Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long by my standards anyway and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.
Chapter Eleven: Banking Matters; Black Estate
At the bank, Dumbledore had been distressed to learn, even the Black accounts were now out of his reach despite his attempts to keep Harry from learning about them. When reports had begun coming in of his bought and paid for people not being able to use their keys, he'd naturally gone to the Bank to see what the problem could be. The goblin he'd spoken to had told him of the freeze on Harry's Potter account. So he'd tried to access the Black account to get the money he needed for his people. He needed to pay Mungdungus or who knew what the man would spill the next time he was arrested. Which seemed to happen at least three times a month. And then there were the Li Brothers he used to make problem people disappear when the Death Eaters couldn't be blamed. They actually had a daughter/niece in his school right now and she was trained by them. He knew the only reason that girl was a Hogwarts student was to keep him honest, as the saying went, with them.
But again the goblin refused him. He was informed he couldn't access the Black account without permission from the Board of Trustees who oversaw it. Nor would they tell him who was on that Board because he wasn't a trustee of the account. He'd tried telling them he was Harry's magical guardian and therefore was in charge of all his banking business until Harry came of age. Since he hadn't appointed a Board of Trustees to the account there shouldn't be one. But as the goblin obviously believed there was, he needed to contact them and either dismiss said Board or get himself a place upon it as was his right as Harry's magical guardian and legal representative here in the magical world. So if he could just get a name he'd be on his way.
But that was denied because the goblins knew he was no such thing. They knew he claimed to be their Holder's magical guardian but they also knew he wasn't any such thing. When their Holder began his secondary schooling the Ministry had appointed another as their Holder's Guardian/Protector and that man had all the legal power over their Holder until said Holder finished his education at Hogwarts. But not even his Guardian/Protector could interfere with banking matters pertaining to the young man. Not unless Harry appointed the man as his representative and came here in person to inform the goblins of the appointment. Not any more anyway. Not since that disreputable goblin lost his head for his perfidy.
Just as he had with Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore ignored what he didn't want to acknowledge. He refused to understand the teachers in the Castle were oathbound to protect Harry when and if they could regardless of what manner of threat the boy was facing. He honestly believed Severus had only interfered with his plans for the boy because of a graveside promise made to the boy's dead Mother. And that wasn't binding. Therefore, it could be ignored if the man truly wished to ignore it. Especially since he himself, who was the boys magical guardian, had not felt any kind of a pull on his magical core suggesting he was overstepping his bounds as guardian. Since Harry was a minor, attending Hogwarts under his dominion, he assumed he was his legal and lawful guardian now. As such, Dumbledore thought he had managed to withhold the information of the Black bequest from him on the grounds that as his magical guardian, he handled all legal matters for Harry in the magical world and Harry didn't need to be reminded of his loss so soon. Or so he thought.
But since Dumbledore wasn't really Harry's guardian in any manner, Harry had learned of his Heir to the Black status after his third school year long before Dumbledore had contacted them to withhold the information from him. And now, two years later, there was nothing Dumbledore could do about it though he was unaware Harry actually knew those accounts belonged to him. Goblins didn't discuss client business with other clients. They weren't gossip mongers like Ms. Skeeter. They were goblin bankers.
Regardless of what he believed the Ministry hadn't given him guardianship in any legal manner either on the night the elder Potters had fallen or at any time thereafter. They'd only accorded him the right of placement allowing him to place Harry into the guardianship of his muggle Aunt and Uncle. They'd probably meant to rescind Sirius' right as Harry's magical guardian at the conclusion of his trial but they'd forgotten to actually give him one. So it had never happened. The Dursley couple were Harry's physical guardians while Sirius Black had been, and remained even in death, his legal magical guardian though he had never had the chance to act in that capacity. And while the boy did have his Guardian/Protector at the school that wasn't the same thing as a magical guardian. That meant now the Dursley couple were his only guardians outside the school.
Nor could it be changed. Because Dumbledore had the Potter Wills sealed unread. That meant even if they wanted to, the Ministry couldn't alter his guardianship. Not unless they unsealed the will. And they'd never do that because Dumbledore didn't want it unsealed. Wizengamot ordered or not, and it was not, Dumbledore had no right to assume guardianship in any manner.
