Adjusting To New Surroundings

Filnot, Griphook, and Gornuk lead Harry and Snape further into the building, stopping at one other room on the way. There, Griphook grabs some strange and hideous purple robes before they carry on.

When they reach the room for the magic block's removal, the goblins order Harry to remove everything, including his glasses and underwear, much to his embarrassment, and to put on the atrocious robes. Harry begrudgingly puts on the purple robes, feeling like a demented grape, as Griphook, Filnot, and Gornuk lead him and Snape into the next room.

As they enter the room, Harry can't help but think that it looks like a torture chamber. The room—well, more of a cellar—was semicircle in shape; dark, jagged stones made up the walls; and cool, grey marble was on the floor. And, oh, look, a sacrificial circle surrounded by black and red candles and peculiar symbols engraved in the marble flooring just for Harry to stand in—how wonderful! Is that a bloodstain on the wall over there? Whoopee! Which limb is he to cut off first?

Griphook noticed his hesitation and commented with a witty grin, "Oh, don't worry, Potter, we won't kill you...probably." Filnot swats at the other goblin's shoulder, a black candle in his other hand, but an expression of mirth is on his face too.

Snape, after being told to stand by the door, just looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there, which wasn't exactly comforting.

Harry's heart raced as he watched from the centre of the stone circle as the goblins lit the candles all around him and mumbled in a language he couldn't understand. This, Harry decides as Gornuk draws symbols with an unknown dark liquid on his arms, legs, face, and neck, really isn't good for his stress levels. He would like a time-out, please, and thank you.

Before Harry could ask for a second to gather himself—or the possibility for a tea break—the room was filled with a thick smoke, and Harry could feel what he presumes is the magic blocks within him begin to shift and stir. He tried to remain calm, reminding himself that this was necessary if he ever wanted to use all of his magic and, you know, not explode on his seventeenth birthday. Wasn’t that a nice thought?

However, as the smoke grew thicker, Harry began to shiver, feeling a knot in his chest being vigorously tugged at. Clenching his teeth, Harry watches as Griphook moves in front of him, a glass jar in his hands. The knot in his chest erupts, and Harry almost falls to his knees, feeling like his heart is about to come tearing out of his chest at any given moment.

A cloud of silvery mist emerges from his skin, and before he can inspect it closer, Griphook grunts out something that sends the cloud darting inside his jar, and then it's sealed tightly.

"That," Harry gasps out, "was sore. What the heck?"

Griphook snickers as he stalks out of the room with the jar of glistening clouds in hand.

Gornuk grunts as he nears Harry, a bottle in his hands. "Yes, I suppose having someone else's magic removed after having it within you for so many years may have been uncomfortable." Swirling the liquid inside the bottle in his hands one more time, Gornuk extends it out to Harry. "Drink every last drop of this; it should destroy any of the effects of the other potions inside you. Once done, we can all head back to my office."

Harry gags dramatically at the rotten taste of the potion, a disgusted shudder running down his spine as he swallows the last drops from the bottle. It tastes almost as horrible as his aunt's attempt at a beef stew. Once finished, Harry changes back into his normal clothes that he arrived in, and he and the others return to Gornuk's offices.

As Griphook shuts the door behind them, Harry and Snape sit back down in the two leather chairs. Harry sends a curious glance at the four old-looking wooden boxes on the desk. Filnot and Odbert exchange a glance as Gornuk coughs into his fist.

"It appears that while we were removing the blocks and the potions, Odbert was not able to locate anything on horcruxes, but we'll continue searching and contact you once we find it. However—" He steps forward, lifting the lid off of the wooden box with the green wax symbols on it at the far right side of the desk.

Harry's eyes widened at its contents. Rings and jewellery with dazzling green stones and silver bands. Most have the appearance of coiling snakes, with their bodies weaving tightly around the gleaming gems of the rings.

Gornuk nudges the box forward. "These are the rings of Slytherin. Traditionally, the next lord or lady of the family is to receive one of the family rings. Most of these items have a small part of the family magic within them, thus giving the heir a taste of the power that he or she will be obtaining on the day they come of age. So they don't become overwhelmed with all of the sudden foreign magic."

Harry nods along to the explanation, his eyes shifting from ring to ring before finally settling on one. A warm tug in his chest makes Harry reach forth, and tiny jade sparks sprinkle out of his fingertips. Skin touches metal, and a wave of a warm breeze glides along his arms, and then the ring in his palm shrinks. How convenient.

A normal person would gasp or shout in shock, but Harry just smiles delicately and readily slips the ring onto his middle finger on his right hand. The green, glaring jewel glows before the hair on Harry's arm stands on end, and he hears a faint voice in the back of his head.

"I see you, my heir. I, Salazar Slytherin, welcome you warmly." The soothing voice hisses, just like Harry does while speaking Parseltongue, and Harry shivers a little as he feels the phantom feeling of something slithering along his skin.

A single clap knocks Harry back into focus, and Odbert smirks gleefully at him. "Amazonite crystal, my, that ring will do you well. With it, you can understand almost any magical language! Magnificent magic; consider me envious, Heir Slytherin."

Ignoring his colleague's words, Gornuk gently pushes the next wooden box in front of him, an encouraging look on his face. "These are the Potter rings." Odbert and Filnot speak further away in their language, and wow, Harry is unnerved by understanding every word. The two goblins also seem to have different accents, which is interesting. Griphook seems enthusiastic, the youngest-looking goblin practically vibrating in his spot.

