Chapter 82: All That Glitters
"Is Miss Dora eager to meet the boy who lived, and for a brief time owned the wand that killed The Dark Lord," Kreacher asked Dora.
Amusement twitched the corners of his mouth as he spoke. "I'm actually looking more forward to seeing a goblin," Dora replied, an eager sparkle in her gentle brown eyes as she smiled back at Kreacher. The three were about to depart to meet Harry Potter and Griphook at Gringotts so that Regulus would officially own his own home once again. The concept had Regulus feeling a mix of nervous and excited. It almost felt like some coming of age ceremony, or in his particular case, perhaps more of a coming back to life ceremony as far as society was concerned.
"Ready," Kreacher asked. When Regulus and Dora nodded, he apparated them directly in front of the towering white marble building that was Gringotts. Dora peered up at the structure with a thoughtful frown. "It doesn't look too fancy," she commented in obvious disappointment.
"It's better inside, especially when you get to the gold and jewels," Regulus said, lips twitching in dry amusement.
"Are we looking at gold and jewels just to get your house signed back over to you," Dora asked and Regulus shook his head. "That's doubtful. They are fancy, though, even when we're not looking at them. It's the philosophy of the thing. The gold and jewels still glitter when our eyes aren't on them just as the tree makes a sound even though no ego ridden human is about to hear it."
Dora chuckled and shook her head as they moved together toward the bank's large bronze door where a goblin dressed in scarlet and gold stood on guard. He must have expected them for he opened without a word to reveal a darkened lobby that smelled heavily of fresh parchment. The room was large with row upon row of long marble counters. During the work day, at least one hundred goblins sat working at them, but this evening, there was only one seated at the end of the counter closest to the right of the door.
"Mr. Potter was early. You were just on time. You should've been early," Griphook said, looking up at Regulus with an accusatory frown that stated clearly how put out he was.
Kreacher sniffed, drawing the goblin's sharp black eyes to him. "Griphook has dust on his suit," the elf pronounced disdainfully.
To Kreacher's credit, Griphook glanced down with a mild look of alarm on his face. "No he does not," he snapped peevishly, upon discovering a dust free suit. Having gotten the rise he intended none the less, Kreacher snickered.
"Hello, Harry," Regulus greeted politely as they entered the bank. Harry Potter had been so kind to readily and willingly return Regulus's home to him that he felt oddly formal continuing to refer to him as Mr. Potter and hoped he wouldn't mind the familiarity. Even if they would not be friends due to Harry's obvious love for Sirius that seemed to equal Regulus and Kreacher's hatred for him, they could at least be friendly.
Harry was seated on one of the high backed ornate chairs along the room's far wall, but at sight of Regulus and co, he stood, giving an awkward smile of greeting. "Hello, Regulus, Kreacher." He smiled at Dora. "And, Madam."
Dora regarded Harry with studied curiosity. "Pandora. I am Regulus's maker," she said quietly before Regulus could make introductions.
"Two vampires in the bank at once," Griphook chuckled. "It should be a security risk." The goblin was enjoying himself in spite of his mild pretense of concern,, and not at all worried for his security.
"Dora, this is Griphook," Regulus said and Dora smiled, holding out a slender, elegant hand which the goblin briefly shook.
"Charmed," he said dryly.
"I suppose you haven't read Lord Of The Rings," Dora asked.
Griphook's bright black eyes narrowed. "What? Is it a jeweler's trade manual? What's it from? I haven't heard of it!" The idea that any publication on gold and rings was circulating that he was unaware of, appeared to agitate and affront Griphook all at the same time. Dora smiled, shaking her head. "Never mind. I can see you haven't. It is a work of fiction."
Griphook gave a mildly perplexed scowl tinged with a hint of belligerent. "Then why did you ask me if I'd read it?"
"Because it has goblins in it, and dragons and enchanted rings," Dora said with a small smile.
"Had you read it, I would've asked you how much of it was true, if any."
"I told you none of it really is," Regulus said with a slight bemused shake of his head.
"Yes, but you aren't a goblin. If some goblin bits were true, you would not be as likely to know as would an actual goblin," Dora told him in a tone of exaggerated patience.
"She has a point," Griphook said, lips twitching in amusement that he was obviously working hard to suppress.
"Well in that case, I shall send you my copies of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy," Regulus told him. He smiled, not bothering in the least to hide his amusement as the goblin's black eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Ur...Well, that will be...interesting, I suppose," Griphook said. "Thank you. I shall return them as soon as I've looked them over."
