A/N: This chapter is pretty long. But it is worth it. We took inspiration from writers CatsAreCool and VMFanFiction for this chapter. Please go read those brilliant writer's stories as well.
A Reaper-less Death chapter 5
The following day, Harry stood with Sirius in his office getting ready to call for Dobby. "Now remember, the goblins are a prideful race. Be polite and respectful. I have never heard of them inviting a wizard or witch to share a meal with them, so this is uncharted area for me. Just do your best okay." Says Sirius to Harry.
Harry nods and calls Dobby's name. A pop sounds and the house elf appears. "Hello Harry Potter, am I taking you both to see the goblins now?" Says Dobby excitedly upon his arrival.
"Yes Dobby, please." Replies Harry.
"Very well Harry Potter and Mr. Black. Please take my hands." Dobby offers each a hand. As they take his hand, they are instantly teleported to a small, brightly lit room. As Harry fights back the nausea he looks to see they are in a stone room with very ornate and expensive looking wooden furniture. Dobby says, "It takes a couple of minutes before a goblin will arrive. When you are ready to return just call me from this room Harry Potter." And with a pop Dobby is gone.
As soon as Dobby leaves, the door opens and Ragnok enters. "It is a pleasure to see you once again Lord Black. And is this Heir Potter?" Harry looks at the goblin and notices he is a bit taller than the ones he saw in the bank before and Ragnok is wearing a much finer suit as well.
Sirius steps forward and gives a slight bow, Harry does the same, "Yes Ragnok, and it is a unique pleasure to be invited to a meal with you. We are honored." Ragnok chuckles and seems to relax a little.
"Very few wizards have earned the respect of the Goblin Nation. Heir Potter here has become somewhat of a legend among the magical creatures that the Ministry holds in disdain. Come, let us eat before we address the business of your visit. I hope you find our meal pleasing." Ragnok leads them from the room. Sirius looks to Harry and gives a slight nod of approval as well as smile.
Ragnok leads them from the room and down a long stone corridor. They make a few turns before finally entering a large room with a massive table. On the table closest to the door there appears to be a large feast set up. There is also another goblin sitting and waiting for their arrival. As soon as they enter the goblin stands and waits for them to approach.
In a feminine, yet gruff voice, "Welcome Lord Black and Heir Potter. Please take a seat. What would like to drink?" Sirius looks at the goblin and gives a slight bow, Harry follows his example, before they take a seat.
"This is my mate Seriphene, she cooked the meal for us and as is our custom she wanted to join us. I hope this is acceptable to you two?" Says Ragnok.
Sirius replies, "Thank you and is more than acceptable Ragnok. I did not realize your mate worked in the bank."
Ragnok looks a bit shocked, for a goblin. "Oh no, Seriphene does not work in the bank, she takes care of our home and children, she offered last night to cook this meal. She has a better knowledge of food for wizards, so I accepted her request. When our mates cook, it is custom they get to enjoy the meal with our guests."
Harry looks at the trays of food and the smell elicits a growl of his stomach. Seriphene laughs loudly, "Please Heir Potter, eat. I hope you enjoy." Harry looks to Sirius and then begins to take small servings of everything in front of them. Harry has a slight recall of his first meal at Hogwarts and smiles.
After everyone has taken some of the food and starts to eat, Seriphene asks, "Is this pleasant for your palates?" Harry replies without thinking, "This is better than anything I have ever eaten, it is much better than what we get at Hogwarts." He looks up quickly at the silence thinking he said something wrong but sees that Seriphene is smiling and small tears in her eyes.
Ragnok says, "My love, I think there is no better compliment, do you?" Seriphene jumps from her seat and runs from the table. Harry worried he offended her looks fearful to Ragnok. "Oh, fear not Heir Potter, you have pleased her more than you realize. She was afraid you would not like the meal, and telling her it is better than Hogwarts, well I don't know of a better compliment. We know how well the house elves of the school cook; we hear stories all the time in the bank when students return home for holidays. She did not want to embarrass herself in front of you, she will be back momentarily."
Sirius looks between them and smiles, "Well I can definitely say that her meal is amazing and much better than what my meals are like. I am very blessed to have this wonderful food. I hope she returns quickly so that I may praise her as well. If that is acceptable Ragnok? Quite frankly, we were not sure how to behave since I have never heard of a wizard sharing a meal with goblins before."
