A/N: HEY GUYS! Firstly, i would like to apologize for the long wait on this chapter...I got the chapter from one of my parteners, but what with the holidays and whatnot, it completely slipped my mind. Will you forgive me?
As always, Reviews are appreciated, constructive critisism accepted, and flames will just be used to...roast chicken! Any one want any? ;)
Chapter Ten: Goblins and Inheiritance
"Fleur, I've decided to take you up on your offer?"
The young French witch nearly spat out her coffee. "My offer?"
Harry was now flashing one of the most potent tools in his arsenal; a weapon that Fleur was discovering was a great weakness for her – his emerald green eyes. She found herself getting lost in them even as he continued speaking.
"Yes your offer to train me?"
Eyes like that should be banned, one part of her mind decided even as another part wondered if Harry was part Veela – whatever his allure was, it was really distracting. With difficulty, she answered him.
"I never offered."
Harry was now adopting a cute pout – obviously he had learned a few pointers from his sisters. "But you brought up the topic in the first place and even convinced my parents, Fleur. I just figured you would take care of things from there."
"Well perhaps I could arrange for you…"
He was leaning closer across the table from her. "Arrange what?"
"Arrange a meeting with my employers perhaps. They ….might… have some ideas."
Harry now backed off, a smile playing on his lips. "Are you feeling okay, Fleur? Your face looks a bit warm."
Blast those green eyes and raven black hair, she thought to herself. There should be laws against that.
"No, I'm fine….really."
"When do we go …to see your employers?"
"Just as soon as I finish this coffee."
It had become a weekly tradition that Fleur and Harry would share a coffee at the same café where they had had their first discussion and this was only their second time together. It was clear to her that Harry was now moving ahead with his plans, obviously worked out with his parents ahead of time.
She had begun to explain about the goblins and how they were nonhuman, but ran the finances of the magical world.
"I have been an employee of their bank, Gringotts, for some time and came here to New York to learn English among other things. My first choice, London, was out of the question due to the ICW quarantine on foreign magicals entering Britain."
This of course led to her describing the current status of the civil war in Britain between the forces of the Ministry under Amelia Bones and the forces of the Dark Lord Voldemort, a conversation that was ongoing as she approached what appeared to be a nondescript apartment building on a quiet New York street.
"Don't judge a building by its first appearance," she said as she guided him towards a door marked Closed. Touching the doorknob with her wand surreptitiously, the door opened and Harry saw a brand new world.
From the moment he entered the Magical Mall, his senses threatened to explode under waves of stimuli – voices, colors, sights, sounds, and smells. How anyone could walk through all the crowds of people; how all this activity and stores could fit into this small New York apartment building – Harry had no idea.
"Welcome to the Magical Mall, Harry. Remember when I said never judge a book by its cover? Well, what better way to hide New York's magical shopping district than in plain sight?"
She appeared to be at home in this chaotic environment. And she had complained to him about the chaos of New York City traffic? He could hardly see the difference.
He found Fleur moving towards an imposing white store front midway down the mall's first level. In fact, the large store front appeared to occupy both levels of the mall and managed to look more imposing than possible for a building in a shopping mall, even if it was magical.
"This is Gringotts New York," Fleur began. "I want to get us in to see one of the senior bank managers. They can have your status tested to confirm who you are and what resources, if any, are available to you."
Fleur was definitely at home in this world and he thus settled in to follow her lead as she marched past the two short armored beings at the bank's entrance. She was walking too quickly for him to read a lengthy inscription at the bank's doors, and once inside, she veered towards the left of the large lobby.
A short conversation with another small being and both Fleur and he were being waved into a hallway behind a large counter at the left of the lobby. The being who Harry assumed was a goblin was short and did not appear to be friendly, but spoke with Fleur with obvious respect.
"Snagtooth can meet with you shortly," the goblin said as he ushered the two into an ornate office that combined boardroom furniture with battleaxes, swords and spears on the walls.
