Resilience

Harry was just about to leave the bank when he was flagged down by four goblin guards and told to follow them. 

Instead of being led to the carts, Harry was lead through a series of twisting hallways until he reached a golden door, with a family crest delicately engraved upon the metal. The crest was a stag head, with a P held between its antlers, and a line of Latin along the bottom, which translated to 'those who fear creation create fear', apparently from Ancient Greek times, where the first magical Potter was, well, a potter.

His family had been crafters for centuries before Heron Potter had discovered he could enchant his pots to be unbreakable, but his descendants would continue to be talented craftsmen for centuries to come. The Potter's history was full of revolutionary inventors, enchanters, potion masters, rune masters, master warders, curse breakers, blacksmiths, gem smiths, and researchers.

Mere hours ago, Harry hadn't known any of this, but his mothers grimoire had been quite illuminating, and he'd learnt a lot since then.

Status in the magical world was came in 2 ways: nobility and bloodline longevity. 

Of the 300 Houses of the Wizengmont, there were 37 Duke's, only 17 of which were still active, and they received the distinction Most Noble, and everyone else was just Noble. 

The reason for the distinction was because a House that was Noble had a title, a seat on the Wizengmont, vassals, and a territory, but only a Duke had an Army. An Army was only subject to their Grace's law, they were independent of the Ministry of Magic, and the only order that could overrule their Grace's orders was the Ruler of Albion themselves. 

As for bloodline longevity, Lily had explained that there was a lot of magic in numbers, so the longer a family remained magical, the more they were viewed as being favored by Magic. 

Britain acknowledged seven levels of bloodline longevity, Honored for 300 years, 500 for Esteemed, 700 for Venerable, 900 for Distinguished, Revered for 1300, Ancient for 1500, and Most Ancient for 2000. And that was as far back as Britain bothered to trace, as there was only a handful of Family's that were Most Ancient. However, internationally, if you could trace your blood more than 3000 years, you were considered Blessed, and these families were considered royalty. In fact most of them were magical royalty, such as the Egyptian Imperial Family, and a handful of others. 

So, Lily had explained, the Black's are Most Noble, meaning they were a Dukedom, and Most Ancient, meaning they could trace their magical bloodline back more than 2000 years.

This made them practically royalty in Magical Britain, and that wasn't even touching their reputation for being exceptionally powerful. 

After all, personal power was its own status, which was why Dumbledore was so respected, despite not being from a prestigious House, he was powerful enough that people didn't care.

Just as the Potter's were inventors, the Black's were warriors, which is what made the Black's so feared, their Gift for Battle Magic made them deadly duelers.

His mom had written that she'd once seen Sirius duel his cousin Bellatrix after she'd nearly killed James, and it was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Later, when she asked Sirius about the spells he used, he admitted that he'd never heard of half of them.

But from that moment on, the Death Eater's were wary of Sirius, and so was the Ministry.

(Personally, Harry thought this was why the Ministry never gave Sirius a trail, and just the thought that they knew he was innocent and imprisoned him anyway made Harry's magic burn under his skin) 

The Potter's came to Britain from Greece in the 1100's, and they, despite having no political aspirations, had been named Marquis of Glasslake by the time of the Statue's creation for their service to the Crown. 

At some point, they had married into House Prevelle, who, when they died out in the 1800's, had made the House Potter the new Duke of Ironedge. This made them the youngest bloodline to hold a Dukedom in Europe, and most of the traditionalists, who already hated the House of Potter, were outraged.

The Potter's hadn't let their new status change them; they had a reputation for being powerful, talented and intelligent, but not overly political. They didn't shy from marrying muggles or muggleborns, welcomed members of all races, and discriminated against none.

So, to the outside world, the Potter's were Most Noble and Distinguished, and since very few Distinguished Family's had Gifts, no one would expect the Potter's to have any. 

(Probably why so many people were shocked he was a Parseltongue)

And certainly not a Gift as powerful as Mage Sight, the ability to see magic, which his mom had explained was quite a bit more than just seeing magic.

Harry didn't know all that he was capable of, only a handful of Potter's had manifested the Gift, everyone else was just plagued with horrible eyesight, but he did know that the Ministry would kill him if they found out. 

Already, he doubted any wards could hold him, he'd felt them parting on his skin on nearly every doorway in Gringotts.

His mom had explained that in the myths Merlin had had gold eyes, and when Harry looked in a mirror, he noticed gold flecks in his eyes that hadn't been there before. And, when he focused on his sight, those gold flecks grew until his eyes looked like molten gold. 

