Chapter 13: Wills and Crimes
Harry and Tonks were up and dressed by 4:30 the following morning, as Harry needed to complete his daily training in time to get showered and changed ready for the will reading, and was of the opinion that if he had to suffer then so did she…much to the young witch's disgust.
Entering the training room, they found that Godric had already arrived. Understanding that they needed to be as quick as possible while still completing as much work as they were able, the spirit began straight away, bypassing the pleasantries.
"Today we are going to work on something that you should already know a fair amount about…defensive magic. That is to say; shields – both solid and those made of energy, deflecting spells, counter curses and diversionary tactics. Remember, these are all well and good if you need them, but as I told you in our work with the swords, the best defence against any form of attack is to simply not be there when it hits.
"However, often that is not an option, so there are a whole range of spells to learn. Why don't we begin by you each demonstrating those you know already?"
And so they did, and for the next 3 and a half hours, Godric instructed them both in the proper use of those and many spells that were new to them both. Tonks admitted that she had learned more in this field of study in the previous few hours than in 3 years at the auror academy, at which point Gryffindor merely smiled smugly at the pair.
They each went and got ready and before long both were fully dressed and waiting for the time to go, each lost in thoughts of Sirius and hoping that there would not be any trouble today.
When they arrived in Diagon Alley, they made quite a sight. Him in a robe that he had found that was to be worn by the Potter patriarch at any formal occasion, a deep black in colour and made of a remarkably soft material that Harry couldn't identify, with the Potter family crest displayed proudly above his heart. Add to that the beautiful young woman currently on his arm who was dressed in Auror formal dress robes, and they drew the attention of practically everyone as they strode calmly and confidently down the middle of the street towards the imposing white structure that was Gringotts.
They entered through the main doors and were immediately shown to a waiting room where the others who were attending the reading were already in attendance.
Harry was somewhat angry because of some of the people present.
There was Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, Professor McGonagall, Cornelius Fudge, Percy Weasley, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, a woman Harry recognised but couldn't remember the name of until Tonks informed him it was Amelia Bones from the DMLE, and entering just moments after them from another door were two people who judging from the fact that Tonks walked straight over to them must be her parents. There were also several members of the press dotted around the room who had thankfully yet to notice his presence.
Deciding it was now or never, Harry followed in Tonks' footsteps and approached the family reunion.
Upon seeing him, Tonks quickly wrapped an arm around his waist to try and boost his confidence a bit.
"And who might this be?" Her father asked, looking Harry up and down.
"Oh, right…introductions…sorry." Began Tonks, momentarily off balance and forgetting herself, "Mum, dad, this is Harry – my new boyfriend. Harry, this is my mum and dad, Andromeda and Ted Tonks."
"Pleased to meet you sir, ma'am" said Harry nervously, offering his hand to her father who tried to grind his fingers to dust (until Harry returned the favour, much more effectively at least) and her mother who smiled and shook it politely.
"Nymphadora, you do realise that it isn't common practice to bring a date to the reading of a Will, don't you?" asked Andromeda.
Tonks, having cringed at the use of her given name was beginning to reply when the door through to the room where everything was to take place opened and a goblin walked out.
"The reading of the Last Will and Testament of Mr. Sirius Orion Black will commence shortly. Before we begin, would Lord Potter please accompany me to discuss some other business please? Thank you."
Recognising an out when he saw one, Harry quickly bid the Tonks goodbye and agreed that they could talk afterwards before hurriedly following the goblin.
Harry was shown to a seat next to another, ancient looking, goblin who was seated at the head of the table looking over some paperwork.
"Greetings, Lord Potter. I am Director Ragnok; I thank you for agreeing to meet with me after today's business has been dealt with. I will be personally dealing with the reading of the will also, so I thought we could speak briefly before beginning.
"One of the main things I wanted to remind you of at this point is that as primary beneficiary, you may object to the presence of anyone who is neither named specifically in the will nor family of the deceased.
"Also, I believe these rings belong to you, my Lord." The goblin continued, passing Harry a tray containing what were obviously the family rings Griphook had promised to get to him at some point that day.
"Thank you Director, and please, can we drop the whole "my lord" thing? Just call me Harry, I don't like formality that much." Harry replied with a small smile.
Momentarily startled as it was unheard of for a human to allow a goblin to address them as an equal, Ragnok recovered and replied "Very well, Harry. In which case I must insist you also simply call me Ragnok. I can sympathise with your dislike of some of the formality and prestige, but some families insist upon it, so at the bank it is policy to use titles so as not to offend anyone."
