The Leader

Chapter 17

Gringotts

Harry and Severus Apparated straight to Diagon Alley from the manor; they wasted no time standing around before they stalked into Gringotts. Both of them made an extremely intimidating pair, especially if the looks they received were anything to go by. Severus groaned inaudibly, completely dissatisfied when he saw the length of the lines that awaited them at Gringotts. Every Goblin was busy, there were at least ten people at each teller, and the Goblins weren't exactly known for their speed. Severus caught the sight of distinctive white hair in one of the lines, and looked properly, before cursing his luck. He ducked away, putting himself at the far side of Harry, so the old fool couldn't see him in his line of sight. If he saw him he would draw a lot of unwarranted attention. Thankfully the public did not think he was 'dead' so him appearing at Gringotts wasn't causing alarm. He did wonder how long Dumbledore could keep it quiet, when he would actually tell the ministry or if he would be considered 'missing presumed dead' like many other Order members who had died during the first war.

Severus shivered slightly when he felt the sudden brush of magic tingling all the way up and down his body. Harry's magic was dark yet comforting; it should make him want to run for the hills just how… casually he used magic and got it to do whatever he wanted without using his wand or words. "Glamour?" he asked, staring at his hands, despite the fact he knew he wouldn't see the changes. it was just an illusion that others would see. Dumbledore could see through some magic; he would be able to sense the magic surrounding him but have no idea it was a glamour. For all he knew it could be a shield; he knew everything there was to know about Dumbledore through observing him, he was too predictable.

"Yes, now you can move freely without him realizing it's you," stated Harry, before walking past the waiting Wizards and Witches, who all glared or stared curiously. They'd been waiting ages and this vampire was stepping past them, what did he think would happen? It wasn't as if he would get served.

"What are you doing?" whispered Severus, following him, keeping an eye on their backs, and more specifically Dumbledore's prodding eyes as he stared at them in an oddly blank manner. His eyes weren't twinkling, they weren't calculating, but looking through them. It wasn't a look he was used to seeing on Dumbledore's face if he was honest; he would need to keep an eye on him.

"I told you, I'm known here; I never do my business on the floor," Harry told him, not looking at him as he approached the two Gringotts guards. Their stances changed when Harry approached, they straightened up, and their spears became less threatening as they pointed them towards the ceiling rather than towards the approaching wizards.

"Is Writ available?" demanded Harry in gobbledegook.

Severus watched the proceedings curiously. Harry had sounded as demanding as usual, yet there was something he hadn't heard a lot of. Respect, Harry respected the goblins? That was a surprise, but he seemed to have a great deal of respect for them, enough to learn their tongue, and use it when dealing with them. He was truly an enigma and he wondered how long he would need to be around him to know everything he could possibly learn about the young man.

"He is, Master Thorn," replied the Goblin using his native tongue, grinning at him; it made him look vicious but it was meant to be a sign of amusement ― Severus thought so anyway. Both goblins moved aside, spears pointing the other way giving them entrance to consulting rooms without needing to wait. Which was always a long wait, for most people, twenty to thirty minutes in fact, and it didn't help that to their left there were five others waiting for a free goblin to see them at that very moment.

"Dumbledore is not pleased," said Severus as both of them passed the goblins; in fact his eyes began to glint coldly. As if the old fool hadn't used his own fame for his own ends. Severus' head cricked to the side, as he heard the goblin guard growl under his breath. It wasn't often in society that creatures hated Dumbledore. He'd made it seem like he was trying to get better rights for them all, then again what did he know? He only knew Lupin…he hadn't really interacted with vampires or even goblins other than removing money from his account for whatever reason. Goblins, from what he'd seen, did not lose their decorum easily. A lot of things were different these days, he was seeing a lot of discontent that came with dealing with Dumbledore. He'd always thought he was alone in knowing the old man's manipulative ways, other than the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters, let's not forget his Slytherins.

