Hello wonderful people. I am finally here with a new chapter. Also my new obsession is Moulin Rouge, so a Satine / Christian style romance (specifically el tango de roxanne vibes) is def in the cards now. I am obsessed with that song rn. Anywho, hope you enjoy and after 5 looooonnnnggggg chapters of Gringotts world building we are finaly getting content OUTSIDE of Gringotts. (happy dance). I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5

Dumbledore had never been so annoyed in his life. His relations with the goblins were historically neutral, if not slightly hostile, which in comparison to some people's relationships with the clan was downright friendly. Because of this decent relationship, Dumbledore was not exactly used to being denied access to any students while in the bank. He had not had much reason to interfere with many students and their business besides the occasional muggleborn that needed to access the Hogwarts funds. That was until Harry Potter became his, albeit illegal, magical responsibility.

Because of this situation, Dumbledore found himself in Gringotts quite often. He was incredibly lucky that the actual nature of his relationship with the Potter family was not widely known or else he would have never been able to even do half of the things he was able to do.

But even on the most annoying of days, Albus had not experienced this level of sheer disrespect from the goblins. Harry was behind those doors and probably finding out much more than he ever should.

Too much can happen in one day in a place with the resources that Gringotts has.

So Dumbledore waited, and waited.

He needed to be the first one to get to Harry the moment he walked out of those doors.

Tom Riddle barely restrained himself from pacing across his study. He had gotten a letter from his Gringotts account manager that there was a meeting involving the Slytherin and Gaunt accounts. That alone peaked his interest as Tom knew of no other person that could possibly create cause for those two accounts to be involved. The letter also included notice that his presence was requested at Gringotts at the end of the hour.

He watched as the clocked tick forward with agonizing slowness. He attempted to work on a few things but could barely focus. The clock seemed to sense his anxiety and moved forward to four o'clock.

Dusting off his robes, Tom stood up and made his way to the fire place where he grabbed a handful of floo powder.

"Gringotts, Private entrance, password, snakeskin," he called out.

Swallowed in a flurry of green flames, Tom Riddle disappeared from the manor.

Ragrok took a deep breath as he looked at the clock. Four 'clock neared ever closer and he couldn't help the rising feeling of anxiety within him.

He looked over to his advisor who stood silently in the shadows.

"I'm unsure that informing Tom is the best course of action," he said, a touch of uncharacteristic hesitancy coloring his voice.

His advisor gave him a slightly stern look before sighing a little.

"My Lord, even if we believe it is not the correct course of action, there is not much we can do. While yes, Harry James Potter is emancipated, legally, Matias Gaunt Riddle is not. The only reason we were able to even let him leave the first meeting is because he is also Harry Potter."

Ragrok nodded his head. He knew all of this of course, but he needed to hear it once more.

Interrupting his musing, the door to the conference room burst open as another goblin entered.

"Sir, your four o'clock appointment is here."

"Bring him in please."

Ragrok straightened up and waited for his guest. Luckily he didn't have to wait long.

The door opened once more this time revealing a tall man, possibly in late thirties to mid forties. He had swooping and full black hair with striking red eyes that stood out against his pale skin.

"Ah, King Ragnok, may your enemies wither under your blade," he said, regality dripping from his voice.

"And may your enemies tremble at your name" he replied, causing a small smirk to appear on the face of the man.

"Thank you, Ragnok," Tom said, sweeping his robes aside to take a seat. "So, my old friend, why exactly am I here? I don't believe this is a friendly visit."

Ragrok relaxed a little at this statement. "I see you have regained your sanity, old friend."

A sour expression flashed across Tom's face before he expertly schooled it. "Ah yes, I experimented with magic that shouldn't be attempted in the first place. Upon my 'resurrection' if you will, I realized what my lack of sanity had done to the cause. I was able to figure out how to rectify the situation without compromising the overall goal," he said.

"Well done Tom. Well I am glad I am having this conversation with you and not the shell that you were 14-ish years ago."

"As am I," Tom said, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"I fear we do have quite a lot of business to discuss Tom," Ragnok stated, instantly tensing the atmosphere.

Tom simply nodded and gestured for the goblin to continue.

"To get to the heart of the matter, we found Matias."

Tom's eyes blew wide, "He- he was here? Har- Matias was here?"

Catching the slip up, Ragroks eyes blew wide at his words . "You know of your son's identity?"

"I only found out recently, actually at the whole ordeal in the Ministry of Magic. I possessed Harry, under incorrect pretenses and during so I was able to feel the core of his magic and - Merlin Ragnok, as horribly twisted and repressed it was, it was Matias, my sweet sweet Matias."

Ragroks eyes narrowed at this admission. "You possessed him?"

