Chapter 3: Surprises at Gringotts

Holly was looking forward to this day for a very long time. Her godfather, Uncle Siri, had been telling her of Hogwarts ever since her magic had manifested. He would tell her of his time there with her father and their two friends, one of whom was no longer a friend. However, while receiving her acceptance letter to Hogwarts was one of the things she was looking forward to on this the day of her birth, the real reason she was excited was because she would finally be able to meet her snake familiar once they went to Diagon Alley, or "that magical marketplace" as her uncle was fond of referring to it as.

At long last, 31 July had arrived, and there on the doorstep below the mail slot was a parchment envelope. Written in acid green ink was the following:

Ms. Holly Potter

Second bedroom

Number 4 Privet Dr

Little Whinging, SURREY

On the back was a red wax seal with the school's coat of arms. Elated, Holly ran to the kitchen where the rest of the family was sitting. "It came! It came!" Holly exclaimed, waving the envelope about.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Her uncle harrumphed, setting down the newspaper, "open it already."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Holly said, breaking the seal and withdrawing the first of two pieces of parchment, which were folded neatly in half. She began to read to herself.

"Out loud, please, Holly dear," her aunt had chided, her cousin Dudley looking on in interest.

Smiling sheepishly, Holly replied, "Sorry, Aunt Petunia.

'HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Be advised that we have been informed of your special talents regarding snakes and that an exception has been made on your behalf to allow you to have a snake familiar instead of the standard accepted familiars at the school.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress'"

"Well that's wonderful, Holly darling," Vernon said with a slightly pained expression, "its a good thing your Godfather already confirmed you would be attending, seeing as how we don't have any of those ruddy birds in our house."

"Is Sirius still coming to take me to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" Holly asked, excitement dancing in her eyes.

"Of course he is, Holly," Petunia answered, slightly smiling, "said he wouldn't miss it for anything. Took time off and everything."

"Mom," Dudley interjected, "couldn't I go with them to see all of the real magic?"

Petunia struggled for a little while, looking to Vernon for support. For the past few weeks they had been dodging the question and pushing it off, thinking that Dudley would forget about it after his birthday celebration. However, Dudley and Holly were thick as thieves. For not being siblings, they certainly treated each other like brother and sister. They were both in the same classes when Holly went to "normal school" and Holly was actually quite the good influence on Dudley in helping to keep him focused on his studies despite some of the trouble he liked to get up to with his mates. Eventually, the couple had decided if, after his birthday, he still wanted to go, they would explain to him how different it is. If he still wanted to go after that, they would allow it.

"Son," Vernon began, "we can let you go, just understand that you can't do the things that they do, nor are you allowed to talk about it with your friends. We just want you to be aware that it is a very different society that those folks live in and as long as you understand that it's very different from what we have going on here then you can go."

"Dad," Dudley began, "it's not like I haven't seen Holly do magic before."

Petunia jumped in, "Dudders, Holly's accidental magic magic is very different from those people who intentionally do magic. Aside from her extraordinary abilities to change her appearance and talk to snakes, Holly's magic is untrained and she isn't allowed to do magic outside of her school until she's seventeen. I also know what it's like living with someone who can do magic and not being able to do it myself. You two have a special bond for only being cousins and I wouldn't want anything to break that. So as long as you can go there understanding that you won't be able to participate in that world unless you're with Holly then you may go."

Dudley took a few moments to think, then looked over at Holly. She was looking expectantly at him as if she wanted him to be able to come along and experience this new world with her as well. Dudley wanted to go, that much was certain. He just didn't want this to change their sibling relationship, as he had heard his mother's stories of how things became hard for her and his Aunt Lily once she started going off to "that boarding school up north", as his father liked to refer to it as. Steeling his resolve, Dudley stated, "I would like to go. I want to know what it is that Holly is going to be doing while she is away so that I can understand better."

Vernon and Petunia shared a glance, they both had known that he would choose to go if given the chance. Deep down they were proud of him, Petunia especially as she had failed to make the right choices when she was going through what he was about to be experiencing when her sister had gotten her Hogwarts letter. Both of them weren't really the praying sort but they prayed to whatever God was or wasn't watching over this world that Holly and Dudley's relationship would only get stronger. "Very well then, Dudley," Vernon said, ducking behind his paper again, "you may go with Holly and her dogfather tomorrow."