Harry merely nodded, at which point Ragnok signalled for the other guests to be allowed in.
Within a couple of minutes, everyone was seated. Harry was pleased to note that Tonks was by his side, but unhappy to see that directly across from the two of them were Dumbledore and Fudge, who Harry didn't think were particularly interested in the will, but more in him.
"Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for joining us today. I am Director Ragnok of Gringotts and I will be overseeing the reading of this, the Last Will and Testament of Sirius Orion Black.
"As a matter of protocol I must insist that, though notes can be taken, all recording devices with the exception of the official records quill must be deactivated.
"Additionally at this point, I must ask the primary beneficiary of this Will if he has any objections to the presence of any parties during the reading." He continued, and in a slightly quieter voice said "Harry, do you have reason to oppose any individual's presence here today?"
Those that heard immediately gained shocked expressions at the familiar way the Director addressed the young man.
Thinking carefully, Harry replied, "The rules are that I can object to any person who isn't family or a beneficiary, right?" At the goblin's nod of confirmation Harry continued, "Very well. All press out; this is a will reading, not a media circus. Minister Fudge can also find his way to the door as I think he made Sirius suffer enough that he isn't welcome here.
"The same can be said for Dumbledore unless he's receiving something. Percy Weasley is also unwelcome.
"And unfortunately the only other objections I have are to family members, so I will have to hold my peace there."
Nodding in agreement, Ragnok looked around the room and said, "none of the indicated parties are in receipt of anything from this will so would you all please vacate the room in an orderly fashion?"
Grumbling, the reporters who had been gathered at the far end of the table left. After a few moments, Percy Weasley followed suit, complaining about arrogant children.
Speaking again, Ragnok said "Minister Fudge and Headmaster Dumbledore, you have been asked to leave. In accordance with custom and protocol, I must insist that you exit the room immediately."
Fudge was the first to respond, "This is absurd, you cannot kick me out!"
Dumbledore soon followed saying "I will be remaining as I have invested interest in the content of this will."
Getting highly annoyed Harry stepped in. "You have been asked nicely, I strongly suggest you comply." When neither moved a muscle, Harry addressed Ragnok. "Ragnok, would it be a breach of any protocols if I were to forcibly remove them from the room?"
Harry was extremely happy when it was indicated that he could proceed if he wanted, and cast a spell he had read about in his family's spell book…it used a process similar to apparition to move the target to a location anywhere in the world of the caster's choice.
The pair vanished with a small popping sound.
Everyone was stunned for a moment before Director Bones spoke up, "Mr. Potter, I am going to have to insist on knowing where you sent them…or at least if I am going to have to arrest you for doing it." Her words were stern, but everyone could tell she was actually rather amused at the situation.
"Don't worry Madam Bones, they're in a broom cupboard at the leaky cauldron." Stated Harry with a chuckle, which was echoed by most people in the room.
"Very well. Now that is dealt with to everyone's satisfaction, we can proceed with the reading of the will." Stated Ragnok.
He unfolded a sheet of parchment and began to read from it.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, being sound of body and mind do hereby declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, voiding all others previously written before this day, 12th April 1996.
"Ok, so dividing up all my stuff and the junk and cash left over from my family…well, here goes.
"To Remus Lupin, my dear friend and true marauder, I leave the sum of 2 million galleons and the following advice. Don't be afraid to live Moony, enjoy yourself and have a family if you find the right witch, believe it or not someone could actually like you in spite of your furry little problem and could deal with it and make you a very happy bloke. And for Merlin's sake, use some of the money to get yourself some new clothes! I'll miss you Moony, have a good life.
"To Andromeda Tonks, my dear cousin and one of the only people in the family worth knowing, I leave the sum of 2.5 million galleons…consider this repayment of the loan you gave me plus a bit extra. Sorry I couldn't know you better in the past years but I hope you've been very happy.
"To her husband, Theodore Tonks, I leave the sum of 500, 000 galleons. I wish I could have gotten to know you; you must be a great guy to capture my favourite cousin's heart. Look after her.
"To their daughter, and my good friend as well as cousin, Nymphadora Tonks…HA! Can't whack me this time. I leave you 3 million of your very own galleons and my motorbike that you always wanted to have a go on, well it's yours now! Enjoy! I also leave you a bit of advice, have a good life and find a decent wizard to settle down with sometime and have a family…I have one in mind that I think will be interested, but I'm not gonna play matchmaker, it'll either happen or it won't. Have a good life Nymphie.
