Chapter 7: The Surprise Inheritance
I do not own Harry Potter
Author's Notes:
1)When I originally wrote this chapter, I had progressed quite far beyond the point where it ends now. However, I felt that the dialogue was forced and boring. Also, I realized the amount of loopholes I was leaving behind. So, I decided to re-write the whole thing. It now is a bit of a 'history' chapter, but one that makes things much more clearer, and much less loophole-infested, I hope.
3) Communication is a little advanced. There exist items like the communication mirror Sirius and James used. However, they are expensive and mostly only used by Aurors and such.
Enjoy!
9:35| Gringotts Bank| Diagon Alley| June 21st 1993
Harry continued to stare dumbfoundedly at the goblin, who he surmised must be Black Account Manager. "How – Black – Malfoy – not?"
"I believe he is trying to say something – Sharpfang of Ordo, bring the verbs!"
"Har Har Har Grimjaw, now, you have some explaining to do!"
"I'm not answerable to you!" Grimjaw replied with a smug smile.
Sharpfang let out a sigh. "Mr Potter, I believe this is your queue?"
That snapped Harry back into reality "Oh, right – er – What the fuck is happening!" Harry asked in a hysterical voice
"That's good enough for me" guffawed Grimjaw as he took a seat – Sharpfang's seat. Sharpfang let out a roar of protest.
"I'm telling the story, aren't I? Better I face both of you."
Sharpfang grudgingly conceded, and took a seat next to Harry.
Apparently Grimjaw was not finished being an arsehole. He picked up the 'Identification Paper' and started reciting the contents of the paper slowly:
Name: Harry James Potter
Class: Human, Wizard
Age: 12
Father: James Charlus Potter
Mother: Lily Grace Evans-Potter
"Will you get to the point already!" roared Sharpfang. If anything, this only seemed to add to Grimjaw's amusement.
Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter
Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black
"Hmm, yes quite a stunning revelation, is it not gentlemen?"
"I Sharpfang, Scion of Clan Ordo would like to express my sincere repentance in advance to Clan Gdansk, for BEHEADING THEIR SON!"
"There's nine of us this threat would apply to, you'll have to be more specific-"
"THE ONE THAT'S AN ANNOYING BRAT! THEY'LL KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT!"
Grimjaw howled with laughter "Fine, fine I'll get to the why…. Yes, why is the Heir Potter also the Heir Black, why would the man who betrayed his parents to Voldemort name him his heir."
"WHAT!" roared Harry
Grimjaw sobered instantly "Y-You don't know?"
"Goblin, did you just say that someone from the Black family betrayed my parents to Voldemort?" Harry spoke agitatedly
"Sirius Black was accused of having betrayed your parents to Voldemort but I believe him to be innocent!" Grimjaw spoke out quickly.
Sharpfang looked stunned. "Grimjaw, have you lost your mind!"
"Think Sharpfang, could Sirius Black really have betrayed the Potters! Could he truly have been Voldemort's right-hand man!"
Harry, who still didn't have a clue what was going on, felt a surge of irritation out of nowhere and screamed out, "Could someone please explain to me what is going on!"
Both goblins were momentarily shook by the sudden outburst. They looked at each other, before Sharpfang decided to speak up.
"I will start at the beginning. Being the Account Manager meant I had some knowledge of the personal events of the family members. On his way to Hogwarts for the first time, your father James befriended a boy named Sirius Black . He was an extremely clever and powerful child, and had even been chosen as the Heir to the family by his grandfather and then Head of House, Lord Arcturus Black, even though Sirius' father was still alive. The Blacks are an extremely prejudiced and elitist family and for generations, every single Black had been sorted into Slytherin house. Sirius however, was different. Apparently, he did not believe in the blood-purity agenda of his family, and was positively sick of it. He was also sorted into Gryffindor, much to the shock of the entire school. He grew estranged from his family, who constantly harassed him and looked upon him as a disgrace, and eventually, he had had enough. In 1976, at the age of 16, after a particularly nasty fight with his mother, he ran away from home. He went to the Potters, whom he called his 'true family'. They accepted him with open arms. James and Sirius grew even more close, and became brothers in all but blood." Sharpfang took a pause, to catch his own breath, and to let Harry soak in all the information.
