AN - Thank you all so much for your response so far, it has been pretty overwhelming. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed, particularly those who offered me suggestions some of which improved on my ideas and have been implemented in later chapters. Hopefully this chapter will start to show you the direction in which this story is going. Once again cheers for reading - hope you enjoy the new chapter and remember to review if you feel like it, if not no worries I wont hold it against you.
Chapter 3
The entrance was still one of the most impressive things Harry had seen in the wizarding world including the warning poem on the doors. Striding to an open teller Harry waited until the goblin looked up. "Greetings I would like to make a withdrawal from my vault however I don't have my key. Is there a way I can confirm my identity in private?"
The goblin looked at him over the desk, suspicion etched onto his face. "And why would I want to do that?"
Harry looked around him and saw nobody close or watching him so he discreetly shifted his hair to reveal his scar. The goblin's eyes widened slightly "hmm interesting, know this young sir, if you are lying about your identity, the goblins will take great pleasure in punishing you." His eyes shone maliciously at this.
"Agreed sir."
"OK then follow me." The goblin, Snagtooth as he introduced himself, led Harry to an office.
As Harry walked in he spotted a goblin behind the desk he recognised "Griphook it's good to see you again."
Griphook looked confused at this "do I know you?"
Before Harry could respond Snagtooth cut in "that is what we are here to determine Account Manager. This boy claims to be Harry Potter and asked me to verify his identity in private. He accepted that if he wasn't who he said he was that the goblins could punish him.
Where Griphook's face showed confusion before it now held disbelief "Mr Potter is that really you?" Harry nodded. "Well you certainly have changed haven't you? Well to confirm your identity all you need to do is to prick your finger with this knife and let a droplet of blood fall onto this parchment." Harry looked fascinated by this and did not hesitate to let a drop fall onto the parchment.
After a few seconds the blood started to writhe around like a snake and formed first into letters and finally into coherent words.
Name - Harry James Potter
Parents – James Charlus Potter and Lily Marie Evans
"So it is indeed you what can I do for you Mr Potter? That will be all Snagtooth I will call if you are required." Snagtooth bowed and retreated from the room.
"Well firstly please call me Harry, Mr Potter makes me think I'm about to get in trouble." Griphook nodded for him to continue. "Well let me give you a bit of background, I trust this will all stay confidential?"
Griphook nodded again "Certainly Harry we at Gringott's are bound to keep our customer's dealings secret."
"Excellent. Yesterday I left the care of my Aunt and Uncle after I somewhat inflated another Aunt so that she may have ever so slightly floated away." Griphook burst into laughter at this, it wasn't a pleasant sound but Harry figured it was better than silence. "Having already had dealings with the Department of Underage Magic for something that wasn't my fault I decided it was better to get out of there before I did something slightly worse and got expelled. I am assuming from the fact that I didn't receive a letter straight away that I haven't been expelled. Last time the letter arrived immediately."
"I believe that is correct Harry, if you did not receive a letter then we must assume you are not expelled however I sense there is more to the story."
"Yes well I don't really want to be found by anyone, if they do they will just send me back to the Dursley's" he shuddered at this "I hate it there and after Aunt Marge, well I think I'll be lucky to reach Hogwarts alive."
"Surely you exaggerate a little bit, they can't be that bad Harry?"
Harry didn't say anything; he simply looked at Griphook, weighing the options up. Coming to a decision he removed first the hoody and then the tshirt before slowly turning around to reveal his back.
Goblins are a warrior race and as such Griphook had seen a lot of wounds that resulted in impressive scars however he had never seen anything like the back of Harry before. It was a rippling mass of white and shining scars that crisscrossed and layered on top of each other so much in places it was raised by over a centimetre.
"My Uncle started off with a belt but after the age of six he figured it wasn't making enough of a point so he moved onto something that I believe is called a cat of nine tails. A leather whip with nine cords of leather, all knotted to cause maximum damage. One stroke will take the skin off; it takes maybe ten before you reach bone. Trust me I know this from experience." Harry was emotionless during this; his normally shining emerald eyes were dead and lifeless.
Griphook half raised a hand as if he wanted to touch the scars before putting it down quickly realising that the gesture could be misinterpreted. "I can't believe it, I would like to ask if those were real but that's more because I don't want to believe they are. How can this have happened? Even amongst goblins you are famous how could you have been treated this way?" Harry simply shrugged and started to put his shirt back on. "Harry" Griphook's voice was soft, almost compassionate, "I will talk to my Chief about this, I may be able to persuade him to get some of our top healers involved. If all goes well they will be able to remove all of those from your back. I make no promises but I will do everything in power does that sound good to you?"
Harry raised his eyes from the floor for the first time "you would do that for me?"
"Certainly. Now if only we had access to your parent's wills then we would know for sure but I can't imagine they would have wanted you to go to your Aunt and Uncle's if that was the result."
