As he disapprated, Albus Dumbledore couldn't keep the smile off his face. He was dressed in black dress robes bearing the Dumbledore house seal, as is traditional for formal events. He knew what the potters had left him. The fact that he'd gotten the summons was proof that whoever was coaching the boy wasn't very smart. Had they bothered to look into the records, they'd have found the money he'd taken. After today, not only would he have the money they'd let him, but the powers he'll receive will make to stolen money legal! He walks into the bank and says to the teller, "I am here for the will reading of lord and lady potter."
The teller doesn't even look up, "Name?"
"Lord Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." he says, making a mental note to wipe all record of his middle names from the planet.
"Lord Dumbledore, my condolences for the loss you've suffered. Gornuk will be out shortly, please wait with Heir Longbottom." the teller says with a slight bow, before directing him to a row of chairs along the side of the room. Only one was occupied, by Neville Longbottom. Albus strides over and sits next to him.
"Neville, m'boy, I can't tell you how sorry I am to hear about your grandmother. She was a fine woman, and a very dear friend."
Neville sniffles, and nods, "the healers said it happened in her sleep. At least she didn't feel it." he said, visibly fight back tears.
"It's alright to cry. It proves you are still human." Dumbledore says, trying to win the boy over to make the rest of his plans easier, but Neville resolutely shakes his head.
"I cried all day yesterday. When I woke up this morning, it was as a man. Longbottom men don't cry, we fight through and protect what we care for." Neville says, twisting the heir ring in his right ring finger.
"Well said, Heir Longbottom. You do your parents and grandparents proud." came a voice from the entrance. Amelia bones, followed closely by her niece Susan, who quickly gave Neville a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry." she says, fresh tears flowing from her red eyes.
Behind them are Morgan and the Greengrass sisters, Tori in a similar state as Susan, while Daphne was like Neville, putting on a strong front, but clearly hurting inside.
Two wizards they didn't recognize sat down while the four friends consoled each other. There seemed to be something of a commotion at the front of a bank. A woman with a long neck and her very portly son were arguing with one of the goblins, who was fingering his axe menacingly. Before it can get out of hand, however, Severus Snape intervened, speaking a few words to the goblins, before dragging Petunia Dursley over to the chairs and almost throwing her into one. Dudley ran next his mother, shaking in fear.
A group of five red heads, all wearing tattered second hand robes, came over and started talking with Dumbledore very loudly, as if to prove to any observers that they knew him.
"Albus, I truly miss them." the older woman said, making a show of crying on the old man's shoulder. Dumbledore patted her on the back, comforting the witch. Unnoticed by any of them, Remus lupin had snuck into the room and was quietly awaiting the arrival of the account manager.
Two more red heads, twins by the look of them; had followed the rest in, sitting as far away as possible from the rest. They were joined by two more men, seemingly older brothers. As the groups began talking amongst themselves, they stopped almost immediately, when a goblin, in full ceremonial gear, yelled, "Now presenting: Lord Sirius Orion Black, Goblin Friend, and head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black!"
All around the room, goblins stopped what they were doing and bowed, a powerful sign of respect, considering that goblins have almost never bowed when ushering in a lord on their own land. Sirius Black walked into the room, no longer the playful jokester so many of them knew. The finest silk robes, black family crest on full display, even his demeanor made it obvious that lord black was here on business. The display was enough to make Albus nervous. Harry Potter is simply a child, but Sirius Black is a force to be reckoned with.
Sirius stopped in the middle of the room, and the armored goblin announced, "Now presenting: Lord Harry James Potter, Goblin friend, Heir to the House of Black, and head of the houses of Potter, Perevell, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin!" again, all the goblins bowed, however, to the astonishment of Dumbledore and Bill Weasley, all of them had a fist on the ground, a sign of the highest respect, reserved only for war chiefs.
