The World Had Changed
The war was over. The death and destruction was so enormous that the impact of it would take time for the full emotional impact to be fully felt. For now, families like the Weasley's mourned their losses, not their triumphs. But their triumphs would eventually come to define those who had fought and won. For full grown adults such as Molly Weasley, the triumph of her defeat of Bellatrix LeStrange would not be remembered with pride. Saving her daughter was what mattered to Molly. But Fred was not saved, and a period of mourning would certainly be with the family for some time to come.
The Hogwarts castle was in a shambles, of course, after a brief period of rest and recuperation for the principal faculty and staff the rebuilding would begin. Less than twenty-four hours after Tom Riddle's defeat the house elves applied themselves to the task of cleaning and rebuilding. Of course, they regarded the kitchens and lavatories as their top priority. The great hall was still standing and with the concentrated effort of the surviving staff it was put to rights.
Some of the older students stayed for a time to help in the reconstruction of the Hogwarts Castle. Luna, Neville, Daphne, Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Seamus, and Dean stayed to help, to name a few. Even Slytherin house students pitched in, the biggest surprise being Pansy Parkinson. The transfiguration and levitation skills of all the students would be challenged, refined, and become superior in short order. The task would contribute to the formation of new friendships among witches and wizards from different houses that would last their remaining lifetimes. Thus the first step in the healing process had begun.
Harry and Hermione went with Ron to The Burrow to assist in the arrangements for the wake and burial of Fred. It was a solemn week. Harry made arrangements for Fred to be buried in Godrics Hallow, not far from the Peverell plots. The wake and funeral occupied the better part of three days. After the funeral they all returned to The Burrow. Harry and Hermione offered support and love throughout, and Fleur and Hermione took up the kitchen duties in relief of Molly Weasley. The girls became aware that kitchen duties in the Weasley household were more than the two of them could manage easily. How Molly Weasley managed all those years began to impress them with the strength and dedication Molly Weasley exhibited for her family. Truly, it was magic on another level. Dumbledore's reasoning that love is the strongest magic began to be evidenced to Fleur and Hermione. For Hermione especially, the love and dedication of Molly Weasley became an inspiration for her and gave her a great deal to think about in the coming weeks and months.
The Daily Prophet and The Quibbler had been publishing a series of articles about the wizarding war. Consequently, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were wizarding world heroes. But it didn't stop there. Neville and Luna were also celebrities and as more information came out the group expanded. The Hogwarts professors and staff were not overlooked, although they were minor celebrities already, so the effect was not as telling as it was to the members of Dumbledore's Army. Since Luna was a primary witness to some of Harry's heroics, and she had the trust of the three heroes, her reporting resulted in The Quibbler publishing several scoops in their series of articles. Luna, also being intimately connected with the others in DA, managed first interviews with many and the readership of The Quibbler doubled, and then doubled again, and then doubled again.
Now the owls began to arrive. Each of the heroes began receiving fan mail. Some was congratulatory, some was pure idolatry, some came from people who knew them well who offered thanks and support, and some was, there is no delicate way to describe this, seductive and pornographic. Hermione was shocked at the attention she was receiving, some from boys with whom she only had a nodding acquaintance in school. It seems that she now had her pick of hundreds of men, even Slytherin men. But Hermione was too busy to delve too deeply into the piles of mail she received and shyed from adulation anyway. Harry received the largest volume of mail and, not one to keep up with distractions like that, it was piling up. Ron, who grew up in the shadow of his older and more accomplished siblings, seemed to love their worship and so he spent a few hours a day alone in his room going over his mail.
As was so often the case in the past, it was Luna who suggested a solution. She was aware of agent services that would intervene and receive their mail, open their mail, categorize it, sort it, and file it. Mail that came from known friends and family, or official institutions, was forwarded directly to them. The agent's offices were not far from Grimmauld Place so Harry could stop by and peruse the stacks of mail at his convenience and there was a small satellite office in Hogsmeade as well. Harry and Hermione immediately took advantage of the service while Ron did not, preferring to hoard his letters in his room and go through them himself. Hermione was soon to discover why and her discovery of an previously unknown (to her) nature of the male beast would shock her to her core and precipitate a process that would awaken a beast within Hermione that she did not know existed. For now, our story beings with a far duller event.
It began when an urgent owl arrived the morning after Fred's funeral. It was from Gringotts bank. Hermione was the first to open her's. She read:
To:
Harry James Potter
Hermione Jean Granger
Ronald Bilius Weasley
Neville Longbottom
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (deceased)
Vincent Crabbe (deceased)
All persons listed above shall herein after be referred to collectively as 'the heirs.' This official notice is being sent in relation to The Riddle Family Wealth, herein after referred to as 'the wealth.'
