Disclaimer: If ye know of Harry Potter, then ye know I don't own it- I'm male. Seemplz.

VAULT

Grabbing the chair Ribshaker still sat on, Harry whipped it around to face him. Gripping each armrest, Harry leant over the small goblin. He stared deep into the creature's mind, looking for his secrets.

"Legilimens!"

Harry stood in the mindscape of the defenceless goblin. It was a plain wasteland, just as his own had been. He looked around, until he saw a collection of rippling silvery strands. He flew towards it until he could see the occasional strand of memory float free. Harry reached out with his mind probe and searched for anything involving Dumbledore. The goblin, it seemed, did not think of Dumbledore until he had blurted out his confession- almost as if he didn't know who he was. Nor did he think of him after unless mentioned. Strange, Harry thought, there should be the occasional flicker of memory- even if it's from hearing about the latest piece of news from a friend… Nothing! There was a kind of over-lying tinge to the mindscape, as if there were threads linking to specific parts of the goblin's psyche. Some memories were cut short, as if by some external source, and one was completely foreign- the confession. Harry withdrew.

"Ragnok, you're a fool! This goblin has had his mind altered! Dumbledore replaced his memories with fakes! Ribshaker knew what Dumbledore was doing, but Dumbledore forced his mind into accepting it as necessary, and as his own idea. I know for a fact that Dumbledore has been paying my aunt to beat me and treat me like a slave. I'd be willing to bet that no money made it across the borders. All I wanted was to see if I could get my money back- I need to buy things, and that means I need money. I expect the family of Ribshaker will go free, and Ribshaker be taken to a mind healer to set him memories straight. I expected better of the goblins, Ragnok, after all I have read of them. I will give you the opportunity to erase the disgrace later. I know how important my inheritance is the British wizarding world, but I will gladly move my wealth to Switzerland if that is what it takes for it to be properly looked after. Now, shall we get back to our business? I believe you were asking how I came to be Charlus Potter's heir? Well, you don't deserve to know. I can tell you, however, that I will be accepting his inheritance. I get the feeling that I'll need it. Pass the paper."

Ragnok was still in shock as Harry took the inheritance notice form and signed it off with his usual scrawl. The old goblin looked to be fighting off heart failure. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, trying in vain to rectify the situation. In his own office, a human had taken charge and put him in his place. He didn't know what to do. He went along with it. The form flashed a dull flash, and then crumbled into dust. Ragnok collected himself, and then sat up straighter in his chair.

"The holdings and properties are included in the folder, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said weakly, "And all monetary and material wealth is written about in detail on the coversheet. Would Mr. Potter be willing to inspect his vaults? Perhaps he would enjoy the benefits of a Gringotts Moneybag? You will be able to access your vaults through it, and retrieve anything that fits through the neck of the bag- which is magically expandable." Ragnok was regaining his colour slightly, his green pallor alleviating slightly. He went on, "I am sure that Mr. Potter will accept my humble apologies for the incident, and that I will attempt to change. Both myself and the goblin laws. You are most certainly correct- we cry out against the slavery of our brethren, and yet we enslave our wrongdoers. Maybe it is time for change at last… Before you visit your vault, Mr. Potter, it would be good practice to adorn yourself with the deceased's ring. I will pursue the later Potter ring, once our audit is underway."

Harry looked up. A ring? One that belonged to Charlus? On the desk, besides the pile of dust from the form, was a small, long box that was slightly deeper than Harry's hand. He looked it over, and spotted a black burning phoenix engraved in one corner. He slowly leant forwards and picked up the small box. He slipped it into his pocket, keeping his hand on it.

"I will wear it once I am at the vault, Ragnok. Get someone to show me the way."

Harry stood in the atrium, waiting for the guide to take him to the vaults that were no longer used. The carts were a new contraption, that still did not extend to all vaults- only the ones in use- and these were reducing in number all the time. Eventually, Harry sensed someone behind him. Rather than turn around, Harry pretended to not notice anyone. He concentrated on his facial features, and altered them slightly. He chubbied his cheeks and furrowed his brow. His scar was covered in a layer of skin, and his hairline receded a bit. His lips also fattened slightly, whilst his eyes turned brown. A small cough caught his attention.

