Hello! Here is the newest chapter of the Bloody Ashikabi! Only a few more chapters before the end of the first Arc, which showed how Harry grew up. Before the next one, there will be a few chapters of interludes that should interest you people, like the reactions to Harry's disappearance.

Anyway, here Harry goes to Gringotts to get some business done, hence the title. Enjoy!

I don't own Harry Potter or Sekirei, only this plot.

13

England and Business

The next day found four people standing in the middle of Harry's shared apartment in MBI's tower. There was of course Harry, Karasuba was a given, Akitsu as well, but the last member of the group had more or less forced the three others to take her with them. Despite her heavy workload, Takami had insisted on coming with them, saying that they needed at least one responsible adult, and that neither of the three of them qualified. Harry, despite being mature and an adult in the magical world, was still a minor by Mundane laws, Karasuba may have been an adult, but there was no way in Hell that she was responsible, and Akitsu wasn't either.

So the three of them stood in a circle, holding the Goblin-made portkey in their hands. It was, as most portkeys were, completely innocent-looking, as they held on a simple wooden statue depicting a dragon standing in a threatening posture. It was a testament to how good Harry's relations with the Goblins were that they had simply given him the portkey, as they apparently liked him quite a lot, which somehow had to do with his attitude towards them. He didn't openly despise them, like most British wizards and witches, and neither did he try to be unnecessarily polite with them. They were a warrior race, so they liked it when people were short and to the point, though they still appreciated respect when it was given. And seeing that they loved to fight, they deeply respected Harry and his Sekirei, as both him and Karasuba were dangerous fighters themselves, and didn't rely only on their magic to do the work for them.

"So, what are we waiting for, exactly?" asked Takami, as she looked at Harry with her eyes narrowed.

Instead of answering her, he merely spoke the password needed to activate the portkey.

"Blood and power."

At that, the four of them felt a tugging feeling around their navel, before the group vanished in a flash of blue light. For a brief moment, they found themselves floating...somewhere, while scenes flashed around them too fast for them to process, before they landed. Harry, Karasuba and Akitsu managed to land on their feet and not sway too much, but Takami, not having any kind of experience with portkeys, or the natural reflexes of the Sekirei, ended up crashing on her behind, her cigarette falling out of her mouth as she groaned.

"What in Kami's fucking name happened?" she groaned, before picking herself up and looking at the trio looking at her with either barely glee or, in Akitsu's case, little more than cold indifference.

As her brain managed to reboot and process the reason she had ended up staring at the ceiling, she looked back at Harry with a twitching eye.

"Harry, please tell me that this was not the normal way these...portkeys work."

"Actually, it is. And this one was even quite comfortable to travel with, Gringotts takes good care of their customers."

"That was comfortable?!" she asked, slightly disbelieving.

"Yeah. I've heard that some people that create portkeys are so bad at it that the user ends up sick for hours on end afterwards, not that it seems to push the wizards to research more comfortable means of travel."

That seemed to make Takami even madder. As a researcher, she was always trying her best to improve things, to eliminate whatever discomfort could come from what she researched, but to know that an entire society found the idea of using portkeys that were apparently worse than the one she had just used completely normal was baffling to her. Not that Harry couldn't understand, after all he had loved the Japanese alternative to the Floo network. Unfortunately, for now they hadn't yet found a way to make it work for international travel, something that had to do with the energy consumption of creating a portal linking two places so far apart. Nonetheless, he would be among the first to recognize it was far better than portkey travel if they could manage to develop it.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Takami then sighed and looked around, taking in the sight of the place they had arrived in. They were in a room that had to be around the size of a relatively big living room, made entirely of stone, something that defined about every Goblin construction. Nonetheless, despite the spartan structure of the room, it was as if there was an invisible weight to it, as if it was designed to remind people that they were in an official building and that they were supposed to be on their best behavior. That, and the fact that two Goblins wearing armor and holding halberds standing at attention at the entrance of the room was probably a very good way to remind anyone that Goblins were, despite their now more...business-like approach, a warrior race that valued respect and strength.

Making sure his clothes weren't ruffled, Harry strolled towards the Goblin guards.

"Greetings, I am Harry Minaka-Potter, and I have an appointment with the Potter account manager, as well as an Inheritance Test scheduled."

