Elves and Heirships
Getting out of Grimmauld Place was easier said than done, Harry thought, waiting for Remus to come through the Floo in Diagon Alley. Mrs Weasley had tried to intercept him, had tried to persuade Remus that the dangers of Harry visiting the Alley much outweighed the benefits, but Remus had stood his ground. He’d even (impressively) managed to get Sirius to stay upstairs, seemingly foreseeing the chaos that would ensue should Sirius manage to get further into Molly Weasley’s bad books (and vice-versa).
Hidden under his cloak in a corner near the Floo, Harry had one of the best vantage points of small Wixen stumbling out of it, much like the way he had the first few times he’d used that way of travel. He still wasn’t the best at it, but at least he no longer tripped out of the fireplaces. Remus had decided Harry should travel first, and he’d come through afterwards. Harry supposed there was some kind of queueing system, which was why Remus hadn’t come through yet. He was just thinking about going back to Grimmauld Place when Remus appeared in the green flames and calmly stepped out of the fireplace towards the hiding location they’d agreed upon.
Remus approached his hiding position and Harry reached out slowly to tug at his robe to let Moony know he was there. With Harry holding onto Remus’ robe, the two made their way down Diagon Alley towards the imposing architecture of Gringotts. There had been some debate about the best way for Harry to stay hidden whilst in the Alley: Molly had tried to argue that a Disillusionment Charm would be enough, but Remus, Sirius and Harry (who knew about the Cloak), had agreed that using that would be a better idea. They’d allowed Molly to put a Disillusionment Charm on him anyway, just to pacify her, but Moony had cancelled the charm just before Harry had stepped through the fireplace, knowing it would just cause them suspicion if Harry were to just reappear on the steps of Gringotts where the wards cancelled any charms to increase the Bank’s security.
Harry had never been a fan of Gringotts. Its looming presence, the goblins and their nasty smiles, and the cavernous, towering, hallways had always put him on edge. Remus had stopped just a few steps short of the creaking balustrades to allow him to pull off the Invisibility Cloak, which he’d put into Remus’ bag for safe keeping, before they’d proceeded up the stairs into the open hallway, where they were immediately met by a Goblin who bowed to them and sneered at Harry before asking who or what they were here for.
“I had a letter from Banlok? He asked if I could come in at the earliest possible convenience.” The Goblin nodded, and bowing again to Harry and Remus, he turned to one of the other Goblins and the pair watched as a wave of whispers ran along the side of the hall from one Goblin to another. It took a few minutes for the message to reach Banlok but they were ushered down the hall to a small meeting room off a corridor that Harry would have never imagined Gringotts to have in it where a Goblin who Harry assumed was Banlok was waiting for them.
“Mr Potter, and Mr Lupin.”
The Goblin inclined its head as he stood up, offering a hand to Harry, and then to Remus, who both shook it in turn. Harry pulled Banlok’s letter from his pocket, placing it on the desk that was sitting between Banlok’s chair and the two that had been prepared for them. “You wrote to me a couple of days ago - I was wondering what the issues were?” Banlok nodded, a nasty smile cutting across his wizened features. “Mr Lupin, I assume you may have some idea of what we’re going to be discussing today?”
As Remus nodded, Banlok turned his grin back towards Harry. “Mr Potter, you’re about to come of age and with that, comes the maturity of your magic and the small matter of your inheritances. Put simply, your magic is about to evolve to its full potential, and we wanted to just check you for any curses or charms that may link the two of you before we discuss any further, your inheritances. Do you consent to these checks, Mr Lupin? I will assume that you’re the one who is responsible for him at this minute, given you are the one who has come with him.”
“There is the small matter of Albus Dumbledore thinking he has responsibility over Harry at any given minute, which would require checks of Lily and James Potter’s wills to prove that Sirius Black was named godfather - I by legal rights do not have responsibility for him but at this minute I am indeed happy to consent to the checks of which you speak, Banlok.” The Goblin, again, inclined his head. He then turned to another Goblin, who was waiting by the door. There was a minute of whispered conversation between the two, before a pile of papers appeared on the desk before the seated pair. “Mr Lupin, if you would please just look over those and sign your name to consent to the checks that Mr Potter will undergo.”
With Remus busy signing and flicking his way through the stack of papers, Banlok turned his attention back to Harry, who swallowed around the lump that was forming in his throat. “Mr Potter, if I were to assume your magic has been a little out of control over the last few weeks, would I be correct?” Harry nodded, and the Goblin smirked. “As you’re about to come of age, your magic will be a little out of control before you’ve had a chance to claim your inheritances, but we have also been informed there may be a number of charms and other bits of magic placed over your person, and we’d like to check that, especially with the issue of Lord Voldemort still being on the loose and your known history with him.”
