Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, though I wish I did. They are all property of J.K. Rowling and her business associates.
The Days After
3 - Gringotts
They were ready to leave soon after breakfast. They took the train to London and then used the underground to come closer to The Leaky Cauldron, where they entered Diagon Alley.
Two goblins were waiting for them. "Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Potter" they said, bowing low. "Please follow us" they added, leading the group into a side room. Hermione's parents sent some questioning glances towards their daughter, but she only shrugged, quite confused herself.
Another goblin was already waiting there. "I'm glad to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. My name is Karphook and I am assigned to handle your accounts. Please sit down."
Harry noticed there were only two chairs in front of the goblin's desk. "I'd like my two advisors to stay with us as well" he said.
"No problem sir, no problem at all" said the goblin, waving his hand and conjuring two more chairs.
"Why do you address me as Mrs. Potter?" asked Hermione, even before she was seated.
"Why? Don't you like being addressed that way?" asked the goblin.
Hermione's face turned pink as she answered "I like the sound of it, but we are not married. We are not even engaged."
The goblin looked through some papers on his desk. "According to our information you are bound to Mr. Potter for about five weeks already. You may have not had an official wedding, but you are magically bound, which is just as good as being married, or even more so."
It was Harry's turn to blush. "What do you mean we are bound? We have had no binding ceremony of any kind."
"I can't answer that. You will have to check with the Ministry for the details," said the goblin. "Now, can we proceed?"
He opened a large folder. "Let's start with the Black testament. You are already acquainted with the house on Grimmauld place, I presume. There are three more houses which were passed to you in this testament. One is actually an estate in south-east England, covering several acres of agricultural fields, along with a large natural forest. Another is a castle in Wales and the third is just a villa in southern Spain, including two miles of private beach."
Hermione glanced at Harry. He looked almost shocked. They both knew that the Black was a very well-off family, yet this seemed to be way above what he had ever considered. But the goblin had only started.
"Then there are the vaults, of course. I don't know what they are holding, but there are four large vaults in the lowest level, and two smaller ones. You'll receive the keys in a moment, and then we can go and check them. There are also some shares that were managed by the bank on behalf of the Black family. You will find all the details in here," he said, passing the folder to Harry, along with a pouch containing six keys.
"Now, let's check the Potter testament" he said, opening an even larger folder.
He glanced at the first few pages before continuing. "Well, the house at Godric Hollow is yours, of course, although it is in ruins right now. Then you also have a small palace in London. It is leased to the royal family for the next eighty-three years, but there are provisions to change that if you want, of course. You also have a castle in Scotland and another in Normandy, along with two beach houses in southern France, another in Spain, a cottage in Switzerland, a town house in Paris and another here in London."
Harry looked overwhelmed. He had heard rumors that the Potters were quite rich, not really believing them, but this was way beyond his wildest dreams. He owned more houses than he could ever use!
Hermione's hand pressed into Harry's. "Are you alright?" she whispered in his ear. He only nodded in response.
The goblin turned a page. "The Potters didn't keep many vaults. There is only one large vault in the lowest level and another somewhat higher, and of course the one with your trust money, which you already know." He passed another key pouch to Harry.
"Now, the Potters didn't keep most of their money in their vaults. They used to invest it quite wisely in different businesses. You currently own parts of two muggle newspapers, several factories, a wizarding publication house and several other businesses on the continent. These give you an annual income of more than five million pounds, not including the income in gaeleons, which is roughly half of that. You may see all the details in here." He passed the other folder to Harry, who accepted it silently, not able to say anything.
The goblin looked at Harry and seemed quite amused at the shocked expression on his face. He waited a little before presenting two velvet-covered boxes he had taken from a drawer.
"These are not about properties or valuables, as we normally handle in the bank. As the sole heir of both houses, you have inherited the rings carrying the coat-of-arms of these noble families."
He opened the black box first. The ring it held was made of two entwined gold snakes holding a large emerald engraved with a serpent and a dragon. "This ring is assumed to also endow its rightful wearer with very powerful magic" he added.
Harry took the box in his hand and studied the ring for awhile and then put it back. The goblin took this as a sign to continue. He opened the other box, which was covered in blue velvet. The ring within was made of seven delicate gold chains arranged in a braid, embedded with a large ruby which was engrave with a lion. As Harry took it in his hand the ruby started glowing softly.
"This glow indicates that you are really the rightful owner of this ring. This ring is also assumed to enhance your magical capabilities once you wear it" added the goblin.
Harry slipped the ring on his finger. It seemed to make him calmer and more focused. He could finally find his voice again. "Is there anything more?" he asked.
"This is all we currently have about the Potter and the Black inheritance. Our legal department is still checking many other documents which have currently become relevant, but it is not possible to tell if any of them will concern you. You will be informed in due time. Can we now proceed to check the vaults?"
Harry thought for a moment. "May I talk in private with my advisors before we proceed?" he asked.
"Of course, sir. I'll wait outside until you're done" said the goblin. He left the room, closing the door behind him.
"What is that nonsense about you being married?" asked Hermione's father as soon as they were left alone.
"He said 'bound', not married, but I really don't know any more than you do" said Hermione.
"We shall have to check with the ministry once we finish here" added Harry, "although I quite like the idea" he added, smiling warmly at his friend.
"OK, son", said her mother. "What do you want us to tell you? That you are rich beyond our expectations? That it looks like you will never have to work and neither will your children? I believe this is way beyond our understanding. We can only hold your hands and wish you happiness, but I doubt we can help you any further."
