Greed... The desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called avarice of covetousness.
Over the years, Hermione had to admit that she didn't always play fair. The Sorting Hat considered placing her in Slytherin once upon a time, most likely for her cunning ability, but she didn't like to focus on that. She usually told people that it considered placing her in Ravenclaw, which it did, but Slytherin was mentioned more than that was.
Nevertheless, Hermione was always known for her brilliance and critical thinking. She simply used it to her advantage from time to time, that was all. Today, she was tempted once more to use her cunningly ambitious side rather than waiting for someone else to decide her fate.
Staring at the papers piling up on her desk, Hermione longed for a time when she could be the one in charge rather than the one following orders. The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was getting ready to retire, and she wanted that spot for herself. A few others in the department would most likely go for the opening as well, and they were half-blood wizards.
Rolling her eyes, Hermione sat back in her chair and seethed over the fact that they would be considered over her just because of their blood status. Even after all this time, it still came down to stupid details like that when it came to promotions within the Ministry. Often it didn't matter how amazing you were as long as your blood was purer than someone else's.
Not today. Not this time.
Hermione wanted that position, and she was going to take it.
Pushing her chair away from her desk, Hermione stood and stormed from her office. Without paying any mind or even speaking to her co-workers, she walked through the department and got onto the elevator. Luckily no one else joined her, or she might just lose her nerve. She had about thirty minutes for lunch and needed that much time to get to Gringotts and back with something that would help her reach her goals.
Blaise stood in line at Gringotts, waiting for his turn to enter his vaults. Over the years, his mother had occasionally dropped hints or clues as to who his father was, but it wasn't until today that she'd dropped the biggest clue of all. Well, it wasn't so much a clue as to a mountain of wizarding money, so to speak. Despite never being a part of his life, Blaise's father had
"I didn't want you to spend his money… We had enough of our own…"
Blaise inwardly shook his head at his mother's antics. They'd always been close despite the dark cloud of his mystery father over their heads. Finding out that he had an entire vault of money that he could have used to further his education or travel the world like he'd wanted to after Hogwarts had been a breaking point for Blaise. The fight with his mother went on for days until she finally handed him the key to the vault.
Now, he intended to take a portion of the money and travel the world. Alone. Blaise never felt like a wizard prone to greed, but now that he knew about this money, he wanted nothing more than to have access to it all. He intended to travel to many places, and he would do so until that vault was bled dry. It was his money, and it should never have been kept secret from him.
Glancing up as a goblin asked for the next client, Blaise tucked away his memories and decided that from today forward, he wasn't going to worry about what his mother thought any longer.
"Hello, Blaise," Hermione said when her old schoolmate slid into the cart next to her. "How have you been doing?"
Blaise smiled and nodded before saying, "I've been well. What brings you to Gringotts today?" Then he smirked. "If you don't mind me asking."
Laughing, Hermione replied, "I need something from my vault. I put it there for safekeeping a while back, thinking I wouldn't have use of it, but today seems to be the perfect time to break it out again."
A goblin joined them and closed the cart door. A moment later, they were on their way, twisting and turning underneath the wizarding bank as they made their way toward both Blaise and Hermione's vaults. As they began to slow, indicating approach, Blaise said, "Looks like your vault is up first."
Hermione simply smiled as they stopped in front of her vault. Long ago, McGonagall helped her and her parents set up this vault. Over the years, it began to fill with many items she'd collected, including a small vial of potion that would hopefully bring her the luck she needed today. Exiting the cart, Hermione hurried to her vault door and used the key to access the inside. Tucked into the back, Hermione found that which she sought.
Felix Felicis.
Picking up the vial, Hermione stared at it for a moment, weighing her options. Eyes closed, she thought of what could happen if she was found out for using a potion to get further ahead at work. Then again, this potion didn't grant your wishes; it just allowed a chance for luck to lead you in the right direction. You still had to take the initiative to make the luck work in your favour. Surely, that wasn't avaricious in nature, was it?
Deciding her future was more important than the consequences of not taking the chance, Hermione put the vial into her pocket and sealed the vault uptight. Returning to the cart, she smiled at Blaise, but it felt forced. "Looks like it's your turn," she told her companion before the cart began to move one more.
Blaise didn't reply, but he did nod once before staring straight forward. "It's time to claim what has belonged to me all along. I have big plans after this."
Arriving at the vault Blaise's birth father has set up for him, the pair had to wait for the goblin to open the door. He led Blaise to the door, used the key to trigger the lock, and then held his hand out for Blaise. Already knowing what was needed, Blaise used the tip of his wand to utter a slicing spell. A drop of blood appeared on his fingertip, and the goblin guided it toward the vault door.
Once the blood made contact, the door opened to reveal more money than Blaise knew his mother had remaining in her own vault elsewhere in Gringotts underground tunnels. Turning toward the goblin, he said, "I'm going to take some today, but you will see to it that my Muggle account is kept well-stocked as we discussed?"
The goblin nodded. "Yes, Mister Zabini. Your account will be kept current. If you need anything adjusted, just send us a word or visit another location as needed."
"Thank you," Blaise replied and then began to fill a small pouch with as many galleons as it could hold.
Hermione stared in awe. She'd seen the inside of Bellatrix Lestrange's vault and even Harry's from time to time, but this vault held more gold than she ever thought possible. It was no wonder Blaise wanted to get his hands on it for whatever plans he had brewing for the future. Blaise and the goblin joined her in the cart, and they made their way back to the main floor. The pair said nothing further to one another until they'd stepped back out into the sunlight of Diagon Alley.
Standing on the marble staircase outside the wizarding bank, Hermione and Blaise stared silently at one another for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Hermione asked, "What are you going to do now?"
Blaise patted the pouch of coins in his pocket and then shrugged. "Travel the world, I suppose. I've been yearning for a reason to leave home for a while now, and this is the perfect opportunity." He left out the part where his mother had begged him to stay despite their constant arguing.
"Well, I hope that you have a nice time wherever you may go," Hermione told Blaise honestly. She bit her lip and gripped the tiny vial of potion harder in her palm. "I'd love to chat longer, but I have to get back to work."
Blaise nodded and held out his hand. "Until we meet again, Granger."
"Until we meet again," Hermione echoed, taking his hand and smiling up at him.
They went their separate ways then, Hermione hoping that luck would be kind to her future, and Blaise dreaming of what the world could offer.