Not much for me to say before this one.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Diagon Alley was surprisingly quiet, compared to what Jack had expected to see. There were only a few shoppers milling about outside the storefronts, as the majority had closed for the day. Harry was thankful however, as he didn't like crowds.
The cobbled street was dry, and dusty, showcasing the lack of rain England had seen in recent weeks.
"It's getting on in the evening, so let's go towards the bank sooner rather than later." Jack commented, getting a nod from Harry in reply.
Jack had to physically restrain himself from looking around at all the wonderous shops and things for sale, lest he distract them both from their destination. Instead, he forced his attention towards the giant, marble white building at the opposite end of the alley.
Jack had never been to the set from the movies, so Diagon Alley looked just as magical as he had imagined it to be.
Jack made note of the many different stores available. Some he knew, like Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and Flourish and Blotts; but there were some he'd never seen before, like Abbott's Magical Alcohols.
"You know, I remember you didn't do a whole bunch of shopping when you were here a year ago. Don't you want to explore this place at some point?" Jack asked, curious about Harry's lack of interest.
"After all," Jack continued, "we both essentially 'grew up Muggle', so the idea of magic should still be fascinating to you, and there are many opportunities to be explored, and secrets to be found here."
Harry made a point of verbally agreeing, in an attempt to prove he still did care. "I am definitely am, it's just difficult to stay interested when I get mobbed by crowds." Harry finished, with a slight grimace.
"Hmm, fair enough, I suppose. Anyway, moving on. Before we get to the bank, I'll need to feed you a few lines to say."
At Harry's questioning look, he elaborated. "You should find out if there's a Potter account manager. Also, you haven't got your key, right? The goblins will likely question that; just request they void the previous one, and create a new one."
"And in the future, try not to give your key away," he added, pointedly. "It's your money, after all."
Harry looked slightly embarrassed, but thoughtful. "Yeah, okay. I suppose that makes sense."
"Aye. Now, you'll also want to ask what it means to be the last of your family. Your family are fairly important, if I recall correctly. One of the 'sacred twenty-eight' or something."
"So, I really am the last of the Potters, huh?" Harry asked, glumly. Jack gave him a sympathetic glance.
"Yes, as far as I'm aware, your father's parents died in 1979, just 2 years before… Well, that fateful night." Jack finished a tad lamely. "Although I'm curious to see if their names were Fleamont Potter and Euphemia Potter, in accordance with canon, or Charlus Potter and Dorea Potter (née Black) the more popular fandom choice."
"Anyway, I'm not sure about the rules on when you'll be able to announce yourself as head of house, or if you're stuck as being an heir until you reach your majority. It'll be a good thing to ask the goblins."
Harry brightened, before giving Jack a sly look, "Something you don't know about my life, how shocking." Jack just laughed in response.
As they approached the imposing bank, Jack wondered out-loud, "I wonder if they're open 24/7." Harry shot him an amused look, before shaking his head, and entering the building.
Jack quickly caught up to Harry, muttering, "Remember, don't show any teeth when smiling."
There were only two other people in the entire Gringotts Main Hall, both of whom were being served. Jack calmly walked up to the nearest Goblin teller, with Harry swiftly following behind.
After a few moments of waiting, Jack cleared his throat once. He got no response.
Sensing a raised eyebrow from Harry, Jack glanced at him and shook his head once. The pair simply waited for the teller to finish his writing.
Not 30 seconds later, the Goblin looked up from his work. "Thank you for waiting. You'd be surprised how many would demand my attention. Now then, what business do you have with Gringotts this evening?"
Harry spoke up, a polite smile on his face, not showing any teeth. "Hello, my name is Harry Potter, and I'd like to speak to the Potter account manager."
The goblin teller frowned down at him, and asked bluntly: "Do you have any proof you are Harry Potter?" Harry glanced at Jack, who deliberately looked at his scar and shook his head slightly.
"I'm afraid I don't have my key with me. Is there another way for me to prove who I am?" he asked.
"Yes, but we require one drop of blood from you." The goblin grinned sharply down at Harry. Harry nodded back, before verbalising, "Okay." Jack quickly jumped in, "As long as the blood is destroyed in front of us, after you are finished."