One things to not forget with Goblins, was that while they liked to be respected, they didn't want people going overboard, as such the best way to interact with them was to treat them as any other person, well, save for those that held special positions. Those, it was better to show respect to them, as their position, unlike what was seen in human society, was always earned to the Goblin's hard work. It was one thing Harry liked with them, their society was made to make sure that every single member of their species worked hard to achieve their full potential, when the same could hardly be told for humans. While the idea of everyone being equal was surely nice, the truth was that some were just naturally better than others, it was the way of life. Some were smarter, others were stronger, and so on, but they were almost never pushed to nurture their gifts to the fullest.

That was why he respected the Goblins, they understood that each of their own had abilities that others had not, and they worked hard to improve themselves all their life, trying to climb the ladder up to an even more prestigious job than the one they currently held. And seeing as they were warriors as heart, foul play wasn't something that was seen in their society, and as such, only those that truly earned their positions were promoted.

With a nod, the guards opened the doors, letting the four of them inside the bank proper. From what Harry could see, it had not changed much since Tom's last visit, there were still tellers everywhere, completing paperwork while wizards and witches waited for their turn. He could see a few Goblin guards here and there, though they were placed in such a way that it was almost impossible to tell how many of them were present, but he guessed there were around twenty of them in the hall alone.

Their entrance didn't go unnoticed, as each member of their group stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of black robes. Harry, despite being ten and male, had long, ashen-colored hair with streaks of purple in them, which was already odd, and his companions didn't help his case. Takami was smoking again, her lab coat clashing with the usual dark color of the magicals' robes, and she was looking around curiously, something that wasn't missed by the people present, of which quite a few sneered at them. Karasuba too attracted her own share of attention, what with her hair being an odd color, even for magicals, and her uniform was probably more revealing than what most purebloods were used to. However, the worst of them was Akitsu, whose cleavage and chains were attracting a lot of male attention, however she did not seem to notice as she stood at her usual place, slightly behind him.

"What's with them?" asked Takami, looking rather angry of being stared at. "Don't you have better things to do than stare at someone?!"

However, as Harry expected, her outburst, while it did deter some of the more "tame" purebloods present, unfortunately alienated her to the more "radical" ones, as quite a few of them started to sneer at her. Not that it was surprising, the British purebloods loathed Mundanes, and foreigners weren't much liked either. Now, a Mundane foreigner, this was someone that they saw as little more than an ape, meaning that Takami, and them, were now more or less considered like dirt by the people staring at them.

"Takami", he started, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder as she glared at the people present, "there is no use in antagonizing them. Remember that to most of them, you and all those that cannot use magic are little more than talking apes. It would not be wise to start a fight here, especially considering we are in Goblin territory."

As she glared at him, he pointed at the guards who had subtly put their hands on their weapons, something that made Karasuba grin as she did the same, while Akitsu had tensed and had started to build up her power, which could be seen by the steam coming out of their mouths. Now, while Harry would very much like to slaughter a few of the idiots himself, and was confident that he would be able to do with Karasuba and Akitsu with him, he didn't want to become the center of attention just yet. While he had Karasuba's sadistic side and urge to fight and kill, he also had cunning of a Dark Lord that had almost taken over Britain. As such, he knew that for the moment, he couldn't afford to kill anyone, especially in Goblin territory. Sure, the Goblins would most likely appreciate the show, but they were bound by the treaties with the Ministry of Magic to prevent harm from happening to magic users in their walls, unless specific conditions were met.

With a huff, Takami stopped glaring at the Purebloods, before looking at Harry expectantly.

"So, where do we go now?"

Motioning at the woman and the two Sekirei to follow him, Harry strolled towards the closest Goblin, which happened to be a guard.

"Greetings, Master Goblin. I have an appointment with the Potter account manager. Would you mind calling for someone to lead me to him?" he asked, making sure that he spoke low enough that people didn't hear him. He didn't need someone remembering him going to meet the Potter accountant.

The guard nodded, before gripping his halberd. Harry felt the slight magic pulse sent through it, and he grinned. The Ministry, in a bid to prevent the Goblins from becoming too dangerous, had stipulated in one of the most recent treaties with them that they were forbidden to use wands or staves as magical foci. Of course, Goblins being the crafty beings they were, had apparently found a way around that. The definition of a wand approved by the Ministry was:

A wand is any foci made of wood, containing a magical component used to amplify one's magic, and smaller than nineteen inches.

