Gringotts, Part 2

Still Saturday, 12th August, about noon

In the office of Director Ragnok, Gringotts

Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and Madam Bones, as well as Axefrenzy and Slicesword, all just had been permitted to enter Director Ragnok's office.

Ragnok looked at Harry and said, "Lucius Malfoy is dead. His wife Narcissa and his son...?" "Draco," Slicesword prompted.

Ragnok continued, "Lucius Malfoy's wife Narcissa and his son Draco know only that Lucius Malfoy was alive and healthy this morning at breakfast, but is now dead. What they don't know is how he died, and who is the successor Lord Malfoy."

Ragnok looked into Harry's eyes and said, "Gringotts will not inform them in a letter till tomorrow morning, after the Malfoy family is sure to have read tomorrow's Daily Prophet."

Harry shook his head, not understanding. "You act like you're telling me something important. But how is this important?"

Ragnok said, "Account Manager Slicesword?"

Slicesword said, "Living in Malfoy Manor, with Lucius Malfoy's permission, are about thirty Death Eaters and their leader, Tom Marvolo Riddle a.k.a Lord Voldemort a.k.a"—now Slicesword's voice was a sneer—"You Know Who, also He Who Must Not Be Named."

Madam Bones said, "Merlin on a mushroom." Harry shook his head. "I still don't understand."

Sirius said, "Pup, you now control the wards at Malfoy Manor. But Moldyshorts won't know that you do, till tomorrow. If the wards at Malfoy Manor are anything like the wards at Gri— at the Black house in London, then you can cause Tommy and his mouth-breathing minions a whole lot of hurt, today and early tomorrow, and they won't expect it."

Hermione said, "Plus, I bet Lucius has been giving much money to Voldemort. But now, no more Malfoy money for Mr Ugly."

Harry smirked. "Oh, I don't know about that, Hermione. The bloke's bald; if he asked, I might give Tommy money for a wig."

Madam Bones asked, "Director Ragnok, aren't you risking the Goblin Nation's neutrality by meeting with Harry Potter like this?"

Ragnok's grin showed piranha-teeth. "How? I'm not offering anything to Lord Potter, nor am I urging Lord Potter to take any particular action. I am merely making Lord Potter aware of a

few odd facts that he otherwise would not be told, if ever, till much later."

Harry turned to look at Madam Bones. "I ask the DMLE to not take any special notice of Malfoy Manor, or whoever might by living there, till noon tomorrow."

The eyes of both Sirius and Madam Bones widened in surprise. But Hermione's face put on its Don't bother me, I'm planning expression.

Director Ragnok ended the meeting then. Harry said to Slicesword, "I want to meet with you a little more, in your office, if this is convenient."

****

In the office of Slicesword, the Malfoy account manager

Axefrenzy had returned to his own office; Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Madam Bones had followed the other goblin to his own office.

Now Harry asked Slicesword, "Besides what we've already discussed in Director Ragnok's office, is there anything especially important that you need to ask me or to tell me?"

Slicesword nodded. "House Crabbe and House Goyle each owe more than ten thousand galleons to House Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy gave Lord Crabbe and Lord Goyle a choice: their sons and daughter would become the servants of Lucius's son Draco, or the loans would fall due immediately."

Harry frowned. "Crabbe and Goyle, one of them has a sister? And she's supposed to be Draco's bodyguard too?"

Slicesword scowled. "Not exactly."

Harry replied, "May I see the parchmentwork please, if you have it?"

Slicesword looked startled; Harry guessed the goblin was unaccustomed to "Lord Malfoy" addressing him politely.

Lucius Malfoy had sent out two letters, nearly identical in wording, dated 8th August 1991. House Crabbe had owed G11 293 to House Malfoy then; House Goyle had owed G13 885. Vincent Crabbe, Sr had been given the "choice" of paying the entire outstanding loan by 1st September 1991, or else he would pay the owed money later but his son would become Draco Malfoy's bodyguard during the boys' seven years at Hogwarts.

House Goyle had owed even more money than House Crabbe had, and Lucius Malfoy had given Garston Goyle an even harsher "choice": Pay up the entire thirteen-plus thousand galleons within the next twenty-three days, or Draco gets your son as a bodyguard for the next seven years, and both Draco and I get use of Galina Goyle as a "personal servant" when the girl begins Hogwarts on 1st September 1996.

" 'Personal servant'?" Harry sputtered. "Lucius would turn an eleven-year-old girl into Draco's whore?"

"And Lucius's whore too," Hermione snarled. "Lucius, who's in his thirties, and married. That's disgusting."

"Lucius was in his thirties," Harry corrected. "Now his age is 'Not Applicable.' " Hermione said, "You will tell me that story. Soon."

Harry asked Slicesword, "Do you have current figures for how much House Crabbe and House Goyle owe House Malfoy?"

Since 8th August 1991, House Crabbe had paid over a thousand galleons to House Malfoy; House Goyle had paid over two thousand galleons. But both Houses still owed House Malfoy serious coin.

