"Dear Mr. Griphook,
I was wondering if you could give me a statement on my vault number 687. I haven't a clue as to how much is in my trust vault and was just wondering. Did my parents have any more vaults? Perhaps containing family heirlooms? Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time in regards to this matter and I hope you have a great rest of your day.
Sincerely,
Harry James Potter
Making sure the missive was spelled correctly, I sent the letter off with Hedwig, my snowy white owl, off to Gringotts. It didn't occur to me, until shortly after returning to the Dursleys' after my second year at Hogwarts, that I hadn't received a statement on my account, ever. Hedwig came back the next day, which also happened to be my thirteenth birthday. Errol, Ron's owl, and another two owls I didn't recognize, also came. Hermione sent me a card and a broom servicing kit for my Nimbus 2000 while Ron sent me a pocket sneakoscope with a newspaper clipping of his family having won some money from the ministry. Hagrid sent me a book called the Monster Book of Monsters.
Smiling at my presents, I then opened the envelope that Hedwig brought.
Dear Mr. Potter,
On behalf of Gringotts I wish to apologize. It would seem that your magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore, put a stop to statements once your parents passed. There are many things that need to be discussed with you. This letter will serve as a portkey and bring you to Gringotts shortly after you open it.
Sincerely,
Griphook
What's a portkey? No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, I felt a tugging sensation just behind my navel. I landed in a heap on the floor a few moments later. I was in a large room done in gold and stone with what looked like gems embedded in the ceiling. " Mr. Potter. Come sit.", a gruff voice said. I searched for the voice and found a goblin I didn't recognize sitting behind an onyx desk. Quickly getting to my feet, I bowed slightly before sitting in a chair across from him.
" Respectful I see. Good. My name is Sharpclaw and I oversee the Potter and Black accounts. Before we get started, I'll need you to place seven drops of blood on this parchment.", he said, handing me a small ornate silver dagger and placing aforementioned paper in front of me. Deciding not to question him, I sliced my finger and did as told. The paper absorbed my blood and within a few minutes writing began to appear.
Harry James Potter
Age: 13
Parents: Lily Jasmine Potter nee Evans (half-blood) and James Fleamont Potter (pure-blood) Godparents: Alice Gwenith Longbottom nee Fortescue and Sirius Orion Black
Eligible for emancipation due to Last of Line Clause
Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Guant, mother
Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, godfather appointed
Vaults: 687, 235, 159 - Total Galleons: 6,548,327,190
Properties: Potter Manor, Godric's Hollow, 12 Grimmauld Place, Black Sanctuary, Gaunt Shack
Magical Abilities: Metamorphmagus- untrained; inherited through Black relation, Parseltongue- inherited through grandmother Marigold Gaunt (squib) daughter of Morfin Gaunt and Eunice Murray, Elemental- untrained, Non-verbal and Wandless magic- untrainedbr
Health: Malnutrition, stunted growth, horcrux in scar
Sharpclaw gasped and immediately called for more goblins. I was quickly led to some type of room. " This is a ritual room Mr. Potter. You have a soul piece in your scar, also known as a horcrux. We are going to perform a ritual to remove it as well as heal you. You must be healthy before you claim your Lordship therefore emancipating yourself. Understand?", he asked. I just nodded. My clothes were quickly vanished and I was led to a stone table. Thirteen goblins gathered around me in a circle. After a few moments, I began to sweat. My bones felt like they were lengthening and my skin felt tight. Pain unlike anything I had ever experienced exploded in my head. I felt my magic build.
Suddenly my magic came out. The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was a terrible scream. I woke up with a slight groan and blinked. I blinked again. Everything was fuzzy. Sighing, I took off my glasses. The room came into sharp focus. " Ah, you're awake. How do you feel Mr. Potter?", Sharpclaw asked. I took a moment to think about it. In truth I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of me and told him as much. We went back to Sharpclaw's office.
" Now, the horcrux has been removed and your health restored as it should be. We will not destroy the soul piece until the remaining ones are found. You have been out of it for a few days and in that time we have found three more soul pieces. One was in a vault here belonging to Bellatrix LeStrange in Hufflepuff's cup. Another was in Slytherin's locket that was found in Grimmauld Place and the other was in the Gaunt ring. All items have been restored as they should be. Moving on, with Sirius Black imprisoned in Azkaban, you are next in line to claim Lordship. That being said, Mr. Black was never given a trial and therefore in the eyes of Gringotts, he is innocent. You can claim the title of Lord Gaunt for now and the other title if Mr. Black is found guilty, refuses the lordship, or dies.", Sharpclaw said.
" What is Mr. Black accused of?", I asked. " Betraying your parents whereabouts to Lord Voldemort or Tom Marvolo Riddle, son of Merope Gaunt who was Morfin's sister. He was also accused of murdering Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles, but according to our records, Peter is still alive.", he answered. My mind whirled with all this information. " Mr. Black recently escaped Azkaban and many think he will come for you.", Sharpclaw added. " I'll keep a look out.", I muttered. Just then we were interrupted by another goblin who spoke quickly to Sharpclaw. " It would seem the last horcrux was found in Hogwarts in the Ravenclaw diadem and now all the soul pieces are being destroyed as we speak.", Sharpclaw said.
" Does that mean Voldemort can not come back?", I asked. " I would imagine not Mr. Potter. Without anything to anchor what remains of his soul, he will be forced to die for good.", the goblin said. I smiled. This was the best news I've had in a long time. Sharpclaw gave me the Gaunt ring and Slytherin"s locket. The locket was gold with an emerald green snake in the shape of a S on it while the ring was gold with an inset of black stone. On the stone was a triangle with a circle inside and a line down the middle. " The Peverell coat of arms. You are descended from two out of the three Peverell brothers. Cadmus through your mother's side and Ignotus through your father's side.", Sharpclaw explained. I nodded and slipped the ring on my right ring finger. There was a pulse of magic before it resized itself to fit me.
" Now I imagine you would like to go. Here is a wallet, card, and coin pouch. These are all connected to the Potter account as you don't have access to the Black vault yet and there is no money in the Gaunt vault since they squandered it.", Sharpclaw groused. " The card will work in the muggle world. If you need euros or other currency, simply state what you need and the wallet will provide it. The coin pouch contains an expandable and feather light charm. I took the liberty to blood tie these to you so if lost or stolen, no one else can use them. We can meet at a later date to talk about investments and the like.", he said.
" Thank you Sharpclaw. Before I go, do you know if Basilisks are worth anything? I killed one at the end of term last year in order to save someone. The thing was huge and I'd hate to see it go to waste.", I asked. " How big?", Sharpclaw asked. " At least forty feet.", I replied. " We can render it for you for five percent of what it is worth. One that size will easily go for at least four million galleons.", he said. " Alright. We can take care of that next Saturday. I want the money to go in the Gaunt vault since it was Salazar's snake after all. When everything is sold, I want some of the total sale to go to Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Penelope Clearwater, Colin Creevey, Justin Flinch-Fletchley and Argus Filch. Each of them get five percent. They were all effected by the snake.", I said. " Very well Lord Gaunt. Sign this for your lordship and emancipation.", Sharpclaw said. I signed the paper and was then shown out. The first thing I did was to find something to eat. I didn't want to deal with people from the Leaky Cauldron, so I went down Knockturn Alley and into The White Wyvern.