Harry potter entered the bank. On his robes, crests faded in and out of view on his shoulders. However, on the front of the Acromantula silk robes was the potter crest, gold leaf trimmings and jewels embedded throughout. The Perevell invisibility cloak flowing in the air behind him. It was this entrance that made Dumbledore genuinely afraid. Being announced as lord was bad enough; the boy should not be eligible until he turns fifteen without Dumbledore's approval. But wearing those robes, no one will doubt that it's true. If word reaches the ministry about this public display, there will be no way to block Potters emancipation attempt.
Harry conducts himself as a true lord should. Confident, graceful, and slightly arrogant. He walks up to Sirius, not as a child walks to a parental figure, but as a pureblooded lord would to another. Lucius Malfoy couldn't have done it better. Together, Black and Potter walk towards the armored goblin. Bowing slightly as they reach him, Sirius speaks, "Lord Gornuk, we are here for the will reading of James and Lily Potter."
Gornuk returns the bow, "Of course. Please follow me, and the rest of you as well." and he turns down the hallway. All of them, along with several more witches you only just walked in, follow him.
They all file into a large conference room. Harry takes his seat directly in front of the podium. Sirius and Severus sit on either side. The rest file in, with everyone Barry trusted to his right, and everyone he distrusted, Sirius aside, on his left. He was rather surprised to see Professor McGonagall. A blond haired witch, clutching an acid green quill stood behind him, smiling as if she'd just won the lottery.
Gornuk call the reading to order and reads off the people with bequests. "Before we begin, in accordance with gridiron, if any person wishes for someone present who has not been named to be removed, Lord Potter will hear your reasoning."
Molly Weasley stands first, "I want to know what THEY are doing here?" she says point to her four sons on the opposite side of the room. "THEY aren't named, nor are the family of anyone named, therefore I ask they be removed." she said sitting down, Ron next to her suppressing a laugh.
It took a minute for what she said to sink in. If they weren't family- then that means... Harry thought before he makes his ruling, "They are my guests. Bill is also working as the Gringotts liaison to ensure everything is carried out properly. Your request is denied." Molly was fuming, but knew that making a scene would cost her whatever she'd inherited.
An elderly wizard that Harry didn't recognize stood, "I am not asking for her to leave, however, I am wondering why Professor McGonagall is here?"
Harry nods, "I was wondering the same thing." McGonagall nods grimly, "Unfortunately, Ms. Augusta Longbottom passed away yesterday morning. Her son is in my house. I am here to offer whatever help I can in his time of need."
"I understand. I thank you for acting above and beyond the call of duty." Harry says, smiling slightly at his transfiguration teacher.
Dumbledore rises, "I am afraid that i don't see any reason for you or her-" he says pointing to the reporter in the back. "To be here, Minerva. Rest assured that I will assist him however he may need." he says, grandfatherly smiles etched on his face.
"I would rather Professor McGonagall stay. Neville trusts her more than you. And I felt that since my parents were rather well liked, I would have the daily prophet do a story on the reading. Ms. Skeeter has kindly consented to write it, and from what I'm told she is their best. It should prove a rather enlightening read." Harry says, smiling right back at the old man.
His comments made the headmaster nervous. 'Why would he invite Rita Skeeter of all people' he thought, as he sat. With no other complaints, Gornuk rose.
"We will now begin the Will reading of the late Lord James Charles Potter and his wife Lady-" petunia scoffed at the title, "Lily Marie Potter née Evans." he said formally, and began reading. Throughout the reading, it became obvious who actually cared. All of the Weasley's seemed bored, as if they wanted whatever they were left so they could go. The Mckinnons seem sad, but whether that was for his parents or their brothers who should have been alive to be here, Harry could not tell. Dumbledore played his part well, but Harry still noticed that he couldn't keep the smile off his wrinkled face.
Finally Gornuk reached the final part, "Now, for the bequests. First, to Sirius Orion Black, we leave one and a half million galleons, and custody of our son, Harry. Look after him, Padfoot. He'll need his dogfather." very briefly, Sirius dropped the Lord Black facade, and allowed a single tear to fall. Rita Skeeter seemed to have only just noticed that they had reached the good part, as her acid green quill began writing of its own accord. She began writing separately on another notepad.
