A Visit to the Bank

On the day after New Year's Day, Ginevra Weasley became Lady Potter when she wed Harry James Potter. The event was covered by both of the wizarding newspapers and live coverage by the Wizarding Wireless service. All of Harry and Ginny's friends were in attendance, as her mother's long-held dream for her daughter came true.

New Year's Day would have seemed to have been a more appropriate day for the celebration, as it was a bank holiday and most people could attend. However, the Holyhead Harpies and the Glasgow Tartans both had away games that afternoon (the Harpies in Milan, and the Tartans in Dublin), and both Ginny and Harry felt that they would need time to bathe and get rid of the stink of an intense game of quidditch before donning their finery for the ceremony. Ginny had refused to walk down the aisle on her father's arm, reeking of sweat and with greasy hair.

In attendance as one of the bridesmaids was Pansy Parkinson. This item of news raised many eyebrows to the readers of the Daily Prophet, while the Quibbler had already informed its readership that Harry Potter, aka Lord Black, was betrothed to Miss Parkinson, with the agreement of his other fiancé, Miss Weasley, who was soon to become the consort of Harry in his role as Lord Potter.

The Quibbler article then went on to speculate on the bedroom politics and scheduling issues which would arise in the not too distant future at whichever of Harry's residences the two Ladies (one Potter, one Black) would occupy. The article also recommended that Harry might consider installing his two wives in locations as far apart as humanly possible, given the legendary and historical animosity between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins, represented by the two women.

As a senior and respected witch, and a member of the Wizarding Legislature (the Wizengamot), Augusta Longbottom had been asked to officiate, and she had agreed, saying that she was very honoured to do so. After the couple had exchanged rings, she pronounced Harry and Ginny man and wife, wizard and witch. As they kissed, they touched their rings together (with their left hands) and touched their wands together, holding them in their right hands. At this moment of binding, a wave of binding magic flowed over the assembled congregation.

The morning after the wedding and reception (and the bedding), a traditional wedding breakfast was held at the Potter Manor. In addition to numerous Weasleys, Hermione had brought her parents along, as they had been at the wedding itself. It was planned to open the wedding gifts that afternoon, and Hermione was in charge of recording what came from whom. However, before any presents were opened, several senior members of the Order of the Phoenix cast detection spells making sure that none held unpleasantries from those who did not wish the couple well.

Harry and Ginny came down the stairs with wide smiles on their faces, and a rosy glow in their cheeks, to the cheers of the assembled guests.

Luna looked up from her hotcakes and orange juice (Hermione having introduced her to the delicacies of muggle cuisine, and Harry having finally been able to convince Florie that there were things besides pumpkins which could be turned into juice) and dreamily remarked "I see that the unwrapping of the wedding gifts went satisfactorily."

As Molly Weasley burst into laughter and Hermione smirked, Harry frowned a puzzled frown. "I thought that was happening this afternoon."

Ginny blushed sweetly, and Hermione shook her head "Harry, sometimes, you can be so thick!" Harry thought about this odd reaction, and then the light came on. He said "Oh."

Ginny smiled coyly and said quietly "The unwrapping of the gifts went very well, thank you."

Harry looked at the pile of wedding presents and thought to himself "..like I need more stuff!" Out loud, he said "People are almost treating us like royalty!"

Luna and Hermione looked at each other and grinned. Luna said "Be very thankful you're not royalty."

Harry asked "Why not?"

Hermione smiled more widely and said "It is the custom with muggle royalty that the consummation of the marriage be witnessed by a large number of senior members of the court." Harry looked shocked at this revelation.

As gifts were being opened, Hermione was writing down the origins of the presents in four categories, those from personal acquaintances, those from official sources (such as the House of Lords, who congratulated the Laird of Clan Black on his nuptials, and expected his presence in the House in the next session of Parliament), those who were obviously just trying to suck up to the 'Man-Who-Conquered', and those from 'questionable' sources or showing disillusion spell traces. These last items got a thorough going-over by some serious detection spells, and Pansy noted the sources of these very carefully.

Refreshments flowed, as refreshments will at a party.

Partway through the afternoon, a large barn owl began pecking at the large front window of the Manor. Harry retrieved the message from its pouch and read:

Lord and Lady Potter:

We at Gringott's Bank wish to express our congratulations on your mating ritual. In light of this change in marital status, we request your presence at a meeting with Senior Account Advisor Grippinghand on Tuesday next at 9 AM, to be held at Gringott's London branch. We understand that neither of you has a quidditch match that day, so we believe the date will be acceptable.

In light of your marriage and obligations under the marriage laws, there are issues concerning access to the Potter family accounts and vaults which require attention. There are also other confidential matters which we would like to discuss.

