen to me instead of just trying to kill or torture me for something that I really don't know about I'd be perfectly happy asking him questions on why he does what he does. I want to understand but no one will teach me. They just say everyone who doesn't agree with them is evil and needs to die. That makes no sense!"

Snape gave a heavy sigh and took another look at the brat that was apparently now his primary charge. The new muggle clothes the order had gotten him for his court appearance while appropriate for his build normally showed the Potions Master how skinny Harry was. It was clear to him just by looking that the young man, for he clearly was a young man, wasn't getting enough to eat. If his commentary about getting punished for invoking the life debt was anything to go by young Harry only ever ate properly at Hogwarts.

"Master Goblin we are going to need a full medical check including a complete history and an allergy test. We will also need a message sent to the Ministry requesting a new trial date or at least some way to clear up the issue. As Mr. Potter has invoked a Life Debt and placed me as his guardian for payment with no other restrictions the paperwork and confirmation of that transfer needs to be filed. I will need to look at his finances and properties to see if anything needs action on either of our parts and to start familiarizing him with them on the off chance he has not already been informed. It is clear that he will also be needing a new wardrobe but that can wait for the moment as I already have access to where he has been staying and can deal with it later. Anything else?" Severus demanded, directing the last part at Harry.

"I told the Wizengamot we would be leaving the country and had planned on asking about safe haven from the goblins for both of us. I haven't done anything about that yet. I'm just bloody tired of all this. One quiet year without people trying to kill me, or trick me, or torture me and enough food to eat with a safe place to sleep. Is that so much to ask?" Harry asked wearily as he finally allowed his spiritual and emotional exhaustion to show.

"No, its not. Unfortunately you are a public figure and a crucial pivot point between the Light and Dark factions. The first war never really ended, it simply went into more of a low boil, but now all of the major players are back on the board with a new powerful player... you. I know for a fact that both Ronald and Draco were instructed to befriend and recruit you for all that Draco honestly wanted to be your friend in any case in first year. I know for a fact that the only reason I will be allowed to live by either side for taking up your guardianship is that you publicly announced its invocation. I know that none of the involved sides - Light, Dark, and Ministry - will allow you to leave or live in peace even once this mess of a civil war is settled. So the question becomes what are you going to do about it? Currently you are nominally aligned with Dumbledore and the Light faction as he has been your magical guardian as well as being officially in charge of ensuring your education and safe childhood. Today you changed that. So, what happens next?" Severus Snape informed him with quiet calm. He watched the teen internally struggle with the heavy burden of the entire war laid upon his slim shoulders before receiving an answer to his question in the form of a different question.

"Can I offer a temporary truce with the Dark Lord and the Dark faction?" Harry asked quietly. "Can I get them to leave me alone if only just for a little bit?"

"You can but finding an offering to go with that truce, a reason for them to agree, may be difficult," Severus agreed neutrally. "It will also only bind the Dark Faction if the Dark Lord agrees to it and enforces it from his end. It wont affect either the Ministry or the Light faction and both will be hounding you for today's stunt as well as anything else that may come to mind."

"Shit," Harry cursed tiredly.

"You are clearly exhausted. Have you gotten any sleep of late?" Severus asked with a frown. Harry just gave a bitter laugh in answer and slumped into a nearby chair, no longer able to keep himself standing.

"The healer you requested will be here shortly. As this service is intended to keep Mr. Potter in good health the fee will be removed from one of the vaults bequeathed to him as the Boy-Who-Lived which he will officially receive upon his majority. An investigation will be launched as to the obvious theft of the funds meant to support him as he grew once we have official confirmation from the healer as to the extent of mistreatment. The fee will also cover his treatment by the healer to correct the damage," the goblin attending them said curtly.

Harry was too tired to protest that he wasn't mistreated even though, intellectually, he knew that it had been not just mistreatment but abuse and torture. There was a reason, after all, that he held up so well under the cruciartus curse and during the yearly life threatening adventures. He could tell just by the look in Snape's eye that any attempt to down play or pass off whatever was found would not be allowed to pass. There would be no hiding or explaining anything away. Any attempt to do so would likely result in Harry either getting dosed with truth serum and/or the matter getting ruthlessly torn apart for examination.

"I will brew anything he needs," Severus said softly just as the door opened to admit the summoned healer.

"Good, then I don't have to worry about the potions quality," the ginger haired sturdy healer of medium height said as she stalked into the room. A special messenger bag that was marked with a red medical cross was slung over one shoulder.

"Miriam," Severus greeted the healer cordially.

"Severus," Miriam nodded right back. "I take it the young man is my patient?"

"My new ward by his own choice, Harry Potter," Severus agreed softly, gruff concern easily seen by the healer in his eyes.

Miriam sighed, whenever Severus had to take someone's guardianship, even for a short time, it never boded well for her diagnostic results.

"Continue your conversation while I get started. Unless he's currently injured or has mis-healed bones that I will need to re-break at most we will be seeing the record and I will be giving you a list of things to fix with your potions. As usual my copy and the bank's copy will be confidential except to keep him from going back or for use against idiots trying something else against him," Miriam said briskly as she drew her wand. Severus noted the immediate wince that passed over Harry's features but followed the healer's instructions.

"What do you think you can offer to the Dark Lord for your temporary truce? Also do you have any idea, without my input, how to keep the Light and the Ministry off your back for the same period?" Severus inquired gently.

"I don't know enough about the Ministry to even guess with them. For Dumbledore... he'll want to basically lock me up like Snuffles or with the Dursleys again. I don't necessarily like being kept only in a small room but I'll accept it until Hogwarts starts if it has a window for sunlight, I have something to do to avoid boredom, and I get three meals a day. I would like to be able to do my homework and visit with Hedwig but I'm not sure I'll be allowed after today," Harry said glumly. "As for the Dark Lord... I can offer him information on some things or a truce with his people's kids at school but they have to be willing to follow it. I won't let them hex me without retaliation, not there, not at Hogwarts."

Miriam gave a quiet hiss of fury both at Harry's description and at the scans results she was getting but otherwise remained unobtrusive as she worked.

"May I offer you some suggestions?" Severus asked calmly. Harry gestured in a way that said please before the man continued. "The Dark Lord is going to need some negotiation but he might be willing as long as you don't try to make the truce indefinite without his formal agreement and very specific conditions involved. The Ministry can be handled by working with the goblins and the press but may require making many of your secrets public. Dumbledore is harder because of how much control he's already had over you for so long. Right now, beyond returning you to the Light, he simply wants you where he can keep an eye on you but that can change. So, the question becomes, what are you willing to give up?"

"It might be easier to list what I wont give up," Harry admitted ruefully.

"Understandable," Severus nodded in agreement before waiting for his student to tell him something more concrete as Miriam continued to work. The amount of diagnostics she was performing and the number of records being produced was on the disturbing side but until she was done with her scans nothing else could be done about it.

"I wont give up my education since its the only thing that's been keeping me alive and giving me half a chance of walking away," Harry said finally. "Most of my secrets aren't really secrets beyond staying alive or I was taught not to talk about it but it isn't really important to me beyond not getting looked at like a freak and that happens any way. I don't think people deserve to die just for being born and everyone magical needs some sort of training to keep the magic from being dangerous during accidental magic. As for Pureblood verses Muggle raised... they get upset at us not knowing stuff but how can we know something if we haven't been taught it? I get that they want to be safer from being discovered to keep the witch trials and burning from happening again and I agree with that. The problem I have is with their methods of trying to stop it."

"Your friends? The mutt?" Severus asked very carefully.

"They proved again that they follow Dumbledore blindly. I think I can count on the twins but Ron and Hermione? Their friendship is conditional on blind obedience to Dumbledore and they tended to keep me away from everyone else. Maybe Neville and Luna? I'm not really sure. Sirius... keeps calling me James," Harry admitted, looking at his hands rather than anything else. "I think, to keep them safe, I would have to give them all up any way."

"I believe that I can safely offer the safe haven you claim to seek but we may need certain information, including an audit of your accounts, to determine payment for the safe haven," the goblin offered slowly, deep in thought.

"To make this work, especially if I am to go with you, I may have to reveal certain private information to Dumbledore, the Dark Lord, and possibly the Ministry," Snape warned, just as Miriam finished her scans. The way she went practically white when she looked them over was not encouraging.