Ragnok smiles broadly, "Why thank you Lord Black. It is perfectly acceptable to praise her cooking, and it fills me with pride as well. And you are right, it has been a very long time since we ate with wizards. We used to do so quite often, but the practice has declined due to the attitudes of some of the wizarding families." Ragnok looks aside and sees his mate return. He stands and approaches her, give her a hug and speak to her in a harsh language. When done she smiles and seems to squeal as well. She rushes to Sirus and Harry and gives them each a hug and a soft kiss on their cheeks.
"Thank you, gentlemen, for the praise and honor you have given me. I was worried you would find our food to be distasteful. I am very glad you are enjoying it. Please eat all that you can." Harry smiles and looks to Seriphene and takes more food and starts to eat. Sirius chuckles and does the same.
After almost an hour of eating and light talking, the meal comes to an end. Seriphene begins to clean up the table area, when complete, she once again gives a hug and kiss on the cheek to Harry and Sirius then excuses herself. Once she has left the room, Ragnok straightens up and gets their attention.
"Gentlemen, thank you for a very pleasant meal. Shall we go to my office and get your business taken care of." Sirius nods and replies, "Yes Ragnok, we do not want to take any more of your important time. We shall follow you." Harry and Sirius stand up and both realize just how much food they ate. Slowly, Ragnok leads them back out to the corridor and to a nearby office. They enter and have a seat at an ornate, oak desk.
As Ragnok sits down, he offers chairs for Harry and Sirius, scrolls start to appear on his desk as he reaches for the first of them. "First, Heir Potter, we need to get the most important business done. Four years ago, you came to Gringotts with a half giant named Hagrid, you were taken to your vault and then promptly escorted out of the bank. There was a grievous mistake made. The goblin involved has been dispatched for his treason. Over the following years, you were not made available to meet with me upon my requests to Headmaster Dumbledore. I am still waiting for his reply to this. Also, during the last few years, a Mrs. Molly Weasley has taken coins from your vault to pay for supplies and needs for your time at Hogwarts. When she was questioned, she stated she did this as a favor to you so you would not have to worry about coming to the bank and then getting your items. We have not taken any actions against her at this time, but if you wish for it to happen we can."
Harry looks surprised and replies, "Yes, Mrs. Weasley did get coins from my vault for school supplies, and I assume some coins to assist with feeding me when I was in their care. I do not want to take any negative actions against her. She was trying to be helpful to me. As for my not meeting you before, I do apologize. I was not informed that you wanted a meeting until just recently by Sirius."
"Very well, no actions will be taken. And yes, she did take several galleons from your vault that was used to pay for food and other things. I will allow you to address that with her yourself." Replies Ragnok, "As for the meeting, I have asked Dumbledore many times for this. Your parents had a will written before their unfortunate passing and it needs to be attended to."
Harry looks to Sirius who also looks a bit surprised. "Well, honestly, I am not surprised. I know the House of Potter is an Ancient and Noble family. That is why when I made myself known to Ragnok, he asked me to help arrange this as soon as we could."
Ragnok continues, "We first need to verify your lineage, Heir Potter. I will need you to do a ceremony, you will need to drop some of your blood on this parchment." Ragnok sets a parchment on the desk in front of Harry and pulls out an ornate dagger from a drawer. "This dagger is very sharp and magical. Once you cut your hand, allow a few drops of your blood to fall on the parchment and the wound will heal instantly." Ragnok hands the dagger to Harry carefully.
Harry holds the dagger in his hand and looks to Sirius, who nods for him to proceed. Harry makes a cut across the palm of his hand over the parchment. Several drops of blood quickly fall, and the wound start to heal right away. Harry looks at the dagger and sees his blood fall from the blade onto the parchment and is then clean.
"Excellent Heir Potter." Ragnok looks to the parchment as words begin to fill in on the page. He then reads the following to Harry & Sirius.
Inheritance Test - Harry James Potter
Date of Birth: 31 July 1980
Parents: James Charlus Potter (deceased) and Lili Rose Potter 'nee Evans (deceased)
Official Titles of Lineage:
Most Ancient and Most Noble House:
House Peverell - direct descendant - father
Ancient and Most Noble Houses:
House Potter - direct descendant - father
House Black - second-in-line - father
Note: Harry James Potter is an Emancipated Minor as of 31 October 1994, therefore qualifies for titles Lord Potter of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, and Lord Peverell of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell
Harry, hearing this information is shocked and surprised. Sirius gets a big smile on his face, and Ragnok nods in approval. Ragnok then says, "With this verified Lord Potter, I know hand you this box." Ragnok pulls out a small wooden box and hands to Harry.
