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- Waltz of Blood -

[ Chapter V ]

— Harry / Lord Greengrass Office / 11:11 am —

"So Harry let me get this straight,"

Lord Greengrass calmly stated before his demeanor turned all imposing. Gone were the nostalgic old man and was now replaced by a sharp-eyed senior that's enamored with an aura of a person in high position.

"You, the illustrious Harry Potter, the sole heir of one of the most prominent and richest family in all Great Britain is...in dire need of money?"

Silence.

I-Is it really that surprising?

The slight mocking deadpanned undertone wasn't entirely lost on me but i ignored it while briefly nodding as i keep my poker face intact. It must've sounded like a joke for Sir Julius for he's looking at me as if I'm pulling his leg or something.

Seeing me respond noncommittally to his inquiry, the Greengrass elder then began tapping the table with his index finger.

"And pray tell why one of Britain's supposed richest bachelor of the era badly needs some Galls? Don't tell me you've squandered all of your inheritance already."

His lordship critically stated but i quickly shook my head and etched a rueful expression.

"No i didn't, in fact, i can only use and spend my trust fund and not the bulk of the Potter's wealth but I guess you could say that I've incurred some considerable...debts, besides the one that I've also told earlier."

His lordship blinked owlishly but then made an incredulous face when my words had finally sink in. With a skeptical tone he then asked,

"And the money in your vaults doesn't suffice for paying off these debts?"

...Oh great, here comes the hard part.

"U-Uh, no...not really i guess."

I responded in an evading tone whilst inadvertently taking a sip of water that was given to me.

"How much exactly do you owe anyway?"

"...n million."

"Come again?"

"Thirteen Million galleons more or less."

Silence.

Merlin, I never knew this rigid stoic elder could make such a shell shocked expression...although i guess i made the same face when the goblins dropped the same bomb on me about a month ago. Senior Greengrass closed his eyes for a brief second whilst pinching the bridge of his nose.

"My lad, how in the bloody loo did you even accumulated that much debt? That amount is madness, not even the combined wealth of three prima familia could pay those off. Don't tell me you've ruined a cultural heritage site or something!?"

I gulped.

"No, No cultural heritage ruined—i think? Its just the debt settlements my household needs to pay and...i uhh, may have incurred the Goblins wrath and they demanded some reparation fees due to some actions I've done in the past."

Senior Julius then knitted his brows as he folded his arms together.

"Gringotts? they're pretty much hostile towards everyone else but i don't think they'll be unreasonable and fine someone that huge amount not unless you've damaged their properties like broke into their vaults or something."

A very long awkward silence ensues.

Damnable sod, Lord Greengrass' discerning stare is boring down deep onto my skin, its making me sweat nonstop. He may have found some clues based on my odd reaction for this elder then made an inaudible gasp that's so uncharacteristic of his usual rigid nature.

"No way Harry...Seriously? You've broke into their precious vaults?"

"...Uhh. yeah pretty much since one of the items to kill Voldemort is in it..and i may have freed the ancient dragon that was guarding 'Gotts along the way. They initially wanted me locked up in Azkaban for it but luckily for me they later changed their minds due to my contributions in the last war and just demanded Ten Million Galleons instead."

Silence.

The pregnant silent hurts.

I never knew silence could hurt this way.

It took more than a minute for us to regain our bearings. I guess its really alot to take in. Ten Million is an insane astronomical amount and at most even the most prominent Pureblood family only owns a couple of millions or so.

Sir Julius exhaled an exasperated breath while i massaged my aching nape.

"My my Harry, i knew this meeting would certainly be surprising but i never expect it would be to this extent. Well you certainly lived up to your fame as the wonder boy extraordinairé."

I only shrugged my shoulders ruefully at his comment. I guess now is the time to move onto my next agenda.

"Well I aim to please, which bring us to my next reason for my visit. Actually i have a precious item in me now that may be sold for quite a sum. However i don't think i could easily sell these off without gaining some unwanted attention. I've tried Knockturn alley but the price they offered really didn't come close to what i was expecting and was borderline ripping me off you see."

Sir Julius perked up at my comment with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oho, a rare item is it?"

I wordlessly nodded as i rummage through the magical bag that i've brought and pulled out a medium sized angular bone. Sir Julius eyes further shone upon seeing it and i placed the bone carefully at his table. Lord Greengrass then cautiously drew his fingers onto it and began examining the item with a fervor akin to an exalted collector.

"Fascinating."

I smirked.

"That Milord is a Bassilisk bone, its a part of a full set in fact. What's more, this came from the very creature Salazar Slytherin himself raised in a chamber back in Hogwarts. As you may know, there hasn't been a Bassilisk sightings for more than a century now and were considered extinct already. I may have been a muggleborn but even i knew that you can't just sell these kinds of rare items easily."

Sir Julius touched up his chin in thought.

"Well good thinking there lad. An item of this rarity and historical value can be confiscated by the ministry under the clause of cultural preservation. You won't earn a single gall since their practically bankrupt as of the moment. At most you would only get a medal out of it but i guess you have enough of that now do you?"

I thinly smiled.

No medals fine thank you.

