Chapter 8: A Visit to Gringotts
Harry awoke early the next morning as the sun rose, casting warm copper hues through a crack in the curtains and slowly illuminating his surroundings. Rubbing his bleary eyes he sat up and looked around, confused for a moment at the comfortable room he'd slept in, before remembering he was now at the Tonks'. The clock on the wall indicated that he really should still be asleep but he knew there was little chance of drifting off again. The day held so much potential and he hoped that, by the time he lay down to rest that evening, he would be free of at least one of his chains.
Harry climbed out of bed and threw on some clothes. He ghosted downstairs being careful not to wake Andi and Ted. He was well practiced at moving silently, a skill he'd developed initially from a desire to avoid the Dursleys but had perfected during his time as an Auror. Noiselessly he slipped out of the back door and out into the dawn.
He stretched, then left the garden and broke into a slow jog. There was a calmness to daybreak he appreciated, before the bustle of commuters and parents on school runs, before the blaring of car horns and the cacophony of voices raised sometimes in joy, sometimes in anger, and before life began its winding journey through another day. He picked up the pace a little, listening to a solitary bird tweeting and the clink of bottles as the milkman left his wares on the doorsteps of his customers. He turned his thoughts to those in the homes he ran past, not knowing or caring whether their occupants were Muggle or Magical, but appreciating, believing, that each of those people deserved the chance to live their own lives free of the terror Lord Voldemort could bring down on them if he so chose, and hoping beyond hope that he could enact the changes needed to stop the catastrophic future he'd been told of.
He thought of the people he knew in his previous life. His colleagues and acquaintances. Those few he trusted enough to call friends. His loved ones and family. All those lost along the way.
He didn't notice the tears falling on his cheeks as he ran. He just focussed on the pounding of his feet on the pavement.
Eventually, he made his way back to the house. Stealing in through the unlocked door he stealthily made his way back upstairs to prepare for the day ahead.
The smell of bacon permeated the house and roused Andi and Ted from their dreams. They threw on their dressing gowns and together, made their way downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen they found Harry positioned in front of the cooker, finishing off a large pan of scrambled eggs and with a plate of freshly grilled bacon to the side.
"Morning" Harry said, looking over his shoulder. "Eggs are almost ready. Can you grab the toast please?" He gestured toward the toaster on the kitchen counter which had just popped up with two more fresh slices, ready to be added to a small pile nearby.
"Harry! You didn't have to do this –" Andi began.
"I wanted to. Cooking was one of the few chores I actually enjoyed doing for the Dursleys and when I left Hogwarts it was something I was good at because of me, you know? Not something that my parents had done for me, or something that was expected of me, just a thing I could claim as my own."
"Well then… thank you," Andi said, "but please be careful – I don't want you to burn yourself."
Harry chuckled quietly at her concern, remembering how unfamiliar that sentiment was to him growing up, but he was grateful nonetheless. He'd learnt quickly how to handle himself in the kitchen – two small scars, one on each wrist where he'd misjudged the height of the oven shelf when he was 5 - were a permanent reminder. That and the whipping he'd received for dropping the beef joint he had been roasting on the floor and ruining the Dursley's Sunday lunch.
Harry dished up the remaining food and the three of them sat in a companionable silence at the table and ate their breakfast.
"That was delicious Harry, thank you." Ted sat back in his chair with a contented grin on his face.
"You're welcome." Harry returned the smile and stood to begin clearing the plates but a look from Andi quelled his movement and he sat back in his chair. Andi rose and tidied the table and set the dishes to wash themselves before seating herself again.
"We'll head off to Gringotts in about an hour" Ted groaned slightly as he began to stand, feeling comfortably full.
"Actually, there's one other thing we need to talk about before heading out. What are we going to tell Dora? I'm not sure she's ready to know the whole truth but she needs to know enough to ensure she doesn't accidentally let slip to Dumbledore that I'm here and not with my relatives." Harry looked quizzically at the elder Tonks' and awaited their suggestions.
"I don't like hiding things from her but I understand where you're coming from," Ted said. He thought for a moment. "How about we tell her we've taken you in to get you away from your abusive relatives but we need to keep it a secret so you can't be forced back there? Close enough to the truth without telling her everything. It's easier to stick to a story like that than an elaborate lie – I've prosecuted enough cases to know that."
Harry considered this, then turned to Andromeda who nodded in agreement. "Sounds good."
"Now, I'm going to go and get cleaned up then we'll head to Diagon." Ted stood, without the groan this time, and headed upstairs.
Harry and Andi remained at the table, nursing their respective mugs of tea. "I meant what I said last night Harry – I don't want you to feel like you have to repay us for taking you into our home, and I don't want you to labour under the impression you need to do things like cook our meals for us. We want to help you, not just because of what you've told us, but because your parents would have done the same for Nymphadora if our positions had been reversed."