So, the goblins, who were gold miners, and magically sensitive, had immediately realized what Harry had become, and were wary of pissing him off. 

"Vorak, Account Manager of the Potter Family, will see you now" the goblins declared, and Harry walked through the door, as in through solid metal, because he was a little shit at heart, and he was a little bitter that this Account Manager had ignored him all these years. 

The door, which was practically more magic than metal, parted for him as easily as the wards had. 

It took every ounce of control Harry had not to kneel over at the ringing that filled his head at the act.

"Heir Potter" Vorak's sharp teeth were bared in a mockery of a smile as he stayed seated behind his large stone desk, and Harry stepped forwards, shrugging the ringing off, and had a seat on the highly enchanted wooden chair in front of the desk.

Harry felt as if he'd stepped into a bath several degrees too hot, his skin burned for several seconds before the runes carved into the chair, the floor, even the walls, burned gold under his Sight, so bright that it was like looking at the sun.

(Somehow Harry knew that anyone who walked in would be able to see the runes, though they had been invisible moments before)

Then the heat vanished, making him feel unnaturally cold, and the runes turned black. 

Ah, that was probably going to cost him, Harry thought ruefully, as Vorak's face turned murderous. Harry can't imagine that a rune scheme like that was either cheap or easy to construct, and the repair was probably going to come from his vault before he left this room. 

"You have accepted your maternal inheritance, as such, you are considered an adult by goblin law, and we may take the next step to securing the Potter estate. As your Magical Guardian has forbidden contact with you until you were of age, we were unable to reach out to you until now" Vorak explained, and Harry's eyes narrowed in thought. 

"Dumbledore" Harry said, not pleased at all, and Vorak nodded, the tension in his shoulders tightening. 

"According to the Potter Charter, all Heir's will be granted unfettered access to the Bronze Level holdings at the age of 15, the Silver at 17, and the Gold at 21. In the case of the Last of the Line, you will be granted permission to view the Potter Grimoire, though nothing that you have not been granted access to will leave the Vault" Vorak explained, and Harry considered that, beginning to understand why they were so tense. 

This wasn't about his newfound battle prowess, the Goblin Nation was neutral in all Wixen wars, this was about their reputation.

Harry could take whatever he wanted, all he needed to do was tell the vault to open, and pick what he wanted. His little trick with the door showed that he could walk out, possibly even Apparate out, of anywhere in the bank, and they wouldn't know until news spread. 

And if people found out that he so easily stole from them? Their reputation as impenetrable would be tarnished.

"Understood," Harry said, and watched some of the tension leave the goblin "I'll return on my birthday to discuss the Bronze level holdings with you, and to view the grimoire. Was there anything else you needed to discuss with me?" Harry asked, and Vorak studied him sharply.

"Fortunately, there was no age requirement for the Boy Who Lived Foundation, merely that you inherit your Family fortune first" Vorak smirked, and Harry felt dread settle in his stomach. 

"The... what Foundation?" Harry asked, reaching a hand up to massage his temple.

"As you know, a great many family lines were wiped out in the last war, and several of them left everything to you. This is where all your mail is redirected, including birthday gifts, and all the profits from people using your name and likeness" Vorak explained, and Harry grimaced. 

"Ah, and who has access to this fund?" Harry asked, and Vorak smiled menacingly. 

"As of today, only you. However, the Ministry has been attempting to covertly gain access to this fund for 'war recovery costs' since its creation" Vorak said, and Harry wasn't surprised.

"Now that I have control over the account, can I ensure that no one else gains access?" Harry asked, and the goblin shrugged. 

"Its a Foundation, not a Vault, so the Ministry can claim it if they get a Majority Vote from the Wizengmont" Vorak explained, and Harry considered that. 

"And if I were to spend all the money before they realized I had control over it? Or buy the property from the Foundation for a steal?" Harry smiled deviously, and the goblin eyed him shrewdly, before giving Harry a ruthless grin.

"Would you like a complete inventory of the Foundation?" Vorak said, and Harry nodded. 

"I'll go over it and we can discuss the purchase, and what I'd like to do with the money when I come back on my birthday" Harry said, and Vorak nodded curtly. 

"I'll have it mailed to you within a weeks time" Vorak said, and Harry stood up from the chair. 

"If there's nothing else, I'll see you then" Harry said, waiting a moment, but when the goblin turned back to his paperwork, Harry saw himself out. 

He opened the door this time.