"Next, to Remus John Lupin, we leave one million galleons and our cottage in southern Scotland, fully equipped to deal with your furry little problem. Additionally, we have taken the liberty of setting up an account containing Five thousand galleons in your name at Madam Malkin's (for one in your life, Moony, take the hint!) Lupin blushed slightly, and everyone who understood what James and lily had meant tried and failed to suppress a chuckle.
"To our dear friend Peter Pettigrew, we leave our house along the coast, unless we were betrayed to Voldemort-" almost everyone in the room shuddered, "in which case, we ask that the goblins to restrain Peter and report him to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was always our secret keeper, and if Voldemort found us, then peter is a death eater." Gornuk smiled, showing his formidable teeth, "as Madam Bones arrested Peter Pettigrew last winter, in accordance with goblin law, this bequest is void, and all assets in the name of Peter Pettigrew are hereby forfeit to the new lord potter." No one was at all surprised, as goblins take disloyalty very seriously. Had Pettigrew shown up, they would likely have killed him and nailed his corpse to the door of the bank, before mailing his head to Voldemort.
"To Petunia Dursley, as much as I might wish other, you are my sister. I leave one hundred galleons, to be converted into pounds at the time of the will reading. I am willing to give you a chance to make something of your life. Divorce that bigoted bastard, and raise your son right. Let me warn you, if you ever do anything to hurt my son, dead or not, I will personally end you." Petunia paled, Dudley fainted, and everyone else gasped. There was no doubt that it was lily who wrote that bequest. Gornuk cleared his throat, "Given what we know about Lord Potter's life in your care, I would very much like to make an example of you-" petunia was white as a sheet, "however, at Lord Potter's request, you will be spared. You will receive ten thousand galleons worth, and will receive the rest when and if, Lord Potter wishes."
"Back to the matter at hand, to Frank and Alice Longbottom, we leave our summer home in Wales. I hope that you cherish the time we spent together there as much as we did." Neville nodded, having seen the picture his parents hung in their study, of the four laughing along the beach.
"To Lord Edgar Bones, I leave one million galleons, as well as the twelve galleon, eight sickles and ten nuts I owe you from our fourth year. Consider the million twenty years of interest. And we leave the key to vault 5829. I'm sure you'll like the contents." Amelia perked up. Not only had the potters more than double her entire vault, but they'd also left her husband something else entirely. Curiosity almost got the better of her, but she restrained herself until after Harry's plan was completed.
"To our dear friend Cyrus and Morgan Greengrass, we leave two million galleons and the collection of jewelry my grandparents won off of your great grandparents a hundred and fifty years ago. I hope that this is useless, but please, tell Harry about IT of we can't find a way out." Morgan gasps and both her daughters look at her, both clearly about to ask the same question. Morgan mouths 'later' Harry looked at her curiously, but quickly return his attention to the front.
"To Marlene and Charles McKinnon, we leave five hundred thousand galleons. Thank you for being there when we needed you." the Mckinnons nod, saying a quiet prayer for their brother and sister.
"Next is To Severus Snape-" there had been a look of surprise on the faces of the attendees earlier, when Snape was called. James and Snape were famous for their long standing feud, even after they left school. 'Probably left him a curse' McKinnon muttered when he thought that Harry could hear. "I am truly sorry that you and I never got the chance to reconnect after we left school. You were my first ever friend and I cherished our time together. All I have to give you is a very important book. (Severus, I can't tell you how sorry I am for how I've treated you in the past. I won't ask you to forgive me. Merlin only knows how many times I've cursed, jinxed, and embarrassed you. All I ask is that you not blame my son for my mistakes.) The room was silent, whether from the revelation that Lily and Snape were friends, James heartfelt apology, or his subsequent request to his mortal enemy for the same of his son. The only sound was crying, coming from the normally stoic potions master. In front of him was an old photo album filled with pictures of a black haired boy and a red haired girl laughing and playing together.
"To Arthur and Molly Weasley, We leave two million galleons and our manor in the center of London. You are some of the nicest people we have had the pleasure of knowing. You deserve the best." Ron was celebrating until Gornuk put a stop to it. "Unfortunately, this bequest is void."