Jack elaborated at Harry's raised eyebrow, "Your blood can be used for many malicious magics. Not that I would cast any doubt on the good goblins of Gringotts, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
The goblin then spoke up, "Your friend is correct. It is highly unwise to freely give your blood away. There are many rituals which could use your blood – freely given or otherwise - to harm you. You have my word I will not abuse this."
Nodding, Jack stepped back and allowed the goblin to prick Harry's finger, before pressing Harry's finger into a piece of parchment. The parchment seemed to come alive in front of Jack's eyes, who watched as lines started to sprawl everywhere, in what appeared to be a weirdly twisted family tree. He missed Harry staring in wonder at his finger, where the cut had magically sealed itself up.
"Very good, thank you mister Potter. I will call the Potter family Account Manager to deal with your inquiry." The goblin, whom Jack was fairly sure he knew, touched something under his desk, which appeared to summon another goblin.
A few whispered words in a language Jack couldn't possibly understand – likely Gobbledegook – and the other goblin ambled through one of the smaller doors behind the teller's desks.
"Thank you, mister goblin." Harry replied. Jack however, took it a step further, by bowing to the goblin, and saying, "Thank you for your assistance, Bogrod." Jack remembered the goblin's name from the films and the books.
The goblin's eyes widened slightly, before returning to normal. The goblin nodded slightly, before returning to his writing.
Recognising the dismissal for what it was, Jack guided Harry off to one side, in case the goblin had more customers to deal with.
"What was all that about?" Harry questioned in a low voice, making an effort not to disturb anyone.
"I was fairly sure I recognised the goblin, so I went out on a limb. I didn't expect anything major to happen, but the goblins don't get treated nicely by the vast majority of wizards." Jack whispered back.
"Did you hear what – Bogrod? – whispered to the other goblin?"
Jack shook his head in response. "Wouldn't have mattered if I did. I don't speak Gobbledegook."
Harry laughed quietly, before whispering, "Is that really the name of their language?"
Jack frowned slightly, muttering, "Later," in reply, while gazing off over Harry's shoulder. Confused, Harry turned around, and saw another goblin slowly walk up to the pair.
"Mister Potter, correct?" the goblin questioned. Harry quickly nodded, "That's me."
"Very well then. Please, follow me." The goblin turned and walked towards the end of the main hall, and the pair followed him through the large double doors.
After following the goblin for a few minutes, taking a very strange path with many turns, Harry and Jack found themselves outside a very ornate looking door, with a plaque outside reading: "Ripclaw".
Following the goblin into the rather fancy looking office, the pair were seated on a rather comfortable sofa. The goblin's desk also looked quite fancy, and was adorned with many interesting looking objects, including something that looked like an upside-down chandelier, with many large, grey baubles floating in the air.
The goblin, Ripclaw, Jack assumed, walked around the desk and hopped up into his chair. "Right then, how can Gringotts help you today, mister Potter?"
Harry looked surprised to find out that the Potter account manager had been the one to collect them, rather than a lower ranked goblin employee.
Glancing at Jack for a moment, Harry quickly gave the goblin his full attention.
"I'm afraid I don't have my key, Ripclaw. Can I request a new one?" Harry asked, uncertainty clear in his tone.
Ripclaw quickly wrote something down on a piece of parchment, which disappeared in a flash of light after he'd finished. "You certainly can, mister Potter. The key will be made available to you before you leave us today."
Harry let out a sigh of relief at how easy this was going so far, before questions started pouring out of him.
"Ripclaw, can you tell me what it means to be the last of the Potters? I mean, as far as I know, I am. But… Did my family leave anything here? I know I have my trust vault, but my parents didn't use that, did they? I'm not all that sure how this all works…" Harry trailed off, looking a little lost.
Ripclaw frowned slightly, and took a quick glance at one of the many different pieces of parchment on his desk. "Your listed magical guardian is one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and as such, he has responsibility over your finances here at Gringotts. I send statements to him monthly, updating him on financial reports, and the like."
Ignoring Harry's open-mouthed surprise, he continued, "In your vault, there are the Heir and the Head of House rings. The Heir ring is available to be worn from your 11th birthday onwards, while the Head of House ring can only be worn from your 17th birthday onwards. You are correct when you say you are the last of the Potters, and you are considered by magic and by law the Heir of House Potter family, until your 17th birthday, on which you will become the Head of House Potter by magic and by law."
Jack jumped in, while Harry attempted to assimilate the information. "Do the rings merely signify status?" Ripclaw give him a questioning glance, before looking to Harry.