And the definition of a staff was much the same, only it referred to foci made of wood longer than nineteen inches.

However, while wizardkind could only use wood to create magical foci, Goblins, being creatures much more attuned to magic and having an affinity with Earth, could apparently create foci out of metal, and if he was right, anything that came from Earth itself, meaning rock, metal, etc...As such, they had the magical foci wizardkind had tried to deny them, and they didn't violate the terms of the treaties with them. He had to refrain a laugh, the next war between Wizards and Goblins would see the Wizards at quite the disadvantage, not that he cared, they had been the ones who had dug their graves, they would have to suffer the consequences of their stupidity.

"Impressive." he commented, and the Goblin, for a moment, looked startled. "Easy there, I'm not going to spill your secrets to anyone else. I simply find it amusing that nobody noticed yet, is all. In two hundred years, you'd think someone would have noticed." he snorted.

"Wizards aren't the brightest bunch." cautiously said the guard, looking as if he was puzzled by the person in front of him. "Nor the most observant. It is quite rare to see someone who is actually able to see beyond what is in front of them."

Then, looking at the three women behind the young wizard, he added:

"And it seems to me that you are not your usual wizard either, to have people like them with you."

Harry grinned at that, as did Karasuba, who could hear them talking.

"Good guess. Your people did quite a lot for me, so it's not like I'll be trying to get one over them anytime soon, so long as they keep my secrets, I'll keep yours."

At that, the guard returned the grin with his own, sharp teeth showing a rather shark-like smile.

"You are a most interesting customer. I hope we will be seeing more of you in the future, then."

Harry nodded, as he felt another Goblin approaching their group.

"Greetings. I shall lead you to the manager." said the new Goblin, and Harry made a note to reward him from keeping his business at Gringotts a secret from the other customers, a few of which were still eyeing their group and trying to listen in to their conversation.

-Break-

"Greetings. I am Gripsack, the Potter account manager." greeted a Goblin noticeably older than most of those he had seen so far.

It was to expected, after all, that the manager of the account of one of the oldest magical families of Britain would be a Goblin that had proved to be highly efficient and to have the ability to protect the secrets of his customers. And that was why no manager of the account of a noble family was younger than fifty, unless they proved to be exceptionally talented, and even then the limit was forty. Goblins younger than that, no matter how talented they were, were simply not allowed as managers.

"Greetings. I am Harry Minaka-Potter, these ladies are Karasuba, Akitsu, and Takami." said Harry, as he introduced each of his companions, though he noticed how Gripsack's face closed into a glower.

"Before proceeding with the reasons of your presence, I need to ask you to prick your finger and drop some of your blood on this sheet." growled the Goblin. "While it is uncommon, a few people have tried to impersonate Harry Potter and gain access to his trust vault. And if I might add, you do not look like how you were described to me, save for the green eyes."

Shrugging, Harry held out his hand and took out one of the blades he always carried on himself, before slicing his palm and letting his blood fall in heavy droplets on the sheet of paper. Once he had finished, he focused some of his magic on his hand, which boosted his already quick healing until there was no trace of the slice he had made.

Handing the paper to the Goblin, he could see that the old being's glare had turned slightly approving, which he guessed was due to the fact that he carried a weapon on him. Another thing he knew about Goblins, was that they disliked people too confident in themselves, if they didn't have a reason to be confident of course. Unfortunately, a lot of wizards and witches were too confident in their own abilities, since for most of them, losing their wand rendered them powerless. You would think that it would be enough for them to have another wand on them, or a weapon, but no.

Looking at the sheet of paper, Gripsack examined it, before carefully putting it on his desk, as he looked back at Harry.

"It appears you are indeed Harry Potter. What can I do for you today?"

"First, I am hereby disowning myself from the Potter family, and shall have no more blood ties with them from this day on. So mote it be!" said the pre-teen, as he waved his wand, causing a brief flash of light.

"Now..."

"Wait wait wait!" called Takami, her English coming out oddly accentuated. "Harry, what did you just do?"

Rolling his eyes at the woman's reaction, he explained:

"What I did was disown myself from the Potter family. From now on, even if they wished to use the law as a means to get me back they won't be able to, as in the eyes of the Ministry and of Gringotts, I no longer have any familial ties with them. In essence, it's as if I was kicked out of the family, only I did it.

