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"Talking"
'Thinking'
'"Familiar/ Ghosts /Goblins" talking.
'Familiar/ Ghosts/ Goblins' thinking.
'Parseltongue' or will/memories' being read or seen.
"Spell" used.
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Broken Shackles
Chapter 4
Will's and Goblins
As Harry received the payment of 3000 pounds from Vernon, he felt happy. For the first time since he was placed with them all those years ago. He is going to find a way to move from here as well, if possible. That way, he can get rid of the trash that is the Dursleys.
He readied himself to go to Diagon Alley. All the 3 Dursleys are busy for the first time in their life as they are either working or doing something to earn money. Vernon went to his office early, which if Harry remembered correctly, is an investment and construction company.
Petunia started some Parlour somewhere in Privet Drive and Dudley, maybe for the first time in his life, went out of the house and started to work somewhere.
Harry was told it to be some kind of food store. He shrugged them off. His threat worked well on them as they didn't rebel or oppose him. He went out and rode a Muggle bus to central London and went into Leaky Cauldron and entered the Diagon Alley without any fuss.
Harry covered his face with a hoodie to be inconspicuous. He moved to Gringotts without any problem or gaining attention. He entered the back and went to an empty teller to speak.
"I wish to speak to my accounts manager, please," he asked in a polite tone.
"Name" came the gruff voice of the Goblin.
"Harry James Potter"
"Griphook will guide you to him," he said, a goblin walked towards Harry and if he remembered from his first visit to Gringotts, this Goblin was the same one. They moved through so many corridors and moved to a side chamber where so many doors with family names came to view on ornately decorated doors.
They came to a door which had Potter gold plated on it and Griphook knocked 2 times. They heard a "Come in". Griphook opened the door and they entered.
It was a relatively sparse office except for some goblin paintings and a goblin in the middle doing work. Griphook left him closing the door behind.
"Hello, Mr Potter. My name is Bloodstain, I'm the accounts manager for House Potter. How can I help you today," said Bloodstain? Though his voice is polite and welcoming, Harry can see annoyance clearly on his face.
"I'm here to find out about my family wealth and properties in general," said Harry cautiously. Though he may be a Gryffindor for now, he is still a young child who doesn't know about the Magical world more than a newborn which practically means nothing.
"What do you want to know more about?" he asked and seeing Harry's confusion, he continued "like will, property, investment, Account balance and statements etc" he said patiently. Harry's face lit up after hearing many things. He didn't know about his parents' will and anyone didn't tell him about it in his school.
Surely people who are friends their friends would know it. But why didn't they feel it important enough to tell him? Harry didn't know and wanted to find out, his anger flared and with it, his magic, but his Occlumency came handy and he suppressed it for the time being.
He is going to find how things were and be patient for now. With his decision made, he asked Bloodstain to show him everything from his family vault. First came the will of his parents.
'I, James Charlus Potter, being of sound mind and body, hereby declare this to be my last will and testament. As the Lord of House Potter, I am first and foremost naming my son, Harry James Potter, as my heir. As the sole heir of me, Harry shall inherit the entirety of the Potter fortune, properties and assets as well as take on the title of Lord Potter with all of its responsibilities that shall entail at the earliest possible. At either age 11 if not possible, at that then at age 14 by which he must get his title as the new Lord Potter. I have a letter written to him in this will. Harry shall receive when my will is read to him in person. Harry, I and your mother love you so much'
It continued with his mother's.
'I, Lily Jasmine Potter(née Evans), being of sound mind and body, hereby declare this to be my last will and testament. I am declaring Harry James Potter, my son, as my sole heir. Everything that is in the Evans vault shall belong to him after my passing. I wish I could be there for you, Harry. I have a letter for you at the end of the will and it shall be directly given to you in person when you come to hear the will. Love you, son, Lily Potter'
Harry had tears falling down his face after that. Though this is not their letter to him, he can feel the love they had for him from the will alone. It further continued.
'Written by both Lily and James Potter,
In case of our untimely death or anything serious happened to us, then this is the order in which Harry should be adopted and raised. This is the order of priority and in no case, he shall be placed with Petunia, my sister'
Harry's blood ran cold at that. His parents explicitly told everyone that he should not be placed with his relatives. Then who in their right mind did this. Again, he clamped his anger and continued reading.
'Sirius Orion Black, Oath Sworn Godfather, Blood adopted Harry as Godson.
Frank and Alice Longbottom, friends from Hogwarts time.
Remus Lupin, Friend.
Amelia Bones, Friend.