Vernon chuckled to himself. That was quite the day when Sirius had revealed to them that he could turn into a mangy black dog. Ever since that day, he'd been telling the dogfather joke at least every day that Sirius had come up in conversation, as well as to Sirius' face every time he came to visit. "Watch out, Uncle Vernon," Holly chided, smiling mischievously, "it almost sounded like you approved of Sirius' animagus form for a second there."

Vernon scowled and harrumphed, then returned to his paper, saying, "Don't you need to go call him anyways so we can know when to expect him tomorrow?"

"Right!" Holly exclaimed, hair turning hot pink as she couldn't contain her excitement inside of her anymore. She ran out of the kitchen and up to her room as fast as her legs could carry her with Dudley fast on her heels. Picking up the two way mirror, Holly yelled into it, "Sirius!"

1 August 1992

It was the day after Holly had received her Hogwarts acceptance letter and she was impatiently waiting for her godfather to arrive, sitting in the living room with her cousin Dudley and her uncle Vernon. The latter was engaged in newspaper reading as he usually did on Saturday morning. Normally he would be alone in the living room as the children usually weren't out of their rooms earlier than 7 am on the weekends. This Saturday was definitely an exception to the rule. Another exception to the rule was about to make itself known, for the doorbell rang at precisely 7:15.

Vernon grumbled as he slowly folded the paper up and set it down, getting out of his chair as he did so. Casually strolling to the door, he opened it and greeted the man standing outside, "well if it isn't the dogfather. Come on then, let's not hang about all morning."

Sirius entered the home so Vernon could close the door, continuing in polite small talk, "pleasant morning then, Vernon?"

"For the most part," Vernon replied, heading back to his chair and sitting in it, gesturing to the children, "they've been 'patiently' waiting for your arrival so they can go to that magical shopping district of yours. Dunno how Holly managed to sit still to be honest, or how she hadn't blown anything up."

"I haven't accidentally blown anything up in a while, Uncle Vernon," Holly defended herself with a cheeky smile as she and Dudley stood up from the couch, "may we leave now, dear uncle?"

Vernon looked at her innocent looking face, or what he thought she thought was one, and nodded, "of course, you two have been exemplary this week in doing your chores and staying out of trouble. No sense in keeping you from your fun. Just make sure to behave for Sirius. Heaven knows he can barely handle one of you."

"I'll have you know I resemble that comment," Sirius retorted, turning back to the door, "I imagine we should be done and back around dinner time."

"Very well then," Vernon replied, opening the paper, "have fun you two. And thank you for taking them Sirius."

"Of course, Vernon," Sirius said as he opened the door, "have a good day."

As Sirius closed the door, Dudley stopped abruptly, saying, "eh Mr. Black, where's the motorbike?"

"Well I can't very well fit the both of you on the Harley," Sirius barked with laughter, gesturing to the black sedan, "which is just as well as I get to go out in this beauty for a change."

Of course, Sirius was pointing at the sleek, black E36 BMW M3 sedan. Dudley was very aware of this car, as it had been prominently featured in the car magazines as the first M3 that was going to be manufactured as a racing car and a daily driver. It was what Dudley was hoping to be his first car, as he would probably be able to get a nice used one by the time he would be able to drive. Holly shared Dudley's car enthusiasm, as she loved speed in any form. She was particularly intrigued by flying a broom, as she had been hearing stories of her dad's quidditch days from her uncle Siri for many years, as well as the story about her flying a toy broom that he had gotten her when she was a year old.

"Uncle Siri," Dudley began, his tone as reverent as if he were at church, "this car isn't set to come out for three years, it's only in the concept stages. The coupe model is barely being released for sale next year. How did you get her?"

Sirius laughed good naturedly, grateful that he'd gotten the car if this was the reaction he was getting from the children, "Oh I believe it was a gift from the British government for a job well done on the last terrorist organization I took down, and believe you me that job was no walk in the park. Of course it's classified so mum's the word."

"Of course it's classified," Holly said, disappointed that once again they couldn't hear the details of all the important things her godfather did to protect the muggles, "Wouldn't want the muggles to know about magic now would we?"

"Statute of secrecy, love," Sirius stated simply, "You know that I'm not allowed to reveal magic to normal folk as Dudley's father likes to call themselves. The only reason your family knows is because they take care of you and because your mother was a witch growing up.

