Really? I Have More Vaults?
Thanks to my lovely beta, LadyLini (who did the first draft), for all her help in making these easier to read for you, my readers. All mistakes are still my own. This second draft is unbeta-ed.
I have a poll on my profile that has nothing to do with this or any other story. It's just something I'm curious about.
This another rewrite of one of my one-shots from 'Little of this, more of that'. I hope you like the additions.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter that pleasure belongs to J.K. Rowling, and all the people who she gave permission to have it make her rich. I just play in her sandbox.
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The war had been over for two months now, and the money Harry had taken before the Horcrux hunt was running out. Not that there had been much to begin with, but what little he had was almost gone. He had been staying with the Weasleys in the rebuilt Burrow. They had been given funds from the Ministry to re-erect their home. Thank Merlin for magic, the home was up and occupied within a month.
As Harry felt the small amount of coins in his pocket, he knew he would have to go to the bank and hope he wasn't killed when he got there. The goblins must be furious with him and his friends. He had no idea how they would react. He hadn't been back since the break-in, mostly because he knew he was going to have to make it right. He just didn't know how.
He and Ginny were sitting on the couch in the comfy living room, talking about their wedding. One of the reasons he felt he needed to get things straight with the goblins. Ginny was talking about a very lovely dress that he had no problem paying for, just to see her in it. They were looking through some bridal magazines, when Harry approached the subject.
"Ginny, I need to go to Gringotts," the messy-haired young man stated apprehensively, putting aside the magazine and taking her hand and looking her straight in the eye. He could see the worry on her face from the tone of his voice, however there was also confusion there. "It might be dangerous the goblins don't like me right now. I told you what happened there, right?" he was sure he had, but he had been forgetting a lot of things lately.
"Well, you kinda skimmed over that part. All I know is that you guys broke in and took something, but you never told me the whole story." Ginny answered, curious now.
"Ummm," Harry hedged, rubbing the back of his head, "well, you see, it's kinda like this. After we escaped from Malfoy Manor, Hermione found a piece of Bellatrix's hair and for some reason she still had Polyjuice in her bag. We had Griphook with us, that traitor," he spat. They could have lost the war because that greedy goblin took Gryffindor's sword when they still needed it. Thank Merlin, Hermione and Ron got into the Chamber of Secrets, though he still had no idea how. Ron said he just mimicked Harry, but he didn't know that was possible. Well, he believed his best mate. "Anyway, she came up with the idea to get into Bellatrix's vault. Griphook said he would help us, so we went to the bank to get the cup." He got lost in thought for a minute trying to put that crazy day in order. "Everything was going mostly okay until the alarms when off."
He was not going to tell her he had used one of the Unforgivables or what a horcrux was, maybe after they were married. Or maybe not, that would be kinda cruel to hide it from her until then. He'd have to think about it, but not right now. One thing at a time. Gringotts first then sharing of secrets.
"They have a way to detect imposters, you see. I can't tell you how, I'd be in more trouble with the goblins," Harry continued giving Ginny his full attention now. "Anyway, Griphook took the Gryffindor's Sword after we grabbed the cup, and then alerted the guards to where we were."
"I see why you would call him a traitor," Ginny said softly, giving his hand a squeeze.
"Yeah, that sneaky, low handed… anyway, it was crazy. We were surrounded, so we started firing off stunners and then I got the brilliant idea to jump on the security dragon's back. We destroyed the walls and the roof, making a hole big enough for us to escape. After we got out, it took a while for the dragon to get low enough so we could jump off into a lake," he sighed, again pushing his hand through his hair. "So you can see why they might be tad upset with me?" he finished sarcastically.
"We need to talk to Bill," Ginny decided, after giving it some thought. "He'll know what to do." Her oldest brother was smart and he knew about goblins. She was sure he'd help them out. She didn't want Harry to go to Gringotts unprepared.
