From fb3011c9ebe417aae4d776e91cbd2ebfbcc9424e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Julian Blake Kongslie Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:14:47 -0700 Subject: Some notes, and completed chapter 2 of A Little Greed. --- novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn | 70 +++++++++++++++--------------- 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+), 35 deletions(-) (limited to 'novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn') diff --git a/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn b/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn index abb4198..65f9f06 100644 --- a/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn +++ b/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn @@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ clearly had no business walking around normal London, and a 30 second conversation about her sister who just died and "I'm to meet with the Goblins but need help to reach their bank" to determine that this particular freak was not a magic user. The second freak she identified was, and Petunia found herself -with a willing escort into the Leaky Cauldron. +with an escort into the Leaky Cauldron. Dark, dank, and straight out of the middle ages. Oh, she remembered this place well. How anyone could possibly think that magic was anything but trouble when @@ -172,17 +172,17 @@ heir's majority, barring a will that stated otherwise. Without any way to acquiesce to the Dursley's demands for compensation, there was no other alternative; the guardianship of the boy must be changed. -The contents of the will could not, legally, be read to determine a replacement -guardian. Still, the existence of the will was not in doubt; nor that it had -been trusted to the Goblins of Gringotts to execute. This implied that the -Potters trusted in the judgment of Goblins to see to the care of their child. -Ragnok acknowledged that Gringotts had already failed the Potters by bowing to -political pressure from Dumbledore, but he would still accept the implied -responsibility to find a proper guardian for the boy. And in any case, no-one -else could be trusted with the task; Dumbledore had already proven that the -Ministry of Magic was incapable of placing the child; as its representative, he -had chosen a guardian who lasted not even 12 hours before demanding to be -removed! +The contents of the will could not, by the agreement with Dumbledore, be read to +determine a replacement guardian. Still, the existence of the will was not in +doubt; nor that it had been trusted to the Goblins of Gringotts to execute. This +implied that the Potters trusted in the judgment of Goblins to see to the care +of their child. Ragnok acknowledged that Gringotts had already failed the +Potters by bowing to political pressure from Dumbledore, but he would still +accept the implied responsibility to find a proper guardian for the boy. And in +any case, no-one else could be trusted with the task; Dumbledore had already +proven that the Ministry of Magic was incapable of placing the child; as its +representative, he had chosen a guardian who lasted not even 12 hours before +demanding to be removed! So, Ragnok ruled that guardianship of the boy was now a Goblin matter. They would, in good faith, find the best possible guardian for Harry Potter. @@ -252,11 +252,11 @@ around for decades; really, this was better for everyone. A grisly smile crept across Ragnok's face. Without any further hesitation, he promoted Sharpaxe from Head of Potter Accounts to Head of Harry Potter Affairs. -Harry Potter was placed in Sharpaxe's hands, and with the briefest of ceremony +The child was placed in Sharpaxe's hands, and with the briefest of ceremony adopted into his clan. -Harry looked up at his new father and gurgled happily. "Well," thought Sharpaxe, -"I'll have plenty of time to work on fixing that." +Harry looked up at his new father and gurgled happily. «Well,» thought Sharpaxe, +«I'll have plenty of time to work on fixing that.» The child was whisked off to a Healer so the bank could be assured its asset was in prime condition, and Sharpaxe was dispatched back to his apartment to prepare @@ -264,8 +264,8 @@ an appropriate living space and acquire whatever food, clothing, and any other essentials that were likely to be required in the immediate future. As Sharpaxe set off to notify his wife, one thought repeated in his mind: -"Humans grow fast and tall. He will outgrow his swords quickly. I must -requisition extra funds for additional weaponry immediately." +«Humans grow fast and tall. He will outgrow his swords quickly. I must +requisition extra funds for additional weaponry immediately.»
@@ -305,29 +305,29 @@ runner was sent to find Sharpaxe, eventually locating him sampling the wares of various weaponsmiths. Sharpaxe, having the situation explained by the Healer, immediately grasped the essential difficulty. -"You can remove the horcrux, but doing so will destroy the scar?" +«You can remove the horcrux, but doing so will destroy the scar?» -"Unfortunately, yes. The two are one and the same; without the horcrux to burn -against his soul, his own magic will heal over the scar quickly." +«Unfortunately, yes. The two are one and the same; without the horcrux to burn +against his soul, his own magic will heal over the scar quickly.» -"But the scar is a mark of honor! Surely he will wear it as a badge of his -glorious victory!" +«But the scar is a mark of honor! Surely he will wear it as a badge of his +glorious victory!» -"He is too young to understand. When he is older, he will be able to embrace his -scars. Now, they will heal." +«He is too young to understand. When he is older, he will be able to embrace his +scars. Now, they will heal.» -"Then, we leave the horcrux until he is properly educated. Then his magic will -recognize the scar as his own, and the horcrux can be removed." +«Then, we leave the horcrux until he is properly educated. Then his magic will +recognize the scar as his own, and the horcrux can be removed.» -"Unacceptable," Steelgash interrupted, "Harry Potter is to be trained as a -Goblin. Tom Riddle is not. The horcrux is a compromise, and cannot be present -during his training." +«Unacceptable,» Steelgash interrupted, «Harry Potter is to be trained as a +Goblin. Tom Riddle is not. The horcrux is a security risk, and cannot be present +during his training.» -Sharpaxe scowled for a time, before presenting a compromise, "Harry deserves +Sharpaxe scowled for a time, before presenting a compromise, «Harry deserves recognition of his victory. You propose to deny him natural recognition as a matter of bank security. I will agree, on the condition that Harry is afforded compensation for this loss, to include special dispensation for the unlimited -use of a glamour that matches the scar as it is now." +use of a glamour that matches the scar as it is now.» This was a steep price. Normally, glamours of any kind were prohibited in many areas of Gringotts, and scar glamours especially were heavily restricted to @@ -335,8 +335,8 @@ areas of Gringotts, and scar glamours especially were heavily restricted to Harry had earned a scar which he already wore, and the bank forcing the removal of a genuine scar won in battle was a unique event. -"Agreed. An enchanted device will be constructed to hold the glamour. I will see -to the details." +«Agreed. An enchanted device will be constructed to hold the glamour. I will see +to the details.» Sharpaxe hoped this would be enough. He promised himself that he would do everything in his power to see Harry raised in a proper and honorable manner, @@ -377,8 +377,8 @@ around her cramped burrow, causing little Harry to sneeze. With a pained moan, the Matriarch relaxed before giving an utterly terrifying smile. Staring eyelessly into the darkness, she delivered her reading. -"This boy is four-score-times marked by prophecy. His life shall be rife with -conflict and war. Enemies great and small await him." +«This boy is four-score-times marked by prophecy. His life shall be rife with +conflict and war. Enemies great and small await him.» Sharpaxe let out a relieved breath. He had worried that, as a Human, Harry might not be destined to be a true warrior, and that he would have to contract out for -- cgit v1.2.3