A/N: This week it is a very special chapter. A chapter I dedicate to a dear friend of mine for her own special day. Naomi-chan203 this chapter is for you.
A/N: Harry Potter is not mine this is a story from a fan.
A helping hand.
C10 A day at Gringotts.
It was ten in the morning when Minerva walked into the ministry with the latest letter from her niece in her hand. While she knocked on the door she thought. This better be worth it or I will go there myself and take that boy away.
"Come on In Minerva" Amelia called from behind her door. "You are early".
"I'm sorry Amelia but I just can't help myself. I know that a kid has to be beaten half to death before we in the wizarding world will speak of abuse, but I just don't like it".
"You're not the only one Minerva but that law was made by the purebloods of the time. It was only made so that they could discipline their heirs in the way they wanted to do it without any consequences for themselves. A lot of us think otherwise and so did Lily and James. To have this happening to their son is a bad but also a good thing".
"What?" Minerva screamed.
"Minerva I like it as much as you do. But if we handle this in the right way we could be helping a lot of other children. Now the first thing we have to do is to get Harry out of there if he is really being abused like that. Then we could go and make it public. Yes, Minerva public, we will have to keep him save first but everyone will scream bloody murder if we do. With that, we could help a lot of other children because the laws will have to change".
Minerva had to think for a moment but Nodded. It was a hard decision to make, but it could also help a lot of other children who were in the same position as Harry was in. She was however satisfied that Amelia first wanted to help Harry before she would go public with it all.
"Now Minerva, I did have a look at what I could do and ask, and I'm happy to tell you that it is a lot. So if you are ready we can go to Gringotts".
*#*
Two Women were walking into the big white marble building, with a lot of determination on their minds. By the first teller, they stopped and Amelia stepped forward. "Good day sir, I would like to speak to the account manager of house Potter".
The Goblin looked up and snarled. "What is it to you Witch".
"Listen to me Goblin" Amelia snapped back "I called you sir. So I would respect the same courtesy from you".
The Goblin opened his mouth but closed it again. As he looked at Amelia he thought. She did call me sir, but almost all the wizard and witches don't do that so I snapped out of habit. "I'm sorry miss we are not used to receiving polite questions. What can Gringotts do for you".
It was for the umpteenth time that Amelia cursed the purebloods around her. They had been the ones who had been treating these goblins like the dirt they find under their shoes. "I wanted to talk to the account manager from the house of Potter. There are some things that need to be addressed".
"Our accounts are privet to all but the account holders. So I'm sorry but I can't tell you about them" the goblin teller broke in.
Amelia looked at the goblin with calculating eyes. "The questions we have are about the account. We don't want any answers about the account itself we only want the answers you can give us. But we do know and understand that there is something really wrong with the account. That is also why we want to know if it was the fault of the wizards or this bank".
The Goblin snapped his fingers but kept his eyes on Amelia. While a young Goblin rushed to his side the eyes never left Amelia.
"You were looking for the account manager of the Potter accounts," A goblin asked with a snarl.
Both ladies turned around and looked at the Goblin.
"I'm Sharptooth. I have been the account manager for four decades. I assure you that we here at Gringotts do not make mistakes".
Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that you want to do this in the reception hall of Gringotts".
"We at Gringotts do not make mistakes," sharp tooth said again.
That's a yes, Amelia thought. "Tell me Sharptooth" Amelia asked with some venom in her voice. "Does Mr. Potter sign his monthly statements himself or is his magical guardian doing that for him".
The Goblin instantly knew that he had missed something. "Mister Potter has been the one to sign his own statements".
Amelia gave the Goblin a grin that told the Goblin that he definitely had missed something important. "Then tell me, how does a child of only two years old sign his statements. Does he do it with crayons or with a blood quill?"
"Would you please follow me?presents" Sharp tooth said as he snapped at a goblin in Gobbledegook.
Minerva gave Amelia a look and saw that she had a little smile on her face. She had pulled one over at the Goblins and she knew that they would help her with everything they could.
As they walked into the office they saw another Goblin sitting at the desk. Amelia was the first to recognize him and dropped to one knee. "My Lord to what do we have the honor of your presence," she said.
"Please, Miss Bones stand up. The Bones and Potters have always treated us with respect. So if you are here complaining about mistakes we have obviously made, I for one want to know about it".
Amelia turned to Minerva and said. "Minerva this is the leader of the Goblins, his name is Bogrod".
Minerva gave him a bow of her own "Thank you for helping us Lord Bogrod".
Bogrod nodded and pointed to the two chairs in front of the desk.
After some pleasantries, they came down to business. Minerva had shown Bogrod the letters because children were very special to the Goblins and child abuse was just not tolerated in the goblin world. "As you all know we are extremely confidential with the information of our customers. But if you ask your questions I will see if and what I can answer you".
Amelia gave a sharp nod and took out a piece of parchment. "First we would like to know why the last will was sealed off and by whom. The second one is if you can read it and tell us if it was sealed on purpose or was it just done for his protection. The third question is, we know that the Potters were rich so did they leave some of it to care for Harry or is he left empty handed". Amelia looked up. "These are the questions for now maybe we think of something else as we go on".