"Right, let's call him, I guess," Harry replied. He wasn't going to put too much hope in it, but he really needed to get to the bank. There was no way he was going to continue to live off the Weasleys and he promised to pay for the wedding. He couldn't do that without money.
"Don't worry too much. If anyone knows what to do, it'll be Bill." Ginny said as she patted his knee, got up, went to the Floo and called her brother. She threw the powder in, yelled Shell Cottage and stuck her head in the green fire.
While she was at the fireplace, Harry ran scenario after scenario through his head. He was coming up short with how to solve his problem. Who knows, maybe Bill would be helpful. He just hated to ask. He had already asked so much from this family.
The oldest Weasley son came through the Floo and settled in a chair as Ginny joined Harry on the couch. "What's up, guys? Why do you look like you're headed to your execution, Harry?" he gave the teen a puzzling look. The war was over, this hero should be happy. With the wedding coming up he should be the most content man on earth. That's how he felt when he married Fleur.
"Ummm, you know we broke into to Gringotts, right?" Harry asked, rubbing the back of his head, and then pushing up his new glasses. The old ones broke after the battle and had been put together too many times to be repaired magically. These silver rimmed spectacles were one of the reasons he was so low on funds.
"Oh yeah," Bill snorted, chuckling at the young man across from him, "I know all about that. You're still a major issue when it comes to the goblins. They're pretty put out that they can't seize your vault for the damages you guys caused. Any idea how you're going to pay them?" he asked seriously.
It was because of the Golden Trio and Voldemort that the goblins trusted wizards even less than they had before; it was a wonder he still had a job. Tension was tight at work, however all of his years of devoted service paid off in the end. As it was, Fleur lost her job and had to get work in Diagon Alley. She was actually quite happy working at the Leaky Cauldron. Her English was improving faster there. She was determined to get back into banking when things weren't so tense at the bank.
"That's kinda what I want your help with. What do you think they're going to want? I mean, I have gold, but according to that traitor, Griphook, they don't want money," the dark-haired wizard said with an almost pleading look in his green eyes.
"If I remember correctly, you inherited Sirius' house, right?" Bill asked, his mind coming up with something that should appease the goblins. He remembered many things in that dreary old house that they would want. It might even help him at work, if he brought Harry in and helped him make amends.
"Yeah, I haven't been there yet. Kreacher is still cleaning it." Harry said a little confused.
"I remember Sirius telling Mundungus about the cups and silverware being goblin-made," Bill said, hoping Harry would get what he was hinting at. "'Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest.' I believe he said. Remember?" He lifted his red eyebrow and encouraged Harry to understand.
Harry thought about everything he had learned from when they had been hiding at Shell Cottage. He wasn't slow by any means; he just didn't have his head together from the war, yet. Things got muddled if he thought too hard. Finally, it came to him. "Yeah, I remember that," he brightened at the thought. "When Ron, Hermione and I hid out there, I noticed loads of it still there. I guess Fletcher didn't have time to take it all. I think there's something like, ten cups and all the silverware. I really didn't have a change to go through the house though, being hunted and all." He got a thoughtful look on his face, "You're saying, I should offer it to the goblins as payment. I wonder if there's more. Kreacher!"
*pop*
"Master is calling Kreacher?" the old house elf said. He was looking much better since he and Harry had hashed out Regulus' last order. Once Harry told him that he had destroyed the locket, Kreacher had become a proper house elf and obeyed only Harry, though he still talked to that crazy old hag portrait of Sirius' mother. It was a work in progress, but Harry was hoping the damn thing was off the wall before he dumped the place.
"Yeah, Kreacher, first off how are you?" Harry asked, looking the elf up and down.
"Kreacher is doing well, Master," the old elf bowed, but you could see the hint of smile play on his lips.
"Great, now I have a question to ask, how much stuff in Grimmauld Place is goblin-made?" Harry asked as he smiled at his sorta friend. He was really glad the elf survived, even though sometimes, it reminded him that Dobby didn't. Every now and then, when Kreacher would pop into the room, Harry would suffer a flashback on the moment Dobby was stabbed.