"I am invoking Healer's Writ pending a Child's Cry," Miriam informed the goblin flatly. "He does not go back. I don't fucking care if it causes a war. He does not go back."

"Do I want to know?" Harry asked warily as the goblin stared at the healer in open shock.

"You may need to write a letter for the press and I will need to get my supervisor..." the goblin said uncertainly.

"Okay," Harry agreed easily, deciding to keep his curiosity in check for the moment. Accepting parchment and quill he started on a letter to be published while Miriam started casting yet more spells over him and the goblin scrambled out the door for his supervisor.

To the Wizarding World,

Is one year of peace too much to ask? One year without being hailed as a baby Dark Lord. One year without being expected to save everyone. One year with enough food to eat. One year with a safe bed to sleep in. One year when neither Light nor Dark nor Ministry tries to do anything to me. One year when I am just fucking left alone. I am not some divine savior (like Jesus). I am not some master of magic (like Merlin). I am not some evil monster that springs from shadows to devour and terrorize. I am /i15i damn it!

I fought a 60 foot Basilisk in second year to keep the students safe and the school from closing. I spoke to a giant nest of Acromantula that same year for the same reason. I played that stupid tournament last year you all forced me into only to stay alive and keep my magic. Hell, if I wasn't going to be sent back to my bastard relatives I might have given up my magic to get out of that one! I am not suicidal people!

At this point of being harassed by everyone I'm almost inclined to invoke any life debt that any of you might owe me for whatever reason just to get one fucking year of peace. One year where I'm not fighting for my life or trying to dodge hexes in the halls near the stairs that might kill me if I fall.

Again, is one year of being left alone with enough food and a safe bed too much to ask?

I am done letting you treat me as a disposable weapon. I'm done trusting you Ministry people to do your fucking jobs. Save your own damn hides!

Sincerely,
Harry Potter

Handing the completed message over to Professor Snape he tried to patiently allow the healer to work as she set about fixing him with a vengeance. The first step? Knocking him out.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

"You swore that he was safe, loved, and taken care of, happy!" Madam Amelia Bones was one of the first to come out of the magic induced paralysis as she snarled at Dumbledore. "His very magic has now brought everything you've said about him in any way shape or form, aside from his current alive status, into question! As such I am ordering a full investigation into his life and schooling. So help me Dumbledore if that young man has been forced to survive more than what he's already announced to us I will have your head for it!"

"Amelia, he's just exaggerating, a bit of an upset at possibly loosing his magic for defending himself. Its nothing important," Dumbledore tried to placate the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE). It was the wrong thing to say.

"Aurors, arrest this man on charges of child endangerment with pending charges of child abuse and accessory to child abuse. These charges may be added to or amended later," Amelia Bones practically spat. "This is no longer a case of underage magic as we have obviously been denied vital information on the case. I want to know what this bastard has done to that young man to make him publicly announce his willingness to side with his parent's murderer. I want to know why his magic practically embedded the knowledge into our flesh that he's been starved and tortured. If I find any truth to this, which is almost impossible to avoid at this point, I am confirming his change in guardianship to Potions Master Snape without hesitation. I will also be issuing a restraining order on you so that you can't get within a thousand meters of Mr. Potter until I have enough proof to get you bloody well KISSed! I may not like the Dark faction and most of their methods but to my knowledge they largely leave children alone, barring Mr. Potter and other underage active combatants. If you are willing to such a thing to Harry Potter then what is to stop you from trying it with our children or any others that come within your reach and influence?!"

The chamber rang with her declaration as everyone struggled with either processing the events that had just occurred or the emotions inspired by those events. The only sound was that of Dumbledore falling to the floor as he was summarily stunned by one of the Aurors and magic suppressing cuffs being placed before he was dragged away.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

Harry slowly rose to wakefulness as a quiet argument went on in a nearby unseen corner. He vaguely recognized the voice of his Healer and his Potions Professor.

"I don't care! He entrusted me with his welfare because I don't lie to him! Even when he knows perfectly well that I could just as easily hand him over to Albus or the Dark Lord he gave me power over him! Miriam, just looking at his history results tells us he has had precious little trust in his life," Severus snapped at the Healer.

"All I'm saying is that we need people to look at whatever is in his scar and we need information on its effects before we can know if its messing with his mind! Look, for all I know it could have been protecting his mind and him for years even as it fed off his magic! The problem I have with it is that it is unknown dark magic and almost sitting on his actual brain with a clear effect on his optic nerve on top of the other head damage," Miriam argued. "Severus, you now know why he had so much trouble in your class when it came to ingredient prep. No one can properly prepare ingredients to the needed degree with that kind of bone, muscle, and nerve damage! Hell, its amazing that he can move at all without horrible constant shaking and the way his magic is acting like a brace for each damaged piece is revolutionary if we can get it made into a proper spell. I bet whenever his magic levels, which are immense, get low enough that he's in agony fit to rival the Cruciartus Curse. I need to know if its safe to try to remove it or if I have to work around it."

"All I know is that it was left behind by the Dark Lord the night my ward out lived his parents," Severus explained cautiously.

"Symptoms? One is a mind link to the Dark Lord which occasionally include visions, another is pain when the Dark Lord is near or has high emotions. I also get cursed when he curses someone during a vision," Harry croaked out. He heard the rustle of a cloth privacy barrier often found in the hospital wing, telling him that he was some place similar even as he automatically opened his eyes to confirm it. In front of his hospital bed stood his Healer and Potions Professor.

"What do you mean you get cursed when someone is cursed in the vision?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"He really likes the Cruciartus Curse and it sort of bleeds through when he uses it, giving me a weaker version. Its one of the reasons I prefer to cast silencing charms at Gri... Headquarters once Ron is asleep, aside from his snoring. Sirius told me that the house wards keep anyone from knowing that we've cast magic but Mrs. Weasley still tried to confiscate everyone's wand. Sirius stopped her," Harry answered with a weary shrug. "I see through his eyes and sometimes his snake too during the visions. I just wish I had figured it out before the end of the tournament. I could have at least warned Cedric and he'd still be alive."

"Diggory's death was in no way your fault," Severus told him firmly. His earlier tightly controlled rage at Harry's medical condition had simmered down behind his Occlumency barriers to a low boil as his mind had set to plotting. First he would fix his brat and then he would take payment for the lies and pain Harry had needed to endure for so long.

Dumbledore, at least, would be facing a very sharp reminder that Severus had managed to match the Marauders prank for prank and his Death Eater days had honed the more nasty aspects to a fine edge. Tricking him into believing Harry was even more spoilt than his godson! Honestly, had the man no humanity to put a child through what the scans said Harry had lived through?! The lemon drop eating bastard wouldn't be given the mercy of death without first feeling the same pain that Severus and Harry had both had to live through growing up. Because of that man's insistence on returning them (and probably many others) to their abusers as well as his refusal to help they had scars that might never fully heal.

"Tell that to his father and the school," Harry scowled moodily. He sulked for a minute before sighing and apologizing. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. Its not your fault and Dumbledore did announce it to the school at the end of the year even when Fudge was blaming me for it and calling me a liar."

"Understandable, back to your scar. If, as you say, you do receive visions from it that are accurate we may have a bargaining chip for the Dark Lord. At the same time we can request his expert aid in dealing with it or identifying it under a magical contract of truce and truthfulness. Right now that option is a two edged sword for both of you but it is an option. Equally, the same can be said of using it to help Dumbledore and the Light but it would require allowing them to have control of you again. It would also require allowing close monitoring upon returning to Hogwarts," Severus said thoughtfully. "Right now everyone is going to assume you will try to return to Hogwarts but you can actually learn from tutors or by choosing to attend a different magical school. I am technically under a teaching contract with Hogwarts which gives Dumbledore a great deal of power over me and thus over you. However, if you want it too, my fulfillment of the life debt will require me to see to you over the teaching contract."

"The goblins can deal with that if it really comes to it," Miriam reminded him pointedly. "As for the symptoms you listed... we badly need a Curse-breaker to look at it and probably a Goblin Ritual Master. This isn't going to be fun and its very possible that you will have to live with whatever this is for the rest of your life."

"I understand," Harry told her with a sigh. "Professor go ahead and see what everyone wants in trade for leaving me alone for at least a year. Once we know what they all want we can look at what we have and go from there. You have permission to use anything you might know about me to do this or set up any trades. If you need to use what's in my vault... I have no idea what's there but if its money I need enough to finish school and find a job."