Harry opens the box and sees two rings within, surrounded by velvet. Each ring has an ornate letter P on them, one with a griffin rising up behind the letter P. The other ring has a blue circle with three silver haystacks and a gold letter P.
"These rings represent the Houses that you have titles of minus House Black. I would recommend wearing the house Potter ring on the middle finger of your left hand, and House Peverell on your ring finger of your right hand. You could combine them to a single ring, but I would advise at this time of keeping them separate." Instructs Ragnok. Harry does as suggested and feels the rings bond with him as he does. He feels a wave of magic passing into to him and feels some internal changes.
"Now Lord Potter, onto the rest of our business. The reading of your parents will. I can read it to you if you want, or you can read it for yourself." States Ragnok. Harry thinks for a moment then says, "I would like to read it for myself, could Sirius read it with me?" Ragnok nods, "I can provide him a copy since he is also mentioned in their will. I will give you two time to read it over."
Ragnok slides over a canister and instructs Harry to place the Potter ring in the small indent. As he does so the Will unfurls in front of him and becomes a scroll for easy reading. After that Ragnok waves a hand and a copy appears for Sirius.
Harry reads the following to himself as does Sirius:
We, James Charlus Potter, and Lily Rose Potter 'nee Evans of able bodies and minds, claim this, our Final Will and Testament.
If James is no longer of this Earth, and Lily survives him, he leaves the contents of this Will, other than the gifts for friends listed below to her until their son, Harry James Potter, reaches his age of majority.
If Lily Rose Potter is no longer of this Earth, at the time of this Reading, we leave these various items to the following:
To Sirius Black: Our son's primary guardian, per the Godfather Ritual. We lend you Potter Manor in Northampton until Harry comes of age. We know you don't need money, but we give you 250,000 galleons to assistance to help raise Harry. You will find our portraits in Potter Manor. I am sure they - we - will help you raise Harry if you need assistance, and they will be able to talk to Harry and help him to learn all about us as he grows up. Sirius, I, James Potter, also name you Leader of the Great Alliance until Harry comes of age, takes his titles, and can sit in his seat. I also name you Proxy for the Potter and Peverell seats. We love you, Padfoot, and trust you with our son's life.
After Harry reads this section a couple of times, he looks to Sirius, "The have portraits in the Potter Manor, do you know where that is Sirius? I want to go right away". Sirius looks at Harry, "Yes I do, and I am sure there are portkeys to all of the Potter properties, isn't that right Ragnok?"
Ragnok nods his head and waves a hand. A small box appears on the table, "The portkeys are in here, with the name to each location and the command word needed to activate. You may want to verify they are still in good condition before using". Sirius nods in gratitude and wipes tears from his face. He pulls a handkerchief and hands it to Harry, "Blow your nose and wipe the tears away". Then he gives Harry a hug. They continue to read the will.
To Remus Lupin: We give you 150,00 galleons. We give you the house at Dithery Cliff. You can't give it back, so you best keep it. Get a new wardrobe. Find yourself a young lady to marry, or maybe you can live with Sirius and help raise little Prongslet with him. We also name you Remus as Steward to the House of Potter and Peverell. This is to make sure that you stay in Harry's life and look after his future.
Minerva McGonagall is placed in charge of the Lily Potter Scholarship Trust which should be used to provide one free place to a muggleborn student every year including tuition for the seven years of study, school supplies and a modest spending allowance to be set at her discretion. Funds are to be taken from the Potter vault, set aside in a separate vault for the Trust and receipts provided to the Potter Steward via Gringotts. Should she relinquish her position, she should recommend a replacement.
Harry stops once again, he looks to Ragnok, "How would this Trust work for Professor McGonagall? And does she know about it yet"? Ragnok responds, "She does not know about it yet, you two are the first to read the will. We can arrange for a formal reading in a few days if you want. You will need to establish a Steward for the Potter family; they will be able to work with Ms. McGonagall to get the trust started". Harry nods, "Thank you, yes I want a formal reading as soon as would be possible for those mentioned in the will and I guess we would need to invite a member of the Ministry as well".
