In which Sirius is rolling in it (it being galleons and schemes)
Ministry Proclaims "All is Well"
Written by Rita Skeeter
A statement provided this morning by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge reassures members of our community that "All is well," and there is no reason for concern. Despite the recent rumors that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has returned from death, the Ministry insists that there is no evidence to these claims or the whisperings of Death Eater activity. Minister Fudge insists those spreading these tall tales seek to disrupt Ministry legitimacy and subvert the rule of law.
The Minister refers, of course, to Mr. Albus Dumbledore and young Harry Potter. Mr. Dumbledore's recent statements on behalf of Mr. Potter claim that following the third task of the Triwizard Tournament several weeks ago, Mr. Potter was "kidnapped" and took part in a dark ritual in which he saw You-Know-Who return to life. While this is undoubtedly an exciting story, we at The Daily Prophet find it quite challenging to believe. After all, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was destroyed when Harry was so young, and it is doubtful that Harry would be able to recognize him, even if the man was staring him straight in his face. And even in the story Harry and Mr. Dumbledore told, they admit that our Chief Warlock never witnessed these events. One has to wonder if perhaps young Harry got a taste for the wand light during his time as a Hogwarts Champion last year and thought to extend the attention he's received. I'll remind you, my dear readers, that Harry somehow entered the tournament and was chosen as a champion despite being several years too young and that Hogwarts had already chosen a much more age-appropriate champion in Mr. Cedric Diggory. Considering the protections that safeguarded the selection process for the Triwizard Champions were placed by Mr. Dumbledore, perhaps Harry isn't the only one seeking to keep Mr. Potter in our collective attention. Although this raises only more questions, of course, which I trust you readers are intelligent enough to ask on your own.
However Mr. Potter was chosen, and why ever he's decided to spread such horrific stories, we hope that such a deluded young mind is receiving the care and aid he needs to overcome such disturbing and attention-seeking tendencies.
For a recounting of the Ministry's actions to make our community safe again following Who-Know-Who's death, turn to page 8.
For a summary of the Triwizard tournament and the increased international cooperation between Ministries the tournament inspired, turn to page 14.
Sirius threw down the paper and threw his head back against the chair to gaze at the ceiling.
Well, it looks like the Ministry is using their usual mouthpiece to start the smear campaign against Harry and Albus.
Sirius knew he should have expected this; he had, in fact, expected it to happen at some point in the coming weeks. But knowing the Ministry would seek to discredit Harry and actually seeing in black and white print, the first of what was sure to be a series of articles implying Harry was an attention-seeking crazy person, was a very different thing.
How dare they? Sirius had heard enough about how the Hogwarts students seemed to idolize and revile Harry by turn. Loving him one moment, putting him on a pedestal as Britain's savior, and then tearing him down and metaphorically spitting on him the next.
How dare they. How dare the Ministry, and Cornelius Fudge, stick their heads in the sand and ignore the words of his godson. Harry had risked life and limb to return to Hogwarts and share news of Voldemort's return. He'd put himself at risk to be able to bring the Diggory boy's body back to his parents, and the Prophet wasn't even going to mention the fact that the other Hogwarts Champion had died . And this unwillingness to listen to Harry just one year after Fudge had dismissed Harry's accounting of Pettigrew's escape and who the real traitor to the Potter family was all those years ago.
And how dare Album Dumbledore speak on Harry's behalf, without asking for his permission or opinion, after packing Harry away to the muggles. Dumbledore should have known that the Ministry would respond this way. Sirius could respect him for staying true to his principles and trying to get the word out about Voldemort's return...but it shouldn't be at Harry's expense. There had already been too many times when Harry got the short end of the stick, and it was overlooked in the name of "the many."
The rage that had been slowly growing in the pit of his stomach finally erupted, and Sirius stood quickly, shoving his chair back from the dining room table.