And before you say anything, remember, I'm considered an adult by the laws of the Ministry, so I can easily do something like this. And I won't change my mind. They didn't check on me once in seven years, so they are dead to me."

Turning back to Gripsack, he continued, ignoring Takami's glare and disapproving look.

"The second matter I came to address today was to make sure that Gringotts does not give the Potters, or anyone else, information that may lead them back to me. I've been living fine until now, so I don't intend to have people swarming me to see the Boy-Who-Lived anytime soon, even if they would make great target practice."

Nodding, Gripsack explained:

"You don't need to worry. Since you disowned yourself, you are hereby considered a customer from another family, and as such, they cannot inquire about any of your personal information. Just as you can no longer ask for any confidential information about them."

"What about the Ministry? They might try to vote a law forcing you to tell them my new name." Harry pointed out.

After all, it wasn't a secret that the current Minister, Cornelius Fudge, was a pompous idiot who'd do anything to stay in power. When word would come out that he had disowned himself from the Potter family, it was obvious that there would be a public outcry for the Ministry to find him. After all, considering what he had read in the British magical newspaper, The Daily Prophet, they seemed to think his life belonged to them and that they were allowed to talk about him in any way that pleased them, even if they didn't have his approval. Needless to say, he didn't quite agree with them.

" As I said, you needn't worry. If such a thing was to happen, we would be in our right to seize the gold of every member of the Wizenmagot, including the Chief Warlock and the Minister himself. One of the oldest laws of the wizards, and one very few of them remember anymore, is that the Ministry cannot make laws forcing the disclosure of information of one person, or force said person to do anything unless they committed a crime in the following list: murder, rape, line theft or abduction of a member of another House. If they do so, then they are overstepping their bounds, and are liable to be disbanded by the Queen if she so wishes."

At that, Harry cackled evilly. He almost pitied the fools. Almost. His feelings were obviously shared by Gripsack in the way his grin showed his razor-sharp teeth. He was quite sure that helping the Goblins threaten the Wizards with disbanding their Ministry would gain him their friendship. While Goblins did like certain individuals in the magical population of Britain, 99% of the wizards and witches could die for all they cared. He was at least lucky to belong to the fortunate 1% that Goblins tended to like, since he didn't look down on a good fight using weapons, and he held no love for other wizards either.

"Aaah, I wish I could see their faces when they try. Too bad I won't be there. Anyway, now that this is taken care of, and before we talk about the inheritance test, I would like to ask you if your bank has something to tell me regarding the...matters communicated to you by your Japanese branch."

Gripsack, who until then had been giving him a shark-like smile, now looked extremely serious.

"Yes, indeed. As for the items we were told about, I have the pleasure to say that the cup and the ring have been retrieved, and fakes have been put in their place, in case Voldemort decides to check on them. As for the locket, it was unfortunately impossible to retrieve, as nobody save Lord Black and Narcissa Malfoy have access to the Black residences. The same problem is still blocking us from collecting the diary, as we have no way of investigating Malfoy Manor legally, but we are working on collecting evidence of Lord Malfoy's less than savory actions. We hope that by the end of next year we will be able to give said information to the DMLE and kickstart an investigation on their properties.

Now, there is the matter of the item stored at Hogwarts. Thanks to your information, we were able to ask Filius Flitwick, one of the professors, who happens to be a half-goblin, to get is for us. He was fortunate enough to send us the package without alerting Albus Dumbledore, and once informed of the nature of the item, has agreed to help us should the need arise."

Harry nodded at that. He had expected the cup and the ring to be the easiest of the Horcruxes to collect, as the first was in Gringotts itself, and only protected so long as the Goblins hadn't known about its' existence and presence in their walls. As for the ring, it was protected by several powerful wards, but nothing a team of Gringotts' cursebreakers couldn't get past. As for the locket, he had suspected it would be hard to get, as Voldemort had killed Regulus Black for his treason, and the man had known about the locket's location and had probably tried to destroy it since he knew of its' importance for Voldemort. He hadn't expected much for the diary, as Lucius Malfoy was a political powerhouse in England, and had a lot of sway, as well as enough cunning to lay low after having almost been sent to Azkaban. However, the diadem was good news, as he had thought he would have needed to go to Hogwarts and retrieve it himself.