Abraham George Potter, Relative, lives in America.
Arnold Tinker, Friend'
If any of these are not present or unable to adopt Harry, then he should be cared for in Henry and Lolanthe Potter memorial childcare centre in Birmingham. In no circumstances and I repeat, in no circumstances should he be placed or sent to my Magic hating muggle sister Petunia, and her husband Vernon. Petunia hates magic so much and for that matter hates me for having it. If such a thing is done, then our son shall fine the culprit at least a million Galleons and Gringotts shall be given the responsibility to collect it from the individuals who did it. Gringotts can charge as much fee as possible from the culprits accounts for the service. We wish eternal hate and bad luck for such a person.
Hope this will be executed and followed to the word.
Signed by Lily and James Potter.
Witnesses,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,
Kingsley Shacklebolt,
Alastor Moody'.
Harry read the will of his parents a few times and took the letters left by them at the bottom. He took his father's first and read it.
'Harry, I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you when you grow up. We were currently in hiding as we know that Voldemort is searching for us. It is brought to my attention from Peter that he is in search of us because of some prophecy.
He spilt it out when drunk, though I don't know how he knew it, I didn't care about it that much then. Even though I don't believe in Prophecies, Voldemort might. I took Divination and understood pretty fast that I'm not a natural seer or have the aptitude for it and left it. So if possible, search for it. I think it will be somewhere in the Ministry of Magic.
As per this letter, I and your mother wrote it ahead of time and added them to our will as there is a high possibility of something happening to us as Voldemort is after you and us. Remember that we are proud of you no matter what you become, Harry. Live happily and long Son.
Remember to go to Sirius once in a while if he is alive. Though he can be unbearable and prankster at times, he is a good man, Harry. He loves you more than anything in the world if such a thing is possible. Find a woman or women like I found your mother and live happily, son.
Your Loving Father,
James Charlus Potter, Prongs'.
He stared at the letter and re-read it again and took his mother's letter to read.
'Dear Harry,
I don't know what James wrote, but if you are reading this, then we didn't make it alive out of the war and from Voldemort. I sometimes hoped that we could rise you far away from the horrors of the Wizarding world. But Alas, we couldn't, as Voldemort is still hot on our trail and he seems determined to find us for some reason.
I don't want him anywhere near you, Harry. That's why below this letter is my wand which will be locked into this letter in case of my death. Take it and protect yourself, son.
I can't have my precious son coming soon after I leave him in the living world. Add our life and live a long and happy life, Harry. Remember, I and James always loved you and will be proud of you whatever you choose. Thank you for giving me the chance to become your mother, Harry. I know James feels the same. You changed my life, Harry.
With love,
Lily Potter,
Mom'.
Harry's heart was filled with joy and happiness when he read about his parents love for him. He can practically feel their love in the words and their happiness to have him when they wrote it. His magic was calm and radiant making everything around him more beautiful and serene. Bloodstain took note of this.
Even his scarred and rough face cracked a smile when he saw the young boy in front of him feel happy. He has this air around him that makes others either love him or fear him. He saw so many Lords come and go, but none had the air that Harry Potter had. He is going to observe this young man closely. Maybe he can be beneficial to the Goblin Nation one day.
Harry pressed his hand against the place his mother told him that her wand was present and with a pop, a wand came out. A brownish-black wand. It is at least 10 inches long. He felt it touch his Core, the green thing in his Mindscape. Love, Acceptance and warmth were what he felt when the magic touch his Core.
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Love of his mother for him, Acceptance of him by the wand as its new Master and Warmth, warmth stronger than what he felt when he first touched his Holly and Phoenix feather wand. A bright golden shield formed around him as his magic flowed through the wand encasing the room in golden light. Harry felt as if his mother is protecting him even in her death with her wand. He felt something strengthen in him, but couldn't put his finger on it.
After a moment, the bright light dimmed sensing no danger around for its new master. He kept it in his pocket and turned to see a patient Bloodstain looking at him appreciatively.
"It is interesting to see you read the will, Mr Potter. But we still have other matters to attend" he said and gave Harry some sheets of parchment.
"Those have the information about the properties and investments made by your parents and ancestors"
House Potter :
Investments: Magical
Flourish and Blott's: 9%
Quality Quidditch: 15%
Daily Prophet: 20%
Eeylops Owl Emporium: 7%
None Magical
Walls Ice creams: 13%
The Times: 8%
Cadbury: 35%
Marks and Spencer: 41%
Properties :
Potter Manor, Nottinghamshire
Currently ruined need repairs
Potter Castle, Potter Island, Shore of Britain
Currently under war wards and needs repairs of wear and tear. House Elf needs to give access to enter.