Looking inside the box, Harry inspects the rings carefully, their captivating red gems popping out from their golden bands against the soft, violet fabric holding them in place. A strange rush of warmth trickles down his spine as his fingers brush against one ring near the front of the box. He picks it up gently, admiring the dazzling red stone wrapped in swirls of gold, and swiftly slips it onto his forefinger on his left hand.

The ring sizes itself to fit his finger, the gem flashing a vibrant carmine red, and then Harry feels a comforting blanket of something settle around his shoulders, but before he can properly react to it, it's gone.

Griphook grins ferociously from his stance behind Gornuk, the goblin eagerly rubbing his hands together. "That ring has a spinel jewel! Oh, brilliant." His eyes glinted. "It can repel fire-based spells; shielding is its secondary feature, to said element, and more, and poisons; a fantastic piece! Brilliant choice, Heir Potter."

Gornuk nods, a pleased shine in his dark eyes, and gently closes the box and nudges the next one closer to Harry. "Next up are the Black family rings; have a look before touching any of them; they mightn't welcome you as kindly as the other two." The lid is removed, and Harry shivers at the wave of icy air that rushes out at him.

This time, some rings are a mix of gold or silver with black stones. Quickly scanning over the jewellery, Harry plucks out a ring near the front. It's silver, and the gem is a cloudy black, the stone being hugged by the silver of its band. Sliding it onto his right hand's pinky finger, Harry feels a rush of icy air rush up his neck and through his hair.

Filnot grins at the ring. "Onyx and silver, hmm, your thoughts will be well protected by this, Heir Black. Excellent type of protective mental magic in that."

Gornuk places the last box, Peverell Line, in front of Harry, a dull grey symbol on its cover. The selection of pieces is far fewer than the other three boxes, with only about fifteen rings and bracelets inside. Harry gives them all a once-over before deciding on a ring with blue circling all around the band and silver on both sides of it.

Slipping his chosen ring onto his left thumb, Gornuk nods approvingly. "Blue sapphire and silver band." He sends a wiry look to Snape, the man wincing at the ring. "I'd say that you'll have no problems with hiding from detentions, Heir Peverell." He gives out a chuckle; meanwhile, Filnot and Odbert are snickering together. "This ring will provide a drape of illusion along with a muffling charm when you twist it clockwise three times."

Harry nods absentmindedly, inspecting all of his rings with wonder in his eyes. Magic hums around the inside of his head, and Harry adores the sensation. A rush of electricity runs down his arms, and the rings glimmer once more before a foggy cloud settles over them before vanishing entirely, though Harry can obviously still feel their weight on his hands. Magic: badass.

Cutting Harry's enjoyment short, Snape taps him on the arm. The man isn't even facing him fully. He's speaking with Gornuk; the other goblins seem to have left. "We still wish to purchase Harry's school supplies. Could you inform us of which vaults he has access to at the moment and when he'll be able to appeal to the other vaults?"

Gornuk lifts a sheet of parchment out of a drawer on his side of his desk and lowers his thin glasses down to the tip of his nose to inspect whatever is written on it. "His parents have a trust vault set up for him; its contents are from the Black and Potter vaults, with more amounts scheduled to be transferred into his trust vault every January until young Potter-Black is of age."

A low hum emits from his throat. "In regards to his other vaults, he may access the Potter vault once he turns fifteen. If other Black family members don't interfere with the main family vault, he may access that once he's fifteen. As for the other Black vaults, that depends on their owners; we'll discuss those at a later date. Once he turns fifteen, he may access the Peverell and Slytherin vaults. As for any properties, it seems the earliest any one of them will be habitable is when our young lord turns thirteen. Any other questions?"

Harry licks his lips a little before speaking. "How can I take money from my trust vault? Do I need to go to the vault, or is there another way?" Gornuk reaches for something behind his desk and places three objects on the desk: a wallet, a purse with a shoulder strap, and a small beige bag with a ribbon tie at the top.

"Choose one of these items, and once I connect them to your trust vault, golden Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts shall appear within. Should you need muggle money, they will appear as well, if need be."

Harry nods while picking up the small, leathery wallet from Gornuk's desk. The goblin snaps his fingers, and Harry watches with wide eyes as his initials stitch themselves on the front's bottom right corner. "Wow," Harry says, running his fingers over the newly embroidered initials. "That's impressive."

Gornuk nods, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "We take pride in our work," he sniffs. "Now, to access your trust vault, simply open the wallet and think of the amount of money you need. The correct amount will appear inside." Harry blinks, feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety. It was strange to have access to so much money, but he knew he needed it to live in the wizarding world.

"Thank you," he says, and moves to slip his new wallet into his pants pocket. But he pauses and takes the wallet out again, a slight frown on his face. "What's the difference between the coins?" he asks while making one of each coin appear in the wallet and dropping it into his hand.

Snape, shifting to face him properly in his chair, points at the larger golden coin first. "This is a galleon; seventeen sickles make up a galleon. Next is," his finger moving to the medium-sized coin, "the sickle; to make one up of knuts, you'd need twenty-nine." Then he gestures to the smallest coin. "This is a knut; it's of the least value among the three coins."

Nodding along with the explanation, Harry returns his money into his wallet and finally slips it into his pants pocket, murmuring one last polite "thank you" to Gornuk as Snape exits the office in front of Harry, a page of names that were written on the blood test from earlier folded within his pocket.