Chapter Two
Friday, 27 November 1981, Gringotts Wizarding Bank
Sirius strode across the foyer of Gringotts Wizarding Bank with the confidence that his position as Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black affords. It wasn't extremely busy owing to the lateness of the day. The goblins seated behind the counters didn't give him even a glance as he passed by them. Sirius carefully observed his surroundings as he approached a goblin he had worked with many times before named Griphook. Not wanting his information to echo in the long, marble hall, he requested a private audience with Griphook and the goblin in charge of Cassie's account. Griphook nodded, stood from his place at the counter, and hurried off to fetch Brodrak, the goblin in charge of most of the Black family accounts.
When Griphook returned and beckoned to him to follow, Sirius quickly followed the goblin into a back hall. As he entered the indicated meeting room, he was surprised to find not only Brodrak in the room, but also Ragnok, the banks current president and highest-ranking goblin. Sirius bowed to each goblin and turned his full attention to Ragnok. Ragnok acknowledged Sirius' bow with a stiff nod of his head and started the meeting. "I'm sure you are wondering why I am here today, Lord Black," he said. "It had crossed my mind," replied Sirius. "I understand you are here to access the vault belonging to Cassiopeia Black. I can only allow access if you can prove that she is no longer living." Sirius sat there, stumped for a couple of minutes. He had assumed that they would know, since the goblins always seemed to know when someone was dead even before the ministry. Then he remembered the letter that Twinkle had given him. He pulled the parchment from his cloak pocket and handed it over to Ragnok. After testing the parchment and inspecting the seal, Ragnok broke the seal and everyone waited with bated breath to hear what his decision would be. Ragnok grunted and turned to Brodrak. "Everything is in order. Give Lord Black full access to the vault and have him sign the papers for full guardianship of the Black heirs. Do not do anything about the paternal side currently, including informing the father of anything. Leave that until Lord Black has contacted the father and the father then contacts us." Ragnok then strode from the room, taking the letter from Cassie with him. Sirius really wished he could read what was in that letter to make Ragnok so sure everything was in order.
Brodrak sat down where Ragnok had been and pulled out a stack of parchment. Sirius sat across from him and together they went over the required paperwork. After signing the guardianship papers, his second set in a month, and signing his acceptance of responsibility for the estate of the triplets until they come of age, Sirius gave a sigh of relief. "I would like to go down to the main vault now, please," he requested of Griphook. Brodrak nodded his approval and Griphook picked up the key on the desk. "Please follow me, Lord Black," said Griphook and proceeded to exit the room and head back towards the front of the bank.
Instead of turning to the door leading to the front hall, he turned and entered the cave like area that housed the rickety cart that carried customers down to the vaults. Sirius climbed into the cart and prepared himself for a harrowing ride, deep into the huge cave that held hundreds of vaults. Knowing that no one could see him and Griphook would tell no one, Sirius threw his hands in the air and whooped with delight on the ride down. When the cart came to a stop, he saw that they were far down, at one of the older, larger vaults. He hopped out after Griphook and followed him to the door of the vault. Griphook inserted the key, then asked Sirius to place his hand on the door as well. Looking at Griphook suspiciously, Sirius placed his hand on the door, then winced as a needle pricked his finger and a drop of blood soaked into the door. When he looked at his finger, the small spot was already healed and disappearing. "When assuming ownership of a new vault, blood is required for the first use of the key to attune the key and door to the new owner," explained Griphook. "A warning would have been nice" muttered Sirius. Griphook just smirked at him and opened the door, motioning for Sirius to enter.
Sirius slowly moved forward into the vault, his eyes sweeping back and forth, looking for anything dark or dangerous. You could never be too cautious when dealing with a Black family vault! Seeing nothing concerning, he turned to his right and saw a table with two rolled parchments on it. One was addressed to him, and the other was addressed "To my children's father" but contained no specific name. Sirius placed them in his cloak pocket then continued perusing the rest of the vault's contents. One wall contained a series of shelves, like bookshelves, but they contained a mix of rare and old books, mostly gaudy jewelry, and other precious knick knack type items. One shelf was kind of curious. It contained a locket, a ring, a diadem, and a golden cup. The shelf itself was protected with so many strong wards it almost looked like a sheet of glass in front of it. They looked slightly familiar, but Sirius was in too much of a hurry to stop and ponder them. Sirius had just found some wonderful musical instruments when he saw them. The Triplet Rings. There had been one set of triplets in the family before, and they had commissioned a set of rings to help them channel some of their powers. Sirius couldn't help the smile that spread across face. He was looking forward to the day when he could present those rings to his niece and nephews. There was a small book next to them that he went ahead and grabbed. He was hoping it would include information on when to give them the rings. For now, he would leave them in the safety of the vault. Sirius left the vault, traveled back up with Griphook, then left the bank to head home.
Later that same night, Potter Manor
Sirius and Remus worked together that night to get all four toddlers fed, bathed, and in bed. Harry was in his crib in Sirius' room, and the triplets were put in the king-sized bed in the adjoining room. They felt it was best to let them sleep in the same bed for now. A lot had happened to them just in that day, they hoped it would lend them some comfort and a feeling of safety to have their siblings close in the night. After pouring a glass of Fire Whiskey for them both, Sirius collapsed onto the couch in the Parlour and stared at the glass in his hand. Remus sat in the chair and waited silently for Sirius to share what was on his mind. He didn't have to wait too long.
Pulling the two parchments from his pocket, Sirius placed them on the low coffee table and looked over at Remus. "Well, should we open the one addressed to me? Or should we just let it be?" he asked. Remus swirled the liquid in his glass while thinking it over. "Honestly, if I were their father, I would want to know I had children. I would want to meet those sweet children. I would also want to know what had happened to Cassie. It sounds like she up and disappeared on him. If so, he might be wanting to know if she is alive or dead and what happened after she left," replied Remus. Sirius nodded his head and leaned forward to pick up the rolled parchment. He cracked the seal and began reading the letter. The more he read, the paler his face became. By the time he was done, he had finished his Fire Whiskey and was on his way to get more. As he passed by Remus, he handed over the letter. Remus quickly read the letter and gasped in shock.
"So, now what do we do?" he asked Sirius. Sirius sat there, brooding over the information, trying to decide. He looked up at Remus and answered "I think it's only fair to tell him. We know he's on the side of the Light. Voldemort is gone, so there isn't any threat from him anymore. It might even do him some good to have a bit of family. We will have to work on how we treat him, though. I'm hoping we can call a truce, for Cassie and the kids' sake." Remus just nodded his agreement, prompting Sirius to get up and get some parchment, quill, and ink. After writing a short missive, he rolled it up and proceeded to the small owlery to send it out. He hoped they were making the right decision, for all involved.