"What do you mean my parent's wills?"
"Well Harry since Halloween when you defeated Voldemort the wills of your parents have been sealed by the Ministry. No goblin knows why or who exactly did it and we lack the power to gain access to them. All I can tell you is that you have access to your trust vault and there is the family vault you can usually access at age 17. In the absence of wills we assume that everything goes to the next of kin which is you so whatever bequests that your parents made have been ignored. This is not necessarily a bad thing for you as it may mean you get more than you would have before although this does mean that your parent's final wishes are not being observed." Griphook shrugged "there is no legal onus on you to do so but should you gain access to the will, which you should be able to at 17, you can still carry out the bequests as stated by your parents."
Harry nodded to this "in regards to my family vault. You said usually at 17 would it be possible for me to access it now or at the very least take a look around it?"
"There are special provisions set up if you are the last member of a family line, which you are. These state that you can access your family vault from 11 but you can't take any of the money until you are 17. This means that you can take any of the books, paintings, furniture or heirlooms that you wish."
"Can I go and look at them now?" Harry's voice trembled at the prospect of seeing if there was anything from his parents in the family vault.
"You can indeed Harry and while you are doing that I will talk to my Chief about you visiting our healers."
"Thank you Griphook I don't know how to repay you for your help."
"It is unnecessary Harry, now Snagtooth will take you down to your family vault and then to your trust vault."
Harry followed the goblin from the room, leaving Griphook trying to shake himself from his thoughts. It was only a short walk from the office to where the infamous Gringott's carts were kept and the trip was made in a slightly awkward silence. Harry felt like he ought to make conversation, even if it was inane platitudes, but he couldn't think of anything. The trip itself was very similar to Harry's first experience, with many twists and turns, far too many to count. Compared to the location of his trust vault, the cart seemed to be taking them deeper into the cavernous expanse that was the Gringott's labyrinth.
Finally the uncomfortable journey came to an end in front of a pair of large double doors. It looked to Harry a bit like the blast doors he had seen when he had snuck a look at the television when Dudley was watching the original Star Wars. The unlikely duo paused in front of the doors, both looking at the other expectantly. Harry realised at this point that he was supposed to be doing something but he had absolutely no idea what.
"Umm am I supposed to be doing something Snagtooth?"
"Ah I apologise Mr Potter I forgot that you have never done this before. This is one of our more secure vaults, more secure than your trust vault and as such no key is needed. To unlock the door you must put your hand into the recess there" he said gesturing to an area on the left hand door.
"What will it do?" Harry enquired.
"Well once you put your hand inside, a small needle will release and prick your palm, allowing several droplets of your blood to be recognised by the door. The door itself is attuned to the Potter family and it will be able to recognise if you are worthy of entering the vault. It is purely based on family line so as the last of the line you will have no problems entering."
Harry shrugged and walked towards the door, confidently placing his hand in the recess. He gasped slightly in shock as the needle shot into his palm before retracting along with some of his blood. He removed his hand and watched in amazement as the small hole in his palm closed over. He shook his head ruefully; he really should stop being amazed by magic by now. His attention snapped to the doors as they creaked and groaned, as some sort of locking mechanism that had lain dormant for years released, allowing the doors to swing open.
Harry's heart was beating a brutal tattoo in his chest, he couldn't believe he could well be about to see something from his parents. He held his breath in trepidation as the doors slowly unlocked. What was revealed was a large open expanse of rocky room, interspersed with piles of Galleons, there wasn't really much else. Harry couldn't help but be slightly disappointed by the lack of variety of the contents of the vault the list given by Griphook of furniture, heirlooms, books or paintings. He realised that he had been hoping that somewhere there would have been paintings of his parents like the ones of the former Heads of Hogwarts in the Headmaster's office. Money he expected although there probably wasn't as much as was in his trust vault, maybe three quarters that amount. Snagtooth looked a little shocked by this as well.
Seeing his mask slip for an instant, Harry turned to the goblin. "What is it Snagtooth? Why are you shocked by this?"
The goblin grimaced slightly muttering about dam observant humans "it is not that I am shocked exactly Harry, but I expected there to be more in the vault. You see the Potter's are an Ancient and Noble House and as such would have accumulated a large number of heirlooms, at the very least jewellery. Traditionally the Potter's have always been a warrior family and so I would have expected there to be armour and weapons in here as well. Why this isn't the case I have no idea. Perhaps the reputation does not meet up with reality, without looking at the actual accounts I have no idea."
"Would it be possible for you to do that then? Look at the accounts I mean? I realise there should be enough money in here to last me a lifetime but from what I've heard from some of my classmates it seems like there should be more. I'm just not sure I trust the Ministry not to have plundered something."
"I can't look at the accounts Harry; I am not senior enough however Griphook should be able to. In fact the Potter's should have their own Account Manager but at the moment I'm not entirely sure who that is. I can find out for you though."