Tom merely rolled his eyes in response. " If I would have known who he was I wouldn't have done it, and it was only a surface level possession. The imperius curse is much worse" he said, waving away the goblins' concerns. "Besides that's not what we are today to discuss, yes?"

Ragnok merely nodded before drawing up some paperwork from his drawers.

"Here are Matias' health records," the goblin said, muscles tense in terrified anticipation.

It was only when he could see his breath that Tom realized his magic had gotten slightly out of control. He drew in a breath before opening his eyes - when had those shut , he thought - and focused on Ragrok.

"And where pray tell, has my son been staying?"

"Regrettably, the muggles who were assumed to be his relatives," the goblin said with a wince.

Tom's face resembled a block of ice. His lack of emotion hinting at what was going on behind the surface. "I assume Dumbledore had something to do with this."

Ragrok sighed at this statement before drawing up even more paperwork. "We believe he had everything to do with it. We aren't allowed to see the ministry document that would proclaim Dumbledore as his guardian but he has been able to access the boy's trust fund and has been the keeper of the Potter trust fund vault key for many years. He had an official ministry document to prove that he had temporary guardianship of the boy, but we of course could not look into anything."

Tom merely nodded along. "Do you know where my son is now?"

With the shake of a head Tom felt his heart constrict with something almost akin to pain.

"Well, Chief Ragrok, are your ritual rooms open?"

The goblin nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Would you be ever so kind as to allow me to use one of the rooms, free of charge of course, as repayments for the failings my family has experienced."

The goblin looked like he wanted to argue but quickly rethought his position. Sure, Gringotts was not at fault for the suffering that the Riddle family has endured but this is their Lord. Sometimes, good relations are more important than money.

"Of course, my Lord," the goblin said.

The words elicited a smirk out of the man before he stood from his chair. "If you could show me to the ritual room."

Ragrok nodded and rose quickly before heading into the lower levels of Gringotts, a smirking dark lord following behind him.

Harry walked cautiously around Diagon Alley, mind running a mile a minute. This day, no the past two days could not have gone any stranger. When he walked into Gringotts he expected to walk out probably hating Dumbledore a little more than he did and maybe a little bit richer, but that was it. But he instead walked out with a brand new identity, and parents.

Taking a deep breath, Harry pulled the hood of the cloak over his head as he made his way down the mostly empty streets of Diagon alley. The summer weather was a large deterrent and most of the family's were at home resting, enjoying the fact that their children were home for the first time in months.

Harry moved quickly, approaching the Leaky Cauldron with a speed that surprised himself. He quickly headed into the pub, which was slightly more crowded than the Alley. Making sure his head was down, Harry navigated through the mismatched tables and quickly made his way to the front of the room where a small podium stood with a bored looking wizard standing behind it.

"I need a room for 5 night's minimum," he said, lowering his voice as much as a fifteen year old could.

The clerk merely cocked an eyebrow but quickly looked over a sheet of parchment.

"We have a single room for five nights, and could possibly extend your stay. However, depending on how long your duration is, we might have to change your room."

Harry nodded in agreement. That was fine, he just needed to for sure have a place for the next few days.

"Ok, your total right now will be 4 galleons, 3 sickles and a knut," the clerk listed out.

Fishing the coins of his coin pouch, Harry quickly traded the money for a key and headed off to room 323.

After orienting himself with multiple areas of the inn, Harry finally came across the room with three small golden numbers beside the door that read, 323. Heaving a sigh of , he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

He quickly deposited his cloak onto the chair next to a small table. The summer heat did not make wearing such items any more appealing. Looking around the small room, Harry quickly notices a small mirror. He slowly walked over to the small vanity that had definitely seen better days, and sat down, gaze averted.

After gathering what small courage he could, he looked up. A small gasp left his lips.

He let out a small laugh as he noted that his hair remained the same color, as did his pale complexion, but that was where the resemblance stopped. Every inch of his face that used to look like James Potter was now clearly Tom Riddle. His sharp cheekbones and eyes looked deadly. Everything about him screamed royalty. He felt tears gather as he looked at his eyes. Harry always loved his eyes, but the bright green was long gone. Replaced by a beautiful array of colors. The main portion of his eyes were grey, but there was an outer rim of purple and a small inner rim of bright rim. His eyes almost looked tie-dyed.

One good thing is that he looked nothing like his old appearance, and he could safely go out into the wizarding world without much of if any disguise.

He sighed as he fished for the small ring he had received during his last meeting, a glamour ring. He put it on his pinky finger and watched as his appearance returned to his previous state. I was weird looking into a mirror, knowing everything he saw was a lie.

Taking the ring off, he put it on the dresser. Leaving the clock on the chair, he grabbed his wand and key and left the room. He quickly made his way through the crowds that had thickened in the pub and made his way to the alley.

