Chapter 6

BUSINESS AT GRINGOTTS

Thanks for your reviews. Let me clear some things up.

Haraldr: You are, to an extent, correct. But you have to understand that Harry can not comprehend the situations to be particularly cunning about it. The explanation is in this chapter. His monotony is deliberate. He has pushed away an important part of himself and it is taking its toll. As the plot progresses, it, of course will be rectified. As for the other characters using big words and explanations, you need to understand that they see Harry as a pre-mature adult. He needs to know what exactly is going on and not in kid words. What you are asking for will come, I promise you, but that aspect of his nature is deep buried in him. As the summary says, he is digging himself out of his carefully constructed image. Thanks for your review. It means a lot.

mizzrazz72: All in due time.

Hadrian, for the first time in his life, was seeing his surroundings with more than a detached caution. He could finally see what he had been missing as his magic connected with it. The more his flexing magic touched, the more he could observe clearly and comprehend what has been going on. When he had come out to lay in the middle of the altar, he was satisfied with his knowledge and the fact that he will be free. Now, he could feel the low anger churning in his gut over the injustice of his bound magic, the awe at being favoured by the immortal entities, the fact that everything has been used as a multiple of seven, from which he deduced that seven was most probably a very powerful number. He also noticed that he was understanding what exactly he had read till date. He never noticed, but until now, the books were just a source of information, never the answers to his questions. This led him to the conclusion that the Dursleys had damaged him in ways he never really understood. They discouraged him from asking questions and it provided a roadblock for his learning. As these thoughts were racing in his mind, he noticed his magic was sweeping through the chamber in a childlike curiosity. Harry decided to practice doing it intentionally. He has a newfound desire for revenge and he was determined to get it. He needed power, not just magical, but also, financial and political. So, he asked Korpnik and Severus who were in the doorway, "So, when can I get on with claiming my inheritance?"

Korpnik snapped out of his awe over the child's magic and said, "Right now if you wish, Mr Potter."

That said, he led them to his office again after Harry had put on his clothes. After they were seated, he asked Harry, "Do you know how to connect to your magical core and calm it down, Mr Potter? It will be much easier if your magic was not dancing around."

Hadrian, as he decided he will think of himself as, didn't reply. He did not want to out his secrets but it was also important. So, for the first time in a long period, he started thinking objectively. Finally, he decided that it was important to calm his magic but as this knowledge can be used against him, he needed some assurances of their discretion. He neutrally asked, "Will you both be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding anything and everything you learn about me? I mean no offense, but I want to be on the safe side."

Both the goblin and the Potions master nodded their heads after some contemplation and Korpnik retrieved two Gringotts standard NDA contracts from his drawer. Hadrian and Severus read it and were satisfied. The three signed the contracts and it glowed briefly. Then, Hadrian closed his eyes delved in his mindscape and subsequently in his core. When he saw it, he was fascinated. It wasn't a sphere but something akin to a twisting, writhing and flowing mass of shadowy water. Instead of the threads, he was used to seeing, there were thick ropes going out of his core. It took him more time and concentration to call back his magic from his surroundings than ever before. He left the one flowing through his body as it was, however, as it was probably for changing his appearance as the word metamorph suggests. He also noticed his magic going in his mindscape. When he noticed that the parts that his magic touched, he could understand better than ever, he was happy however, only for a short while. His magic was crawling towards the wall behind which his earliest memories were stored and he panicked. He did not want to acknowledge them, nothing could make him. So, he pulled almost all his magic away save for some tendrils so that, he could still utilise other information. As this was happening in his head, in the goblin's office, the magic dissipated and his hair again became raven with blood red highlights.. When he finally came back from his trance, he had lost some of his newfound understanding capabilities but not too much.