The fact that offended Harry so much was that Lucius had shit on House Crabbe and House Goyle in 1991, using the excuse that together those two Houses had owed Lucius twenty-five thousand galleons; but in 1991, the Malfoy vaults had been bulging with coins. Lucius had been a hardarse in 1991 when he had not needed to be.

Now Harry collected a copy of each of the two letters that Lucius had written, and the current figures on House Crabbe's and House Goyle's debt to House Malfoy. Then Harry asked Slicesword, "Is there anything else you want to ask me or to tell me?"

Slicesword's eyes bored into Harry's. "The Malfoy Manor wards can be set to deny portkeying out, apparating out and flooing out. The wards can cast something like the Imperturbable Charm on the house itself, so that the building cannot be damaged or penetrated, or its doors unlocked. These abilities of the wards give the Malfoy Head of House another way to stop prisoners in his dungeon from escaping."

Madam Bones said sarcastically, "Quite right, how could Lucius have fun torturing prisoners if they could escape?"

Slicesword continued, "The Malfoy Head of House can remove any wards erected within Malfoy Manor, no matter whether those wards were set up by himself or a previous Lord Malfoy, a member of the Malfoy family, or a houseguest."

Sirius made a low whistle.

Everyone went silent, as Harry stopped to think. Everyone was surprised when Harry started to chuckle.

He explained his laughter: "When the Dursleys were making me sleep in the cupboard under the stairs"—Harry saw Hermione shoot Madam Bones a pointed look—"I used to wish for a house of my own. Well, now I own a house—but the most evil Inbreds in Wizarding Britain live there, and the half-blood fraud who killed my parents lives there. My life never is boring!"

Sirius said, "Pup, you also own Potter Manor now. I've heard the place is a ruin, but I'm sure you have money enough to repair it."

Harry grinned, then turned back to Slicesword: "New instructions for the tellers: do not honour Narcissa's key or Draco's key, whenever anyone outside the family—except for me!

—is standing with them. Don't tell Narcissa or Draco what the new instructions are, except that if they are alone or are accompanied by Harry Potter, their key always will be honoured."

Slicesword wrote a note.

Harry said to Slicesword, "Before I leave, I need the name of the Malfoy head house-elf." "His name is Goldy."

Then Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Amelia went to pay a call on Bladebloody, the Black account manager.

****

Sirius was shocked to learn that he was now Lord Black. Sirius claimed the Black Head of House ring, and immediately declared Harry to be Heir Black. Sirius then announced he would need to "think long and hard" what to do about Narcissa and Bellatrix; but Andromeda Tonks and Nymphadora Tonks were returned to the Black family as fast as Sirius could fill out the relevant parchments. Sirius ordered a new vault created for Andromeda and Ted Tonks, and transferred a million galleons into this vault; this was Andromeda's and Ted's belated dowry.

Harry surprised the three other magicals, and Bladebloody as well, when he asked Bladebloody, "Is it possible to remove a Fidelius on a place, and put up a new Fidelius with a new Secret Keeper?"

Harry looked at Sirius and said, "After what happened at today's trial, I no longer trust Dumbledore, who right now is your Secret Keeper. How stupid is that? Especially as Dumbledore could decide he's going to share the Secret with Draco Malfoy 'for the Greater Good,' and there's not a thing you could do about it."

Sirius looked at Madam Bones. "Comments?"

She replied, "Dumbledore's defence of Harry today was, to put it mildly, inept. Lord Greengrass actually wondered aloud whether Dumbledore was trying to get Harry convicted."

Hermione gasped.

Bladebloody asked, "Lord Black, may I ask why, if your house is under Fidelius, someone other than you is the Secret Keeper? Especially Dumbledore? Please don't tell me you let Dumbledore hold your vault keys."

Harry blushed hot.

Sirius replied, "Dumbledore has a way of making whatever he asks sound reasonable, and makes you seem like a bad person if you say no."

Harry said, "So this is why you let Dumbledore, Molly and Snape treat you like an especially stupid child in your own home?"

Sirius winced.

Harry said, "Sirius, Hermione, I'm just letting you know: If Dumbledore tries his mindgames on me now, he's going to get pushback—loud pushback. And if Molly the secret potioneer tries to act as Dumbledore's enforcer, she'll discover that my lungs are younger and healthier than hers. You two should stock up on earplugs."

Bladebloody said, "Getting back on topic, the cost for replacing an active Fidelius is five hundred galleons. This includes putting a goblin Notice-Me-Not Charm on the house, breaking the existing Fidelius, performing the ritual to create a new Fidelius Charm with a new Secret Keeper, and removing the Notice-Me-Not Charm. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Bloody hell, yes," Sirius replied. "I just wish I could see the old man's face when he realises he's forgotten the house that he's the 'Secret Keeper' for."

Five hundred galleons was taken from the Black family vault, then Bladebloody told Sirius that the goblin named Bloodscream would show up early tomorrow to do all the Fidelius work.