Bogrod looked at the sealed will in front of him.
"I have one more question if I may, " Minerva said in a small voice. When she saw she could she went on. "I would like to know what kind of papers had been signed after the death of Lily and James Potter, especially the papers that are dealing with his person".
Bogrod looked from Amelia to Minerva. "Very well" and he removed the seal of the sealed will. Bogrod started to read and could feel the suspense increasing as the time went on. After almost half an hour he folded up the will put it back into the envelope and sealed it again. He placed his elbows on the table, put his fingertips together and placed them under his nose. "Well I have read the will and I can tell you that it was sealed by Albus Dumbledore and Minister Bagnold. There chosen Guardians are not the ones he is staying with on this point in time. However, I can also see that the sealing of the will can be seen as a protection, but also as a manipulation. His guardian had to be Sirius Black, Remus Lupin or Alice and Frank Longbottom if they could not do it or a prevented from doing it, then Magic herself had to find his Guardian".
Amelia looked up at Minerva and mouthed Magic herself.
Minerva shrugged her shoulders. "Lily has always been very much entwined with her magic just like Selena Lovegood has been".
Bogrod listened to Minerva and then went on. "Now as for Money, the Potters had set up a trust fund for his schooling to whatever school he wanted to go".
It was at that moment that Minerva interrupted Bogrod. As she realized what she had done she said. "I'm sorry my Lord for interrupting you like this, but Albus always told us that the Potters had secured a place in Hogwarts for him, so it was without a doubt that Harry would be attending Hogwarts".
Bogrod didn't look surprised as he said. "That does not surprise me at all. You see with the sealing of the will Albus has named himself the magical guardian of Harry Potter. This is the reason why I said it could have been manipulation of the will but also protection of the will. But I will explain all of that later to you both".
Amelia and Minerva nodded and listened to Bogrod as he explained further. "There is a stipulation in the will that said that whoever ends up with the guardianship of Mr. Potter will receive five hundred gallons each month for his wellbeing. This amount we are transferring to Mr and Misses Dursley on the first of each month. Now because they are living in the Muggle world they are receiving roughly eleven hundred pounds minus our fee".
This told Amelia that the Dursleys had enough money to pay for Harry, but also enough for their own son and even for some luxury items for their own use. So that meant there was no financial reason to abuse Mr. Potter.
"Now to come back to my statement, as we look at the Protection of Mr. Potter, we can see that Sirius Black is reciting in Azkaban. Remus Lupin is a werewolf so the ministry would never give him custody of Mr. Potter. As for the Longbottom's we know what happened to them. So it only left Magic herself. It is a ritual Lily Potter and Salina Lovegood had created when they were both unspeakable and a ritual that only we goblins could perform. Now because you never know what or who Magic would choose Albus and Bag, old sealed the will to protect that outcome".
It was a statement that both Amelia and Minerva could understand.
"Now for the manipulation part, it comes back to Magic again. By canceling out that part of the ministry and Albus could decide what to do with Mr. Potter. There is, however, one thing that troubles me" and Bogrod pointed at the sealed will. "It says here that their secret keeper was one Peter Pettigrew and not Sirius black".
This was something that shocked both Amelia and Minerva.
A shock that went unnoticed by Bogrod "Now to answer your last question, there is a marriage contract between one Ginerva Molly Weasley and Mr. Harry James Potter. It was signed by Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley. I do however doubt it was for a manipulation purpose because they can get out of it when they are seventeen. I see it more as a protection for both Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley".
Just before they were about to leave Amelia asked. "Who did sign the monthly statements".
"Ah, that would have been one Albus Dumbledore. He did this under the assumption he could do it as his magical guardian. Because he was not allowed I was able to break open the seal on the will. I do have to say that Albus never abused that power, the only thing he asked of us, was that we invest some of the money so we could add to the Potter fortune so he would have enough for when he reached his maturity".
*#*
Back in her office, Minerva sat behind her desk with the next letter for Andrea in her hands.
Dear Andrea.
As promised I and another person went to the Goblins to see what we could find out about Harry. Now there was a lot of information, but unfortunately, nothing pointed to foul play from this side. There are a lot of questionable decisions made that could both be seen from a protection point, but also from a manipulative way. We are looking into it but it will only have influents from this side and it will do nothing for Harry in the Muggle world.
There is, however, one thing that does have some influents on Harry. We did find out that the Dursleys received five hundred galleons a month. Basically, it is roughly eleven hundred pounds. So his abuse has nothing to do with the lack of money.
So, for now, you are on your own. Go collect all you can get and if you are sure he is being abused then get all the evidence you need and get him the hell out of there.
Good luck.
Love you
Minerva McGonagall.
A/N: This is it again for this time. Naomi-chan203 I wish you a very lovely day and that we may be friends for many years to come.
A/N: To everyone else see you all next time.
Gr Winmau.