"This created quite a scandal for the Blacks – their own heir had run away from home. Family members called for his removal from the position of Heir and his expulsion from the family. It was believed Arcturus Black had given in to the demands of his family and disowned him, but as it seems, that did not really happen. But back to the story, James and Sirius graduated together, amongst the top of their class and signed up as Aurors to fight in the war. At your parents' wedding, Sirius Black was the best man and was even named your godfather. Eventually, in 1980, your parents went into hiding. Sometime in October 1981, they upgraded their protection. Are you aware of what a Fidelius charm is?" Harry shook his head in negative.
"A Fidelius is an is extremely ancient and still used to this day. It involves the concealment of information inside a living person. The chosen person, or Secret Keeper, is the only person who is thenceforth capable of revealing the protected information to others, however many previously knew it. Your parents hid information of their hiding place."
"So, Voldemort coming to the hiding place would have only been possible if the secret keeper betrayed my parents." Harry completed.
"Correct. Now it is believed that Sirius Black, your father's long time best friend and most trusted confidante was chosen for the job. He also confessed to the crime in front of a dozen Aurors. However, if we are to believe Grimjaw, then that is not the case."
Both Harry and Sharpfang looked at Grimjaw critically.
"I always had a hard time believing Sirius could betray the Potters. After what I saw today on that parchment, I solemnly believe he did not. Allow me to explain." He took in a deep breath. "First of all, I like many always found it hard to believe that Sirius Black could betray the potters – and willingly at that. Then there are the circumstances of his arrest. Apparently, the night after Voldemort's attack, Sirius decided to kill Peter Pettigrew. He tracked him down to a street in the muggle world. Pettigrew knew he had no chance against Sirius. He yelled out how Sirius Black had sold out the Potters to You-Know-Who, so as to expose him. Apparently, this enraged the other wizard so much that he fired such a devastating spell that at Peter that all that remained of him was his finger, precisely, only his finger. The spell also created such a devastating explosion that 12 muggles that were nearby were killed, and the entire street was ravaged."
Grimjaw took a pause, as if trying to find the exact words for his feelings. "I always found something fishy about this. After Voldemort's downfall, wizards all over the country were naturally relieved. They came extremely close to breaking the Statute of Secrecy by pouring out into the muggle world carelessly. There just happened to be some wizards when the incident between Black and Pettigrew took place. All accounts claim that they heard Pettigrew's voice, then a rather devastating blast and Sirius Black laughing maniacally. He was soon disarmed and arrested by an Auror that happened to be present on the scene and who had sent out a message to his squad by one of those miniature communication bracelets. What bugged was what spell was this? What spell annihilates your entire body to less than microscopic pieces and leaves a cleanly cut finger behind? Also, for something so devastating, how come the muggles who lost their lives did not suffer injuries even remotely as 'horrific' as Pettigrew? Two of the muggles were less than three feet apart, yet they only seemed to have been in close proximity to a blasting curse. What I am trying to say is for all we know Pettigrew cut off his own finger, fired a blasting curse, then apparated or portkeyed away. Why would he do this? What if he was the secret keeper, and wanted to frame Sirius?"
Sharpfang stared at the other goblin with his eyes wide open, his theory did have some merit. He had a question on the tip of his tongue, but was beaten to it by Harry.
"But wouldn't this have come up before he was sentenced to prison? In the muggle world there is a rule that a person must be presented before a judge within 24 hours after his/her arrest."
"Which brings me to my next point Mr Potter – he never received a trial."
"What!" both Sharpfang and Harry blurted out simultaneously.
