Chapter 5- I was banking on it
Each of the seven Houses that Hermione and Harry were now Heads of had one vault each, differing in size. They decided it would be best to visit the vaults in order of house status, from lowest to highest. Since the name of Peverell had died out before the Noble system was implemented for houses outside of the Founders, it was only considered Ancient, and therefore was the closest to the surface, but not by much. Vault 50 was still considered to be incredibly prestigious, as was any vault that was double digit or less. Within was more gold than Harry had ever seen, with countless artefacts ranging from jewellry to suits of armour, and even ancient wands. Curious, Harry picked each wand up and tested its compatibility. None of the wands felt quite right, but they all bent to his will easily enough.
Moving on, the next vault to visit was the Ancient and Noble House of Gaunt. While Harry had thought that the family was poor due to the shack that he had seen them living in through memories, it turns out that this was because the branch of Gaunt that Voldemort was born to was not the main Household. Voldemort became Lord Gaunt after he murdered the current Lord of the House and any other Heir that was before him. In the end, he had singlehandedly ended an entire House of twenty members. Ragnok warned that many dark artefacts resided within the vault that were likely to attack the group, considering that they were all either Half-bloods or Muggles. He suggested that the gold within could be transferred to another of the vaults that Harry owned, and that the upkeep of the Gaunt Vault could be withdrawn from another vault as well. At Harry's agreeance, the group moved on.
Jean gasped as she saw the crest on the next vault, Vault 27. Clear as day was the crest of Granger, except it was actually the crest of Dagworth- Granger. The crest had not changed at all when Dan's Squib ancestor was shunned from the family. Within the vault were family heirlooms, a mountain of Galleons, and to Hermione's delight, books. Judging from the titles present, her ancestors had an affinity for charm work and transfiguration. It took the efforts of her parents and Harry combined to drag her from the vault, and only then it was at the promise that they would come back again soon to gather some books.
Harry felt himself grow anxious as they approached the last vault on level 3. Vault 8, the oldest vault that was not Goblin currency storage or a Founder's Vault, belonged to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. Within the vault were mountains of coins, with numerous shelves of artefacts, books and old wands.
As he approached the display of wands, he saw that each had a plaque below it, stating the owner of the wand. At the end of the line, he found the most recent additions. The wands of his parents still looked like new, free from the wear and tear that he could see present on some of the wands in the display. Thinking along the same lines, Hermione pointed out that each plaque had the age of the witch or wizard when they died. Those wands that belonged to family members that led long lives were more worn than that of those that had died younger. Sadly, the wands of his parents were not the freshest wands in the display. It appeared that many members of the family were killed during 1652. Ragnok explained that that was likely due to the Potter Massacre that occurred at that time. A budding Dark Lord at the time opposed the Statute of Secrecy that the Potter's had helped bring into law. As revenge, he nearly wiped out the entire family. The wands of children as young as 11 were testament to the devastation caused.
Feeling overwhelmed, Harry simply filled a money pouch that he found with coins. Curious as to why the pouch didn't seem to be filling up, he looked to Ragnok for guidance. Ragnok simply told him to look up, as the goblin put money in the pouch. As a Galleon was dropped in, a Galleon just simply appeared in the ceiling and dropped onto the nearest pile of coins. Ragnok demonstrated how this worked in reverse, reaching his hand in again. Harry saw the pile of coins move as though someone was rummaging through it, before he saw a handful of Galleons disappear from the pile. Looking back at Ragnok, he saw the goblin holding a fist of coins. Ragnok explained that the pouch was keyed to withdrawn gold from whatever House was currently present on the House ring that Harry and Hermione wore, and that only they would be able to withdraw coins this way from the House. If someone else attempted to withdraw coins from the pouch, they would simply be withdrawing coins from their own vaults. Harry made sure that Hermione had her own enchanted money bag before the group left the vault.
All that was left now was the Vault's of the Founders. The second lowest floor of the bank was entirely dedicated to the four vaults. The cart stopped at the entrance of a large hall that was reminiscent in design to the Great Hall of Hogwarts. At the end of the hall was a massive crest of Hogwarts, embellished with precious gems that twinkled in the torchlight. On the two side walls were two doors each, the Vault of each Founder. To the side of each door were statues of creatures on the crests. The badgers guarding the Vault of Hufflepuff looked more like mighty bears, as they were on their hindquarters and ready to fight with their paws. The giant ravens of Ravenclaw had their massive wings spread and beaks open. The snakes of Slytherin were coiled, ready to strike at a moment's notice. The griffin of Gryffindor was positioned just as it was in the crest; it's wing spread, with its front claws raised in the air about to lash out at it's enemies.
The group was surprised when the heads of the statues turned to look at them, almost as though they were determining whether the newcomers were worthy. The closest vault on the left hand side belonged to Ravenclaw. As Hermione approached the door, the ravens became more defensive, before they immediately calmed, folding their massive wings in. The guardians had accepted Hermione's claim to the House, and allowed the group to enter.