Dumbledore had been, and still was, so very afraid of someone else influencing Harry, he'd never dared to point out the need for a new magical guardian when Sirius had died by the lake. Paperwork, no matter how well hidden, could be discovered and guardianship papers had to list factual information that would include Harry's direction. Exactly the information Albus didn't want in the hands of the masses. Therefore, although Dumbledore told people he was Harry's magical guardian, he'd never actually filed any kind of paperwork to prove that claim and so had no legal right to have anything at all to do with Harry's inheritances. He certainly had no right to be withdrawing items from the vaults.
Petunia and Vernon had filed for guardianship so they could make use of Crown services for his care as needed. His medical needs, housing needs, clothing needs and educational needs had all been subsidized by the Crown. What's more, they could prove it. They had paperwork documenting every single quid they had received for Harry's care and not one pence more of it had come from Harry's inheritance vaults than what they were legally entitled to receive as his primary guardians. That paperwork was being held by the goblins now for the day when Harry was safe from Dumbledore's revenge.
To give further lie to Dumbledore's manipulations, Harry felt no great loss per say in regards to his Godfather's demise. Yes, he was sorry the man was dead but it wasn't like they had known each other or he'd made any fun memories during his short life to call upon involving the man. He didn't and hadn't. Dumbledore had made sure Harry knew nothing about the man. Therefore, finding out he'd been named his Godfather's heir the day after his parents had named Sirius Black as Godfather to Harry James Potter wasn't that sad of a thing. Yes, he'd felt a pang of remorse for what might have been but he wasn't missing him. Not like he missed his Mum anyway. Her, he actually had a memory of and had known what she was to have been to him. So her, he'd miss every day of his life. If Dumbledore wanted Harry to feel real remorse, he should've allowed the man out of prison sooner and let them build a relationship. Since he hadn't, there wasn't one and Harry hadn't mourned for the man's passing.
Nor did he feel any real guilt for the man's method of passing away. Sirius had gone out fighting to kill the man he felt betrayed Harry's parents who'd been his friends. Not for a second, did Harry believe Sirius had gone after Peter for Harry's benefit. He knew it had only been about James. James had mattered to both Sirius and Remus. Not Harry. Neither of them knew Harry. Not as anything more than James' son and for both of them Harry was forever a one year old child just learning to say their names. Because Dumbledore had refused to allow them to spend any meaningful time with him over the years. For them, Harry would never grow up.
But the goblins, needing someone human to handle Harry's new inherited vaults, had gone to the three remaining Black adults at Harry's bequest. Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange, whom Voldemort had wasted no time in freeing from Azkaban, and Andromeda Tonks had taken over overseeing the Black vaults until Harry came of age. All three knew they were only managing the accounts until the new owner came of age though Bella and Narcissa both believed the new owner was Draco.
Before they could be named as custodians of the accounts, they had to swear an oath on their magic not to defraud the estate or the new owner in any way, shape or form. Every expense had to be a legitimate Black family debt of honor that had to be paid from the Black accounts. No new debts were allowed to be accrued to the Estate without the full approval of all three sisters, a high ranking bank representative and the owner himself or his representative named in person by him after he was proven to be spell and potion free. Both Holder and his appointed representative, that is. Neither could be under the influence as that could lead to a withdrawal not in the best interest of the Holder and against his will.
Should any one of the three sisters break this agreement, they would lose their magic and be subject to punishment as decreed by goblin law rather than human law. Human law would have given them anything from a fine to time in Azkaban to banishment from the magical world with their wand snapped and their core bound. But goblin law was different. Under goblin law, if they broke their oath they had better be praying they were sentenced to working in the goblin mines. Because that was the nicest of their punishments. And they'd be praying for death long before they died.
