Chapter 8
At nine o'clock the next morning, Harry duly presented himself at Gringotts. He politely explained to the teller that he would like to have a chat with somebody about his finances, and asked if anyone suitable was available at any point in the next few days. The goblin sneered at him, asked for his name, sniffed some more, turned round to talk to somebody else in his own language, and then snapped: "Come back at two this afternoon. Next!" Harry whispered his thanks and beetled out. He found the goblins very intimidating, and between the ominous poetry and the shiny weapons, he suspected it was deliberate on their part.
Having a few hours to kill, he made his way to Flourish and Blotts, and engrossed himself in the section on wizarding law; the books were very dry, and seemed to be addressing an audience that already knew the basics that he was woefully ignorant of. The muggleborn orientation leaflet hadn't really covered much: a person's legal status depended on whether they were magical, their age, whether they had OWLs, whether they were fully or partly human, and what House, if any, they belonged to. Wizarding families are very important, but muggleborns don't need to worry about that because they don't have one. As lone individuals, they are not considered to belong to the Wizarding World before they receive their Hogwarts letter, and do not become citizens until they come of age at 17, and then only if they have enough OWLs; before then, they have relatively few rights. Their Hogwarts Head of House is considered their magical guardian, unless someone else is formally assigned by their parents, or claims right of kinship, in which latter case they become part of that person's House. If a muggleborn marries a witch or wizard from an established family, they become part of that person's House and fall under the jurisdiction of their new paterfamilias (or matriarch, or regent). Really, Harry needed a book about Wizarding Houses: what they are, what they do, and whether he himself belonged to one or was head of one. The nearest he could manage was Paterfamilias or Matriarch? A history of gender and legal power in magical British kinship networks, A.D. 60 - 1900. It seemed to start with Boudicca's rebellion and Roman gender norms, but since it was the first book he'd seen that actually explained what a paterfamilias was, Harry figured he'd take it, and settle down to read it at a nearby cafe. If it turned out to be too much for him, he could always give it to Hermione.
He felt guilty for not telling Ron and Hermione more about what was going on, but he told himself firmly it was wisest not to tell anyone anything until he had the situation sorted out. He couldn't risk it getting back to Dumbledore that he was planning something the Headmaster wouldn't approve of. He fetched out quill and parchment to write to them, a short and chatty letter, saying he'd met his family again, and Aunt Petunia was her usual dour self, but the twins had grown so much since he'd last seen them, and were talking quite well now. His aunt had him running lots of errands, but he was managing to find time to read. Also, he'd managed to arrange things with a window and an owl perch that Uncle Vernon was unlikely to notice, so they could just write to him by owl now, if they preferred. He copied the letter out a second time for Hermione, adding a little detail about what he was reading - the Romans were really very interesting - and signed it, smothering a twinge of guilt. Nothing in the letter was a lie, but it did give a misleading impression. Between the book and the rather excellent sandwiches provided by the cafe, it was half past one before Harry realised: time to settle up and return to Gringotts.
The bright side of Harry's trip to Gringotts was the discovery that he did, indeed, have more to his name than just (just!) the piles of gold in his trust vault. Also, he didn't actually get barred from the bank permanently. The less bright side was that Junior Manager Gornuk called Harry a fool, an ignoramus, and a bumbling wizard child, handed him the muggleborn orientation leaflet on the services Gringotts did and did not provide, and told him to come back the following day when he'd remedied some of his appalling ignorance and would hopefully be able to ask questions that weren't completely stupid. Oh, and he was charged two sickles for the leaflet. 2 p. m. tomorrow, and in the meantime, get lost.
Looking through the leaflet, Harry could see that he had broken quite a few of its guidelines.
Gringotts' services fall into three main categories: Vault guardianship, Investment, and Curse-breaking.
We do deal in a certain amount of blood-based inheritance magic and life-force tracking, mostly as a side-branch of vault guardianship, since how else are we to know to whom a vault's contents truly belong? It just so happens that many of our services are illegal to perform for anybody other than a goblin, and that certain procedures have no validity if they are not performed to goblin standards. This does not mean that it is Gringotts' duty, or indeed their business, to be able to inform silly wizards of what exactly they own. Gringotts can inform their clients how many vaults and accounts they have, and what the current value and returns of the investment accounts are. We do not count the coins within a wizard's vaults, nor do we enumerate title deeds contained within. If a wizard wishes to know whether he owns property, he must examine his own vault for title deeds - which, incidentally, have been mandatory for wizarding properties since 1750, so if there is no title deed in your vault, you almost certainly don't own whichever property you were thinking of. Gringotts also do not carry out official will-readings. Those are the purview of the Ministry of Magic, and whichever foolish wizards and ineffectual law firms the deceased has named as their executor. However, any witch or wizard who makes a will detailing the disposition of their Gringotts account is legally obliged to file a copy of that will with Gringotts, so that Gringotts knows what to do with the aspect of the inheritance that does fall under their purview; vault heirs are perfectly at liberty to view Gringotts copies of old wills, which are stored in the vaults in question. Gringotts does not offer legal advice or legal services; if clients like to withdraw or copy old wills, they may, and what they do with them is their business. Likewise, Gringotts' superior goblin magic (and ministry laws forbidding wizards to use certain blood-based magics) means we offer the best inheritance tests to be found in the wizarding world: these tests are, however, very expensive, and there is no guarantee that they will reveal the user to have rightful title to hitherto closed vaults that might offset the cost of the test. No tests on speculation: cash upfront only.
For investments, Gringotts does not keep physical vaults, since the money is invested. Many clients do not find this obvious. When asked, Gringotts will tell a client what investments they manage in their name; receipts and regular account notes will be placed in the client's personal or family vault. Gringotts currency exchange services fall under the rubric of our investment services. Naturally, we charge commission, so the rate for changing galleons to pounds sterling does not exactly mirror its counterpart. This is to be expected, if you have any sense, which many wizards don't. Gringotts also deals in precious metals and gems. Do not attempt to melt down Galleons for gold, or to transfigure Muggle currency. It will not end well for you.
As for curse-breaking services, Gringotts operates strictly within the law. Gringotts is not available for hire to break into the home or place of business of clients' personal or familial enemies, unless there is legal cause. Clients may hire Gringotts warders to investigate the warding on their own homes, the homes of subordinate family members, or other buildings owned personally by the client, or owned as part of a business the client owns or part-owns, if all owners are agreed. Clients may hire warders to build or strengthen wards on buildings under the aforementioned conditions. Clients may also hire Gringotts curse-breakers to investigate and break curses on themselves, their subordinate family members, and any animals and artefacts in their possession. Bulk discounts may be negotiated; success is not guaranteed; one-third of the quoted fee is payable on failed attempts.
Gringotts punishes thieves harshly, and while we are mostly concerned with preventing anyone from stealing from us, or from those who have confided their treasures to us, we will also seek violent retribution against those who attempt to steal from each other on Gringotts' property. Gringotts is neutral in wizarding disputes, and does not care if its clients are wanted by the Ministry of Magic; however, anybody entering bank premises in a disguise of any kind will be treated with suspicion and hostility.
Harry sighed. Perhaps tomorrow he should leave the 'See You Jimmy' hat in his room.