As he stormed up to his newly claimed study, no time for breakfast, he thought it was time to get to work. After claiming the lordship yesterday, he had thought long and hard last night about his next steps. He knew that certain notices regarding Lordships and Wizengamot seats were automated, and it wouldn't be too long before everyone would know there was a new Lord Black in play. There were a few things he needed to get done before anyone came sniffing around to try.
First, to get his solicitor on board. Sirius had debated going with a new firm rather than the Black family's solicitors that had been on retainer for decades. After all, they hadn't managed to get him out of Azkaban if they had even tried. But he decided to rely on that long-standing loyalty to the family rather than risk someone new having a bit more allegiance to the Ministry than to a potential new client. Settling down at his desk, Sirius pulled out a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill. After rummaging around in the desk drawer, he also found the Black Family seal. He'd need this to convince his solicitor that he genuinely was the Black Lord. Following an attempted coup back in the 1780s that involved attempted patricide, an affair, and an astounding amount of galleons, the seal was covered in runic wards that would chew off the hand of anyone not the current Black Lord when they tried to use it. Not even a Black Heir or the spouse of a Black Lord could use the seal without losing a limb. Traditionally, the seal was used to emboss the parchment just below the Lord's signature, and then the Lord's ring was used to press the House sigil into the wax seal on the outside of the parchment. Since Sirius didn't have the ring yet, the seal would have to prove that he was who he said he was and had the authority to give their solicitor work.
Sirius quickly scrawled a letter that he thought would be informative enough to give the solicitor the knowledge he needed to get started without getting lost in the details. Signing his name and pressing the seal into the parchment, he began to roll up the letter before abruptly stopping.
Damn. I don't have an owl. Thinking for a moment longer, Sirius cautiously muttered,
"Kreacher?"
There was a long pause; long enough Sirius thought the house-elf would ignore his call, before there was a soft pop in the room. He heard the grumbling start before he could even look around and spot Kreacher.
"The disappointment calls for Kreacher, oh yes, he does. What does the blood traitor want now, Kreacher wonders? The nerve of the brat to return to Mistress's home after breaking her heart all those years ago."
Since his return to Grimmauld Place, Sirius had made it a point to ignore Kreacher whenever the demented little elf wandered past him in the hallways. He had intended to keep his distance and hope a strategy of avoidance would best serve both the wixen and the house-elf. But needs must, and all that. "Kreacher, that's enough of that. I have claimed the Lordship of the House of Black and intend to use the name and power of the House to achieve specific goals, and I will inevitably need your assistance with this. We might not like each other much, but we will treat each other with respect. I forbid you to use the words mudblood and blood-traitor ." Here, Sirius paused to see if Kreacher would object, but he was surprised that the elf just stared at him with his big, bulbous eyes, waiting for Sirius to continue speaking. It was clear the elf wasn't happy, his lips were pressed tightly together, and his brow was furrowed into a scowl. Still, he wasn't throwing himself to the floor in a fit or finding new, insulting terms to spit at Sirius now that his favorite had been explicitly banned from use.
Sirius took a deep breath; it had been a while since he had to work around this particularly clever elf. He needed a moment to try and think of any loopholes in his orders. "You will clean yourself up and dress in something that befits an elf of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. You will go to Diagon Alley, and using galleons currently in Grimmauld Place, you will purchase an owl. The owl should be well-behaved and in good health. You will bring the owl straight to this study after purchasing it. You will not identify yourself as an elf of the House of Black to anyone. If someone recognizes you, even those of the Family, you will not speak or communicate with them. You will not inform, either verbally or non-verbally, that you have seen or spoken to me since I was sixteen or that I am Lord Black. You will make no other stops, purchase nothing else, and do nothing to draw attention to yourself for reasons other than purchasing an owl."
As he spoke, Kreacher's eyes had slowly narrowed, and Sirius could practically see the thoughts racing in Kreacher's mind as he tried to find a way around the orders. Eventually, Kreacher bowed low and muttered, "Yes, master. Kreacher will do as ordered and collect master's new owl" before disappearing with another pop, this one much louder than the first, as if in protest.