"Why is it always you?" Severus muttered only to get a sad smile from his ward.

"For now I'm going to assume that I have to work around whatever is in your scar. We are going to be re-breaking bones and setting them correctly, nerve regeneration potions, and nutrient potions with a great deal of bed rest. I've already stripped the compulsions I found but they didn't seem to be doing anything against your strong will," Miriam informed him. "And Severus? Unless you want to stay in the old man's clutches I suggest you assume that the life debt takes precedence over your teaching contract. Its is after all the normal procedure when it comes to fulfilling life debts."

Severus nodded as he left to fetch the potions she had listed for his ward. Once Harry was knocked out again he would do just that. After all he couldn't really fulfill his place as legal guardian by putting his charge in potential danger. Dumbledore's manipulations certain qualified if the years of Harry's schooling at Hogwarts were anything to go by.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

The next morning people opened their papers to a nasty shock. On the front page was a summary of what happened at Harry's trial, his ultimatum. This was quickly followed by the letter written by Harry only to be sent out by the Goblins. Finally, there was a flat declaration that due to the Wizarding mismanagement of an obviously abused young Family Heir and Warrior Harry was now considered a Goblin and under Goblin Law. This declaration was also tentatively extended to his chosen Guardian, Potions Master Severus Snape. Any attempt to contact them or further inquire after them could now be directed to the bank.

"Mum, what is this Healer's Writ and Child's Cry?" Ginny asked in confusion. She was trying to read the paper before anyone else saw that Harry was in it, knowing she would never get it back once her parents got it.

"Healer's Writ and Child's Cry are goblin customs that are recognized by us as completely legal and allow the goblins to hunt anyone or anything that is the reason for them," William (Bill) Weasley, eldest son of the Weasley clan, answered with a yawn and a grimace. "I pity whoever had it invoked for them. Promise me that if the goblins ask you anything under those two that you will answer honestly. If you don't they can kill you as someone who helped whoever they are hunting."

"What's the official definition?" Arthur asked in curiosity.

The day before had been long and grueling as Arthur had been under close questioning over young Harry after he had stormed out of his hearing. His job was at risk but not for helping the young man he considered another son. Instead it was at risk because he hadn't recognized something was wrong and reported it. He would have to submit to being questioned under veritaserum and take a binding oath that he had never meant any ill will or harm to Harry before everything was done.

Even Lord Malfoy had been disturbed over whatever had happened in the court room to the point of offering a temporary truce on the family blood feud until Harry was found. Arthur had agreed on the condition that until the situation was solved both men and their families would act as protectors against anyone, Light, Dark, or Ministry, wishing to harm Harry. Lucius' quick agreement told Arthur he was missing something big but at that point he was more concerned over his son-in-all-but-blood being missing. Then came the word that not only had Harry made it to the bank safely the goblin guards had defended him. All that could be done now was wait for word from the goblins.

"The official definitions? Um," Bill thought about that for a minute before reciting as if from a text. "A Child's Cry is a goblin custom that can apply to any form of child abuse although the legal definition is as follows - Discovery of child abuse so bad that it offends the honor and sensibilities of anyone sane and calls upon those around the victim to both defend the affected child and avenge the harm done. As a goblin custom it requires certain confirmations but after being confirmed ranks as powerful as a Blood Feud and is the only known non-peace pact that can summarily end any known conflict within the goblin nation as all turn on the abusers and those who helped (aided and abetted) them abuse the child. There is no statute of limitations."

"And the Healer one?" Molly asked with a worried frown.

"The goblin custom of the Healer's Writ is the discovery of legal, moral, and/or mind altering complications which require a Healer to be able to make decisions on behalf of the patient as well as deal with any complications which arise from those decisions. The equivalent of a muggle Power of Attorney or Magical Guardianship. Invocation of the Healer's Writ requires review by a panel of 3 other Healers as soon as possible to prevent abuse of the custom. This can include, with or without demand of the review panel, something similar to joint custody with up to 2 other Healers or Potions Masters. This aspect of the Writ is only invoked if there is extra concern over part of the treatment or over the integrity/potential loyalty of the invoking Healer for whatever reason..." Bill answered with a shrug, still sleepy. "The one thing I do know first hand is that when both are triggered at once there is holy hell to pay for whatever idiot hurt the kid. Goblins will go to war over a hurt child."

"So it would be bad if the goblins said they are keeping Harry because someone used it on him?" Ginny asked worriedly. She knew her eldest brother had been called back special for something and that he had only been able to get inside Grimauld because of Fred and George keeping their bits of address on parchment. The pieces combined with what the paper was saying didn't not fill her with confidence that morning.

"Depends on if he's the one hurt or the one hurting someone else but yeah, if they claim him under Child's Cry we can't do anything about it. Mind you, I'm not awake yet so I could be missing something. I can ask when I go into the bank today. It is why they gave me a portkey to England last night and said I had to work first thing in the morning," Bill said thoughtfully. He was starting to wake up a bit more as the questions started sinking in. His eyes shot wide after a moment as he bolted for the front door of Grimauld place, wand in hand and still in his sleep wear. Ignoring his parent's shouts he bolted into the street and apparated in full out charge for the bank.

"Twins! To the bank!" Ginny shouted, a mad glint in her eye, leading the charge as she headed for the floo, wand raised high. The twins didn't ask questions for once, instead they followed their brother and sister as the rest of the Order and Ron stared after them in bafflement. Bafflement that was quickly shattered as they each saw the day's Headline of the Prophet... POTTER SEEKS ASYLUM WITH GOBLINS OVER ACCUSATIONS OF TORTURE BY RELATIVES!

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

Elsewhere the Dark Lord fought with his anger over the situation and threw around orders for more information. His rage over the possible abuse of his enemy had his magic shattering the breakfast dishes and sending a spike of pain along the bond. Harry in turn cried out in agony as his muscles spasmed and his scar began to bleed. Healer Miriam could only think of one thing that might help and knocked him out with a stunner.

"Contact that Dark Lord of yours Severus, we are going to need his help just to ID the damn thing. Its just proven its self too dangerous to ignore. If I have to fix him up to fix your ward I'll damn well do it but this sort of reaction is dangerous not just to Harry but also to the people around him," Miriam announced grimly. "I'm also putting your choice about breaking that teaching contract under Healer's Writ, get it done Severus. Leaving it could put my patient in danger so it goes."

"I had come to the same conclusion," Severus agreed with a grimace. They were both a bit sore from Harry's thrashing and the blows that landed as a result but neither were going to back down from this challenge. Harry would be healed.

Hours later, close to supper time, Harry woke to find an odd group arrayed around him. Off to one side was the Dark Lord in a much more human form than he remembered from the resurrection ritual. From the look of him he was possibly in a mid-30's version of the diary form unless wizards aged slower then his body was probably closer to late 20's. Flanking Harry to either side were a grim faced Miriam and a perfectly blank Severus while at the foot of the bed was Bill Weasley, recognized from family descriptions and Molly's complaints. Next to Bill were several goblins of varying ages and attire.

"Okay, what's trying to kill me this time and what do I have to do to make it not kill me?" Harry demanded of all the stoic faces. There was stunned silence before it was suddenly broken by startled laughter from one of the goblins which in turn set the other goblins off.

"Potter!" Severus growled in a warning which was promptly ignored by his charge. Miriam forcing him to negotiate and request the Dark Lord's presence over the floo had been a shock and still had him slightly grumpy. Unfortunately she had been right, someone could have tried something to stop him or capture him as a way to get to Harry. Doing everything but the actual exam of Harry long distance had been safer, if more frustrating. Thankfully, even though it had taken hours, the Dark Lord was both interested enough and upset enough to agree to show up and swear the necessary vow with little issue as long as he had safe passage.

"What else have you faced that would make you ask that in the first place?" Miriam asked bluntly, ending the laughter as her meaning sank in.

"Do you want it in order of year, order of danger, order of damage done, or order of my own stupidity verses someone elses' stupidity?" Harry asked in an almost bored tone. Severus instantly wanted to know what details and disasters Harry had gotten up to during his time at Hogwarts. The man forced himself to wait impatiently for the conversation to drift there naturally as he knew it would.

"How about physical size of the threat, largest to smallest?" Miriam suggested carefully. The larger it was the more likely it was some magical creature rather than an assassination attempt or poisonous plant. "A summary of how you solved the situation would also help in case of other medical complications. I'll ask for further clarification or explanation as needed but I might wait until you've finished your list first. Agreed?"

