CHAPTER 12
In a dimly lit room, somewhere in the bowels of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, a lone Goblin sat behind a simple desk writing furiously. The desk was cluttered with various writing implements and several trays where letters and packages sat precariously balanced on top of one another. The Goblin himself had a worn face peppered with small scars and generously creased with age. He grunted as he finished his last letter for the day and stretched until his back gave a satisfying 'crack'.
A loud yell from down the hall disturbed his peace and he snorted at whatever mistake some young Goblin must have made. As he prepared to stand however, the yells and bangs became louder and closer and there was more of them than before.
Banging his fists on the desk in anger he pushed back his stool and rose, striding towards the tall oak door and yanking it open.
"What in the name of all…ARGH" he waved his hands around his head as he was assaulted by a white blur. Eventually the missile headed to his desk and perched gracefully allowing the aged Goblin to recognise it as an owl.
"Sorry Ragnok Sir," said a diminutive Goblin at least 50 years his junior. "We tried to get its letter but it seemed that whatever it's delivering is for your eyes only." The Goblin's curious eyes swept past Ragnok and landed on the beautiful white owl. Ragnok pulled his door too to obscure the view.
"Very well." Was Ragnok's gruff response before slamming the door closed. If this owl was for his eyes only that meant that it likely held extremely sensitive information, information that he was not willing to share. Knowledge was as valuable to a Goblin as gold and if whoever was writing to him trusted him to maintain his or her secret, he was not going to jeopardise that for some other lowly Goblin's curiosity.
Making his way back over to the desk he circled the bird that now stood with its left leg up, letters dangling aimlessly.
"What do you have for little old me, hmm?" said Ragnok with a toothy smile.
"Hoot." Was the owl's reply along with a small hop which made the two letters flop around comically from its lifted leg.
Fingering the letters carefully he read the front of each. One was addressed to a 'Ron Weasley – The Burrow – Ottery St. Catchpole' and so he left that one alone and moved onto the next which read 'Ragnok c/o Gringotts Wizarding Bank' in small, messy script. With a wave of his hand the letter freed itself from the owl's leg and floated the few inches to the desk.
The owl, now bereft of its delivery hooted sternly at him before nodding towards the door.
"Patience pretty one," said the Goblin in his gruff voice "I may need to send a reply with you. Go!" he said pointing to the corner where a rather dusty owl perch sat covered in cobwebs in the corner of the dull room. Another wave of the Goblin's hand and the perch was clean and the bowls filled with food and water and the owl gratefully flew off to rest.
Another casual hand wave later and the letter was deemed safe. Portkey's did not work within the bank and so handling the letter was not a concern but some patron's, especially those delivering a letter not to be handled by anyone but him, could contain a potion or powder to maim or even kill. It was Goblin logic to check; better safe than dead.
Sitting himself down once again on his stool Ragnok carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the letter within.
Dear Mr Ragnok,
I received a letter inviting me to Sirius Black's Will reading but have been told by Albus Dumbledore that I cannot attend due to security issues. As much as I hate to ask I was wondering if you could provide me a method of transportation as it would mean the world to me to attend. I will understand completely if this is not possible or if you are not willing to go behind Albus Dumbledore's back on this, but please say you will at least try.
Yours Respectfully,
Harry Potter
P.s I was wondering why I never receive updates on my account? (Vault 687) A muggleborn friend of mine told me to ask you as she receives updates even without a vault. Many Thanks. HP.
Ragnok placed the letter upon the desk and sat back in thought. Mr Potter was famous throughout the wizarding world for his defeat of Lord Voldemort many years ago and also for his more recent debacle in the Department of Mysteries that had culminated in the death of his Godfather, the outlaw, Sirius Black.
The Ministry had tried and failed many times in the past few years to have the Black family fortune seized and added to Ministry coffers but had been turned away each and every time. It seemed that the Ministry was unwilling to accept the Goblins' stance when it came to Lord Black's guilt.
Ragnok did not understand why they had sided with Lord Black and like many had accepted the rumour that the fortune must be incredibly large and the senior Goblins' did not want the Ministry to get their hands on it as a good enough reason to decline. It was well known that the Ministry believed the Goblin nation were second class citizens.