"But!" Sirius loudly continued, speaking over Holly as she was beginning to pout over something that she couldn't do anything about, nor should she, "Are we going to stand here all day and waste precious time we could be spending in Diagon talking about boring wizarding policy? Or are we going to get into this black beauty and get ourselves into London straightaway? As I understand it, Holly, we're picking up your familiar today too."

The reminder of her snake familiar was just the ticket to get Holly in gear. Dudley was a little curious himself, as he'd seen Holly talk to the garden snake before. He was a little weirded out about it but the young boy in him had won out as he also thought snakes were cool. "Come on, Holly," Dudley said as he ran to the car, "I want to see what kind of snake you get!"

"That's the ticket, let's go everyone," Sirius said as he strode back to the car and got into the driver's seat. Holly smiled and got in the back behind the front passenger seat, "Seat belts everyone!"

As Sirius turned the key after pressing down on the clutch, the 3.0L inline six engine roared to life. The radio was loudly blasting the last radio station that Sirius had it set to, a rock station. An AC/DC song was just finishing up, followed by a short commercial break. As Sirius put the car into gear and got them on the road into London, the disc jockey announced the song "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos. Of course, Holly loved this song as it was one of her mother's favorites, according to her godfather. Sirius was as into muggle music as he was wizarding music thanks to Lily exposing them to it after she and James had become an item.

Before long, after several more songs had played on the radio, and after Sirius had displayed the awesome speed of the M3 to his enthusiastic niece and nephew, the three were parking on the street next to a grungy looking pub called The Leaky Cauldron. Sirius had told Holly to hold Dudley's hand while they walked into the pub, as Dudley was having a hard time noticing the pub due to the muggle repellant spells on the place. Once inside, Dudley was able to see everything fine. As they walked through the pub and into the back alley, Holly noticed that people were staring at her though she couldn't understand why.

Once out of the pub and in front of a brick wall that seemingly led to nowhere, Holly asked, "Uncle Siri, why was everyone staring at me back there?"

Sirius paused at the brick wall, thinking for a moment, then turned to Holly to address her, "It's probably to do with you being with me. Or rather it's more that you were with me. I rarely use this entrance to Diagon Alley anymore, usually I just pop in there. However, because we have your cousin with us and you also are not used to magical transportation, I decided that you should have the true first time experience when arriving in the magical world. So because you were with me, and no doubt they could sense that Dudley didn't have any magic either, they deduced that it was probably you who was with me. It's no secret that I am your magical guardian, nor is it a secret that I'm in charge of managing all of your magical affairs until you're of age.

"But this is quite a lot to get into at the moment, don't you think?" Sirius concluded as he turned around and started tapping at what seemed to be random bricks with his 'magic stick' as her uncle liked to call Sirius' wand. At the final tap, the brick wall started to shift and move. Bricks were rearranging and turning in on themselves more and more until an archway was formed, revealing the magical shopping district. Holly and Dudley gazed in wonder. Holly had a feeling of calm come over her, something that she hadn't realized she was even worried about. She could feel that the air here was different, magical even. She could only summarize it as a feeling of coming home, much like how she felt at Number 4 after a particularly rough day at school.

"Kids," Sirius began, flourishing his arms as if he were some great showman, "I give you Diagon Alley."

The children had failed to notice the stone archway returning to its wall form behind them after they had walked through, for there was too much going on in front of them. As they walked down the street, Holly looked this way and that way trying to take in everything that she was seeing. An assortment of owls of different breeds and colors lined the street in front of Eyelop's Owl Emporium. Further up the street was another display of different magical animals in front of a store named Fantastic Familiars.

"Here is where we'll be going to see if we can't find a snake you like, Holly," Sirius said, pointing to the familiar store, "but of course we have a major stop to make before we get to any shopping, as you need to meet with your account manager for your first introduction to the Goblin Nation."

"Where are we meeting with them?" Holly asked as they passed a large crowd in front of a store named Quality Quidditch Supplies, where one could overhear snippets like 'Nimbus 2000' and 'fastest model yet'.

"At Gringotts, the wizarding bank," Sirius answered, pointing at a great white building at the distant end of the street, which seemed to split off into two streets that followed the triangularly shaped building, "As far as I know, it's the safest place in Britain to store anything aside from Hogwarts. We'll be spending a decent amount of time there today."

