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As he entered the marbled halls of Gringotts, Griphook looked around with a sneer on his face. That is to say, a different sneer from the one his kind usually wore.
‘Wizards, Bah. Unsophisticated and uncouth creatures. Thinking that they are above everything, that they know everything. They are all the same.’
Griphook stops mid-thought, and a sad smile crosses his features before he composes himself once more.
There were a few exceptions and the one that springs to mind is the one that even his people mourned for.
Lily Potter née Evans. His people still remembered her fondly, for as much as Goblins can remember anything fondly. To have met a witch so kind, so generous, so compassionate, and intelligent to boot, was something special indeed. While they normally didn’t bother with the affairs of wizards and witches, they were shocked when they learned of her passing.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, he takes another look around and snorts in disgust.
An hour later, Griphook is at his desk, going over some numbers when he is approached by another Goblin.
‘Griphook, Gornak wants to see you. Now.’
Frowning, Griphook looks up at the Goblin, wondering what the Head of Accounts wanted to see him for.
Carefully putting away his ledgers, he thanks the Goblin and heads for Gornak’s office.
Knocking on the ornate double doors, he is surprised when a voice immediately calls for him to enter.
As he enters the large office, the large Goblin sitting behind the desk continues to scribble something on a piece of parchment, only looking up when Griphook comes to a stop in front of the desk.
‘Ah, Griphook, you’re here. Take a seat.’
After he has taken a seat, the larger Goblin, Gornak, watches him without saying a word.
Just as Griphook starts to become uncomfortable, Gornak leans back.
‘Rimtooth retired last night.’ Gornak emphasizes the word retired and Griphook, who knows all too well what that means, raises an eyebrow. ‘As you know, Rimtooth was the Account Manager for the Frozen accounts.’
Now, Griphook his other eyebrow rises. The Frozen accounts where those account that no one has claimed but are still technically owned by someone.
‘We found evidence that Rimtooth took wizard money to steal from those accounts and by doing that broke his oath to this institution. It has been decided that you will take over his position.’
Griphook is frozen in shock. To be promoted to Account Manager from lowly clerk was a great honour, even if it was just the Frozen accounts.
He doesn’t get a chance to speak as Gornak leans forward, his eyes narrowed menacingly.
‘We don’t know the extent of Rimtooth’s betrayal, so your first task is to scrutinize the accounts closely and to make sure what the extend of the damage to this institution is. Do not fail Gringotts! You are dismissed.’
As the doors close behind him, Griphook stands there, his eyes looking into the distance, then a wicked grin appears on his face and he quickly makes his way to Rimtooth’s office, his office, he corrected himself.
Sitting down behind the desk, he takes stock of his surrounding before barking out some orders to a couple of his lesser fortunate brothers.
A couple of days later, Griphook is going through some of the last folders on his desk. As he does so, a frown appears on his face. Rifling through the papers, his frown deepens, and he begins to scribble something on a blank piece of parchment. Several hours later, he is staring at the parchment in his hands, looking angry.
Calming himself down, he meticulously goes over the papers once more, checking and re-checking everything. It’s already late at night when he hurries through the hallways of Gringotts, coming to a stop in front of Gornak’s office once more. Not even waiting for a response to his knock, he enters and walks straight up to the desk.
‘We have a problem.’
With a look that clearly states that the problem better be a big one, Gornak raises an eyebrow, indicating to Griphook to continue.
‘I have gone over all the accounts, and I found one account with some disturbing irregularities.’
‘And which account was that?’
‘The Potter account.’
Gornak’s eyes go wide as he leans back in his chair.
‘The Potter account? Are you sure?’
‘Positive. I have gone over the account numerous time to check.’
Gornak leans forward again, growling softly.
‘Continue.’
‘I found four major issues. One, several letters have been send asking for the Potter Heir to come to Gringotts. No reply was received. I have made several security checks and found that the letters were never received by the intended recipient.’ Gornak growls once more. Gringotts mail was protected and warded, only the recipient or a Gringotts employee could open it. For multiple letters to be intercepted was serious indeed.
Griphook continues, aware of what’s going on in the mind of his boss.
‘Second, multiple unauthorized withdrawals have been made from the trust vault. Including 250 Galleons per month, starting on November 1st, 1981.’
Neither Goblin fails to miss the importance of that date.
‘Third, the Will of James and Lily Potter has not been executed and it has in fact been sealed on the order of the Chief Warlock. And fourth.’
Griphook hands Gornak a document. Reading the document, Gornak’s eyes go wide again, and he looks at Griphook in disbelief.
‘Have you confirmed this?’
‘I checked the Book immediately to be sure. The information is correct.’
After staring at the document for a while, Gornak gets up with a snarl, and beckoning for Griphook to follow, leaves the office.