"Mistress is having many things made by goblins. There is being; cups, silverware, vases, doorknobs, knives, and wall decorations. Is Master needed these things?" Kreacher asked curiously with a tilt of his overly large head.
"Yes, I need you to gather everything goblin-made and bring them to me. Okay, Kreacher? I'm going to return them to the goblins. According to them and Bill here," Harry pointed to Bill, "the Blacks only rented them and they need to be returned." He really hoped the elf didn't make a fuss.
"Mistress will not like this and will be telling Kreacher to punish himself if he does what Master wants. But Kreacher must follow Master's orders. Kreacher does not know what to do," Kreacher mumbled and started to sway. It was still a time of adjustment for the half-crazy house elf, as well. Years of follow that old woman's orders had made him barmy.
Harry got up from the couch, knelt down, grabbed the elf firmly, yet gently, and looked into his confused eyes. He calmly said, "Kreacher, calm down. Listen to me okay? You don't follow orders from that portrait; she is long dead, she is not real. Listen," he said again, softly kneading the shoulders under his hands, "calm down. Remember you're not to punish yourself, ever again. I told you that last time we talked. I know it is hard, but this must be done. For your Master." His eyes search the elf's face to see if he was getting through.
It took a couple of minutes before the confused elf remembered himself. "Kreacher will do as Master asks. Kreacher will return shortly."
*pop*
Harry sighed and returned to his seat by Ginny. "I hate that thrice-damned portrait. I wish there was some way to get it off the wall." They had tried everything, even paint thinner and a lighter, but the stupid thing was still hanging there. Harry had a sneaky suspicion that Kreacher could get it off, but so far the elf wasn't talking, and he didn't want to force him.
"Harry," Ginny started cautiously, Harry was touchy when it came to anything Sirius had left him, "why don't you sell Grimmauld Place? It's not like we're going to be living there." She really hated that old house; it didn't have any good memories to it.
Harry turned to Ginny and stared at her with wide eyes. "Who would buy it? With that portrait screaming at everyone?" he asked a look of great curiosity on his face. He wondered if maybe Hermione and Ron might want it. Or he could sell it for one Knut. Maybe Malfoy would want it. Well, he'd have to wait and see. Right now, he needed to tend to the matter at hand.
"Let's leave that on the back burner for now," Bill said, bringing their attention back to him. "What you're doing with the Black stuff is a start. But Harry, you stole from Gringotts. You came into their bank and cursed them, causing a large amount of damage getting away. You set one of their dragons free. All of this is a big no-no. You're going to need a lot more than anything Kreacher brings. Do you know if you have inherited any other vaults? You may be the 'owner' of more goblin-made things." It was something he always wondered. Rumor had been going around for years that the Potters were related to Gryffindor.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Nope, I know nothing of my history." And he really didn't, Hermione knew more about his family tree than he did. Heck, even Neville knew more.
"Well, when Kreacher comes back, I'll take you to the bank and we'll ask them to do a heritage test," Bill offered. "I might be able to keep them off your back. They still trust me, mostly."
"Okay, Bill, sounds like a plan," the younger man said. He then turned and hugged Ginny, knowing she wasn't going to like what he was going to say, "Ginny, you stay here, please. I have no idea how this is going to play out." He knew she could take care of herself, she proved that at the Final Battle, but, that didn't stop him from worrying.
To his surprise she just shrugged and said, "Sure, I never liked dealing with goblins anyway." Given that her family never really had money, the only time she interacted with them was at the beginning of the school year. And even then, it was mostly her mum.
*pop*
"Kreacher is having all goblin-made items that were in Master's house. Kreacher is thinking there may be more in the Black Family vault." Kreacher bowed and then he handed a rather large bag to Harry, who promptly shrunk it down to hand size. "Is Master still needing Kreacher?" the old elf asked, keeping his head down, so that Harry couldn't see his eyes. His Mistress had been most distressed about what he was doing. She yelled and screamed, but Kreacher had to obey his master. She then called him hurtful things and made him feel like he was betraying her.