"Fine," Harry said curtly. "Is Voldemort here under truce or oath?"

"I am," Voldemort agreed with a scowl. "I have to know how our minds are connected. If you actually want a truce than solving this is the first step."

"Then, as long as you aren't here to try and kill me or my guardian, I am happy to have you here. I know that you have more experience with all of this than I do and you will probably see stuff about the link that I won't think of," Harry said cordially. Voldemort, no Tom because Harry couldn't call that human face Voldemort, grudgingly nodded his understanding and agreement to Harry's assessment.

"In order of size I will count groups as a single size and it might be easier just to let you watch the memories but that will take hours..." Harry suggested. He was tired even though he had slept through most of the day and the previous night.

"That might work better since we will be able to slow down and pause a memory," Voldemort, Tom, agreed thoughtfully. "If all else fails we can watch the memories repeatedly."

"Alright. In order of actual size... Aragog's Acromantula Nest in the Forbidden Forest, Dementor Swarm, er... Slytherin's insane 60 ft Basilisk from the Chamber, the Hungarian Horntail, Hagrid's Cerberus Fluffy, the Mountain Troll in first year, the Sphinx and single Acromantula from the third task, the two Dementors this past summer, the Dementor on the train in third year, U..Uncle Vernon, the Boggart, the Grindylow in the second task. I think that's it?" Harry said thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's it aside from facing off against the Dark Lord over there with his Death Munchers and Professor Lupin when he forgot his medicine in third year."

Everyone stared at him aghast at what he had already had to deal with even without knowing the full circumstances behind those encounters.

"We will need the memories chronologically to aid the medical exam," Severus finally choked out. Harry just shrugged. It wasn't like he knew how to extract his memories for them to look at any way but letting them watch it all in the pensive would keep them from wasting time. He knew that some of the things could be time sensitive if they were going to get safe haven from the goblins.

There was a shuffle of bodies and some explanations over the next hour as they got the pensive set up with his memories. A determined and occasionally eager look passed between those who would be watching the memories before entering the pensive together for the first run through. Harry just knew there was going to be hell to pay afterwards.

The group that had entered the memories of one Harry Potter grimly waded through the times his muggle family had hurt him. They wondered why the young man had included these horrible memories even as the bright snatches of accidental magic gave them some relief.

"Medical... we told him we needed it in chronological order for medical reasons," Miriam whispered in horrified realization just loud enough for everyone in the viewing group to hear. There was a great deal of cursing at that realization as they continued to wade through the snippets of memory that encapsulated Harry's home life injury by injury. Severus felt sick and they weren't even to the brat's school years yet!

"These muggles are subject to Child's Cry but we will need to determine if the cousin is salvageable or if his parents have ruined him," one goblin snarled. It was very clear that the goblins didn't like what they were seeing when it came to Harry's upbringing.

"They are abusing him too just in a different way," Miriam corrected carefully. The knife's edge the goblins were on had a hair trigger and she didn't want to be summarily labeled as a valid target. "If action needs to be taken I recommend de-aging him and giving him to a different family after an enforced health regime and/or placing him in very harsh warrior training. My patient is not eligible for this due to the lack of resources his body holds and the other damage I need to repair. He is also not in need of punishment for his actions. There is, however, enough damage that we may need to risk a re-birthing ritual. Its too early to tell for certain but I can tell you now that if Harry had less magic he would be long dead."

"I'm not certain we could safely take that route in any case with how many want to use him as a puppet," Severus pointed out with admirable snark. He, along with the Dark Lord, were having a tough time controlling their own memories surging to the fore as they mirrored what the pair saw of Harry's life after a fashion.

Bill just watched on in mute horror and vowed to not only protect Harry but apologize to the twins who had repeatedly tried to get Harry help only to be dismissed as a prank. A dismissal that Bill had noted as being from Dumbledore via the twins' letters more than once. In point of fact it had been the twins, not Ron, who had arranged for the food based care packages. They had traded a 5th of their beloved pranks at the start of each summer to convince their mother to go along with it. Another full a 3rd of their pranks had been traded to ensure that no one, not the twins, not Molly, not Ginny, not Ron, not Dumbledore, could include any potions with the exception of healing and nutrition potions in the food. It was something they had never regretted. They were even more grateful for the deal as Harry and Ginny got older when their mother repeatedly started to discuss love potions with Ginny. This was something the twins worried over even more because they caught Molly casually adding the subject of Harry as part of the conversation almost every time. As a result the twins knew that the only reason Molly hadn't begun dosing their adoptive little brother already was the magical oath they had forced out of their parents. An oath to ensure that Harry would only ever receive clean or healing food from their family.

The next memory was of Vernon casually backhanding Harry into the back wall of the house but this one was different from the ones that had popped up before. Instead of the usual clear, if brief, memory there was an overlay of a different memory. Voldemort was the first person to grasp what they were seeing and immediately grabbed Snape, dragging him into a restraining bear hug even as he mentally commanded the memory to freeze. Severus automatically tried to fight back but he was pinned too quickly and dragged over next to the shadow memory child overlaying Harry. The gasps told him that the others got what he had seen even as Severus refused to meet their eyes, hiding behind the drape of his hair and his eyelids.

"Is this why part of the price you wanted for joining me was this man's death? Is this why I have to have the children of my followers practically drag you to supper when you've already missed three meals brewing potions for that blasted old man? Is this why you practically beg to save various children but wont tell me why? Is this why I have to find out after the fact that every child you beg for needs healing?" Voldemort asked in a deadly calm tone that echoed in the quiet.

"Yes," Severus rasped out with a shudder as he tried not to weep with an old shame that never should have been his in the first place. Voldemort closed his eyes in a pained expression of understanding and acceptance.

"I request that Child's Cry be invoked for Potions Master Snape... and myself," Voldemort said, refusing to open his eyes to see their reactions even as he shifted his grip into more of a cuddle. "I'm not sure how much good it will do us but you will at least have it on record."

"Neville Longbottom as well," Severus whispered. "I don't have my notes so I can't name the rest that need it now."

"We will need memory evidence or other evidence but Potions Master Snape is tentatively accepted on the basis of the resonating shadow memory seen here. An investigation will be launched for yourself and Heir Longbottom," an old goblin who had previously been identified as Sharptooth announced solemnly.

Severus shuddered again and slumped slightly in the Dark Lord's grip. The day had been exhausting for him in so many ways and he was just worn out.

"We need a break," Miriam sighed. The Dark Lord could tell, even without opening his eyes, that she was eying the two dark wizards and probably itching to give them medical check ups.

"No, we need to finish this first run through," Severus said with a shudder. He forced himself away from the comfort being offered so that the two dark wizards could properly compose themselves as everyone grimly set up to keep going.

"Before we continue as long as Mr. Potter does not actively seek my death or destruction I am willing to extend my protection to him. There will be a few more things involved if we need to do more than ignore each other's existence, which is very likely, but otherwise I no longer see him purely as an enemy. Damn Dumbledore for using him as a puppet," Voldemort growled out, clearly upset at Dumbledore over the entire mess.

"A review of your interactions with Heir Potter will be required to see if you fall under cause as offender in Child's Cry. Your previous enemy status will be taken into account as well as other extenuating factors," Sharptooth informed him.

"Agreed. Be aware that I am not entirely certain why I acted on partial information in my first attempt to kill him as an infant and that there may have been unknown outside influences," Voldemort said shortly. It really hurt to admit that he had no idea why he went haring off after the Potters but the information might just save his neck and protect Potter from going back. "If it is determined by the Goblin Nation that I have become an offender under Child's Cry to Mr. Potter I will offer restitution to be determined at that time. Restitution that will be mediated by the Goblins to ensure fairness. I will also consider paying a were-gild should my actions be directly linked to his placement with these monsters rather than a poor or malicious decision on the part of another."

"Acceptable," Sharptooth said shortly. "You have always struck our people as being nearly as appalled by the actions requiring a Child's Cry as any goblin. That you seek to remedy the situation in both direct action and restitution now that you know of it speaks well of you. Your honor in this situation is noted."