"To my paranoid friend, Mad-Eye I leave 100, 000 galleons and these words. "Look out, he's behind you!" Jokes aside, I hope you enjoy the rest of your life Moody, and I thank you for keeping an old dog company all those times. Oh, and you also get 4 cases of firewhisky from the basement at you-know-where.
"I leave my cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa, as well as her son Draco, absolutely nothing at this time, with one exception. Narcissa, if you should ever decide to leave your husband, know that I have set up an account in your name containing 2 million galleons…leave him Cissy, he's a prick and will only cause you problems.
"I leave the remainder of my possessions and the Black estate, including properties, businesses, items, titles and money to my godson, Harry James Potter. Harry, please forgive this old mutt for leaving you so soon. I wish I could have gotten to know you better, but know that the time I spent with you was the happiest I've been for a very long time. Don't grieve me too much, with the exception of the few times we've spent time together and a few others, I've been miserable these past years…I escaped Azkaban only to end up a prisoner of a different sort. I have left you some letters and notes that I want you to read in private, they will tell you things that you should know but I have been unable and not allowed to tell you about until now. I also give you the advice to kick snake-face's scaly arse straight to hell and to find a good witch to make you happy, have a family and live life to the full. I'm proud of you kiddo, look after yourself. Also, I have completed the paperwork to have you emancipated upon my death…but that should have already happened so you shouldn't need telling about that.
"Ok, well I think that is about all. Take care everyone. I hope you enjoy my stuff, have fun while you can. This is Padfoot saying good bye for the final time."
After a moment's pause in which the majority of the people present wore sad smiles, with the exception of the Malfoys, one who had a look of grim resignation and the other a look of outrage…no prizes for guessing which was which, Ragnok spoke again.
"The appropriate funds have been transferred to your respective vaults, and the primary beneficiary has received the vault keys for his inheritance as well as the deeds to the houses. In the case of Miss Tonks, the motorcycle mentioned in the will is ready to be collected at your convenience.
"That said, I will now entertain any challenges to the Will." He concluded, already suspecting some of what was to come.
"I object!" Draco Malfoy practically shouted, to no one's surprise. "I am the closest living male of Black bloodline, I insist on being given my due inheritance. That dog can't make a half-blood who isn't even part of the family his main beneficiary, this is an outrage!"
Speaking calmly, Ragnok replied, "Mr. Malfoy, you will hold your temper. Mr. Black was the last of his line; therefore he was entitled to do what he saw fit with the residue of the Black family estate. You would have had a claim if Mr. Black had not specifically stated you were to be given nothing, as it stands now, you do not." He finished, barely restraining a grin.
"This is not an objection, however I have been asked to raise a question if I may?" Spoke Remus Lupin. Ragnok nodded, acknowledging him, "I speak on behalf of the Weasley family as well as the organisation known as the Order of the Phoenix. Both parties wish to know why they have not been bequeathed anything in the Will, if it is known." He finished.
"There are no mentions in the documentation I have referring to either party; therefore I cannot provide an explanation. Is there any reason why they expected to be included?" asked Ragnok.
"The Weasleys feel that Sirius owed them something, and the Order of the Phoenix was something that he felt strongly about, and therefore it was anticipated would have left at least something." Replied Remus.
"May I speak?" asked Harry. Then addressing Lupin, continued, "I think you will find that by the end, he was a bit disillusioned as far as the order was concerned, and as for the Weasleys, he barely tolerated them. Moony, as you know, any additional bequests are at my discretion. Can you think of any reason why I would give them anything?" he asked. When he saw the older man had nothing, he thought for a minute before continuing, "Ragnok, I hereby grant an additional inheritance. 30 silver sickles are to be delivered to the order of the phoenix for them to share, with the message that they will get the rest of what they deserve in good time." He finished with an evil glint in his eye and a feeling of power emanating from his body.
Ragnok, understanding the reference in exactly what was being given asked no questions at this time and merely made a note of it, before saying "It will be done."
"Are there any more challenges?" he asked, looking around the room.
Surprisingly, Narcissa spoke up, "This is also not a challenge, but a query. What precisely are the terms attached to the account left in my name?" she asked, showing no signs of the anger most had expected from her.