"That is good news. So, now that the cup, the ring and the diadem have been recovered, that makes four Horcruxes less for Voldemort. That's more than half of them destroyed, and I'm quite sure that with Gringotts' help, the two others will eventually be destroyed as well."

"Indeed, now, the other reason of your presence today is to claim the titles and vaults that you are the rightful Heir of, isn't it? Our Japanese Branch sent us a copy of your inheritance test, but we will unfortunately be unable to use it, as such you will need to take another one here. Security, you understand."

Nodding, he motioned for Gripsack to continue. Wordlessly, the Goblin gave him another sheet of paper, and once again he cut himself and let his blood flow into the document, before giving it back to the account manager. Said manager, upon seeing the results, shook his head and chuckled, a deep, gravelly sound like rocks grinding against each other. Such a sound would have disturbed lesser beings, but Harry, Karasuba and Akitsu did not react, nor did Takami, and they waited for Gripsack to finish chuckling.

"Aahh, well, my lord, you are going to cause a fair amount of chaos after claiming such titles. I think it is fair to say that many people will be trying to contact you in the not so distant future, if only to try and gain your favor."

"Excuse me." interrupted Takami, "But what do you mean? Are these families that important? I understand that they are old and hold a lot of political power, but you make it sound as if there was more to it than simply that."

Looking at the white-haired woman, Gripsack nodded, before looking at Harry, who upon understanding the unspoken request, motioned to the Goblin to continue.

"Miss Takami, there is indeed more to these three families than sheer political power. First, you have to understand that Britain's magic school, Hogwarts, was built before the creation of the Ministry of magic. As such, the government has little to no say in how the school is managed. Now, there is a board of governors who overlooks how the school is ran, and in most cases these governors are the ones with the final say on everything concerning the school.

However, Harry here, is the rightful Heir to two of the four Founders of Hogwarts, and as such, has complete control over it, unless another Heir is found, which is unlikely, as the lines are quite old, died out, or wed into other Houses. Seeing as most purebloods don't even think about taking inheritance tests, the odds of finding another Heir in Harry's lifetime, save for his children, are low at best. There is also the fact that even now, the Ravenclaw and Slytherin names are very respected, even if the Heir of Slytherin will be suspected to be a Dark Wizard.

Now, as for the Peverell name, the family is known to have been very knowledgeable and was famed for the creations of its members, who all had innate talents with magic that few could boast of, and often came up with ways to use magic that elude other wizards and witches, even now, centuries after the line's disappearance."

"So, basically, he's the last descendant of people British Wizards admire, and of a family who's well known to be very skilled in magic?"

"Correct. It didn't show on the inheritance test, but you also have another vault full of money, this one was opened due to the number of people who donated their properties, money assets, etc...to you upon their deaths. Since many people were grateful to you for ending Voldemort's reign of terror, the amount of money collected is rather substantial, easily equivalent to the fortune of some of the oldest families.

Now, of course, I highly doubt you wish to reveal yourself to the British Wizards, am I right?" asked Gripsack, looking at Harry, and as he received a nod, he continued: "Well then, seeing as once you've claimed your titles you will be required to attend the Wizenmagot sessions, I think it would be best to appoint a proxy for your seats."

"Actually, Gripsack, I'd like to appoint three different proxies, one for each family."

The Goblin leaned back, looking perplexed.

"And why would you wish to do so?"

"My primary goal would be to make sure that nobody realizes that the same person is holding the three titles together. I would like the Wizards to believe at least two different people have inherited the titles, and appointing a single proxy for all three of the seats I inherited would be basically claiming "Political Powerhouse here!". By appointing different proxies, I can confuse the politicians, make them believe that they now have two, maybe three new Lords to deal with instead of one."

When he finished explaining, Gripsack was grinning in a way that would have made lesser men and women piss themselves in fear. Harry returned the grin, knowing full well why the Goblin looked rather happy. While Goblins were the ones who managed the Wizards' money, that didn't mean they liked them, and more often than not, they were happy to anger the magic users in any way they could so long as it was within the law. It wasn't rare to hear a Goblin citing a very old, and almost never used law, to stall procedures concerning a wizard or a witch that had angered them in some way. The more chaos that created, the better.