Harry give him a nod in reply, stating, "Please answer my friend's questions as if they were my own."
"Very well, mister Potter. Your family rings are just that, rings. Most families, including yours, have enchanted their rings to do certain things, such as auto-resizing, and auto-recall when lost." "But they do not require anything special to be worn, so anyone could wear the ring, and it doesn't require Potter blood to wear the Potter ring." Jack mentally finished. How curious.
Ripclaw continued on with answering the previous lot of questions. "Your family have two vaults with us; one high-security 'family-class' vault, and one mid-security vault. You will be able to enter the family vault when you turn 17 and become an adult in the eyes of magic. It is written in the original terms upon purchasing a family-class Gringotts vault, that only an adult family member of the Potter family may enter it. In addition, there are restrictions for those of the Potter family that aren't the Head of House, on what may be removed, or how much money can be removed at once, from the family vault."
Harry nodded, looking slightly dazed as he attempted to follow along.
Jack jumped in for him again, "Would Harry be able to retrieve his Heir of House Potter ring from the vault, or could a goblin retrieve it for him?"
Ripclaw nodded, grimacing slightly, "In accordance with the goblin-wizard treaty of 1753, we are honour-bound to retrieve the rings for houses of a certain status, when they are in need."
Harry looked up sharply, "'Families of a certain status'? What is the status of the Pott- of my family?"
Ripclaw grinned sharply. "Glad he'd picked up on that, perhaps?" thought Jack, "I would have asked, if Harry hadn't."
"Some families are Noble Houses which gives them certain privileges. A more exclusive group are called the Most Ancient and Noble Houses, those of which grant them further privileges. The Potter family falls under the latter category, and as such, its full title is; the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The Potter family can trace its roots back to the early 1300s. As a result, you will obtain a seat on the Wizengamot, the legislative and judicial branch of your ministry, upon reaching your majority," Ripclaw finished lazily.
Jack glanced at Harry, who was frowning in an attempt to process the information, before he muttered under his breath, "So I'm the Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, huh? That would have been nice to know."
"What about the Sacred Twenty-Eight?" Jack interjected.
"House Potter isn't one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," Ripclaw started, only to be interrupted by Harry: "What's the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"
"The Sacred Twenty-Eight is a list of 'Pure-Blooded' families, created earlier this century. Cantankerus Nott - younger brother to Theophilius Nott, the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Nott at the time - was suspected to have created the list. All Twenty-Eight of these families have seats on the Wizengamot, and all houses listed have the title of 'Most Noble' and are the only houses to do so," Ripclaw finished, in a bored tone.
Jack spoke up with his own commentary. "From what I've found, the list isn't useful beyond that. It's just a way of the old families ensuring their reign at the top of the food-chain, so to speak."
Ignoring the pair for a moment, Ripclaw wrote something on another piece of paper, which also flashed away from his desk.
At the same time, one of the baubles on the tree-looking object on Ripclaw's desk lit up a bright green colour. Pressing a different button under his desk, a door off to the side of the office opened, and a goblin ambled into the room, and carefully placed a package onto Ripclaw's desk. The goblin said something quietly to Ripclaw in Gobbledegook, before leaving the office as quickly as he came.
"Your key has arrived, mister Potter," Ripclaw simply said, in response to his client's questioning look.
Nodding, Harry responded with a polite, "Thank you, Ripclaw."
Grinning sharply, Ripclaw picked up where he'd left off. "In terms of financial assets, the total monetary value of your trust vault is 50,000 Galleons. Your trust vault has its amount raised to 50,000 at the start of each month, and you have a maximum withdrawal limit of 1,000 Galleons per day."
Harry nodded to signal he was following along, while Jack thought they were finally getting to the good stuff. Time to find out just how rich Harry is.
"Your family vault contains not just money, as evidenced by the location of the rings, but other heirlooms and assets. The monetary value of your family vault, if we only look at coins, is 52,584,920 Galleons, 15 Sickles, and 25 Knuts."
That staggering amount had both of them almost literally picking their jaws off their laps. "That's an insane amount of money." Jack thought, before saying, "How much is that in Pound Sterling?"
Raising an eyebrow, Ripclaw looked at another piece of parchment. "Given the current exchange rate is 4.93 Pounds Sterling to the Galleon… 259,244,115 Pounds Sterling." Pre-empting another question, Ripclaw stated, "That would mean your trust vault contains 246,500 Pounds Sterling."
