"First was Dinner. The Standard Halloween Feast. Then the old fool held a little light show. Krum, Delacure, Diggory… Potter!" Harry started to sarcastically rant, "Then While I am brooding these sluts decide that All Hallows Eve is just as good as a Full Moon…"
"Harry Potter!" Albus stood just in the doors of the Bank, huffing and puffing from his run. "I Must return you to the School Grounds. Right Now!"
"Daphne Annebell-lynn Greengrass!" A golden Blond wizard with a Van-Dyke muzzle brushed past the Headmaster as if he was not even there. "Explain yourself!"
"Shite!" the Blond swore as she stepped closer to her Wizard.
"Bonequill?" Harry asked.
"The Black door. Your guide will be awaiting you there." the Goblin Teller waved them on.
The trio scuttled, as the Adults tried to catch them. As the trio were waved through the door, two guards blocked the Adults. "Sorry Sirs. Only by Guide are Account Holders allowed beyond this door." The guard on the right was respectful, but firm.
Albus Huffed, but Lord Greengrass twisted on his heel, and queued up in the shortest line. He was quickly before the teller. "Lord Greengrass to see the Greengrass Account Manager."
The Teller sneered. "Black door. Your guide will be with you shortly."
As the Lord returned to the Door, Albus was trying to verbally leverage his way past the two guards.
HPDT
Barchoke sneered at the Lordling before him. "Mister Potter. What made you, Finally, decide to come in?"
"These Ladies." Harry threw a thumb at the two witches. "I take it from your tone you were expecting me to come in sooner?"
"I have sent a monthly request since you first showed up here, July of 91." the gruff Gold counter grumbled.
"My Apologies." Harry bobbed his head, "Only Mail I receive is What the school sends or my owl carries."
The goblin glared at him for a minute. "Ok, I will overlook your absence for now. What brings you here today?"
"Simple answer; I took something that was not mine to take." Harry began, Barchoke's head rose at the hint of theft. "As I understand it, these two females were Fated to a life not of their choosing. They chose me as the lesser of two evils, and bonded me. I need to make it right with their Families and Houses."
A black sheet of parchment was pushed towards him, along with a black quill. "Sign on the bottom line."
"Careful." Daphne hissed. "That is a Bloodquill."
Harry signed.
The black drained away, leaving a mix of Goblin runes and writing. Barchoked, choked, causing Daphne to peer over the sheet, and have trouble breathing for a few minutes. Harry turned the sheet so he could read the script…
Harold James Potter
Parents; James Charles Potter and Lily Rose Potter nee Evans
Wife; Tracy Evergreen Potter nee Davis
Consort; Daphne Annebell-lynn Greengrass
Dependents; none
Houses and Ranks
Potter = Lord, (unringed.)
Black = Heir apparent(Lord unringed)
Peverel = Scion
Griffondor = Scion
Slytherin = Lord by Conquest.(unringed)
Accounts and Vaults
Potter Main
Potter Artifacts
Potter Harry Trust
Boy Who Lived bequeathed
Peverel (sealed)
Griffondor (seal)
Slytherin (Sealed)
"It says nothing about his totals." Daphne frowned.
"Of course not." Barchoke sneered at her, "For that, you need access to a Ledger. This only Tells me which Accounts he has access to." He glared at the 'boy'. "You said you took something that was not yours. What did you take?"
"Them." Harry leaned back in his seat. "As I understand it, I now owe their Houses a Bride-price."
"Damn boy. Blood feuds have been started over less." Barchoke scratched a note in his ledger… then peered at it some more.
"He just inquired to our Fathers' Account Managers if we had a set bride-price." Daphne whispered.
Harry nodded, as he turned to look at Tracy, who was sitting quietly in the corner. "Trace? You're quiet."
Tracy flashed a smile. "Sorry. Training. If I was quiet and still, mom would get me a treat."
"Then we get a treat when we are done." Harry grinned at her, "But if there is anything that we miss, I expect you to speak up."
HPDT
Cyrus Greengrass had awoken that morning to find a pile of ash on his desk. Well not just awoken, but after a good breakfast, and when he entered his office. The pile of ash was none other than the Contract for his daughter. That the Family needed the money from the bride-price was an understatement. Malfoy had leveraged him to lower the price as much as he could…
Had she just slept with some boy, then the contract would be flashing red. But to self-emulate, a bonding ritual had to take place as well.
He just hoped that this new boy had the money to pay.