“It should only take a few minutes and if any problems do reveal themselves, we have all the power at our disposal to solve those problems and remove any magic you have not consented to having placed upon yourself. Do you understand, Mr Potter?” Harry nodded, a frown crossing his face. “What do you mean, any magic I’ve not consented to?” There was an audible sound from where Remus was leant over the desk, but Harry saw no other signs of him paying attention to the conversation the two were having. “Well, Mr Potter, since you’re underage, there is the matter of the trace that was placed upon you to track underage magic which every young Wixen has placed upon them. However, there have also been suggestions that Lord Voldemort has placed a part of himself in you which we would like to check before we go any further into your inheritances and your upcoming Maturity.”
Harry nodded, and Banlok placed his hands on Harry’s head, starting to chant under his breath. Harry could feel the Goblin’s magic starting to flow over him, pulling on his magic, a constant pressure in his chest where the Goblin was working. He could almost feel strands of his magic pulsing, could feel his scar throbbing as the Goblin worked, pummeling Harry’s magic in all sorts of directions. The pain in his scar was suddenly all he could feel, and everything went dark.
When he came back around, he was on the floor. Remus was next to him, a grim look on his face. Blinking blearily up at the ceiling, Harry realised that he could no longer feel the pain in his scar. A hand gently ran itself through his hair, and Remus’ other hand appeared in front of him holding a glass of water which Harry gratefully took, sipping the cold liquid carefully so as to not spill any. Remus helped him sit up, and let his godson lean against him as he drank.
“Mr Potter, let it be known that you are not the first to faint during the process of checking for Dark Magics. That was the Darkest Magic that I have seen within one so young, though. Mr Lupin, were you aware that Lord Voldemort had placed a part of himself inside your ward?” The duo’s heads flicked towards where Banlok had re-seated himself in almost perfect unison, which Harry would have laughed at if the sentence that Banlok had just spoken wasn’t so severe. “What do you mean, a part of himself?” Harry felt as if he could throw up. The connection, the seeing inside Voldemort’s mind whenever he was happy or angry, it was all beginning to make sense.
“There is a very Dark Magic ritual which involves splitting your soul. The pieces are called Horcruxes, and it seems as if Lord Voldemort managed to make Harry into one when he attempted to kill him as a baby. I’ve never seen it done before in person, but it is an extraordinary piece of work. We managed to remove it, during which you passed out. There were also several other unknown trackers placed on you, now removed, which we will discuss with Mr Lupin after we have finished this meeting. However, Mr Potter, if you are feeling up to it, there is still the matter of your inheritances to discuss.”
Harry nodded, and Banlok continued, starting to pull pieces of what Harry assumed to be parchment out of a new stack that had appeared on his desk. “Mr Lupin, I assume you may be aware that young Mr Potter is set to receive a number of inheritances and titles?” Inheritances? Titles? Harry’s head, which was already swimming, began to swim even more. He felt Remus’ hand against his forehead, which grounded him slightly as Remus began to talk. “I am aware of two that he should come into, those being the Potter title, and Sirius has decided he wishes to add Harry to his titles, should we have the misfortune of not being able to have our own children in the future. My titles mean little to nothing, so for now I will hold onto them and we will decide in the future what to do in terms of passing them on. Are you suggesting there are more than those titles that Harry is set to inherit?”
Banlok nodded, that same nasty smile cutting across his features again. Harry shivered against Remus, who pulled Harry further into him. “Mr Potter, to receive these inheritances I will need you to sit in front of me so I can share with you these documents and your rings. If Mr Lupin would be so kind as to help you up to a chair?” The two stood together, Remus gripping Harry as if to ensure his godson wouldn’t fall down again, both being intimately familiar with what Harry was like after passing out once. There was a reason that Madam Pomfrey had given to Harry what she had described in a letter to Sirius once, as “Harry’s usual bed”, after a minor Quidditch collision had landed Harry in the Hospital Wing with a concussion.
With Harry seated again, Banlok slid one of the papers across the table to him, as well as a small box that held a single ring. “This, Mr Potter, is the ring of the House of Black. The ring belonged to the younger Heir Black but when he passed, his ring was returned to us. We’ve done several checks to ensure that the magic that caused his demise has done nothing to the ring or the magics it holds.” Harry swallowed around the lump in his throat as he picked up the ring that had once belonged, rightfully, to Regulus.