With due grace, Harry turned to look over his shoulder, to see a certain Lucius Malfoy. The man had seemingly walked into Gringotts, and forgotten to walk around Harry. The older man glowered at Harry's dismissive reaction, and stepped forwards once again. Harry could smell his breath. Somewhere crossed between a cane-toad and rotting teeth, Harry wondered if wizards knew about brushing teeth.

"Out of my way, imbecile! I'm here on appointment. Don't make me late to meet that wretch that calls himself the Goblin King!" Malfoy snarled. He honestly believed he was so superior! Harry smirked, and then turned to fully face the man.

"And who are ye, to order me around, queenie? I don't really swing that way, if ye catch me meanin…" Malfoy's expression flushed in anger, and he drew his wand quickly.

"You dare! F-" Malfoy didn't get one syllable out of his mouth before Harry smashed his fist into Malfoy's chin. A small spurt of blood, and his lower lip was severed from his face. Harry looked down, and scooped up the offending appendage.

"Is this yours, sir? Shame…" He threw it down the hall, and out onto Diagon Alley. Meanwhile, Malfoy Sr. was practically shrieking in pain as he fought to stem the mild blood flow. Harry continued. "Next time, watch yer mouth around yer bet'ers, mate. They might not be as nice as me, see?" With that, Harry cannoned his other fist into Malfoy's stomach. The man doubled over, just in time to receive a colossal blast of knee-to-the-face. As the bleeding man crawled away over the floor, Harry swept up behind him and swiftly delivered a strong- even for him- kick to Malfoy's bollocks. They both popped under the sheer force, as Malfoy careened back onto Diagon Alley.

Satisfied, Harry waved his wand over the small bloodstain, and it vanished. He about-faced to see a goblin staring at him. Harry quickly reassembled his features, and greeted the goblin.

"Griphook, I presume? I remember you. Shall we go?" Harry waited for Griphook to lead the way. The way was similar to that of going to the normal vaults, except for one thing.

"Mr. Potter. You must jump down to the rooms below. If you are who you say you are, you will be recognised, and allowed safe landing. If not… Then I have to scrape yet another pancake off the floor." Harry stared at Griphook for a second, then turned to the ledge. He glanced over the edge. If this didn't work, he always had the emergency portkey.

He took a deep breath.

And tilted forwards, his arms spread-eagled on either side.

The air whipped past him, as Harry fell down through the tunnel. The sides looks like they'd been worn away by time, or maybe the occasional blast of hot air that he was experiencing. As he continued to fall, he moved faster and faster, until he could barely hear anything. Up ahead, was a large rippling wall of what looked like jelly. Harry recognised it as an old ward, one that was barely functioning. Uh-oh! Harry cannoned into the barrier at full force, blasting through it at terminal velocity. The weak barrier shattered, revealing the ground below. But not before recognising him as the heir.

As the ground careened towards him, Harry somersaulted around, and planted his feet into the floor hard enough to crack and splinter the solid stone beneath him. His knees absorbed the blow, and one hand hit the ground. Harry stood, looking around the cavern he was in. The walls were sculpted to form cavernous arches and soaring ceilings. Harry knew that he standing in a place that no one had stood in for nearly a millennia. There was the occasional pile of shattered bones.

Another gust of hot wind blasted through the vaults. Harry glanced around, looking for the source. He stood in the centre of the chamber and turned around, scouting every corner. Then, he scanned the ceiling. Nothing.

Harry moved forwards, wondering where Griphook was. The little blighter should be down here, guiding him! Suddenly, Harry felt a very soft drifting of air across his neck hair. Harry dived to the side just in time to avoid a massive blast of multi-coloured fire. He continued the roll into a forward dive, jumping into a full sprint to try and gain some cover. Whipping his wand out, he threw a transfiguration spell at the ground in front of him. A long wall of stone began to rise, and he dived over it just in time for the newest gout of flames to pass harmlessly overhead. The top of the wall started dripping as the heat began to melt the age-old stone.

