"But for the present situation, those three hunted him down in the library to confront him because they found their access to his vaults had been cut off and suspected him of doing it. They walked in. Ms. Granger gave him a lecture meant to cow him into obeying her. They then stuck their hands out demanding he give them back their keys.
All three had their hands out as if he had said keys on his person to give them. All three implied he wasn't being a good friend to them unless he gave them new keys to his vault. And Ms. Granger made it very clear she blamed him for the fact they no longer had their original keys to his vault because the goblins had informed her the key she had no longer fit a vault within their bank."
"What?" Minerva asked scrunching her eyes up and furrowing her brow. "I don't understand. Why would they have access to his vaults? I can see him promising them money for things from time to time and reneging on giving it to them. He's just that kind of a boy. But that wouldn't mean they'd have their own keys to his vault. Surely you misunderstood something."
"I did not. All three of them admitted bold as brass in a library full of people to taking money from his accounts without either his knowledge or permission, Minerva. And I don't care what you say, that makes it thievery. Ms. Granger even forgave him for the loss of the books she had planned to use his money to purchase this year. So long as he returned her key of course.
Each one of them said the Headmaster set it up for them. Not Mr. Potter. Not once did they claim he approved of their gaining access to his vault. Not once did any of them claim he'd promised them any money at all. For anything. At any time.
All three admitted they were getting paid from his first step into this world for 'Services Rendered'. All three of them said they felt entitled to that coin because they were his friends who helped him study and made sure he was where he needed to be with the knowledge he needed to have at the time."
She sputtered trying, scrambling, to think of a reply that would justify their claim. There really wasn't anything she could say though. Because friends, true friends, don't demand to be paid for their friendship. And them claiming to be owed keys was just that. Demanding payment in return for friendship. She took to further ruining her breakfast again as she tried to think of something to justify what he claimed he'd witnessed.
"But you know, I have been thinking about that and I honestly don't remember any of that Triad sitting down with Potter over the last three years simply to study. As you know he has been in isolation, which you alone refer to as his private room, for these past three years and mostly under guard. By us. The Professors. Mr. Filch when none of us are available.
I most certainly would have noticed if someone had been studying with him as I took my turn at guard duty. Albus' so-called fears for his safety. Remember? I do, however, recall being told to let them take him from those chambers for a couple of hours unsupervised.
And then later being informed Mr. Potter was once again lying in the infirmary recovering his health after yet another harrowing run-in with death calling his name. Or that there had been some kind of an encounter with something dangerous they had only just managed to get them all away from. During which somehow he was the only one injured in any manner but which at least Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasely knew exactly what had occurred to get Mr. Potter his injuries and were only too happy to tell everyone about."
The other teachers sat listening closely. They, too, had noticed a trend with Minerva's favorite students and Mr. Potter though they'd never really taken the time to look closely into the matter. For them, the four were their students only in that they attended the classes they taught but they weren't responsible for them when they weren't filling a desk in their classroom.
They each had their own duties and things to think about. Filius and Pomona especially since they were Head of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff respectively. The disciplining and monitoring of the four Gryffindors outside their individual classrooms wasn't their responsibility.
Severus, however, did have a vested interest in Mr. Potter. They all knew he was the Ministry appointed Guardian/Protector for the boy while he was here on Hogwarts grounds. Something they knew annoyed Minerva to no end. They all knew she'd petitioned the Ministry to have Severus removed from the role when Mr. Potter was sorted into her house and herself inserted into it on the grounds that she was his Head of House.
The Ministry had refused citing that Severus was male which with her in her capacity as Head of House gave Mr. Potter a semblance of having parents here at the Castle. Something he didn't have outside the school since his natural parents were deceased. She'd even claimed Albus was also male and as his magical guardian filled that role already for Mr. Potter.
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