Consulting his notes, Ragnok replied, "If and when you divorce Lucius Malfoy and renounce the Malfoy name permanently, returning to your position as a Black, and make a vow not to support or assist in any way the forces of evil, you will receive your inheritance as well as be allowed to live in a Black property, at the discretion of Lord Black." He finished with a gesture to Harry.
Narcissa thought about this for a moment, and seemed to be seriously considering it. "I will…think about the offer made by my cousin." She said, over the objections of her son. In that moment, Harry thought that there was a possibility he had misjudged her.
"Any other business?" asked the ancient goblin.
This time, Amelia Bones stood up. "I am here as an official representative of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as a friend of Sirius' from before he was imprisoned. I would first like to say that I have always believed him innocent; however whenever I tried to investigate the matter, my progress was blocked by the powers that be.
"However, given his death, I have been able to prove his innocence to the satisfaction of the law. As such, though over the objections of my superiors, I have been able to grant Sirius Black, posthumously, a full pardon for all crimes he was accused of. I know it is too little too late, however it was the least I could do." She said the last looking directly at Harry, and he gained a whole new respect for the woman.
No one else chose to speak, so Ragnok ended the reading. He then informed Harry that he understood the young man would want to speak to other people for a short while, and said that he would be waiting for when he was done so they could have their own meeting.
Harry turned to see who was still there when he was immediately intercepted by Bones.
"Hello, Mr. Potter. I'm deeply sorry for your loss, you have my condolences, he was a good man." She began. "I want you to know, that although it will be in the Prophet, I didn't get him cleared for the publicity, I have no interest in that…I did it because it was the right thing to do. I was wondering, would it be possible to arrange a brief meeting with you at some point in the near future? There are some things I would like to discuss with you."
Harry thought for a moment. She didn't seem like a typical politician, who was only out for publicity and to try and look good. And she had supported him last year at that farce of a trial at the ministry. He supposed it couldn't hurt to hear her out.
"Ok," he said, "when and where?"
"How does the day after tomorrow in my office sound? I'm free all day, so just come when you get chance. If you're uncomfortable coming alone then you can bring someone along to reassure you, or we can arrange another venue of your choosing." She replied.
Seeing that she really wasn't interested in cornering him, Harry relaxed and replied "I'll be there. Though I probably will bring someone with me anyway. See you then." He finished before walking off and over towards Tonks and her parents.
"Hi Harry." Tonks said when she saw him approach. "You ok? I saw you talking to Director Bones, is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.
Smiling weakly at her, he replied, "Yeah, I'm ok. She just wanted to set up a meeting for something or other. I've to go the day after tomorrow whenever I get chance." After a brief pause he continued, "I just thought I would come over and say hi…I've only got a few minutes until I'll have to go talk with Ragnok."
"Oh, yeah I forgot about that."
"Excuse me, Mr. Potter." Andromeda Tonks cut in. "It seems you are awfully busy, but would it be possible to talk to you about something, at your earliest convenience?" she asked. Seeing his discomfort, she smiled and continued "Don't worry, I have been talking with my daughter and am very happy for the two of you, I'm not going to corner you and bite your head off about dating her. No, it's something that I've wanted to do for quite a while but there was no one in a position to help…you see, I don't know if you realise it or not, but I was born Andromeda Black, and was thrown out of the family…that has made life fairly difficult for me as if someone has been shunned by their family they are considered disgraced in the wizarding world…I wanted to talk to you about the possibility of my rejoining the family…if you would consider it?" she finished hopefully.
Realization dawning on Harry's face as he realised exactly what she wanted, he replied "yes, of course we can talk about it…Sirius told me why you were kicked out when he showed me the Black family tree, and I think it's ridiculous. Umm…I have to go now, but I'm sure your wonderful daughter can arrange some time for us to talk." He said with a smile, receiving a poke in the side from his girlfriend for his efforts. "I'm sorry to have to run, but keeping a goblin waiting too long doesn't strike me as a good idea if you value your limbs."
They exchanged goodbyes and Harry walked back over to where Ragnok was still sitting, waiting patiently.
"Are you ready now, Harry?" he asked.
"Yeah, are we talking here? Or going somewhere else?" responded the teen.
"I believe my office would be best, as it is secure from eavesdroppers, and some of what I want to discuss is of a sensitive nature." The goblin replied with a frightening smile, before grabbing his paperwork and walking from the room with surprising speed and grace for one seemingly so old.