He set his path straight towards a small clothing shop, one often passed on in favor of Madam Malkins. As he stepped inside, a small bell rang above his head. Looking around he began to understand why mainly purebloods came into this store. The small glimpses he was able to make of the price tags made him internally flinch.

It wasn't long before his musings were interrupted by a small witch with long deep brown hair, put up in a half up style. She had a sharp face with eyes slightly obscured by a set of chic glasses.

"Welcome to Shirley's Robes and Wizarding Wear. I'm Donna Parkinson, how may I help you," the witch said politely. She was busy with some fabrics and had only given him half a glance.

Harry stiffened slightly on hearing the last name but quickly tried to relax.

"I am in need of a full wardrobe," he said, trying to inject his voice with confidence.

The woman looked up, eyes gleaming as she assessed her new client. Ha- Mat- whoever he was watching as her eyes widened upon seeing him.

"My lord," she asked, voice quiet and shaky.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know who you referring to"

Donna schooled her features, trying and mostly failing to hide her shock. Shaking her head slightly to clear her thought she looked closer at Harry.

"Well Mr…"

"Shafiq," Harry responded. The name Riddle was too obvious, and he hoped his mothers name carried some amount of subtlety yet was still known enough. His plan seemed to work as the shopkeeper instantly relaxed.

"Ah Mr. Shafiq, what can I do for you today?"

"What would you say a full wardrobe consists of for any respectable wizard," Harry said, slightly grimacing at his own comment. However much he hated acting like a stuck up pureblood, it definitely had its uses.

The shopkeeper barely even acknowledges the language which Harry took as a good thing. Instead she began browsing around for something.

A few moments later she presented Harry with a small little booklet.

"This is our traditional package guide and offerings. The only thing not in there is Hogwarts robes due to Madame Malkins owning the pattern for those robes," she said, trying to keep distaste from her voice, but Harry heard it anyway.

"Thank you," he responded. Flipping through the small, he found something that seemed perfect. "I would like the Complete Wizard package."

The witch startled slightly. "Sir, just to be perfectly clear, that package is 1,000 galleons, minimum."

Thinking back to the meeting Harry just had with Gringotts, he knew he would be fine. For the first time in life, he could truly never worry about money.

"Yes , that's fine."

"Wonderful. Let's begin by picking out fabrics for each category of item, then we will move on to designs and patterns."

Harry merely nodded as he followed the woman to a large display wall with hundreds of fabrics adorning the wall.

After about 3 hours, Harry walked out with a few high quality cotton shirt along with some nice trousers, and a couple of robes. Everything else would have to be made to his exact measurements and would be ready in a few days.

Harry looked at the emerald green shirt he was currently wearing and laughed at the irony. While looking at colors, Harry found himself inexplicably drawn to the greens, blues and purples, the more regal colors. He supposed the blocks on his mind and magics had definitely affected him more than he thought, as he without realising till he left, only picked colors of the houses he truly belonged to.

Harry sighed as he finally reached the Leaky Cauldron and promptly went to his room. Within minutes he was out of his day clothes and in pj's and passed out on the bed.

Tom Riddle felt his body sag with exhaustion. He knew that the ritual would take a lot out of him, but not that much. It was a lot harder to accomplish a familial based tracking ritual when there was nothing of the missing member to use as a base line. Hair, a drop of blood or even an object regularly interacted with would suffice, but seeing as every interaction Tom had had with his son had resulted in one trying to kill the other (mostly Tom trying to kill Harry but semantics) he had nothing of his sons to use.

But he had done it. Matias having been around Gringotts and presumably the alley made everything easier, if not possible.

Still kneeling on the ground, Tom reached out to the small spool of golden thread that was currently in the middle of the room. He reverently cupped it into his hands, his eyes never leaving it.

"My Lord," a goblin interrupted. "We are going to need this room soon and need to begin the cleansing."

Voldemort let out a small laugh at the fear he heard in the goblins voice. The amount of power he used in the ritual was not trivial and would have killed most magicals. The fact that he was not only alive, but conscious and seemed to be suffering from only mild fatigue was nothing short of incredible.

Giving a short nod of acknowledgement to the goblin, he headed out of the room. It was a short walk later, guided by yet another goblin when Tom finally reached the grand lobby of the bank.

Taking a deep breath, he quickly slipped out of the front doors, stopping on the steps. He looked at the small ball of yarn in his hands then let it quickly spool off his hands. He quickly followed the path of the yarn as it began to spin away from him and into the crowds of the alley. He got a few weird looks, but most ignored him. Weird things have happened than a man following a spool of yarn rolling of it's own accord.

