Saturday had been spent with John teaching Harry about various facets of the wizarding world. This included taking Harry through the Quidditch rules properly, and teaching Harry wizards chess, which Harry struggled to pick up, he often wondered if the fact they smashed each other put him of a little bit. He never managed to trouble John, who would laugh at Harry wincing every time a piece was smashed. Ollivander sympathised with Harry; secretly telling him that John was a talented player and he struggled to beat him in a chess match.
Sunday morning saw them all back in the shop in order to complete the next stage of John's wand. They walked into the back room of the shop and checked the cauldron which held the wood and core. As Ollivander had explained should happen, the liquid had turned opaque, but was not black. John reached in and took out both the core and wood. The wood had been shortened to fourteen and a half inches, but still remained a block of wood. John took it to the large worktable in the middle, and at a nod from Ollivander picked up the rune covered silver knife.
Finding the middle of the block John took his knife and sliced down the middle of the wood. Harry drew a sharp breath in when he saw little blue sparks flying off the wood. Ollivander whispered down to Harry's ear and told him it was sparks of magic coming from the interaction of the wood soaked in the potion and magic from the knife.
Once the wood was cut in half, John put his dragon heartstring core in between the two pieces. He then picked up an ancient looking bottle containing a paste that seemed to be a different colour every time Harry looked at it and coated the outside of the block with it. Next he tried to place the two bits of the wood together, making sure all of the paste was touching. Suddenly when all the paste was touching, a red set of sparks was released from the wood and the pieces fell away with a loud crack from each other and vibrated gently on the table. John looked up at his grandad with disappointment in his eyes.
"Don't worry John. I did say it may be difficult to core. But it will core. Try again."
John did try again, five more times in fact. But seventh time was the charm, and the wood finally stayed together, much to John's relief.
"Well done John," cried Ollivander with pride in his voice. "Now take it to the other bench and start with the carving of the wood. Harry and I will wait in the front of the shop. Shout if you require help."
With that Ollivander led Harry through to the other side of the shop.
"Sorry for leading you this way Harry, but a person designing their own wand is an intensely personal experience and they should be left alone during it."
For an hour Harry and Ollivander talked in the front of the shop about various topics. About Harry was settling in, which Harry said he was enjoying his time so far. They then started talking about the wizarding world in general and how Harry was adjusting. He was finding it a little strange, but was slowly adapting.
After an hour John came out the room and presented his wand for Harry and Ollivanders viewing. It was ivory coloured and had a slight sheen to it and a fair bit longer than Harry's own wand, at fourteen and a half inches. However John had clearly spent a lot of time on the carving of it. The handle was shaped like an eagles head with the beak being able to act as a hook when it was held. Also carved into the handle was what looked like a dragons head.
Overall, Harry thought it was rather beautiful.
"Magnificent work John. That truly is spectacular. You should be proud."
"Thank you grandad."
"Pass it here John and I'll see what I think to its properties."
The wand was passed over and Ollivander twirled it around slowly in his fingers for a little while before speaking again.
"Very inflexible. This wand will not change its allegiance from you easily until your death. Even then, it is only likely to work fully for one of your blood or for someone fighting for the same beliefs you hold. It is also very powerful. I can sense its desire to prove itself in combat. Should you ever be in a duel this wand will prove most reliable. It seems to be very good in charms and transfiguration and seems quite adept at non-verbal magic."
While John just whispered cool Harry asked how he knew all this.
"Experienced wandmakers can sense the properties of wands. It comes with practice. It took me a few years to be able to tell these things in such detail."
Harry looked suitably impressed as Ollivander explained this while he was activating the security wards around the shop before they used the portkey to return back to Ollivander hall. They spent the rest of the day pouring over one of John's books on competition duelling that Harry had found most interesting before going to bed early for their lesson with Andromeda Tonks tomorrow.
o-0-o
Having been woken at half past seven the following morning Harry and John took turns washing before getting dressed in formal robes and going towards the dining room on the bottom floor. At precisely eight o'clock Ollivander walked in followed by a woman wearing plain but well made black robes. Her long black hair was kept neat and reached the middle of her back and framed her heart shaped face nicely. She looked a fair bit younger than her age of forty.
"Good morning boys. This is Madame Andromeda Tonks, who will be your etiquette tutor for the remained of the summer."
John and Harry both rose to their feet and gave a short bow to Madame Tonks, Harry taking a little longer as he was copying John.
"Thank you Scion Williamson and Scion Potter. It is a pleasure to meet you. You may be seated."