Please respond by owl at your earliest convenience.

Hornnose

Branch Manager, London

Gringott's Bank

As there was plenty of snacks and hors d'oeuvres still out on plates, the owl was fed well for its return flight as Harry, Ginny and Pansy discussed the possible range of topics to be covered in the meeting, particularly the 'confidential matters'.

Harry's marriage to Pansy Parkinson was scheduled for the first Saturday in February. She had therefore not yet taken the title of Lady Black, but Harry and Pansy thought it important that she attend the meeting as well, as much of the discussion of access to vaults and accounts would apply to the Black fortune as well. Ginny thought it over, and agreed enthusiastically. She pointed out that Pansy might be aware of implications which she (as a girl from a lower status family) would not notice. Given the rather nasty contents of some of the 'presents' which they had received, Ginny saw that the paranoia shared by Pansy and Harry was probably well warranted. As Harry pointed out repeatedly, when your whole life has been occupied with dodging attempts on your life, it's not paranoia.

The following Tuesday, the two Potters and the soon-to-be Lady Black arrived at Gringott's and were soon shown into a large meeting room. The goblin escorting them into the room had tried to allow only Harry and Ginny in, but Harry insisted that Pansy was his confidential advisor, and would attend the meeting or else there would be no meeting. After leaving the trio in the anteroom and conferring with someone within a nearby office, the escort led them into the chamber.

The room was large and tastefully decorated with ornately carved wood. The impression was of wealth, carefully and well used. This spoke well of the bank's management and of their aesthetics.

A tall well-dressed goblin entered the room, accompanied by a number of goblins carrying reams of papers, large leather-bound books and bound documents. These obvious subordinates arranged themselves on one side of the large meeting table, with the head goblin at the end of the table. This personage gestured to Harry to sit near the head of the table near him.

The goblins bowed to Harry and their chief greeted him formally "Lord Potter, Lady Potter, we wish you the highest blessings on your mating."

Harry responded formally, "Senior Account Advisor Grippinghand, may your holdings ever increase."

Harry pulled out a chair for Ginny, who sat, and then pulled out the chair for Pansy. At this action, the chief goblin scowled at Harry, who was then taking his place at the chair indicated to him.

The goblin looked at Harry, then at Pansy and asked in a harsh voice "Who is this woman? She was not invited to this meeting."

Harry answered "This is Miss Pansy Parkinson."

The goblins all hissed their disapproval at this news. Their chief asked sharply "Why is she here? At your school, she was of the House of the Snakes. She was the lover of the son of the principal Death Eater, a follower of the born-again evil one. His plans promised ill will and harm to the goblin nation!"

Harry spoke in a quiet tone "Honoured Senior Account Adviser Grippinghand, Miss Parkinson is my fiancé, who is shortly to become my wife as Lady Black. She is also my advisor on matters involving my place in the wizarding world, where my own upbringing and education is sorely lacking. In addition, she has given me her Unbreakable Oath of loyalty, both personally, to my family or families, and to the House of Black. And Honourable Sir, please just call me Harry.""

"The letter I received offering this meeting indicated that we were to review some financial matters dealing with myself and Lady Potter. As Miss Parkinson is soon to become Lady Black, it seemed prudent and a more efficient use of your valuable time if she attend, as she and I would soon have required a similar meeting to deal with the financial matters of the House of Black."

The goblin nodded. "Lord Potter, ah, Harry, as a representative of Gringott's Bank, I thank you for your consideration of the value of our time and your concern for efficiency. I also applaud your precaution of accepting such a vow of loyalty. We at Gringott's have found that the followers of the Snake, although prudent in matters of finance, could not be trusted. However, in this case, we will accept that you trust this person, and we will extend our trust as well."

"Welcome Miss Parkinson, soon to be Lady Black. We do not mean any disrespect to yourself, and your understanding of matters of wizarding society will be valuable to Lord Potter. We wish to speak of such matters later, and we will welcome your input."

"Lord Potter, and I use your formal title because this is a formal matter, some of the matters I wish to bring to your attention are indeed aspects of the laws relating to your properties. However, I also wish to raise issues of which you may not be aware, and may be to our mutual advantage to discuss."

Pansy's eyes opened wide at this indication that there was more than banking to be looked at.

The goblin began by speaking quietly to one of his subordinates, who left the room. He soon returned with eight other goblins carrying more documents and leather-bound books.

The chief goblin looked at Harry and started to speak. "Lord Potter, these documents, which my staff first brought into the room, document the holdings of the Potter family accounts and vaults. These additional documents deal with the Black family holdings."