"Shit! What is this thing? Dragons can't melt stone!" Harry conjured a mirror and tilted it over the edge of the rapidly cooling wall, but couldn't see anything. He tilted it around, looking everywhere, but nothing. No dragon, no one shooting flames at him. He stood up slowly, looking around. Suddenly, the air shimmered, revealing a massive dragon head. The tongue was not even a foot away from his face. The smell roiling out of the dragon's mouth would have killed a lesser man, no doubt- and the teeth could definitely do with some spring cleaning! Before the dragon reacted to Harry's presence any more, he quickly jabbed his wand into the throat of the dragon, and poured as much power as he could into his spell:

"Stupefy!"

The over-powered spell hit the unprotected flesh of the dragon's throat, knocking it out instantly. The massive beast fell slowly to the cavern floor, showing just how large the thing was. Harry had to say- it was easily larger than the Hungarian Horntail he'd out-flown in the Triwizard Tournament. The head was the last thing to drop to the ground, the large eyes closing slowly. The irises were startlingly gold, a deep burnished and glowing colour that sparked something in Harry as he watched the beast slowly drift off, fighting every step of the way. With a final huff, the beast was done.

Harry took a step back, and grew sad as he looked at the magnificent beast before him. Pitch black, with golden highlights strewn across its hide, the dragon was beautiful in an alien way- the gold looked so much like lightning, it was crazy. There were two large horns that sloped back from its brow, almost meeting behind its skull. The scales on its face were small, and slightly greyer in colouration compared to the rest. The snout had long-dried blood on it, and the tongue lolled out onto the stone floor.

The breath of the thing was disgusting, it reeked of gum disease and rotted meat. The teeth were longer than the Basilisk he'd fought in second year, and serrated on the backs, much like a dinosaur's. Now that Harry looked, he'd never read of this kind of dragon before. There were tubes in its mouth that Harry assumed were for fire. There were bones and eroded teeth along the gum line. There were spikes along the chin that formed a kind of ruff. The dragon's horns were so large at the base, Harry couldn't even fit both arms around it. I bet they don't feed him a lot, Harry thought morosely. He quickly came to a decision- he'd fix up the dragon as much as he could, while learning as much as he could about it.

Harry set about siphoning off the debris of past meals, neglecting to erect a bubblehead charm- if the gums started bleeding, Harry wanted to know. There was an astounding quantity of rotten meat caught in the teeth. He was very careful to use his wand to vanish most of it- he didn't want any movement to hurt the dragon and wake it. After the bones and meat had been vanished, Harry set about cleaning and repairing the teeth. This must've been constantly painful, Harry thought, as he repaired the teeth nearer the back. He inspected each tooth before he did, though, to make sure he knew what to make them look like. Now he needed to get rid of the infection and swelling.

"Petrificus Totallus!" He immobilised the dragon to make sure it didn't snap his head off, and then set about cleaning the teeth with scourgify. This proceeded until all of the teeth had been cleaned and there wasn't any inflammation. A breath-freshening charm sorted out the remainder of the bad breath. Harry was pleased with the state of the dragon by then. A quick "scourgify" covered the beast's snout, and the rest of its gigantic hide. The dragon must be nearly a millennia old, considering its length. They were much like basilisks in that way. He inspected the scales on its slowly rising and dropping sides- the lightning-like gold colouration wasn't a line of scales, it was like an over-colour. Harry tapped a scale, to see if it was flexible or not. The scale was harder than anything he knew of! The metal coating his bones was different- it wasn't naturally occurring. It bent, yes, but he couldn't bend it much, even with his unbridled strength. The spikes that started at the base of the dragon's head grew steadily larger as they proceeded down its back, until the large flat leaf-shaped spike on it tail. The dragon was actually very different to most dragons- nearly every dragon out there had six limbs- two to fly, two to walk (with aid from the wings). The only exception to this was the Hungarian Horntail- which used its wings as forelegs, and the Chinese Fireball that didn't have any wings. The hind legs were particularly powerful, probably to get into the sky. Harry plodded back to the front of the beast, suddenly unsure of how to escape its attacks. Once he released it… He'd deal with it, he was sure.

A/N: The reviews seem to be slacking, but the faves aren't! I'm so happy this is looking popular, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Next update should be between the 15th and the 18th of August, 2012. Unless I die. Or lose a hand.