The oath was really more for Bellatrix than it was Narcissa or Andromeda. It protected them but not to the same degree. Because they didn't wear a certain tattoo on their arm as she did. The oath meant there was no way Bellatrix could sign any of it over to her Lord and Master or even allow her husband and brother-in-law access to the funds. Nor could she take out the funds herself and turn them over to her Lord and Master. If she even tried her own magic would punish her for it. Of course, she was supposed to be in Azkaban right now so it was unlikely she'd actually try to do any such thing as her presence here gave the goblins blackmail over her and she was Slytherin enough, even in her insanity, to recognize that. Though she had safe harbor in the Bank itself, she couldn't stay here forever and if she tried to defraud their client, they could easily slip the information of when she was here to the DMLE who'd be waiting for her to leave the premises.
Andromeda had no problem signing the agreement. She was the only one of the sisters who knew who the new owner actually was. She also knew Sirius well enough to know this had truly been his wish and that although Sirius had hated the ancestral home, he didn't want it falling into unfriendly hands that wouldn't do their best to preserve it for future generations. She was well aware he'd always meant to one day remove Harry as his heir since Harry was already the heir of the Potter Estate and a Seat of Power. Giving him the Black Estate and a second Seat of Power would be placing too much on his shoulders since he'd need to have two wives to live up to his responsibilities to both Estates. Since both Estates were old power, they could only be inherited by a son. So Sirius had always intended to have his own child but, thanks to being consigned to a living death in Azkaban, he'd never gotten around to doing so. Naming Harry as his heir had prevented the Estate from being destroyed and wasted by the unworthy.
Narcissa only had a few qualms about why the oath was necessary since she certainly wouldn't act against the best interest of her own child. Haughtily she said, "Draco should know I'd take care of his inheritance for him without needing to swear an oath on the matter."
But the goblins had anticipated this and explained the oath was mainly for Mrs. LeStrange who was sworn to serve He Who Must Not Be Named with all that she owned. That would include the Black Estate if she could figure out a way to get it to him. Mr. Sirius Black didn't want his ancestral home and lands falling into his hands given the state he reduced other once proud estates to over his years as a Dark Lord. But it was unfair to ask only Mrs LeStrange to swear the oath. Plus, Lady Malfoy's husband was a known follower of said Dark Lord as well. Was she trying to tell them her husband would be unable to talk her into making a withdrawal for him or granting access to the holdings of the Estate to him? Withdrawal or access he could then easily turn over to his Lord and Master? The oath offered her protection just as it did Mrs. LeStrange. With that phrasing Narcissa knew the oath really was for her protection as well as Bella's. So she signed the agreement as well and gave her oath.
Bellatrix had a harder time as she knew her Lord was waiting for the Black Estates to fall into his hands. She knew her master would have one fit after another when he discovered the Estate was beyond his reach until Draco came of age. But, like Sirius, she'd no desire to see her ancestral home fall into ruin and eventually she was able to force the oath out and sign the agreement. Her master, she knew, had no respect for the Estates he laid claim to because he wasn't a pureblood and didn't understand the reverence his followers held for them. The history in those Estates wasn't his history and so it meant nothing to him.
Only after the agreement was signed and all three had given their oath did the goblin tell the three sisters exactly who the new owner actually was. Narcissa gasped and demanded to know, "Exactly how did that boy come to inherit my family estate. He isn't a Black by blood."
Andromeda rolled her eyes and explained it to her as Bella laughed. As soon as the goblin had named Harry Potter as the Holder of the account it had flashed into her mind how he could have inherited over Draco.
"Cissy," Andromeda said calmly, "Harry is indeed a Black of the Blood. His paternal grandmother was Dorea Black; twin sister to Orion Black who you know was Sirius' father and the heir of Arcturus. Added to his Godfather status that was enough for Sirius to use the old laws and name Harry as his heir until he could produce a son of his own. Since Orion was heir to Arcturus Black who had been the Black of the Black when they were growing up, and Sirius was Orion's heir, that makes your son further down the chain of inheritance than Harry. So Draco was Harry's heir and nothing more until the day arrived when Harry had a second son to take the title from him. And because Orion passed away before Arcturus did, that elevated Sirius to being his heir directly. Since he was in Azkaban, he couldn't produce a child of his own to replace Harry as his heir. But because Harry is a Black by blood Arcturus didn't remove him from the line of succession as was his right. Therefore, Draco is Harry's heir until Harry has either a second son by his first wife or takes a second wife for the Estate and produces a child with her."