****

As the foursome walked out of Bladebloody's office, Hermione said to Harry, "You keep referring to today's trial, but you haven't told anyone any details, beyond you killing Lucius Malfoy." She gave Harry her You have information, and you will share it with me look.

Madam Bones said, "Miss Granger, Harry Potter's trial was a game-changer—in many ways, for many people. Starting with the moment when Harry almost was Kissed by a Dementor."

Hermione gasped and hugged Harry. Then she murmured, "Harry James Potter, you will

explain later."

****

Harry paid a quick visit to the Nott account manager. Harry introduced himself as the new Lord Nott, by Right of Conquest; then Harry collected the Lord Nott ring. Harry asked the Nott account manager, "Is there anything especially important that you need to ask me or to tell me?"

That goblin replied, "No."

****

Madam Bones had to return to the DMLE office then, but she brought in a substitute to guard Sirius and Harry: Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. Neither Madam Bones nor Sirius mentioned that this was the same Kingsley Shacklebolt who had been tasked with tracking down the escapee, Sirius Black, but so far had been "unsuccessful" (wink, wink).

****

Before Madam Bones left Gringotts, she briefly escorted Harry out of the bank and down the steps of Gringotts; there she removed the Trace on Harry's wand.

Amelia murmured to Harry, "I now know that You-Know-Who is staying at Malfoy Manor, which you now own. But I won't act on this knowledge till noon tomorrow. There will be no Auror raids at Malfoy Manor tonight."

Harry responded with a sharklike grin; Madam Bones gave Harry a matching grin back. "Good hunting," Madam Bones murmured.

Harry said, "Molly Weasley would be telling me, 'You're just a child. Let Professor Dumbledore and the Aurors handle You-Know-Who. Harry dear, you stay out of it.' "

Madam Bones stared into Harry's eyes. "I'll be honest: If I have to send Aurors up against Voldemort, I'll expect to lose most of them, if not all of them. And bring in Dumbledore? Please. Even if the headmaster had Voldemort down, helpless and bleeding, he'd let Voldemort limp away. But you? I don't know what happened to you this morning, but right afterwards, you silenced Dumbledore and you put him in a full-body bind, and he couldn't get himself out of that."

Harry shrugged. "I used Parseltongue. Dumbledore doesn't speak that, but Tommy does."

Madam Bones smiled. "Don't make light of what you did. Supposedly Dumbledore once broke a spell that had been spoken in Chinese; Dumbledore broke the spell just from using his magical power. But your spells this morning, he couldn't beat them. Which makes me wonder about the prophecy about you—maybe it says you're the only one who can soundly defeat the Dark Lord."

Harry laughed. "No pressure."

Madam Bones then walked down the rest of the Gringotts steps and apparated away.

****

Once Harry rejoined Sirius, Hermione and Kingsley in the Gringotts lobby, the new foursome took a double-length mining cart below all the vaults, to the goblin village. In the goblin village's hospital, Harry got a medical exam done—the first he had ever had.

Medically and magically, Harry was a mess. He had scars and poorly healed broken bones, and was undersized, all thanks to the Dursleys. Harry's memory had gaps and his mind had the vestiges of Confundus Charms—thanks, Albus! An owl-mail redirection charm needed to be removed—again, thanks, Albus!

Harry also had been love-potioned, at strength enough to supposedly be snogging Ginny Weasley at meals instead of eating; but oddly, the love potions had almost no effect on Harry.

(By the same token, Hermione had been potioned to love Ron; yet the result of Hermione being love-potioned for six weeks was Hermione disliking Ron slightly less.)

Harry asked for parchment copies of the goblins' findings about his potions and Hermione's potions; Hermione put the potions-tests results in her bottomless bag.

The goblin-healer examinations of Harry and Hermione cost Harry some money. Also costing Harry coins: an entire apothecary's worth of potions, to fix all of Harry's medical problems. But what really set Harry back was when a piece of Voldemort's soul was removed from Harry's scar. The goblin ritual worked, but Harry was charged twenty thousand galleons—the price of two Firebolts.

Usually, the goblins would have transferred Voldemort's soul-piece from Harry into a live pig, then slaughtered the pig and barbecued it. But before today's ritual had been performed, Harry had asked the goblins, "Is there some way you can use Voldemort's piece of soul in me, to track down any other soul-pieces that Voldemort made? He made one other, for certain"—the goblins snarled—"so maybe he made more? I'm asking you to track down other soul-pieces because you can do this job lots easier than I can."

The goblins agreed. So instead of the Voldemort soul-piece from Harry's scar being put into a pig, Voldemort's soul-piece was put into a chunk of quartz. The quartz, at the end of the ritual, turned black.

Once the ritual ended, Harry's, Hermione's and Sirius's many tasks at Gringotts were complete.

Harry, Hermione and Sirius had left Grimmauld Place for Gringotts in mid-morning. They (and Kingsley) did not return to Grimmauld Place till almost dinnertime.

The bearded headmaster was waiting to speak with all four of them. The disappointment was strong with this one.