Molly's outburst shook the room, "ON WHAT GROUNDS?!"
"You may believe you are clever, but the sorting hat didn't place you in Slytherin for good reason. You have been stealing money from Lord Potter since November tenth, Nineteen eighty-one. In total, you owe over seven million gallons. Lord Potter would be well within his rights the blast your entire family off the face of the planet, however, he is willing to show you leniency." Harry stood up, "your bequests in my parents will are void. Also, all your accounts will be drained, leaving only one thousand galleons to you name. A levy will be placed on Arthur and Molly Weasley's wages, until such time as the debt is repaid in full. Bill and Charlie would be given the choice to help, but since you disowned them, I don't see the need. I will, however, agree to pay for Hogwarts tuition for your children. There is no reason for them to suffer because their mother is a rotten thief!" Harry snarled.
Molly looked like she was about to say something, bit Arthur cut her off, "I sincerely apologize for my wife's actions, and you have my word that she will be getting a second job to pay back everything she owes. I also thank you for allowing my children to attend Hogwarts." he says, bowing deeply.
Dumbledore was floored. He had been out maneuvered by an eleven year old boy! The boy owns the prophet, which means Rita Skeeter won't act against him. By this time tomorrow word will spread that the Weasleys had stolen from Harry potter. They would be ruined! And if they found out about the Weasley's theft than they know his own!
Ron Weasley had apparently had enough. "Potter, don't talk to my mother that way!" he roared, wand drawn. Before his father could stop him, six armed goblins had spears at his throat.
"Drawing a wand without permission in Gringotts is punishable by death." Gornuk said, not even fazed.
Dumbledore stood up and went to Ron's defense, "Forgive him, Lord Gornuk. He forgot himself following Lord Potter's unjust comments."
Gornuk snorted, "I heard no such comments. However, as it affects him, I will allow Lord Potter to make this judgment."
Dumbledore turns to Harry, "Harry, surely you can see this isn't right. A young man could lose his Li-" he said, putting on his best grandfatherly smile, until Harry interrupted.
"First of all, I'm Lord Potter. Show some respect. Second, since when have you cared about what could kill? Seems to me that you were fine with Ron trying the killing curse on Susan, and punished me for stopping him, so cut the charm and get over yourself. You have no control over me and you have no say on what I decide to do." Harry said, smirking as he saw Rita's eyes sparkle at the bit about the killing curse, telling Harry that Dumbledore just cost himself his career.
Dumbledore sat, 'I should use this time to come up with an excuse for the money I took.' and he sighs at not being able to save Ron, 'Now I need another pawn to befriend Neville next term..."
Harry turns his attention to the red head that just wet his pants. "You have three choices Ron: I can stand aside and let the goblins have you, you and I can duel, or of you ask nicely I'll consider sparing you."
"I'm s-s-s-sorry, harry." Ron stutters, reminding Harry of Professor Qurriell, "I promise, it'll never happen again."
Harry sighs and waves the goblins off, "This is the only time. Next time, you're not walking away." he says as he sits down.
Dumbledore smiles, 'maybe I can still find a use for the boy', "Thank you, Harry-" seeing Harry's glare, he adds, "Forgive me, but in the eyes of the ministry you are not Lord Potter. Therefore to call yourself that-"
"Is accurate." Gornuk sneers at the blatant disrespect Dumbledore is showing, "We are on Goblin land. Our government has recognized Lord Potter as an adult, and as such, he is to be addressed as Lord Potter while on these lands unless told otherwise by him."
Dumbledore gapped, Gornuk was right. Goblins are sovereign inside of Gringotts. Even the ministry can't deny that.
"We are moving off topic, as we are near the end the will. To Albus Dumbledore, we leave one million galleons and ask that you represent Harry at the Wizengamot, until he reaches the age of seventeen." Gornuk said, smiling devilishly, "This is also voided, for theft of Lord Potter's money, and the forging of Lord and Lady Potter's will."
