Disclaimer: The plot is mine. I own nothing else.
A/N: Sorry anyone who was thinking little Harry would show up last chapter. He won't be here either but I guarantee he'll be in the next one.
A/N(Jun16): Gah! Another date mistake. Was Sat, 24/1/1998. Have changed it to Sun, 7/2/1988 as it should be.
A/N(Jun18): Nothing important, just finally gave Pettigrew a middle name. Hadn't realised I'd forgotten that.
Chapter 7 – Legalities
– Sun, 7/2/1988 –
"I know quite well what I'm doing, Mr Harry Potter."
Evan was left gaping and the two shared an amused glance. He tried to deny it.
"What- but- I- I'm not-"
"You're a terrible liar," the goblin told him shortly, with a derisive snort.
He looked from one knowing face to the other before sighing in defeat.
"How did you know?"
"Well, no matter what your claim, magically your name is Harry Potter and showed up as such on our records when you entered the bank," Rockwell explained, "And then there is the matter of your scar."
He slapped his hand over his forehead twice – firstly to feel said scar, and secondly because he was an idiot. An unmitigated idiot. The fact that he looked astonishing like this dimension's Harry Potter could be explained away as saying he looked like his 'father'. As for his eye colour, he could claim his mother also had startlingly green eyes. But the scar. There was no way to explain away the scar. Merlin, he was lucky no one else had seemed to have noticed. He covered his face in his hands and groaned, slumping down into his chair.
"An explanation, perhaps," Jarnack demanded.
"Indeed, I am most curious as to how you appear several years older than you should? I can tell it is no glamour."
He searched for an explanation – or at least one that wouldn't have his thrown in Azkaban or turned into a scientific study. Clearly sensing his agitation, the elder goblin made to reassure him.
"You should note that we of Gringotts have the highest respect for the privacy of our customers and any business conducted within these walls is kept strictly confidential."
"As the manager of your accounts I have even taken a magical oath to that effect," added the other.
"Would you feel better if I also took an oath?"
"I- no," he said, coming to a decision, "No so long as you give me your word not to spread this around."
"I do," Rockwell said, nodding solemnly.
He knew that to achieve his goals he would need allies. And since goblins were known to be clever creatures that were in the habit of being discreet, he supposed these two were as good as any.
"Well," he gave a sigh, "I guess the first thing you need to know is that I'm not from around here…"
It was some time later and his story was winding down to its end. The other two had remained mostly silent as he explained how his life had been up until that point, only asking questions when he had forgotten pertinent details. They both seemed fascinated by the story, and Jarnack had forgotten to sneer at him for quite some time now.
"… and that brings me to now," he finished.
He sat quietly as the other two digested the information they had just been given. After a long moment they seemed to come back to themselves, the younger even remembering to paste his sneer back on.
"Well, quite the adventurous life you lead, Mr Potter," Rockwell broke the silence.
"Tell me about it," he lamented.
"Self pity does not become you," Jarnack told him, ignoring the glare aimed his way.
"Now, now children," the elderly goblin chastened and both settled down, "Very well Mr Potter, I think we can help you."
He blinked, "Help me?"
"That is what he said."
"Yes, thank you Jarnack. As I said we can help you. With the scar that is."
Evan looked at him in confusion before a possibility occurred to him. Then he gaped in disbelief.
"You mean, you can get rid of it," he asked hopefully.
"No, I am afraid not," he sagged in disappointment, before rising a little again at the next remark, "We can however, move it to a less obvious position."
"Wait, but if it can be moved, why did no one ever tell me before now?" he asked angrily.
"I cannot say as I do not know the extent of wizard magic. Perhaps they were not capable of such a thing."
"But you are?"
"Of course we can," Jarnack sniffed.
"Well," he said, ignoring the comment, "That'd be brilliant."
The two goblins shared a look and the younger nodded.
"Jarnack will perform the magic," Rockwell told him, leaning back in his chair to watch.
Jarnack approached him and waited a moment before making impatient gestures.
"Well, get up."
