A/N Most characters and plot belong to J.K Rowling
Chapter 2: Goblins of Gringotts.
Harry flew out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, followed by Neville and Remus, who both seemed worried and ran over to Harry, "Harry, are you okay? Asked Remus helping Harry get back to his feet.
"I just stumbled, Remus, no need to lose your cool," Harry said, hoping no one else had seen what just happened. Luckily, most people were talking and didn't notice him until Tom, the barman, exclaimed, "It's Harry Potter!" Everyone turned their heads to the Boy who Lived.
Harry just stood there like a stone; he had been to the Leaky Cauldron before, but never did anyone notice who the boy was. They always seemed to be more interested in Remus, who always seemed to be marked with scrapes and bruises, much like he did today. Harry shook off the soot on his robes and started to walk out of the bar. People began to stand up and shake his hand, never did Harry feel so embarrassed by the sight. Harry looked over to Neville and Remus, who didn't seem weirded out by what was happening; he was sure to ask later.
First on their list were new robes which led them into Madam Malkin's. Harry had never been into the shop, as he never had a need, but now he was going to Hogwarts and needed some robes to wear. He noticed the place was pretty drab and had several witches running around measuring and cutting new robes. He was motioned to join a younger witch around twenty-five as he entered. Harry and Neville both walked over to her and, after thirty minutes, came out with new robes and lighter pockets.
The next stop was Flourish & Blotts Bookshop. Harry was looking forward to reading all the new books for using magic that Remus never let harry read. Remus only bought books for Harry that talked about Magic and not how to use it, Probably to keep me from burning the house down second I got a wand, Harry thought to himself. When he walked up to the counter to pay for the books, he saw books on Dueling, Magical Creatures, Flying and, every book Harry wished he had. Remus didn't deprive Harry of anything, just ensured he would be safe.
When they had paid for all their books, which Harry thought were wildly expensive, they walked across the street and into The Apothecary, where they bought their cauldrons, and magical ingredients on the list given to them luckily were all inexpensive. Harry was surprised at this; he looked around and saw unicorn hairs at ten galleons, or knotgrass for five galleons. After leaving the Apothecary, Remus suggested that Neville and Harry go for some ice cream and hit the rest of the shops later, to which both boys agreed, heading towards Florean Fortescue's Ice cream parlour.
Harry and Neville both decided on the plain chocolate ice cream, and Remus ended up with the Butterbeer-infused vanilla, which he had enjoyed since being a boy. They walked down Diagon Alley while eating their ice cream, just poking their heads to displays in windows; when they hit the Quidditch shop, they all stopped to gander at the new Nimbus 2000, which just came out that year. Harry was mesmerized by the broom with the sleek design and golden text; if Harry were allowed a broom, this would have been it.
They all finished their ice cream when they reached Ollivander's which both Neville and Harry were worried and excited; Remus led the boys into what seemed to be a deserted shop. Ollivander, the wandmaker, came from a back room; he seemed old and dusty, but he moved better than anyone else.
"Ah, Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom, welcome to my shop." He moved straight to the wall beside him, which had stacks of wand boxes all pilled up to the ceiling and now, as Harry looked around, all the walls were covered just the same. He first handed a wand to Harry; it looked a yellowish-white in his hands. He started to wave it, but the wand shot out of his hand, hitting the wand boxes piled on the walls, and by a hair, they didn't all fall.
Ollivander then handed the next wand to Neville, who did the same as Harry; instead of shooting out of his hand, the wand shot sparks that burned Neville. Ollivander quickly took the wand away. You could see the cogs in Ollivanders head, Harry said to himself, not knowing why the wands were taken away. Finally, after about a minute, Ollivander handed a new want to Neville, which when it was firmly in his grasp sent our fireworks that erupted into flowers. This time Ollivander was happy and said "Cherry and Unicorn hair" very interesting, then moving his gaze over to Harry, who gulped.
Ollivander started to pace the store; Harry just stood there hoping someone would talk and break the silence; after twenty seconds, Ollivander ran to the back wall and slid one of the boxes out. He slowly opened the box like a delicate relic and handed the wand to Harry; it took a second, then a ray of light came down and engulfed Harry. Ollivander seemed to take a deep breath and smile as he addressed the boys. "Harry that wand is Holly and Phoenix feather" After seeing a nod from Harry he spoke again, "The wand chooses the Wizard; we are never quite sure why but it's always been the truth for us who study wand law."