"That sounds good" said Harry absently, beginning to wander around the vault. He stopped in front of a trunk that looked worn but still expensive. It had some sort of crest on the lid but Harry couldn't make out what it was. "Can I look in here Snagtooth?"
"Of course you can Harry, it's your vault after all."
Harry nodded and knelt to open the lid. Inside was a collection of leather-bound books. Picking one at random, he looked at the cover to see if there was a title. There wasn't so he opened it to the first page and on the inside cover there in elegant script was his father's name and under that was written "journal year 5." Harry sucked in a deep breath, there were 30 of these books in the trunk, were they all his father's? Deciding that whoever had written them they would be well worth investigating, he replaced the book where he had pulled it from. He stood up, trying to work out how he was going to get the trunk all the way back to his hotel. Snagtooth provided the solution though.
"I believe if you touch your wand to the crest it will shrink the trunk to a manageable size, small enough to fit in your pocket and will cause no damage to the contents. Do not worry about being underage, this is not actually doing magic, it is an inbuilt function of the trunk."
Harry nodded gratefully and shrunk the trunk before placing in it in his pocket. "Can we go to my trust vault now? Unless there is some way of getting money out without having to physically cart all the money around with me?" Harry looked questioningly at his guide.
"Well Gringott's does make pouches available to customers, for a fee of course. These pouches link directly to a vault and allow you to withdraw however much you desire in either muggle money or Galleons, providing of course it does not exceed the total available in the vault."
"That sounds great, how much will it be for one of those?"
"You will have to discuss that with Griphook. If there is nothing else do you wish to return to his office now?"
"That would be great, thank you Snagtooth"
"Not at all Harry" surprise once more flitted across the goblin's face at receiving thanks. "I believe that you are going to do great things for the magical world." Harry looked taken aback by this statement before smiling genuinely at Snagtooth.
The journey back to Griphook's office seemed much quicker to Harry for some reason, perhaps it was his imagination. Walking slightly unsteadily from the cart's speed, they made their way into the office through one door just as Griphook came through the other. "Ah excellent timing Harry. You will be pleased to hear that I have spoken to my Chief, Ragnok, and he has agreed that you need to be seen by a healer and under the current circumstances it would be best if you saw a goblin one. Is this alright with you?"
"That's fantastic Griphook, it's so much better than merely alright." His eyes shone with pure delight.
Griphook chuckled "if only all of your kind was as trusting towards us as you. Most wizards would never consent to having 'filthy animals' use their magic on them."
It was Harry's turn to laugh "well I think we can safely say I am not most wizards. When would I be able to visit the healer?"
"An appointment has been set up for you tomorrow morning at 9am, who knows how long it will take to heal you properly so it would be best to have as much of the day as possible. Simply come up to the desk and ask for me and I will escort you inside. Was there anything else Harry?"
"Yes actually Snagtooth mentioned about pouches you provide that are linked to a vault. Would it be possible for me to get one of those?"
"I think we should be able to manage that Harry, it will however be 10 Galleons." Harry nodded his agreement to this and so Griphook reached into his desk pulling out a handsome black pouch. "I need for you to put a drop of blood onto the pouch just here so that I can tie it to you and you alone."
While he was in the process of letting a drop of his blood fall on the pouch Harry spoke up again. "Snagtooth also mentioned that the Potter account should have its own manager, do you know who this is?"
"Unfortunately I do not however I can make enquiries if you wish?"
"Would it be possible for you to take over from whoever it was? It's just that you are someone I know and trust whereas I've never met whoever the manager is at the moment."
"That is certainly possible Harry and I must say I am honoured that you have chosen me."
Harry waved away his thanks embarrassedly "it's nothing Griphook; I think you are the best person for the job. Would it be possible for you to have a look through the accounts and see if everything is in order? Snagtooth seemed surprised at the lack of content in the family vault so could you look into that please?"
"I will do just that Harry and should have everything ready for you by the time you return tomorrow morning. All I need from you is your signature here, authorising me as your new Account Manager. This is a blood quill so it will hurt when you sign but will heal almost immediately so there is no need to worry."
Harry signed the parchment happily, grimacing slightly when the quill cut into his own skin. He fervently hoped he wouldn't have to use that dam thing too many more times. "Thank you for all your help today Griphook and I'll see you tomorrow morning at 9."
"The pleasure was mine Harry, until tomorrow."
Harry slid the pouch into his pocket alongside his trunk and made his way out of Gringott's. He was tempted to go shopping in the Alley but his curiosity over what the journals contained won out and so he made his way through the crowd, ignoring the stares, back through the Leaky Cauldron and to the hotel.
Just as he was coming through the entrance he heard a scream from his left and the sound of a breaking glass. He whirled immediately, wand pointing towards the possible threat.