Following the directions, Evan pushed his chair off to the side and stood in the centre of the room, before the younger goblin.
"Where do you want the scar moved to?" he asked crisply.
"Umm, maybe my back?" he said unsurely.
"Don't be ridiculous, it would be seen whenever you go swimming."
"Perhaps on your upper thigh," Rockwell suggested, from behind his desk, "Very little chance of it being seen there."
Finding this idea agreeable he immediately nodded.
"Very well, sir. Now stand perfectly still," Jarnack ordered him.
And with that the goblin began reciting a spell, waving his hand in an intricate manner as he circled around Evan. He assumed the language was gobbledegook, the goblin tongue. It was harsh sounding with lots of short sharp sounds and many low guttural ones. But, as Jarnack continued, the spell caught a rhythm and began to take on a mystical chanting quality that was at the same time both harsh and quite beautiful.
As the chant built up, so too did a feeling of magic in the room. Evan was distracted from the chanting momentarily as he realised the patterns that Jarnack had been drawing in the air were beginning to be visible lines of light and magic. Those patterns drifted through the air towards him, sinking into his skin.
The chanting suddenly rose in both tone and volume, as though coming to a crescendo. The goblin suddenly stopped and jabbed a finger first at his forehead and then at his upper right thigh before yelling one last sentence and there was a flash, as light flooded the room.
Colour slowly filtered back to him and he stared around the room, blinking the black spots away from his eyes. He looked down to see the other two doing the same thing, although Jarnack was also smiling smugly at him.
"What is it?" he asked curiously and received an eye roll in response.
"Your scar, Mr Potter."
His hand flew to his forehead where, for as long as he could remember, there had lain a lightning bolt shaped scar. But now, it was completely smooth. A grin spreading across his face, he lowered his hand to his right thigh and ran it across it. He could feel faintly through the material a scar that had not been there before. And lightning bolt shaped scar. He whooped in delight.
"Yes, yes. It worked," drawled the younger goblin whilst the elder merely smiled.
"Now, perhaps we should change your eyes also," Rockwell started, but stopped at the panicked look it elicited from their customer.
"No! I mean, no sir. It's just, it's the only thing I inherited from my mother. I'd really rather leave them as they are."
Rockwell nodded understandingly but Jarnack seemed unimpressed by the sentiment.
"Well, you should at least consider growing your hair out," he suggested, "Something else to set you apart from your counterpart."
Evan immediately nodded, liking the idea. Perhaps he could grow it out like Sirius's had been. Then he would look something like both of his parents and his godfather as well. Rockwell interrupted his thoughts.
"Now we only need to change your name."
"But I already did."
"Magically."
"Oh. How do I do that?"
"The wand movements are as follows," he waved a gnarled finger in a pattern, pointing at himself, "And the incantation is 'your name', renomen, 'your new name'."
The demonstration was repeated once more before Evan was sure he knew it. Taking a breath he pointed his wand at himself and performed the spell.
"Harry James Potter, renomen, Evan Adam Potter."
There was a light glow which enveloped his form before fading. He looked up to Rockwell to see him nodding.
"Well done."
"You know, I can't believe that was so easy."
"Well technically," Jarnack explained, "The spell isn't common knowledge. It is usually kept to a few Ministry personnel."
"Oh, so was it illegal?" he asked worriedly.
"No not illegal," Rockwell assured him but with a devious smirk, "They've no need to make it illegal when no one knows about it."
He snorted, "Somehow I'm not surprised that you do though."
The old goblin seemed to take that as a compliment.
"Well, if everything is in order, you can finish your business in the Potter office. I'm afraid legalities, for the most part, are not my area of expertise."
"Legalities?"
"For you to take custody of your younger counterpart."
He spluttered a moment in surprise as both goblins smirked at him. He briefly considered trying to deny the claim before casting that course of action aside as pointless. He really was a terrible liar. He sighed in defeat in looked from one to the other.
"How did you know?" he asked.
"It was fairly obvious," Jarnack told him.