"But – But what if he is innocent? What if there was a misunderstanding? What if he really wasn't the secret keeper?!" Harry asked, appalled that someone could have been sent to prison for a crime they did not commit.
Sharpfang though, had a different reaction. Harry was not alive to witness the friendship of James Potter and Sirius Black, neither had he had 11 years to stew over the situation and curse Black for his betrayal. Harry noticed his face reflecting a multitude of emotions – shock, denial, consideration…. and a glimmer of hope? In the end, his denial won over his other emotions.
"He confessed to the crime! He himself said 'I killed them, I killed them' over and over as he laughed and cried at the same time! He had no trial because there wasn't one needed! Azkaban and the dementors serve him right for his betrayal!" Sharpfang roared at the end.
"I admire your emotions towards the Potters, they are rare between wizards and goblins. I do not have an answer to his confession. But think, why then make the Potters' son his heir? Why not anyone BUT him? He could have changed it anytime he wanted, and no one could have found out. If he did not have any children of his own, why not pass it to Malfoy's son, who is a fellow death eater? He would logically be the second-best option. In fact, in such circumstances, Malfoy's son would have been the default option. Sirius Black had to specifically change it to Potter!"
That blew the wind out of Sharpfang's sails. Why indeed? There were so many ifs and buts BEFORE today, and now, so many more had been added. Could Black really have been innocent?
"Right – I've heard Malfoy claim loads of times how he's next in line for the Black lordship, Merlin knows how his housemates put up with it." Harry let out a chuckle "He would literally just roll over and die when he finds out I, of all people have the heirship. But I'm not really sure I want it… I-I mean, for all I know this man really did betray his best friend – what if this is his idea of some sort of joke?" Harry said, though his voice conveyed he wasn't really convinced by what he said.
"Don't be ridiculous Mr Potter, I knew Sirius Black and I can assure you his idea of a joke would have something along the lines of turning your blue for a week. But jokes aside, are you going to ignore the evidence in front of you? I always had my doubts about his guilt. However, when Sharpfang exploded at me through the floo network, I became sure of his innocence."
"So, Arcturus Black never removed him from the family?" Sharpfang asked
"No, he did not. He also did not remove him from the heir's position. He LET the people think this is what he had done, and gave a very passable replica of the heir's ring to Regulus, though he had privately informed Sirius that he was still the heir. When Arcturus Black died in 1977, everyone assumed Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, and Death Eater, would become Lord Black when he turned 17 the following year. He is another curious case. He came to be of age on December 28th 1978 and disguisedly visited Gringotts sometime in the new year. This is not what is curious – there were patrols outside of Gringotts by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to stop him from entering, he had been identified as a Death Eater by this point. They knew that once he entered, nothing would stop him from claiming his lordship, then getting access to the family vault, and placing the fortune of the Black family into the hands of Voldemort."
"Wait, Gringotts wouldn't stop him?"
"No, we would not." Grimjaw said bluntly.
"But he was a death eater!"
"We are more than just a bank Mr Potter." He said a little sternly. "We are a sovereign nation of which this establishment is a part and in a legal relationship with Wizarding Britain. In Goblin law, rebelling against the ruling authority is not considered illegal, it is considered a right. So, Voldemort did nothing illegal by declaring war on Britain. And for goblins, in war, all rights are suspended."
"But this means anyone could simply massacre innocents!" Harry objected.
Grimjaw seemed to be contemplating saying something, before eventually speaking "And this is precisely why honour holds a high place in Goblin society. If you go to war, civilians, especially women and children, are not to be touched. Of course, this is merely an honour code and may be broken, but it is solemnly believed in by almost all goblins. We also live underground, if goblins do not fight honourably, they could simply try to cause a landslide in their opponents' habitats. This could possibly collapse entire cave systems, killing off hundreds, including your own. So, you see, goblin society's survival is dependant on honour. We have also had a centuries long practice of non-direct interference in wizard affairs, we have paid a heavy price throughout history for doing so, hence we remain neutral. This is not to say there aren't ways for Gringotts to be forced to close your vault, but they are very few. Since you are muggle raised, you can equate the Goblin nation with Switzerland, for our neutrality, and Gringotts with the Swiss Bank."