He had tracked his Eldest to the Bank, and apperated to the Alley and all but ran to the door, where he Saw her by the Teller counter. He did not get a good look at the boy, but by the way the Goblins were protecting him…
A quick trip through the cue to speak with the teller, and he was off to see his Account Manager.
As he stepped past Albus, he heard the old fool pleading with the goblin that 'he' needed to stop the boy from making a mistake that would endanger the Wizarding World.
There were only three people that young that the Wizarding World could pivot on. Now the Lad's hair was Dark, unruly, and he was shorter than his Daughter. That changed a few things.
The three lads; Malfoy Scion, Longbottom Scion, Potter Scion.
Malfoy is platinum blond like his father. That removed that shitheel from the running. Besides, the contract would not have turned to ash.
Longbottom was a dirty honey blonde. And Taller than his daughter. The lad was a mini Frank, who was built on the lines of Hagrid.
That left Potter. But did Potter have the money to bail his House out of the well of their issues.
Ducking into Grimnail's office, Cyrus smiled at his goblin counterpart. "What can you tell me about House Potter?" He knew that his Account Manager preferred that he went without the polite niceties. "The Scion took something of mine, breaching That Contract."
"Little Bitch followed through, huh?" Grimnail sneered. "If we Move quickly…" the Goblin scratched a quick note into his ledger. "Because her price was set by contract, but then Potter breached that contract, so we can double it…"
"So my little viper went from GG15,250 to GG30,500. Can the Potter boy pay?"
"Not Boy." The Goblin was reading his ledger. "Before He partook in that ritual that bonded the three of them, he was declared an Adult by Contract. When three Headmasters, two Ministry Directors, and the Chief Warlock ruled that he had to Participate in the Triwizard Tournament. So when he Ritually Bonded her, He did so as the undeclared Lord and Head of Potter."
"And she did so knowing that the rules had changed." The human turned to the side board and poured two glasses of Jim Beam whiskey. Setting one before Grimnail. "My little Viper, She brings Honour to our House…" His glass raised.
"And Profit to Our Vaults." Grimnail matched his salute.
HPDT
Barchoke was reading over the details in his ledger. "First things First, I need to Ring you." a Box of Rings was placed on the desk. It opened to show him a selection of rings, each more elegant than the last. Barchoke passed the smallest ring to the boy. He pointed to Harry's right hand, third finger. Harry slid it on, right to the base.
The ring gripped his finger. It flickered twice, and traded itself with next up… which did the same. And again, and again. The Lord's ring flickered twice, before shifting to his other hand. Once there, it flickered five times. The box had two rings that started flashing, before they vanished to reappear on each of the witches' left hand.
"Okay. So that Happened." Harry fell back in his seat looking at the ring on his left finger. Then he felt the draw on his magic…
He was thrown back, his chair tipping over, as he crashed into the fur rug. Then it felt as if he could not breath, before bands that had been about his chest exploded. The Lad-Lord screamed in pain, as a pillar of light exploded from his chest.
Alarms sounded all over the Bank…
HPDT
In the Lobby, almost all business had stopped as the Humans were watching Albus trying to both 'strong arm' and 'sweet talk' the Goblins before him to allow him entrance into the Office Levels before it was too late.
A subsonic 'boom' shook the building, before a claxon sounded.
"I Tried to tell you!" Albus threw his hands in the air. "Now you have Suffered Damage to these Halls I could have prevented!"
"Actually, Sir." the senior guard sneered. "What Happened within our walls has reinforced the integrity of our caverns and wards. If anything, What Happened helped. Now Mister Dumbledor,you have interrupted Business, Taken time from those that have Business elsewhere, and made a spectacular arse of yourself. I must now invite you to take your leave… before we decide to 'gift' it to you."
HPDT
The room shuddered, and a klaxon sounded.
"What was that?" Lord Greengrass asked.
Grimnail checked his ward readers… "It seems that a Core Binder blew… and shored up structure and wards. It seems that it came from your Son-in-Law's area. Yes the Ledger has recorded that your Viper has in fact swallowed the Egg. She is bound as his … 'Consort Greengrass', unless she chooses to include Potter in her Name."
"Another Round?" the Wizard hefted his glass, "Or should we inquire with the newlyweds?"
"Another Round." Grimnail passed his empty glass over. Make it a double. If the Ledger shows no change by the time we are finished, we will take our claim for damages to Barchoke's office."
HPDT
Tracy and Daphne helped Harry first to his feet, then to his chair. "Did anyone get hit by the Knight bus?"