Holly had only been half-listening to Sirius after he'd pointed out the bank, as they were passing by store after store on their way to it. Clothing stores, apothecaries, book stores. There even seemed to be a store that sold muggle antiquities, though you wouldn't have known unless you'd gone inside the store called The Other Half. After a considerable amount of bobbing and weaving through the packed shopping district, the trio found themselves staring upwards at the massive Gringotts bank. As they walked up the steps to the main door, Holly and Dudley couldn't help but stare at the goblin guards standing at the sides of the door, clad in a full suit of bronze armor and holding elegant looking spears in their hand as they stood vigilant. Sirius chuckled as he opened the door to the bank and ushered the children inside, where they found another set of guards standing next to another set of doors. Above this set of doors, however, was a poem that read the following:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn

Must pay most dearly in their turn

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

"A bit ominous innit?" Dudley asked after reading the poem, to which Holly agreed.

"Goblins take wealth very seriously, Dudley," Sirius said as they passed the second set of guards and walked into the lobby, "No matter how small. To steal another's wealth is to steal from that person's time and talents which were involved in creating that wealth. It also reflects badly on the goblin's reputation as they pride themselves on it being very hard to steal from Gringotts, even if you manage to walk out of the building with something that doesn't belong to you. It won't take them long to recoup the loss from the thief, usually in their blood. Even dark wizards fear the reach of the Goblin King, despite acting as though he is beneath him."

They stepped up to the teller queue, waiting patiently until it was their turn. Once they arrived at the front, they stepped up to the next available Goblin, who was writing furiously in a ledger. Not looking up from the book, the Goblin spoke, "and how may I help you today?"

"Yes, good morning sir," Sirius greeted, "May your family's wealth grow forevermore."

At this, the goblin looked up and said, "and may your enemies quake and tremble at your presence. I am Bluntaxe, how may I be of assistance, Lord Black?"

"Heir Potter here," Sirius said, indicating to Holly, "Has an introductory meeting with her account manager today."

Looking over his ledger, the Goblin confirmed, "Ah yes, so it would seem. I shall have someone take you to the Potter account manager shortly. Griphook!"

A stout looking goblin, dressed smartly in a muggle style suit tailored for goblins, ambled over to the teller, "You called?"

"Please escort Heir Potter and her party to account manager Ragnok at once," the teller requested, even though it seemed more like a command than a request.

"Of course, right away," Griphook responded, walking down to the end of the teller line and meeting the trio, "This way please, quickly."

"Yes, of course, may you bleed your enemies of their gold, Bluntaxe," Sirius said, giving a customary farewell.

"And may your wealth increase as long as you have gold, Lord Black." Bluntaxe replied, going back to his ledger to write down the visit he just had.

Griphook led them down one of the many hallways that branched off from the lobby. As the doors continued to pass by, Holly wondered who it was that they were meeting with. She had heard from Sirius growing up that she wouldn't want for money so long as she lived but she hadn't any idea what any of that meant. When it came to anything regarding her care, her aunt and uncle took care of it and mentioned nothing of the cost. Even when it came to her bouts of accidental magic that took their toll on Number 4, her aunt and uncle still kept the costs to themselves. They assured her though that they were being reimbursed by her godfather for the trouble, which made Holly rest a little easier as she had a hard time controlling what her magic did outside of her morphing and speaking to snakes.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at a door with a placard that stated:

Ragnok

Potter/Peverell Account Manager

King of Goblin Nation

"Sirius," Holly said, breaking the silence of the walk, "you never mentioned that my accounts were being overseen by the Goblin King himself."

Griphook, not Sirius, spoke up, stating, "Just because one becomes king does not mean that they can shirk their duties they had before they were king. Griphook has been the Potter/Peverell account manager for over a century now, inheriting the job from his father as it has been passed down his family line since the Potters and Peverells had opened an account at Gringotts. You'll find that he finds much more honor in ensuring your accounts do well than he does in the title of King, which is no small feat to become King of Goblin Nation."

Of course, Holly knew what it took to become King of Goblin Nation, having read it from the book on Goblin Customs, Traditions, and History that Sirius had given her a month prior. She read through it very studiously, having been made aware that this meeting was going to occur. In fact, she was well versed in how rude she had just been, "My apologies, Griphook, I didn't mean to insinuate that being my account manager is beneath the Goblin King. I was just taken by surprise, as my Dogfather hadn't mentioned before today that my accounts were being overseen by the Goblin King."