Harry looked at the two adults and then talked again. "You can help me in more than one way. I was really hoping to have my own family one day, although I never thought that day was so near. Would you agree if I asked Hermione to be my wife?"
Hermione gasped and put her hand on her mouth, looking at Harry with widely open eyes, but her parents smiled. "It is up to her to decide" said her father, "and I believe she has already done it. Go on, ask her."
Harry turned to Hermione. "Will you agree to become my wife and be mother to our children?"
Hermione didn't answer. She only jumped from her chair and hugged him tightly. Their heads came closer and their lips met in a tight, passionate kiss.
"Is it a yes?" asked Harry, a few minutes later, when they broke the kiss.
"A definite yes!" said Hermione.
They opened the door a few minutes later, letting the goblin in.
"We should now check the vaults, Lord Potter," said the goblin. "Your wife may come along, but your advisors cannot accompany you there. They may wait here, if they like."
Harry offered his hand to Hermione. "Shall we?" he said.
Hermione smiled and took his hand. "Sure, Lord Potter."
"Eh… Please take the rings with you. You may need them to open the vaults" added the goblin.
They followed the goblin, boarded the cart and went down to the deepest level. "Which vault would you like to visit first?" asked the goblin.
"The Potter's" answered Harry.
"Here we are! Potter's vault. Now, if you hand me the key, please…"
Harry handed the key to the goblin, who put it in the keyhole on the door. "Now, please touch your Potter ring to this" said the goblin, pointing to a depression on the surface of the door.
Harry touched the ruby of the ring to the door, producing a flash of red, and the door swung open.
They were facing a huge vault – larger than the dining room in Grimmauld place. It contained rows of cabinets, each marked clearly with an identifying code. Hermione noted a large book on a small desk near the door. It was a hand written book. Each page sported the code of one cabinet and a list of its contents.
There were also some shelves along the side walls. Most were empty, but Hermione noted a few items on the shelf closest to the door.
"What are these?" she whispered.
"These must be the most recent Potter jewels" said the goblin. "It looks like they were brought here in a hurry, or possibly after their owner's death"
Harry took Hermione's hand in his and approached the shelf. There was a painting there, covered by a piece of cloth, and a few velvety boxes. Harry uncovered the painting. It showed a man and a woman with a small child. Hermione didn't need to guess who they were. The man looked like an older version of harry, with square eye-glasses and a boyish grin; the woman was smiling delicately at the black-haired, green-eyed child who was seated between the two adults. The painted adults turned their gaze upon the youngsters once the cloth was removed.
"Welcome, son" said the man.
"You've grown, Harry" said the woman.
The child only watched the scene, quite bewildered.
"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Hermione. She is my best friend and my fiancé" said Harry.
Lily turned her Gaze to Hermione. "Have you heard about the prophecy?" she asked.
"Yes, we heard it, but it is no longer relevant. Harry has defeated the dark lord", told her Hermione.
"So, you finally did it!" boomed James. "He didn't manage to kill you as a child and now you finished him off! I'm really proud of you." Lily just smiled adoringly at her child.
"I could have never done it without Hermione. It is her knowledge and her wit that enabled me to achieve this, and also your love, which protected me" said Harry.
"On this shelf you will find a few boxes. One of them contains my engagement ring" said Lily. "Give it to the woman you love. You will also find a tiara and a necklace. I wore them at my wedding. I would love your bride to wear them as well."
Harry took a small box from the shelf. He opened it to find a delicate ring with a small rosy diamond.
"It's exquisite!" sighed Hermione.
"It would be an honor for me and for my parents if you wear this ring" said Harry. Hermione didn't answer. She just gave him her hand to put the ring on and then kissed him silently.
Harry looked at the picture again. Both his parents seemed to have some tears in their eyes.
He opened the other boxes to find a diamond tiara and a diamond necklace, both showing the same kind of workmanship as the ring. Hermione held her breath. "It would be an honor to wear these jewels" she said after a long silence.
They checked some of the cabinets. These contained many documents, some more jewels and a lot of money, all neatly arranged. They could not check everything – it would have taken them several full days to check the contents of each and every drawer.
They left the vault which closed behind them immediately and boarded the cart again. "We must take a detour now, as some parts are still being repaired after the damage inflicted on them the day before the fall of the dark lord" explained the goblin. "I believe you know who caused the damage" he added.
Hermione felt a pang of guilt. "What do you intend to do about it?" she asked, dreading the answer.
"Oh, we've done some calculations. The damage was really extensive and quite difficult to estimate, but once we finished the assessment we came to the conclusion that the service done to us by stopping the dark lord is of much greater value than the damage caused by the same person. We will just repair the damage and think of it no more." Hermione could have sworn she saw a glint of mischief in the goblin's eyes.
"Here is the first of the Black vaults!" announced the goblin. Harry gave him the key and touched the ring to the door, resulting in a green flash. This vault seemed to contain just gold in various forms. They could see many shelves lined with golden artifacts, but much more was simply thrown on the floor in three large heaps. One contained various jewelry while the other two contained mainly gold coins of wizarding money. The heaps were taller than Harry's head and Hermione was sure that each held more money than they could ever spend in a lifetime.
They had a look at the other vaults as well, but were unable to even estimate the treasures they had seen. It took them most of the morning to finish their tour and Hermione's parents looked quite worried when they met them again.
"Are you alright? You both look very pale" said Hermione's mother.
"We are fine, really. We're simply overwhelmed by what we have just seen. It is way beyond anything I could ever imagine" said Hermione.
Her mother noticed the ring. "What is this?" she asked.
"It's my engagement ring. Harry's mother got it for her engagement, and now Harry gave it to me."
Her parents could say nothing.