The vault was Hermione's dream come true. The vault was twice the size of the library at school, and was filled with row after row of bookshelves. In the back section of the vault were mountains of gold and gems, but it was clear that the wealth of this vault lay in the contents of the pages upon pages of the books within. If Harry had thought that dragging Hermione out of the Dagworth-Granger vault was hard, he was wrong. It was clear that Hermione would be perfectly happy to live out the rest of her days in the Ravenclaw vault, not even leaving for food or sleep. She would simply have someone bring her food, and why shouldn't she simply move a bed in somewhere?
Her attention was drawn though to a pedestal in the middle of the room. The bookcases seemed to be centred around the elegantly carved marble slab. The two items present were a curious pair. A large intricately carved bow was laid flat. The wood that the bow was made of appeared to be made of a swirling combination of woods, yet were bonded together so well that it was though they had grown together. A wand of the same peculiar wood combination sat next to the bow. Hermione gasped when she realised that before her were the fabled long bow of Rowena Ravenclaw and her beloved wand. Hermione reached forward and grasped the wand, and was nearly knocked over by the sensation. The feeling was indescribable, it was though she was holding a piece of herself. It made the vinewood wand that she had received from Ollivander's that morning feel inferior in comparison. She made the decision there and then that she could never be separated from this new wand, as it would possibly feel like losing a limb. The wand was truly an extension of herself.
As she explained the sensation to Harry and her parents, a note appeared in the wands place. It appeared that Rowena had left behind information concerning the wand and its unique wood types.
The wand was made from a combination of six woods and one core. The woods had been grown together as one tree by Helga Hufflepuff, and consisted of; Acacia, Cherry, Fir, Larch, Rowan and Walnut. The core however, was incredibly unique, as it contained a pair of feathers from two equally unique ravens. Rowena's own familiars, Huginn and Muninn, the messenger ravens of the Norse God Odin.
The note also explained that the battle bow was made of the same wood and core. This gave the bow magical properties, allowing the user to summon arrows of pure magic. It was a truly incredible creation. Rowena explained that her heir would be able to summon the bow when it was required by using her wand. Only her wand would be able to summon the bow, as the two weapons had matching cores.
Deciding to discuss the implications of Hermione having two wands later, the group moved on to the next vault. Next to the Ravenclaw vault was the vault on Gryffindor. Harry decided that the best course of action would be to bow to the mighty griffin guardians. After examining him, the griffins both sat down, allowing the group to pass.
Where the Ravenclaw vault was filled with books, the Gryffindor vault was filled with armour and weapons. While maces and battle axes were present, it was obvious that Gryffindor had a love of swords. None however, was more magnificent than the sword that Harry instantly recognised in the center of the room. The Sword of Gryffindor. As in the Vault of Ravenclaw, there was also a wand next to sword. Harry was curious to see if this wand would be as good of a match to him as Ravenclaw's was to Hermione.
Grasping the wand, Harry instantly understood exactly what Hermione had been trying to say. It was though he had lost an arm at birth, and had finally been reconnected to it. The sensation of the holly and phoenix feather wand that still lay within Ollivander's paled in comparison to the Wand of Gryffindor. As before, a note appeared explaining the wand and the sword. The Wand of Gryffindor was also made of six types of wood and one core. The woods had once again been grown together as one tree by Hufflepuff, and consisted of ; Apple, Cherry, Fir, Larch, Redwood and Rowan. The core was made of a feather gifted to Godric by his familiar, a mighty Griffin.
The Sword of Gryffindor was a curiosity however. Most swords were forged with metal, but at the core of the sword was the same wood and griffin feather that the wand was made of. The process had taken Godric many years to perfect, and in the end required him to train under a master goblin swordsmith. So while the sword was considered to be goblin forged in technique, it was indeed forged by Godric himself. The sword could be summoned the same way as Rowena's battle bow. When Harry grasped the sword, he realised that this was not the same sword that he had felt before. He felt magic in this sword, whereas the sword that he had wielded in his original timeline had felt like any other sword. As it turns out, Godric had explained this in his note. A fake sword, although still goblin forged, had been displayed at the school as a show piece. It was never intended for actual use.
Harry took the wand, and the group moved on to the final vault. Directly across from the Vault of Gryffindor was the Vault of Slytherin. Harry wasn't sure what to expect from this vault. Ordering the snakes to stand down using Parseltongue, the group entered the vault cautiously. What they found however, was curious. Lining the walls of the vault were painting from famous muggle painters. Many of these works of art had been thought to be lost to the ages. Many sculptures, again by muggle artists were displayed in the vault. Harry was confused. Slytherin had been said to hate any human that wasn't a Pureblood.