They sat down at the head of the table as Ollivander bade them goodbye and left to start opening up the shop for the day. Dippy popped into the room in order to find out the breakfast order. Madame Tonks asked for poached egg on toast with bacon, John asked for a full English again while Harry asked for a bacon and sausage sandwich. While waiting for the food Madame Tonks decided to ask them a question.
"Now I understand that John has little knowledge in these areas and Harry as even less so do not be worried if you can't answer my questions. But I would like to know if either of you know why I addressed John before Harry when I arrived, even though the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter is ranked higher than the Venerable and Noble House of Ollivander?"
Harry looked puzzled for a second while John immediately knew the answer, as this was basic etiquette. However Madame Tonks signalled for John to hold the answer while Harry tried to work it out.
"Is it because John is recognised as part of his family where I'm the last Potter so there is nobody to recognise me?"
"Not a bad guess Harry but wrong I'm afraid. Would you give us the answer John?"
"It's because we are in the house of my family. If we were on neutral ground, you would greet Harry first."
"Well done John. But we are in a formal setting. Remember to say your words full. It is, not it's. Full words when in a formal setting."
And this is how the morning progressed at Ollivander hall. Harry and John started learning the basics of etiquette. While Harry didn't find it the most interesting of subjects, he did understand why it would be important to him, especially considering the status he now apparently held in this word.
o-0-o
While Harry and John were having their lesson it etiquette Ollivander had left the wards of the estate and apparate to the atrium of the ministry. From there he moved through the ornate visitors gate. Since he was a member of the Wizengamot, and as such technically a senior employee of the ministry, he did not need to wait in line and his security check took place separately to the others wanting to get in.
He headed to the elevator and moved towards the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the office of Amelia Bones. Her secretary wasn't there yet, but he knew that Amelia was often in the office early so knocked on her door and was invited into a large office straight away. The room had a large desk filled with files and multiple filling cabinets around the room. It was clear that Madame Bones was not one to laze about when in her office.
"Ah Garrick. Good to see you. How is Harry settling in?"
"He is doing quite well Amelia. He is a very polite boy who I must say seems to have a lot potential."
"Always good to hear. I presume you are going to see his relatives?"
"Yes I am. I sent an owl saying I'd be there for nine this morning so we have about fifteen minutes."
After Amelia nodded her ascent and scribbled a note to her secretary she walked with Ollivander to the ministry atrium where they apperated to the same alley John and Ollivander had portkeyed to and walked to Privet Drive. Amelia raised her eyebrows as they crossed the ward line. She could tell these were powerful wards. However for an eleven year old to notice them was still exceptional.
As soon as Ollivanders watch turned nine he knocked on the door which was almost immediately opened by Harry's aunt.
"I'm Garrick Ollivander as you may remember and this Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I trust you got my message requesting this meeting?"
"I did. You'd better come in before the neighbours see."
Madame Bones raised her eyebrows at how the woman seemed to care more for appearances to the neighbours as opposed to anything else. Moving into the sitting room she sat down on a sofa and noticed that no refreshments had been offered. This was considered bad manners in the wizarding world, however Madam Bones kept quiet. Deciding she'd let Ollivander do the talking, she sat in silence waiting for him to speak.
"Thank you for seeing us Mrs Dursley. I am here regarding Harry."
"Causing trouble already is he? Well we don't want him back! You said you'd take him for the rest of the summer."
Amelia couldn't stop her frown at this, not liking her tone towards a child at all.
"Causing trouble? Good heavens no. Harry has been a delight so far. Such a delight indeed I have come to offer you a deal?"
"A deal? What sort of deal?"
"I will be frank Mrs Dursley. Harry is a lovely young man who has been neglected. He has never known affection from you, his clothes are clearly the old ones of your son and he is underfed. Indeed in order to correct his nutrition we are having to spend twenty five galleons, the equivalent of one hundred and twenty five pounds on potions and six hundred pounds on clothes for him."
"We're not paying for this! Those clothes were adequate."
Ollivander was close to losing his temper. "Barely! And I did not ask you to pay for them. My family is well off for money. No I've come to propose something else.
"Every year Hogwarts finishes on the 30th June. At such a date I will return Harry here where he will stay for a month to make sure the protections surrounding both him and your home are at full strength. On the 30th July I will pick him up for the rest of the summer. He will be allowed access to his school things in order to complete homework and he will be able to look after his owl properly. He will be fed properly and will not be made to do more chores than your son. In return for his care for one month you will be reimbursed by the sum of two hundred pounds. Do we have a deal?"