"Do they always refer to you as Thorn?" asked Severus, as Harry continued to lead the way to the conference room.

"In public, yes," answered Harry, opening the door to the conference room he wished to use. They had specific goblins for everyone, but you could be seen by others if you didn't want to wait too long. All information was logged and recorded by the Goblins, so they all knew what was happening with someone's account. "But they're fully aware of my real name," he added after the door of the office closed behind them.

"Lord Potter, it is a pleasure, as always. Please be seated," said Writ, its bushy grizzly eyebrow raised. Lord Potter never brought anyone else when he was doing business. So he thought that perhaps he wouldn't be doing much business today. Lord Potter had a way with businesses, none of the ones he chose collapsed, it was as though he had a sixth sense. Not all of them wizarding businesses all over the world, nearing half were prospering Muggle businesses that had brought not only Harry a great deal of money but also the goblins as well. "What can I help you with today?"

"I want to know why I was never informed of my parents' wills," said Harry, sitting down with his spine straight, his voice going cold and hard, causing a shiver to crawl up Severus' spine. Alright, this had to be the angriest he'd seen him yet; he'd thought he was pissed off with Lupin? Hell no, this…this was pissed off. The Goblin actually looked nervous; he had a right to be, Severus mused, he was downright bloody terrifying. And coming from him that was saying a lot! Had they already been on the receiving end of his ire? Or perhaps it was the thought of losing such a big account? Since it wasn't directed at him, he sat down and decided to enjoy the show.

"Lord Potter, as you know I only became your account manager when you appointed me as such," answered Writ cautiously, "I had no idea that the Potters' wills were not read and dealt with." It was the complete truth, and he cursed himself for not checking, but he had just assumed they would have been read the week after they passed on. It allowed the family to first grieve, then deal with the will readings, although not all of them over the years were exactly saddened to see the passing of their family members.

"I pay you to ensure everything is in order," snapped Harry, eyes glinting coldly. "I do not suffer fools needlessly; I am extremely disappointed, you assured me you would be very thorough with my accounts." He knew better than to let a mistake be brushed aside; if you left them to sweat, it wouldn't happen again. He respected the goblins, a great deal if he was honest, but this mistake couldn't just be ignored.

"One moment," said Writ slipping from the chair and leaving the room as quick as his legs could carry him. The wills were in a vault, completely inaccessible even by the curse handlers who worked for them. Nobody was allowed in unless they were the managers, and none were ever opened ― to do so was unethical and the Goblins were a honest race. Swift in retribution if anyone crossed them, they took their jobs very seriously.

"I think he might be going for a change in clothes," Severus muttered sardonically.

Harry smirked at him, finding amusement in his words. "He hasn't let me down until now; I did warn him when I took him on that I demanded perfection."

"Are you going to relieve him of his duties?" asked Severus cautiously. After having such a comfortable job for years, it would kill him to have to start all over again. When they were sacked from a single account, the punishment was to work the vaults, create new ones in the pit, install tracks for the carts. It was the lowest job a Goblin could get, along with a very small pay check at the end of the day. Even those in the carts made more than them. So yes, losing any client in Gringotts was considered a big deal, a big no-no.

"No, but he doesn't need to know that," Harry replied honestly, "It will prevent any more…mishaps if it's dealt with now. I will bet my vaults he stays here tonight until he's made sure everything is where it should be." The fact a private investigator had found the information just made him irate at the mistakes. He knew the information didn't come from here, so the Ministry was the only other possible place they could get their hands on it. Copies of wills could be made and sent to the Ministry if the family wished it, but not opened; the investigator wouldn't have been able to see what was in the will even if he tried.

Severus nodded curtly, agreeing with that assessment.

"Do you think they have put in their will who the Secret Keeper―" started Severus.

"Shh!" said Harry, pointing his finger at Severus' direction as he faced the door, a look of concentration and suspicion on his face.