Once the goblin had left, Harry turned to Fleur. "Nice combination of interior decorating," he said with a smile.
"Goblins are both bankers and a warrior race, Harry," she replied. "It wouldn't surprise me if these weapons on the walls were not won by the goblin we will meet today."
"Quite correct, Miss Delacour," a voice said behind them and both were startled to see an elderly goblin had quietly entered the room behind them.
"Master Snagtooth?" Fleur questioned even as she bowed her head as a sign of respect. Harry copied her gesture.
The goblin's eyebrows rose slightly at Harry's gesture. "I am used to our employees showing signs of respect. I am not used to wizards doing the same.
"I am Snagtooth, one of the senior account managers here at Gringotts. Miss Delacour, you brought me someone to meet."
"Yes, Master Snagtooth, I have the honor to present you Harry Jacob Vincent Wells, a wizard who just discovered he is magical. He thought to come here to find out if there are any magical inheritances and bloodlines that might belong to him.
"And there is information connected to him that must remain confidential and sealed to the Director of this bank for now."
Snagtooth had begun to smile a toothless grin at Harry, but at Fleur's last words, his face grew serious and he waved his hands in a careful pattern.
"Curse Breaker Delacour, invoking that expression is only for very important discoveries. You are sure of this."
"Yes, Senior Account Manager."
Harry was watching this exchange with a great deal of interest. Snagtooth was now eyeing him with a great deal of interest and Fleur was definitely in a serious vein.
"The room is sealed to the Director, Miss Delacour. What do you have to tell me?"
"The young wizard who stands before you was born Harry James Potter."
Silence filled the room and then Snagtooth moved into action. "You are sure of this?"
"In my initial conversation with him, he had details only Harry Potter would have known."
Snagtooth now looked at Harry carefully. "And you, young wizard, can you confirm this?"
Pleased that he was finally included in the conversation, Harry nodded. "My earliest recollections of my name were 'Freak' and 'Boy' but when I began school, I learned my name was Harry James Potter.
"Although I think I died back in 1994."
Snagtooth was still for several seconds. Then he turned to Fleur and nodded his approval. "You did well to bring him here. We must prepare for the bloodline and inheritance ceremonies, but I must warn you that no other in this bank must know what you have told me today for now.
Turning to Harry, the old goblin continued. "Mr. Wells, or if you prefer, Mr. Potter, we need to determine your bloodlines and your inheritances. Your statements disturb me – you were reported dead by our London office in November 1994 and something suggests to me that something magical may have happened to generate this report.
"Were you aware of the existence of magic prior to coming here to Gringotts this day?"
Harry shook his head. "My first introduction to magic was when I met Fleur Delacour two weeks ago. I was aware that I had a 'gift' of sorts, but I thought I was the only one. She was the first magical user I've ever met."
"As goblins, we do not use wands or other magical aids. However, to determine what your magical bloodline and inheritances might be, I will need a sample of your blood." Harry nodded his approval and within seconds another younger goblin came in with a bowl and a knife.
A slice of the knife across his palm and drops of his blood fell into the bowl. The bowl then glowed and a piece of heavy paper flew out, landing on Snagtooth's desk. Writing began to appear and black lines began to form.
Snagtooth waited until the writing and lines had stopped forming before he picked up the paper and cast his eyes upon it. A second later, shock was evident on his face and he dropped the paper back on the desk.
"Miss Delacour, Mr. Wells, please be seated. This is quite a surprise."
The two humans sat down, both curious and alarmed at Snagtooth's comments and manner. The older goblin looked again at the parchment, then sat down as well and folded his hands in front of his face.
"Mr. Wells, you are confirmed to have been born Harry James Potter, but magic records that you died as the Potter heir on October 31, 1994 as you told us. Instead you are now recognized as Harry Jacob Vincent Wells and as the heir to the Black estate and title.
Showing Harry and Fleur the parchment, Snagtooth indicated a red line which abruptly ended.