Potter Sanctuary, Sacred Grounds, Glasgow, Scotland, Elf needed to enter.
Potter Beach House, Hawaii, in ruins. Not used for years.
Heavy wards are to be placed on every property as the old wards protecting the properties lost to the last war or needed repairs to fix them.
Evans Vault :
Legal heir: Harry James Potter
Total Balance available
7341 Galleons, 6754 Sickles and 2354 Knuts.
6724 Pounds Sterling
Various Books.
Potions kit.
Advanced Potion kit
Magical telescope
Photo Album
Harry James Potter Trust Vault :
5000 Galleons, refilled with 5000 Galleons every year on 31st of July.
Total Available Amount 67,054 Galleons, 15,980 Sickles and 7843 Knuts
"You also have royalties to be received that needs your approval as the Lord of the House, they will be shown to you on becoming Lord Potter, Mr Potter. These Royalties are relating to the Potions that your ancestors had invented and reserved the right to use for. Anyone who uses them shall pay 100 Galleons of Royalties to your house every year. That accounted to a few million Galleons over the past decade and half from when your parents went into hiding" said Bloodstain which gave Harry a good scope of his wealth. Harry nodded simply not able to respond.
After a few minutes of adjusting to the information, he asked the question which had come here to ask. "Can you tell me what is the exchange rate for Galleon in Pounds Sterling, and the value of this coin in Galleons?" he asked and took a coin from his pocket and gave it to Bloodstain.
"For your first question, the current exchange rate is 15 Pounds Sterling for a Galleon as of today as the gold used for making the Galleon is high quality. In case of this coin, I think I need to make some tests on this and will tell you in a few minutes," said Bloodstain and left the room to test the gold coin with him to another room.
Harry digested all the information he was so far good. He is rich, crazy rich and has so much to spend. He thought of the ways to effectively spend them instead of wasting them by throwing around like Malfoys.
He got a few ideas and he is thinking of talking to Bloodstain to see the possibility of it in the Wizarding World. When Bloodstain returned with the coin with an astonished look on his scarred face.
"Where did you find this coin, Mr Potter?" he asked in awe.
"Um, it is in a secret Chamber of Salazar Slytherin in Hogwarts," he said unable to understand the awed expression on Bloodstain's face.
"Well, it seems like you hit a gold mine, Mr Potter, literally. This coin is the currency used by ancient wizards and muggles alike and is made of pure gold unlike the current Galleons and such. Adding the value of inflation and rarity of it in the current day and time, you will get 10 Galleons for a coin and let me tell you, that is not cheap. 5 Galleons is the cost of most wands that you wizards lot use Mr Potter. And you can get 2 wands for 10 Galleons. I think it is safe to assume that you have more of these" he said gesturing towards the gold coin to which Harry nodded.
"I don't think this matter ends there, does it?" Bloodstain said with a knowing smile to which Harry felt suspicious and his magic flared to life and started creating a pressure in the enclosed room. The floor cracked because of the pressure and as it is directed towards Bloodstain, the Goblin felt sweat rolling down his face and replied quickly.
"Calm down Mr Potter, I'm just saying that I know for a fact that you must be Lord of the House to be allowed to touch or use any of the things in there. Old House magicks don't allow anyone to touch their possessions and artefacts" he said calmly to which the pressure decreased but Harry saw the bead of sweat rolling down Bloodstain's face.
"Yes, I want to discuss that with you as well. But forgive me for my outburst" Harry said and Bloodstain accepted his apology. Harry flashed him the Lord ring of House Slytherin.
"As you can see, I'm the new Lord of House Slytherin and Hogwarts recognised it as well. I have mountains of these Gold coins in the secret room which must be kept a secret" said Harry, staring directly into Bloodstain's eyes to which the goblin nodded.
"I don't know what being a Lord means. So I thought of buying a book to know more about it" Harry said honestly to his accounts manager.
"I suggest you find the book on 'Pureblood Etiquette' to know more about it. But there is an issue in front of us to deal with before that, Mr Potter" he said piquing the interest of the young Lord in front of him.
"As you mentioned earlier, you are a Lord now. That means you are an adult, at least magically, as gaining the Lord ring signifies that House Magic recognising you as an adult and fit to deal with the matters of the House. Your father wrote in his will that you should be emancipated by 14 years at the latest which is a year from now, and as you said, you want being Lord Slytherin a secret, which means you are not legally adult yet. That makes you unfit to deal with House affairs.
