Author's Note: This is an adopted plunny from ladydes in the Granger Enchanted Facebook group. The first bit of the first chapter was written by her.
Disclaimer: I am not nor will I ever be JK Rowling. All original Harry Potter characters and locations are hers.
Petunia tried to keep her calm as she entered Diagon Alley, adjusting Harry on her hip. It had been a rough month for her. She had lost her husband and son on a drive to see Marge, she herself too sick to go with. It was just her and Harry now. At first she had wanted nothing to do with the child but in her purging of things in her home during her grieving, she had found a bunch of things she had inherited from her parents home when they had passed. Photos of her and Lily before the magic. A reminder that while her reasons were valid enough, she was the one to pull away from Lily. And truthfully...Vernon had fueled the negative fire. And she had let him.
The magical shopping center wasn't all that busy as she made her way to the bank. It had been years since she walked through this place but she remembered it all. There were a few newer shops but most were the same.
She took a deep breath as she passed the goblin guards.
"Hello... is there anyone I can talk to about Harry Potter?" The goblin teller paused his actions to look at her then at the toddler in her arms with the glaring scar on his head.
"I will need your blood to confirm who you both are. Hands please. " She placed her and Harry's palms on the counter, showing Harry the ceiling to distract him.
"Petunia Evans and Harry James Potter. Here's your keys. I'll have someone meet with you shortly. " He disappeared. She clutched the keys as she unconsciously bounced her nephew.
She should have expected Harry had a vault. As much as Vernon called James Potter a lazy bum, Petunia knew better. He was a rich boy but even so he had also joined the magical police called aurors and was fighting in the war Lily had told her about before she cut her sister off. A war they lost their lives to.
"Come with me," another goblin cut off her musing. She followed him at a slightly slower pace to some back offices that were just as nice looking as the main floor.
The walk away from the lobby felt like it took forever, but Petunia could tell that they were heading further underground. The doors around her started out looking like what she would expect of normal banking rooms, but the longer she walked the more unique the offices became. She started to scrunch her nose at the peculiar nature, but quickly schooled her face into a more relaxed expression. Vernon wasn't here to judge the strange creatures or their offices, so she didn't have to match his offense.
The goblin stopped at an open door and gestured her for her to enter. She adjusted Harry on her hip to give herself time to examine the area. The wall was clearly made of stone, and had a rough cavern appearance. She assumed they were under the main part of the bank now but the door is what held her attention. It was a silver metal she had never seen before, the metal appeared to have liquid purple veins running through it.
The goblin cleared his throat, still holding his hand out to gesture towards the entryway. She shook her head, of course they would have magic metals with liquid veins, they were magic after all. She walked into the office. The walls were the same as in the hallway, which gave the room the appearance of being a small cave. There was a large ornate wooden desk to one side and behind it sat a plush velvet chair. In the middle of the room was a large velvet couch as well as a velvet arm chair sitting in front of the desk. She walked over to the couch and took a seat. The lighting was immaculate and she chanced another look around the room to see the elegant light fixtures. There were stained glass lamps arranged around the room. The goblin sat in his chair behind the desk and looked her over for a moment. Petunia felt herself tense at his inspection. She was used to doing the inspecting and she found herself nervous at what would happen if the goblin found her lacking in any way, would they still help her?
"How can the Horde help you, Ms. Evans?" The goblin looked at her with a critical expression, his hands folded on his desk. Petunia admired his confidence in the situation, she felt like she was shaking on his couch. What did she want? Vernon had mentioned taking Harry back into the wizarding world, but now she wasn't sure that was what she wanted. He was all she had left. She looked at the toddler and he smiled back up at her. He was a very affectionate child now that she had taken to interacting with him and she couldn't help but feel guilt at the contempt she had felt for him at his arrival.
"I want to raise my nephew but I'm unsure how to raise a magical child." The goblin looked at her, his face betraying no emotions. "I have no way to contact anyone so I figured the bank would be the best bet. Lily spoke of the goblins as a no nonsense race, and honestly I could use that." She thought she saw the goblin nod his head briefly. "He was left on my doorstep with a letter, a letter. That's all I got about what happened to my sister and what to do with her son." Petunia's words were coming quickly now, her anger lacing the words. How was she supposed to raise a child to have any type of success when she didn't understand what she was raising him for?
Harry shifted to look at her, sliding his hand down her face. She tried to calm down, Harry didn't like when she cried or got upset and would often times cry himself. The goblin watched the interaction. "Ms. Evans, we are a bank."
Petunia felt her anger rising. "Fine, you're a bank and you can't help me raise a child, but surely you can tell me someone who could?" she shifted Harry to her other leg and hugged him close. "I only want to raise my nephew to be success which no one else seems to care about. If all you can do is tell me his bank balance then please get me his account documents and I'll be out of your hair." She felt the hopelessness again. She couldn't save her family, couldn't save her sister, and now she was doomed to fail Harry as well.
The goblin shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm Grukrod, the Potter account manager. Ms. Evans there are plenty of things the bank can do, but many of them have never been done." He stopped and looked at her again. "You want to raise your nephew to be successful and I understand that. I believe any good parent wishes the same for their children. I am just unsure how much help you would like from the bank."
He looked from Petunia to Harry. "We could help you buy property in the Wixen world and arrange tutors. We could take custody of Mr. Potter and raise him. We could setup his banks so you could use them for his benefit and leave you alone." He picked up a stack of parchment that was on the desk. "This is the trust fund of Mr. Potter and everything his guardian would have access to, as he is not of age he cannot access the main account yet, but we could always access the property list if you wanted to raise him in a Potter property. As you'll see, your options are endless so I'll ask again, how can the Horde help you Ms. Evans?"