22 22. Cost of Blood 

[A/N: Brothers, there seems to be some confusion about Happy's luck. You see, having high luck does not mean people won't scheme against him or come after him. It simply means that the end result will be something sweet for Happy. So, if something bad happens, he's supposed to get something great out of it in the end.

It's like a high-risk, high reward, but in his case, the risk is often not his burden to shoulder.]

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The private room in the seedy tavern was dimly lit. The air was thick and oppressive, making it hard to breathe. Nevertheless, the tension was clear, especially on the Goblin's face.

"Lord Malfoy, how much would you be willing to pay me for an infinite supply of Felix Felicis potion?" Griphook asked with a beaming greedy smile on his face.

Instantly, the Malfoy lord eased up in his seat as he found the offer very lucrative. But he was no fool. "If there were such a thing, then the price of the potion in the market would have fallen."

"Of course, but anyone smart enough wouldn't do something foolish. Besides, the origin of this potion that I am offering you is natural, like a stream of water from the mountains. But, none have found it yet, not even the owner of that mountain." Griphook replied and kept everything vague.

Lucius Malfoy looked down for a split second, seemingly thinking deeply. "How much do you want?"

"Two hundred thousand Gold Galleons should suffice," Griphook demanded.

Lucius sneered, "Do not overstep, Goblin. Reign in your avarice, or be warned that I can summon a few wizards who would be delighted to extract your words without ever bothering to compensate you."

Of course, Griphook was well aware of Lucius' background and his loyalty. But he wouldn't be called a Goblin if he wasn't dangerously greedy. "Fine, one hundred and eighty thousand Gold Galleons. What I am giving you is infinite liquid gold, Lord Malfoy. I would rather die before I tell anyone anything for less."

"I will not be parting with a single knut beyond one hundred thousand. Refuse this offer, and I shall dispatch some of my associates to pay you a visit. If your unfortunate demise should occur, it shall be of no consequence to me, for I cannot mourn the loss of something I never possessed." Lucius sternly responded, unwavering beyond what he deemed appropriate compensation.

Griphook wanted more. "Too less, I wan–"

"If that is your decision? Farewell then."

"Alright! It's a deal, wizard!" Griphook jumped to his feet. "But I will not speak before you give me half of the money."

Lucius took his seat again and threw a key toward Griphook. "Are you not a clerk? Go and fetch the money."

Griphook sneered, but he was indeed a clerk and had to do this much. So, he left the room for half an hour and brought a bag that had the Extension Charm, filled with a hundred thousand gold in it.

Clatter!

"Speak."

But first, Griphook was careful to pour all the money into his own expansion pouch. Only after he had taken each coin and counted it twice did he speak. "It's not a mountain, but a human… a wizard child. He is a student at Hogwarts and came here to open his family vault. His blood turned out to be a natural Felix Felicis. I checked it myself."

It was too unbelievable, so much so that Lucius stood up and took out his wand, "So you summoned me here merely to entertain your witless pranks?"

"I figured you'd say this. You wizards are the same, pure or not. I have a sample right here. Look at this vial. This golden liquid was the blood I extracted from the blood relation test. Drink the drops; you will know it's Felix Felicis." Griphook placed a tiny vial on the table. It was so small that even a finger looked huge beside it.

Lucius was interested. He could see that Griphook was being serious, and it made no sense that a greedy Goblin would try to find trouble with him. So, he picked up the vial and smelled it first.

"Dobby, come here!"

Pop!

Came the sound of the elf appearing out of thin air. Big round eyes, floppy ears, and a dirty body with even dirtier clothes, "Master call Dobby?"

"Drink this." Lucius pushed the vial towards him. Naturally, he was never going to drink something strange given by a greedy goblin. It could be something dangerous, usable against him.

Dobby, like a good servant, drank it in one go. "It… It tastes like nothing."

Lucius took out his wand and suddenly waved it at Dobby.

Whoosh!

A silent spell came in the form of a dangerous red light. It shot straight at Dobby's head with lightning speed.

"Ah! A coin!" Dobby inadvertently saved himself in the nick of time as he knelt down to pick up a gold coin.

Boom!

The magic spell hit the wall, but Lucius's face was full of small smiles. "And what is the name of this… child?"

Griphook grinned. "First year, Happy Lestrange."

"Lestrange?!" Lucius, unbecoming of his status, exclaimed loudly.

"Dobby, return home." He ordered and walked out of the small cabin.

"The rest of the money!" Griphook tried to chase.

Lucius didn't stop, "You will get it once I've personally confirmed your words."

"That was not the d—"

Bam!

The door slammed shut, and the Malfoy lord left in a hurry.

…

In Hogwarts.

The new term began, and nothing eventful happened. Happy tried to gain access to the kitchen of Hogwarts, but the elves turned out to be better gatekeepers than Hagrid. They never let him in, no matter what he offered them.