If you want, after your 14th birthday, Gringotts will file the needed documents with the Ministry and as the magic already recognise you as an adult, it will not be long before you get your approval. But in the meantime, considering your interest in the family business, we should find a way to give you rights over your vault cancelling all the rights of your magical guardian has on you" Bloodstain said looking at Harry seeking his approval, to which he nodded.
"There is a way for that Mr Potter. The Heir ring" said Bloodstain confusing Harry. "The Heir ring is a House ring much like the Lord ring, but with fewer benefits and freedom. It will fit our case well. As you will get access to 25% of family management and your magical and legal guardians will be restricted in their interference in your life, for the most part, only interfering if your life is in immediate danger" he said as he saw the look of delight on Harry's eyes and knew what his decision would be.
"Yes, I would love it Bloodstain. Can you make it fast" he asked, unable to contain his excitement. Bloodstain nodded and retrieved a wooden box from his desk. He opened it and showed it to Harry, there is a gold signet ring with a small ruby and gold stones with the crest of House Potter with the family's motto 'Acta Non-Verba'. Meaning 'Deeds, not words'.
He always did what people thought impossible. He survived his relative's torture which is a great sign of his determination, strong will and nature. He fought against a fully grown man with a ghost's help and came out alive. He successfully throw his school turning on him last year and killed a Basilisk, which most thought impossible for him to be true. Which clearly showed how Harry does things.
His family motto is also vague. It didn't say anything but to act instead of running your mouth about something and its possibilities. He liked his family motto very much. With a smile, he took it and put it on his left ring finger.
The same feeling of being judged by the House Magic went through him but not on the level when he kept Slytherin Lord ring. After a minute, a burst of golden brown magic seeped into him, accepting and recognising him as its owner. Harry was elated at that.
"Now that is out of the way, what will you do about Slytherin family properties and assets, Heir Potter," said Bloodstain in a gruff tone showing his greed for the first time in their encounter.
Harry also recognised the shift in his name, calling him Heir Potter which shows the shift in his status. He could admit to himself that being called by a title sure definitely made him feel important. He liked that feeling so much. To feel important and needed by someone.
"Yes, I have a plan for that. As we discussed earlier, as an heir, I get 25% right to use of the family assets, does that mean my trust vault and my mother's vault are mine to deal with?" he asked curiously. This may well be the greatest day in his life.
"Yes, Heir Potter. That is true. What can Gringotts do for you," Bloodstain said and stopped as if he forgot something important and looked at Harry sternly, his greediness all but vanished from his face.
"Can you tell me why does our mail can't reach you?" he asked sternly. Harry was taken aback by the question. Did his mail being intercepted like last year when Dobby did it, again? But who does it and for what.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Bloodstain. I didn't get any mail from you or anyone for that matter" he said genuinely to which Bloodstain made a noise of displeasure.
"We are trying to reach you from the moment you came back here 2 years ago. But we couldn't reach you. Maybe someone is actively trying to intercept your mail, Heir Potter. I have my suspicions on your magical guardian when you didn't have your vault key when you came 2 years ago. I think my suspicions proved correct bu-" he was cut off by the sudden increased pressure in the room. Goblin guards burst through the door only to do nothing as they fell on the ground unable to move.
"Who. Is. My. Magical. Guardian" asked Harry, all his fury and rage coming out as this information broke his barriers and clamps that he kept on his anger till now.
"Da- Dum- Dumbledore" croaked out Bloodstain. At that moment, Harry's only thought was to go to Dumbledore and tell him about manners and how to behave with children and whatnot, but all his anger burst was suppressed when a silvery green light emitted from his Slytherin Lord ring. All the magical pressure disappeared from the room leaving a scent of ozone and scorched tiles.
A soothing feeling spread from the ring into Harry's body, calming him down, making him think rationally with a sound mind. He turned to the still-recovering Bloodstain and said.
"I am filing a complaint on Albus useless stupid Idiot Dumbledore and ask for the execution of my mother's will. For all damages done to me, I want them to be recovered from his account effective immediately. I sue him for 1.5 million Galleons in addition to the Million Galleons fine that is to be imposed on him by my mother's will" said Harry in a steel tone. Bloodstain now fully recovered gestured to the goblins guards to get out of the room as they are back to business. He wrote everything on the parchment and replied.
"I'll check his account balance immediately," he said and went through a few parchments and wrote something on a piece of parchment, which burnt away and after a minute, another one arrived at which he nodded, satisfied.