Satisfied with the start of his work, Sirius turned his attention to the stack of papers he had attempted to sort yesterday. Despite the House being in disrepair, with no true leadership since his grandfather had passed several years ago, statements from Gringotts had continued to be delivered to the study via the charmed memo mailbox. Much quicker than owl post but significantly more expensive to create and upkeep, a document could be placed in the corresponding box and, with a simple incantation, be duplicated almost instantly in the connected box elsewhere. Sirius remembered there being boxes in every Black property that were used to communicate with members of the family, a luxury to use something typically restricted to official use only to send little notes containing little more than gossip and the typical summaries of day-to-day activities. Those boxes had clearly not been kept up in the years. The only box that appeared to be still working was the one connected to Gringotts; the goblins must have kept the charms active over the years. Sirius was sure they had happily continued to deduct the monthly fee for management of the mailbox from the Black family vault, knowing that likely no one would notice the withdrawals but that they also hadn't received instructions to stop the service.
After reviewing the various statements from the bank, Sirius was happy to note that the Black family fortune was still just as massive as ever. While he had doubted there would be that much of a difference, he had wondered if his mother had sunk too much of their funds in the Voldemort's war funds. While a noticeable amount had left the vault back in the late seventies, the standing investments mainly had made up the difference in the decade and a half since. Sirius was, however, incensed to note that there were regular withdrawals by one L. Malfoy. Ten thousand galleons nearly every month for years. Lucius had seen an opportunity to grow the Malfoy vaults by stealing from the Blacks. Sirius assumed Narcissa had granted him access, and without any other Black's around to stop it, Lucius' actions weren't technically illegal. Even if Sirius attempted to have him charged for theft, he was sure Lucious would just claim the funds went to the care for Narcissa and Draco, who were technically entitled to Black money. Sirius knew he'd never see the money returned, but he would damn well ensure there would be no more transfers to the Malfoy vaults.
However, to make any changes to the Gringotts vaults, Sirius would need to visit the bank in person. Although he had claimed the Lordship, the goblins had their own way of doing things and required any new lords to undergo a separate process to take control of the vaults and update any standing instructions to their account manager. Sirius wasn't worried over much about the goblins turning him into the Ministry. Gringotts was considered part of the Goblin nation, and as soon as he stepped foot through the bank's front doors, he was under goblin law. Considering the goblins always loved getting one over on the Ministry, and the Black account was one of the largest and longest-standing, he figured they'd be happy to help him.
Deciding that now was as good a time as ever, Sirius swiftly moved upstairs to his bedroom. He had pilfered several sets of robes from other closets around Grimmauld Place to replenish his wardrobe. Although most of them were pretty out of date (and significantly out of his personal taste), he wanted to be presentable when going to Gringotts for the first time as a lord. Choosing a set of black robes with silver embroidery at the hem and sleeves, Sirius quickly changed and then moved over to the full-length mirror to begin casting glamor charms. Although the metamorphmagus gene the Blacks were famous for had skipped over him, he had always been a dab hand at any illusion charms. In the mirror, he watched as first he made his hair lighter in color and close-cropped. His eyes darkened from the silvery grey standard among the Black family to a more typical brown. Lengthening his nose and changing the shape of his jaw to be more rounded, Sirus added a bit of paunch belly and decreased his height by a few inches. By the time he lowered his wand again, Sirus looked like any other forgettable Wix. Someone you could pass on the street and look directly at while adjusting your path to avoid bumping into but would struggle to describe seconds later. Not an escaped Askaban convict, not a crazed mass murderer, and definitely not the Lord of an ancient and powerful House.
Perfect.