"Master Sharptooth, I can unequivocally testify that there were other loving families more than willing to take Harry in. My own family has attempted it more than once and was always stopped by Dumbledore. The Headmaster keeps tight control over Harry and what he is allowed to be told. I deeply suspect that he has been denied his heritage on top of the physical harm done and I would not be surprised if he has also been emotionally abused. From what the twins told me he doesn't really understand being wanted for just Harry," Bill told them all firmly. "They also tell me that he is often more comfortable with Professor Snape despite their frequently explosive arguments but that he complains so that he wont lose Ron as a friend. He also uses my brother as a baseline for the grades he is supposed to be getting rather than what he actually can get."

Snape whipped around to stare at his former student in mute horror only to be met with the level gaze of the redhead. As an educator such hiding and wasting of potential was anathema to him. As a spy and protector of the same brat who was hurting badly enough to hide he felt that he had failed for not seeing it sooner.

"Which also means he probably tries to hide or massively down play any injuries. Damn it!" Miriam groaned. "Usually its a matter of hiding brilliance to avoid ridicule or watching a goal beyond their current skill level, not needing an outside marker for how low the marks have to be. Holding back a bit? Yes, everyone does that from time to time. Purposefully using a low standard for what is needed and no more? Mental conditioning, brainwashing if you will, something which is an integral part of abuse."

"As distasteful as the suggestion might be, Severus is right, we need to watch the rest of this," Voldemort grimaced. "Even if there is another way to see what Potter has lived through we still owe it to his courage to see this through. Picking things apart can wait. If nothing else let us see what honors we need to bestow upon him so that he can focus on his actual accomplishments through the healing he must do."

"Yes, let us see if we can drag something good from this muck that the wizard was forced to live through," one of the goblins murmured in approval, quickly joined by his fellows.

"Once we get to his schooling I will likely want to kill him as I did at the time of some of the incidents," Severus warned with darkly humorous sarcasm.

"Well, at least I'll be able to tell the twins that Harry really does make you want to pull your hair out," Bill tossed out with a grin. The minor grumbling in response firmly dispelled the earlier grim air, easing the tension.

The Zoo incident caused much murmuring of interest and a joint incredulous "He's a Parselmouth?!" from Voldemort and Bill. The beating and week of starvation as punishment afterwards for the bout of accidental magic simply had them all fuming again.

The next scene that caused an uproar was Harry facing down the mountain Troll on his first Halloween at Hogwarts, setting all three wizards off cursing a blue streak.

"That never should have happened!" Bill growled. He was deeply upset that those three had faced a mountain troll with just barely 2 months of magical lessons under their belt.

"The troll was never supposed to get near any students besides already being in the school by Dumbledore's order and released as a distraction. I had no idea they pulled this off," Voldemort snapped, gesturing at the frozen memory where the troll was swinging at Harry again with its club as Ron finally succeeded with his spell. "I knew he would ignore the safety of the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins in the dungeons so I set it to go to an area away from the routes to the common rooms despite announcing its presence in the dungeons. After this incident, when I finally went for the stone, I made damn sure to kill it so that it didn't go after the students again. The Cerberus was at least contained in the first room by the normal sized door even if the thing had gotten left open."

"Fluffy," Severus muttered darkly.

"What?" Voldemort asked sharply.

"Hagrid named the damned three-headed dog Fluffy!" Severus snapped. "The dragon egg you handed off to him was viable and to hear my godson tell it only Potter got it sent off with a single student injury... Ronald Weasley being bitten in the hand."

"I didn't know it was viable!" Voldemort said, openly appalled. "I thought it had already died from the cold with the way it was being mishandled by the idiot I got it off of! Merlin the number of children that would have been hurt if that idiot hadn't sent it away!"

They finished off the troll memory in silence and then watched the entire obstacle course as well as the confrontation afterwards, jointly appalled by what they saw.

"I didn't know I was that insane while still a wraith but it makes my ineptitude during the resurrection ritual more understandable. I was basically drunk on the sensations of being in my own body again at that point so that wont be a pleasant memory to go over," Voldemort grimaced. He was deeply embarrassed by his past actions and wondered if he would have to offer were-gild or other restitution any way with the harm he had obviously done the Potter Heir.

"Were-gild," Sharptooth said simply with a glower.

"Granted," Voldemort agreed with a sigh as the next memory showed Harry being locked into his newly barred bedroom and the promise of never being allowed to return to Hogwarts.

The memory of facing Aragog and his children was watched in mute horror by all present.

"I knew of the nest from my ingredient gathering trips in the forest but I had no idea it was that bad of an infestation. I also had no idea that Hagrid had started the nest and was thus responsible for the danger it places the students in. I only knew it was too much for me to clear out on my own and that Dumbledore refused to hire someone to do it," Severus announced grimly. He felt sick at what could have happened to the two young wizards. "Luckily the Centaurs mostly keep them away from the area towards the school."

"I want a valid reason to declare war on that colony," Sharptooth ordered the other goblins with a vicious snarl on his lips. "If we must use the Child's Cry as the reason we shall but a war band will be deployed against the nest so close to the wizard young!"

"Yes War Leader Sharptooth!" came the sharp response.

"I should have remembered about him releasing the damned spider when we were in school together. At least the spider went to the forest instead of staying inside the school where Hagrid released it," Voldemort muttered with a grimace. "I honestly thought someone managed to kill it with Dippet claiming it was the monster from the chamber at the time."

The trip into the Chamber of Secrets raised eyebrows as did the back and forth with the Diary. On the other hand the fight with the Basilisk had them watching in open mouthed shock as Harry took it on with only a sword and Phoenix and won. The way that Harry seemed to absorb the golden sparks left after the Diary's destruction had Voldemort's eyes narrowing in interest and concern edging on suspicion. What was especially suspicious to him was the sudden increase in health and resistance to the Basilisk Venom after absorbing the magical sparks from the diary.

"I'm going to strangle that boy!" Severus' outburst shook them all from their shock as they watched Harry and Ginny escape from the chamber through the cave-in to Ron and Lockhart.

"He has Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears in his blood?! How is he not dead?!" Miriam demanded as her voice edged towards shrill hysteria.

"See that he is listed as a young blooded warrior and back date it as needed," Sharptooth instructed grimly. There were grumbles of approval and agreement in gobbledygook among the goblins.

"Mum is going to go spare when she hears about this properly and dad... dad is going to have to figure some way to pay back the life debt," Bill moaned quietly. "Best way for the debt is give him Ginny as a bride but the way she obsesses over him its not healthy and she might hurt him from it. Ron might even owe him one for the spiders with how terrified he is of the things thanks to that prank by the twins when he was real little."

"He will not be wedding your sister!" Snape said sharply. "Molly Weasley has fed her obsession with my ward to dangerous levels and I will not have him be snared by someone delusional enough to only see the be damned Boy-Who-Bloody-Well-Lived!"

"I'll be sure to explain that to my parents Professor," Bill said, embarrassed by the entirely correct chastisement.

In comparison to the Chamber fight facing the dementors repeatedly in third year and Lupin in his werewolf form was positively tame if one only looked at the weapons used. On the scale of shear terror and the possibility of survival without help? They were definitely worse.

"He is so getting a talking to about the value of his life and the definition of who is responsible for sorting out messes like Black's situation," Bill growled out.

"Now do you understand why I outed the wolf? If he could forget even once around children it wasn't worth the risk no matter what Dumbledore said on the matter," Severus said quietly. He knew that some of the children of his lord's followers had complained that Lupin was a decent teacher and shouldn't have been made to leave. He also knew, better than anyone, what the risks actually were and gladly took his punishment from Dumbledore for outing the man to get Lupin away from the students.

"What did the old man do to you for outing the wolf?" Voldemort asked gruffly. He was perfectly well aware that Dumbledore had been practically keeping the man a prisoner since the death of the Potters.

"Locked me inside the wards for the summer and banned me from brewing except for the hospital wing or the school stores until the staff could come back. Filius and Minerva figured it out and came back early so that I could at least wander the grounds," Severus admitted. "He knows I love brewing and knew it would set all of my potions research back by a year or more."

"Bastard," Miriam muttered. She was really starting to hate that old man.

The memories of the Tri-wizard Tournament gained little commentary with how most of it had been publicized and openly watched. The trip to the graveyard though had Voldemort getting glared at again. His earlier warning about his mental state for this prevented open commentary since he idid/i give Harry a chance and a way to fight back.

The very last two memories showed him facing the pair of Dementors in Surrey only for his soul to nearly be eaten for the third time in 2 years. This was followed by the piss poor railroading attempt of a trial and his blow up in the ministry, ending with his arrival in Diagon Alley via floo.