"Thanks, Kreacher, you're the best. No, you can go back to whatever you were doing." Harry replied, not noticing the small tear that fell down his servant's face.
Ginny did, but before she could say anything, *pop* Kreacher was gone. She made a mental note to tell Harry later.
"Okay, let's go. The sooner we get started the sooner we can get it done," Bill said, rising from the chair.
Harry gave Ginny one more hug and followed the older redhead to the Floo. They left for Diagon Alley and exited in the Leaky Cauldron. Bill waved to his wife and took Harry out the back as quickly as possible, so that the people there didn't start congratulating the poor man. It was something he had to deal with all the time, but they were in a hurry, sort of.
They walked through the Alley and noticed that a lot of shops were starting to rebuild. The stores were thinly populated; most wizards and witches were still recovering from the war. Many Muggle-borns had lost their jobs, their family and their money, not to mention their lives, to that bitch Umbridge.
Azkaban was too nice of a place for her, Harry thought as he looked at the few people wandering the street.
Some people had got their jobs back, like Bill and Mr. Weasley, but many were still suffering. Harry wished there was something he could do to help. It was going to take a long time for the Wizarding World to recover.
They made good time to the bank and the goblins that were guarding the door snarled at Harry. It was only because Bill was with him that they didn't attack. Harry gave them a fast bow, but they continued to growl at him. He quickly followed the redhead.
The older man led Harry to a teller and said, "Mr. Potter would like to pay for the damages he and his friends caused. He would like to return all the goblin-made items he has possession of. He would also like to take a heritage test to see if there are any more treasures he can return."
The teller was glaring at Harry but nodded curtly to Bill and replied, "Wait here." He got down from his stool and went to one of the many doors littering the back of the bank. The two men waited patiently, though Harry was still very nervous. After about five minute the teller returned. "Follow," he commanded. And turned back to the door he just exited. The men followed.
They were led to an office and the goblin behind the desk was looking at Harry in a very hostile manner. The bank clerk left after waving them in.
"Strongfoot tells me you are here to pay us for all the damages you and your cohorts caused. Is that correct?" the goblin behind the desk asked as he folded his spindly hands on top of some parchment.
"Yes, ummm," Harry looked at the name plate on the desk, "Steelblade, I want to do what I can to make things up to Gringotts. I know what we did was bad," he understated, "but it was for a very good reason." He fidgeted from foot to foot.
"We do not care about your reason," Steelblade slammed his fist on the desk, making the two humans jump. "You violated many treaties. You are very lucky that we are still repairing damages, or we would be at war again." His glare intensified.
Both men shuddered at the thought of going to war so soon after the last one. "I'm here to stop that actually," the messy-haired wizard said, looking at his fiancé's brother, who gave an encouraging nod. "I have some goblin-made stuff in this bag. And Bill tells me that there might be more I can return. He said I could take a heritage test and if I own more vaults, then anything goblin-made in those vaults will be given to Gringotts, without complaint." He enlarged the bag and held it up.
Steelblade gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, "Sit and let's see if you are a man of your word."
Bill and Harry sat in the chairs indicated. "I am a man of my word. It was Griphook that went back on his side of our deal. I was going to return the sword after we were done with it. It was vital to what we needed to do. If he hadn't turned on us, we wouldn't have had to destroy any part of your bank," Harry said forcefully, thumping down the bag in front of Steelblade, who stood up growling at the nerve of this human.
"Harry," Bill snapped, making everyone's head turn his way, "now is not the time for accusations. Let's just get this done so you can put it past you." He glanced at the goblin.
Harry calmed down a little, "Sorry, none of that was Gringotts' fault. I shouldn't have raised my voice, again I apologize." He leaned back in his chair in a nonthreatening manner.