Harry bowed his head in acquiescence. "I know, but I want to contribute in some way. I'm going to be relying on you for so much and I don't want you to think I don't appreciate it."
"I understand, we understand, but we're going to be treating you as a member of the family so you'll just have to get used to it." Andi smiled gently at Harry from across the table. "Now go finish getting ready."
"Yes Ma'am" Harry stood and gave a mock salute, his green eyes twinkling, before leaving the room.
Just over an hour later Ted and Harry were stood in the small courtyard to the rear of the Leaky Cauldron. A glamour had been applied to Harry before departing to ensure his anonymity and in Harry's shoes now stood a freckled boy with blue eyes and sandy coloured hair. His famous scar was hidden from view and they passed through the pub without comment. As Ted tapped the brick to open the archway Harry was deep in thought. "You know, the first time I came here everyone knew who I was just by looking at me. I get that I look like my Dad but they all wanted to see my scar… How did they know I even had one?"
"Well, it was part of the description of you in all the Harry Potter stories that kids read growing up. Nymphadora had a full set at one point -," Harry smirked at this and stored the information away for future blackmail material. "- Now you mention it though, you're right… How did the knowledge of your scar end up in the books? Only someone that had seen you would know it was there…"
"Dumbledore" Harry scowled. "Ted, would you mind looking into who is publishing those books and try to trace back where the royalties are going? I certainly never signed off on any books about me and the money has to be going somewhere."
Ted nodded his agreement as the pair reached the white stairs leading up to the burnished bronze doors that were the entrance into Gringotts bank. They walked into the foyer and quietly joined a queue to speak to a teller. He was currently sneering down from his perch at a tall Wizard who was getting progressively louder and angrier at the Goblin's lack of interest in whatever his current predicament was.
"I demand to speak to your superior!" The Wizard raged, eliciting a groan from Harry. Didn't he realise that that sentence, spouted in anger, was the easiest way to lose an afternoon cooling your heels in one of the Gringotts holding cells? Almost on cue, two Goblins dressed in armour and carrying wickedly sharp blades appeared at the Wizards side to 'accompany' him elsewhere for a quiet chat.
Once the squeaking sound of dragging shoes on a pristine marble floor had died away, the Goblin called out for the next customer. 10 minutes later, Ted and Harry were finally at the front of the queue. "Yes?" the Goblin snapped and before Ted could answer Harry stepped forward, gave a short bow and spoke. "Our greetings to you. May the blood of your enemies wet your blades."
The teller gave a start and looked down at the child stood in front of him, wondering who this could be that knew the customary greeting of the Goblins. "And may your vaults be ever overflowing," he responded formally. "How may I be of assistance?" The change in tone and attitude was a complete reversal of a few moments ago and Ted stood and gaped at the scene in front of him.
"If possible I would like to speak with my families account manager, please? I don't have an appointment I'm afraid so we will be happy to wait until it is convenient?"
The Goblin hesitated, thrown by the respect and civility of the young Wizard before him. "Do you have your key?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not. My parents were killed when I was a baby and I don't know what became of it."
"Your name then?"
"Potter. Harry Potter." He said, lowering his voice to avoid anyone that may be eavesdropping. The Goblin's eyes widened slightly and he stepped down from his podium. "Follow me please."
Harry and Ted followed the Goblin through a doorway they hadn't noticed before, partially hidden behind a wide pillar. The Goblin led them down a sloping tunnel, lit sporadically by flickering, flaming torches embedded in wide, ornate steel sconce. The ground underfoot changed from the marble that was so prevalent in the lobby above, to roughly hewn flagstone worn and aged by countless feet marching across them. Eventually, they came to a doorway and the Goblin pushed open the door and gestured for them to enter. A comfortable, bright room awaited them, laid out in the style of a Muggle corporate boardroom and they took the opportunity to sit when their escort advised them that the account manager would be with them shortly. The door shut behind them and Ted looked in amazement at Harry.
"How on earth do you know Goblin etiquette?"
"Well… there was an… incident… in the future. My friends and I may have broken into Gringotts to steal one of the Horcruxes from the Lestrange vault."
"You broke in and stole from a high-security vault?"
"Ermmm… yeah. We may also have escaped by releasing and riding one of the guard dragons and caused a tiny bit of damage to the building on the way."
Ted's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"After the war, there was a bit of a 'disagreement' between us and the Goblins as a result. We learnt as many of their customs as we could to try to regain some of their favour, and paid a huge sum to fix the damage but they ended up barring us from the bank anyway. Had to move all my money to the Gnomish bank in Switzerland – pain the backside when I wanted to make a withdrawal. This is the first time I've been inside Gringotts in almost 18 years."