Considering Harry's status as the Boy-Who-Lived, and as the future Head of three very prestigious Houses, Gringotts as a whole now had the opportunity to cause untold mayhem by withholding any information regarding him to themselves, or, in some cases, sending nosy reporters onto false trails which would lead them to gather conflicting information. Basically, they had the opportunity to make the British Wizards bang their heads against the walls, and the best part about it was that it would be perfectly legal for them to do so. And if the Wizenmagot tried to pass a law forcing them to divulge his private information, well they would find themselves in quite a pinch, as the Goblins could notify the Crown at a moment's notice that some of their subjects were overstepping their bounds. Of course, before that, they would take the chance to...discipline the offending parties.

"Very well, I shall draw up a list of possible candidates for the proxies positions. Do you have any kind of preference as for who you wish to appoint?"

At that, Harry nodded. Truth to be told, he had been thinking on his scheme for a long while, and he had come to several conclusions. The first was that no matter who he would appoint as his proxies, they wouldn't know anything save for his wishes concerning their votes, and the fact he was the Lord they acted as proxy for, though he would withhold his identity from them . Knowing that Dumbledore was a meddling old fool, he simply couldn't afford to have anyone who could potentially give away the fact that he was Lord Peverell-Ravenclaw-Slytherin around him. Despite being old, the Leader of Light was far from being a fool, even if his actions seemed to suggest he had been losing it in recent years, and he had no doubt that he would stop at almost nothing so long as it was legal to learn who the new political players were. That brought forth his second conclusion. He would have to weed out all people who could give him away to Dumbledore, who could be loyal to the old man. Unfortunately, that would weed out around 95% of the candidates, as most British wizards and witches were too enamored with the man to notice the fact that he was trying to learn things he shouldn't be privy of. Precious few people were openly distrusting of Dumbledore, and even fewer weren't well-known Dark supporters who would want nothing more than to exploit him for their own profit. As such, he would need to make do with the Neutrals, those that were neither aligned with Dumbledore, and neither Pureblood Supremacists.

He told as much to Gripsack, who nodded as he jutted down a few notes.

"Very well. While the Neutrals are fewer in number than the Dark or Light supporters, there are still a few of them left that should suit your needs. I shall contact them and see which of them would be agreeable to act as your proxies. I should have a list of likely candidates within the week."

Putting the paper on the side with several of the notes he had taken during the meeting, the Goblin then looked back to Harry.

"Now, all that is left is for you to claim your titles. Please wait here for a moment, I shall call for the rings to be sent here."

With that, Gripsack took a golden bell on his desk and rang it. Almost immediately, the guard who had been standing in front of the door to ensure the privacy of the meeting came in.

"Please bring the rings mentioned in the latest inheritance test, please."

The guard stood at attention and nodded, before leaving the room, while Karasuba whistled, her fingers twitching towards her nodachi. No doubt seeing such military discipline had excited her, as Harry knew she loved fighting, and that she had always wanted to measure herself to a Goblin warrior. Well, maybe more like a Goblin army, since despite their training and their deadly ability with weapons, even Goblins weren't that much of a threat of someone of Karasuba's caliber, well not until they were at least more than two or three fighting her. Of course, that was based on what he knew of his Sekirei's fighting abilities, while he had to speculate when it came to the Goblins' martial prowess.

"Karasuba, don't." he said, not bothering to hide his amusement, as Takami seemed a bit perplexed as to what he was talking about.

The Black Sekirei simply grinned, before shrugging in a way that showed that she was not apologetic in the slightest, not that he had expected her to be. She was a warrior at heart, and someone who was better suited for a more war-worn era, yet she had the misfortune of being stuck in an era where wars were more often than not won by politics and secret operations instead of open warfare. Still, she did not try to reject what she was, nor did she try to find excuses for her behavior, she shoved the fact that she was a bloodthirsty maniac into people's face, and those that couldn't accept it just stayed away.

Noticing the questioning look Gripsack was giving him, Harry shrugged, before elaborating:

"Karasuba wants to try and have a fight with some of your guards. Since there aren't any humans that can provide her with a challenge anymore, she's rather eager to find someone who can let her fight to her heart's content. Unfortunately, humans are too squishy for that, so she's been quite interested in having a match with some Goblin Warriors, since your people are well-known to be very skilled with weapons."