"Yes, his total account balance is around 5 million Galleons and from your suit and your mother's will 2.5 Million Galleons will be deducted and Gringotts will charge an additional fee of 500,000 Galleons for all the damages, stopping the mail from Gringotts and transfer fees etc will be deducted from him without notice," Bloodstain said, his face had a satisfied expression.
"As a lost party, he cannot claim that money from you, as he failed to execute the will he signed as a witness to. All the keys to your vault are going to be cancelled and a new one will be given to you immediately. This is going to come into effect immediately. Please sign here, Heir Potter" said Bloodstain and stamped the parchment and gave Harry the parchment to sign for execution which he gladly did. The parchment vanished from the table.
"To which account do you want the amount to be transferred, Heir Potter," asked Bloodstain.
"Hmm, let's see. What are the type of accounts you have and the benefits of such accounts?" asked Harry.
"We have different types of accounts for different uses. We have personal accounts, Student accounts, House accounts, Private accounts, Current accounts and business accounts" Bloodstain started and explained about all of them in detail.
"As for the business account, it can be used by anyone with a minimum balance of 1000 Galleons. It can be used for investments in different companies and properties both Magical and Muggle. House Potter has all of these accounts in it but as an Heir, you cannot have access to it as we discussed earlier.
But you can open a new business account with a fee of 100 Galleons. All investments will be taken care of and invested according to your personal preferences or from our advisors, whichever you prefer. Gringotts will take 15% of all the profit made in which 2% will be given to your advisors and another 3% will be given to your accounts manager which makes us personally interested in your investments and take utmost care of them.
All the transfer fees and other costs are not included in this as it is opened specifically for Business. What do you say, Heir Potter?" said Bloodstain, his eyes shining with greed. Harry thought about it. He will loose 15% of his profit if he agrees and as he doesn't know more about Wizarding businesses, he chose to lose it. He is going to take this offer and read more about the Wizarding World business. Till then, he will give goblins their share.
"Yes, I'll take the offer. I want to open this new account and can you tell me all the benefits this has" asked Harry. He knew well not to take anything at its face value.
"It's so astute of you, Heir Potter. Yes, it has benefits. You will get a Gringotts box which is the suggestion I'm going to make to you if you don't want your mail to be interrupted. It's like floo network but with securities.
All the packages will be checked for any potions, portkeys and other malicious things by our experts and will be immediately delivered to you through the box. This decreases the delay of owls and can pass the anti-mail wards put place on your mail" said Bloodstain and saw Harry nod and continued.
"You will get a special card like the Muggle credit/debit card which allows you to draw directly from your account and will give Overdraft facility which you should pay within a month" he further explained about overdraft and its interest more in detail. Harry nodded.
"And finally, you will be given special privilege to use all other Gringotts services at low costs or some tasks will be done free of cost," he said and Harry agreed. He had so much to do with the Goblins right now and if this account gives him benefits, then why not use them.
He filled the necessary paperwork to open the account and was given his new Debit/Credit Card. It is a Platinum card with his name in gold letters on it and Gringotts seal to the side making it authentic.
"You can use this in the Muggle World as well, Heir Potter," said Bloodstain and Harry felt elated.
"So Heir Potter, where do you want to invest the money you receive from Dumbledore's account and how much do you like to transfer from other accounts," asked Bloodstain with a piece of parchment and quill in the air.
"Hmm, I want to clear my mother's vault and relocate all things to my vault and transfer all pounds you have in her vault to Galleons and pass them to my business account vault. Transfer 50,000 Galleons from my trust vault to my business account as well, and as per investments, try to invest in the companies that my family has shares in and can you invest them under the name 'Henry Gold'?" Asked Harry. Bloodstain raised his eyebrow when a devious smile came upon his scarred face.
"It is so cunning of you, Heir Potter. Though this is a business account, the details of it will not be given to anyone, even the Ministry. If you invest with a fake name or alias like you wizards call it, it is not going to be tracked back to you as Gringotts follows a strict non-disclosure policy. If that is what you want, then that shall be done. Shall I reprint the card name to Henry Gold as well, Heir Potter?" asked Bloodstain and Harry nodded and gave him the card and Bloodstain did as he told and gave it back. Now with the name 'Henry Gold' on it shining on it.
Harry's business account was also renamed to Henry Gold and all the investments will be made by Gringotts when the requested amount of shares come for sale.
And Cut.
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Black Infinity 1289,
Ja Ne.