Putting the ring on made him shiver. A wave of his own magic rose up to meet the magic that enveloped him, dark shadows forming as the Black magic settled around him. Snatches of memory flashed through his mind that were not his own: Memories of Walburga’s screeching, memories of Hogwarts, memories of his parents with Remus and Sirius from the outside, a flash of a memory with a man who looked like his father, then memories of cold water, a flash of what felt oddly enough like relief spiking from the ring and then light came back as the shadows disappeared.
Blinking as the light hit his eyes, Harry’s eyes came to rest on Banlok, who was smirking in a pleased way. “Well, the Black magic seems to have accepted you. Now this one, Mr Potter, if you would?” Another ring, this one a signet ring with a snake on it. Compared to the Black ring, which had the Black family crest imprinted on it, this one was rather simple and awfully recognisable. With the way that the Black ring had almost faded into his hand as the magic accepted him, Harry rather hoped the Slytherin ring would do the same. He didn’t particularly want to go back to school with an obvious heir ring to the house that he’d seen as his rival for the last few years.
This time, as he slid the ring on, green fog encased him. Hisses he recognised as Parselmouth filled the silence of the fog, snatches of conversation picked up from generations gone by, a cool breeze that reminded him of the Slytherin common room blowing across his face. A weight across his shoulders made him look down to see a small green snake gliding down his wand arm, winding itself around his wrist and closing its eyes as if going to sleep. “Comfortable. I like this one.”
“You like this one? Who are you?” The only other unexplained conjuring of a snake that Harry could remember was the time Lockhart had pitted he and Draco Malfoy against each other in Second Year at Duelling Club and Draco had somehow known the spell to conjure a snake, which hadn’t worked out well for either of them. “My name is Striker. I’m the Slytherin Heir Snake.” Of course. Harry shook his head. Just another completely bizarre occurrence to add to the list of odd occurrences that had happened in his life. And trust Salazar Slytherin’s ring to have its own Heir companion in the form of a snake. “Do not worry, little one. You and your loved one are the only ones who will be able to see me. Your guardians will not be able to see me but if needed, I am able to come to form and aid you in your time of need.”
“Thank you? I take this is an acceptance in the form of you finding my arm comfortable?” In response, Striker closed his eyes and faded into Harry’s skin, the green fog clearing to reveal Remus and Banlok staring at him. “Harry, was that Parseltongue?”
“You could hear that?”
Remus shook his head, and Harry swallowed. “Only a second of it, but I could hear hissing. I assume it’s taken a liking to you, if you’re able to talk to the ring in its language.” Harry nodded, and moved forward to hug Remus. He felt that his godfather (and himself, if he let himself think again) could use some reassurance that he was okay, especially if Remus had been through this process himself. “Just your family rings left now, Harry. These two should be easier.” Harry nodded into Remus’ chest and let him go, turning back to Banlok who slid two boxes across the table to him.
“Which would you like first, Mr Potter? The Potter ring, or the Peverell ring? I assume you know about the Peverell link to your family, given that Mr Dumbledore let us know he had passed to you the Invisibility Cloak.” Harry nodded. Hermione had given him a lecture all about what the Cloak was when he’d told her about it and together with Ron, they’d managed to put together some kind of family history that showed Harry how the Peverells linked to the Potters.
“I’ll do the Potter ring last, thanks.”
Banlok nodded and opened the box on the right. A small gold ring with the Deathly Hallows imprinted on the signet lay hidden under a layer of material which Banlok folded into the lid of the ring box. Harry picked out the ring, which felt significantly heavier than the first two. It was on impulse, the fingers that he was sliding the rings onto. Like they had their own mind, the rings seemed to know which fingers they were made to fit. The Black and Slytherin rings had gone invisible but it seemed (and from his understanding of what Striker had told him), that they would reappear if he wanted or needed them to.
A coldness crept through him as the Peverell ring slid down his finger, and this time the fog that clouded his vision and hid him from Remus and Banlok was white, created by all sorts of, what looked to Harry, ghost-like figures. A figure that he recognised from the lecture and books that Hermione had shown him appeared, and Harry stood up to receive the visitor. Ignotus Peverell bowed to Harry, who nodded his head in greeting. “Young Master Potter, you stand before me in order to take on the heirship of your ancestors, and that of my family that I and my brothers each held once upon a time.” He reached a ghostly hand out to gently brush Harry’s hair away from the scar that had marred his face since that fateful evening and gave Harry a sad smile. “I feel you more than anyone deserve to hold our heirship. I and my brothers will be at your call, should you be of aid. And you’ll find come your final battle, that we will take your place when you need it.” And with that, he and the white fog faded, allowing heat to seep back into Harry’s bones.