"For claiming your inheritance, Mr Potter, you will need to satisfy the family magic. The more recent houses of Potter, Black and Eveningshade use heir rings to test the worthiness of the heir. You will just have to pick it up and slide it on your finger. If you are accepted, the ring will glow and adjust its size to your finger and if you are not accepted, it will go back to its box. I must warn you Mr Potter, that these families seek different characteristics in a person and you shouldn't be surprised if some of them do not accept you.", Korpnik explained. He, then, brought out three boxes and put them in front of Hadrian.

Hadrian first put on the Potter heir ring on his ring finger. It was a beautiful white gold ring with a Griffin with his wings stretched in flight and head bowed as a shield. As soon as the ring was on his finger, it connected to his magic and hummed contentedly. It looked through the memories in the main library and lingered on those where he refused to believe his relatives about his parents. The ring then warmed and left a cluster of memories in a corner for Hadrian to sort through. It adjusted and seemingly became one with Hadrian. He understood it will be visible when he wanted it to.

The second he tried was the Eveningshade ring. It also hummed for him but with a cold detachment. It had a sphinx' head and emeralds as eyes for the shield. The ring was gold. It too browsed his memories and lingered on the one where he talked to the snake in the zoo and where he took money and used it judiciously. And thus, the second house accepted him.

The Black heir ring was made of platinum and two grim dogs with their jaws wide open and crossed at the neck was the house shield. This ring gave a feeling of cold indifference to Hadrian. The magic of the ring inspected the metamorph thread from his magic with something akin to approval. The asking for NDA contracts were also met with positive acknowledgement. But after witnessing the careful outburst against Vernon to be able to study in peace, the ring glowed and settled in his magic. Both Eveningshade and Black rings added their own memory clusters to the Potter ring's. Hadrian, on the other hand, was quite pleased that the rings accepted him as it means he has a visible proof of a respectable family.

Korpnik roused him from his daydreams of Vernon's face should he find out about his family's wealth and reputation, "Mr Potter, these rings will turn to the Lord's rings after you turn sixteen as you are the last of line. Well, not the Black one since its Lord is wrongly imprisoned and still retain his rights until he dies. The Most Ancient and Most Revered houses, however, have different sets of challenges for you to become the heir and at age 14, you will automatically be Lord. Remember, Mr Potter, these houses are over a thousand years old and at that time, you were married at 14. Are you ready for these tasks?"

Hadrian replied in affirmative and was told that the true heir of the Gryffindor house will be able to magically summon his sword from wherever it resides. He just had to state his name formally with the request. If, he was able to get the sword, he will be declared heir. Korpnik also warned that a lot of people have tried and were denied the honour. Hadrian stood and with one hand on his heart and one behind his back declared in a strong voice, "I, Hadrian James Potter, as a possible heir to the Most Ancient and Most Revered house of Gryffindor, do hereby request the family magic to judge my worthiness and present me with my ancestor's sword should I be found worthy. So mote it be." A fierce lion's roar was heard in the office and Hadrian was bathed in a red and gold light. His magic was tested to see if he would give in but Hadrian stood firm. After a while, the glow receded into Hadrian and a sword fell into his hands with the words echoing in the chamber, "If thee bleed on the blade and it drank from it without leaving a stain, I grant thee the title of the True Heir."

Hadrian cut his palm and let his blood flow onto the sword. After a while, his hand healed and the blade glowed with a bright reddish golden light. When it was done, there was no sign of any blood and a golden ring with a lion's face appeared on his ring finger only to dissipate in his magic. The sword vanished as well, but he could feel the bond between them.