Severus automatically looked at the door as well, he couldn't hear voices so he assumed it was something quite a bit farther from them. Turning to face Harry he saw his face was dark, a storm was brewing for sure, and he wondered what was happening that was making Harry furious. He didn't interrupt him, being a spy had ensured he knew the meaning of patience, so he would wait. That's if Harry would even tell him; if he had to pull a tooth out for every titbit of information he got from the vampire ... he would still have near enough an entire mouthful at this stage. He did not like talking about himself, at all.

A growl of pure unadulterated rage passed Harry's lips.

"What did you hear?" asked Severus, envious of Harry's ability to hear so far away, soon that particular talent would be his own. Along with drinking blood; he would be a vampire in two weeks. It was odd to think about that, he'd never aspired to achieve immortality, he wasn't afraid of death like the Dark Lord. The human spirit though wasn't as simple as the heart or mind, it strove to live, overtook all other instincts at the last second.

"Dumbledore just received permission from the Ministry of magic to take control of my money," hissed Harry, his hands crushed the metal of the chair, almost rendering it completely flat. If he didn't want that happening, he would have to go to the Ministry and prove 'he was sound of mind' damn fucking bastards, they were forcing him to show his hand, and it was too damn soon. The quicker the rest of his people were in position the better.

"If you plan on releasing the will, they will automatically know that you are alive anyway, nobody else could do it," Severus stated calmly, trying to get Harry to see it wasn't changing anything.

Harry turned to face Severus blankly, as if he hadn't heard what he said, but he began nodding, indicating he had. It was true, if the will was released, there would be a sudden smattering of letters going to various people who were in the Wills to begin with. Other than those who had 'committed a crime against the person or people in question', which meant if they left anything to Pettigrew he wouldn't receive anything. That is if the others found Pettigrew before the reading, so Black would be allowed to attend. No, he would have to open it early and send a copy to the Ministry as proof, like Black wanted. He hated this; for so long he'd been in control of everything in his life, it seemed to all be coming undone. He'd known this day would come, when the world would realize he still lived, but he'd hoped to keep putting it off for as long as possible.

The door opened and Writ walked back in, closing it behind him again. He had in his hands a large bound scroll with the Potter coat of arms still sealed closed. So nobody had looked at it, which surprised him, he'd assumed Dumbledore would have looked at it. Wait, hadn't Black said that it had been looked at by Dumbledore? No, he had said they were sealed by Dumbledore.

"Was the will read by anyone?" enquired Harry, accepting the scroll; it was yellow with age, but not frayed in the slightest, it had been kept in impeccable condition.

"It has not been touched," Writ said immediately, as he returned to his chair and sat down.

"He was probably a witness if he was desperate to close the vaults down; he would have had no other reason to act." stated Severus calmly.

"I didn't think of that one," conceded Harry, frowning. Just how close had Lily and James been to Dumbledore? It was quite frankly disturbing, just like Black and Lupin had been. It was unconceivable to him that they were so trusting, since he himself didn't trust easily.

"I apologise most profoundly for missing such a glaring error, Lord Potter," said Writ, consternation evident in his voice.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," Harry told him coldly, "You will not receive another chance."

"Understood, Lord Potter," said Writ grimly, knowing the young vampire did not give idle threats. He was surprised though that he was actually being given a second chance.

"Good." stated Harry, cracking the dried wax seal and unrolling it and began reading the will. Most of the names were unfamiliar to him, he'd heard of a few of them, knew Black and Lupin, but no, he wasn't aware of them. Most of the people on the will received items, as opposed to money, other than Remus Lupin; he had quite a large lump sum of money. Pettigrew's name was indeed in the will, and if he had anything to say about it ... he wouldn't be receiving it.

The Goblin and Severus waited patiently for it to be read, and were surprised when he rolled it down so quickly until they realized: vampire sight, he would be able to read very quickly.