Still, he spent most of his time devouring some delicacies that his elves sent him, sometimes having to make them himself even. But life was good, and he enjoyed every second of being in Hogwarts. Heck, he even got invited to the Ravenclaw room after he asked Cho Chang if he could see the place.

Like most other normal days, Happy strolled through the Hogwarts grounds with Koko waddling happily beside him.

He went to the vegetable patch around Hagrid's hut to steal some veggie snacks for his lovely pet. But he bumped into Hagrid, who was thrilled to meet Koko.

"Blimey, he's a beauty!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Here for the usual shoppin'?"

Happy embarrassingly scratched his head. "So you knew?"

"I know when even a pebble goes missin' from me little garden, Happy. But, if it's for our little Koko, I can let yeh take some."

"Awooooo!" In response, Koko started howling to say thanks.

Smiles and goofing around, it was nothing but happy times for Happy Lestrange. The only empty spot he could feel in his heart was the longing for his parents. He wished they could be with him, and see him enjoying life and being healthy.

But, alas, he had to accept his fate.

....

Eventually, the exam period came, and Happy felt stuffy from time to time. All the students around him were busy studying, sometimes even carrying their books to the dinner table. Naturally, Hermione herself had her head buried in a book, while she tutored Ron and Harry.

Meanwhile, all Happy could do was stuff his face with food while pretending to read.

He was confident about everything, as he had learned a lot about magic already. He was, after all, a massive fan of everything wizardly. All he had to do was brush up on some details and practice the movements and pronunciation.

As usual, on a typical sunny day, Happy went to the library to secretly eat some treats in peace and exchange the books for new ones.

He usually studied alone in the Room of Requirement, as he was able to imagine the best room he could think of, one with lots of food and drinks, something he had accumulated in the room over time. He just needed to multiply them and heat them.

But this time, he needed some more in-depth reading material.

Unsurprisingly, he also found Harry, Ron, and Hermione occupying a table with a relatively thick book in the library. So, he went to greet them, as he still needed Hermione's help occasionally.

"...The Sorcerer's Stone!"

Happy arrived just as Hermione said blurted, and Harry and Ron exclaimed. "What?!"

Happy leaned over Hermione's right shoulder, looked at the book, and smirked. 'So they finally found out. I wonder if I caused any major changes. It'd be rather sad if Harry ends up actually dying because of me.'

Sadly, Happy didn't know that before Harry, his own life was in danger.

"Ah, you're talking about Nicolas Flamel? That old man, how old is he? Six hundred years now? The man vanished after making that one shiny precious pebble."

Hermione looked back sternly, "What! You know about him all along? Why didn't you tell us? We've been searching for months."

Happy shrugged, "You never asked. Anyway, I'm off to some light pre-dinner treats. Anyone with me?"

"Me!" Ron stood up.

"..."

"Ah, I'll pass."

Being stared at by Hermione, Harry pulled the Weasley boy back to his seat.

Hermione also tried to pull Happy to the seat beside her while whispering, "Aren't you worried? That stone is in this castle, and Snape is trying to steal it."

Happy didn't budge, "Well, it's an adult's world. Do you think we eleven-year-old kids are smarter than adults? Adults like the great and wise Dumbledore? Do you think he doesn't know about Snape, who has been working here for years before we even came here? If Snape was dangerous, Dumbledore would have never kept him here. But it's still possible that someone is trying to steal it. So instead of being focused on Snape, why not broaden your search? After all, it's not just us first years who are new to this school."

Growl!

Suddenly Happy's stomach churned. "Ah, my stomach hurts now… I think I'll skip dinner. Goodnight."

Seeing him leave, Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Why is he so uncaring?"

"Because he's a kid… We're supposed to be like him." Ron blurted.

Hermione shook her head to that, "Ron, he's anything but a senseless goofy kid. The spells he used on that troll were too perfect and powerful. He knew about Flamel too…Nobody like that could be normal."

"Wait…Could he still be…You know…" Ron lowered his head to the table. "His parents were Death Eaters. Could he also b—"

"Stop it, Ron." Harry interrupted, not liking Happy being accused behind his back, not after having seen how similar he and Happy were. Both had no family or parents. Heck, he believed Happy had it worse since, unlike him, Happy's family name was tainted.

"What? I was just saying." Ron held back.

Harry sighed and focused on the book, "His actions and behavior could just be his way to stay happy. None of us know what his childhood was like. For all we know, it could be filled with sadness and… pain?"

'Like me?'

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Special thanks to *DougErNuts* *Franklin Walley* *Qul* *phong thanh nguyen* *Dillon Tyler* *andy cohen* *Martin Bosley* *Jason Jimenez* *Devor*