Next was the trial for Ravenclaw house title and he was told to do the same as the Gryffindor house but this time for the ancestral ritual dagger of Rowena Ravenclaw. Again, Hadrian stood with one hand on his heart and one behind his back and declared in a strong voice, "I, Hadrian James Potter, as a possible heir to the Most Ancient and Most Revered house of Ravenclaw, do hereby request the family magic to judge my worthiness and present me with my ancestor's ritual dagger should I be found worthy. So mote it be." An Eagle's cry was heard in the office and Hadrian was bathed in a blue and bronze light. The family magic seemed to be giving him information at a rapid rate and judging him by his ability to handle the knowledge. When Hadrian accepted it and started forming questions about it, the magic seemed to be pleased. This led Hadrian to believe that he really wouldn't have been accepted before the purification ritual due to his inability to question. As soon as he admitted to his weakness in a show of wisdom, the family magic accepted him. A bronze ring with an Eagle in mid flight as it's symbol appeared on his finger and assimilated in him. The dagger also appeared in his hand and seemingly of its own accord carved three runes in his wrist. Then, magic flashed and the dagger disappeared. The runes bonded it to Hadrian.

"Mr Potter, I believe you should wait before trying to claim the Royal titles as they take a lot out of you and you have already used a lot of your magic. Also, it will give us time to complete the accounting of the accounts of the families you have already claimed. As they have been laying unclaimed for such a long period of time, they will be in a state of chaos.", Korpnik advised.

Hadrian thought it over and decided that he needed time to assimilate the knowledge given by the family magics first. He also knew that he has a lot to learn about magic and magical society. So, he decided to wait until his twelfth birthday to claim the final titles. He nodded and asked Korpnik to show him any and all transactions since his parents' deaths from the Potter vaults.

"No one apart from you can get in the Potter Family vault Mr Potter. Your trust fund however can be accessed by anyone with the right key. I will have the accounting ready in an hour. I suggest you grab lunch in the meantime. Is there anything else you wish me to do?", Korpnik said.

"Yes, it will be great if you can look for any family properties in living conditions that I can use. We will be returning in an hour for further business, Korpnik. Thank you for your help.", Hadrian stated and with Severus' affirmation, they went to the Leaky Cauldon to grab lunch.

However, before leaving the bank, Severus asked Hadrian to disguise himself. Hadrian changed his hair to complete red and his eyes to a pretty hazel colour. They then, went to the pub and ordered lunch. During it, Severus explained to Hadrian about the houses of Hogwarts and just why Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are important names. He also explained the blood status system and prejudice towards muggleborns. Hadrian did not interrupt but formed his opinions based on the tone of voice the professor used to determine what could be a prejudiced opinion and what was in all aspects truth. For example, Severus hated the house of lions and heavily adored the house of snakes. He was not prejudiced towards muggleborns, however, there was a painful personal history related to the word, "mudblood", if the pained grimace when mentioning the term was any indication. He loved dark magic, but had no qualms against light magic as well. Anyone less than genius was a dunderhead to him. He has a particularly sarcastic personality and can bring even the toughest person to tears with just words. He was a bit of a loner as well. As he was making these observations, it struck Hadrian that he wouldn't have been able to do this yesterday because he didn't think objectively before. This was a welcome change. He can now put his psychology books and Sherlock Holmes to work.

When the hour was up, they went to the bank and were escorted to Korpnik's office. Korpnik was waiting with another goblin who he introduced as Ironclaw, Potter family vault manager. He will be able to give them precise information about the dealings related with Potter family. They both greeted the goblin and took a seat.

Ironclaw started, "It has come to my attention, Mr Potter that you do not know anything about the Potter family wealth and estates. I shall give you a brief overview. There are three vaults belonging to the Potter family at present. Your trust vault, containing 500,000 Galleons topped off yearly at your birthday until you are sixteen, as at that age, you will receive access to the main family vault. The second is a heirloom vault, it doesn't contain jewellery or stones but the family portraits, books, family wands and other priceless knick knacks. This, you can access from today, your 11th birthday. The last is your main family vault which is gaining interest as well as the income produced by the various investments. You can start investing after you turn twelve. It right now contains roughly 800 million Galleons. If your investments steadily gain interest, you will definitely have at least a billion Galleons by the time you turn sixteen. The ledgers detailing the investments will be provided for you on your twelfth birthday."