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly, "Didn't seem like it had mattered at the time. Like Griphook said, he takes more pride in being your account manager than Goblin King. Trust me, you'll see what I mean for yourself in a moment. You remember how it is that you should greet your account manager, right?"

"Of course," Holly answered, knowing full well that the first thing she said to her account manager would set the tone of their relationship from this day forward. An adversarial relationship with an account manager would only spell disaster for her. It was in her best interest to treat the male who had been growing her family's wealth for a long time with the respect that he was due.

"Splendid," Sirius said, clapping his hands together as he turned to Griphook, "Shall we get on with it then?"

"Yes, yes," Griphook replied as he knocked three times on the door, "We've wasted enough time on history lessons as it is."

Holly smiled sheepishly, looking thoroughly repentant. After all, no one took the phrase "time is money" more seriously than the Goblins. Promptness and conciseness was key when dealing with goblins.

"Come in," a gruff voice called from inside the room.

Opening the door for them, Griphook introduced, "Heir Potter and Lord Black, my liege, here for Heir Potter's introductory visit to her account manager. Heir Potter, I give you your account manager, Ragnok, King of Goblin Nation"

Holly stepped into the room and curtsied, "Pleased to meet you, Ragnok, King of Goblin Nation. May your reign be long and may all you oversee grow their accounts in perpetuity."

"Well met, Heir Potter," Ragnok responded, "May your gold multiply so long as we shall live. Come, have a seat. Thank you Griphook."

Griphook bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him as the trio made their way over to the Goblin King's desk, sitting in the chair's before him. Dudley had been very silent the whole time, observing everything.

"And who might this be?" Ragnok asked, indicating towards Dudley.

Holly had warned Dudley that they would be meeting with goblins today in an effort to prepare him, though it seemed that nothing could entirely prepare anyone for meeting a goblin for the first time. She had prepared him as much as she had prepared herself and made sure to impress that if asked anything that he answer promptly and respectfully, "Dudley Dursley, sir, I'm Holly's cousin."

"Ah yes," Ragnok grinned, which looked awfully like a sneer if one wasn't familiar with goblin facial expressions, "Vernon's boy. I like your father, he has been a very good ledger keeper."

Dudley smiled, happy that he hadn't upset the Goblin King, "He does run a tight ship, sir."

"As one should, if one wishes to grow their wealth," Ragnok said, eyeing the boy, "You'd do well to follow his example.

"Now then," Ragnok continued, shifting his attention to Holly, "let us proceed with this introductory meeting. We will not be going into explicit detail of your accounts, Miss Potter, as your godfather is already apprised of those details every month and he has decided to leave the growth of your family wealth in my hands, a responsibility I haven't taken lightly since my father began to educate me in account management a hundred years ago.

"We will, however, be proceeding with some formalities. Getting your bloodline confirmed so that we may present you with the Potter heir ring, which you will be allowed to wear from this day forward. We shall also be signing a few documents, getting your name officially added to the Potter accounts in your heir capacity. All of these things will be done for a modest fee, of course."

"Of course, sir," Holly agreed, knowing full well that nothing was done in Goblin Nation for free. To offer to do something for free was the lowest insult you could give to a goblin or receive from one.

"Very good," Ragnok nodded, opening a desk drawer and withdrawing a small stone basin and a knife, setting a roll of parchment behind the basin, "We shall start by getting a blood offering from you, just a prick on your finger and a few drops into the basin. The basin will then test your blood and this parchment behind it will transcribe the results of the bloodline test on it. Now please, Heir Potter, your finger."

Holly got up from her chair and walked over to directly in front of the desk, her index finger outstretched to her account manager, who delicately took it in his hand and carefully pricked the finger so as to cause the least amount of pain. When the blood began to flow, Holly turned her hand over the top of the basin and let the blood flow into it. After several drops had been deposited, Ragnok handed Holly a handkerchief, which she used to hold against the cut on her finger until Sirius could cast an episky.