Steelblade glared minute, took his seat again and waved it away, "Any deal you had with Griphook was between you and him. We are grateful that you saved him from Voldemort, however, that is neither here or there. Let's started negotiations on what you have."
Harry gestured to the sack and said, "This is what my house elf gathered from the Black family home. He said there might be more in the vault. I have no idea what my family has."
Steelblade looked in the bag and said, "This is a good beginning. As far as I know the Potters never commissioned anything from Gringotts. Let's see if you have inherited anything else. You better hope there is more, or we are going to have to arrange something else," he snarled then he set the sack to the side and took a parchment from a drawer. "Years of hard labor come to mind," he sneered.
Harry was hopeful that there was more. He really didn't want to work for the goblins as an indentured servant.
Bill was sitting on edge waiting to see how the test was going to come out.
"Your family has not done a heritage test in over 500 years. Many lines have died since then. If you prick your finger and drop some blood on the corner of the parchment. Then we can see if there are any vaults left that the Ministry hasn't seized," the goblin ordered, holding out a small knife and the parchment.
Harry did as instructed and a list of names started to appear.
Bill leaned forward to see if he could read them.
Steelblade waited until the writing stopped. "Well, well, well, aren't you well connected?" he sneered, "According to this, you are related to Emrys, Gryffindor, Peverell and of course Potter. But that's not all; you have inherited many vaults from wizards that that are of no relation to you. There is Black, of course, and Ashland, Stewpots, Peircemore, and Crain. The latter vaults were willed to you when you vanquished the Dark Lord the first time. Their lined died out and they needed to leave their possessions to someone or the Ministry would have taken them."
Bill was crowing internally, he was right, and he was shocked. Merlin? Really? There had been no rumor about that.
"So I have nine vaults?" Harry asked excitedly. There had to be loads of goblin-made stuff if he had nine vaults, surely that was sure to be enough to appease Gringotts.
At first Bill and Steelblade looked at him in shock, and then they started laughing. Bill almost fell out of his chair, he was laughing so hard.
Harry looked on with an open mouth, and then he started to get mad. "Why the hell are you laughing at me? What's so funny?" he demanded, slamming his hand on the desk.
Bill pulled himself together, shook his head and turned to Harry "You never paid attention in history, did you?" he asked, already knowing the answer. No one, but the most studious, did.
Harry got a sheepish look on his face; he and Ron always had Hermione doing the homework for that class. They felt they couldn't really be bothered. "No," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I, ummm, kinda couldn't keep awake, and well Hermione usually did our history assignments."
The redhead shook his head and said, "Well if you had paid attention, you would know that Gringotts wasn't opened until 1474."
"Yeah, so?" Harry asked, still confused.
"Harry, when was Hogwarts built?" Bill asked in a gentle voice, like someone leading a child along an easy problem.
Steelblade let the human handle this.
"Ummm, somewhere in the 10th century, I think." Harry was starting to get the idea of why they had laughed at him, and he felt kinda stupid. He really hoped he could get over the war soon, so he could start thinking rationally. He was getting tired of his fuzzy head. Maybe I should see a healer, he thought, and then turned back to his older friend, who was still talking to him.
"Right, are you getting it?" Bill asked a little concerned that Harry kept spacing out.
"Yeah, but won't their, you know, descendants have used Gringotts? I mean there's rumor that Merlin lived a very long time. He could have opened a vault. Some say he is still alive." There was a bit of hope in his green eyes.
They really needed to retire Binns if Hogwarts was turning out people as ignorant on history as Harry seemed to be. "Okay, let's go through this," Bill said seriously. "If Merlin were still alive do you think he would leave any way for wizards to know? They'd never stop hounding him. If he opened a vault it would still be his and not any of his offspring's'. Follow me so far?"
Harry nodded, paying very close attention.