Harry was left stunned by the revelation made by Grimjaw, he knew goblins had some sort of fetish for honour, but he truly understood the reason now. They were much more complicated than wizards arrogantly believed them to be. Why wasn't all this taught in history?
"Wow, I, uh, I never knew all this…. Thank you for telling me. Also, you know about the Swiss Bank?"
Sharpfang interjected "Mr Potter, surely you don't think goblins don't secretly function in the muggle world at all?"
Harry had the decently to look a little sheepish at that. 'That does make sense, I guess' he thought inwardly.
"Numerous efforts were made to negotiate a treaty in which convicted felons could not access their vaults or do any sort of business with Gringotts, but for various reasons, nothing ever came out of the negotiations. So, you see, they cannot fully stop a wizard from accessing Gringotts, ever. In most cases, even in Azkaban, if one were to be able to sneak out a bank draft, it would still be legible."
"Back to the topic, this was not what was curious about Regulus Black. He came to me and tried to claim the lordship. The easiest and safest way is to put on the ring – which Sirius had not taken with him. He tried to put on the ring, but was rejected by it. Naturally, he realised he was not the Lord Black. He sat there for many minutes before walking out without a word. A few days later, I received a small package from him, which was to be opened by the next Lord or Heir, provided this person was not – branded with the Dark Mark, a Malfoy or a Lestrange. He disappeared shortly after. The box remains unopened to this day, since even secretly, Sirius only extremely rarely contacted me, and did not visit in person after that event."
"But why? He wasn't wanted by the law." Harry asked curiously.
"Young wizard, think. Who would've become the death eaters' number one target if Voldemort found out Sirius Black was new Lord Black?"
Realization dawned on Harry, and he inwardly kicked himself for not having realized that. He needed to learn to make connections, he couldn't just ask somebody else all the time. This habit of never thinking for himself was something he had been admonished by Salazar on for multiple occasions.
"Right! They all thought he wasn't part of the family anymore since the previous Lord chose to keep it secret. Making such a revelation would've been equal to walking head first into a bludger!"
"Correct. Most of his correspondence was done discreetly by mail."
"How come I gained heirship anyway? Don't you have to be related closely enough?"
"I am baffled you are so dreadfully uninformed of your lineage Mr Potter; this will not do, especially considering the fact that you hold heirships to not one, but two 'Ancient and Noble' houses. Your grandmother was Dorea Potter nee Black – she was Sirius' great-aunt. By blood, are as much a Potter as you are a Black. You even look like them, as did your father. So, possibly you are related closely enough to be considered as part of the family. Besides, the man was your godfather, a very important position in magical culture. Few wizards today are lucky to have one. Becoming a godparent means becoming a parent in spirit – essentially, you are part of his 'family'. Whatever the reason, it was enough – you are next in line for the Black family lordship."
"Unless Sirius has children." Harry said
"He cannot. He was unable to procreate, a fact he found out in his late teens after multiple instances of unprotected intercourse, and the girl in question avoiding pregnancy each time."
Normally, Harry would have turned red as a tomato at any reference to sex. However, Salazar had educated him on the subject. The man had called the subject 'imperative' for someone his age, and discussion on the matter had gotten rid of most of his taboo of the subject.
"So, your heirship, and later, lordship is secure. You need not worry."
"If the man is innocent, should we not be working on getting him a trial?"
"You could try Mr Potter, unfortunately you will find yourself stonewalled. Can you guess who is the man who is the most trusted advisor of the Minister of Magic?"