Whilst Sirius attended Holly's finger, the parchment began to fill in with writing. It rolled for about six inches, then stopped. Ragnok took the parchment in his hands and began to review what had been written. He reached the portion of the test that listed the rightful heirships and commented, "Well, isn't this a surprise. It seems we have more business to conduct on our next visit, Lord Black."

"Oh?" Sirius queried, surprised, "It lists more than Heir to House Potter?"

"See for yourselves," Ragnok said as he handed the paper over to Sirius, which read thusly:

BLOODLINE TEST FOR:

Holly Jane Potter

Age: 11

Parents:

James Fleamont Potter

Lily Potter nee Evans

Grandparents:

Charlus Potter

Dorea Potter nee Black

John Evans (Muggle)

Lucille Evans nee Turner (Muggle)

Rightful Heirships:

House Potter (by birth)

House Peverell (by birth and test of magic)

Magical Abilities:

Parseltongue

Metamorphagus

Wizengamot Seats: 2

Vaults: 3

Potter Family vault

Potter Trust Vault

Peverell Family Vault

Prophesies: 1

"So as you can see," Ragnok continued once Sirius had looked up from the parchment in surprise, "We have some additional responsibilities to discuss at our next meeting. I must admit I was not expecting this today. It has been known in my family that the Potters are direct descendants from Ignotious Peverell but there has only been one other occasion where someone in the Potter family had been deemed worthy to be Lord Peverell, and that was before my father's time. This is a very fortuitous day for the both of us, Heir Potter."

"So, what does that mean for me today, Manager Ragnok?" Holly asked, unsure of what this unexpected information had to do with her.

"For now, Heir Potter, nothing you need to worry about," Ragnok stated, "As I said before, it is more for your Godfather and magical guardian to worry about at this time but all in all it is very good news indeed. It has been centuries since anyone was allowed into the Peverelll vault. It will be most interesting to see what is in store there. All you need to worry about is whether or not you want to wear the Peverell heir ring or not."

"Do I have to wear these rings at all?" Holly asked, "It seems a little too formal for a child to be wearing don't you think?"

"Not at all, Heir Potter," Ragnok answered, "You do not have to wear them if you don't wish to. They do indeed tend to draw attention to oneself and if you do not want that extra attention then it would be something you would want to avoid.

"However, these rings do come with protective enchantments on them that specifically come from the family grimoire of spells. The Potters became quite accomplished potioneers and as such they've put enchantments on the heir ring to warn them of poisons nearby. The Lord ring has additional enchantments in this regard, which we will go into when you reach the age to accept the lordship of House Potter.

"The Peverell family rings are a bit of a mystery. I've only heard rumors of what the enchantments upon those rings would be. For a fee we could test them and try to determine what protections those rings would bear. Of course, no harm or damage would come to the rings. Should you choose, you would only be eligible to wear the heir ring for House Peverell as well."

Sirius saw this as a good opportunity to jump in, "I understand your hesitation to wear the rings, Holly. I, myself, have thought for a long time that all of these wizarding traditions were for people who care about these trivial details. However, the protections of the rings make them worth the hassle and it never hurts to have something on that makes people think twice about how they treat you. It shouldn't be like that but wizarding society is very antiquated when compared to how muggle elites are towards the normal folk."

Ragnok picked up again as Sirius finished, "The Potters and the Peverells were a major part of the ruling class back in the day, the Potters more than the Peverells due to the length of time between lords deemed worthy to bear the name. It is a lot of responsibility to bear being born into the ruling class. But you will be prepared well before you will be required to take your seats on the wizengamot. Wearing the rings is mostly for protection and to let others know who you are, for better or worse."

Holly thought for a moment, wondering how pervasive magical attacks were in actuality. Then she thought on the words of her uncle, something he shared with her and Dudley on the subject of preparedness many times, "better to have something and not need it, than to need it and not have it."

Nodding firmly, Holly stated, "I will wear the rings."

"Very good, quite a good decision indeed," Ragnok said as he tapped a rune on the desk, summoning another goblin, "Better to have something and not need it, than to need it and not have it."

"My father says that very thing, sir," Dudley spoke up, recognizing the phrase.

"And who do you think he learned it from?" Ragnok grinned savagely as his office door opened and Griphook came in, "Griphook, fetch the heir rings for Houses Potter and Peverell, as well as a bag linked to the Potter trust vault."

"At once, my liege," Griphook replied, exiting quickly as he closed the door behind him.