"We don't know how many kids Gryffindor had, so we have no idea who they are. History doesn't tell us that. For all we know there are hundreds descendants. His name pops up on heritage test all the time, but none of them are directly related. So no, there isn't a Gryffindor vault," the redhead continued.
"Okay, I get that, but what about the rest?" the messy-haired teen asked, still hoping to get this all settled. All he wanted to do was get married, have a bunch of kids and live happily ever after.
Bill had to take a minute to think about the next name on the list. "Ummm, Peverell died in 1291, and we know he raised a family and it's said he at least had a son. The name died out and so somewhere along the line a daughter's side inherited everything and she married into the Potters. So if the son left anything, it would already have been absorbed to the Potter vault, including the Invisibility Cloak you already own."
Steelblade took up the narration, "You do however own the other six vaults, and we will go through them and confiscate any of our treasures. You need to search any house connected to these names and keep your word."
The sheepish look on Harry's face became serious. "I always keep my word," he said firmly, his eyes narrowing, remembering Griphook's betrayal and Bill's warning about dealing with goblins.
"Yes, so you say," Steelblade glared back. "Let's find out and go over your assets."
The three men sat for hours looking over what Harry had inherited. In the weeks that followed Harry sent Kreacher to all the houses to retrieve everything. Soon all goblin-made items in his possession were returned. The goblins received hundreds of them, which finally closed the deal.
Hermione was fuming that her friend paid off the debt without input from her and Ron, but they made a deal so that everyone could be appeased. Ron would give ten percent of his paycheck and Hermione would give fifteen of her, since it was her idea. They would do this until the balance was paid.
Harry wasn't considered an enemy of the bank anymore. However, though he and his family were never treated hostilely, they only received curt and abrupt services. He never closed his, now combined, vault in fear of offending the goblins even more. It took hundreds of years before any of Potters were treated with any kind of respect in Gringotts, but it eventually did happen.
Harry found out why he couldn't think straight. He and Ginny suffered from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a serious mental condition that has lasting consequence of traumatic events. They did eventually go and see a mind healer, with the prodding from Hermione, since it helped her and Ron. They started to trust again and the nightmares were only coming once a week now. Together they healed and lived a very long and happy life with their children and grandchildren.
Hphphp
I find it absolutely hysterical when people give poor Harry the vaults of those listed above (or any of the Founders), except the Potters and Blacks of course, because they all died before Gringotts was ever opened. Well, maybe Merlin was Immortal, but that was never proven and if he was I doubt he would let wizards know by opening a vault in their bank.
This of course makes me a hypocrite, because I to have given Harry one or more of these vaults in prior stories, but I did giggle the whole time. Anyway, a far more canon oneshot explaining why this impossible, in my humble point of view.
The ending might be cheesy, but I'm keeping it.
Before you jump on me about Harry's lack of wit, remember he just finished a war, not to mention month on the run. He lived seven years of his childhood, fearing for his life. He was emotionally abuse by his family. One does not come back from his whole life being crap to it suddenly not. It will take time for him to start thinking rationally; he will be confused until he gets some help. I don't know if Wizard's have mind healers, but for the sake of this fic, let's hope they do.
Below is what I pulled of Harry Potter Wikia:
Merlin: the entire placement of Merlin at Hogwarts is paradoxical. Hogwarts was founded in the 9th/10th century, and while the early 9th century was the time the first records of the Arthur-myth were written, the actual myth plays around the year 500 A.D., meaning that the 'historical' Merlin in fact predates Hogwarts by roughly five-hundred years. However Merlin, being the wizard he is, was probably allowed adult education to further his magical studies and abilities in the search to become more powerful. (Which is where some people get the idea that he is immortal.)
Godric Gryffindor is believed to have lived and died in the 10th century. (That's it, that's all they had on him. It says nothing about offspring.)
Ignotus Peverell (12 July, 1214—18 May, 1291) Ignotus most likely married at some point, having had a son. (Though they don't know when they blended into the Potters)
It (Gringotts) was created by a goblin called Gringott, in 1474.