Like Andromeda, Bellatrix had always known the Potter Child was a Black of the blood just as much as Draco was. Only Narcissa had failed to remember who Potter's Grandmother had been. She just hadn't let herself think about it since she knew her Lord and master was determined to kill the child. Or die trying to anyway. With that boy's luck, that had a very good chance of happening actually and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.
And since Arcturus, who'd outlived Orion, hadn't liked the Dark Lord at all, she had no trouble believing the old man had gleefully accepted Sirius' choice in heir. It helped that young Potter actually was higher in the line of succession than Draco as well. Potter's grandmother was actually closer to the line of succession than her own parents had been. Which meant Potter was closer than Draco though they were the same age. And as those two boys were all that was left of the Black menfolk, of course the estate would go to Potter now.
When the sisters had calmed down, one from being angry and the other amused, the goblin explained the problems Harry was having with Dumbledore and how the old man was attempting to hoodwink the child out of every single knut of his inheritance he could before the boy reached adulthood and how furious he was going to be when he found out he wasn't in charge of the Black Estates. The goblin went into detail, as he'd been instructed by Harry to do, so the sisters would be fully warned as to what to watch out for and just who they knew for sure was benefitting illegally off of Mr. Potter's orphan state. Andromeda narrowed her eyes when she heard her own daughter's name read off as someone taking a monthly payment from the Potter accounts. "Oh, she won't be doing that any more," she announced in a firm, no-nonsense voice. "Not when I'm through with her anyway."
"Want some help, Dromie?" asked Narcissa purring in anticipation. Even Bella, who was the eldest of the three, was looking at her sister questioningly.
"So long as the injuries aren't permanent or deadly, sure. It should be like old times again. Nymphadora seems to have forgotten she's to be upholding the law. Not breaking it when it suits her purposes. And stealing from a child simply because you think he doesn't know of the availability of what you're helping yourself to, is most definitely not upholding the law. I strongly doubt Harry even knows her name. She definitely hasn't earned this coin she's getting each month from his estate."
The three sisters tracked down one Nymphadora Tonks in her small apartment and gave her the fright of her life when they proceeded to ream her out royally for having stolen money from a little orphan boy for services rendered. Not even Dora's attempt to arrest Bella derailed the reaming she was undergoing.
Bella fingering her favorite knife, told her niece in no uncertain terms she wanted to know exactly what services Dora had rendered a little boy that would require a monthly payment for years and she'd better like the answer or little Dora was going to be very unhappy. "Was she really that desperate she had to go molesting little kids?," she asked her in her little girl voice that made her opponent shiver in fear. Because as far as Bella knew, Harry had only been eleven when Dora started getting paid for services rendered this was something Bella actually did want to know. The family line was well known for instability in it's members and if Dora was suffering from this particular problem then the family needed to keep an eye on her.
Narcissa, playing with an ornate ring she wore, told her, "if I even heard a whisper of someone treating my Draco like that they'd be dead the next time they ate or drank something. Do I need to have you over for dinner one night soon, Dora?" That the ring she was playing with was one created to hold the poison of choice for the wearer back in the day when such poisoning was commonplace, had only hammered her meaning home to all of them. The question had just put everything over the top for the young auror.
Everyone thought Bellatrix was the Black sister to watch out for but in this one perfect moment in time Nymphadora Tonks knew that wasn't true. The truth was Narcissa was the deadliest of them all simply because with her, you'd never see your death coming until you were gasping out your final breath. If you even knew she'd killed you then! And when you died, not one person would be able to offer even the slightest shred of proof she'd been the one who killed you. So not one of the four women in the room had any doubt that was anything but the cold hard truth.
Unfortunately, Dora, who preferred to be called by her last name only, had no idea what they were talking about since she didn't take any money from any little kids ever. Not for anything. She even brought out her own accounts ledger to prove it. The only money she got on a regular basis was her auror's paycheck and not a single knut more than it should be for her rank. It took time but she was finally able to convince her Mother and Aunts that she wasn't being paid out of the Black vaults for anything. But she was furious anyone would think she was. So as soon as the women had left her apartment she took her ledger and went to see her boss. She had a crime to report.