"You did give us a fair insight into both your muggle relatives and your character," Rockwell expanded, "Knowing that I very much doubt you would do anything else."
He really had nothing to say to that so Rockwell dismissed them both again, wishing him luck. They both nodded and Evan waved goodbye. As they reached the door however, he turned around suddenly.
"Oh, there was one thing I wanted to ask."
"Yes?"
"Will the Ministry know not to count me as an underage wizard?"
"The Ministry tracks underage magic through tracking charms placed on the children's wands at purchasing. When they reach their majority their head of house or a certified Ministry wizard generally removes the charm for them."
"Damn. How will I arrange that without causing suspicion?"
"You will find, that when you claimed the ring any and all charms where removed from your person, including your clothing and wand."
"Oh, thanks."
And with that the two left. For the second time he was led down a maze of corridors. This time though, he was sure his guide knew where he was going. Eventually they came to a long corridor with a number of doors on either side. He glanced at a few as they passed. Bones, Prewett, Nott, Malfoy, Crouch, and a number of other well known pure-blood family names. At a cleared throat behind him he turned to find Jarnack stopped at a door reading 'Potter' a few paces back. He smiled sheepishly and the creature rolled his eyes and opened the door, indicating he enter the room.
The office was similar to the previous one, although the furniture was perhaps a bit better quality and the carpet and other details a little more luxurious. Jarnack made himself at home behind the desk and Evan took a seat before it, waiting for the goblin to speak.
"Now," he said imperiously, "This is the office of the Potter family account manager."
"So your office then?" he interrupted and winced at the glare he got for doing so.
"Yes. Now as I was saying, I am oath bound to keep your business private. This office is also warded so that everything said in it is kept confidential unless you say otherwise. Only you would be able to repeat anything heard in here.
"You also need to be aware that if you need assistance in some matter, be it financial, legal or otherwise you can come to me and be assured of privacy. Gringotts does most anything they can to keep their important customers happy."
He was rather sceptical at that and it must have shown on his countenance as the little gobblin merely smirked.
"Doesn't mean I have to be polite whilst doing it," he assured him.
"Ah," that did make a lot more sense.
"So, how can I help you?"
"Er," he floundered for a moment before thinking of something, "Well, I suppose I'd like to know just what I inherited."
"Of course."
The goblin clambered down from his seat and ambled over to a filing cabinet against the wall behind him. From the depths of a drawer he withdrew a folder bearing the Potter crest and shut the drawer, returning to his chair.
"Now, this is your portfolio. As per their will, all extraneous vaults were closed and merged with the Potter family vault upon the death of Lily and James Potter. A small trust vault was also established for one Harry James Potter to see him through school. I assume you want to leave that open?"
"Yes, definitely," he immediately agreed.
"Very well. You also own a number of stocks in various businesses. Are you interested in knowing which businesses, Mr Potter?"
"No," he shook his head, "I wouldn't even know what to do with them. You handle all that stuff, right?"
He nodded, "I do. Now, you also own a number of properties. Apart from the ancestral Potter Manor, there is the well known home in Godric's Hollow which is currently in ruins, and a small cottage in Hogsmeade. That is of course, excluding the business premises you own."
"Wow."
"Indeed. Now shall we move on to the Potter child? You wish to take custody of him I believe."
"Yes," he straightened up in his seat, "Yes I do."
"Well, we'll need to take a look at James and Lily Potter's wills," he told him as he replaced the portfolio in the filing cabinet and searched for something else, "If they specifically requested the Dursleys take custody you will have to take your case to the wizard courts."
"Would I win?" he asked worriedly.
"Most certainly. Wizards hold much stock in blood, especially in blood purity. A close magical relative would surely win over a muggle one. It is however irrelevant," he said, still searching the cabinet, "From what you told me your – or rather his – parents, would not have specified them as guardians. Most likely they indicated Mr Black should be granted custody and did not provide alternatives."
"Which is why Dumbledore was able to place us with the Dursleys."
"Exactly," Jarnack said before giving an annoyed huff, "Now where is that blasted- Aha!"