Returning to his study, Sirius saw that Kreacher must have already come and gone. It appeared that although Kreacher hated Sirius and would probably cheerfully poison his tea, Kreacher still had pride in the House of Black and had outdone himself fulfilling the orders he had been given. A barn owl was perched on the back of the chair behind the desk and was staring Sirius down. Despite appearing to be a common barn owl, its feathers were pitch black, and its regal eyes were just as dark in color. Its coloring was so dark that it looked almost like an owl's shadow rather than a living, breathing animal. As Sirius cautiously walked closer, the owl shuffled on the back of the chair, wings spreading slightly for balance, and Sirius saw that the underside of its wings were silver in color, almost the same shade as Sirius' own eyes. As he noted the wicked sharp talons digging into his chair and the supercilious look the owl was shooting at him, Sirius was struck with the thought that this was a perfect owl for a member of the House of Black.
Reaching a hand forward slowly, Sirius tentatively stroked the owl's back until it relaxed enough for its eyes to sink to half-lidded, still staring at Sirius watchfully.
Guessing as to the owl's gender, "I think I'll call you Hades," Sirius whispered, "I know he's got a bit of a bad rap, what with the whole ruler of the dead and kidnapping his wife thing, but I've always preferred the stories where Hades and Persephone fell in love. Besides, you look a bit like you could be a demon from the underworld, so it fits." Hades let out a quiet coo, almost like he agreed with Sirius, before nipping his finger sharply and holding out his leg. Apparently, the owl knew Sirius already had a letter for him to deliver. Reaching for the rolled parchment he had finished earlier, Sirius gently tied the scroll to Hades' leg, "To the offices of Greengrass, Yates, and Berks, please. I'm not sure who manages the Black account currently, but they'll sort it out. Please wait for a response." Letting out another coo, Hades hopped onto Sirius' outstretched arm so Sirius could walk him over to the window and prop it open. The owl took off immediately, quickly catching an updraft and flying out of view.
Lawyer business sorted for the time being, it was time to turn his attention again to Gringotts and the vaults. Sirius shut the study door behind him and locked the door with a wave of his wand. He didn't think any members of the Orde would be stopping by today, but best to lock the door just in case someone thought to wander in while he was out of the house. When he reached the front door, Sirius had to pause for a moment. Even after this long on the run, whenever he stepped foot outside, he had a moment of panic that someone would recognize him and he'd be tossed back in Azkaban. For a second, it was like he was already back there. He could feel the chilling cold and the dampness that never really went away, could hear the screaming and moaning of his fellow prisoners. Sirius forced the memories away and straightened his shoulders. It would be a quick trip, he told himself, no one would recognize this face, and I just have to make it to the bank. Then I'll be safe again.
Steeling himself, Sirius reached down and threw the door open. Taking three steps forward until he was just outside the wards, Sirius turned sharply on one foot and apparated. He reappeared at the Diagon Alley apparition point, just a few blocks down from Gringotts. The sounds of the crowd of people moving down the main thoroughfare were a bit overwhelming, but Sirius forced himself forward. Keeping a placid look on his face and trying his best to avoid brushing against those walking by him, Sirius tried to walk to the bank as quickly as possible without looking like he was in a rush. The point was to avoid attention after all. In what was probably just a few minutes but felt like hours, Sirius finally reached the steps to the bank. Nodding briefly at the goblins outside the doors standing guard, he entered the bank and approached the first goblin without anyone in front of him.
"Hello, I don't have an appointment, but I need to speak with the Black Family Account Manager urgently. I'm a member of the family."
The goblin looked Sirius up and down with a sniff, "You certainly don't look like a member of the Black family. As far as I'm aware, the remaining Blacks are either imprisoned or disinherited. Which one are you?"
Letting a hint of the tone he had learned from his mother all those years ago creep into his voice, Sirius responded, "And who are you to question a member of the House of Black. My account manager can verify my identity. I'll not be challenged about my private business by a mere teller in front of the entire bank. Now, you can bring me to my account manager immediately, or I will begin the process of finding another banking alternative for the Black vaults. I hear there are several other options than the goblin nation on the continent, and the Blacks have long had ties to the French."
As Sirius spoke, all emotion had left the goblin's face, and he stiffly stood before curtly telling Sirius to follow him. As they left the bank's main lobby and entered the catacombs of office and meeting spaces further into the bank, Sirius tried to silence his sigh of relief.
