A Hop Skip And A Jump Away

Courtney visits and malicious vases

The audience with the King of the Goblins went surprisingly well. The elven man didn't dance around the subject nor did he demand anything except the blunt truth of the situation and their intentions. Apparently when the bank building accepted Harry's memories it was magically decided that all three of them had effectively been adopted by the goblin race and thus were accorded the status of honorary goblin. This allow them to converse without resorting to inane courtly pleasantries that conveyed nothing of value, nor did they have to suffer through attempts to trick them into giving up their first born or something similar.

To say that King Jareth was displeased at the recent developments was an understatement but he did indicate that the mess of their accounts would be sorted out. He also promised that an additional goblin crafted item would be added to their vaults free of charge in recompense. He also requested to be kept abreast of the situation and any complications they might encounter via Gringotts. The trio of wizards very politely agreed to do so without actually promising anything, all three having remembered old stories about the Fae, and were peacefully escorted back out.

What really surprised them was that they were asked to take a gift and a message to the English Queen since Jareth had been informed of their next appointment. Harry agreed without thinking about it and earned glares from his two Slytherin companions along with a sly smile from the Goblin King before they were whisked away. When Harry realized they would be facing the tailors again he tried to slip out a side door. Neither of his Slytherin companions were willing to let him get away with that and nabbed him before hissing at him to suck it up just before they were descended upon and dressed for their second royal audience of the day.

They were forced into elegant dress robes of Acromantula silk that shifted colors depending upon how the light hit the fabric beginning with a near black shade and shifting to a deep shade of Midnight Blue, Dark Green, and Dark Red respectively. Both Snape and Voldemort admired how the green shading brought out Harry's eyes, enhancing them into a jewel-like brilliance. This effect was mirrored with Voldemort's own red eyes and color shift red robe.

The Dark Lord's hair had continued to grow from the fuzz it had become when he convulsed in the conference room until it reached the same length that Harry remembered from fighting the diary Horcrux in his second year. The only difference between 16 year old Tom Riddle and this current Voldemort that Harry could see now that the man's hair had stopped growing was the ruby red eyes. With a mental groan the young Gryffindor did his best not to notice how shockingly handsome his long time enemy now looked.

Seeing him fully dressed for the audience with the Queen of England, Harry decided that if he had to kill the man again he would have one hell of a time doing it. Sane, charming, handsome, and with a magical core that could bring Dumbledore to a stand still. Yeah, killing him just got one hell of a lot harder. Harry prayed that he never had to make the attempt in this timeline.

Snape on the other hand was forced into the elegant color shift Midnight Blue/Black robes, scowling the entire time and fighting the urge to hex the tailors. The Potions Master was the one that got them out of being practically buried under jewelry the tailors wanted to load them down with. Both Voldemort and Potter were exceedingly greatful for this even as they fought not to laugh at the way the dour man caused the tailors to back away from them slowly, quaking in terror. It was this last straw that finally got Filkor to rescue them from the aggressive tailors and ushered into room with the packaged royal gift already firmly attached to a rope portkey. A reminder was given to remove the portkey rope from the present before they gave it to the muggle English Queen. Before Harry could ask what the present was or if they could use a different form of travel the portkey activated, landing them just outside the castle, right in front of an undercover Auror.