Ragnok states, "There is mention of an Amelia Bones in the will, I know that she is the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so no others would need be invited unless you wanted the Minster present". Harry looks to Sirius, "What do you think Sirius"? Sirius thinks for a moment, "I recall Amelia, she graduated a couple of years before us, she was a friend to your mother, I trust her and if she is a director, she would be able to file anything needed in the Ministry for us".
"Brilliant, I think her daughter or niece is from my year at Hogwarts, but I don't know her very well, we had classes together. So, let's make sure she is the only member of the Ministry at this point". Sirius nods agreement and Ragnok makes a note of it all.
For Peter Pettigrew: If we are dead, Peter Pettigrew is guilty of betraying us. He was our Secret Keeper at the time of our death. We made everyone believe it was Sirius, so Peter wouldn't be targeted. Wormtail, you rat, we give you 30 sickles. Buy a ferry to Azkaban, you traitor.
Note: Adjusted in the will, without Albus Dumbledore as a witness.
As Sirius and Harry read to this point at about the same time, they stop and look at each other. Harry feels tears start to fill his eyes once again. Sirius is overwhelmed with anger and a stronger desire to hunt down Wormtail.
Sirius stops and says, "If Amelia Bones hears this part, she will be able to re-investigate my sentence to Azkaban and could have me exonerated. This would be a big help for us moving forward and be able to gets things properly fixed for us." Harry nods and wipes his face with the handkerchief. "Agreed".
When Harry reaches the age of eleven, and he opens this Will, we officially name him Lord Potter, the head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. We also request an official Inheritance Test for Harry so he may discover any and all titles to his name. As Lord Potter, he will gain access to the Potter vaults, fortunes and assets.
If we are no longer of this Earth, we name these individuals below as Harry's Official and Magical Guardians.
(In order of preference - if any individual is no longer of this Earth, the next name in line becomes Guardian)
Sirius Black - Godfather, per the Godfather Ritual.
Alice Longbottom and her husband, Frank - Godmother, per the Godmother ritual.
Pandora Lovegood and her husband, Xenophilus
Minerva McGonagall
Amelia Bones
Remus Lupin
Under no circumstances should Harry Potter be placed with Petunia Dursley 'nee Evans and her husband Vernon.
Under no circumstances is Albus Dumbledore allowed to use the Potter or Peverell votes in the Wizengamot. And Albus Dumbledore is not to have access to the Potter or Peverell vaults.
Note: Added into the will, after the fact, without Albus Dumbledore as a witness.
By signing this Final Will and Testament, we vow that everything said here is true and honest, James Charlus Potter and Lily Rose Potter
Witness: Albus Percival Brian Dumbledore
Gringots Official Witness: Ragnok the Sixth, Potter Family Account Manager and Vault Keeper, Peverell Family Account Manager and Vault Keeper.
Harry is overwhelmed with anger after reading this. He looks to Ragnok, "Did Dumbledore know that my mother did not want me to go to my aunt"? Ragnok stops to think and answers, "Yes he was witness to that part of the will, the section about him not having access to the family vaults or the Wizengamot was added in after he had signed, which is legal to make said changes. Like the one made in regard to Pettigrew."
"Did Dumbledore get into either of the family vaults"? Asks Sirius.
"I do not have any records of him attempting to access either of the vaults. Only access was to the inheritance vault by Mrs. Weasley, which was already discussed". Answers Ragnok.
Sirius looks at Harry, "We can ask Amelia who is the proxy in the Wizengamot for the family Potter, Peverell and I will need to find out for the family Black. If my name is cleared, I can claim my inheritance and title as well. Amelia would be a member of the Wizengamot".
By signing this Final Will and Testament, we vow that everything said here is true and honest, James Charlus Potter and Lily Rose Potter
Witness: Albus Percival Brian Dumbledore
Gringots Official Witness: Ragnok the Sixth, Potter Family Account Manager and Vault Keeper, Peverell Family Account Manager and Vault Keeper.
Properties Owned:
Potter Manor
Cottage at Godric's Hollow
Flat at 2A London Street Diagon Alley
House Dithery Cliff England
Villa outside of Paris France
4 Private Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey
Investments For:
Has 20% ownership to the Daily Prophet and all spin off publications
Has 5% ownership of Flourish and Blotts bookstore
Has 5% ownership of The Magical Menagerie
As they finish reading over the Will, Ragnok states that he will send out invitations to the appropriate wizards and witches. They plan for the reading to occur in two days' time and to be read in an office of Gringotts. Sirus and Harry thanks Ragnok and are escorted to the apparition room. They call for Dobby and return home.