-Break-

Gripsack had to admit, the Boy-Who-Lived was quite different from what the British Wizards pictured, and in a good way, at least from his point of view. This Harry (no longer Potter), was obviously quite well-educated, was polite, with a lot of self-confidence, and had a dislike of Dumbledore that would have caused quite a few people to faint from the sheer fact that he didn't like the old man. Add to this the fact that he seemed to have a rather good grasp on the world of politics and that he intended for all intent and purposes to form his own block in the Wizenmagot, and you had a very interesting person.

There was also the matter of the women with him. One was obviously a non-magical human, probably his guardian or someone he was close to, and had a rather fiery temper if her outburst in the main lobby was any indication. Still, she didn't seem to be the type of person to make idle threats either, nor was she exuding a holier-than-thou vibe like Lucius Malfoy. However, she was the less interesting of the women with his client. No, the ones who were very interesting, especially to someone who was as in tune with magic than a Goblin, were the other two. Gripsack was quite old, and had seen his fair share of powerful wizards and witches, but these women in front of him weren't human, and the magic that they were exuding made it quite clear that in terms of power they ranked with the likes of Dumbledore or Voldemort.

The grey-haired one, the one who looked like Harry's mother, seemed to have less magic than the young wizard, or the other woman, but what little he could feel of it made it clear that this woman would have made a perfect Goblin Warrior, had it not been for obvious lack of respect of any kind of rules or authority, save, surprisingly, for Harry's words. Her entire posture screamed "Warrior", and the fact that she was carrying a Japanese-style sword made it quite clear that she was ready to shed blood at a moment's notice. He was uncertain as to why she deferred to her younger charge, but it was very clear that anything she deemed a threat to his safety would end by her hand, and preferably with extreme prejudice. He could smell copious amounts of blood on her, none of it her own, so she must have been used to kill a lot of people, and come out unscathed. Yes, this woman was probably one of the most dangerous beings Gringotts had seen in its' walls for a very long time.

The other woman was, if it was possible, even more of an enigma than Karasuba. Despite Goblins' different sense of beauty, it was clear that this woman was a wet dream walking. However, she was emitting copious amounts of magic, and his sense of smell was curiously picking up the scent of fresh snow and ice from her. From what little he had been able to gather from her, she was devoted to his client to a degree that baffled him, as she had not once moved from his side, yet had maintained a respectful distance from him, slightly behind him. He had seen a few Veela that had been behaving similarly when some English Wizards had been able to get their hands on them, breaking them into sex-slaves. Needless to say, her behavior was puzzling to him, as while she reminded him eerily of those poor broken women, he could almost feel her love for Harry. It was as if instead of being the one who broke her, he had come along once she had been broken and had somehow managed to get her undying loyalty. He could see in her eyes that she would stop at nothing to get him what he wanted, and for a moment, he was reminded of Bellatrix Lestrange, who had never made a secret of her devotion to Voldemort. At least this one seemed somewhat sane enough to behave properly, instead of snapping left and right and insulting every Goblin in sight.

What bothered him the most, though, was the fact that these women were clearly not human, and even his client was somewhat different from the standard magic user he had seen. In his life he had met many beings, from the Veelas of Europe to some of the Youkai from Japan, but he had never before seen beings like these. They somehow resembled Veelas, being inhumanly beautiful, yet they did not seem to possess any kind of Allure at all, nor did they have the faint smell of avian and fire that clung to Veelas. He was actually quite curious about this, as while he was not arrogant enough to believe he knew every humanoid species, they did not display signs of being from a species he had heard of. Perhaps suggesting to the higher-ups in Gringotts' hierarchy to keep an eye on these women would be wise, as they, along with the soon-to-be Harry-Peverell-Ravenclaw-Slytherin, could later become viable threats, or valuable assets.

-Break-

Claiming the titles of Lord Peverell, Lord Ravenclaw and Lord Slytherin was actually quite simple, as one had merely to put on the ring of the Head of the family and be accepted. Of course, seeing as anyone not eligible to the title putting the ring on would die a very painful death, perhaps calling the process simple was too easy.