One hurdle down.
Finally, his guide stopped outside a solid oaken door and rapped sharply, opening the door only upon hearing the sharp, "Enter," the goblin within stated. "Ucklack, this individual claims to be a member of the House of Black and demanded an immediate appointment with the Black Account Manager." Exiting quickly, the teller left the office before Sirius could even get a good glimpse of the goblin within. When he eventually walked far enough into the room to see the goblin seated behind the desk at the far end of the room, he was met with a highly doubtful look. The goblin, Ucklack, apparently, pressed a little knob on his desk and a stone chair rose smoothly from the ground in front of his desk. Ucklack waved his hand at the chair, inviting Sirius to sit, and only spoke after Sirius had settled himself in the (somewhat uncomfortable) seat.
"I was unaware there were any members of the House of Black able or willing to meet with me regarding the family vaults. And certainly, none that looked like you. I assume you are obscuring your appearance? Or are you from a branch of the family I have yet to meet?" The goblin looked to be middle-aged but was not the goblin he remembered meeting when he had come to Gringotts as a very young boy with his father. However, he recalled that goblin being white-haired and extremely wrinkled. Ucklack must have inherited the account when his predecessor had passed.
"The first option, I'm afraid. I've recently claimed the Lordship, and I'd prefer not to be recognized quite yet for reasons I'm sure will become apparent to you. I want to claim the family vaults today and change who can access them. Unless you have recommendations, I have no intentions of changing the investments the family currently holds, although I'm certainly open to hearing your opinions on the longevity and profitability of the existing assets or if there are any new business opportunities you think would have a good return. I hope to bring the House of Black back to a place of prominence in our society, and I recognize financial support and patronage will likely need to be involved in my plans."
"And your name, Lord Black? I prefer to know who I am working with," Ucklack responded.
The moment of truth, Sirius thought, "Sirius Black the third." Seeing Ucklack shift in his seat in surprise, Sirius hurried to continue, "I know this will be hard to believe, but I swear on my magic I am innocent. I did not betray James and Lily Potter, I did not kill Peter Pettigrew and those muggles, and I have never served Voldemort." As quickly as possible, Sirius ran through the happenings of those months in 1981 leading up to the deaths of his friends and what happened immediately following October 31st, his escape from Azkaban, and the last time he had run into Peter Pettigrew, only for him to escape again. The goblin across from him kept his face neutral until finally, Sirius reached the events of the last few days, explaining that he wanted custody of his godson, but knew he'd only get it if he could clear his name.
At the conclusion of his tale, there was a beat of silence before Ucklack shifted forward and opened one of the drawers to his desk. "Well then," the goblin said, "best get to work."
Sirius was a bit taken aback, "You don't have any questions...or want to verify anything I said?"
Shuffling through the documents he had withdrawn from his desk, Ucklack didn't even look up when he replied, "There are runes that verify the truthfulness of what is said by anyone sitting in that chair, Lord Black. I activated them when you began your retelling. Had you lied to me, I would have known. Now, here is the parchment you must sign to claim the Vaults. A blood quill will be required, if you do not have one with you, one can be provided for the price of 3 galleons. You said you wanted to change who could access them. Here is a list of those still living and authorized to visit the vaults or make withdrawals. You may use the same blood quill to strike through any who you no longer wish to have access to the vaults, and just add the names of any you would like to add."
A tad shocked at the proficient manner in which Ucklack was handling his earlier requests, Sirius indicated that he would like to purchase a blood quill and was promptly handed one. Signing his name on the first form, which just stated he was the current head of the Black family and was taking responsibility for the vaults, Sirius then pulled the list of authorized individuals. Glancing at it, he realized this was a rather old piece of parchment, and it had been in use for at least decades, if not centuries. Sirius ran his eyes through the list of names his predecessors added to as the Black family grew and changed over the years. Rather joyfully, Sirius stuck out the names of Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy. To be safe, he also crossed Bellatrix and her husband off the list, although he doubted they'd ever leave Azkaban. Shaking the sting off his hand, he glanced to the bottom of the scroll, where he saw his cousin Andromeda's name had been scratched off so harshly the quill had almost broken through the parchment. Sirius thought for a moment before adding Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, and Nymphadora Tonks to the list. Happily adding Harry's name at the bottom and noting him as the heir, he then rolled the scroll back up and handed it back to Ucklack.
