Chapter 5: A Trip to Gringotts.

Sirius walked down Diagon Alley with a whistle on his lips and wariness in his eyes. Those he passed were just as suspicious. Remus followed in his wake, keeping his eye on the passerby's. He didn't trust the people quite yet. The news of Sirius's freedom was too new.

They did make it to the bank unmolested. Though there were a lot of dirty looks banded about. Sirius nodded to the goblins at the door and went through both sets of doors and breathed a sigh of relief when he was in the lobby. No one would bother him here. Magical folks knew better than to start trouble in Gringotts. That way lay getting banned from the bank, and no one wanted that to happen to them.

The customers were all still pulling aside and glaring or hiding from Sirius. He acted like he was immune, but it hurt a bit, and he knew it would take a while for people to accept that he was innocent. Until then, he'd just have to pull his Gryffindor courage around him like a cloak and move on.

He went up to the nearest free teller and said, "I need to speak to Slashtongue." He was polite about it, knowing that being so would get him better service.

"He's expecting you," the goblin said, waving Sirius to a set of doors to the side of the counters. There was another goblin there waving him over.

Sirius and Remus went there and were led down a stone corridor to an office that had the name Black on the door.

"Slashtongue, Black is here to see you," the goblin said as they entered.

The office was oval and had a number of cabinets and bookcases along the walls. There were some taxidermy animals on the walls, probably some hunting trophies. There was a desk in the middle of the room, which was made from a dark wood, with a chair behind it. There were three chairs, with cushions, in front of the desk.

"I knew you'd be here when I read this morning's paper," the goblin behind the desk said, waving them to sit in the chairs in front of the desk. He, like most goblins, was dressed in a three-piece suit, made of the finest silk. Being the Black account manager paid well. "We have much to talk about," he said, he then took a large portfolio out and slammed it on the desk, making Sirius whimper.

"That looks like a lot of paperwork," Sirius said, looking at the inflated folder. "I need to bring some things up before we get into the accounts," he said, holding up a waiting hand.

"Such as?" Slashtongue asked, not sure what else could be more important. To him time was money and making money was not a waste of time.

"I need to have the wills of James and Lily Potter read," he said, leaning forward a bit, like it was very important. Which it was, too him and Harry.

"That will require an appointment. It can't be done spontaneously," the goblin said, folding his hands on the desk. "Who was the executor?" he asked, making note to the Potter family manager.

"I was," Black stated, knowing that there were others that could have had the will read if he was unable to. "Dumbledore was supposed to have executed it if I was unable to," he added, voicing his thoughts.

"He had it sealed," Slashtongue stated, making more notes. "However, since you are the primary executor you can have it unsealed," he said, putting his quill down. He never liked the headmaster. The man took too many liberties at the bank. He never broke the laws, per se, but he pushed the boundaries a lot.

"Okay, I'll do that when we're done here. Also, I need to hire a curse-breaker. I have a name of the one I need to hire. William Weasley," Sirius said, crossing his legs in a comfortable manner.

"Why him? He is one of our junior curse-breakers," the goblin said, looking perplexed. Bill Weasley was a good human, but he was very new to Gringotts, comparatively speaking.

"I have it on good authority that he is who we need," the dogman said, not upset over the questioning. "Can you get him back from Egypt? I will pay for his services, and I will only need him for about a month, maybe two, then he can go back," he added, hoping they would not asked why.

"I believe that can be arranged. Will you be paying for his room and board?" Slashtongue asked, this being standard practice.

"Of course," Sirius replied. He could stay with them. There was plenty of room.

"Was there anything else?" the manager asked, ready to go over the accounts.

"I need to be recognized as a lord. There is something in my cousin's vault that I need to get out right away," Sirius said, tapping his finger on his leg in agitation. This was trickier. It was a grey area in policy.

"Oh, what is in there that you would risk our displeasure?" Slashtongue asked, his voice going a bit hard.

"A vile thing that I'm sure the bank doesn't want in its property," Sirius said, holding up a peaceful hand. "I would rid the bank of it," he added, still giving off peaceful vibes.

"How vile?" the goblin asked, this time his voice was mild.

"Herpo the Foul vile," was the answer, hoping the goblin got the hint. That particular wizard did many foul things, hence the name. The goblin would know that whatever was in the vault would be in violation of any treaty.

"Then yes, we would want it out of the bank," the manager said, getting up and getting the ring for Sirius to try on. He would have led with that, but the accounts were in such a state that he had been hoping to get them straightened out before anything else.

"Come to papa," Sirius said, taking the ring box from the goblin's hand and opening it. He hadn't wanted to be Lord of the Black family, but now it gave him more clout and more control over Harry's accounts and life. Not that he wanted to control the boy, but he would have more say over where he lived, and Dumbledore couldn't say jackshit about it. He knew that Harry would appreciate that. From what he read in the books, Harry's lifelong dream was to be shot of the Dursleys, and he as determined to give that to the teen.

He took the ring out and admired the black onyx jewel embedded in the silver wide band ring for a moment, then he put it on. It shrunk to fit his right ring finger. He felt a rush of power as the ring accepted him.

"What a rush," he said when it was over. "Okay, let's get to these accounts, then I need to get to Bella's vault," he told Slashtongue, leaning over to take the first sheet of parchment in the folder. There were columns of numbers that were in colors of black, red, and green. He knew that he was in trouble when there were a lot of red.

For two hours they went over the numbers of the Black family accounts. It was just as bad as he feared. Oh, he was still very rich, but the last few members of the family didn't have a head for numbers and had left the accounts a mess. Not to mention that they spent money like it was unending. He put a stop to that right away. Every family member now had an allowance. If they spent it, they were shite out of luck.