Harry followed along in his wake, passing through a labyrinth of tunnels and corridors before reaching a highly ornate and decorative set of doors, seemingly made of solid gold, which were flanked by heavily armed goblin warriors who snapped to attention as their boss approached, and the doors opened automatically, granting the old goblin and young wizard entry.
Harry looked around the office he was in and was impressed. It was large and had a big, solid wooden desk, an ornate fireplace, several weapons and other such items mounted on the wall, and a more informal seating area, with two chairs and a sofa, which is where Ragnok lead Harry and they each took one of the chairs, facing each other.
"Now, there are a couple of matters I want to talk to you about…and neither are entirely pleasant. The first is to do with your accounts and the second is regarding the war we currently find ourselves in." began the old goblin, cutting right to the heart of the matter…goblins never being much for small talk.
Harry's interest in the conversation immediately increased and he indicated for him to continue.
"Account Manager Griphook and I have been investigating your accounts and we have found many discrepancies that would probably have gone unnoticed, had the fact that you were not aware of any of your holdings caused us to investigate the cause of this oversight.
"It would seem that for the years since your parents' deaths there have been a number of transactions leaving your accounts and being routed to the vaults of others.
"Now, transferring money from vault to vault happens literally hundreds of thousands of times per day in this branch alone, so ordinarily we would not have found it suspicious…were it not for us finding the letter that authorised someone to act upon your behalf."
At this, the goblin handed a piece of parchment across to Harry.
When the young man read it, he was shocked. It was a letter authorising one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore to have control of the Potter funds and was quite clearly signed Harry James Potter.
The only problem with this was that Harry had never written such a letter, and it would have been quite difficult for him to, since it was written 2 days after his parents' died, making him all of 15 months old at the time and quite unable to say the majority of the words in the letter, much less write them in clear concise sentences with perfect handwriting.
"Naturally, when we saw this, we knew the cause of the problem. It would have gone through as a fully legal document at the time, as the name on the account matched the one on the letter, and those files don't contain the age of the account holder…only later when Griphook and myself came to review them did we find the discrepancy…I assume you never wrote such a document?" The goblin asked.
"No, I've never seen this before in my life…and this is clearly Dumbledore's writing…I'd recognise it anywhere…" replied Harry. "Just how much has the old bastard robbed me of over the years?" he asked viciously.
Understanding the young man's anger, and checking some more papers before answering, Ragnok replied "Since this letter of authorisation was put into effect, a total of 125, 148, 950 galleons have been transferred from your vault to others within the bank.
"I have taken the liberty of doing some digging around and found out exactly where the money ended up…these are the figures." He finished, handing Harry another piece of parchment, with names and numbers on it, showing who had stolen what from him.
Weasley family: 3, 586, 009
Molly Weasley: 2, 000, 481
Ronald Weasley: 1, 492, 635
Ginevra Weasley: 1, 005, 729
Severus Snape: 2, 496, 290
Albus Dumbledore: 60, 951, 853
Order of the Phoenix: 20, 592, 902
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – c/o Headmaster: 20, 986, 362
Cornelius Fudge: 12, 036, 689
Harry was now absolutely furious. "Are you certain these figures are right?" he managed to grind out.
"We take pride in our work Harry, I would not give information to a client unless I was absolutely sure it was correct in its entirety." Came the solemn reply.
Harry's first thought was to go and kill everyone on the list. He then rationalised that although he could break out pretty easily, Azkaban wasn't his favourite idea of a summer holiday spot, so he would have to do everything legally…leading him to his next question.
"When I report this, will you be willing to testify that this happened and how it happened?"
Only hesitating a moment, Ragnok replied, "I will. This is despicable and I believe they should be made an example of. I will testify at the ministry and in front of the Wizengamot if necessary. I only wish they were under my authority…if a goblin did something like this, I would rip his head from his body with my bare hands and mount it on my wall." And Harry had no doubt as to the sincerity of that statement. "Since that was not an option, I have, as of this morning, frozen all of the accounts listed…no money in or out until I personally say otherwise. I have also done the same to all other accounts in the name of Albus Dumbledore, and several others that we know are his under an alias."
Calming slightly, Harry said, "Thank you Ragnok. I appreciate your help with this…anyway, unless there is anything else on that matter, I believe there was something else you wanted to talk about?" he asked, hoping for a change of topic.
Sensing this, Ragnok smiled and said, "Yes, there is. The wizarding world is at war. Ordinarily, we goblins try to stay out of human wars as much as possible. However, in this case, the outcome will directly affect us.