"As you can see from the wills' contents and a statement from Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew was their Secret Keeper, and Sirius Black was innocent. I want to make sure that Pettigrew is not invited to the will reading, not that he would get anything anyway." Harry demanded. The world would know soon enough, he didn't want Voldemort knowing right now. "I request a copy sent to Amelia Bones immediately."

Writ clicked his fingers and a copy was in his hands immediately, he stamped the official Gringotts seal on it.

"Amelia Bones?" enquired Severus, eyeing Harry astutely.

Harry just smirked, letting Severus know without him having to ask that yes, she was part of his group. She was sick of the corruption in the Ministry, her ideals were a bit naïve, but she was a genuine and honest hard-working woman. She hated putting her life into a job with it surrounded by people handing over money, making things disappear, or people getting off ― when it was glaringly obvious that they were criminals or Death Eaters. She didn't know a lot about what went on, through her own wishes; she knew it wasn't completely light, but not evil; it was enough for her to join, as well as her wish for a better future for her niece and any children she had.

"It will be done immediately." said Writ.

"Dumbledore is here with a decree claiming that he has control of the Potter vaults; you will have to be honest and let him know I've claimed the headship. Do me a favour, and make it seem like I've only done it recently, that I got your letters. Don't be too obvious about it, otherwise he will know it's a set up. He won't be able to touch it; if he persists alert me immediately and I'll go to the Ministry if the will being read isn't enough to divert his plans."

"Oh, it will work; he'll redouble his efforts to find you," chuckled Severus vindictively. "Instead of scouring his usual places he will be looking in the magical world. I would have said he would use Bill Weasley to get information about your properties, in hopes of getting into them, but that's not to say he doesn't know others, so it's best to be cautious about your file."

"Nobody can read it apart from Writ, I commanded that a few years ago when I realized such a thing could happen," said Harry honestly.

"Indeed," said the Goblin nodding his agreement.

"How soon can the will be read?" demanded Harry.

"As soon as tomorrow, Lord Potter," Writ confirmed.

"Then it's done, I will see you then, Writ, until then," said Harry in English before saying their customary greeting in gobbledegook. 'May you coffers never empty.'

'May yours always proper,' added Writ, his beady black eyes glimmering with admiration.

"Severus Snape has some business to tend to, I shall leave you both to it," Harry said before he said to Severus, "I'll meet you outside."

Severus exited the goblin's office not even ten minutes later, no paperwork or key in hand, which meant he hadn't moved his vaults. Interesting, thought Harry, as he quickly walked out of the bank, it didn't take long for him to over-take Severus.

Severus was feeling decidedly uncomfortable, as he thought about Harry. Harry was admired by everyone around him. Admired as well as feared. Now when the boy had been eleven, he'd known he would have the clout to be able to draw people in, because of his status over the whole 'boy-who-lived' nonsense. He, Snape, had never been drawn in, while everyone else had fawned over him; he had made sure the child didn't become bigheaded. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that Harry would be revered…coveted but feared for his own merits here and now. Not something he couldn't even remember doing.

"You've been uncommonly quiet, I can practically smell your mind burning," said Harry wryly.

Severus didn't grace him with an answer as they walked past the goblins who Severus was sure snorted. He did however, purse his lips on seeing Dumbledore wedged in a seat between two really tall men, dressed completely in black who had tattoos all over their arms, intricately done, brilliantly crafted, but Dumbledore had never looked more out of place than he did right there and then. It took all of his decorum to stop himself out right laughing until his stomach hurt.

As he stepped outside into the sun, Severus realized…how free he felt. He had never once felt like he could laugh in such a way, at least not for a long, long time. With Lily and them alone it had been fun, sometimes funny enough to laugh, but after the age of eleven that was it, his life had just gone into a downward spiral from which he had no escape. Not much to laugh at on that front; needless to say it had been many years, and he was surprised he knew the feeling anymore.

:)