Looking back down at the letter in-front of him Ragnok sighed deeply. This was indeed a mess and he now had to clean it up. Pushing himself up once again from the stool he walked over to a small cabinet and with another, more intricate, wave of his hand the small silver handle glowed white. "Vault 687." He enunciated clearly and once the glow had faded, pulled the door open. Inside lay a single folder, yellowed with age and filled with dozens of sheets of parchment. Picking it up carefully, he returned once more to his desk, placed the folder down gently and opened it.
At the front was a sheet of parchment signed by both James and Lily Potter on 16th December 1979 declaring that this vault was to be a vault left in trust for their future child. The next page was a birth certificate for Harry James Potter and the pages following were the death certificates for James and Lily.
No one knew what had happened to Harry after the death of his mother and father. Some assumed that he had been stolen away by Death Eaters and was to be groomed to take the place of the Lord which he had defeated. Other, more sensible people, had deduced that the boy had most likely been hidden away someplace safe where he could grow up happy and looked after. The first anyone at Gringotts had seen of Harry Potter had been on the 31st July 1991 when he had taken his first trip down to his vault to withdraw money for school supplies. Ragnok could clearly remember Griphook nattering on incessantly about how polite the boy had been and how much he had enjoyed the ride to the vault and back. If that was the case, however, why were there withdrawals from the account since early in November 1981?
There was something not quite right in all of this but it was going to take him more than a few minutes looking over this file to figure it out. "Rest here pretty one," he said to the owl. "I need food and drink for myself; I have a feeling this is going to be a long night."
Closing the door behind him, trapping the owl within; he warded the door to alert him of anyone else's presence in his office and headed to the mess hall to retrieve some supper and mead.
. . .
It was several hours later when the Goblin was sure he understood what was within the file. It was a rare occurrence to have such things happen without anyone being aware but for it to have happened to 'the boy who lived' was astonishing.
It seemed that someone was helping themselves to Mr Potter's money and somehow getting away with it. That was going to stop immediately. It was odd, however, that only Mr Potter himself was registered as allowed to retrieve funds as the boy obviously had no idea about the goings on in his own vault, let alone the amounts available to him. Since 1991 there was only 1 withdrawal per year that was a cash withdrawal and into Mr Potter's own hands. The others were all transfers to several different accounts.
The majority of these accounts, though well hidden and difficult to trace, were eventually discovered to belong to Albus Dumbledore. That sneaky old goat! Ragnok could not believe that a pillar to the wizarding community would steal money from a child, and not just any child, Harry Potter.
Grabbing a piece of parchment he scribbled a note to the boy and called over the lightly dozing owl. Tying it gently to her leg he looked her straight in the eyes and said sternly "I know you have another letter but this one is important, deliver it immediately and then your other letter. Understand?"
The owl bobbed her head and spread her wings preparing to fly. With a wave of his arm the door opened and the owl hooted gratefully. As the aged Goblin watched the snowy white owl fly away from him he couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy she was delivering too. As if the child had not suffered enough pain and unfairness in his life, he now had to deal with theft as well.
Realising that there was no more he could do for the boy for the time being Ragnok headed out to get some sleep, it was going to be another long day tomorrow, he could feel it in his bones.
. . .
Around dawn, Harry heard the tell-tale tapping of his familiar on his window pane and shot out of bed to allow her entry. The excited owl flew around his head once before perching on his shoulder and nibbling his ear affectionately.
"Hey girl," Harry said with a giggle at her liveliness. "I missed you too but you have only been gone a few hours! What's with all this energy huh? Did Pig rub off on you?"
A screech was his reply and Hedwig jumped and sailed gracefully down until she was sat atop his desk. Immediately Harry noticed the two letters and for a second was confused. Had she just sat outside his window or could she not deliver his letters for some reason?
Reaching down to untie them he noticed that one of the letters was a darker parchment. The other, as he had rightfully guessed, was his letter for Ron but the darker one had his name on it.
Opening it Harry read it slowly and felt his stomach knot uncomfortably.