"If it means our time spent together is limited we do."
Amelia struggled to contain her composure as she pulled out the required paperwork that must be signed. This woman truly was obnoxious to have so little regard for a child and if it wasn't for the fact that she had felt the power of the wards when she crossed the property line she'd be tempted to file charges for child neglect.
With this type of contract a blood sample of the magical party was normally required in order to prove identity. However in this case, the fact that Ollivander wore his Head of House ring was proof enough. Anybody else attempting to wear that ring would not have survived long.
With all the legal things out the way neither of the two magicals could wait to leave. They were quickly shown out the house and just as quickly headed back to the alley they appeared in and went their separate ways.
o-0-o
Ollivander went to his shop and greeted Tiberius at the front of the shop. As Tiberius was in the middle of fitting a new Hogwarts student with a wand Ollivander moved towards the back yard, moving into a shed he started the process of making wands. He currently had two wands ready to core, two cauldrons which needed more potions brewing and one which was free to use. A few minutes later this cauldron had a block of apple wood in it along with a unicorn hair. He took out the two pieces which were ready to core. One of them, a block of Hawthorn and a Dragon Heartstring proved easy to core. The second, a block of Cherry and a Unicorn Hair proved far more difficult to core. However Ollivander sensed that it would be a powerful wand once it found its match.
Checking the time he realised it was nearly half twelve so after bidding Tiberius goodbye he apperated back to the estate and moved the downstairs living room where the boys had had their lesson.
Over lunch Ollivander mainly listened as Madame Tonks asked the boys questions about the lesson, reviewing what was learned. Apparently the lesson had focused mainly on the hierarchy of the houses and how a member of each house should be greeted. After lunch Madame Tonks departed for her next appointment and Ollivander took the boys to Diagon Alley.
o-0-o
With the status of Harry being the heir to an Ancient and Most Noble House it did not take long until they were all sat in the office of Goldaxe, the Potter account manager. Once the required security check of Harry pricking some blood onto a potion covered parchment to establish his identity had been done, they got down to business.
"How may Gringotts help you today Mr Potter?" said Goldaxe rubbing his knobbly hands together.
Harry looked to Ollivander, having absolutely no idea what to say. Ollivander took pity on him.
"I apologise Goldaxe. Harry has been raised by muggles for the last ten years and has only just been made aware of his heritage. There simply has not been enough time to teach him all the social skills needed in this world yet."
"I accept the apology on this occasion as long as the situation is corrected soon."
Harry and Ollivander both nodded at this. From the look on the face of Goldaxe, Harry hated to think what would happen if this wasn't corrected.
"Harry requires a full account overview and his heir ring please."
Goldaxe nodded and asked them to wait in place while he collected the required paperwork and items.
A few minutes later he returned. First of all he presented a silver box carved with Holly and Ivy to Harry in which sitting on a deep red velvet base a solid silver ring was situated. The ring was quite large and on the head was a Griffon leaping up, the crest of the Potter family. At Ollivanders urging he placed it on his right ring finger and felt a warm wave wash over him. He was informed this was the ring accepting him and telling him Harry would now have access to its powers, such as going through Potter wards. Apparently when he was fifteen he would be able to claim the head ring which would be exactly the same but gold instead of silver.
Goldaxe made an impatient grunt as this was being explained and after Ollivander apologised carried on with the statement.
"There are currently three vaults that fall under Mr Potter's control. The Potter family Vault, the vault of Lilly Potter, his mother, and his own trust vault that his parents had set up."
"Have there been any outgoings since his parent's death Goldaxe?"
Goldaxe rustled through his papers for a second before answering.
"On the 6th November 1981 thirty five thousand galleons were deposited into the vault of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for seven years worth of tuition fees. On the same day a further one million galleons left the account as a donation to the same school. Both were in accordance to the will of the Potters.
A further two million galleons were transferred to Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Also every year on the first January fifty thousand galleons has been deposited into Vault 1472, the vault of Remus Lupin. This money has been left untouched by Mr Lupin. All transactions are as set out in the will.
The only withdrawals not set out in the will are our Gringotts charges. For the main Potter vault this is twenty thousand galleons a year. Lily Potter's vault has been frozen as such no charges have been made. There will be a charge of 20% on the first transaction of this vault when it next becomes active. The Heir trust vault is one hundred galleons a year which has been took out the main vault as requested in the will."
Harry was staggered by the amount of money involved. That was over three million galleons which his rough multiplication worked out to being over seventeen million pounds. Ollivander was not joking when he said he was from a rich family. Though he did wonder who Remus Lupin was and why he hadn't used any of the money his parents gave him.