The goblin emerged from the cabinet, and victoriously placed a file folder on his desk, retaking his seat. Evan was about to ask what it was when he found his attention suddenly diverted. Annoyed, he looked back at it and found his attention was being forced away once more. He looked up at Jarnack to see him gazing sharply at the folder.
"Is it just me, or is that folder-"
"Charmed," Jarnack finished for him, "Notice-me-not to be precise."
"Why would anyone do that?"
"Well, if this world's Dumbledore is anything like yours, and given that this is the will of the Potters…"
He trailed of, the rest being obvious. Evan felt a sickening lurch in his stomach. No, surely not. But he had suspected something of the sort before, hadn't he? He found himself looking towards the opening of the folder with equal parts eagerness and dread.
"If you'll cast a Finite," Jarnack requested.
He focussed as much as he could on the folder, trying to ignore the urge to look away.
"Finite Incantatem."
He sighed in relief as the urge to look away passed and pocketed his wand. Jarnack nodded in satisfaction and opened the folder, leaning over the contents, almost sweeping the pages with his long nose.
"Hmm, a combined will, hmm, oh dear," the goblin was now frowning.
"What is it?" he asked, impatient to know.
"It is as we feared. Here, read."
Evan took the parchment held out to him, flattening it on the desk before him. Taking a bracing breath, he began to read.
This is the last will and testament of James Andrew Potter, and wife, Lily Marie Potter née Evans.
Both of sound and non magically altered minds, we do hereby present this as our will, legally binding:
Should Lily Potter die first, the entirety of her estate shall be bequeathed to her husband, James Potter.
Should James Potter die first, the entirety of his estate shall be bequeathed to his wife, Lily Potter.
Should both James and Lily Potter be deceased upon the reading of this will, all our vaults excepting our son Harry Potter's trust vault shall be merged with the Potter family vault and the following bequeaths shall be made:
To Sirius Orion Black, we grant the sum of 500 000 galleons and our property at Godric's Hollow.
To Remus John Lupin, we grant the sum of 500 000 galleons and our cottage in Hogsmeade.
To Frank Longbottom and Alice Natalie Longbottom née Smyth, we grant the sum of 500 000 galleons
To Peter Aaron Pettigrew, we grant the sum of 500 000 galleons.
Should any of the aforementioned beneficiaries be deceased upon the reading of this will, their grants shall go to our son, Harry James Potter.
To our son, Harry James Potter, we grant the remainder of our estate.
If both Lily Potter and James Potter are deceased, guardianship of our son, Harry James Potter is as follows, in order of preference:
Sirius Black, good friend and godfather of Harry Potter.
Alice Natalie Longbottom née Smyth and Frank Longbottom, good friends, and godmother and godmother's husband of Harry Potter.
Remus John Lupin, good friend (Should laws change to allow).
Peter Aaron Pettigrew, good friend.
If all previously specified guardians are incapable of taking custody, Harry Potter is to be placed with an agreeable, light-oriented, wizarding family. Under no circumstances is he to go to Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley née Evans.
Signed at Godric's Hollow on October 26, 1981
Witnesses
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Peter Aaron Pettigrew
By the time he had finished reading, he was fuming. Cursing, he jumped to his feet and started kicking at the carpet. That not being nearly satisfying enough, he began kicking at his chair. A particularly harsh kick elicited a cracking sound and sent the chair skidding across the room, bringing him back to reality. He looked from the broken chair to Jarnack, who had watched the whole display with a blank face. Upon realising he now had his customer's attention, he raised a cool eyebrow.
"If you're quite finished with your little temper tantrum?"
That comment almost set him off again but he managed to keep reign of his temper, if barely.
"Yes, I'm done," he replied with a much dignity as was possible given the situation.
"And do you make it a habit of destroying things when you are angered?" the goblin asked sarcastically.
"No!" he shouted indignantly before remembering Dumbledore's office and flushing, "Well, not always. Don't look at me like that! The last time it was perfectly justified."