Regulus felt his smile growing. "Do take your time."
With a slight nod, Griphook turned his attention to the papers on the marble counter before him. "We have drawn up a document of returned ownership indicating that Mr. Harry Potter is signing 12 Grimmauld Place back over to you. You've both only to sign it, and we're done here." Regulus nodded. It felt nearly anticlimactic to have it accomplished so easily, but he was glad that it was so nonetheless. So much had happened to strip him of his home and family, yet what was left of it was restored with a few strokes of a pen. "You first, Mr. Potter," Griphook said, gesturing Harry over. "Just sign here."
Harry took the quill, and bent his head studiously over the document. "I would like to return the gold from your family vault to you as well, Regulus," he said as he wrote. "I did nothing to earn it after all. I only inherited it from Sirius, who likely did little to earn it as well. One could say he earned it with his unfair stint in Azkaban, but he isn't here to enjoy it, and you earned it even more with your sacrifice. You tried to stop Voldemort when no one else did, and though you made mistakes, you willingly and gladly paid for them which is more than most can say. My own parents left me enough gold, and I'd like to return yours to you."
Regulus had amassed a small fortune from those he'd killed over the years, and money really wasn't an issue. Not to mention the Black family had quite a bit of gold tucked away in various hidden places at 12 Grimmauld. "That is kind, but you've done enough just returning my family home to me, and for free at that, Harry. Please keep the gold. Sirius would like to know he'd left you a legacy, I'm sure. He and I never got along, but you seem like a decent person so I won't begrudge him that."
Replacing the quill in its holder on the counter, Harry turned to Regulus. "How about we split it half and half," he suggested.
Regulus grinned. "Two thirds to you, and we have a deal." He stepped forward, grasping Harry's hand and shaking it before the young man could protest.
"Fine then," Harry said, laughing in surrender. Regulus caught a fleeting look of sadness in Harry's eyes as the smile faded. Though he didn't intentionally look, Harry's thought was too strong and too sad to go unseen. It hurt him to see Regulus because he looked, to Harry's mind, so much like his dear uncle Sirius. The sword was double edged, though, because another part of Harry relished seeing any part of Sirius's family line still alive and thriving. It was as if a bit of Sirius still lived on in some way. Regulus wished he could appreciate the sentiment more, but his dislike for Sirius just wouldn't let him. It was alright, though. He didn't need to relate. He just needed to be kind to Harry. Harry suffered a loss, and though they mourned different people, Regulus well understood loss. "If there is ever anything you need, don't hesitate to ask," Regulus told him.
Harry smiled. "Thanks."
Regulus nodded, then taking a deep breath, moved up for his turn at signing the parchment. As he took the quill into his hand, Kreacher eagerly moved up to his side. "It's ours again at last," he whispered, and Regulus smiled.
He signed his name, then turned to Griphook. "I would like to arrange for the manor to be in Kreacher's name as well so that we each have half ownership."
Griphook nodded, producing another sheet of parchment as he took the other away. "Yes, I got your note on the matter, and the document has been drawn up. It's quite rare that an elf is given property by a wizard. I only recall it happening two other times, in fact. You sign here, then Kreacher signs here, under your signature," he told Regulus, pointing at the page as he spoke. Regulus experienced a flutter of excitement that put him in mind of a miniature version of how he'd felt at their wedding. Signing his name, he handed the quill eagerly to Kreacher. The elf took it solemnly, adding his own name under Regulus's in his neat hand. Regulus smiled at the sight of Kreacher Black under his own name. It made him feel proud in a way that was difficult to explain. Rather than trying to explain it, even to himself, he simply put an arm around Kreacher and drew him close. "If you're returning a third of his gold to Mr. Black, we should go down to the vaults and attend to that now," Griphook told Harry who nodded readily.
"So I get to see the gold and jewels after all," Dora asked, giving Regulus a wide smile.
Regulus's lips twitched. "Apparently so."
"Wait until Miss Dora sees how fast the cart goes. Those carts are even faster than vampires, Kreacher believes." Kreacher gave Dora a smile. His round blue eyes danced with excitement at the prospect of her reaction to the cart that rode guests down the many levels of Gringotts.
"Cart," Dora asked.
"Those aren't in your Lord of the Rings book, then," Griphook asked with a chuckle.