This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.
It's ten years later and Hagrid collected Harry Potter and brought him to Gringotts. But the goblins discover that the boy this isn't the child of James and Lily Potter.
Chapter 3: Harry Comes to GringottsHarry Potter struggled to keep up with the giant man's long steps as they crossed the alley from the Leaky Cauldron to the white building with the funny guards at the door. This morning's trip by portkey to London had been fun and seeing the different costumes on 'wizards and witches' made Diagon Alley appear to be Halloween in the summertime.
"This's Gringotts Bank and it's run by goblins," Hagrid explained to the small boy as he motioned toward the tall white marble building. "They're mighty fierce warriors so mind your manners."
"Wizards have warriors as bankers?" asked Harry before he nodded. "No one's going to rob them…"
The goblin guard to the boy's right listened carefully to their words but the only reaction he had to the conversation was for his fingers to tighten around the shaft of his spear.
Inside the bank, Hagrid led Harry to a queue where they waited behind two wizards. Harry noticed the two men kept turning their heads around and sneering at the giant man; they wrinkled their noses as if there was an offensive odour in the air.
The first wizard acidly commented, "It's bad enough to have to deal with creatures for my galleons, but they let 'those people' in too."
The second wizard said, "Creatures, mudbloods and half-bloods everywhere! Magical Britain is collapsing with holes in all the potion cauldrons."
Harry wondered what the man meant by 'creatures, mudbloods and half-bloods', but he didn't ask; years with the Dursleys taught him to listen carefully but not draw attention.
Finally, the goblin at the desk provided the first wizard with the coins he requested. The wizard left without saying 'Thank you', which Harry thought was exceedingly rude.
The second wizard stepped up to the high counter, made a quiet request and became angry when the goblin announced, "Return tomorrow, wizard. Thus far, your mother-in-law has not returned the contract and won't give you title to the house."
"But…" the second wizard stammered. Harry noticed the man's right arm twitched but stopped as two goblin guards each took a step forward from the walls.
"You must deliver that property title tomorrow, goblin! I must settle a debt!" the wizard swore before he turned, attempted to push Hagrid aside but with the giant's great weight, the angry wizard was thrust in the opposite direction, lost his balance, and fell to the marble floor. No one spoke to the wizard as he rose and stomped through the door, back to the street of Diagon Alley.
Harry peered around the room; no one paid any attention or at least they didn't give any clues they saw the wizard's rude comment and fall to the floor.
"Next…" called the clerk from his chair behind the high desk.
Hagrid smiled and whispered, "I've brought young Harry Potter here to get some money out of his vault and to retrieve something for Professor Dumbledore from vault 463."
The clerk peered over the desk at Harry who smiled briefly and bobbed his head in recognition of the goblin's attention.
"Do you have the vault keys?"
Hagrid paused for a moment before replying, "Right here… somewhere…"
The goblin, Griphook by name, watched as the giant man began to pull bags of water chestnuts, smashed boxes of ginger biscuits, and jugs of fire whiskey from his many pockets and hand them to the small human child at his side. The goblin's eyes grew narrow as he watched the giant and the child carefully. Items fell from the child's arms and covered the floor around the two of them.
When a rune on his desk glowed and a second layer of debris began to cover the lobby's marble floor, Griphook ordered, "Hold! Let me show you to a room where you can divest yourself of your belongings in privacy and search for the keys."
The giant agreed quickly, "That's a good idea. Thank ye!"
Stuffing all his belongings back into his bottomless pockets, the giant turned to Harry and said, "Well then, Harry, come along and we'll find your key."
While the goblin made the offer for a private room, and Hagrid repacked his pockets, Harry noticed that more goblin guards entered the lobby and took up positions immediately behind Hagrid and himself.
A Private RoomHagrid followed the first goblin, with Harry in tow, and the boy kept an eye the extra guards come with them down the hallway. The motley group proceeded down a flight of steep stairs – Hagrid holding on to the railings to keep from tumbling over his large feet on the narrow goblin steps – then turned two corners along a hallway carved from the stone underneath London. Finally, Griphook stopped before a large door – tall enough for Hagrid to step through without bending over – and led them inside. There were torches on the walls to light the room, but Harry noticed there was no smoke or smell from the fuel. Along the far wall, there was a long mirror with a desk and chairs before it.
"Use the table there," Griphook motioned toward a long table in the centre of the room. Hagrid casually unpacked his pockets once again and after about five minutes, Harry watched another door inside the room open and a single goblin appeared; this one older but he quickly crossed the floor to sit in a chair behind the desk. All the while, Hagrid kept pulling items from his pockets and placing them on the table.
"Now where did you come from?" the giant-sized man asked a small hedgehog that he carefully returned to one of his pockets.
Harry moved quietly to the edge of the table and checked the heavy table cloth; he'd learned long ago when trouble began he could slip underneath large tables and hide from his relatives in the centre of the table. Unable to catch Hagrid's attention, Harry feared the giant man hadn't noticed the four guards with spears that followed them into the room or the other goblin seated at the desk.
"Here it is!" Hagrid announced triumphantly, holding up a small golden key. He turned to Griphook and said, "This's Harry's key."
Handing this first key over to the goblin, Hagrid continued his search for the second key. Harry watched Griphook exam the golden key for a moment before walking to the desk and handing it to the older goblin, bowing and then stepping back beside the giant. After another five minutes of searching, Hagrid sighed. "I must've lost Dumbledore's key…"
Harry watched all the goblins from beside Hagrid and he saw the old goblin behind the desk nod at Griphook. The goblin who'd escorted them into the depths of Gringotts tilted his chin up slightly and asked, "Rubeus Hagrid, did you come to rob Gringotts?"
The giant was startled by the question and turned toward Griphook and replied, "No sir! I'm a honest wizard, I am! I ain't never robbed nobody! I just brought Harry Potter to Gringotts to gets some of his money and buy his things for Hogwarts."
"Rubeus Hagrid!" called the goblin from behind the desk. "You don't have the key to vault 463 for Dumbledore's treasure but you do have a key to the trust vault for Harry Potter."
"Yes sir," Hagrid replied with a smile.
The old goblin paused for a moment but then pointed at the child and asked, "Well, who is this and where is Harry Potter?"
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