"As you have probably realised, goblin society is centred around Gringotts. As such we, as a people, prefer what is most profitable. Now, if the side of the light wins, then the ministry of magic will remain in control and although they are not always easy to live with, we will be allowed to survive and continue to run the bank.
"However, should the forces of Voldemort win, things would be very different.
"Voldemort has recently sent certain…representatives, to try and sway me in favour of his side…he gives promises of power and freedom for my people…but I know them to be lies. He does not share power, and considers anything other than full blooded wizards to be vermin to exterminate, therefore he would stay allied with us until he won and then turn on us.
"Needless to say, we prefer the first option. As such, for the first time in several hundred years, we are willing to sacrifice our neutrality in this conflict. We goblins have our sources of very reliable information and we know, as you do, that if any one is to end this then it shall be you. As such, I am making an offer to ally my forces with you in battle. Not the ministry, definitely not Dumbledore, you." Finished the goblin, sitting back to see how the young human reacted.
At first, Harry didn't know what to say. I mean, goblins were legendary warriors. To have them fighting by your side would be very helpful…but then exactly how much man power did a bank manager control in the long run? A commitment from Ragnok, while more than welcome, could be practically meaningless, as a couple of warriors and a bunch of bank workers did not a powerful fighting force make.
Deciding on a careful reply, Harry spoke. "Thank you for your offer, Ragnok. I accept gratefully, and know that I will do everything I am able to, to try and help your people lead easier lives and overcome the prejudices I know you suffer. But, and forgive me here, you run a bank…exactly what sort of force do you command?" he finished curiously.
Ragnok in fact took no offence at this, and seemed to find it quite humorous. He also understood just what Griphook had meant when he explained that this young man knew little to nothing of the way the magical world works.
Smiling widely, he replied, "I see they really don't teach you about us at that school of yours. You are right; I am, as you pointed out the manager of this bank. However, as I mentioned earlier, our society is established around the bank, therefore the director of a Gringotts branch is the leader of all the goblins in that area, and as this is the worldwide headquarters of Gringotts…that makes me the leader of all goblins the world over. Does that answer your question about exactly how much influence I have and what sort of force I would be able to rally behind you?" He finished.
Now Harry was highly embarrassed, "I'm sorry Ragnok, you're right, I didn't realise that's how your society worked. And I still mean what I said, I welcome any help you can provide, and will do what I can to help your people out whenever I can."
Ragnok was impressed with the sincerity of the young wizard. It was rare to see one of his kind who could look passed the prejudices common in magical society, and the fact that this particular human was soon to be one of the most influential in the country, if not the world, made him all the rarer.
The two exchanged a few more words, Ragnok promising to be in touch soon, before Harry left the office and was escorted back to the main foyer by one of the security guards that was outside the door.
Once outside again, Harry decided that he wanted to deal with this new information about the exact nature of the theft from his vaults as soon as he could. That meant a trip to the ministry.
Not knowing where that was physically located, and thinking that illegally apparating into the ministry of magic was probably asking for trouble, Harry realised that as much as he hated it, he would have to travel by floo.
So he walked to the Leaky Cauldron and threw a couple of coins onto the bar to cover the use of the floo powder and, stepping into the now green fire, called out his destination.
His arrival was smooth for once. Well, by Harry's standards at least. He only stumbled and didn't actually fall. Nothing was broken. And he could now use magic so a quick wandless cleaning charm later and he was good as new.
The atrium of the Ministry building was, as usual, packed with people. Harry however had to work hard to suppress memories of his previous visits here…both while on trial and while fighting Voldemort and his death eaters.
Making his way into the lift, Harry went down to the floor that was the home to the DMLE.
Harry wasn't exactly sure who he was supposed to talk to about something like this. It wasn't exactly something that needed an auror, as they dealt with fighting dark wizards. But exactly who was it that dealt with this sort of thing? Why couldn't they have a "Some Bastard Stole My Money" department? That would make it so much easier.
Harry had been standing there a couple of minutes trying to work out where to go from there, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Wotcher, loverboy. Miss me already?" Said the grinning face of Tonks, who Harry just now remembered was going to be doing a bit of work while he was busy again, even though she was on leave.
Harry quickly and briefly explained the situation. Tonks was appalled, and informed him that usually that sort of thing would be handled by a desk clerk who was notoriously unhelpful.