"Just you, big guy." Tracy quipped.
"What Happened?" Daphne demanded.
"It seems Mister Potter had a Core Binding or two in place…" the Goblin was peering into a clear orb on his desk. "Both were tied off." the Goblin leveled his glare at Daphne, "Only reason to tie one off is to permanently bid their magic then their mind is wiped of all things magic. Sometimes infants and young children are bound to slow their growth in power, so either they or more likely their parents can keep ahead on their growth of raw power. But a child's bindings are left open so that they can burn off the bindings as their control of their gift grows." He sneered, "In fact it is illegal to perform said bindings without a Medical license."
"Are you keeping track of these infringements on our Lord's Rights?" Daphne asked. "Prevention of Bank Business, Prevention of Taking the Ring, Binding his Core…"
"Line Theft?" Goblin sneered at her.
"How could…" She began to shake in fury.
"Are you saying that We interfered with a Contract, not of our Own?" Tracy inquired.
"Maybe." Barchoke smirked. "Whispers from the Vents state that the former Miss Greengrass was Contracted to the Heir of Black. Now, many in the Ministry believe that the Title will fall to the Malfoy Scion. What if I told you that due to a Legal Formality, Lord Black did not name Scion Malfoy his Heir. By having Lord Potter claim you as his Consort, you deprived Heir Black of his concubine. And because the Contract named you, not a daughter of Greengrass…"
"Speaking of which." Daphne gripped Harry's shoulder, "Like to get that Paid."
"First the Wife." Barchoke licked his quill-point, "Miss Davis did not have a quoted price…"
"What is the customary amount?" Harry asked.
"Twenty thousand gold." Tracy sat in her husband's lab.
Thinking of the piles of coins in his (trust)vault, Harry nodded. "Okay. I think that would work. Add another ten, as an apology for taking without asking."
"Done!" The goblin scratched out two sections in the ledger, a memo/receipt, stamped his book, the memo, copied the memo, and dropped one copy in his out-tray, filing the master in his Ledger. "Now Miss Greengrass is a different story. She had a price listed. Through Haggling, Malfoy had forced her price down to 15K and change. Because Lord Greengrass was able to get to his accountant before we paid, he has doubled the Listed Price. Citing that Lord Potter Breached a Contract he had no Business being involved with."
Harry rested his chin on Tracy's breasts. "Pay it. Can we offer a five percent bonus as an Apology?"
"What do you mean?" Barchoke sneered at the lad.
"Do I Have the Gold?"
Everybody froze.
"Does he have enough gold?" The Goblin whispered to himself, "He throws a Niffler among the Browtruckles and asks if he has the Gold." Barchoke whipped his face. "Yes Boy, you have the Gold. you have yet to breach the interest of your income, little alone touch the base of the Potter Fortune. This is but a drop in the Lake, little alone the bucket."
"Then Pay."
Barchoke inscribed two sections of the Ledger, wrote out the receipt/memo, stamped them both, copied the memo, out tray, and the master into the ledger.
"And Done." Harry was quite pleased with himself.
"Not yet." Barchoke pulled a sheet of parchment out. "Contract for Heir Potter to miss Weasley. Position; Wife."
The Witches hissed. "Who Signed it?" Daphne gripped Harry's shoulders tightly.
"Bride; Molly Weasley. Groom; APWBD?"
"Dumbledor." Daphne grumbled. "Shred it."
"My Lord?" the goblin looked at Harry.
"Burn it. Ginny is my sister, as much as she is Ron's." Harry huffed.
HPDT
Grimnail was a sip or two short of finishing his drink, when a bell chimed, and a Receipt/memo dropped into his 'In' tray. Setting the glass aside, he scanned the sheet, nodded, before passing the memo to Cyrus. "Bad news, it is official. She is out of your reach. Good news, He paid the Price… plus Five percent as an apology."
Taking the note, the human scanned it, nodded, and passed it back. "Thank you old friend. I believe that concludes our business for today." he drained his glass, set it on the side board, and exited the office. Grimnail preferred to do business and out. He followed the Guide back to the Lobby, where he prepared to ambush his Daughter and in-laws.
HPDT
Barchoke snapped his talons and the sheet went up in flame faster than Seamus' eyebrows. "There is another contract with the House of Bones, but it is for Wife, and House Bones will want a Line Continuation agreement. I will write to the Regent to request talks, but it might be better to allow a skip so she can marry for Love as she needs him to take her Name."