Harry thought for a few seconds, before arriving at a damning conclusion "Please don't tell me its Lucius Malfoy…"
"Unfortunately, you are correct. He is also a man with a vested interest in keeping Black in prison. He had no doubt pieced together by now that Sirius Black was not actually disowned. I am sure he does not know of your heirship – only 3 do – and they are all in this room. Trust me when I say he would be acting very differently towards you if that were the case. He could probably think it is either Andromeda Tonks nee Black, who was supposed to have been disowned back in 1973 for marrying a muggleborn, but again wasn't, or he thinks it is Sirius himself. Mrs Tonks is aware that she was not actually disowned, but has let the world think the she has. She does not want to come out of the shadows, not until she thinks Draco Malfoy is the heir. You should contact her. However, it is known that both she, and her daughter have attempted to claim the lordship, or in this case, ladyship and have failed. No, he thinks it is the last of the Blacks – Sirius Black himself. He, and everyone else who knows Draco Malfoy has also failed to claim the heirship, will be thinking that Arcturus Black, who always had a soft spot for his favourite grandson, merely, stripped him off the heirship but did not disown him. With Regulus Black and his daughter dead, and Walburga Black, the mother of Sirius and Regulus holding a more or less powerless regency till her death in 1982, leaving behind an unclear successor meant Sirius, last of the main line, inherited the mantle by default."
"So why hasn't Lucius tried to get Sirius Black killed in jail… Unless, he has, and has failed." Harry sat thinking for a few seconds, trying to find a reason, before Sharpfang spoke up.
"Harry, wouldn't others now have a stake in keeping Sirius Black alive? 'Light-side' and even neutral politicians do not want the Malfoys to have a permanent seat, and a vast fortune to their already impressive one. They may not like Sirius Black, but they do have an interest in keeping him alive – such is the nature of politics at times, complicated and blurring lines of allegiances."
"I would have got it eventually…..." Harry muttered
"Do not feel disappointed Mr Potter, if it is any comfort to you, there are those that are part of the Wizengamot and haven't been able to piece it together. You are still only 12, it is obtuse to expect you to be able to see everything now."
Grimjaw took over again "So, for now, all Lucius can do is wait for Sirius Black to pass away in Azkaban. But I don't think anyone expects his son to NOT inherit it then. In fact, a considerable part of his clout comes from this very fact. Give me some time to think of a strategy, if you wish to get Sirius Black a trial – "
"I do. You told me that him being my godfather essentially meant we were family. Where I come from, you do anything and everything you can for your family – I'd know. It was 'family' that saved my life, and its time I do the same." Harry spoke with fierce determination
Both Sharpfang and Grimjaw smiled.
"Wonderful answer Harry, and one I was hoping you would give. Unfortunately, it is not as simple."
"Right, I forgot this is my life we're talking about, nothing's simple."
"A story for another time perhaps?" joked Grimjaw "The problem is you need some sort of proof before reopening a case, no matter who is involved. Now we say that there was no trial, which is true, but there exists record of one. A few years ago, a new document, one I'd never seen before in matters concerning the Black family came across my desk. It provided details for a 'closed doors' trial for Sirius Black, held later in the day after his capture. It listed reasons as 'national security', and attached a note that it was lost in the post-war paperwork, and hence not given to me, to attach in the dossier of affairs."
"Looks to me it was planted later. By-"
"-our old friend Lucius Malfoy" completed Grimjaw for Sharpfang. "Most likely it was him. He of course knew Black wasn't a death eater, and if someone tried to get him justice, they would find themselves needing to present proof before getting a fair trial, like we do now. So unfortunately, we cannot do anything as of now, except look around for leads."
"It's so wrong"
"It is what it is Mr. Potter. But don't lose hope, you of all people should know victory can be found in the most extraordinary of ways." he commented, alluding to the endof Voldemort's reign in 1981. "Now, let's get you to claim your rings and then you can go through that package Grimjaw mentioned."