Mr Potter,
I received your owl earlier this evening and am sorry for the delay in my response. Your owl waited patiently and it is my fault that her other missive has not yet been delivered but I deemed this one much more important.
I have taken the time to look into your account. The fact that you have received no statements in the past had me greatly confused and I chose to do some research. What I have discovered is extremely disturbing and though I hate to be the bearer of bad news I feel it is my duty to inform you of a number of thefts that have taken place since the passing of your mother and father.
I am unwilling, at this moment in time to release the name of the thief, nor the amount taken. I feel that there is more research to be done before this is to be released to you especially considering the emotional strain you must be under due to your late Godfather's upcoming will reading. Please understand that I am going to do all within my power to make sure that you are able to attend one way or another.
I ask that you send your snowy owl back to me at your earliest convenience. All that you need send with her is an address to which I can mail you directly. For some reason, past owls have not been received by you and have instead been intercepted. Whether that is by Ministry personnel or some other source is yet to be seen but I will get to the bottom of this. Our customer's privacy and trust is very important to us and I am disappointed that our fulfilment of duty has been so lapse in your case.
May your gold be ever flowing
Ragnok
(Inheritance and Research Department)
Harry sat frozen. Someone was stealing from him? Who could it possibly be? Who would want to steal from him? The last time Harry had been in his vault he had thought that the cavern looked slightly emptier but had just chalked it up to his imagination.
Was it another Goblin? Perhaps that was the reason that Ragnok did not want to give him a name. One thing he had remembered from History of Magic was that when a Goblin had a quarrel with another, blood was inevitably shed. A cold shiver went down his spine.
As his hand hovered over a small piece of parchment he paused and pulled it back again. Could this be a trap to get his address? Checking over the letter he had received from the Goblin Ragnok and his previous letter from Griphook he carefully inspected the seal and was relieved to note that they were the same.
"What do you think Hedwig? Should I give this Goblin, Ragnok, my address? Apparently someone is stealing from me, including my past mail."
The little owl fluffed up her feathers at the slight upon her master, then barely a second later she bobbed her head enthusiastically several times and finished by sticking her leg out for the return trip.
Harry laughed joyously. He loved Hedwig dearly and knew that she loved him back just as fiercely. She had met this Goblin and believed him trustworthy and so he shall as well.
Harry scribbled his address on a small piece of parchment but made sure to add that whoever was receiving his mail may still be able to intercept it and that he only normally received mail from his own owl Hedwig. He then sent her on her way with a wave and a smile.
Although he was still seething at the idea of someone stealing his parents' money; he also had a look of fierce determination. No one was going to get away with stealing what his parents' had left for him.
This Ragnok was going to get to the bottom of this and help him attend the will reading too. For the first time since receiving Dumbledore's letter forbidding him attending, Harry felt optimistic.
As it was still so early, Harry decided to go back to sleep for a few more hours and woke feeling refreshed around 9am when Aunt Petunia knocked on his door pushing it open.
"Breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes, okay?" she said quietly.
"Do you need any help?" asked Harry politely, muffling a yawn.
"Not this morning. Make sure to wash up." With that she pulled the door closed and he heard her light footsteps disappear down the hall towards Dudley's room. The muffled sounds of her waking up his cousin always amused him. He was as difficult to wake as Ron but the lure of food would soon see him awake and heading for the kitchen.
Heading into the bathroom Harry used the facilities and then washed his hands face and brushed his teeth. It was nice being able to use the family bathroom but it still took some getting used too.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Harry dropped the cap of the toothpaste in fright and turned in alarm towards the doorway.
"HARRY GET YOUR ARSE OUT OF THAT BATHROOM RIGHT NOW! I NEED TO PEE! HONESTLY YOU'RE LIKE A WOMAN OR SOMETHING!" came Dudley's raised voice from beyond the wooden door.
With a relieved sigh and an internal giggle on his cousins behalf Harry replaced the toothpaste cap properly and left the bathroom, pausing to watch his cousin's unusual dance as he ran into the bathroom and slammed the door closed behind him.