"Now that you are both the Black Lord and have ownership of the Black Family Vaults, I must inform you a secret that has traditionally been kept to only the Black Lord, the Black Heir after reaching majority, and the Black Account Manger. Considering your circumstances, I feel it will benefit you, Lord Black." Ucklack stated, after tucking away the documents back in his drawers to be filed later. "There is an additional Black property here in England. Knowledge of its existence and location are kept extremely guarded. Some Lord Blacks have used it as a country retreat, others as more of a hideaway, depending on the current political situation." Ucklack watched him consideringly before continuing, "The Goblin Nation has heard is not so ignorant as your Wizarding Ministry. We have listened to the story young Mister Potter shared and believe him that the Dark Lord Voldemort is once more walking the earth. You and your would-be ward are in danger, Lord Black. Having a safe place as hidden as Aquarius House could be useful to you both."
Sirius was astonished. He had never heard of a secret property, but with how paranoid his family generally was, he really should have seen something like this coming. If knowledge of the house was only shared with the Lord and the Heir, then no one still alive outside of Ucklack, and now Sirius knew about this property, which meant it was the perfect place to keep Harry safe if things went to shit. He focused back on Ucklack as he instructed, "The house can only be reached by portkey. The Lord's ring has the portkey embedded. However, you will need a separate item to act as portkey for Heir if you would like to grant access to the house to Mr. Potter? I can perform the portkey spell to give access, for a small fee, of course."
"Yes, the fee is not a problem. If I can go down to my personal vault, I can find something suitable for use." Sirius was sure he could find plenty of things in any of the Black vaults that could be used as a Portkey, but he had a feeling that any of the jewel-encrusted rings, heavy necklaces or gold bracelets in those vaults would stick out like a sore thumb on Harry. He wanted something subtle that Harry could put on and forget about until and unless he needed it.
Ucklack stood, "Of course. I'll take you down myself." The ride to his vault was short, but Sirius appreciated the thrilling ride. The wind in his face reminded him of what it felt like to ride his motorcycle all those years ago before Azkaban. He wondered what had happened to the bike, remembering giving it to Hagrid. Maybe if he could get his name cleared, he could buy another? He spent the rest of the ride imagining teaching Harry how to ride. The kid loved to fly on a broom; Sirius would bet half the galleons in his vaults that Harry would also love flying a motorbike. When they finally reached his personal vault, Ucklack used his claw to open the door, Sirius' key being long since lost.
Although this vault didn't contain nearly as many coins as the main Black family vaults (and a few less after his withdrawal two years ago for Harry's firebolt), there was still a sizeable amount. Shoving a few fistfuls of galleons into a satchel he remembered buying in his fifth year, Sirius took a few moments to wander through the personal items he had stored here. In the years between leaving Hogwarts and being sent to Azkaban, Sirius had shared a crummy little flat with Remus. Since Remus had refused to split the rent unequally, they had been limited to only the rentals that Remus could afford half of. The one-bedroom flat they had ended up with barely fit themselves and their day-to-day necessities, which meant Sirius had put most of his personal items in his vault. At the time, it had been an annoyance, but now it was an unexpected treasure to walk through and gently touch the things that felt like they were from another life. Soft muggle band tees, stacked textbooks from Hogwarts, and random nick-nacks that he had accumulated while in school were scattered through the vault, each item reminding him of happier times. Eventually, Sirius stumbled across his old school trunk. Kneeling and gently opening the lid, the grief gripped his throat tightly as he saw the photos and handwritten notes he had tucked away for safekeeping years ago.