Ragnok put the basin band knife aside on his desk and gathered some other parchments in front of him, "while Griphook fetches those items, we now have some legal documents to sign, along with some additional documents pertaining to the Peverell account."

Beckoning Holly to the desk and placing a parchment before her, along with a metal quill made of gold "This first parchment states that you accept your place as Heir of House Potter, with all of its wealth, properties, investments, and responsibilities. This quill is a blood quill, with which all legal documents with Gringotts are signed. It will take from your blood so that magic will recognize the validity and legality of this document. You may sign on the line next to 'Heir Apparent'."

Holly took the quill and found the line she needed to sign. As she signed her name, she saw a line drawn on the back of her hand that mimicked the signature she just signed. Ragnok took the parchment from in front of her and replaced it with another one, "and this is the same parchment but for House Peverell. If you'll wait a moment for the last signature to fade from your hand."

Holly watched her hand as the signature faded away, then on the line that she was required to sign she did so. She winced as the signature reappeared, a mild discomfort starting to grow, "How many more of these do we need to do?"

Ragnok took the parchment that she had just signed and set it off to the side, replacing it with a new parchment, "Just two more Heir Potter, both of which are the same form again only this time affirming you understand that your magical guardian will be in charge of all financial decisions made with your respective accounts and that you authorize me as your account manager to work with your magical guardian on your behalf and only in the best interests of growing your wealth. Any major decision which we come to deem will affect you directly will be made with your opinions on the situation known. One parchment per family whose vault's you've inherited. Again on the line next to 'Heir Apparent'."

Ragnok placed two parchments in front of her. She signed them both, waiting the appropriate amount of time in between signings to let the signature fade from her hand. As she was finishing the final signature, Griphook re-entered the office, bearing a bag and a red, velvet cushion with two rings resting upon it. As he walked up to Holly, Ragnok said, "And here are the heir rings for House Potter and House Peverell. You may wear them however you like, as the rings will magically fit them to whichever finger you decide to wear them on. The bag that Griphook has brought is magically linked to your trust vault. All you have to do is think of the amount you want whilst your hand is inside the bag and the correct amount will be in your hand. Your trust vault is stocked annually with 500 galleons, an amount your godfather and I agreed would be sufficient for any expenses you might incur while you are at Hogwarts. Now, we shall commence with the trial of the family magic and then, after that has concluded, this introductory meeting will come to a close. Heir Potter/Peverell, put on the rings and undergo the test of the family magics."

Holly got up from her seat, a little surprised by this final test. With a look of determination to pass this impromptu examination, Holly said," Both of the rings have a 'P' on it, which one is which?"

This time it was Griphook who answered, "The one on your left is the Potter Heir ring. The other is the Peverell Heir ring."

Holly nodded in confirmation. Deciding that she wished to be tested by the Potter family magic first, Holly took hold of the Potter ring with her right hand and placed it on the ring finger of her left hand. As the ring sized itself to her finger, Holly felt a portion of energy leave her body through her left ring finger and into the ring. Once the ring reached the appropriate size for her finger, a bright light flashed, momentarily lighting the room in whiteness.

Ragnok then spoke, "The Potter family magic has accepted you as it's heir. Now the Peverell Heir ring."

Holly took the Peverell Heir ring in her left hand and placed it on the ring finger of her right hand. Once again, the ring began to shrink albeit slower than the Potter ring had done. The draw from Holly's magic, for that's what she assumed the rings had been taking, was much greater than had been required for the Potter Heir ring. Holly felt her strength being drained, her ability to stand was becoming arduous and her breathing labored. After what had seemed to be an eternity, the ring shrank to the appropriate size and flashed a blinding green light, a small shockwave emanating from Holly at the same time.

As Holly fell to one knee to catch her breath, she profoundly said, "Woah."

Ragnok, after blinking the temporary blindness away, commented with a savage grin, "Congratulations, Heir Potter/Peverell, you have been accepted by the Peverell family magic as it's first heir in centuries."

Author's Note: There we have it folks, the first half of the Diagon Alley visit. I didn't anticipate I would spend as much time as I did in Gringotts but here we are. The rest of the Diagon Alley visit will be wrapped up in the next chapter where we get to meet Holly's familiar as well as see what her wand will be. Until that time, please review if you feel I deserve it.