As they walked out of Ollivander's Wand shop with all of their shopping, the boys fell into the bench outside the shop with relief as if they had just run a marathon. Remus smiled and let them rest; they all got up to walk home after a quarter of an hour but were interrupted by Remus. "Harry, Neville, before we leave, I have some business at Gringotts before we leave." The boys groaned and walked with Remus towards the giant marble building that stood in the middle of Diagon Alley.
Harry had only been to Gringotts once when he was seven; the goblins always looked severe and glared at anyone who wasted their time. He stayed close to Remus, hoping the Goblins wouldn't look at him. Remus said walked to the center teller and said, "I need to withdraw gold from my vault." The goblin looked up at him, smiling, "Do you have your key with you?" asked the Goblin
Remus produced his key and handed it to the teller, who looked at it and said, "One moment, I need to talk with my superior." He hopped from his seat and hurried away into the back offices. A couple of minutes later, the goblin came back with his bosses, who he called Gordot the Second.
"Hello Mr. Lupin" said Gordot. "Unfortunately, at this time, we can not allow you access to the vault; as you see, the Potter family is paying the rent for this particular vault." Remus looked at the goblin, not surprised at all. "We must contact the owner of the Potter vaults before you access the trust vault." Harry was standing there in shock hearing his name said by the goblins. Harry didn't know anything about these vaults; how could he? He wasn't even eleven yet. Harry was thinking to himself.
When the goblin was finished explaining, Harry decided to speak up and said, "Hi Mr. Gorbot, sir, I'm Harry Potter; why can't my uncle Remus enter the vault?" Gorbot looked down in shock at the child who had spoken to him, and when he saw Harry, he quickly got down and ran to the front of the desk and said to Harry. "If you are indeed Mr. Potter, I will need you to follow me back to my office."
Harry, followed by Remus and Neville, all joined Harry in walking back to Gorbot's Office. Once inside, Harry saw an office with Marble walls and pictures covering almost the entire wall; in the middle of the room was a cherry wood desk with three seats in front. Gorbot motioned Harry to sit with his guests. Once they were all sitting, Gorbot said clearly and firmly, "I need Mr. Potter to please place his hand on the imprint on my desk; it will confirm his identity before we begin.
Harry, at first, didn't want to listen, but after a reinsuring nod from Remus, he followed the instructions; he felt a quick prick and pulled his hand away but couldn't find any marks from what Harry thought must have been a needle. Harry then saw a piece of paper floating towards Gorbot, who quickly looked and nodded.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter, sorry for any pain you might have felt; now we are going to be talking about sensitive information with you today. Are you willing to have your guests stay with you?" Neville quickly rose from his seat with Remus, and they both just looked at Harry and said, "It's your business, not ours" then, both walked out of the office. Harry was perplexed by what they said but quickly turned back to the goblin and smiled.
"Mr. Potter, do you know anything about Gringotts and what we do here for the Potter Family," asked Gorbot. Harry quickly shook his head. "I work as the Vault Keeper and accountant for the Potter family; I am responsible for making sure you receive and pay all your debts." Harry looked shocked at the goblin, thinking how he could have so much money he needed an accountant. "I can see your surprise on your face, well I never hoped to have this conversation with a ten-year-old boy, but here we are," smiled Gorbot.
Harry didn't even know what to say; he just sat in utter silence. Gorbot smiled at Harry, letting him take in the shock before moving on. "Mr. Potter, are you aware that you are the Lord to Be both the Most Ancient and Noble House of Peverell and the Most Noble House of Potter?" Harry again just sat in awe as he listened to Gorbot. Harry, of course, knew what it meant to be an heir; his friend Neville was the heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. He never knew anything about his family's legacy, as he never thought to ask Remus about his family's heritage.
Harry finally found the courage to ask, "What does it mean for me to be Lord to Be." Gorbot looked at Harry with a slight frown and explained how at the age of fourteen, under the law, he was to be made Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Peverell and at the age of sixteen the same for the Most Noble House of Potter. Also, when he became a lord, he would be allowed to sit and represent the Royal houses in the Wizengamot; he would also be given the lord ring when Harry turned of age for both Houses.