"The Potter family also has two properties currently. A cottage in Godric's Hollow, where you were when the Dark Lord attacked and a manor near Birmingham which was severely damaged in a Death Eater raid in 1978 that killed your grandparents
I have here a full accounting of all that is owned in these three vaults and a full list of current investments. If you would like to go through the door to your right there is a conference room where you can look through them before returning to me with any comments."
Harry and Ollivander thanked Goldaxe before moving over to the room. Ollivander got out the files and passed them over to Harry to read. The money was again staggering.
Potter Family Vault. Vault Number 12-
Sixteen million galleons thirteen sickles and four knuts liquid assets.
Assorted weapons and armour. Estimated value five thousand galleons
Assorted books. Estimated value one hundred thousand galleons.
Assorted Jewellery. Estimated value five hundred thousand galleons
Miscellaneous Items. Estimated value seven hundred thousand galleons.
Harry looked at the other vaults he had control over. His mothers was pretty much empty, containing ten galleons. Ollivander explained she probably kept the vault open for later use by other children. By keeping the vault open, it would be cheaper to set up a second trust vault than to set up a whole new vault.
Harry's trust vault had far more than in his mothers. He had nine hundred and eighty galleons in there, after taking twenty out with Hagrid. However he noted that every year it was to be refilled up to a thousand galleons.
Next Ollivander got out the folder of investments out, which Harry discovered was also worth a lot of money.
The Daily Prophet- 7%. Estimated value seventeen thousand five hundred galleons
Nimbus Broom Company- 25%. Estimated value sixty thousand galleons
Slugg and Jiggers Apothacary- 4%. Estimated value five hundred galleons
Quality Quidditch Supplies- 40%. Estimated value sixty thousand galleons
Zonko's Joke Shop- 10%. Estimated value two thousand galleons
According to a note in the file there once was more, but his father and grandfather had sold a lot of business in order to raise more capital to fight against Voldemort with. Harry was kind of overawed. He had no idea he was this rich. After a couple of minutes to compose himself Harry led Ollivander and John back through to Goldaxe's office.
"Are there any problems Mr Potter?"
"No there aren't sir. What do I do about these?" Harry asked holding out the wallet with the investments in.
"That is up to you Mr Potter. You can manage them yourself, leave them as they are, elect a representative to manage them for you or hire a goblin from us to do so."
Harry turned to Ollivander with a questioning look in his eye.
"Most families elect a representative or manage them themselves. However as you have no connections in this world, I suggest hiring a goblin, at least for the time being."
Harry nodded and asked Goldaxe if he could manage it.
"I'm afraid not Mr Potter. I am part of the accounts department. My services only include informing wizards about their accounts and managing vaults. You will need to speak to the investments department."
"How do I know which goblin would be best Goldaxe?"
"Generally you are assigned someone for a trial period. However with your wealth I feel I can recommend a goblin. With your permission I will request Sharpclaw to manage your accounts. He is a young goblin, but has a very good track record so far."
After looking at Ollivander Harry nodded his assent and Goldaxe pressed a runestone on his desk. A couple of seconds later a goblin came to lead them into another office, this time slightly smaller.
After being seated and introductions Ollivander helped Harry explain what he wanted. They eventually agreed that Sharpclaw would be able to authorise purchases of stock up to twenty thousand galleons a month. Anymore would require Harry's approval.
"I am happy with these terms so far. However I would like to know how much I will be paid."
"Paid?" asked Harry.
At the offended look Sharpclaw gave Harry Ollivander quickly intervened.
"As your investment manager you pay Sharpclaw, not the bank. Generally families will only give an investment manager a small amount of money but will offer them a percentage of total profit and deductions for any loss."
Harry nodded at the explanation and thought hard for a minute. He wanted to make sure Sharpclaw got a fair deal, but at the same time didn't want to be ripped off. After asking if it was acceptable with Sharpclaw Harry had a private word with Ollivander about his proposed amount. Ollivander informed it was generous but not overly so. With that Harry turned back to Sharpclaw, who deactivated the privacy ward he had put up.
"This is my only offer, since Mr Ollivander informs me it is generous. I offer you ten thousand galleons a year along with twenty five percent of total profits for a year. There will be no deductions for any loss in the first year. After that ten percent of your pay will be deducted for every thousand galleons lost."
"Mr Ollivander is right, that is a generous offer. I accept."
After all parties had signed the paperwork Harry, Ollivander and John left the bank and travelled home, relieved to be back after a busy day.