"Normally, when a person dies, that is the entry. It indicates that the person known as Harry James Potter died and that now the Potter estate and title are vacant. Yet the Potter estate and title are declared vacant, not extinct – I had thought that you were the last of your line."
He next indicated a blue line that started in the same place as the red line ended. "This indicates that a new line was born and by the thickness of the blue line, it suggests a line of powerful magic. That line reads as Harry Jacob Vincent Wells."
Indicating a black line which joined the blue line further down, he continued. "And this line indicates that a short time later, upon the death of the then Lord Sirius Orion Black, you, as Harry Wells, became eligible to take his place as the heir to the Black estate and title."
Too much information was coming in for Harry to digest quickly. "So I died under the red line, was born anew as the blue line and was later joined by the Black line?"
"Perhaps not quite as simple as you have described it, but that would be one way to summarize it," Snagtooth gave Harry another toothless grin.
"Still, this is unusual," he said further, looking again at the parchment. "I have seen these red lines end before – but they always occur when someone actually dies.
"I do not understand how you could be born as Harry Potter, then be listed as dead and then, be listed as a new family line only later joined to the Black estate, magic and title."
Harry thought for a moment, and then smiled. "I wonder if magic considers someone dead as soon as their heart stops."
Snagtooth looked at Harry with interest. "I would like to hear that tale."
Fleur could sense Harry's unease at describing the events of Halloween 1994 and hurriedly interrupted. "Harry, when something is sealed to the Director of the Gringotts branch, then it is as confidential as Gringotts can make it. What you say here in this room stays in this room until you wish otherwise."
Harry was silent, his face indicating he was thinking through the situation carefully. Then he nodded and looking to Snagtooth, who nodded his agreement with Fleur's statement, began recounting the events in New York on Halloween.
When he had arrived at the part where his mother had employed CPR on him, the old goblin made a rare snort. "Trust magic not to realize that the non magicals have progressed further these days and that people can now be snatched from death with non-magical medicine. We are aware of these methods, but most magicals, including the wizards and witches of Britain, are not."
"But how did I become the heir to the Black estate and title," Harry next asked, confused at even hearing the name.
"Because Lord Sirius Orion Black was your godfather and he appeared to have left his estate to you."
Harry was now more and more confused. "If I cannot claim the Potter estate due to my 'death' in October 1994, how could I claim my godfather's estate after I died as Harry Potter?"
Snagtooth appeared to be considering his question carefully. "The only thing I can think of is that your godfather left his estate to you, naming you as the son of James and Lily Potter. Even though magically you were no longer Harry Potter, genetically you are still the son of James and Lily. Still, we would need to examine the will of Lord Black to confirm this.
"It will take some time – perhaps a few hours to confirm this by requesting a copy of the will by magic. In the meantime, how else can we help you today, Mr. Wells?"
Harry looked thoughtful as he considered Snagtooth's comments. It made sense that things could have ended up that way, but there were still many other questions he had and Fleur had mentioned that he could talk to them about training to be a wizard.
"Fleur mentioned that I would need training and education in what it means to be a wizard seeing as I have missed the magical schools for wizards from the age of eleven on. She also mentioned that as Harry Potter, I am somewhat of a desired item in the British wizarding world – from both the Dark Lord and one Albus Dumbledore – and I do not wish to be 'found' right now without a much better idea of what it means to be a wizard and how to defend myself from those who might want to 'do something' to me.
"Can you help me in this quest?"
Snagtooth's face registered shock. "You, a wizard, are asking a goblin for advice on what it means to be a wizard? Are you aware that we are not allowed under magical law to carry wands?"
Harry now smiled at the senior goblin. "You know what – I like the kind of magic that I have seen you do – with your hands and all. It matches what I do myself – until I saw Fleur with her wand, I didn't know that people used sticks to perform magic.
"I want my training to be confidential with no hint of my 'reappearance' going back to anyone else in the larger magical community. I want to learn hard and I want to learn fast – somehow, I don't think I have a lot of time before somebody somewhere somehow is going to suspect that the person once named Harry Potter is still around."
