After the war Harry goes to Gringotts to see about the cost of reparations to the bank owed by himself, Ron and Hermione. Taking the opportunity to find out about his vaults, when he finds something he wasn't expecting.

Hopefully a serious and realistic twist on the old clichés.

He was waiting.

The only noises were that of a goblin scuffling around the room riffling through parchments and scrolls on various shelves placed around two walls of the office; and the grumblings of inconveniences wizards possessed muttered under the breath of said goblin. Eventually the goblin came to sit back at his desk, arms laden with several thick scrolls and scraps of parchment. All dumped on the left side of the ornate desk he currently sat behind.

"As you should be aware Mr Potter we at Gringotts have already spoken to Mister Weasley and Miss Granger." The gruff voice startled harry from his fidgeting. "The cost of reparations to the Bank of Gringotts owed by you for the cost of transference and training of another dragon; re-warding vaults; updating security systems including, but not limited to thief detection and rerouting of the carts; theft of two magical items; theft of a dragon; destruction of property and vandalism of property older than your very own Ministry of Magic; and the use of dark magic on goblin workers; has finally been agreed between the president of the bank and your very own Minister of Magic.

Under normal circumstances nothing short of death would be acceptable, however due to these specific set of circumstances amendments have been made to the original contract. Your Ministry will be paying half of the costs through taxes given to the general populace of Wizarding Britain. The rest is being split into equal thirds between yourself, Mister Weasley and Miss Granger. Any remainder to the cost is being expunged generously by the goblin nation."

The goblin paused for a long few minutes baring his teeth before Harry realised he was waiting for an answer. "Yes…Yes sir – is it possible for me to pay all of the half the ministry isn't paying. I should have enough. I've inherited lordships from the Potter family and the Black family, so I should have enough." Harry rubbed sweating palms on his trousers. He had no idea what the cost of the reparations would be, not having been privy to the original contract details – that stuff was better left to the goblin liaisons and the minister.

The goblin frowned, and pulled out a draw and placed a runic triskaidecagon on top of a blank piece of parchment. "Wand please."

The goblin directed Harry to place his wand on one of the corners of the runic charge before putting it back in his pocket.

"According to our records your vault is 687."

"Yes – but after my friends, Ron told me that the Potters were an Ancient and Noble Family, and I know the Blacks were, and Sirius was my godfather – he left me everything."

"A moderately large sum of money was deposited into vault 687 on the 6th July 1996, However that does not make you Lord Black, Mister Potter."

Harry sat back, his hands ran through his hair as he gaped slightly at the goblin. "Then, who is Lord Black?"

"Mister Malfoy would be Lord Black Mister Potter."

"What? But…That's impossible, he –"

"According to the will which was given to us by the Department of Wills and Inheritance, within your Ministry Mister Potter you were bestowed all of the property and monetary offerings from Sirius Black. He would not have been able to make you Lord Black, however. If you have any further enquiries take a trip to your D.I.W. Gringotts is a bank and merely deal with the wizarding population's money – we care not for titles."

Harry sputtered. Ron had been wrong it seemed – and only a 'moderately large' sum of money – if Hermione had been here she would have strung him up by his shoelaces for not checking his accounts earlier. "What are my options then?"

"Your accounts have been checked over and you will be required to pay back 793galleons and 4knuts each month for 14 years."

"What?!"

"You, along with Miss Granger and Mister Weasley will end up paying equal amounts, though the rates you each pay your amount back has been standardised."

The goblin look unsympathetically at the gaping wizard he had no time for theatrics or arrogant wand wielders who had no understanding of their own finances. However as he noted the scar under his fringe and the acknowledgement that this wizard in front of him had done the world a great service in getting rid of the Dark Lord, he felt he could offer some advice, if not words of comfort. "If I were you Mister Potter" he said to the retreating wizard, "I would get a job."

~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~

Harry left Gringotts, a sheet of parchment tucked into one of the pockets of his robes. Smiling and nodding at the people who still, after two months, called out to him. These were the strangers, the normal people of the wizarding world – those who weren't able or didn't want to fight at the Battle of Hogwarts, often the children of these wizards and witches would come up to him and ask for an autograph or if he really had destroyed a giant snake, like the ones their parents would tell them about in bedtime stories.

Once the people passed him his eyes clouded in thought, lips thinned and a small wrinkle in between his eyebrows where he scowled slightly, once more – everything he thought he knew, well in deference to finances anyway was wrong apparently. But shouldn't there be a family vault or something, for the Potters or Peverells at the very least.

Stopping suddenly in the middle of the alley, Harry hastily apologised to the person he'd inadvertently caused to walk into the back of him. He turned and rushed down to the Leaky Cauldron. Ignoring the curious looks of the customers within the pub, and only distractedly waving at Tom the barman Harry ran through the floo calling the name of the minister's personal floo.

