9 NliHP Chapter 009
It was an OK night sleep. The rooms have silencing charms built into the walls but not the doors. The sound bleed from the Pub after the Dinner hour when the late customers showed up for a drink and rabble rousing. wasn't as bad as a week end though, or that's what I heard the next morning from talking Tom when I returned my key.
Well off to important business. Went to Trully's Trunks and Travel. To pick up my cart.
"Good morning Mr. Potter. Finished your cart last night. If you give me a moment, I will have it out for you." said Tully who was restocking a few displayed before walking back round the counter. "Here it is. The space expansion enchantments went better than expected, so we got a 15x expansion instead of the 10 requested. The feather weight enchantment covers just the contents as you paid for the standard version, though I think having a cart that weighs as much as a feather in any kind of rain would be a bit silly. The durability enchantment and self-repair have a guarantee for an empty drop from 1000 feet or the equivalent and if full, a drop from 100 feet. Unless you have any cabbages stored in or on the cart at the time of damage. For some reason Cabbages just cause the durability enchantment to become nearly useless. Doesn't cause the cart to lose durability, it just limits how much is provided from the enchantment. So, if you are hauling cabbages don't drop it from more than a foot at a full load. Other than that, as long as the cart is in one piece the self-repairing enchantments will fix it to its current status. Any questions?"
"Sounds like I got what I paid for. Can't believe about the cabbages, but what if I have sour kraut or Kimchi?"
"Never herd of Kimchi, but Sour Kraut will be just fine. The enchantment is only affected by Raw cabbage. Once it has been processed into something else, it's fine to carry it and covered under warranty. Though for any claims we will require a Memory no later than 3 days after the catastrophic event. It's all in the warranty card stuck to the front there."
"Thanks Mrs. Tully. Before I go can you shrink it for me?
"Sure dear." and with a flick my cart is pocket size again. "Now if I did this right, and I did, it will last at least 6 hours. To un-shrink it sooner just tap it with your wand."
"Thanks again." I give my thanks again as I pick up my cart and head for Gringotts wizarding bank.
Dun, Dun, Dun. Suspenseful music plays. Will I be going in to a helpful Gringotts? Probably. Will I have some unexpected wind fall? I sure hope so. Wonder what kind it will be…
(AN: I should stop the chapter right here. But that would only be 500 words as of 'only'. So, I'm not going to. Lucky you.)
Gringotts Wizarding bank.
Poem on the floor.
In line for a teller.
"Next."
Well, that's me. "Hello master teller I would like to inquire about the financial status of my family accounts. As I am the last surviving member, I believe that I have the responsibility to know how my money is working for me."
"What accounts will those be Yong customer?" the Goblin teller almost sneered out.
"Sorry sir. I am Harry Potter and I'm here about the Potter accounts please."
"The… just a moment." the goblin steps away from the teller's window before going back and speaking into a brass tube in the wall. After a brief conversation the Teller came back and pulled on a pull which signaled a goblin to come over. "If you would follow Runner NarFang he will take you to accounts manager GoldTooth."
"Thank you master teller." I then followed NarFang who left me in an office with a harried looking Goblin.
"Took you long enough Mr. Potter. My name is GoldTooth. I have been the account manager for the Potters accounts for the last 87 years. In all that time I have guided your accounts in a positive manner, and then your father comes along and dumps 90% of his available assets into something called The Order of the Phoenix. The only saving grace is he was only an heir at the time, so he was limited to his trust vaults.
Don't get me wrong. If you were his friend and you were in need, he would give you the shirt off his back to see you thru. The best example would be that Black boy. Mother was a… Evil woman. So, when he got his chance he left, and the potters welcomed him in."
"Alright so last will and testament of your folks was ultra-simple." hands over an envelope. "You get it all. All owned properties are to be held in trust by Gringotts. If available, you are to be left in the care of your Godfather Sirius Black. If he is unavailable, you are to be left with your closest next of kin on your father's side. Wizengamot seats are to be held by Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick one seat each. This particular item was not upheld due to Albus Dumbledore Declaring and being appointed as your legal guardian by a full wizengamot 3 weeks after your parents were killed. As your parents will was never read it was passed. "
I was in a bit of shock. It's looking like it's going to be an ass hat Dumbledor.
Investments wise. 3 of the business you own shares in are still turning a profit. Wiseacre, Trully's and Slug and Jiggers. Apparently, their old Potions professor talked them in to investing in the later. 4 businesses are breaking even the highest in return is" he flips some papers. "Nimbus brooms, they are due to release the Nimbus 2000, so next year I see them having a better return. Flourish and Blotts had a return this year of only 12 galleons, it was a charity case that was saved by your mother. Her actions saved the shop and lowered the cost of books sold there, as she wasn't doing it to invest but to facilitate people to get new books at a reasonable price it has never returned much on her investment. But it has always had a return. The last one is the healer's cart. It has had a return of 3 galleons over the last 8 years. The witch who runs it is just there to offer people minor healing and healing supplies. I personally think she just does it to get out of the house and have something meaningful to do.