Still, the end of the morning found Harry happily walking towards the portkey area, the rings of his new families safely hidden, invisible, on his fingers. Of course, he had wasted no time in declaring Karasuba, Akitsu, Homura and Takami as people under the protection of all three houses, meaning that anyone stupid enough to actually bother them could very well end up facing Harry in a duel to the death. Sure, the custom might be outdated, it was still valid, and he fully intended to show the world that nobody harming those that he cared for would be able to walk away unscathed. The fact was that even if people were aware of the fact that he wasn't even old enough to attend a magic school, they would end up facing someone who had the magic reserves to cast spells that most had trouble maintaining for more than a scant few seconds, and the will to actually kill those that he faced.

Behind him, Karasuba was grinning even more so than usual. As it turned out, Goblins loved to fight, as such Gripsack had suggested she simply ask the Japanese branch of Gringotts if there was a possibility of "training" with the guards. From what he had said, odds were that while the request was unusual, as most wizards and witches didn't even think of the possibility of facing Goblin Warriors save for during a war, that she'd be happily obliged. After all, Goblins fighting other Goblins did help them to learn how to fight, yet that didn't help them learn how to account for the difference in size between them and other humanoid species. The possibility of facing beings that relished as much as her in fights to the death had put her in an excellent mood.

Next to the grinning psychotic Sekirei, Akitsu was standing a little straighter than usual, and to Harry, the slight upturn of her lips was as good as a full-blown smile. The fact that he had wasted no time to put her under his protection seemed to have made quite the impression on her, as Gripsack had explained just what would happen to anyone daring to harm her. He knew that so far she had trusted him, loved him, but there had still been that little insecurity in her mind, since he was not bonded to her, that he would abandon her. As such, his gesture of putting her under his protection was symbolic to her, it was a proof of the fact that he cared for her, more than the fact that he lived with her or took her everywhere with him. This time, he had told an entire nation that whoever would dare attack her would have to be ready for the full might of the Peverells, Ravenclaws and Slytherins to retaliate, be it on the political scene or by a duel to the death.

-Break-

Karasuba felt wonderful, as she walked through the halls of the bank with Harry and the others. When Harry had asked Gripsack if the Goblins were adverse to the idea of having an outsider sparring with their guards, she had been pleasantly surprised. After all, as he had denied her the opportunity to fight one during their visit, she had thought he wouldn't want to risk alienating the Goblins by requesting such a thing from the little warriors. So hearing him asking what she wanted on her behalf had pleased her immensely, as it showed her Ashikabi understood her. While she was proud of him and what he could do, she needed to know he was broken like her, that he could understand her need for battle, her bloodlust.

She had been very surprised to hear that there was actually nothing stopping her from requesting it from the Japanese branch of Gringotts. Sure, she wasn't going to spit on the opportunity, but seeing how secretive and tight-lipped the Goblins were about anything concerning their security, she had thought that they wouldn't want risking divulging what their warriors could do to outsiders. As she knew all too well, fighting another swordsman allowed you to catch a glimpse of the other, to learn things about them that nobody save someone like a lover could know. So she was really looking forward to the fight, especially considering how the Goblins were everything most human lacked.

Where humans were fearful, cowardly beings, who would sooner turn on their own family than allow harm to come to their own person, Goblins were warriors, beings that would sooner die that take a single step back, beings that would gladly die to take down their foes. Such was the kind of opponents she sought, such was what she lacked in her life. While she loved to spar with her Ashikabi, she would never even dream of killing him, and she knew that it was the same for him. She had no trouble cutting him, wounding him, but she would never in a million years allow herself to actually kill him. A true fight was between opponents ready to kill each other, ready to use everything they had to take down their foe, even if it meant sacrificing a limb, even if it meant using their own body as a disposable tool for luring the adversary in to better kill him/her. Still, that wasn't the only reason she liked them.

She had seen the Goblins' weapons, and as someone who took great care of her own, she found herself feeling jealous of them. Her own blade was one of the finest she had ever seen, crafted in a special alloy that MBI had developed and was renowned for being almost indestructible. Yet every Goblin guard, no, scratch that, every Goblin she had seen, had weapons that made her green with envy. She had studied a bit of their culture at Harry's insistence, and she knew that they were known for the superior pieces of jewelry and metalwork. And she could understand why. A single glance to a blade crafted by them was enough for anyone with at least a slight knowledge in weapons to know that they were works of art, combining perfectly the elegance and the ability to take lives in magnificent works. Maybe she could ask Harry to buy her a Goblin-made sword?

Hope you enjoyed, you'll get some more soon. Merry Chrismas to all of you, hope you enjoyed yourself!