Rubbing his hands up and down his arms to warm himself up, Harry sat back down in his chair and grimaced at Banlok, who slid forward the last box. It had a crest on the lid, which Remus let out a sharp breath at. “This is the Potter ring, which your father last wore. It was returned to us on the day of his death, so I’m afraid there may be some unpleasant memories that get shown to you with this one. You may find, however, that the ring has tried to absolve as many of those unpleasant memories as it can so that future generations, should you choose to have children, do not have to see them. Good luck, Mr Potter.”
Remus’ hand drifted onto Harry’s shoulder and squeezed as Harry lifted one of the last remaining parts of his parents out of the box that had held it for the last 16 years. It fitted perfectly onto the index finger on his wand hand, washing a layer of comfort and familial love over him that he’d not experienced, even through Sirius and Remus’ guardianship and parental behaviour. There was no fog this time, just warmth, love, comfort, acceptance and a feeling of safety. Harry swallowed and turned to Remus, who pulled him into a tight hug. It was almost as if the ring could sense he had someone he considered family in the room with him, because the ring vibrated on his finger, glowing a light gold colour, which faded as Remus let go.
Banlok, who had been watching with some fascination, spoke up again as Harry looked back towards him. “You know that your mother was a Muggleborn so she had no Heir rings to pass onto you, but in our possession we have her and your Father’s wedding rings. Would you like to take them now, or would you like to have them passed to your vaults?”
“I’ll have those kept in the safety of my vault, please Banlok. And when you say vaults, do you mean I have more than the one that Griphook has shown me?”
“Why yes, Mr Potter. Each of your Heirships comes with a sizeable vault. We can have our workers write up a vault overview for you and have that sent out to you in about a week or so, if you would find it useful.”
“Yes please, Banlok. And I’ll assume that all of this stays between the three of us?”
“Of course, Mr Potter. Griphook may be informed, as he is your accounts manager, unless you wish to transfer that position to me in order for this to all stay between us?”
Harry looked up at Remus, who inclined his head slightly as if to tell him to take Banlok’s offer on. “I think I’ll do that, please, Banlok. Are there forms that I need to sign to transfer that position across to you?” The Goblin nodded, and clapped his hands. A pile of additional papers landed on his desk with a soft thump, sending small dust particles flying which made Harry’s eyes water. Rubbing at his eyes as Banlok flicked through a number of pages of parchment, pulling out sheets that needed his signature, Harry glanced across towards Remus whose eyes were closed, legs crossed. Only Moony could fall asleep at Gringotts, Harry thought fondly.
His attention was pulled back to Banlok by the Goblin tapping the desk impatiently, flicking through at least 5 or 6 pieces of parchment. Harry groaned internally. He hated paperwork. He didn’t know why he’d wanted to be an Auror when he finished Hogwarts, with the number of Aurors who he’d managed to have conversations with managing to fit at least 3, if not more, complaints about the paperwork they had to fill in into the conversations. He flicked his eyes over the pages, not really taking in much of what it actually said. There were several sections as to his current account manager, Griphook and what he’d be allowed to know, with Harry allowed to make choices as to whether he’d allow Griphook to still be the one taking him around Gringotts as Banlok was a rather senior Goblin who didn’t tend to work on the floor of the Bank.
Harry was comfortable keeping Griphook as his bank accountant, given how much the Goblin knew about his life and some of the secrets that his vault held. He signed away the pages transferring the position of account manager to Banlok, confident that the Goblin wouldn’t do anything to break his trust, having been the one to go through his heirships with him. That only left the one page, which Harry read through and turned to poke Remus. The page stated that he needed a witness who was either a parent or acting guardian, and as Remus was his acting guardian, he would be the one to sign. But Remus was already awake, watching over Harry’s shoulder as he signed away the management rights. Harry was half-glad for that, given that he’d given no proper thoughts to any of the wording, but Remus seemed happy enough with it so when Harry held out the quill to him, Remus took it and put the last signature down on the forms. The parchment paper and quill disappeared as soon as Remus had finished his signature, and Banlok stood and reached his bony hand across the table to Harry, who shook it.
The two bowed to each other, and Banlok disappeared through a door that appeared before them. Moony ruffled Harry’s hair and the two turned back towards the door that they’d come in through, where a Goblin was waiting to accompany them back towards the main doors to the Bank.