It has come to the attention of Gringotts bank that the former heir to 'the wealth' has died intestate. In the absence of a will the order of succession, as defined in Goblin law, is thereby invoked. Whereupon learning of the death of the original inheritor of 'the wealth' Gringotts performed its due diligence and determined that the wealth shall pass to all those responsible for the death of the former principal heir. This determination is consistent with Goblin law as it applies to dueling, blood feuds, and unbreakable vows. Gringotts has determined that the subsection of Goblin law governing dueling applies.
Therefore, this official communication is a notice of appearance before Gringotts new director, Snaglok, for the purpose of settling the details of the transfer of this wealth to 'the heirs.' You are all mandated to appear before Director Snaglok at 1:00 PM on the day of the receipt of this letter.
Your presence shall be required.
"Harry," Hermione inquired, "what does this mean?"
Harry read the notice and, dropping the parchment, looked at Hermione and said, "It means we are meeting with the new director of Gringotts in four hours. We need to get ready."
A few minutes before 1:00 PM Harry, Ron, and Hermione apparated into Diagon Alley near to the white marble structure of the Goblin bank. Neville was waiting near the front door of the bank. Harry motioned to Neville to join them.
Harry began, "Look, I'm not sure what this is all about but I suspect it's a trap to lure us to Gringotts where the Goblins can take retribution on us for breaking into the bank and stealing something. As you all know, thieving is an unforgivable crime in Goblin culture and, not only were we thieves, but we partially destroyed the building and also left dead Goblins in our wake. Since Neville is part of this meeting, but had nothing to do with our breech of the bank, I have hope that this meeting is not about those events, but we must all be vigilant."
They all nodded in ascent.
"Ok, I'll be the spokesperson," Harry added, "so let me do the talking."
Again they nodded in ascent. Proceeding to the front door of the bank Harry suddenly felt naked without his invisibility cloak. There were no longer doormen as there were during the dark times and they entered without being challenged. Walking down the great hall to the end desk Harry noticed the Goblin bankers and clerks that they passed all squinted their eyes and appeared to give them all disapproving stares. Reaching the end desk they were confronted with the direct and malevolent stare of Snaglok, the new director.
"Good afternoon," Harry began. "You summoned us for a meeting." Harry was being blunt and terse.
"Mister Potter," Snaglok replied. "I did." Snaglok was equally terse, if not more so, and gestured for them to step around his desk whereupon he ushered them into a small conference room.
Once they were all seated Snaglok got down to business. It was not the Goblin custom to offer hospitality or courteous platitudes when conducting business which was clearly consistent with Harry's experience during his first visit to Gringotts at eleven years of age.
"Mister Potter," Snaglok began. "I cannot say that we do not bear hostility towards you for the theft, death, and destruction you evoked during your previous visit. However, in considering that you are the heir to the Potter/Peverell family wealth, and now the Black family wealth, the directors decided to reexamine the circumstances under which you may have perpetrated high crimes against Gringotts bank. Their purpose was to fairly attribute blame among the parties involved. It is also true that your prestige and status in the wizarding world has been significantly elevated. In fact we detect that there has not been a wizard or witch to command such a high status for several centuries."
"But, while those are important considerations, there are others. First, the directors determined that the object that you stole was imbued with a particularly dark and ancient malevolent magic. To be fair, the darkest and most malevolent magic known to exist. You may be unaware of this, Mr. Potter, but such an object renders its commercial value as zero until the dark magic is removed. The bank directors considered this fact and concluded that the object you departed with had no commercial value, other than in the darker alleys of wizarding commerce that appeal to fringe buyers with untrustworthy intentions. Gringotts does not trade in commodities of that nature. Therefore, the bank directors concluded that, technically, you are only guilty of retrieving a worthless object from the bank and shall not be classified as a thief. This is a technical ruling but is nonetheless conclusive. Of course your companions during the breach, Miss Granger and Master Weasley, are technically exempted as well."
Harry did not offer thanks as Goblins are unreceptive to common courtesies.