"I'm sure," Jarnack looked unconvinced.
He sighed defeatedly, and looked at the pile of wood in the corner. Drawing his wand he waved it in the chair's direction.
"Reparo."
He set the now whole chair back in place and resumed his seat. They sat in silence for a long moment before he finally spoke up.
"Sorry," he muttered
"Forgiven," the goblin said succinctly, "Now, back to the matter at hand. It seems to me that Dumbledore is in gross violation of a number of laws. Do you wish to press charges?"
His first reaction was to give an emphatic 'yes'. But then, he stopped to consider it and groaned as he came to his decision.
"No. As much as I want to I think I'd best not."
"And why is that?" Jarnack asked neutrally.
"Voldemort," he ignored the flinch the name elicited, "If this world is anything like mine then he'll be back sooner or later. As much as I hate Dumbledore right now he is the only one the Dark Lord has ever feared. Having him at the school makes it safer for the children there. They wouldn't be nearly as safe if the old man was in Azkaban."
"A wise decision," he was pleasantly surprised by the compliment before the goblin continued, "Especially from you."
He sighed in resignation, deciding to take what small victories he could where his sarcastic account manager was concerned.
"This could work to our advantage anyway," the goblin stated
"How?"
"To get custody of young Harry, you need only have his current guardians sign over rights."
"How's that to do with Dumbledore?" he received a glare, "Right, sorry. No interrupting."
"As I was saying, the only way Dumbledore could challenge this was if you were either an unfit guardian or it went against the Potters' wishes. As for the first you are quite wealthy and I have explained the blood issue to you. And the second, well it would require a court case and the showing of the will of the Potters," Jarnack smirked evilly, "Thus incriminating himself."
Evan smirked back.
"So I just need to get the Dursleys to sign some papers and he's mine?"
"That is all."
"Great! Where can I get them from?"
"Usually at the Ministry in the Child Welfare Offices. However, we keep copies of most forms on hand here at Gringotts. One moment."
With that he pulled a small bell from a drawer in his desk and rang it twice. After a moment another goblin knocked on the door and entered, making his way over to Jarnack. The Potter goblin leaned down to have a whispered conversation with his fellow who nodded and hurried out of the office.
"Now, whilst Brand fetches those forms, is there anything else you need information on or assistance with?"
"Well, something did catch my attention when I read the will."
"Apart from the fact that it gave you the urge to break furniture."
Sigh, "Yes, apart from that. If the Potters left their estate to Harry, how can I now own the Potter vault?"
"Well, the Potter vault is hereditary and automatically goes to the eldest son in the family. The only reason James Potter inherited was because his older brother – your 'father' – was deceased. Since you are – for legal intents and purposes – the eldest son of the eldest son, it is your right to inherit the Potter estate, irregardless of James and Lily Potters' wishes. Also, since they had their personal vaults combined with the Potter family vault, they inadvertently left all their personal money and properties to you also."
"What about Harry's trust vault?"
"It is in fact an extension of the family vault and as such is yours also."
"Wait, so I've stolen this world's Harry Potter's inheritance."
"Yes," he stated simply.
"But that's not what I wanted," he said, feeling terrible about the whole thing.
"So don't waste all the money, give him access to the family vault when he comes of age, and will the entire estate to him," Jarnack said, as though the solution should be obvious and, as he thought about it, it was.
Satisfied with that idea, he nodded his approval. Just then there was a sharp rap on the door and the goblin – Brand – entered the office. He handed a scroll to Jarnack, had a brief whispered conversation with him, and exited just as promptly. As the door clicked shut, Jarnack extended the scroll towards him.
"The guardianship papers."
"Thanks," he said, taking them.
"All pertinent details have been filled in, they need only be signed. Once that is done, simply retie the ribbon and tap it thrice with your wand. It will automatically be filed at the Ministry. Also, from what we have gathered of Dumbledore he will likely know the moment you take young Harry from the Dursleys and most probably has a variety of tracking charms on the boy."