This, unknown to Harry, had caused a new investigation to be opened up in the Auror's division because Nymphadora Tonks didn't appreciate someone making her out to be a person who stole from orphans no matter what the cause or reasoning was. She was a law abiding girl and she had a particular soft spot for orphans due to the well-known story of Harry Potter and his orphan status. She'd gotten so outraged at the idea the goblins thought she was stealing from an orphan she'd forgotten all about arresting her Aunt.
So Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimegour were both looking into the accusations as well. They'd both chewed the young auror a new one for failing to call for back-up to arrest the notorious Bellatrix LeStrange but had let it slide in reference to what the woman had shown up over. The three Black sisters, who not only didn't care for the possibility that their estate had been stolen from and manipulated for years now but that someone was doing it because they knew it was to go to a child who wouldn't learn of their thievery for years yet if he ever did, were also looking into the matter because now they believed they knew this person was using others, unknowingly on their part, as a front for the theft. And that this person, or persons, had used their daughter/niece to enable at least a fraction of his or her theft made the crime even worse in their eyes. This person, or persons, was using family to steal from the rightful Lord of their family.
All three women were thinking the Dark Lord might be bad news but even he drew the line at ripping off children. Well, not really since he did claim their inheritances as his once he gained their parent as followers. But at least he also took in the displaced children and made sure they didn't go without once he took their family homes as his own. Sort of. This thief didn't appear to be planning to do that even. He or she was just flat-out stealing every copper knut and priceless artifact they could lay their hands on.
Meanwhile Dumbledore had yet to realize just how deep in the stew he'd fallen. He sauntered into the bank and presented both the letter he'd received on Harry's behalf informing Harry of the frozen nature of his accounts as well as why they'd been frozen and then the letter of authorization letter he'd coerced Harry into signing using a compulsion spell as well as a mild confundus spell so that he wouldn't remember the threats Dumbledore had leveled against him or what he'd read on the paperwork he'd signed if he had even understood all the big words and legal terms to begin with. Dumbledore truly believed Harry Potter was so simple-minded he bordered on being a totally idiot. Because that's what his bought and paid for spy, Hermione Granger, told him. It never occurred to him, she didn't know Harry Potter any better than he did.
What he didn't know was that since both those spells work on the mind of the victim, they were totally ineffective on Harry unless enough magic was powering them knock anyone else out for a week. The goblins had given Harry his heir rings, which Dumbledore hadn't noticed Harry was wearing, and those rings protected Harry from a wide variety of spells and potions meant to control a person as well. And that was in addition to Harry's own natural resistance to mind altering spells and potions. So even if Harry hadn't realized he was under attack and fought back on his own, his rings would've alerted him to the problem. If they didn't just negate the attack outright. But then, Dumbledore didn't know Harry had his rings now.
Sure, Harry would appear to fall under them in the beginning, allowing the caster to believe they were working so they wouldn't automatically increase the power of their spell casting but Harry was definitely the master of his own mind and he was far too stubborn to ever let anyone tell him what he believed. Too many years of not being able to control even the slightest aspect of his life outside the security of his own mind had made Harry fiercely determined to retain control over his own thoughts no matter who thought that right should belong to them.
Even Voldemort could've told Dumbledore Harry was the complete master of his own mind because he'd tried the Imperious Curse on Harry only to have him throw it off. Twice! And he could imperious anyone! If that curse wouldn't work, then no mere Confundus or Compulsion spell would. No matter how powerful the caster was. Strength of mind was more important than strength of magic when it came to the mind arts spells effectiveness. Not that Dumbledore would've listened since he never listened to anyone who wasn't singing his praises or telling him what he wanted to hear.
The goblin upon seeing the parchment with it's coded signature smiled nastily at Dumbledore. He'd been hoping he'd be the first to see this particular parchment. It was going to be a fun day at the bank today. He pressed a button under his counter and a very special goblin hurried into the lobby.
Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. Since these are very short chappies, I'm getting them loaded as fast as I can so you can enjoy more reading time without waiting. This one is less than 3,000 words so I know you'll read it faster than I wrote it. Ah well. That's the curse of being the writer, I guess.