Ragnok could see the confusion evident on the groups face's, and cleared his throat to get their attention. "My Prince, the memory of wizarding kind seems to be a rather short one at times. But the goblins remember. Salazar Slytherin was not the bigot that you have been led to believe that he was. Salazar believed that all magical creatures, regardless of their blood, should have the opportunity to hone their skills. It was in 1926 that the history books changed, painting him in the light that you believe. Albus Dumbledore told Bathilda Bagshot that he had found the diary of Lord Slytherin at Hogwarts, and that the contents of it revealed Slytherin to be a blood purist. No evidence that such a diary exists has ever been found, however the public were more than happy to believe what the up and coming great wizard Dumbledore had to say. And so, Bathilda released an updated version of her History of Magic book. And no one was any the wiser. Slytherin's name had been besmirched as a dark wizard, when us goblins remember him in history as being one of the most compassionate wizards to have ever lived. Most wizards that would remember the truth are either dead, senile, or were too young to remember a time when Slytherin was seen as good. "
Harry nodded at the explanation, remembering all the books that had been written about himself, and how there was barely a lick of truth in any of them. Pressing forward, Harry approached what had now become a familiar sight. Another pedestal in the middle of the room, with a wand and weapon atop of it. Harry had no doubt that there would be a similar sight inside of the Hufflepuff vault. Next to the Wand of Slytherin was an ornate dagger with a carved wooden handle. The end of the dagger was embellished with emeralds, and the cross guard appeared to be made of a single piece of emerald. Testing the weight in his hands, Harry felt the same connection that he did to the real Sword of Gryffindor. 'Surely I wouldn't find a second wand in the Wand of Slytherin?' Harry thought to himself.
Almost as if to spite him, Harry felt the exact same connection that he did to his Gryffindor wand as he grasped the Wand of Slytherin. As had become customary, a note appeared explaining the weapons. The dagger had been forged by Godric using goblin techniques, and was charmed by Rowena to be able to pierce anything. Salazar had mainly used this feature in his potion preparations, claiming that the dagger gave him the cleanest cut ingredients possible. The woods for the wand and dagger had again been grown by Helga, and consisted of; Aspen, Cherry, Fir, Larch, Redwood and Rowan. The core was made of a fang gifted to him by his basilisk familiar. Harry found it odd that Slytherin would have such a deadly creature as a familiar.
Satisfied that they had explored the vaults sufficiently for now, the group was about to prepare to leave the bank when Harry remembered one last item of business. "Ragnok, I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the protections that are placed on our Lordship rings?"
"Why of course my Prince. There are more in depth details stated in the files that you have been given, but I can give you a general idea. Your rings will take on the most powerful enchantments that were present on the individual Lordship rings, so I can safely say that a majority of the ones present will be from the Founder's rings. There is warding against harmful potions and poisons, Legilimency and the Imperius curse. There also seems to be additional warding against hostile curses and the Confundus charm. It seems that your ancestors wanted to protect themselves as much as possible. Your crowns have an additional piece of warding against any form of truth serum." Ragnok explained.
Harry thanked the goblin for his time and service, his eyes widening in shock when he realised that he had spoken fluent Gobbledygook. Hermione told him that it was a rare property from the Applewood in the Wand of Gryffindor. Harry would find himself being able to speak the native tongue of all magical creatures, an ability that would surely be useful in the future.
The group decided that it would be best to go to the Leaky Cauldron before they did any more shopping. Lists of items needed to be made, and plans needed to be plotted. Harry smiled as they walked towards the pub. Things were beginning to come together.
A/N. Wow guys what a big week it's been. Game of thrones, a new new new new Doctor. Talk about some stiff competition eh?
So I'm loving what you guys are saying about where character loyalties lie, and it's actually what I had planned on doing. For those waiting for the return of our beloved Snuffles, fear not. I plan on getting him out sooner than third year. In fact, if my characters are nice to me, we should be able to manage it towards the end of first year.
A note to remember in this chapter is that Harry doesn't have a ring for House Black, and therefore can't access the ancestral vault.
Also, in case anyone is wondering about me potentially making Harry and Hermione overpowered, don't worry. They are actually going to have to work hard to earn their abilities and even more so to perfect them. They are still very mortal and potentially fallible.
I'm currently working on a big bad list of all things Albus Dumbledore using the Potter wikia. There's so much obscure lore that I'm coming across. For example, Parseltongue is a magical language, which implies that it can't be learnt. However, one of the noted skills of Dumbledore is that he can understand the language. Curious isn't it? It's almost like he is either lying about it... Or the more obvious answer that he himself is a Parseltongue. Which begs another disturbing question. If he can understand the language for whatever reason, how is it that he didn't hear the basilisk in CoS? Unless, perhaps, he played a hand in it as another test for Harry.
What's your favourite piece of obscure Harry Potter knowledge?