Ted's mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. He was clearly attempting to say something but no words were forming. Just as he appeared to have finally got himself under control the door opened again and a different Goblin entered. Harry rose from his seat and repeated the formal greeting, bowing once more and introduced himself and Ted as his advisor.
"And may your vaults be ever overflowing. I am Account Manager Bedlam and I am responsible for the Potter family account. Would you please dispense of the glamour?"
"May my advisor have permission to draw his wand?" Harry queried.
Bedlam nodded and Ted removed the glamour from Harry. "My thanks. Now, I'm told you do not have your vault key?"
"No, as I explained to the teller, as far as I know, it was never recovered after my parent's death."
Bedlam indicated for them both to be seated and withdrew a piece of parchment and a small knife. "Can I trouble you for a little blood? Just to verify your identity of course."
Harry took the knife and pricked the index finger on his left hand. He squeezed the cut causing to blood to well into a large droplet which he then allowed to fall onto the parchment below. Bedlam took the parchment and looked over the writing that had appeared beneath the blood spot. "Well, everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Mr Potter. How may Gringotts be of assistance today?"
Ted now leant forward. "Account Manager Bedlam, we are here today for several reasons. First, we are hoping you can help us with information as to the current position of House Potter. Whilst Harry here is the last remaining Potter, I have also been made aware of the possibility that his godfather named him as heir to House Black as well prior to his… incarceration." Harry watched Bedlam carefully for any reaction to this claim – House Potter was wealthy thanks in part to the invention of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion by Harry's grandfather, but all the gold in the family vaults didn't come close to matching the fortune amassed by the Black family. Harry was surprised by the lack of expression from Bedlam - if found to be false the simple act of making that claim usually resulted in stiff financial penalties and an unpleasant conversation with a Goblin interrogator.
"Yes, when I was advised of your presence today I gathered all the relevant paperwork relating to your person. I can confirm that you are indeed named as heir to both House Potter and Black. As the last remaining member of the Potter family, you are eligible to take on your status as head of house on your 11th birthday." Harry bobbed his head in acceptance. He'd never had the opportunity to formally take on his role as head of house in his previous timeline. No-one had ever made him aware it was something he needed to do and by the time he realised his relationship with the Goblins was tarnished beyond repair.
He remembered his first visit to Gringotts and thinking back he now recalled how Hagrid hadn't let him out of his sight, perhaps unknowingly denying the Goblins the opportunity to discuss his private financial matters with him. After that, he rarely stepped foot into Gringotts himself. Molly Weasley usually withdrew his money for him…
"Account Manager Bedlam…" Harry began.
"Just Bedlam, please", the Goblin replied. "I'm hoping this will be the start of a very profitable relationship and would prefer to be addressed informally by one who has shown our customs respect."
It was Harry's turn to be surprised, it was rare to be allowed to address a Goblin of Gringotts without referencing his position. "Of course Bedlam, please call me Harry." Bedlam nodded and Harry continued, "Is it possible that someone else has my vault key? I'm worried there may be things happening with my account that I'm not aware of. If so, is there a way to deny access to that key and set up a new one?"
Bedlam nodded once more. "Yes, that was the next item I was hoping to discuss. We can certainly accommodate that request, a new key will be delivered to you within the next day. As for account activity, there are regular monthly withdrawals, converted into Pound Sterling and placed into the account of a Mr Vernon Dursley for the upkeep and support of yourself."
Harry's face turned almost puce with anger and his voice began to break as he raged. "You mean to tell me that the entire time I lived there they were being paid? They used to complain non-stop about how much 'keeping me' cost them. All of my clothes were handed down to me once my walrus of a cousin had finished with them and I slept in the bloody cupboard under the stairs –" Harry stopped and took a deep breath to try to reign in his temper. He apologised to Bedlam for his outburst but Bedlam waved the apology away.
"In return for the monthly stipend, Mr and Mrs Dursley agreed to take care of your health and wellbeing. Are you saying they didn't keep to their agreement?"
Harry turned and lifted the rear of his shirt, displaying the criss-cross scarring that covered his back. "If 'taking care of my health and wellbeing' means 'being beaten within an inch of my life' then sure, they've met their end of the agreement."
Harry dropped his shirt and turned back to face the table once more, defiance glinting in his eyes. "I want my money back Bedlam. Can you take care of that for me?" The look on Bedlam's face would have quelled a fiercer man than Vernon Dursley. The Goblins were primarily a martial race who moved into controlling the finances of the Wizarding world, chasing profits as uncompromisingly as they would face down an enemy in battle. They were also very protective of their young and seeing that one of their premier clients, a child himself, had been mistreated so was certain to raise the ire of the Goblin Nation and bring their wrath crashing down on the perpetrators.
"Oh yes, Harry. I think we can manage that."