Still in his ragged pyjamas Harry walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to meet his Aunt and enjoy a leisurely breakfast stopping briefly to pick up the newly delivered mail. Placing the small pile of envelopes in front of his aunt's place he sat quietly in his chair.
Dudley arrived a few minutes later grumbling about Harry's time spent in the bathroom and how if he was going to spend so long in there you would think he could manage to fix his hair somewhat.
Harry acknowledged that he was enjoying this new family dynamic somewhat though he was still worried about putting a foot wrong and it going back to the old way.
Aunt Petunia, having finished her cooking, brought the steaming platters over to the table one at a time and then sat down gracefully.
Dudley immediately began to dish himself some of everything but Harry was still in awe at the amount of food present. This was the kind of breakfast that he would have previously been made to make and probably not been allowed to eat. There was a bowl of fluffy scrambled eggs and a small dish with bacon still sizzling slightly. Toast was lined up in a rack like dominos and juicy, red, fried tomato's were piled in a bowl. The usual fruit bowl filled with apples, pears, oranges and bananas sat just behind as an alternative along with a pot of plain yoghurt and a box of granola.
He had been so busy looking at the food in front of him that he had missed the glance passed between his aunt and his cousin. He was therefore surprised when his aunt spoke casually, yet forcefully, and began to dish him some of everything.
"Need to keep your strength up, growing boy and all that." She said with a nervous giggle to finish and Dudley almost choked on his scrambled eggs as he fought back a laugh.
"Growing boy? He's as scrawny as they come!" He chortled grabbing another slice of toast before stopping suddenly.
They all had paused in their eating at Dudley's comment. Each one of them knew and understood why Harry was as 'scrawny´ as he was and yet not one of them wanted to say it out loud.
After an awkward few moments of silence Dudley spoke up again. "I…I'm so sorry Harry I…I didn't mean that the way it came out. I just meant that, um…"
Taking pity on his cousin Harry nodded and smiled ruefully. "I know what you meant Dud, I guess we're all still a little bit sensitive on the subject. This food is really delicious Aunt Petunia, did you add some spice to the eggs or something?"
"Why yes Harry, I did. I use just a dash of mustard powder for heat, just like your grandmother did for Lily and I when we were little."
Just as quickly as the tension had begun, it ended and the meal continued on mostly in silence but with a few polite enquires from Harry or Petunia and a rather raunchy joke from Dudley that he had heard from his friend Piers.
Once they had all finished eating, Harry decided to help by taking the dishes to the sink and washing them. He felt it was the least he could do and got on with the task with gusto.
"Mum? What's wrong?"
Harry turned at Dudley's question, placing the bowl he had finished washing on the draining board and drying his hands on the towel. Looking at his aunt he saw her face had become pale and her hands were shaking whilst clutching at a letter. As he watched she seemed to snap out of it and looked up towards her son. "I'm fine Dudley." She said with fake calm and then turned to face Harry, letter outstretched towards him.
Taking the paper with shaking hands he read it quickly before glancing up at his Aunt. "Is this what I think it is?" She nodded and handed him the envelope. Inside were 10 crisp £50 notes. "What are you going to do with it?" he asked quietly.
Standing up with purpose she surveyed her son and nephew as they looked at her expectantly. Taking a deep breath she replied "Well for a start, you need a new wardrobe." Now both boys were staring at her like she had grown a second head. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go get dressed. We have a long day ahead of us!"
As Dudley ran up the stairs to get ready, Harry walked up to his Aunt and gently hugged her. It was only for a second but when he pulled away again both had smiles on their faces. "Thank you Aunt Petunia." He said as he walked towards the stairs.
"You're welcome Harry." She muttered under her breath once Harry was out of sight. Heading up the stairs to get dressed herself, Petunia felt lighter than she had in years. Things were finally working out for her family and she would do everything necessary to keep it that way.
Authors Note
I am really happy with this chapter although I apologise for any minor errors as I have a rather stinking cold and have read it through several times making small changes but I may have missed something. (Probably ;p)
I was going to include the shopping trip in this chapter as well but I changed my mind at the last second as it was already quite a long chapter. Please review if you have time, I love reading what people think and any ideas or suggestions are always welcome (feel free to PM me) x x