Ginny's eyes widened as she looked at the mound of documents related to the Potter fortune, of which she was now the mistress and chatelaine (or so she suspected). The size of the pile implied that the Potters' wealth was beyond even her wildest dreams. She looked at Pansy, who was making similar conclusions about the even larger pile of documents related to the Black family wealth.

Grippinghand looked at a short parchment, and said "This is a summary of the properties and estates you own, control or have a significant investment in. All are directed by land managers or stewards (in the absence of your direct supervision), and the accounts are monitored by our staff to make sure that funds derived from these holdings are deposited in the correct vaults."

The goblin continued. "I see that you are bound under the marriage laws to have a principal wife, and a number of concubines, for each of your Houses. This has an effect on the distribution of authority over your holdings." He looked at Ginny and Pansy, who were puzzled by this comment.

The goblin unrolled a group of parchments, and handed one to each of the humans and goblins in the room. He said to Harry "This is a copy of the law of marriage which dictates your familial responsibilities to the wizarding community, and specifies the allocation of your resources. I doubt that you have seen the original text, and I believe it wise that you do so. I gather that you are not exactly keen on the fact that the Wizengamot sees fit to decide your marital status, and requires you to breed incessantly."

"I must point out to you that this is only the third time I have seen this particular law invoked, in my life which has now spanned six centuries. The previous times were during the religious wars of the 16th century and seventeen century, under Henry VIII and the Puritan Revolution. In each of those cases, the wizarding community was almost wiped out, and there was an unpopular wizard who ended up as the head of two houses as a result. The invoking of this law was attributed to the supposed need to repopulate both houses, but was in effect a way to distract the unpopular wizard with familial duties while others plotted and schemed to eliminate the wizard himself and both of his houses. In one of the cases, the plots succeeded."

"Lord Potter, as a representative of Gringott's Bank and of the goblin nation, I and my superiors believe that your actions in the last few years have preserved our people by destroying the greatest threat to magical folks, other than pure-blood humans, that we have faced in many years. We do not think it is wise to let such schemes go undetected, nor to let such plots, if they exist, come to fruition."

"We do not think it in our interests to allow such plotting to go forward as it has done in the recent past. This is why I am pleased that Miss Parkinson has committed herself to you and your interests. She is in a position to see what forces are active in society, as we are able to see what forces are active in the financial sphere."

"We propose that we work together on this project, as allies!"

Harry was stunned by this admission. He thought of how families, like the Malfoys, has essentially bought their ways out of investigations and even out of prison by bribing Ministerial officials. Having someone watch the galleons while Pansy watched the people could be a very valuable asset.

Harry asked for a moment to discuss the matter with Pansy and Ginny, but all agreed that this alliance would be a marvellous gift to them from the goblins.

Harry turned to Grippinghand and nodded his agreement. He said "Senior Account Advisor Grippinghand, I am honoured by this offer of friendship and alliance, and I agree wholeheartedly!"

Grippinghand smiled (and a goblin's smile is a truly frightening sight), and said "I said nothing of friendship, Lord Potter. That may come over time. For now, there is alliance and respect." Harry laughed at this clarification, and said "An alliance is a very good basis for a possible friendship to come", and shook Grippinghand's hand.

The goblin looked over to Pansy, and said "Miss Parkinson, I will arrange for you to have a liaison goblin and an office in this building for your use. I believe a close working relationship between Harry's financial and social advisors would be a prudent arrangement." Pansy readily agreed to this suggestion.

Grippinghand smiled at Harry and said "I can appreciate how the laws made by others, particularly others whom you do not respect as they have earned no such respect, can force you into things you would otherwise not have ever contemplated doing. The wizards forced the goblins into the banking industry, many centuries ago. It was the only occupation we were allowed to pursue, so we became very good at it. We are now at a point where, to be a senior account advisor like myself, you must be able to actually see the flow of financial power (not just who has the money, but who is using the power inherent in their wealth)."

"I understand that there are humans who, because of bigotry, are forced into a limited range of occupations. In Japan, there are those who deal with the dead and dominate the leather-goods trade. In Europe, there are those who, like us, were only allowed into banking and jewels, and so dominate the banking and diamond industries. When it is all you're allowed to do, you become very good at it in order to survive. Now there are some, who ignore that their own bigotry or that of their ancestors has forced the situation upon them, now resent the success of those they have persecuted. There are many pure-blood humans who now are demanding that goblins give up the power of the banks – they were the ones who forced us into this situation, and we will not give up the wealth or power that we have attained."

"Indeed, we would like to use this power we have amassed to help in your quest to eradicate the bigotry against other magical peoples. Hence our proposed alliance."

