Chapter 2
Lily had never had a problem dealing with the goblins of Gringotts. They'd been a bit scary her first time to visit Diagon Alley, though she'd been so overwhelmed with the wonder and chaos and magic that it hadn't really registered. She'd heeded the instructions to 'be polite', and hadn't thought much about it.
Binns' history classes had been a bore, and his constant focus on the Goblin Wars had definitely made an impression. She'd probably have ended up just as distrustful of the goblins as most other wixen had it not been for a discussion with a distant cousin whose family was visiting from Germany in the summer of her second year. Michael was a few years older than her, but nice enough to talk with. He was quite a history buff and had gotten onto the topic of events and underlying causes leading up to World War 2. Lily had been surprised to hear that the treaty that ended the First World War had been a large part of the reason the second had happened. France and England had ... sort of made their own worst enemies.
Curious about 'other sides' of war, she'd gone looking for more information about the goblin wars - it was hard to find unbiased sources, as all the books in the Hogwarts library were written by wizards. Eventually, she'd gone to Professor Flitwick, figuring that he might have some insights from the goblin side of the story.
It turned out that the goblins had almost always had some legitimate grievances with wixen that diplomatic discourse had failed to resolve in any meaningful way.
(Bargold the Bald had just hated wixen. The minor rebellion he had led had been based entirely on racist rhetoric. Unfortunately, it had also set back wix/goblin relations quite significantly and had set the stage for the next round of troubles; goblin/wix relations had never quite fully recovered.)
The point being, while there were laws and treaties in place the goblins wouldn't break, slightly b e n d i n g the letter of a banking order to tweak the nose of a powerful wizard? Entirely possible.
And she was going to make good use of that.
The teller she approached was curt, as usual, but efficient (also as usual) and she was soon shown to a meeting room to wait for the Potter Account Manager.
(Most goblins hated working the front lobby. They weren't really being churlish - unless the wizard started it - merely trying to get through dealing with their customers as expeditiously as possible. The tellers had little leverage to demand respect, after all.)
(The higher level Individual Account Managers, on the other hand... only a fool would piss off the goblin who personally managed their investments and accounts. They still preferred to get through business with minimal frivolous socializing.)
"Good afternoon, Silvertooth. I appreciate the work you do for our family, and hope you might have a bit of time to discuss a few things."
"Lady Potter. It is a pleasure to manage the Potter account. What business do you wish to discuss?"
Lily pulled out the letter James had written for her, as well as the (very muggle) spiral bound notebook she carried for making quick notes. "Albus Dumbledore's recent access to our account, and setting up a trust fund for our baby that he cannot touch."
"hmm... Your husband personally gave assurance for Mr. Dumbledore's access. I trust you are not seeking to dispute it."
"No." Lily demurred. "I merely wish to know the exact terms of his access and whether it includes the right to remove books or artifacts as well as unlimited access to the money. There are a great many things in the Potter vaults that are birthrights of my son. I do not think my husband thought that far ahead when he gave Albus a key."
Silvertooth grinned toothily. "It is good to see you have a better grasp on things than many wixen. Books and artifacts were not specifically excluded from Mr. Dumbledore's permissions, though they were also not specifically included."
Lily huffed a sigh. Oh, James... "And where does the bank stand on the matter. If Albus were to attempt to remove an item, would he be permitted to do so unchallenged?"
"It's a grey area, Lady Potter. In general, probably not without verification of the account holder. Gringotts is very much against theft, and has a strict policy regarding it. Depending on the exact wording of the permissions given to Mr. Dumbledore, attempted removal of any non-coinage could be viewed less harshly than theft and potentially permitted. However, as that agreement is between Albus Dumbledore and the Head of the House of Potter, I am afraid I cannot divulge the details to you. That being said, at the very least, you would receive prompt notification of the removal, and retrieval of the item would be left at your discretion. Gringotts would, of course, be willing to lend our assistance. For a price."
Lily gave him a half-smile. Goblins were goblins. "Of course, Silvertooth. Nothing is free, after all.
"Now. Regarding a trust vault for our child..."
Lily left Gringotts well satisfied with her work, and happy (for once) that James did tend to be ... careless ... with his words.
In this case, 'a trust vault for the care and education of our son or daughter' was the key, as Gringotts' considered a 'care and maintenance' trust entirely separate from an educational trust and standard set up for each was markedly different. Silvertooth had agreed to two trust vaults, each funded with the listed starting balance.
(It would be interesting to see if James said anything after the next monthly statement Gringotts sent, considering they were his method of 'tracking' Albus' withdrawals...)
She'd also been able to set up a few failsafes in case neither she nor James survived the war, and tied up an additional sum in the main vault for 10% of the initial deposit to be added to the maintenance vault upon each of the baby's birthdays until he came of age. It would still be possible for the family vaults to be emptied, but falling below a certain threshold would trigger the lump-sum deposit of the remaining earmarked funds into the trust vault.
(Apparently, it was part of the standard set up for that type of trust. She'd nearly laughed at learning that little fact, and Silvertooth had echoed the pleased smile she'd allowed herself - though rather more toothily.)
Even better, the maintenance vault was subordinate to her personal vault - despite being funded from the Potter family vault - and Albus would never have direct access to it. Furthermore, the Headmaster could check on the balance of the education fund, which was subordinate to the family vault, but not touch it. The tuition for attending Hogwarts would be deposited directly into the school's account.
Her baby would be provided for, regardless of the ultimate price tag of the war.
A month and a half later, immediately after baby Harry was born, Albus told them of a Prophecy and finally convinced James that seclusion was the best defense they could have...
It was a good thing she'd already planned ahead.