Chapter 10
Harry woke up at two in the morning. The entire household was asleep, except for him and Hermione. At this point, neither wanted the added burden of questions about their activities. He made his way to the library, where Hermione was already pouring over a book. "It looks like our search is over, Harry. I performed the locating charm and it appears that the recipe for the Vacilanium Carteocae is in the most obvious of places – the Black family vault at Gringotts."
Harry's face lit up in excitement, "Our task is done then. All we have to do is …." He broke off in mid-sentence. "At Gringotts!", he asked. It was the most obvious of places but the simplicity of the idea proved the ingenuity of the ancient Blacks. Gringotts was virtually an impenetrable fortress. After the last break-in during the search for the philosopher's stone, the goblins had stepped up security very tightly. It was said that anyone who tried to break in would be ripped off their magic and be turned into a Squib. A harsh punishment in the Goblins' own dungeons usually followed. They did not believe in the Wizarding justice system. Harry was inclined to agree with them on that, at least as long as Fudge was around.
"You might as well have said that it was in Siberia, Hermione. How are we ever going to get access to the vault? As far as I know, Sirius never gave anyone power of access to it. It would have been too suspicious to the Ministry. " Hermione nodded sympathetically and said, "There's more. Sirius couldn't have given anyone direct access to the vaults even if he wanted to. Only a Black can access them. If you're not a Black, you better not try."
"Christ!" Harry exclaimed and was immediately given a disapproving stare and a lecture on the importance of not swearing. "I never thought this was going to be easy. But to this extent! I feel like I'm stuck in an unending obstacle course." "Come on, Harry! Be more optimistic! We've come some distance from where we started. We know where the recipe is. Our direct task now is to find a way to access that recipe. We'll start with the map of Gringotts."
Saying that, Hermione drew out a rolled-up parchment from under the desk and laid it flat on the sturdy, oak tabletop. "This is a charmed map, Harry. It works just like the Marauders' Map but is even more ingenious. All you have to do is tap it three times and request for the map of the place that you would like to see and you will get it, complete with the secret tunnels and underground exits." Hermione tapped the map thrice and intoned "Map of Gringotts". To Harry's amazement, a map started outlining itself on the parchment. "Why! It works just like the Marauders' Map. Wherever did you get this, Hermione?" he exclaimed in amazement. Hermione blushed in answer. She cleared her throat and answered in a quiet voice, "It was, uh, a birthday present. A present from Peeves." "Peeves! How could he have gotten this?", Harry questioned. "Oh! Come on, Harry! Peeves is a resident ghost at Hogwarts. That doesn't mean that he has never been outside of Hogwarts. Or that he is stupid. Rather clever, on the contrary. He helped me a lot in third year when I was taking a lot of subjects. Anyway, he gave this to me last year. He had created this during his years at Hogwarts. From, what I know it is still accurate and up-to-date."
"Why didn't you ever tell me or Ron about it?" Harry asked, slightly upset that Hermione could have kept something like this from him. "Don't look so upset, Harry. I never actually intended to keep this from you. It just never occurred to me that this might be something worth mentioning, that's all." "Not something worth mentioning..", Harry started off but stopped in mid-sentence. With Hermione, it was probably the truth. This wasn't a book , so nothing great – that was Hermione's philosophy as far as non-living things were concerned. Shaking his head, Harry replied in an amused tone, "Alright, Hermione. With you, it's probably the truth. This is just a map, not a book. Right?"
"Right, Harry." Hermione replied with a mischievous grin and then leaned closer to Harry and whispered, "You're not really angry, are you?" "Of course not, Hermione. You are entitled to your personal space. It's the key to a healthy relationship." "What?" he asked a minute later as he caught Hermione surveying him. "You're getting very profound, Harry", she said with a giggle. "Of course. Professor Potter me", joked back Harry.
After pouring over the map for about two hours, Harry looked up and stretched tiredly. "This is a futile task. There are intruder charms and wards all over the place. There are also goblin guards at the corridors. Do you think it is another three-headed dog?" "Actually, they are known as demon pixies. They are a species of pixies with sharp fangs and protruding claws. When agitated, they can rip out a person and drain their blood", Hermione explained.
"Drain their blood!" Harry's face turned pale, drained of its blood. "Harry, we can do this. Do not look at the obstacles. Look at the ways we can overcome them. These demon pixies do not guard all the vaults at Gringotts – just those which contain vast fortunes, usually belonging to the prominent wizarding families." Glancing at Harry meaningfully, Hermione added "I am surprised that you never noticed them. There are two along the corridor of vault no. 52" "Vault no. 52? Who does that belong to?", Harry wondered speculatively, then punched Hermione playfully, "Why you sly fox, that's the Potter family vault. I've only been there once", he added on a more sober note, "the goblins wanted me to check the contents and verify them." Vault no. 52 was the vault which contained the vast portion of the Potter fortune such as the jewels, the title deeds of the various properties which had been in the Potter family for generations and the gold which Harry was not expected to spend. In fact, there were specific provisions that Harry was not to touch these contents until he was twenty-five years of age and earning his own living. Those had been his mother's instructions. Lily Potter had not wished her son to grown up rich, spoilt and incapable of supporting himself. The vault that Harry had access to and where Hagrid had drawn the galleons to buy Harry's supplies were from the other vault, which contained just enough for Harry to lead a reasonably comfortable life until he started earning. As Harry had realised, it was a lot in itself and could probably outlast his school years. There was another vault, which contained prized family possessions dating back to the first Potter such as a collector's edition of the Lightning Bolt, ancient scrolls of magical knowledge and rare magical items such as the Healer's Stone. The Lightning Bolt was the fastest broom in the world, about hundred times the speed of the Firebolt. It was made of gold handles and each broom was handmade especially by fairy elves in the Isles of Finland.
At the moment, though, Harry was in no mood to think about his inheritance. Hermione and Harry spent the rest of the early morning discussing strategies to access the Black family vault. By the end of the early morning, they had come up with a workable, though highly risky plan, to access the vault. All they needed were some hair from a goblin, mainly the Chief Authority of the Vaults.