This is coming with me, he thought. Harry would want to see these notes. And are those our old communication mirrors? Sirius shifted some parchment away from the charmed mirrors he and James had created. They were still wrapped in the soft cloth that started out as napkins at Potter Manor, which James had stolen to tuck the mirrors away in between use for safekeeping. Those will be much faster than letters sent using Hedwig and Hades. Gently placing his bag with money in the trunk and then tossing a few of the t-shirts, jeans, and robes he found on top of it, Sirius continued his search for something that could be used as a portkey. As he dug through a stack of magazines from the mid-seventies, he felt something velvet brush against his hand and stilled. He knew what it was before he even opened the small velvet box.
James had given him the necklace to keep Lily from finding it. Wanting to surprise her but being terrible at finding actual hiding spots in their shared home, giving it to Sirius to tuck in his vault was the best option for keeping a gift a secret. James had planned for it to be a gift to Lily after Harry's birth, a "push present" James had called it, after overhearing some muggles talking about it on the street in London. The term had delighted James and disgusted Sirius, but Remus had thought the concept was sweet. James had ordered it before Lily was more than a few months into the pregnancy, and by the time he would have given it to her, they were already in hiding. Both James and Sirius had utterly forgotten about the gift, each much more concerned with the status of the war than anything else. Sirius thought that if the gift couldn't go to Lily, he was glad it was eventually ending up in Harry's hands. And he thought Harry would like to have something that had been designed by his father, intended for his mum. Tucking the box into his pocket, Sirius stood and picked up his old trunk before exiting the vault where Ucklack was still waiting on him.
"Sorry to take so long. I found some other things I'd like to take with me."
"Of course, Lord Black, it was not a long wait. We may return to my office if you found something you would like to use for your heir's portkey." Waiting until he received a nod from Sirius, Ucklack moved back to the cart, and they started the ride back to the upper levels of the bank.
Back in Ucklack's office, Sirius pulled out the jewelry box and handed it over to Ucklack. "Here, this can be used for the portkey."
"I took the liberty of having the Lord's ring sent up while we were in the vaults." Ucklack shared as he traded the velvet box for a small metal one that had appeared on his desk since they left the room earlier. Sirius didn't spare the ring within much more than a glance; he remembered the gleaming silver and black diamond-encrusted ring from his childhood. The family crest was pressed on the face of the ring, with the diamonds circling the wearer's finger and the family motto inscribed inside. Sliding it on, Sirius looked up to see Ucklack finish with the necklace, tucking it back within the box before handing it over across his desk. "The passcode for both ring and necklace is water-bearer ."
"Thank you for your assistance today, Ucklack. I look forward to a continued partnership."
Ucklack observed him with a slight grin pulling up one corner of his mouth, "And I look forward to the Black gold returning to circulation, Lord Black. Your vaults have been stagnant for far too long. I'll send over some notes about potential investments you might want to consider within the week. Pleasure doing business with you."
With that, Sirius left the office, the jewelry box tucked again into his pocket and a school trunk floating behind him. He meant to go straight to the apparition point, but today's success lightened his steps, and he paused outside Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Surely an ice cream shop wouldn't have any glamor detections spells, and he'd be alright to take a five-minute stop for some celebratory ice cream. Pushing his way through the door, Sirius looked over the various options before finally asking the bored-looking teenager staffing the shop for a scoop of the flavor of the month's brown sugar and firewhisky.
Deciding not to risk any longer in public, Sirius took his ice cream to go. Exiting the store as he took his first bite, Sirius nearly stumbled at his first taste. Growing up, he had always had a sweet tooth, but treats had been pretty limited even after his escape from Azkaban. He couldn't remember the last time he had, had ice cream. He tried to savor the ice cream, letting it melt on his tongue as he walked, but it was long gone by the time he reached the apparition point. Vanishing the paper cup and spoon, he turned on his heel and disappeared with a crack.