As they materialized outside of the pensive certain things suddenly slotted into place. As a result when they came out of the pensive the Dark Lord stared at a sleeping Harry in utter shock. The irritating brat who wouldn't die was one of his horcruxes!

"I claim Heir Potter as my Heir based on his status as a Parselmouth, his survival of my inexcusable assaults, and the evidence that his prior caretakers have failed in their duty. I also claim blood price against those who have done my Heir harm and request aid of the Goblin Nation under the already declared Child's Cry to ensure this comes to pass. I offer binding oath to act honorably in raising and training this young warrior. Is there any objection from those present?" Voldemort declared clearly with his authority as Lord Slytherin.

"Your prior assaults make you ineligible for sole guardianship and his current guardian, Potions Master Snape, has primacy. Secondary guardianship can only be granted with his consent," Sharptooth warned, wary at the Dark Lord's possible reasoning.

"I am willing to forego guardianship if it is deemed unwise as long as my claim to him as my family Heir is acknowledged along with the protections that brings him. Should Potions Master Snape wish to claim sole guardianship I will agree without conflict on the condition that I am at least afforded godparent rights in case of further future troubles. I will also support the goblin nation gaining custody should there be a problem or other ending of the guardianship by Potions Master Snape. If nothing else your people will treat him well and teach him well," Voldemort declared solemnly.

"Agreed," Sharptooth cheerfully answered with a toothy smirk.

"My guardianship is the result of an invoked life debt," Severus reminded them all mildly. Miriam whacked him lightly as she moved past to run another check on Harry, comparing what she had learned to the results.

"Petition granted, if only so that I don't have to worry about you coming after me any more," Harry rasped. Thus proving that he was actually awake as he sat up in bed and made everyone jump in surprise. "But I'm not calling you dad or lord and I'm not giving up having Snape as my guardian either. He might be an arsehole but he's a skilled arsehole and has kept me safe."

"Agreed," Voldemort said immediately. The next step was picking apart the memories. Oh joy.

"What did you discover that we missed?" Sharptooth asked flatly as he spoke with the Dark Lord a bit further down the hospital ward where Harry was being treated and fussed over by the others. Voldemort gave the goblin a long piercing look before shrugging.

"Are you familiar with what a Horcrux is?" the Dark Lord asked very carefully.

"I am. Such a vile piece of human magic," Sharptooth hissed, warning bells going off inside his head.

"Vile indeed," Voldemort agreed before moving on to his full explanation. "I was researching the soul magics related to it for other reasons as a barely underage student when I was almost literally handed the book with the ritual in it. Until recently I could never remember exactly why I had performed the ritual or why I kept performing it. I suspect that someone had cursed that particular book to force me into making them. Regardless of why, I did in fact create Horcruxes and during our little trip into the pensive I have just discovered that not only is Potter unique he is also probably one of my Horcruxes. My return to sanity not withstanding I will do everything in my power to protect him as a result. If the goblin nation has a way to safely remove the soul shard I will wish to consult on the matter but I will not necessarily object to its removal. One reason why I haven't eliminated my other Horcruxes is largely because I have not found a safe way to return them to my soul. Having my mind back puts certain things into perspective and I am confident that if I truly need to become immortal there are better ways. I also owe Potter a life debt for returning my mind with the return of my body. I am uncertain how or why but something he did that night caused my sanity to return within the next fortnight."

"A dilemma indeed," Sharptooth nodded his understanding. "Then your actions this day were honorable."

"Yes," Voldemort agreed. "I would have offered the defense and protection in any case but it was his status as my Horcrux that precipitated my claiming him as my Heir. I have no children of the body but the Horcrux combined with the Parseltongue ability very clearly makes him my child in magic. I will not dishonor that. Besides if he can just walk up to me and argue with me we might not destroy Magical Britain with our disagreements resorting to duels and powerful magics."

"A wise decision," Sharptooth smirked with a flash of teeth. "Is there a way to keep it from interfering with the young warrior's health?"

"I would have to look at it. The creation of that particular soul shard wasn't exactly standard. I might be able to shift it around a bit but I would have to know what its doing that is potentially harmful to moderate the effects," Voldemort said with a frown. The possibility that the Horcrux was hurting Harry was suddenly extremely distasteful to him even though before the third task it would have delighted him as a blow against an enemy.

"Healer Miriam said something about it affecting his eye sight and expressed concern that it might be affecting his mind and brain," Sharptooth admitted. Voldemort's eyes went wide in shock before he practically bolted for Harry twenty feet down the ward. Miriam was lucky to have just been stepping back for some reason as Voldemort arrived and muscled his way up next to Harry's head to examine the famous lightning bolt scar and its passenger.

"What?!" Miriam spluttered only to be ignored as everyone warily watched Voldemort examine a pale and sweaty Harry who was already exhausted from his just finished treatment session.

Voldemort very firmly placed a finger on the scar and, with full intent to examine/heal, extended his magic to encompass first the head and then the rest of the body in a nimbus of dark blood red.

"~Display!~" Voldemort hissed the command in Parseltongue. In response some sort of diagram labeled in squiggles bloomed from the contact point at Harry's scar as Harry himself gave a quiet whimper. Voldemort frowned before issuing another set of commands, "~Withdraw from the nerves, cut the magic drain by half, heal the damage done... this little hatchling is ours!~"

A green glow around the scar briefly invaded the nimbus of power surrounding the pair as the Horcrux obeyed. The nerve damage being caused by the tendrils of magic extending from the Horcrux healed over as each splinter of power was removed from the physical nerve. The original malicious intent of the soul shard, tempered greatly by years of helping keep Harry alive, vanished without a trace. Replacing that maliciousness grew a protective and possessive sense of watchfulness. It seemed that the Horcrux approved in the change of priorities as it shared fragments of Harry's life with its main soul piece, uniting them in the deep seated need to protect this precious gift. The magic faded away to nothingness as Voldemort stepped back only to sway where he stood.

"Catch him!" Miriam ordered as she moved to do just that and check on both Parselmouths.

Voldemort was quickly laid on the next bed over and dropped straight into sleep. Miriam ran scan after scan after scan on the pair of them only to make a noise of disbelief.

"What?" Severus growled in agitation.

"He fixed it. The thing behind Potter's scar is still there but it has not only stopped hurting him its now helping him to heal! If I didn't know any better I'd think the damn thing was at least partly alive and had been given permission to fix the damage that it had to watch happen. Even as a healer I can't make such fine repairs as are happening now if I don't see the damage as it is being done," Miriam exclaimed. "I'll have to keep monitoring him until whatever this is finishes, which means I'll need a pepper-up soon, but I think he's going to come out of this in near perfect health. Hell, if I spell a bunch of nutrition potions into him at regular intervals whatever this is might even fix most of the nutrition damage since it will have the resources. The eyes though, those are getting fixed in a fashion closer to minor muggle ear piercings healing over. I think whatever it was had strands of magic stabbing into the optic nerve like thorns and now that the thorns are gone his magic is kicking in to heal it with a vengeance."

"Then do so," Sharptooth ordered sharply, having rejoined them during Voldemort's actions. "The Dark Lord realized what was doing the damage and was upset when informed of the damage to his Heir's eyes. It is good that his sight will be returned to him."

"We may never know what it was then. If he doesn't want to share then the information simply doesn't get shared," Severus groused with a resigned sigh.

"Your Wizards Council is still trapped after the young warrior stormed out and came to us," Sharptooth grinned evilly, blatantly changing the subject.

"You are joking?!" Severus squeaked as Bill choked on a laugh at the sound of the fearsome Professor squeaking.

"I am not," Sharptooth smirked. "They called in the Unspeakables and are still stuck. I have just been informed that they have submitted a request for the aid of our ward specialists. I am inclined to request of the director that they be left for longer. Sadly you humans require water at least every three days so we can only delay another day at the most if even one is to avoid perishing as we have already delayed a day. I heard that when the lock down tripped it activated powerful magic dampeners within the chamber which triggered when someone did something foolish. It also would have cut off their access to the places one could gather water within the chamber."

"Then it is a great pity there are good people on the Wizengamot and also several of my friends. Its such an elegant solution to ending so many who want people like you and me very dead," Severus agreed ruefully. It was clear in his wording that even though he was friends with some of the trapped they weren't all good people. "I suppose we can always send a house elf but then one of them might be smart enough to try getting transported out via elf."