"Harry! What a surprise. How can I help you?"

"Sorry Kingsley," Harry said as he picked himself up of the rug he'd sprawled across after flooing "I need to get to the Department of Inheritance or Wills or something."

"Why?"

"Gringotts said to come here – dunno why. But I'm not Lord Black." Harry said waving his wand to get the soot from his robes and the carpet.

"I know." Harry's head shot up, so fast Kingsley Shacklebolt thought he'd broken his neck. "Sirius wasn't disowned by his father after he ran away, but when his father died his mother Walburga took the mantel of Mistress of House Black. She made Regulus heir instead, bequeathing everything – titles and all to her favoured son. When Regulus died in 1979 the title was held in proxy until a new Lord Black was born. It could have been Sirius – but when he was convicted as a murderer – "

"He was innocent." Harry said sharply scowling deeply at the minister who merely silenced him with a look.

"In the eyes of the ministry at the time he was a murderer. He was unable to take the title of Lord Black. When he escaped and even if he'd been alive after being found innocent it would not have changed things. Though he had access to the family monies. His name no longer had any political clout. And the title of Lord Black automatically went to the next oldest male Draco Malfoy. Now the birth of Teddy complicates it a little bit – but Teddy is Draco's heir until Draco has his own son.

Of course due to Sirius' will still being valid in giving you all of the Black vaults the title is only political clout at the moment. In fact the title of Black Heir, providing no one has any children is Draco, Teddy, You, the Longbottoms, the Weasleys and then the Crouch's."

"Longbottoms? Weasleys? Really?"

"Oh yes, the Black family has really dwindled in recent times, we'd have to go up back through the sister branches to find possible heirs still alive."

"Oh, well – what about the Potters?"

Kingsley sat down heavily on a purple cushioned, silver chair, "Harry I don't know about the potters – in fact I only know about Sirius because of the research I commissioned as head of his manhunt and the time we spent together in the Order." Kingsley Shacklebolt looked at Harry, considering the young wizard before him, before he sighed and wrote a quick notice of a piece of parchment before flicking his wand, sending it folding and flying towards a friend within Department of Inheritance and Wills. "Go down to the D.I.W find out about your family."

Harry nodded, and left the office, startling the witch in the waiting room outside the minister's office.

~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~SD~*~&~*~

Alone in his room at the Burrow, holding onto a scroll of parchment explaining the details of exactly why he was Lord Potter, but also why it currently meant nothing.

If a house has been dormant for 17 years – with no notification of resurfacing given to the Department of Inheritance and Wills about an upcoming heir then the political seat will be placed under hiatus until 5 years have passed – when any related persons to the Title (in this case of Potter) may petition to release the house of its hiatus and regain the seat within the Wizengamot.

So, here he was 18 years, only a single vault to his name…

"Your father made some generous donations to the research and development of defensive techniques and spell creation. As well as large donations to St Mungo's Hospital. A lot of money was placed into property as safe houses and warding of these safe houses – including the one you lived at for a few months at Godric's Hollow. However it's an old safety measure of the Potters to keep money in investments and property instead of in coins. No Matter for you though Mister Potter, these can be accessed as you retrieve the title of Lord Potter."

"What of the title of Lord Peverell?"

"Irrelevant I'm afraid Potter." The wizard with patchy stubble and greying hair explained, "According to our records here at the ministry, which you understand is the records we need to go on – unless you've found contradictory facts within your family vaults. In which case you would need to file for amendments. So as nothing came of the trysts Antioch involved himself; Cadmus died childless and a widower; Ignotus' line had single children, until it ended with only a single several times great-granddaughter lived, and married Ruben Potter in 1593. So the monies and heirlooms of the Peverell family were combined with the Potters."

…and only the title given by fame to go on. Not that Harry wanted to use the 'Boy-Who-Lived' title – he was willing to wait until his 23rd birthday in order to access his seat on the Wizengamot. To be able to help others and have a say about the laws which the wizarding population wanted to pass. A notification had been written and handed to Elijah Remsworth of the D.I.W. At least he wasn't adverse to hard work – and this gave him an opportunity to learn more about wizarding culture, so he would be able to make truly good decisions based on fact and not hearsay.

Harry would do his best to rebuild his family, to make his own mark on the world – one he knew he and his family could be proud of, knowing he had earned through hard work instead of circumstance. Making a decision. Harry stood and stretched before making his way downstairs to join the rest of the Weasleys for dinner. Maybe the war would change things for the better.

I hope that you've enjoyed this oneshot - I may make a series of oneshots twisting other Harry Potter clichés.

Any and all feedback is deeply appreciated.

Nightshade xx