Getting frustrated, Harry looked around again and saw what was possibly his solution.
His decision made, Harry began walking, Tonks seeing where he was going decided it was as good a bet as anything and followed, wanting to keep him out of trouble, as strictly speaking he shouldn't really be in this section.
Harry walked into a reception area, with a young secretary sitting behind a desk, who looked up and asked with a bored expression, "Can I help you?"
"Yes. Would it be possible to speak to Director Bones anytime soon please?" responded Harry.
"I'll see if she's available but I doubt it. Who should I say wants to see her? Mr…"
"Potter. Tell her that Harry Potter would like to speak to her as soon as possible" he replied, doing his best to ignore the familiar open mouthed gaping at the scar on his forehead, as the witch merely nodded stupidly before practically running to her boss' office.
"That was mean Harry." Said Tonks teasingly, "You coulda given her a heart attack."
He didn't get time to reply because at that moment the secretary returned saying, "The director will see you now, sir." In what she thought was a seductive voice but actually repulsed Harry somewhat, though it was enough to make Tonks glare at her and growl threateningly as they passed.
Entering the office, Harry saw it was as he had expected, large, plain and practical, with very little personalisation, though it was not unwelcoming or sterile by any means.
As they entered, Bones rose from behind her desk, "Mr. Potter, this is most unexpected, I didn't expect to see you for a couple of days yet. To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked, shaking his hand.
"I'm afraid to say, it's nothing good director. I've just had a meeting at Gringotts straight after the Will reading and I learned some rather interesting things.
"It turns out that for years someone has been stealing money from my family's vault there. I was hoping you would be able to help me with bringing charges against them?" Harry replied hopefully.
Sitting back behind her desk, Bones gestured Harry to one of the other chairs before speaking.
"I may be able to do that. And what is your interest in this matter Auror Tonks?"
"I know Harry personally and want to help out in any way I can, but lets say that my interest is more in him than the money, director." She replied, hoping her boss would get the message and not pry further.
"Very well, take a seat. Mr. Potter, if indeed a crime has been committed then rest assured I will see to it that the parties responsible will be punished to the full force of the law. However, as I am sure Auror Tonks has informed you, it is usual for such complaints to go through the fraud clerk who is located in the main office…is there a reason why you are bringing this to my personal attention?" she asked, wanting to make sure that he didn't expect any preferential treatment just because he was famous.
"Yes. Because of the amounts of money we are talking about and the people involved, I thought it would be best if this were handled carefully." Replied Harry.
"Can you be more specific please? I will need details." Bones replied, growing impatient.
Realising that the direct approach would be best Harry cut to the main point. "Albus Dumbledore has stolen over 125 million galleons from me for himself and other people since my parents' death."
Whatever Amelia Bones had been expecting when she was told Harry Potter wanted to see her, it most certainly wasn't this. She was now very glad that this had been brought directly to her, as if the wrong people learned about this too quickly then it would be over before it began. This was an opportunity she had been waiting for years to come along. She knew that Dumbledore had been manipulating people and playing little games for years, she even suspected that he had been breaking a fair few laws along the way, but she could never prove anything…but this, this could be enough to ruin the man. But she was getting ahead of herself…
"You can prove this?" she asked, somewhat eagerly.
"Yes ma'am. I have official documents from Gringotts with the specific facts, figures and dates of transfers on them. Also Ragnok has agreed to personally testify to these facts should it be needed." He replied confidently.
This was a dream come true for Bones if it checked out. No one would refute a claim by Harry Potter, supported by the head of the entire goblin nation! Even if it was against Dumbledore!
"May I see those documents please?" she asked carefully.
Harry handed the paperwork over to her and for the next twenty minutes she read through every last detail with an expert eye.
She gradually became more and more appalled at the nature of this crime. Harry had only mentioned the monetary aspect of it, but these papers contained proof of a whole host of other crimes that he had already worked out over the past weeks.
Finally, she looked up and spoke to Harry. "Mr. Potter, you have an extremely strong case here. I can bring a series of serious charges against Dumbledore and if we can prove that they were knowingly receiving stolen money, the other people here as well. Also, looking at the funds transferred to our illustrious minister…a fair few of these dates stand out in my mind as times when important trials were being held or legislation being decided…it may very well be that the dear headmaster has been bribing him…I will have to investigate that aspect further.