Snaglok continued, "As for the deaths of two Goblins, we find the traitorous Goblin Griphook culpable for the violation of the highest order of oaths and obligations under Goblin law for assisting in the raid. We know that without Griphook's traitorous assistance reaching Madame LeStrange's vault would have been impossible. Nor would it have been possible for you to convince our former director to assist without the help of the traitor. Therefore, the bank directors have determined that Griphook's death was a just outcome for his crimes and responsibility for the death of our former director fell upon this traitor as well. Again as a technical matter, you are not considered to be culpable for those crimes. I cannot say I and much of the staff entirely agree with this judgement but the directors have rendered judgment and the matter is now closed."
"I see," Harry replied.
"As for the physical destruction you all havocked it is partly the purpose of this meeting to disgorge compensation from the monies that are about to be conferred to you all. We have assembled a detailed list of the reconstruction costs and you shall now negotiate a fair settlement with the bank as we proceed to business. In addition to the physical destruction Gringott's bank was also deprived of the services of one of our guardian dragons. While the dragon could still perform the expected service, the bank directors recognized that he was old and not far from his end of life. Therefore we are including a minor charge for compensation over the loss of the dragon."
Harry nodded.
"Very well, if you will now examine this settling of accounts we shall negotiate and conclude this settlement. The considerable wealth that you shall inherit today is many, many times the value detailed here so it is our expectation that you will, in reciprocation for our fair treatment of your egregious behavior, you shall not object to our offer. We also require the agreement of your companions on that raid."
Harry accepted the two identical documents from Snaglok and, over the next fifteen minutes, Hermione examined them in detail with Ron looking over her shoulder. Harry maintained his vigilance and chose not to be distracted. Hermione seemed satisfied and she nodded to Harry. Harry signed first, followed by Hermione, and then Ron. Returning the documents to Snaglok the Goblin added his signature to both, affixed the bank seal, and handed Harry the duplicate.
"Very well, Mister Potter, now to the final order of business. No one in the wizarding world apart from the Gringotts directors and the wizard who referred to himself as Lord Voldemort, one Tom Marvolo Riddle, was aware that Mister Riddle had inherited his father's considerable muggle assets. The bank became aware that the young Mister Riddle held disdain for anything connected to his father and therefore took no interest in the wealth he had inherited other than to assign the management of all those assets to the private wealth management division of Gringotts bank. It is my personal opinion that wealth and riches did not impress the wizard Riddle, preferring the accumulation of power over wealth. The value of Mister Riddle's assets in total is, nevertheless, considerable."
"As you are aware, Mister Potter, Tom Marvolo Riddle was born December 31, 1926 and lost his corporeal form for many decades before his recent reemergence. I am informed that you were a witness to his reemergence. Gringotts, Mister Potter, is a highly skilled manager of wealth and assets and our arbitrage activities yield more than double the return on investment of even the best asset managers in the muggle world. With so many decades of the management of this fortune, considerable as it was in the beginning, you cannot imagine how considerable have been the total returns upon investment."
"I will return to this subject later. I would like now to address why Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, now deceased, and Vincent Crabbe, also deceased, were listed as heirs. Those deceased individuals were included because they participated in the destruction of a portion of the soul of Mister Riddle. As we have already informed you, the subsection of Goblin laws as they apply to dueling necessitated that all individuals responsible for the demise of the individual here in question must be recognized in the official documentation effecting the transfer of the wealth. However, again consistent with our laws, since they are deceased their portion of 'the wealth' is forfeit to the living inheritors."
"Let me start with Mister Longbottom. Mister Longbottom, your family is an old one and already commands considerable wealth equivalent to most of the older wizarding families. Of course, we are aware that you do not have control of that wealth but you are the principal heir. The portion of these assets that will be transferred to you today is equivalent to your family's wealth but it shall be held in your name directly and shall only be combined with your family's wealth upon the realization of your inheritance. The same applies to Mister Weasley here with the difference being that his family's wealth is trivial and whatever inheritance passes down to Mister Weasley will be diluted by the claims of his other surviving siblings at the time of the inheritance."
"As for Miss Granger, you are muggle born and grew up in the muggle world. You are fully functioning within that world and your parents command some status and financial stability within the muggle world. Therefore, we recommend, Miss Granger, that you attribute a portion of your inheritance to a muggle bank for your convenience. Gringotts, if you so choose, shall continue to grow the portion of your wealth under our control and will maintain an appropriate balance within a muggle bank account in your name to provide for your convenient functioning within muggle society. Is that acceptable, Miss Granger?"
"Perfectly acceptable," Hermione responded.
"Now for Mister Potter. You also possess muggle roots and you grew up in the muggle world. You did not possess any more awareness of your magical powers than Miss Granger, here, until you received your invitation to Hogwarts. You, too, are fully functional in muggle society and I recommend the same arrangement for you as we are offering Miss Granger, that arrangement being Gringotts shall maintain a muggle bank account in your name for your personal convenience. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes," Harry answered.