Tom nearly sighed in relief as it led him inside the Leaky Cauldron and out of the heat. He simply gave a curt nod to the bartender before following the yarn upstairs. Internally he groaned. Did his son seriously have such terrible taste in temporary housing? He knew that Matias might not know of other hotels, he didn't at his age, but it still made him cringe in distaste.

The little ball of yarn came to a stop in front of the door for room 323, its glow dying as it had found the person that it had been commissioned to find. . He stood there for a moment. For once completely at a loss as to what he should do. He never thought he would see his son ever again. He thought that the one who had taught what love was was gone forever. Yet here he was, standing at the door of the man- no child that he has been treating as his arch-nemesis for well over a decade.

Voldemort would try and sneak in, try and learn about Matias before forming the best plan of attack. But this was Tom's son. A product of the man, not the monster. So he stood there, before finally gathering up the sorting hat had seen in him (small but there, and man if he wasn't ashamed) and raised his fist, letting a soft knock ring out.

Harry would have denied the fact that he jumped upon hearing the knock on his door. He also would have denied the fact that the mirror shattered at his magic. Oooppppss, he could pay for it, he definitely had the money now.

Recovering quickly from the shock, he quickly reached for his wand on the small dresser before moving towards the door. As there was no peep hole (damn magical hotel), he could only crack open the door to see who was there.

Looking around the door, Harry found himself face face to face with a carbon copy of himself. It took a moment and a half for him to realize what that meant. In response to his brain finally catching up to speed, he found himself capable of only one action, slamming the door shut.

He felt his heart begin to race as his breaths came out in short pants. He knew, logically, that a door could never stop someone like Voldemort but still, it was better than nothing. How had he found him? Did he know that he was- Harry and Matias, that his son and enemy were one in the same? A million questions ran through his head when -

"Har- Matias?"

Harry blinked in confusion. The voice sounded almost gentle. He felt his magic start to reign in- when had that escaped? Harry blink the confusion out of his eyes before looking at the door once more.

"Matias," said the Dark lord on the other side of the door. "Matias - Harry please."

Harry cocked his head to the side in confusion. Was that desperation? Why did he sound sincere.

: Matias, I promise, I mean you, your whole person, regardless of name, no harm : Tom hissed.

Harry startled slightly at the snake language but a sense of peace overcame him upon hearing it. Somehow he felt like the man meant his promise, and it was only the severity of the situation that kept him from laughing out loud at the hilarity of the situation.

: Matias, Harry, do you know that you can't lie in parseltongue : the man hissed, willing for the teen to believe him. It was true after all.

Tom listened for any type of response, but the only thing he heard were the adrenaline fueled pants behind the door. So he continued in his explanation.

: Parseltongue is a language completely connected to magic, as such it is binding. There is no deceiving, no breaking of promises. Everything that is said must be true or will be made true. For the consequences of lying in parseltongue, an affront to lady magic herself, is the loss of the gift she gave you : he explained, trying to keep his voice patient.

Harry finally found the courage within himself for a response. "Swear it," he said, voice low.

Tom startled at the deepness in his son's voice, it was like hearing a very eerier recording of himself during his most powerful days. Shaking himself out of the memory's he quickly processed the actual words his son had said.

"I Tom Marvalo Riddle, otherwise known as the Dark Lord of Magic, or Lord Voldemort to some, solemnly swear upon my magic that I mean no harm to come to the person of Harry James Potter, otherwise known as Matias Gaunt Riddle, my son."

Harry heard a small whisper of "lumos" followed by a glow creeping through the crack below the door. He felt himself relax slightly at that statement and gathered all of his Gryffindor courage left and opened the door.

Tom felt himself let out a small gasp at the first true good sight of his son as the door creaked open.

"Matias," he said in awe. His face showed an unusual amount of emotion.

Harry looked at his father?! with curiosity that was tamed by fear. He opened the door some more, inviting the man inside. He received a nod of thank from the older wizard before he shut the door.

"So…." he trailed off. Unsure of what to say. "How did you find me?"

Tom stiffened slightly at the question but otherwise stayed calm.

"Through a family tracking ritual. You have done an admiral job at hiding from both myself and the terrible old man that is Dumbledore," he said, nearly spatting out Dumbledore's name.

Harry simply nodded in response to this. He felt himself stiffen immediately as T- no Voldemort pulled out a wand.

Tom watched Harry's reaction and winced at the reminder. "Ma- Harry, I'm simply putting up privacy spells. With the vows I swore earlier I could cause you harm if I wanted to- which I don't."

Harry watched as he cast multiple spells with incredible ease and calmed down as soon as the wand was put away.

Tom turned back to his son, the curiosity in Matias's eyes amusing him.

"So, my son, I imagine you have some questions?"