"As of now, I can bring the following against Dumbledore; theft, misappropriation of funds, circumventing a parent's wishes for their child, custodial interference, misuse of power, abuse of power, transferring stolen property, withholding knowledge of status and fraud. Is there anything else I should know about before starting the paperwork?" she asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know.
Harry looked thoughtful, but before he had chance, Tonks spoke up.
"Yes Director. You can add the following; neglect, child abuse, illegally binding a person's magic, kidnapping, endangerment, mental assault, conspiracy to commit mental assault, aiding an enemy of the state and illegal imprisonment." She replied in an official tone of voice.
Bones looked startled…some of those were very serious charges. "Can you prove all of those Auror? And I would like an explanation of how they pertain to Mr. Potter, if you please."
Harry on the other instantly understood where Tonks was going with these…he hadn't even consciously thought about most of them as criminal acts before…but really, if he was going after Dumbles, he might as well go all out while he had chance.
For the next several minutes Harry and Tonks explained about the way the Dursleys had treated Harry and that Dumbledore had known all along and kept sending him back there. That covered neglect and child abuse, especially when some of the details of Harry's school adventures came to light. Binding of his magic was covered when the blocks that Tonks had removed were detailed. It turned out that using legilimency without the permission of the other person was illegal except in certain circumstances, and was considered 'mental assault'…he had ordered Snape to do the same, hence the conspiracy charge (which Tonks would testify he had done during order meetings). Kidnapping was the having him taken from his parents' house after Voldemort attacked and not given to his rightful guardian (which was apparently what Hagrid had been told was going to happen, so the friendly giant was not going to get into trouble for it) as well as removing Harry from the guardians that Dumbledore himself had appointed without notifying them and getting their permission.
The illegal imprisonment was that he had been confined to privet drive or Grimauld place and not allowed to even walk out the door fairly often and the order, on Dumbledore's orders had forced him to remain. As for the assisting an enemy of the state, Tonks cited the fact that through Dumbledore's actions and inactions Voldie had gained a significant advantage many times…the graveyard for instance should not have been allowed to occur, and the department of mysteries disaster would have been easily preventable by him. It was a bit of a shaky interpretation of the law, but it might stick so they decided to try it.
Bones told the pair that she would begin the process and that she would keep them informed, they would both have to testify when this all reached trial and that because of the nature of the charges and who Dumbledore was, it would be a trial in front of the entire Wizengamot with the exception of Dumbledore himself, not just the judicial body. It surprised Harry to learn that he himself would be allowed to exercise all of his votes in this matter…he thought he would have been disqualified as he was the person pressing the charges, but apparently that's not the way things worked in the wizarding world…but he wasn't going to complain too loudly about it.
Bones also informed Harry that the next general Wizengamot meeting was three days from now. Something that somebody had conveniently forgotten to let him know about…which struck Harry as a little too convenient considering if he didn't attend when his application was brought before the council then his seats were considered forfeit for his lifetime…he wondered exactly how much involvement his favourite headmaster had had in that little administrative error.
Harry agreed to return to see Bones later in the week for their planned meeting as there were still things that she wanted to discuss with him that were not connected to this matter, and they both needed a break after dealing with all of this.
Harry and Tonks left the office, feeling considerably better than when they entered, knowing that Dumbledore would finally get his due at least in part.
They returned to Potter Manor shortly thereafter, once Tonks had spent a few minutes finishing off the report she had been writing when she had spotted Harry earlier.
For the rest of the day, the pair relaxed and spent a bit of time practicing in the training room and the rest of it just sitting and spending time with each other and getting to know one another even better as they had had relatively little time for that recently.
Tonks informed Harry that she had arranged that little meet up he had wanted with her parents for the following afternoon. They decided that Tonks would go and meet them and then bring them back to the Manor, as her father had expressed interest in seeing exactly where they were staying.
That night, Harry and Tonks relaxed once more in a bath for several hours (thanks to a permanent warming charm on the bath that kept the water comfortable), enjoying each other's company and sampling the delights that sharing a swimming pool sized tub with your naked partner could bring, before drying off and collapsing into bed in each other's arms.
All in all, it hadn't been a bad day for the pair. They had learned some very useful spells from Godric, dealt with Sirius' will that had been hanging over their heads, Harry had made an ally with one of the most powerful forces in the world as well as the beginnings of a friendship with its leader, they had begun to give Dumbledore everything he deserved, set up several meetings that would be of great benefit to them and after all that, still had plenty of time to themselves to enjoy the other's company…no, not a bad day at all, they each thought.