"Bones?" Harry frowned as he ran the witches of his year through his head, "Red head, really tight with the 'honey pot' that giggles at Neville, the way Kattie was giggling at Krum."
"Honey Pot?" Tracy asked as Daphne dusted his crown.
"Golden blond, healthier than you two, and one taste, and any wizard is not coming back alive." He kissed Tracy under the ear, "Like you two, any free wizard that gets too close is no longer free." He grinned at her, "Oh but what a way to go."
"Just for that," Daphne whispered in his ear, "Tonight you get the shaft."
The Goblin raised an eyebrow, but kept mum. "Okay. As per protocol, We will be sealing your Vaults for the week, as we do a full audit. I presume you will be wanting new keys, much cleaner that way. And will you be allowing your witches full access to your Vaults when they are reopened?"
"Yes." Daphne answered.
"No." Harry spoke a minute later. "Instead, a private Vault will be crafted for each of them. Seed them with fifteen hundred, each, with a monthly allowance two hundred on the first of the month, starting in December. Do not destroy any keys already in-play, just mark them as void. We will be needing money for Shopping; Wardrobe, lunch, and shoes."
"Noted." Barchoke ignored the glare the blond was giving the boy as the brunette nibbled under his ear. "Five Hundred in gold will be waiting out front, and your Ring can be used for big ticket items in excess of GG100." a few scratches in his Ledger. Before stamping it. "Get, I've got work to do. I will be sending a copy of your parent's will to the DMLE and announcing a Reading in two weeks."
Harry and the girls stepped out of the office, and followed their guide to the lobby. As Harry retrieved his pouch of coin, Daphne prepared to meet her Father in the center of the Lobby.
"Impressive, My Daughter." Cyrus strolled up, coming to a stop three paces from the two witches. "You found a way to deprive our foe, raise our profits, and free yourself from a fate I did not wish for you."
"Only raise our Profits, Father. It seems that as the contract was misjudged in who it would fall to. If my reading of the whole thing is correct, I will be draped over Milord's desk and used for his pleasure, before he passes me off to others for their fun. Come June after next, I will be carrying his spawn, or being bred like a prized bitch!" Daphne spat, venom dripping from every word.
"I thought that was the Plan." Harry had by now returned to their side. "Granted, Sir, You have raised a very fine Bitch, and the Wife and I plan to break her to the bit, properly. As thanks for your skills in breeding such a fine beast, I am willing to allow you a single pick of the litter for the next generation." He made a show of running his right hand over her right thigh and buttock, before slapping it.
Cyrus choked, as his daughter blushed. Then the murmurs from the crowd around them reached his Ears. From the darker families, he sold his daughter at a High Price, to a House that was on the rise, who's children would be the next Sons and Daughters of Black! The Grey were whispering that he had the choice of the spawn of the union to be his Heir, and his other daughter was now worth a bit more just to be adjacent to Potter! The Light were saying that his House was now bound to the Light by his daughter married to Potter, Scion of the Light.
"Lord Potter. Thank you. You have done my House a Great honour in paying our asking Price. Is there any chance I could tempt you in my youngest?" Lord Greengrass asked in jest.
"If she rides as well as this one, I think you will have a bidder." Harry responded before he really knew what he was saying. "I can not promise to be the winning bid, but you will get your money's worth." Sensing that he needed to be moving things along, Harry was quick to add, "Care to join us? My wife and I were on our way to Brunch, having skipped breakfast at school."
Tracy, for once, realizing that in this Marriage, she held the Power in public, coiled her arm through Harry's left, and smirked at Daphne. "Dunnings?* Just think, milord, what the people will think when you talk about little Tori." She licked her lips, "And her… training. I might just have to bid as well."
Cyrus turned on his heel and exited the Lobby, only to draw his wand once he was outside the Golden Doors.
[Expecto Patronum] "To my wife; Darling. Meet us at Dunnings. Prepared to be scandalized, but then take it further. Include Ms. Davis."
As the Cobra coiled in on itself, the Trio exited the bank beside him. "Sir. I seem to be playing a Game that my Witches have begun. I fear I will be stepping on toes. Please forgive when it goes too far, and it will. And please tell me when we reach the line in the sand." That said he offered his left arm to his respected wife, while drawing his 'mistress' to his hip, forcing her to sprawl across him as his hand rubbed her naked thigh.
Right above the leather strap that held two wands.
AN* ; the Dunnings mentioned above is a Cafe first mentioned in 'Loose Cannon' Ch 55. Written by Manatee-vs-Walrus. Good read.
