hr
It was just after eight that evening, London time, when Tony had the driver drop he and Happy off in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Leaving Happy to wait for him in the pub, Tony stepped into the alley behind the Leaky and tapped the bricks in the pattern he remembered from long ago. Most of the shops in Diagon Alley would have already closed for business at this hour, but Tony knew Gringotts would be open. None of the few people moving around the Alley paid him any attention as Tony strode through the growing twilight. Very little appeared to have changed in the almost five years since Tony had last been here.
The last rays of the sun gleamed off the white marbled monstrosity that was Gringotts Bank and Tony tried to shove away the shudder the engineer and scientist in him were doing as he took the steps two at a time. Nodding at the two goblin warriors who guarded the entry doors, Tony moved inside past the row of tellers who were helping the few customers in the bank. He moved with purpose to the supervising goblin sitting at the elevated desk in richly appointed rotunda. Coming to a stop a respectful distance in front of the desk, Tony removed his sunglasses, tucked them into the breast pocket of his suit and waited to be acknowledge.
He knew from experience this was a game the goblins played well and waited almost ten minutes until the goblin set his quill down and a finally looked up. Tony bowed his head in acknowledgement.
"One of the tellers might be of better service to you—" the goblin began, raising a eyebrow when Tony interrupted him.
"Master Teller, I seek to speak with Account Manager Rockjaw, concerning an urgent matter."
The goblin raised a eyebrow and looked Tony up and down as if trying to determine whether he had enough wealth to bother with. Keeping his face impassive as he remembered the general rudeness of most magical folk, the goblin gave a nod and snapped his fingers. Another goblin, less elegantly clothed, appeared beside Tony.
"This way!"
With another nod to the Master Teller, Tony followed his escort through the lobby and into a series of rock hewed hallways, to a dark metal door. The escort tapped on it twice, before opening it for Tony. Stepping inside, Tony found himself in a large, richly appointed officer with a larger goblin bent over a thick ledger laid out on the dark wood, mahogany if Tony were to guess, desk in front of him. As he stood waiting, the goblin continued to add up columns in the ledger. He sat in the straight back chair placed in front of the desk and waiting,
"The teller indicated you had the look of a Carbonell, yet with traits similar to a Black," the goblin announced in a gravelly voice, before finally looking up.
Tony shrugged. "My godmother did the ritual with me when I was a baby and she was born a Black. I am going to assume you are Rockjaw."
The goblin gave a short nod. "I am impressed you made it here so quickly, Anthony Stark."
"It helps to have a jet at your disposal," Tony answered, dragging a hand through his hair. "I am grateful that you sent the package to me, allowing me to recover my memories. I would have been here sooner, but my magic is a bit rusty and it took longer than it should to review them."
Rockjaw nodded. "It was difficult not send the package sooner, Mr. Stark, with everything that happened almost four years ago."
Leaning forward, Tony laid his arms on his thighs. "I have been out of the loop for all that time – can you fill me in on what happened?"
Tilting his head, Rockjaw gave Tony what only could be described as a puzzled look, but sighed and spoke, "I am the Senior Account Manager for the London branch of Gringotts; I handle only the wealthiest family accounts. Therefore, I am the account manager for the Potter, Peverell, Emrys, Gryffindor lines, and, apparently, Carbonell, or Carbonelli as it was originally."
Rockjaw snapped his fingers and a long, shallow bowl, a piece of glittering parchment, and a jeweled dagger sat on the top of his desk. "I will need confirmation of your family affiliations before I continue."
Tony nodded, remembering when he was a little boy, his mother brought him into the bank for the first time and confirmed his magical heritage with the goblins. Using the ritual dagger, Tony sliced into his palm and began counting the drops of blood as they fell.
"Seven are needed for this type of test," Rockjaw advised as he watched.
Counting out exactly seven drops, Tony withdrew his hand, marveling at the magic which healed his palm immediately. He watched as the blood swirled in the golden liquid of the bowl, mixing itself before Rockjaw slid the parchment into the bowl. As Tony watched, swirling red writing began to fill the parchment in the form of a family tree. It was similar to what he remembered from when he'd taken his first test with his mom, only larger.
Both he and Rockjaw leaned over the desk top as the bowl disappeared, watching the parchment as the limbs of the tree started to fan out from the "trunk". He followed the lines which connected his mother to his Great-aunt Dorea and across to Charlus Potter, tracing the line down to James and then Harry. A strand of gold appeared, running from Harry Potter to Tony's name on its own branch, containing his mother's name and a number of others. Along the side of the parchment were listed lordships, titles, and vaults which he and Harry had inherited. Reading down the list, Tony snorted over the Duchy of Genoa title.
"Remember, Mr. Stark, what you are seeing are the wizarding titles, which do not always match their mundane counterparts. The iCasa Savoy/i may have renounced their rights to the Kingdom of Sardinia prior to their last World War, the magical equivalents still stand."
Tony nodded absently as his finger traced over Harry's name. "Now, will you tell me what happened to Lily, James, and Harry, please?"
With a deep sigh, Rockjaw quietly relayed the facts which were know about 31 October 1991, how the Potters were attacked, Sirius Black's supposed betrayal and imprisonment, and Albus Dumbledore's ensuing action in regards to baby Harry.
Tony rubbed his face with his hands. "You are telling me that Pettigrew gave Voldemort Lily and James' location, and Dumbledore allowed Sirius to be tossed into Azkaban without being convicted, and then kidnapped our son!"
Rockjaw furrowed his brows. "You don't see surprised by any of this."
"Lily explained what they were anxious about the night she memory charmed me – it's all in the Pensieve." Tony stood up and started to pace. "There were concerns about Dumbledore's level of interest in Harry as a ichild of prophecy/i and now you tell me he took it upon himself to remove Harry from their residence and disappear with him? How could he legally go against Lily and James' will?"
"He had them sealed when he appointed himself the Potter heir's magical guardian. They have never been magically probated."
"Oh hell no!" Tony swung around to face Rockjaw. "I want my son and I want Dumbledore's ass!"
Rockjaw grinned widely, showing his jagged teeth. "I believe I can be of help, Mr. Stark. We can reproduce this heritage document into a certified record of paternity and we can also give you all the appropriate custody paperwork based on this test." He met Tony's eyes with a predatory gleam. "You need to accept the Carbonell lordship and the ring signifying you have accepted the Regency to the houses Heir Potter-Stark will inherit. It will also allow us to access the Potters' will in their sealed vault."
"And Sirius?" Tony asked, the knot in his chest easing slightly.
"Heir Black has never been convicted of a crime, and remains his grandfather's heir, therefore he is incarcerated illegally. Dumbledore's influence again I believe." Rockjaw made a note on the parchment in front of him. "I will notify his grandfather, Arcturus, as well as the Black family law firm."
Tony nodded. "I'd like to retain both Gringotts and what every cut-throat legal service you might recommend to extract Dumbledore from Harry's life and get Sirius out of Azkaban." Looking up, Tony gave Rockjaw a considering look. "In gratitude, I will also transfer half of my personal fortune into Gringotts care if we can do this swiftly."
The grin on Rockjaw's face would scare any normal mortal. "Shall we start now?"
"By all means, tell me what I need to do."
"First, I need you to accept your lordship and Potter Regent rings, which will allow us into the Potter family vault which Dumbledore sealed…"
hr