"Anyway, back to the publically admissible purpose of this meeting. I will review the provisions of the law governing multiples marriages of the Head of two or more Ancient and Noble Houses. As you can surmise, this occurs rarely, and as I have mentioned, usually only under conditions of serious depopulation of wizarding society because of war or epidemics. During the Great Nargle infestation of 926 and the subsequent flea-born plague, there were three cases where a wizard ended up the Head of two Houses – in those cases, the law only was applied to require marriages of the official wife, as females were also affected by the dying, although not to quite the same degree as males. In wars, males are selectively eliminated from the gene pool, and so there are many more females and concubines are suggested. Others, I have mentioned where the law was strictly enforced and one wizard had eighteen concubines before he was murdered (or died of exhaustion, the records are unclear on this point)."

"Where the law has been specifically and completely enforced, as in your case, there is an interesting conflict between the need for many offspring, and the old requirements of conserving the assets of the House in the hands of the legitimate heir. As you can see, the law specifies that the heir be the eldest son of the principal and official wife, the 'Lady' of the House. There are provisions if she is barren or produces only daughters. If barren, then the eldest son of one of the concubines may be declared as the heir. If there are no offspring, and heir can be adopted or designated as was the case of yourself being the heir to House Black."

"In any case, the bulk of the estate, about 90 percent and including all the real estate, is to remain as the inheritance of the heir, while the other resources in liquid instruments can be bequeathed to other offspring."

"Now the fun part. The 'Lady' of the house is allowed access to 75 percent of the assets of the House, while the other 25 percent is to be shared among the concubines of the House. If no concubines, then the 'Lady' is still not allowed access to the other funds unless specifically authorised by the 'Lord' of the House."

"None of the wives may dispose of any real estate which is property of the House. All have a life interest in the property and interest from the funds, but do not retain any rights to the property itself (except by way of dower rights for property she brought into the marriage, or gifts received from their husband or others). The rights all fall to the male heir."

"Further, the 'Lord' of the Houses is required to personally decide which portion and items of the assets are to be accessed by which of his wives. This is what I referred to when I remarked about being distracted by familial obligations. This provision has the potential for extreme strife within the family."

"Harry, in your case, unless you have at least 80 concubines as Lord Potter and 150 as Lord Black, each of your concubines would qualify as a millionaire, and that is in galleons. In muggle money, it would be more."

Ginny and Pansy were dumbfounded when they realised what the other 75% entailed. Harry was completely stunned by the magnitude of the pile he was sitting on – he had been informed of the virtually unlimited funds available to him, when he met with the goblins to go over his inheritances, but this was the first time the assets had been fully enumerated. Hermione, Ginny and Pansy had been correct in their statements that he was wealthy, but having grown up impoverished and underfed, 'overwhelmed' didn't even approach his reaction.

Harry could also see the validity of Pansy's statement "When you have a pile of shit, you will have flies". He remembered how Ron Weasley had envied his buying the goodies on the trolley on the Express, and saw how many 'friends' would be coming after him to 'share' what they saw as his good fortune. The fact that he did not see this as good fortune, as his loved ones had to die for him to have it, would only be acknowledged by those closest to him.

Grippinghand pointed at the pile of documents. "Harry, in order to fulfill the requirements of the law, I will need you to go through the records of your holdings, and declare which assets your principal wives will have access to, and which will await the selection of your concubines. We will need this information within one year of your marriage dates. I recognise the scale of this task, and offer an office in this building and the assistance of a staff of five goblins, for a fee of course. In light of our new alliance, I have been authorised to offer a discount of 10% from our usual fees for this kind of service."

Harry smiled at the goblin and asked "You are offering only a 10% discount?"

Grippinghand laughed again (a horrifying sight, even when you are in agreement) and said, "Now Lord Potter, remember, we are bankers. We do charge fees for services."

"Now are there any other financial issues you would like to discuss?"

Harry sat there stunned. He thought, "Maybe I should have run away after all!"

Three hours later, Harry and 'his ladies' left the office at Gringott's, carrying a range of muggle credit cards, and signet rings which served the same function in the wizarding world. All were tied to vaults containing sufficient funds to buy a small nation.

Pansy looked at Ginny, and with a twinkle in her eye said, "You want to go shopping? Shall we see if we can bankrupt our husband?"

This was the first time Ginny had seen Pansy's sense of humour. She responded "Yes please. After some of what they told us, I think I need to buy some new underwear. I don't think it's going to hurt the family either, because I snuck a look on the list of properties, and I think Harry owns most of Diagon Alley already."

Harry shook his head in continued shock. He said, "Well, I don't know about you two, but I am going over to the 'Leaky'. I really need a drink!"