"What do I do then?" he frowned worriedly, "I don't know the spells to detect and cancel tracking charms."
"Well, I have just sent for-" there was a knock on the door, "Ah, just on time."
Brand entered the room once again. He handed a box to Jarnack who nodded in thanks and dismissed him. As the door closed this time, Evan leaned forward, curious about the box which looked somewhat familiar.
"What is it?" he asked and was handed the box.
He immediately knew why it was familiar. It was a near exact replica of the box which had contained the Potter ring he now wore on his right, middle finger. It was wood, stained a dark blue, highly polished. Like the box he had seen before, it was decorated and bore the Potter crest in inlaid gold. However, the crest was smaller and above it was shown a star.
He opened the box. As expected it held a ring in a blue velvet bed. The ring was made of gold like his, but unlike the one he wore, the top of the ring was wide and flat. Into the surface was engraved a small version of the family crest, like on the box. Instead of a star however, a small sapphire stone topped the crest.
"What is it?" he finally asked the goblin.
"It is the first heir's ring," he explained, "There are a number of rings for heirs. The number of stars crowning the crest indicates how close the bearer is to the headship. The bearer of this ring would be the next in line to the Potter fortune."
"So you want me to give this to Harry?"
"Yes, it will not only make him the heir but also act as yours does and remove all charms on the boy. Every time either you or he remove and replace your rings, it will repeat the process."
"Will it hurt him though?" he asked in concern, remembering the pain of claiming his own ring.
"No. It does not need to check intentions or blood. He needs only to be given permission to wear it by the bearer of the family ring. The head of the family can also revoke the right to wear the ring at any time and the ring will slip from the finger and refuse to be worn."
"Good," he said, relieved that it would not hurt the boy, "What about mine? If I take it off and put it back on in case of tracking charms, will it hurt again?"
"No."
Evan nodded, thinking that this ring would be very useful.
"Oh, I also need somewhere to stay. How do I get to the Potter Manor?"
He was eager at the though of seeing his ancestral home and angry that his Dumbledore had no doubt kept its existence from him.
"Like most old family manors, it is unplottable so I cannot tell you where it is. It can be reached by portkey."
Here the goblin withdrew from his drawer an old fashioned gold key, decorated with sapphires and hanging on a gold chain. He slipped it across the desk to the dark haired boy, who immediately looped it over his neck.
"How do I use it?"
"That portkey will only transport someone bearing the family head ring and those he is accompanying. Anyone else trying to use it will find themselves portkeyed directly to the manor's dungeons. The password can be set by tapping the key with your wand and saying 'set password' and then the password, followed by 'password set'."
"What about if I wanted to let someone else in? Do I have to collect them every time?"
"You can key people into the wards. I am unsure of the method, I only know that you can find out how at the manor itself. Also, if the head of family does not return to the house within two years, the manor wards automatically reset. So, if the Potters had not done so personally, you need not worry about Dumbledore or someone else having access to your home."
He nodded in relief at that.
"Well," Jarnack said, "That appears to be all. Is there anything else you need to know?"
"I need to make a withdrawal from the Potter vault. But other than that, nothing that I can think of. I'll ask if I ever think of anything."
"Very well."
Jarnack then climbed down from his chair and led him towards the door. Suddenly a thought occurred to Evan.
"So exactly how much money do I have now?" he asked curiously
Five minutes later an amused Jarnack let the shocked and dazed Harry from the office.
"To the vault?" the goblin asked, shaking Harry from his daze.
"Oh, right vault," he said getting over the shock of just how rich he now was, "Yes I need to go to the vault."
A short and heart racing cart ride later they screeched to a halt outside the Potter family vault. Evan was by this stage over his shock. Jarnack advised that so long as he wore the family ring he need only lay his palm on the door and command it to open. The now collected Evan did as suggested and found himself dazed once more on seeing for his own eyes the extent of his wealth.
Another ten minutes later, Evan Potter was leaving Gringotts, his newly filled money sack jingling on his hip and, for the first time ever, eager to get to Privet Drive.
..ooOOoo..
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