Sharptooth shrugged, he didn't much care for the ruling wizards but he cared about the young warrior who had come to them less than a week ago. What he did care about was that allowing what amounted to the entire ruling council of the wizards to perish when his people would be blamed for it was foolish. The goblins, though a warrior race, were not currently on a war footing and thus any conflict with the wizards would cost more lives than was needed. Then again Healer Miriam's specific war defying invocation of the Child's Cry had set them scrambling to prepare for a war without complaint.

Every healer employed by Gringotts was very firmly instructed on what constituted a Child's Cry and what level of various factors would allow for immediate war to keep the child safe. If the established protocol was triggered by a human there was no question of sending in sly raiding parties as it would be done for an invocation without the war protocol. For it was understood long ago that no goblin would ever fully understand a human who was not also an honorable warrior or dedicated only to their craft as an artisan or family. Thus precautions were put in place. For every Child's Cry that was not rated as grounds for war a raiding party retrieved the child within the week and they were sent to another bank branch to be raised as a goblin ward. There were many goblin wards across both American continents and in Australia with most holding dual citizenship with the goblin nation.

"We need a better understanding of my brat's so-called adventures," Severus sighed as he looked back over towards his ward.

"The memories he gave are being picked over as we speak," Sharptooth said consolingly. "He has been recognized as a warrior by my people and will be accorded the honors of that station as well as offered further training of his choice. You have gained a precious gem in your ward."

"And to think I've been forced to treat him like dragon dung to keep my cover, which is now thoroughly destroyed, and to supposedly limit his arrogance. How Dumbledore thought that his mistreatment could spawn spoilt arrogance of all things I will never know. I've done my best to keep him alive for all the restrictions and friction between us," Severus sighed. "Yet I now find he's been off fighting monsters only to return home to a different type of monster every summer. Its infuriating and terrifying."

"Precocious warrior young often are," Sharptooth sympathized. "If we can keep them alive long enough for them to learn to survive whatever they face they take their place among the truly great ones such as your Merlin and Hogwarts Founders. As one parenting a warrior young to another call on me if you have need, even if it is only to rant about the latest battle he has fought."

"Thank you Sharptooth, it is much appreciated," Severus said gratefully.

The sudden ambush from behind by Miriam prevented Severus from saying anything else as he suffered a medical check-up under his friend's wand while the other two wizards slept. Bill, on the other hand, chuckled quietly as he headed for the conference room his younger siblings got trapped in, escaping the overzealous Healer. He had twins to inform about their heart brother's condition and a little sister to try and disabuse about fairy tale weddings.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

The goblins were in a furor over examining the accounts of the four newest Child's Cry victims even as they quietly prepared for war. Many a goblin warrior had wished to war with the fat, bloated wizards for the children they had needed to claim from the fools. Many a goblin was eagerly sharpening their blades at this possible coming war. There were whispers of the children they would need to collect and word of The List, created by Potions Master Snape, had made the rounds. Many were eager to get their hands on The List to pull the injured children from the grasp of the wicked ones. As evidence mounted within the accounts and throughout the records of payments to healers, more and more were calling for the head of Albus Dumbledore in particular. Yet too the goblins were no babes in arms when it came to warfare. They could lie in wait for their prey to trigger many an ambush and wait they would. What they wouldn't give up though was the young warrior who had won free to them less than a fortnight ago. As far as they were now concerned Harry Potter was more goblin than wizard.

And still the wheels turned as time marched forwards.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

Harry watched as yet another group set up near his hospital bed with Snape and Voldemort off to one side. There were two goblins that he recognized, Sharptooth and Griphook, but otherwise he hadn't met the goblins. Finally the set up was completed as Sharptooth, with Griphook at his side, turned to address him.

"Warrior Potter, due to your trials in this life you will need healing for the next year or so. Normally we would have whisked you away to another branch as a ward of the goblin people but that is not currently the best option. Due in large part to your age and the foolish wizarding idiocy around you it was felt that you needed to be included in more of the decisions than is normal for one being rescued by Child's Cry. Now the idiot wizards took their time trapped in the court room after you stormed out to pass a few laws about you remaining in the country," Sharptooth explained. "As you were already in goblin territory seeking sanctuary we can ignore it but you need to be aware that stepping onto British soil will legally trap you there. Naturally this presents a problem in retrieving your things and for your attendance at Hogwarts."

"What we want to do," Griphook took over. "Is to declare you either a lord in exile or a political refugee. It isn't the same as a ruler or government in exile but its rather close because of the authority that magical family Lords are given in Britain. However, if you wish to keep your British citizenship in the process not only could they force you back but you could not take full advantage of your new status among our people. It would also require going to a different country to declare that status rather than simply letting us do all the paper work and the like. If you do it through us your status as a goblin warrior would be finalized and no one but the Goblin people could strip you of that status for any reason. Legally you would be a goblin but by species you would still be a wizard which would allow you to keep your wand under British law."

"As his guardian do I get a say?" Severus asked, unsure what authorities he had in this situation. Goblins had different customs after all.

"We were just getting to that," Sharptooth assured the two standing men. "Because this would be a fundamental change in his legal status and not all of his holdings would either make the change or might be denied to him he will have to consider carefully. You have both proven yourselves honorable despite your youthful foolishness that we have uncovered. As such a similar situational amnesty may be accorded to both of you in time. Right now we are offering familial protections as if you were family of a bank employee should Warrior Potter accept the transfer to goblin status."

"And my schooling?" Harry asked quietly.

"There are a range of options. Tutors are the standard answer as they can be anywhere the student is once employed. There are also the other basic magical schools on earth scattered around the planet. For those not wishing to leave earth there are apprenticeships for afterwards or during the later part of the person's schooling. I feel confident that we could arrange for someone to apprentice you and include the remainder of your standard schooling as a part of it," Sharptooth told him proudly. "For off planet options or the so-called mythical options there are more advanced schools and completely magically diverse communities. To name a few there is our own goblin-dwarven kingdom underground, Atlantis under the Atlantic ocean, Shangri-La in the general area of Tibet. Off planet there is the Mars War Academy and its counter part Athena's Wellspring of Knowledge - both on Mars, the Mystic Del Luna on the dark side of the moon, the Neptune Cloud Academy, and finally the University on Europa. The Glacial Elemental House on Callisto wont take you so young and without an obviously dangerous ice/water affinity or a Journeyman's Status in earth affinity. Those from the Storm Lands on Jupiter generally commute to Europa for their schooling after passing an OWL variant on Jupiter."

"Any mixed Magical-Muggle community will have some sort of restriction on magic use until you have at least a basic certification," Griphook put in. "For the others its a matter of restriction by spell power level, presence of supervision for some of the more dangerous branches, and schooling level. Basically if you have been taught the spell you can practice it or otherwise use it and even those light restrictions are lifted after achieving certification."

"I want to move there," Severus muttered under his breath louder than he had thought. Harry snickered in response to that as his mind spun over the possibilities.

"Its too bad we can't get your people to clean up Hogwarts and update its curriculum," Voldemort said ruefully. "Standards have become appalling at that school."

"As Lord Slytherin you can petition on behalf of the school for it. In fact you can petition for it to be returned to the care of your family based on evidence of child abuse and suspicion of both the staff and the governors. It would launch an immediate investigation into the entire school at every point from finances to actual teaching to treatment of students," Sharptooth offered with a toothy smile.

"Where is the paperwork? Do you need it signed in blood or will a regular signature do?" Voldemort asked immediately. The school didn't even teach basic first aid and muggle schools did that. Like hell was he going to pass up this opportunity to get the school fixed!

The paperwork was retrieved, read, and signed with a vindictive flourish, giving the goblins carte blanche in the investigation, reorganizing, and new management of the school. It would be handed back over to the wizarding families only under certain circumstances and only to the families of the Founders or their designated heirs after three generations.

"I don't think Hogwarts is a choice right now," Harry said thoughtfully, slowly feeling his way to his choice of school or teacher. He had counter signed next to the Dark Lord on the paperwork as Gryffindor's Heir through the Potters and by magic for drawing Godric's sword from the hat. Unless Dumbledore had both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs Heirs as well as a damn good reason to say no the sign over couldn't be over turned.

"It isn't," Severus agreed ruefully. "Until I am brought the official guardianship papers to sign I can't over rule you. I suspect that they are delaying for reasons that include keeping idiots from just taking you from me."