Albus nods grimly, 'there is no way I will be able to receive anything, but I should be able to limit the damage. There isn't any point in denying it; Potter outsmarted me.' "I freely admit that it is as you say. I forged the will in order to ensure Lord Potter's safety. I stole the money to help capture and convict death eaters who escaped justice, in the hopes that I might be able to correct my mistake. I will personally see to it that all the funds are repaid, with interest, immediately following this meeting. I ask you forgive an old man his mistakes. If there is any way for me to make amends, please let me know."
Harry smiled, 'the old man walked right into my trap' he thought as he said, "I will be filing for emancipation, see to it that they are properly filed with the ministry."
Albus nods, "it will be processed by the end of the week. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak to my account manager." he says, before walking out, Weasleys and Mckinnons behind him.
As the Weasleys walk past him, Harry hears Ron mutter, "You're dead, Potter. Nobody talk to my mother like that, you halfblooded prick."
Harry mutters back, just loud enough for the entire Weasley family and almost everyone else to hear, "That doesn't sound very threatening from the git who just wet his pants." Ron turned scarlet, and everyone who heard laughed as Ron stomped out of the room.
"Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, and Neville." Harry said as everyone started leaving the room. "Could I have a word." the five nodded and sat back down. Harry turned to the Greengrasses, "Sorry, this shouldn't take too long. Go on ahead." the girl nod and keep walking.
"Right, now then, I assume that I'd be correct in saying you four-" Indicting the twins, Bill, and Charlie? "Were kicked out of the Weasley family."
Fred nodded grimly, "Yeah, mom told George and me yesterday."
"They told us and we told mom we wanted nothing to do with it, so she starts lecturing is about how we've got no ambition, and how we weren't worthy of the Weasley name. So I cursed her and we left. Got the letter from Gringotts saying we've been disowned this morning." Charlie shrugged, taking a sip of butter beer that had defiantly not been there a second ago.
"So what will you do now?" Harry asked, drinking his own butter beer.
Bill started laughing, which surprised both Neville and Harry, "Working at Gringotts has its advantages. First of all, I can do magic in the bank legally." 'That explains the magically appearing beverages that were floating around them' Harry thought, "And secondly no one knows more about inheritance laws then the goblins. Even though we've been kicked out, we can form our own houses, provided we can find a lord of at least equal status as our father to support us." Bill explained, "That's easy enough for me and Charlie, but the twins will need to find someone to help them."
"What about me?" Harry asked.
Bill looked like he was about to say something, then stopped, looking momentarily stunned, "Are you serious?" he asked, shocked at what he was offering.
Harry fought back the urge to make a Sirius black joke and nodded, "Sure, what's the point in getting emancipated if I can't do something useful. Besides, they'd be fine if it wasn't for me."
The twins started twin speaking. "Totally untrue-"
"We'd be fine-"
"If Ron wasn't-"
"A colossal manipulative git"
"Point taken, but I'm not taking no for an answer. That goes for all of you." Harry says, pointing out Bill and Charlie.
"Then perhaps it is a good thing I brought these." said a voice at the door. Gornuk walked into the room carrying a small pile of paper and four gold and two silver boxes. He hands a silver box to each of the twins. "Lord Potter foresaw this and created set up trust accounts for both of you. The money can be used to assist in your care, or as I understand it, to finance a certain business idea."
The twins were about to protest when Harry shot them down, "Just consider it an advance on that startup I promised. But just so were clear, I'm not paying for any of your products."
The twins looked at each other, Grinned and said at the same time, "Deal!"
Gornuk nods, "Next, I brought the forms for the creation of a new House. As you are verified as magical for fifteen generations, you are eligible to for an ancient house; however, as you were removed from the Weasley family, you've lost the noble title that accompanied it."
"How are they ancient if you can't count the Weasleys?" Harry asked, curious.
It was Bill who explained, "Mum was from the Ancient house of Prewett. Since she didn't disown us properly, we can still claim them as family."
Gornuk starts writing on three identical forms, than turns to Bill, "What is the name of your House, Cursebreaker?"