"There's a quarter of a billion, in money alone, in his family vault. What the fuck."
"As Ron would say; 'bloody hell!'"
"In terms of property," Ripclaw started, ignoring the visibly stunned and gaping pair, "you have the Potter family cottage, located in Godric's Hollow, housed the former Heir to House Potter, James Potter, was unfortunately destroyed as a result of the events of 31st October 1981."
Continuing to ignore the now sad Harry, and sympathetic Jack, he continued. "The other property the Potter Manor, located in Gloucestershire, is in good condition, following the death of the former Head of House, Charlus Potter."
"Okay so, one; it was Charlus, not Fleamont – Cool. Although not canon. I'm not sure what that means about the rest of this world. Two; Potter Manor?" Jack thought, mentally. "I don't remember that one… But then again, it makes sense that Charlus and Dorea didn't live with James and Lily."
"Could you give us a bit more information on Potter Manor, Ripclaw?" Jack asked, wanting to fill the silence that had fallen over the room.
"Very well." The goblin replied, picking up another piece of parchment. "Ah, yes. Potter Manor is an 8-bedroom manor, with 2 acres of surrounding land, located in Gloucestershire, South-West England. Home to the former Lord Charlus Potter and Lady Dorea Potter, née Black; the manor is currently unoccupied beyond 3 house elves, Fabby, Dotty, and Timsy, who maintain the manor."
Ignoring Harry's questioning glance, Jack turned to him and said, "Harry, I think it would be best if we went to Potter Manor."
Harry nodded, agreeing. "Ripclaw, how can we get to Potter Manor?"
Ripclaw looked at yet another parchment, before responding. "There are two ways you can access the manor. We can either provide you with a portkey, at a cost, or we can provide you with the floo address, as it appears the Potter elves have maintained the floo access and continued paying floo tax to the ministry."
"So that's one of the ways the ministry makes money. I suppose that makes sense," Jack mused.
Harry looked at Jack with an expression that screamed 'Help!', so Jack smoothly interjected. "Could we please have the floo address?" Turning to Harry, Jack added, "We can floo from the Leaky Cauldron, after we get something to eat."
"Very well, the floo address is: 'Stinchcombe Pottery'." Grinning sharply again, Ripclaw added, "I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that the wardstone hasn't been active in many years, and would likely need updating and reactivating."
Jack looked warily at the goblin, before asking, "And Gringotts can provide this service, for a cost?" Ripclaw nodded in response, turning to look Harry.
Jack did the same. "Harry, we'll definitely need wards to make sure the manor is protected. I would take Ripclaw up on his offer."
Harry agreed. "Could you deduct the required funds from the family vault?"
Ripclaw shook his head, "I'm afraid not, mister Potter. You are unable to interact with the vault under you reach your majority. The rings are the only exception. Do not worry about money, your trust vault has more than enough to cover the cost."
Harry nodded. "Please do that then." Ripclaw made another note on a piece of parchment. "This service can be provided by 3 Gringotts' employees next weekend, if that's acceptable?"
"It is." "How will they arrive? By floo, or by portkey?" Came two responses, one after another.
"Very well then; 3 human employees will arrive by portkey, at 11 o'clock in the morning, on Saturday, August 8th."
Nodding, Jack added, "Should we extend the offer to yourself to see the grounds, and perhaps discuss further business House Potter has with Gringotts?"
Ripclaw nodded decisively, "That would be most useful, and I can foresee many future business opportunities available for House Potter."
Deciding to switch up the conversation, Jack asked: "Does Gringotts offer a magical money bag, or anything like that?"
"Gringotts does, for a small fee, we can offer that to mister Potter." At Harry's nod, Ripclaw scribbled something on another piece of parchment, which promptly disappeared once he'd finished.
"I think that's all my questions for today, Ripclaw." Harry said, as he leaned back into the seat.
"Actually, I have one last question, Ripclaw, although it's a more personal question related to my situation, but I was wondering if Gringotts could assist me." Ripclaw nodded, giving Jack non-verbal permission to ask his question.
The following question garnered the biggest reaction they had received from Ripclaw, or any goblin for that matter, so far.
"I am a time-traveller from over 20 years in the future. How can Gringotts assist me?"