"Mr. Potter, at this time as the Lord to Be, you will also be given the Heir ring to show your status to other Witches and Wizards they do turn invisible if you wish them to, of course," finished Gorbot. The goblin flicked his wrist and popped out of the desk an oak box. Gorbot opened the box and presented the contents to Harry. Inside was two golden rings; the right was inscribed with the name Peverell the left one was inscribed with the name Potter. Harry just looked at the rings, they weren't flashy, but Harry seemed to think it was for the better.
Harry first picked up the Peverell ring and put it on his right hand; as he let it sit, he felt a warm air come around his body as if the whole family pat him on the back. He then repeated for the Potter ring, which he put on the same hand; this time, he saw his entire family standing behind Gorbot smiling at him. Harry started to tear up at the sight of his mother and father, wishing they were able to be here with him.
Gorbot gave Harry a minute to process the sight, knowing what happened. When James received his heir's ring, he saw his family and told Gorbot about it. Finally, Gorbot interrupted the presence "Mr. Potter as the Lord to Be you also have the right to control the Peverell and Potter vaults. Would you like an inventory and financial statement for one of both vaults?"
Harry thought for a moment and nodded, "I do, Gorbot; I wouldn't be a good Lord if I didn't know what's in my vaults." Gorbot again flicked his hand and out came to relatively large parchments that Harry correctly guessed were each vault's exact inventory. Wanting to waste time, Harry quickly interjected, "Gorbot, can you please just have an overview given to me today? I wish not to keep my friends waiting much longer." Gorbot nodded and swiped at the papers then handed them to Harry; he started to read:
PEVERELL FAMILY HOLDINGS
Properties
Peverell Mansion - North Wales
Peverell Cottage - Godric's Hollow England.
Gringotts Vault # 23
2,324,563 Galleons
Complete Peverell private library
Assorted Jewellery and Wands.
Lord Safe Only to be available to Lord of Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell
Potter Family Holdings
Properties
Potter Mansion - North Scotland
Four Privet Drive - Surrey (Abandoned)
Potter Cottage - Godric's Hollow (Destroyed)
Potter Mandrake Orchard - North East Midlands, England.
Gringotts Vault # 8
12,654,876 Galleons
Potter private library and family spellbooks
Assorted Jewellery and Wands
Vanishing Cabinet (Decommissioned)
Potter Safe Only to be opened by Lord of Most Noble House of Potter
Gringotts Trust Vault # 687
10,000 Galleons
This vault is to be refilled every year until Harry Potter reaches the age of sixteen or claims his heir ring. -Signed Lord James Potter
Investments
10% stake in Borgins and Burkes.
5% stake in The Daily Prophet
25% stake in Cleansweep Broom Company
45% stake in The Apothecary
1% stake in Flourish & Blotts Bookshop
Currently, no outstanding Magical Debts, one outstanding Muggle debt for Four Privet Drive, Surrey, totalling: 27,000 Galleons.
Harry finally reached the end and laid back into his chair, trying to absorb everything he had just read. He looked up at Gorbot and asked, "Anything else I need to know that's not printed on these forms.? He saw the Goblin think, then shake his head, "No, Mr. Potter, that seems to be everything. I can send an owl with a detailed inventory of your vaults if you wish."
Harry quickly said it wouldn't be necessary as he got the gist of each item with the quick overview. Harry started to get up to leave but was interrupted by Gorbot, "As I said before, I am responsible for the Potter Vaults, but not the Peverell vaults. Would you like me to reach and take control of it for you?" Harry thought it was a great idea and nodded, "Also, Mr. Potter, would you like updates on your vault, including any investing opportunities I can find?" Harry was still trying to figure out what had happened that day and agreed to receive monthly updates from Gorbot.
Slowly Harry exited the office looking for Remus and Neville, who both found some seats outside Gorbot's office; they both greeted him and started walking, seeing the glazed look in Harry's eyes. Both decided it wouldn't be fair to talk about the meeting just yet; as they walked out of Gringotts, Harry asked Remus if he wanted to talk once they got back home, Remus nodded. They walked back to the leaky cauldron, where they said goodbye to Neville as he whooshed up the fireplace and back home quickly, followed by Harry and Remus, who returned to their muggle apartment.
A/NHey everyone, thanks for the following and favouriting my story; just seeing that people are enjoying it makes me so happy and willing to write.
Don't forget to review and leave comments; I would love to hear your opinions on story points or things I should add in the future.
NEXT TIME: Harry and Remus chat about becoming an heir and what does Hogwarts have in store for young Heir. Mr. Potter, stay tuned.