On the negative side 7 businesses have been closed for an assortment of reasons. From death of the owners to foreclosure. In the case of Scrub Daddy, it was a case of miscommunication and a bad uniform choice. Selling cleaning supplies while wearing a pink apron, rubber gloves, and a pair of flip flops. Yeah… no one went there… well actually one person went there. Oenophiles Lovegood.
Onwards.
Your biggest revenue is royalties followed by property rentals. The bestselling is the pepper up potion."
"Wait how do I earn royalties on a potion?"
"In this case its magically tracked and honored. If you make the potion you don't have to pay a royalty, but if you sell a potion you do, but only if the royalty paperwork is up to date. Your family only lets a product drop from royalty status after 100 years. By then something better was made by the family. The last improvement was Skelegrow, the predecessor product was called skeleton fortifying solution, or some such. It has been 85 years since that potion was last made.
Rentals wise you own 12% of the property in Daigon ally. Your current rental contracts are to Slug and Jiggers, Olivander's, The Daily profit, and Wiseacres. there are also a few residential properties as well.
Other property's you control are the memorial at Godric's Hollow, Potter's More, Potter's Port, and… well that's strange, I don't know. I know that it exists, but I can't remember where or what it's called. Probably a Fidelius. Stupid Wizards.
"There are no points of business at this time. Next summer you will need to file for royalty extensions for 13 different potions and 3 processes, that will keep those royalties going for another 10 years."
"Vaults. You have 3. you have your trust vault, which you control in full, you have the family vault which you can visit but not take items out until after your 15th birthday, or you become declared an adult by the ministry of magic. And then you have the Potter investments vault. Current value is 579,567,234 Galleons. That one you are not allowed to interact with until you turn 21 and have completed your schooling with at least one O.
is there anything else we can do for you today?"
yeah, I need to get an inheritance test done. After that there may be several items, I will need help with but the depend on the outcome of the inheritance test.
"Would you like an immediate, partial, or full"
"What is the difference?"
"Immediate will tell us your family up to your great grandparents. Partial will go back 7 generations. Full will go back for as far as there was magic but gets confusing as the naming convention gets harder to understand. The Full will be stopped after the 3rd blank name if you get that far back. The full is a relatively new ritual. The immediate costs 16 Galleons, Partial costs 256, and the Full costs 1000 galleons. If you pick the Full, I am able to get you a 10% discount as you will be the first Wizard to go thru with it since it was created 9 years ago."
"My father's line is most likely well documented and all I know is my mother's parents were Muggles. How much is in my trust vault?"
a couple of flips of paper later "You have 4000 Galleons accessible in your trust vault."
"Alright. I have completed most of my shopping for the next several years. You know what let's do it. There is a chance that I will find something interesting."
GoldTooth writes a note on a piece of parchment before rolling it up and sending it out through a vacuum tube. "The ritual is now being set up. Anything else you would like to go over before we head to the ritual Chamber?"
and then I had a brilliant idea. "How much would it cost to have the goblins act as a middleman to hire someone go thru all the Gildroy Lockhart books and fact check them, and write a concise report on each one?"
"Humm… off the top of my head between 9 and 900 Galleons with a 10% fee to the Middle manager, with 2% of that going to the bank."
"let's do it. I have a feeling that whoever does the fact checking is going to find a lot of inconsistencies. Also put a hold in Flourish and Blott's on all Gildroy Lockhart books. If he asks why, tell him that his works are being reviewed for an award. If I am right, he is just gullible enough to believe it."
"It's your money." replies GoldTooth while shaking his head wondering about the idiocy of wizards.
Next stop the Ritual Room
Inside the ritual room there are three rings of Goblins in ritual wear the 1st ring is 3 Goblins the 2nd ring is 7 Goblins, and the 3rd ring is 13 Goblins in the center is a scroll about 108 inches wide and 33 inches thick. I guess they think it's going to be going for a while.
OK Mr. Potter this is the ritual leader. They don't give out their names, so don't ask. You will need to do what they say to prevent any accidents." and after the last line left his lips, he skedaddled out the door.
"Strip and place your things outside of the circle."
"OK." took my clothes off and placed them outside the ritual circle by the door.
"Sit with your hands on the scroll."
I sit cross legged and place my hands on the scroll.
The FUCKING GOBLIN put a spike through both of my hands.
At the same time all the Goblins started to chant.
I don't know how long I was there. The only thing I could do to judge the time was watch my blood flow along the scroll. It was minutes, hours, Days? I don't know and then the time started going backwards. The blood that had gone out came back to me. Just as soon as I was getting used to the pain the spikes were ripped from my hands.
"Get dressed."
I was in pain
"Go, Get, Dressed, Wizard."
I was taking too long.
I struggled to my feet from where I lay, my hands tingling as if I had just electrocuted myself. Like holding a vibrator set to max but having nothing in your hand.
Eventually I got dressed and immediately I was shoved out of the chamber and soon found my way back to GoldTooth and his office.
"So how do you feel?"