"Yeah, only a fool would sell these on ministry sanctioned shops within Diagon alley and with the goblins hostile towards me, i don't think they too could fetch me a reasonable deal, so therefore i've concluded that i can only auction these up within Eskallenbauns..."

I tried to discern how would this senior would react upon hearing Eskallenbauns, the premiere blackmarket Auction House in all Great Britain and i was not disappointed since his eyes shone in an amused glint.

"Oh the Eskallenbauns, is it?"

I curtly smiled as i steel my nerves.

"Rumor has it that you, Lord Greengrass is one of its organizers, isn't that right?"

"That's right i am."

Silence.

My gobsmacked expression must've amused Sir Julius for he let out a single laugh.

"What, surprised that i easily admitted it? Its an open secret within the Pureblood society anyway so i have no reason to hide it and its not like I'm doing something strictly illegal per se and the Ministry is having a cut of the proceeds so they won't really persecute me."

"I-I see."

"The next auction will be a month from now. You can leave Salazar's Bassilisk to me so that my people can authenticate and set a reserve price for it. As for the auctioneer's sales commission, i will impose a standard five percent cut but you don't need to pay for the initial membership fee since your grandfather was once a VIP and you can just inherit his mask and boxed seat."

"Mask and seat?"

"Oh, its a tradition of sorts. Every participant are required to cast a glamour onto themselves before the auction but we use masks so that each members could still recognize each other even if their appearance changes every single time. Your grandfather used an owl mask and he was widely known as 'Reverend Owl' amongst our members."

Lord Greengrass explained in an even tone as he rummaged through the drawers of his table. He then procured a parchment and a half face crimson owl mask a minute later for which he both gave me. The parchment contains the Blackmarket's rules and regulations.

I gave it a quick skim through and Sir Julius handed me a black quill to sign it. Seeing as there's no problem with the terms, i then wrote my signature onto the parchment using my blood as ink.

My writing hand stang for a moment but I pay it no heed.

I'm used to using black quills anyway.

"Well everything seems to be in order, Harry welcome to Eskallenbauns, the largest blackmarket Auction House in all great magical Britain. The initial reserve price will be done in a day or two and I'll notify you when i get it as soon as possible."

Sir Julius plainly stated before pulling out a circular timepiece.

"Oh its almost lunch, do you still need something for me Harry? If so then i could just call for my elves to bring us our lunch here while we proceed with our talks."

"Well i have one last thing i needed to inquire about and you could say that this is my main point for my visit."

Sir Julius showed me a lopsided grin.

"Saving the best for last eh?"

I just simply nodded as i watched Lord Greengrass call for his elf and ordered it to bring us our lunch. He also called for another elf, the female one I've met earlier and ask her for the condition of his granddaughter. The female elf simply stated that Lady Greengrass is still suffering from a mild headache and Sir Julius said something i didn't quite hear since he told it in a hushed tone and the she elf apparated out not a second later.

The elf that was tasked to bring us our lunch apparated a minute later and he began to place the food at the table in an orderly manner. I eyed our lunch and it was a full course vegetarian cuisine.

Well i guess this is expected for a household that was named as a shrub more or less.

"I hope you don't mind eating vegan meals m'lad. My medics told me to put off meats and other heavily oil fried foods for my diet you see."

I briefly shook my head before starting with my own lunch.

"Its fine, I'm not really all that picky with my foods."

"That's good to hear."

We ate in relative silence for a couple of minutes or so with only the clatterings of the utensils as our background noise. You could say that it was not totally awkward but there's still tension within the air.

I was vying for a chance to resume our talks and i've seen my opening when i noticed Sir Julius paused for a drink.

"Milord, you're holding a seat within the Wizengamot right?"

Sir Julius eyed me critically for a second before putting down his drinking glass.

"Yes i do in fact been holding the Greengrass seat for almost a century now. Why'd you ask?"

I didn't respond instantly and decided to have a spoonful of my salad before responding.

"Well I'm trying to reclaim my Lordship within the 'Gamot."

It took a moment before Sir Julius fully digested what I've stated and a confused expression etched onto his face.

"How can you take up your Lordship, isn't the Potter expelled and banned from participating in any of the court sessions within the 'Gamot decades ago?"

Now here comes the tricky part.

I instinctively adjusted my glasses as i prepare my mind for a battle of wits.

"True, i cannot claim my family's seat much less attend any of the court sessions but i plan to eventually to file an entreaty for an annulment of the Potter's banishment within the Wizengamot—but that is to say my long term goal.

To reach that goal however, i must first fix a small problem of mine that I've just acquired recently in which by solving this one, would gain me an entry within the courts of the Wizengamot without using the Potters seat."

Lord Greengrass knitted his brows as he scrutinized my every word. He then finally gave me a pointed stare before asking;

"...And this small problem would be?"

I let out an intentional dramatic sigh.

"You see, I've also became a heir to an another household but the thing is, apparently I'm not the only claimant. Seeing as both the concerned parties belongs to a high profile households, Gringotts therefore forwarded our case to the Wizengamot for a ruling."

Sir Julius tilted his head with his brows narrowed down in a confused manner.

"That's very unusual, which house did appoint you as heir anyway?"

I falsely smiled with my eyes squinted.

"The Blacks."

A/N : Thanks for reading, for inquiries/discussion please pm me instead.