Once upon a time in Griphook
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the used characters. This text is for no commercial use.
Reading of Sirius Black's will was scheduled for 3pm, but Harry, trying to avoid attention from the dinnertime shoppers in Diagon alley, came a bit early. Ron was stuck in Quality Quidditch Supplies, Ginny hung out with the twins and Hermione nearly went feral on him when he tried to get her out of a book store. So he remained in the Gringott's lobby.
The hour was slow; only one till had a goblin behind it and he was visibly bored. Suddenly Harry remembered the first time he came here with Hagrid, especially the goblin that took him to his vault. Collecting his Gryffindor courage, he walked up to the till and asked if Griphook still worked here.
-Which one?- asked the clerk. Seeing confounded expression on Harry's face he grinned, showing his shard, needle-like teeth.
-It's quite a popular name. King Griphook the VII was good, so there are quite a few Griphooks around. In case Hogwarts curriculum on goblin history is as bad as it is rumored to be, you should know that Griphook is a first name, much like human John or Peter and names of goblins consist of no less than four parts: first name, father's name, bloodline name and clan name.-
Harry felt embarrassed, but still managed to show some curiosity.
-What does King Griphook the VII have to do with this?-
-You see, in goblin tradition king can be good, bad or lunch (we're nocturnal creatures, so lunch is like human supper). If the king is good, goblin families will call their newborn offspring with king's name to "attract" some of his greatness and vice versa- if the king is bad, less people will call their children with his name. And if some king tries to force people into calling their children after him, he's weak, hence he's lunch. So, there are several dozen Griphooks now working in the banks' upper part and trice as many in the lower levels. By the way, it looks like your friends are here already.-
Harry turned to look and saw the Weasleys enter the bank. Hermione was reading something on the way, so she walked in the last, nearly crashing into Ginny. Harry bid the clerk farewell and walked off.
Upon seeing Daily Prophet in Mrs. Weasley's hands he thought it was a shame Wizarding World didn't have the same ruler policy as goblins did, but that's another story.