Bill thought for a minute before says, "How about House Aurum?"
Gornuk nods, "Fitting for a Cursebreaker of Gringotts." and writes it on the paper before passing it the Bill.
While Bill fills out the paperwork, Gornuk asks for his name, and Charlie replies instantly, "House Draconis."
Again, he passes the form to Charlie and asked the twins. Neither of them had any ideas, until Neville offered a suggestion, "What about 'Locus'?" Both twins looked stunned, slapped each other before informing Gornuk.
A young goblin opened the door, carrying a finely craft black box, with gold trim and handed it to Gornuk and leaves, bowing slightly. Inside is a long black quill with an unusually sharp point. Harry first impression is that some could use it as a knife. Gornuk reviews the forms, then hands them back before handing Bill the quill. Bill takes a deep breath and signs, wincing slightly when he was done.
The goblin nods before passing the form and quill to Harry. "You must sign at the bottom, where is says 'acting lord' than stamp next to it with you ring. Harry signs the form, seeing that the quill writes in a bright red, almost like- Harry's thoughts are interrupted by a sudden pain on the back of his hand. Briefly, he sees his own name craved into his flesh, but it quickly heals, leaving only a dull throbbing feeling. He stamps with his ring as he'd done before, but this time, it felt as if the underside of his ring were on fire. But it too soon faded, leaving a strange feeling of relief in its wake. Twice more he repeated the process, until all four of the formerly Weasley brother had new last names. He'd been saved from having to sign another when he saw that Fred and George had used a pure blood law that allows for twin to jointly lead a house.
"Congratulations are in order, my Lords." Gornuk said as he bowed, handing each of them a small gold box. Inside were very plain gold rings, no marking or jewels and Harry had seen on other Head of House rings. As Harry was about to as, Bill placed his ring on his finger. There was a flash of light, and when he looked again he saw that what had once been a plain gold ring was now three times larger. The purple stone was set on the surface, and inlay in gold was a coat of arms. Two wizards, Wands crossed and staves planted in the ground, gold and treasure seemed to fall from the wands. Even more amazing was that as the light reflect off, the treasure seemed to change, gold cups become ancient scrolls, which become priceless artifacts.
Next was Charlie, his ring doubled in size. The band changed, giving it a scaled appearance. Golden dragon heads were etched into the band; mouths open as if breathing fire, on opposite sides of the ruby set on top. The reflected light made it seem as if the ruby itself were on fire. The crest, etched onto the gem in silver, was twin dragons, back to back, with a flaming sword in between.
The twins' rings were almost identical. Both rings were the same size as Charlie's and set with a bright sapphire. The difference was on the crest. Two knights facing each other, swords drawn. On Fred's, the knight on the left had his helmet replaced with a jesters hat, while George's had the right knight helm changed.
"Now then, is there any further business?" the goblin asked after recording the crests of the three new houses.
"Just two, but I'll try and be brief. Would you be able to take the money that was withheld from the Weasleys, and split it between these four-" there was the predictable shouting about how he'd already done too much, so Harry let them finish before continuing. "My parents gave that to the Weasleys, and since Molly doesn't deserve it, you do. And I have way too many mansions as well, so if you would be so kind as to take some off my hands, I would be quite grateful." It took Harry nearly an hour to convince them, before he finally said, "Prove them wrong. Bill, Charlie, Molly said that you weren't worth the Weasley name. So become better than they ever could. Fred, George, Imagine the look on Ron's face on the Hogwarts express, when he's dressed in third hand robes and your robes cost more than his whole bedroom."
Finally it was decided that Bill would take the mansion in London that his parents left Molly in the will. Charlie found an old winter retreat in Romania that he liked, while Fred and George took the villa concealed in the mountains by Hogwarts. Finally Harry invited all of them, Neville included, to party at Greengrass Manor.
"Neville" Harry said as they were leaving. "Look, I'm really sorry to hear about your Grandmother. If you need anything, just say the word. Longbottom and Potter have been brothers since long before either of us was born." Neville nodded, and together they used the Gringotts floo to travel back to the Manor.