Narcissa was now cut off from the Black family funds. She had the Malfoy fortune to fall back on, and her dowry. There was no reason for her to have her, nor her husband's, hands dipping into the funds. They had been using the Black family money to bribe the minister, and that stopped now.

Bella was now cut from the family. Her dowry was returned, which meant that her vault was now Sirius's. He could do with it what he wanted. For now, he just wanted the cup. He told Slashtongue to have it gone through and all curses removed. Then to blend it with the main vault.

Before, he didn't know he could kick her out. However, she didn't fulfil the marriage contract. Her and her husband didn't have the required child within the first year of marriage. If they had had one, or had that clause not been there, then that would have been the tricky part of getting into her vault.

He was going to have to talk to Andromeda to ask her what she wanted to do. He didn't want to reinstate her without knowing what she wanted.

When they got it all straightened out, Sirius and a very bored Remus went to Bella's old vault to get the cup. It was a long and harrowing ride with twist and turns, that made the hair on their heads raise. The Thief's Downfall didn't do anything to them, but it was a funny feeling to go through.

"Make sure you don't touch anything," Sirius warned Remus as they entered the vault. "I wouldn't put it past her to have cursed the whole lot," he added, knowing his cousin was batshit crazy.

"Okay," Remus said, skirting everything as he looked for the cup. It took a few minutes to find, and it was up high on a shelf. "There," he said, pointing it out to Sirius. "I can just reach it," he said, going over to the shelves, and standing on his tiptoes. His fingers just grazed the cup as he shifted it over to the edge. It tipped over and fell down on to his head. "Ow," he said, as he picked it up off the ground.

"Well, that's that. Let's get out of here. I need to make an appointment to see Harry's account manager," Sirius said, going to the door. "We need to get those wills read and I need to see if anyone is dipping into Harry's accounts," he added, hating that he was thinking these things about a man he once admired.

"Surely, you don't think that?" Remus said, shocked that anyone would steal from an orphan.

"I hope not, but the description in the books show his vault to be a lot less than it should be," Sirius said, moving passed the dragon. He felt sorry for the beast.

"I hope your wrong," the werewolf said, he might be mad at the headmaster, but he didn't think him a thief.

Hphphp

Amelia was having a bad day. Not only was she upset about what she read last night, and the overview that the men had given her, but she was about to arrest a man that she viewed as a friend and mentor. Well, she'd be arresting him today.

That and she had spent the whole night reading the fifth book. It was an eye opener. She knew Umbridge was a bitch, but she didn't know just how far the woman was depraved. She was going to look the other way if that woman wound up missing, or dead.

She, and five Aurors, made their way to Crouch's house. She knocked on the door. She knew that Barty was at work, so the house elf would answer. When the elf did, she said, "I have a warrant to search this property." She showed the warrant to the elf, who looked terrified.

"Master is not being home," the elf said, wringing her hands.

"I know, I can still search the house. You may contact your master," Bones said, moving the little being aside, and entering the house. She jerked her head to the Aurors, and they spread out. She made her way to the basement, wand drawn. She called up a spell that created a fine mist. It covered everything, and that was how she found Barty Jr. He was hidden under an invisibility cloak. She stunned him and cuffed him.

She then waited for Bartemius. She knew the house elf had called him as soon as they entered. She floated the unconscious man up the stairs and put him on the floor, sans the cloak. Everyone could see him and were shocked that he was alive. This would be the second dead person found alive in a week.

Bartemius came storming into the house. He stopped short when he saw his son on the floor, cuffed and ready to be thrown back into Azkaban.

"Amelia," he started, only to stop. He knew there was nothing he could say.

"Barty," she said sadly, "You are under arrest for multiple uses of the Imperious Curse," she stated, taking out another pair of cuffs, and standing there waiting to see how he would react.

"I," he said, then he hung his head. He turned around and put his hands behind his back.

She cuffed him and nodded to the Aurors. They read him his rights and took both of them away.

"Winky, was it?" she asked the elf, kneeling down to be level with the tiny being.

"Yes, ma'am," the little elf sniffled.

"You need to find a family," Amelia stated in a questioning manner. "Your masters are going away for life," she explained, knowing there was no way either men would see the light of day again. If she had it her way, Jr. would see the Veil.

"Yes, ma'am," Winky said, rubbing her nose with her hand. With both of her masters arrested, she was a free elf.

"I could use another house elf," Bones said, knowing that this elf would not do well free.

"Mistress would take Winky?" Winky asked, with hope in her tone.

"Yes," was all Amelia said, holding out her hand to the elf to take.

"Winky accepts," Winky said, shaking the hand and sealing the bond.

"Good, go to my house and wait for me there," Amelia said, standing back up and getting ready to head back to work. "My niece Susan and my other elf Tilly will be there, and they can help you get settled," she added, heading out the door.

"Winky will," the elf said, and popped away.

Amelia went back to the ministry and was met by Fudge. "What is this I hear you arrested Barty?" the man said, like it was his business.

"He broke his son out of Azkaban and used the Imperious Curse on him all these years. Barty is going to prison. It is called the unforgivable for a reason, Cornelius," she said, moving passed him. He could blow hot air all he wanted. There was little he could do about it.

"But, Amelia, he's an employee of the ministry," the minister whinged, falling into step with her, much to her displeasure.

"That doesn't put him above the law," she said, pushing the lift button.

"But, Amelia," the man said again, only for her to stop him.

"No, Cornelius, he will go to prison, just like anyone else that cast the Unforgivables," she went into the lift and pushed her floor's button. "I'm not backing down on this," she added as the doors closed. She was just glad that he couldn't overturn her cases. If what Sirius and Remus told her was true, she was going to have to keep a close eye on the minister. He seemed to think he was above the law.

He would find out that he was not.