Discussions then turned to the matter of Harry's guardians. "If you would allow us Law Wizard Tonks, I would like to dispatch a member of my office to visit with Mr and Mrs Dursley. I believe we can convince them to sign over young Harry's guardianship with little trouble." Bedlam had a dangerous glint in his eye.
"I would appreciate the assistance Account Manager Bedlam as long as the intimidation factor is kept to a minimum," replied Ted. "We need to make sure that everything is as kept as legal as possible in the Muggle world. We can't afford for this to fall back on Harry and harm him in the future."
With Harry's agreement, Bedlam withdrew to instruct a human colleague to proceed with an initial visit. "I fully expect we'll have signed papers by the end of the day." He said on his return. "We will forward them directly to your office Law Wizard Tonks." Ted bowed his head slightly. "My thanks Account Manager, I was not looking forward to visiting the Dursleys myself. Having heard Harry's story and seen the evidence with my own eyes, I was struggling with how I would… contain… my anger once I was there."
Harry felt a rush of affection for Ted. He hadn't got to know him personally before, his only memory of interaction being their brief encounter on the night he fled Privet Drive for the last time. He'd been able to count the number of adults willing to offer unconditional support on one hand last time and he was already in danger of beating that number within a month of his return.
"What will your strategy be for dealing with Harry's magical guardian?" Bedlam asked.
"Based on the physical and mental abuse Harry has suffered, we will move for a change of guardian on the grounds of incompetence. It was, after all, Dumbledore that consigned Harry to a life of torture at the hands of his so-called relatives. We won't be pursuing this just yet though – we want to get the Muggle guardianship issue sorted first without his knowledge before going after Dumbledore directly. The more evidence we can build against him the harder it will be to deny the application for change."
"Albus Dumbledore's fingerprints appear to be all over the difficulties in your life," remarked Bedlam. "For someone who calls himself the 'leader of the light' he does seem to have made a number of rather questionable decisions about you." He thought for a moment. "I noticed earlier you named Lord Black as 'Sirius'. Should I assume you don't necessarily subscribe to the belief that he betrayed your parents?" Harry shook his head. "In which case, it's a pity your godfather is imprisoned. He would be your magical guardian rather than Dumbledore if he was free, but I suppose the Wizengamot found enough reason to convict him at his trial…"
"Unlikely since he didn't have a trial" Harry muttered under his breath. He quickly glanced up to see if Bedlam had heard him but saw no sign that he had. Harry gave a small sigh of relief – another slip like that could throw all his future plans into doubt.
"Well," said Bedlam. "Is there anything further I can assist with at this time?"
"Just one other thing – could you please send me regular statements for my account?"
"That should already be the case… have you not received any communication from Gringotts?"
Harry shook his head once more. "Andromeda told me this morning she had tried to write to me before but I never received a letter from her. Come to think of it I've never received mail from anyone in the magical world – you'd have thought someone would have tried to contact me…"
"Leave it with me, Harry. I'll look into it for you."
"Thank you, Bedlam. May my advisor reapply my glamour? I'd prefer not to be recognised in the Alley." With permission from the Goblin, Ted drew his wand once more and reapplied the glamour. "Thank you for a productive meeting. May your vaults be ever overflowing."
"And may the blood of your enemies wet your blades, Mr Potter."
The two Wizards withdrew from the conference room and, upon leaving Gringotts, headed for Ted's offices to start working on the Muggle change of guardianship paperwork. Bedlam, however, remained seated, deep in thought until the door opened once more and two heavily armoured Goblins marched in and took up positions either side of the door. Shortly after, a large Goblin, taller by a head than Bedlam and dressed in battle armour that had clearly seen use, strode into the room. Bedlam rose from his seat immediately and bowed his head, baring his neck in deference. He greeted the newcomer with respect. "Chief Ragnok".
"Bedlam – be seated." Bedlam completed his bow and sat at his leader's behest. "Tell me about the Potter boy. Was he as respectful as I'm told?"
"He was Sir and more. He treated me as an equal throughout our conversation. He was not timid or afraid to seek counsel and seemed mature beyond his years. He showed he can be ruthless, not hesitating to request assistance recovering the money paid to his relatives and did not even ask about our fees for providing that help. Normally…" Bedlam paused.
"Go on. Speak freely." prompted Ragnok.
"Normally I'd suggest that oversight would give us free rein to profit from the Wizard's lack of attention to detail, but on this occasion, I believe we should refrain. The young man is heir to two of our larger accounts and will hold significant political power. By simply extending a measure of goodwill we could unlock a path to equality in the magical community and gain access to the investment markets we've been denied for so long. I believe that young Wizard could be the catalyst for change we've been waiting for."
Ragnok nodded. "Continue to assist him and keep me informed directly of your plans. Let's not allow this opportunity to slip away."
Bedlam bowed again as Ragnok and his guards swept from the room. It was time to get to work.