Here Harry's smile grew even broader. "Besides, in non-magical society, I am learning about the world of finance. I just think it would make sense to learn about wizarding finance from the experts – you guys. After all, Fleur tells me that you are the magical community's bank."
The implications of Harry Wells' statements, no Lord Black's statements, were revolutionary, Snagtooth thought to himself. He could understand Harry's reasoning and suspected that Fleur had prepared him well for this conversation. She should receive an extra bonus for having the foresight to recognize who Mr. Wells was and the wisdom to guide him to them. With his lack of magical training, he was clearly at a disadvantage in regards to international magical society and he, Snagtooth, agreed that it would probably be sooner, not later, when the British magical world would find out that Harry Potter was still alive in a fashion.
This, plus the field of study that young Mr. Wells was pursuing in his non-magical studies offered Gringotts New York a rare opportunity to introduce goblin magic and philosophy to a powerful young wizard.
"You understand, Mr. Wells, that we can recommend many tutors and trainers that can teach you magic as a wizard would learn it," he began, wanting to be sure that there was an opening here.
Harry thought about it further. "If it is a wizard or witch training or teaching, the chances go up that someone might slip up and drop a hint that the 'Boy-Who-Lived' is now learning magic. I understand from our earlier conversation that this bank puts a priority on confidentiality. Am I correct?"
Snagtooth's face took on a peevish expression. "Of course, Mr. Wells. The privacy of our clients is uppermost in our commitment to them."
"So can you arrange for training and teaching –as quickly and as confidentially as possible?"
"Yes, although our best teachers will be those from the Goblin Nation."
Harry was now curious. "You mentioned that you are not allowed to carry wands. How would the magic training be different from a goblin perspective than from a wizarding perspective?"
Snagtooth's face broke into a toothy smile. He was all predator now. "The wand carriers restrict themselves to focusing their magic through a stick or wand. To cripple a wizard or witch, you simply have to break or steal their wand. Very few can perform wandless magic."
"Like this?" Harry replied, opening up his hand and conjuring a baseball sized light in the palm of his hand.
Both Fleur and Snagtooth were stunned. Harry did the conjuration with ease – he was obviously comfortable with his magic and could exercise his magic without a wand, but with power.
"Our approach to magic is to first ensure that the magical person can touch their magic and that they become familiar with how their magic works and flows. Once someone understands their magic and once they can command it to do what they want, then the next step of what form that magic will take will flow easily," the senior goblin began.
"Wizards and witches limit themselves to forcing their magic to work through a focus such as a wand. Once you have trained your magic to work that way, it takes much effort and unlearning to use one's magic in a different way – such as goblin magic, shamanistic magic and other forms of magic around the world.
"Our philosophy as goblins is to first learn about your magic, understand how it works, work with it until it responds to your will and then go on to use different foci or no foci if you are sufficiently powerful.
"And I suspect, Mr. Wells, that you are a powerful wizard."
Harry was drinking in the goblin's words. "I will admit something – ever since the events of that Halloween 1994, I have been able to see this ball of bright light within myself and lines of energy moving up my arms and down my legs. When I want to do something, I just follow the lines and make it happen,"
His face then grew concerned. "However, I feel that there are some broken links along these lines – like rocks in a riverbed which forces the water to break out into rapids and fast water. It is like things are not flowing as smoothly as they should be.
"Does any of this make sense?"
Snagtooth could barely restrain his excitement. "It appears Mr. Wells that you already have moved a long way down the path to understanding magic as we goblins understand it. It sounds like perhaps there were blocks on your magic in the past – perhaps the residue of the dark curse that the Dark Lord cast on you so long ago. I would suggest that we have you first visit our healers – goblin healers – who will check you out magically to be sure that all vestiges of blocks and dark residue are removed.
"As well, we need to discuss your family – all magical nations are strict on the point that under the Statutes of Secrecy, only immediate non magical family members can be aware that you are magical. In fact, it is surprising to me that the U S magical authorities have not already noticed your use of wandless magic."