"Oh? Then who is my guardian? Do I even need one?" Harry asked in a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

"No. you don't, thanks to that ill thought tournament last year but we do recommend that you allow someone to act as guardian. You have already picked Potions Master Snape for this post and we respect that. The reasons we haven't provided the paperwork for him to sign are because you would be releasing your emancipation to have him as your guardian which also makes him your protector. To prevent your removal from his care due to abuse of power by idiots or on Dumbledore's order there are a few other steps we can take. Nothing can be done for certain until you both decide whether or not you are accepting goblin citizenship," Griphook informed him cheekily. It was clear to Harry at least that they wanted the pair of them to count as goblins.

"Tutors and goblin citizenship please," Harry said quietly. "I am sick of being used as a chew toy puppet for the wizards."

"Welcome to the Clans young warrior. Welcome to the clans," Sharptooth grinned evilly.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

Amelia Bones was so bloody mad she could spit. Senior Undersecretary Umbridge had proposed, and gotten, Harry Potter restricted to magical Britain. Worse, there was now a law on the table restricting any magical under 17 from leaving Britain unless a member of a Noble House with a family Lord who specifically approved it for the next three generations. To top it off was the fine print, that most everyone was feeling too hungry or worn out to read. It specifically issued the orders for a summary execution of anyone under the age of 17 who became a werewolf, was a squib, or was of muggle descent in the last three generations without patronage of or membership in a pureblood family. Thankfully it hadn't been passed just yet and required at least 30 days contemplation and discussion before being up for an official vote of recognition as a possible law.

Madam Bones wasn't stupid. This law would be used as a cross between legal genocide, hostages of rival families, and the ability to enslave whoever they damn well pleased through "patronage". The only thing that stopped it from being immediately passed into law had been the outraged objection of the Dark faction. For once Amelia praised god for the people she was technically fighting against.

"I move to suspend all further attempts at business until we have recovered from being trapped in here," Amelia finally snapped. "I also move that all decisions made since Heir Potter stormed from this room be suspended pending review on the grounds of clouded decision making. Clouded decision making caused by a mix of the backlash from Heir Potter's magic, our hunger and thirst, and high emotions after discovering our trapped status. I move for this on the grounds that we just nearly voted to enslave everyone but the people in this room and kill anyone who isn't both pureblood and magical before the age of 17. Something which isn't feasible no matter how you look at it. People, I don't know about you but I refuse to be a fucking genocidal child killer! I also refuse to be a slaver! If this had passed and been allowed to stand we would have basically just killed ourselves as a people."

"I second!" Lucius Malfoy agreed quickly. He did not want these things to become law. Yes, the move put Dumbledore's arrest in question but if letting the bastard go got the Dark the chance to safely evacuate Potter and prevent enslavement it would be worth it. It wasn't like they hadn't already had to fight the old man tooth and nail any way making this just another failed assault against the man's blasted political power and popularity.

"Third!" echoed from several different families as they realized what exactly Bones had said.

"Motion carried," Fudge said somewhat grumpily. He completely missed the sly gleam in Dumbledore's eye before the man returned to playing at being a humble ill accused victim in this entire mess. Amelia and Lucius did not. It had been Dumbledore's faction that had seconded the damn slavery bill and Amelia was suddenly all too sick of Dumbledore and his lackeys.

There was a sudden loud crack as the door finally gave way, releasing them from their confinement within the court room as their rescuers flooded into the room.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

"You do understand that we may have to send you elsewhere in any case if the Wizengamot or even just Dumbledore and the Order are not willing to see reason?" Severus pointed out. They had been at this back and forth discussion on where exactly Harry would be living while he got his schooling finished for at least an hour. The news of the release of the Wizengamot had made many people grumpy and sent half the goblins who had been helping explain things off on other duties.

"I understand and I'm honestly not sure that I can keep up with the weapons stuff that Sharptooth wants me to learn now that I count as a goblin," Harry said somewhat sheepishly. "What does learning a blade dance across a broken ice field even mean any way?"

"Something they will not attempt to put you through until you are at least in much better health!" Miriam declared with a glower aimed at an unrepentant Sharptooth.

"Once a warrior is blooded in battle, as you have been, they are offered extra training. For those with a magical affinity or those who have wizard blood there are several option at some of the schools in the rest of the solar system. For instance some of the... more destructive spells and rituals need to be learned and tested at the off planet schools," Sharptooth explained. "Earth can not easily hide, repair, or withstand a blast that rips up 10-50 miles of land 200 meters deep. This is especially true with how much of the dust and dirt would be thrown into the air and the fact that using too much power to test this land blasting spell could also make it visible in space. The more spectacular fire based ones are even harder to hide without risking setting off active volcanoes."

"Why would you even need to do that?" Harry asked in bafflement.

"Mostly war or war games but there are uses in quarry making, virgin farming, excavation of building sites and things like that for the earth explosion one I described. These sorts of spells and rituals are also used to test mastery in various disciplines and in elemental manipulation. As an example water as liquid can really only be learned safely on Earth but its cloud and ice forms are safer to learn on Jupiter and Europa," Griphook told him. "Still, the liquid water manipulation can never be taught to its full larger scale because it would require testing the creation and very abrupt ending of a Tsunami. Something that would be unavoidably noticeable to the muggles. Any such training has to wait for the statute of secrecy to finally fail and at least a tentative accord of peace to be drawn up between all peoples in this solar system. Britain Magicals are a very backwards people."

"I am beginning to see that," Harry said softly. He was also coming to realize that one of the only reasons the Dark Lord wasn't insisting on locking him up to keep him safe was because of the off world options and the mobility of taking your teacher with you.

Harry hadn't been especially pleased when the existence of the Horcrux in his scar was explained to him as a precaution before his former enemy had to leave them to get his own work done. The not needing to fear for his life when it came to facing down Voldemort on the other hand was a relief. The fact that Snape had been officially freed from the conflict to go with Harry via the removal of the Dark Mark on the other hand had been a bit of a pleasant shock for all involved.

"So?" Severus asked, quite tired of the back and forth at least for that day.

"Atlantis or the Goblin kingdom unless I have to go off planet then... Jupiter? Maybe?" Harry said thoughtfully. "I love flying."

"It will be arranged. Rest and hope the healers wont demand you remain in their care for another month," Sharptooth smirked before they left Harry to the nap he was clearly slipping into.

Dumbledore would never again reclaim Harry or Severus for his control and power structure. With Harry safely out of the way and onside Voldemort implemented reforms that made the British magical peoples safer, happier, and more productive while dragging all of them into the twentieth century. The desperately needed revamp of the educational system brought back the rich history and traditions which helped to make magic use safe. Thus it was that Dumbledore died after watching Voldemort bring down the Ministry in a bloodless coup only to have a better, magically reinforced system rise from the ashes.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

A/n: This is finished for now but there may be possible sequels another day.

Here are the definitions for those cultural laws:

"I am invoking Healer's Writ pending a Child's Cry," Miriam informed the goblin flatly. "He does not go back. I don't fucking care if it causes a war. He does not go back."

Child's Cry:
While this can apply to any form of child abuse the legal definition is as follows - Discovery of child abuse so bad that it offends the honor and sensibilities of anyone sane and calls upon those around the victim to both defend the affected child and avenge the harm done. As a goblin custom it requires certain confirmations but after being confirmed ranks as powerful as a Blood Feud and is the only known non-peace pact that can summarily end any known conflict within the goblin nation as all turn on the abusers and those who helped (aided and abetted) them abuse the child. There is no statute of limitations.

Healer's Writ:
The discovery of legal, moral, and/or mind altering complications which require a Healer to be able to make decisions on behalf of the patient as well as deal with any complications which arise from those decisions. The equivalent of Power of Attorney. Invocation of Healer's Writ requires review by a panel of 3 other Healers as soon as possible to prevent abuse of the custom. This can include, with or without demand of the review panel, something similar to joint custody with up to 2 other Healers or Potions Masters if there is extra concern over part of the treatment or over the integrity/potential loyalty of the invoking Healer for whatever reason.

The premise about the life debts is that Harry knows practically nothing and for it to actually be canceled it has to be acknowledged as fulfilled. As a result while Harry technically owns the one life debt he could, in theory, also owe more than what he holds to the same person. Like a collection of IOUs to be agreed on later - this also applies to all of magical britain for saving them from Voldy each time