"Very well. We shall now proceed to the principal business at hand. A total of eight Horcruxes were destroyed, and for the convenience of these calculations we shall regard that the remaining corporeal form of the wizard known as Tom Marvolo Riddle to be included on the list of Horcruxes. Apart from Mister Potter, one Horcrux each was destroyed by each of you. Since the wizard known as Albus Dumbledore is deceased, as is Mister Crabbe, their contributions are excluded. Therefore, six Horcruxes were destroyed collectively by this group, one by Mister Longbottom, one by Mister Weasley, and one by Miss Granger. Three in total were destroyed by Mister Potter. Therefore, Mister Longbottom, Miss Granger, and Mister Weasley shall each receive one-sixth of these assets. Mister Potter shall receive three-sixths, or one-half."
"The exact amounts are variable because financial assets under the management of Gringotts continuously grow and are often in flux. Therefore, upon conclusion of the necessary legal documents today the Riddle accounts shall be frozen and then transferred into each of your personal accounts in the proportions that I explained earlier. For those of you receiving a single allotment know that your wealth will place you in the top one percent of family wealth in the wizarding world. You are very wealthy wizards and witch."
"As for you, Mister Potter, you are already in control of the combined fortunes of the Potter/Peverell and the Black family wealth. Therefore, you already occupy the top tier of wizarding wealth, second only to the wealth accumulated by Nicholas Flamel, who grew his wealth beginning in the 14th century, as measured in muggle time. However, your combined fortune now exceeds even the Flamel fortune. You shall be, once our transactions are complete, be in command of the largest fortune in wizarding history."
"Finally, before I invite my legal staff to join you, whenever a wizard or witch acquires new wealth we always offer the following admonition: great wealth can engender a sickness upon the mind. I believe those of you who attended the Quidditch World Cup witnessed a demonstration of this phenomena. Beware this common malaise. Proceed cautiously at your own peril."
With that the Goblin left the room and ushered in several Goblin staff that brought with them many legal documents that they explained in detail, requested them to affix their signatures thereupon, countersigned and sealed, and issued duplicates to each of them present. More than an hour later they emerged into Diagon Alley. They then retreated to The Leaky Caldron and ordered dinner. Neville was in shock, although it was mild shock. Ron held a grin from ear to ear and was inwardly contemplative about how he was going to spend his money. Harry and Hermione seemed unaffected.
"Those Goblins are greedy. They could not imagine the loss of such a considerable fortune being surrendered to muggle banks. They were very sophisticated in their rationalization that resulted in our exoneration," Harry opined.
"Who cares?" Ron exclaimed. "We're rich Harry."
"Gringotts has agreed to establish an Australian bank account for me, as a convenience while I am there to retrieve my parents. And Harry, the muggle banks are going to send us credit cards. I will notify our mail service to dispatch them to us immediately. Do you know ow they are used? Can you use one?"
"Yes. Thank you Hermione, I think I can manage," Harry replied.
"Harry, you need to spend some time buying yourself decent clothes. There are shops near to Grimmauld Place, convenient for you. Please update all your clothes and get rid of those old things. I wish I could be with you and help you, but I need to leave for Australia as soon as the credit card arrives. Also, the London muggle bank is going to provide me with an assortment of Australian currency, for convenience."
"OK, Hermione. Actually, I think it will be fun to actually have clothes that were bought for me and fit me properly. Thank you for suggesting it."
It was still too soon in the aftermath of the wizarding war for any one of them to conceive of where they would go now or what they would do with their lives. Only Hermione, who intended to retrieve her parents from Australia, had even a short-term plan. For Harry, this was a fantasy. To have no purpose and to lack the trouble that had always found him during his tenure in the Wizarding world was his dream. Harry was looking forward to an uneventful summer, punctuated by some clothes shopping.
What none of them knew was that, because of either their life circumstance or else the urgency of the challenges brought on by the wizarding war, a normal part of their adolescent development had been skipped over. They were all adults now and they had yet to explore their sexual identities to any significant degree. The upcoming summer would witness each of them, in their own personal ways, making up for lost time. Often they would be doing so in unexpected ways. They were rich celebrities now, and that would open doors that were not accessible to mere mortals. Whether they would choose to go through some of those doors or take a safer path would reveal as much about their individual character as any act of heroism they had performed in the war.
Author: Schussboom Page: 9 Of: 9