Fleur nodded her head in agreement. "Master Snagtooth, I was wondering if the location of Harry's home would have something to do with it."
"Is there something unusual about Mr. Wells' home, Miss Delacour?"
"It's underground – near several subway tunnels."
Snagtooth looked at Harry with renewed interest. "You are aware, Mr. Wells, that we goblins ourselves live underground. Our vaults also are underground."
Harry looked at Snagtooth curiously. "You mean you goblins might be our neighbors?"
"Neighbors?"
Harry now grew concerned. "Just as your magical world must remain a secret, so must the existence of our underground world. Do I have your word as a goblin that you will not divulge the existence of our world to anyone outside of this room?"
Snagtooth sat up in his chair, displeasure on every facet of his features. "Mr. Wells, have we not discussed the confidentiality of this bank?"
Harry immediately looked to apologize. "Master Goblin, I did not intend to insult you at all. It is just that many lives depend on the community I live in and its existence is a carefully guarded secret."
"We are not unaware of the dealings of others in our underground neighborhood so to speak, Mr. Wells," Snagtooth replied, his tone somewhat softened by the obvious contriteness of the young wizard. "For example, you might be interested to know that we are aware of at least three groupings of humans near our underground home."
"Three groupings?" Harry asked with obvious interest.
"Yes – one is a group of transients who live in the upper levels and only move into the tunnels underneath the city when the weather is poor or cold. Then there is a group of very unpleasant humans who follow the teachings of an unscrupulous man, now dead – they live towards the water's edge and under the bay. Finally there is a community of humans who live closer to the surface and who appear to follow a legend – a being who is both beast and man. But we do not involve ourselves in the affairs of humans – it is enough that magic shelters our existence from those who share our world.
"We simply monitor those around us to ensure that we ourselves are safe."
Fleur looked at the expressions on Harry's face as the old goblin was speaking. "Harry, do you know something?"
"Yes, Fleur. Master Snagtooth, I think I can put some names on those three communities. We are aware of the transient ones – they come and go all the time and never penetrate down below. As for your second group, we call them the Lost Ones – they were followers of Paracelsus, an evil man who sought power for power's sake. We have nothing to do with them – especially since their leader was killed by my father.
"My community must be your third group – my father is unusual in appearance and some would say that he is both man and beast. But he is the man who adopted me and he is the titular head of our community now."
"What would your father's name be, Mr. Wells?" Snagtooth asked with renewed interest.
"Vincent."
"Your father is Vincent? Then we should request a meeting soon – our director is concerned that your community is growing in numbers and is getting close to some of our vaults."
Harry quickly agreed to arrange a meeting between Vincent and the hitherto unknown Director of the Gringotts New York branch. The remainder of their time together was spent arranging for a follow-up meeting with goblin healers and negotiations over training dates and rates.
"Do you wish someone else from the bank to be your liaison, Mr. Wells," Snagtooth asked as the meeting was winding up.
"No, I believe that Fleur has been a wonderful source of information and is a good guide for me in entering the wizarding world. And she has become a good friend."
The French witch blushed at Harry's words and noted that a teasing look had returned to the young man's face. Snagtooth noted the exchange quietly, but felt that at the moment, the relationship between the two was a help, not a hindrance.
"Miss Delacour, I will advise the Director that you have taken on some additional responsibility in regards to Mr. Wells.
"Mr. Wells may your gold flow," Snagtooth concluded.
"And may your gold increase, Master Snagtooth," Harry echoed as the two humans rose and exited the office.
A/N: The images of the goblins in the Escape to New York, owes much to Harry Potter and the Vaults of Stone and the excellent on-going story by Robst - Harry Crow. Both stories portray a goblin culture that is rich in its own right, with values and different perspectives on magic. And while we are endeavoring not to copy these great stories, their ideas may have some echo in this story - especially in the concept of magical training. However, the actual descrptions of the golbins, are our own.