"That's well and good to know my family value but I also need to know about the transactions that took place in the last ten years, any discrepancies and anything missing, Ironclaw.", stated Hadrian calculatively.

"Ah, there has been no withdrawals from your trust fund but two items are missing from the heirloom vault. Last we knew, they were with your parents on their death day. They are also extremely important and invaluable. Your family invisibility cloak, passed down from many generations and your family Grimoire. The Grimoire, for your information, Mr Potter is a book in which each generation contribute by writing important information, spells, secrets, stories etc. and has a plethora of protections woven into it. It cannot be read from anyone other than a blood Potter. There is another discrepancy but I believe that it should wait until after we have discussed this.", Ironclaw answered.

"Hmm, do you know who has these two items?", Hadrian asked with a very calculating look on his face, Severus couldn't help but notice.

"Yes, one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has them. We can retrieve the heirlooms but we need permission from you, Mr Potter.", replied Ironclaw.

"Very well. I request the retrieval at your earliest convenience and to send the cloak to me. You can place the Grimoire back in the vault. We should discuss the other discrepancy you mentioned as well as the property listing I requested."

"Of course, Mr Potter. There is a marriage contract filed for you and one Ginerva Molly Weasley. The problem is it is signed on 3rd November, 1981 by Mr Dumbledore and Molly Weasley. Now, according to the family charter, save for Lord Potter, no one else can file a marriage contract for the heir. I wanted to know what do you want to do with it.", Ironclaw stated.

Hadrian looked towards Severus for help this time as it was beyond his abilities to comprehend that merely three days after his parents' death, such a contract was signed. Severus seemed to understand for he replied, "The contract is illegal. If you wish, you can just ignore it for the time being, but if you are being forced, you can call Lady Magic to pass her judgement on it."

Hadrian nodded eagerly to this plan. If what he understood was correct, then he has several leverages on the Headmaster. He stole his heirlooms, he signed an illegal contract for him and he, somehow, illegally became his Magical guardian as Sirius Black still has that right because of the illegal imprisonment. This made a small smirk appear on his angelic face making him look like a dark Angel.

"The properties you asked for Mr Potter. Among the Potter properties, two are in top living conditions, Potter Manor and Potter summer house. Potter Manor is in Scotland, near Hogwarts and has a plethora of goblin and wizard wards surrounding it which makes it impenetrable. It has twelve house elves, a race who are primarily the wizarding servants, to take care of the Manor and the inhabitants. The summer house however, is somewhere Paris and is not too well protected. It has three house elves in the employ too. Your heir ring will work as a portkey to whichever house you choose. A portkey is a magical transportation device that can be made out of anything. The rest is up to you, Mr Potter.", that said, Ironclaw took out a small gold key and gave it to Hadrian saying it was his trust vault key.

Hadrian thanked the goblins for their help and requested to be taken down to his vaults, trust and the heirloom. Korpnik called Griphook to take the two down to the vaults. It was now roughly three in the afternoon. They were led to a corridor. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks towards them. They climbed in and were off. At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering. Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor. The cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall.

Griphook unlocked the door after taking the key from Hadrian. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Hadrian could see mounds of gold, silver and bronze. He got to know that they were gold galleons, 17 silver sickles to a galleon and 29 bronze knuts to a sickle after Severus explained. He asked Griphook for a money bag and was pointed to a bottomless bag on the back wall. He filled it with about the tenth of the money in the vault as he had to buy a lot of extra things as well and he wanted to buy the best. He then asked to be taken to the heirloom vault. It was quite a bit deeper. Unlike the trust vault, this one had a circular metallic door with an impression of a hand print in the middle. Hadrian was asked to put his hand in the impression. When he did, there was a pinprick in the middle of palm and the door opened with a clang. He and Severus went inside to inspect the contents of the vault. However, just as they entered, they got the surprise of their life.

"Hadrian! Severus!"