"I feel like someone forgot to disclose the EUA" (End User Agreement)
"In all honesty no one wants to do it if you tell them they are going to be in excruciating pain for the duration. Of the 3 Goblins who did it… well you don't need to know. Would you like to examine your lineage now."
"God's no. I'm still shaking from the pain. I'll come back for it later. Can you have it placed in the family vault."
"Yes, we can stick it in the vault. We will even include a reading table."
"Thanks, GoldTooth. Before I forget I need a place to stay and conduct several points of business until school starts. I also need to visit the ministry of magic. I have several suspicions that I want to check."
"Like what? Maybe we could help facilitate whatever it is?"
"Well… Do I have your Promise that whatever is said here is not passed on?"
"You have my Vow that any information of a sensitive matter will not pass beyond this room until such time as you give permission."
"I see a few Holes in that promise but if you tell anyone in this room it must not go beyond the Goblin King. Some of the things I intend to find out could affect the people of the British Isles."
"You have my word. None but the king and only if he so asks."
"Thank you.
First, I need to visit the ministry and check the status of Sirius Black. Did he have a trial, if no what is his current status?
Second.
Does Tom Marvolo Riddle exist? You may have herd of him by his other name, Voldermort." at that the goblin flinched then sneered. "If my 'dreams/visions/other' were correct, did he make Horcruxes? If so, where are they? Can I destroy them all before he comes back? Do I want to?"
"Horcrux?"
a Horcrux is a soul anchor. Whatever you do, don't mention it around Dumbledore. If I am correct, then Tom made 6 of them. A diary, A cup, A locket, A ring, A Tiara, a Scar, and then we have himself. That's seven pieces. And the one right here he doesn't know about." I say as I tap the scar on my forehead. "But Tom has become more and more of an idiot each time he has split his soul. By now he has no empathy, and his only goal is to survive." by now GoldTooth is becoming visibly concerned. "Don't worry for me. I know how to get rid of the soul in me that's not mine. In part it is thanks to my mother, Lily. On the night of her murder, she entered into a binding contract with Voldemort. He didn't know about it and so he attempted to kill me breaking his end of the agreement, which caused the Killing curse to rebound and kill him instead."
"What!"
"Yeah, I know. Shocking to find out the true reason of why I live.
Currently with my limited understanding on blood contracts, any spell with the intent to cause me death will instead not work, or work against himself. And all the information I have is just what I have learned from the Muggle worlds antiquity sections."
Third item on my list
Can I keep a tormented soul away from a mad man. But before I attempt to do that, I need a house, and then I need a portkey to my residence.
Forth can only be completed after I journey to Hogwarts, and I will need a roster before I go to investigate it."
"That's… That's a lot of information. That contract you spoke of, how was it done?"
it was under the rug upstairs in Godric's Hollow I don't know the current state of the written contract as Godric's Hollow was too far for me to travel to by myself until recently. But my memory is of my mother asking Voldemort 3 times to take her life and not mine. At no time did she have a wand, at no time did she provoke, antagonize, or attempt to move after he entered the room. Her words of 'Take me not Harry' repeated 3 times, with his reply being you 'silly girl' and then him casting the AK, which unknowingly bound him to the contract."
"But. How do you know this?"
"Because I remember. After my mother died, he came for me next. Next thing I knew was waking up at my relative's house, which quickly became hell. Five years and then I started to awaken my magic. I may tell you more of my story at a later date. Not today though."
"Wow. So how many rooms do you want for your apartment?"
"I think 2, I may have a guest over in the near future."
"Please wait here." GoldTooth leaves the room quickly. 10 minutes later and he was back. "Alright Mr. Potter. Here is your key to your new apartment. Room 213. when you exit the bank turn to the right and follow the ally. Look for door number 21 yours will be the 3rd apartment." I get a Black skeleton key with 21-3 labeled along the shank. "This is a timed portkey that will deposit whoever is touching it in your living room." he hands over an aluminum ring. "The rent is paid in full until 5 days after the Hogwarts express leaves for Hogwarts, you may take it as thanks from Gringotts for the information you have shared. Especially our fraud department. It has come to some Goblins notice that Gildroy Lockhart's claims may have been grossly exaggerated. As he has applied for a loan to finance his next expedition, we have decided to hold off on approving it until the fact checker gets done with his remit."
"Thank you GoldTooth, Now I just need directions to the Ministry of Magic to start my adventures before school."
"Ah yes. I have taken the liberty to find you a guide for the day. He is right outside. His name is William Weasley. He has been working here for the last year and a half with distinction. His father is the head of the misuse of Muggle artifacts department, which is a subsidiary department of the MLE, and next to the department of records. While there you should look between November 1st and November 14th. The records are all in order as of last month when the Wards were last updated. If you find that Sirius has been wronged, please bring him to Gringotts at his earliest convince. There are a lot of things he needs to go over with his account manager." I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "None of your secrets left this room. I just asked who the head of the Blacks was, and he said it was still Sirius as no other male of the blacks is currently alive and of age."
"Thanks, GoldTooth. Please introduce me to Mr. Weasley and then I better be off to my next task."