After moving through a labyrinth of hallways, they come to a stop in front of a large door guarded by two Warrior Goblins. Both Goblins stop in front of the door, waiting patiently. When the door opens, Gornak quickly enters followed by Griphook.
To Griphook’s surprise, the office of the Director of Gringotts, British Branch, was pretty bare and if it weren’t for the fact that the Goblin sitting behind the desk exuded power, he would never have believed that this was the office of the Director.
Coming to a stop in front of the desk, Gornak hands the Director the papers and explains what Griphook discovered. As he listens, the Director turns his cold eyes to Griphook causing a shiver to run down his spine. When Gornak finishes, silence reigns, the Director never taking his eyes of Griphook. As the silence is prolonged, Griphook chances a glance at Gornak, nearly jumping as the Director addresses him.
‘Griphook, I hereby give you the full authority of this Institution to investigate and correct these issues. Do not fail this Institution!’
Very early the next day, Griphook is sitting at his desk, looking at the papers in front of him. Picking up one of the papers, he studies it, nodding as he does so.
Clearly, the Potter Heir hasn’t received the letters Gringotts sent, so the first priority is to deliver the message personally. The problem is, no one knows where the Heir lives.
Griphook stares at the paper deep in thought then turns to the second document and picks it up.
‘Hm, the same payment, every month, starting the day after the disappearance of the so-called Dark Lord. That can’t be a coincidence.’
He quickly makes his way to the Accounting Department and heads straight for the office of its Head.
‘Morag, I need to know the recipients of these payments and I need them now!’
Without a change in his expression, Morag takes the document and studies it for a moment before barking an order to one of the other Goblins, who takes the document from him and rushes of.
Twenty minutes later, the Goblin returns and hands Morag two documents before bowing and returning to his duties.
Morag takes a quick look at the new document and turns to Griphook, one eyebrow raised.
‘It appears that the payments are deposited into a Muggle account. What is this about, Griphook?’
Griphook doesn’t answer and just takes the document, noting the accountholder’s information, a frown on his face.
Muggles? Surely the Heir would not have been placed with Muggles? As he walks back to his office, he goes over the information concerning the Potter family. He knows that Lily Potter was a Muggleborn and as he recalls, she had a sister although he has never met the woman. It seems plausible that the Heir lives with the sister then, but he needed further confirmation. Thinking hard, he suddenly comes to a stop, a wicked grin on his face. Turning around, he heads for a section of the Bank that is almost as heavily warded as some of the old vaults.
As he enters the room, passing two Warrior Goblins, he looks around, grinning once more as he sees the large map of Britain covering one wall. Spotting the Head of the Postal Department, he quickly explains what he needs, handing him a letter similar to the ones that were sent to the Heir before.
Another Goblin is called, who expertly casts a spell on the letter before tying it to the leg of one of the owls.
With the Goblin tracking charm in place, Griphook can follow the path of the owl on the large map and just as he hoped, the owl disappears over a small town in Surrey. Leaning closer, Griphook’s smile is positively predatory as he reads the name of the town: Little Whinging. That must be where the Heir is.
Satisfied, he returns to his office and decides that for the moment it is better to simply monitor the account. Focussing his attention on the two remaining documents, he puts the one dealing with the Will aside for now and looks at the last document and the few lines of text on it.
SOUL BOND
FORMED BETWEEN HARRY JAMES POTTER AND GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY
DATE: 11 AUGUST 1981
STATUS: INCOMPLETE.
INTERRUPTED 1 NOVEMBER 1981
Griphook growls lowly as he reads the last line. Interrupted means that someone or something interfered with the Bond and judging by the date, he has a good idea who it was.
‘Hm, Weasley. Didn’t I hear Sharptooth saying something about a new curse-breaker named Weasley?’
Touching one of the crystals on his desk, he speaks into it, requesting information about a curse-breaker named Weasley. Five minutes later, a file appears on his desk which he quickly peruses.
‘Impressive. Just started last year and he has already been assigned to Egypt. Already earmarked for promotion. Even if he is not related to Miss Weasley, his skills may come in handy.’
Returning the file, he calls the Head curse-breaker requesting the immediate recall of curse-breaker William Weasley.
Knowing that he will probably have to wait until tomorrow for the curse-breaker to arrive, he turns his attention back to the Will, tapping it with his long finger. While even the Goblins are unable to unseal the Will without permission of either the Chief Warlock or the Heir, thanks to the Director he knows at least part of its contents. The thing that has him worried is the named Guardian for the Heir, namely Sirius Black, who is currently in Azkaban albeit without having had a trial. Luckily, the Black family is an old and valued client and Gringotts makes sure to know as much about those clients as possible.
Using the crystal once more, he requests the file on the Black family. Carefully perusing the file, he quickly discards of most names before settling on one name.
‘Andromeda Tonks née Black, she would make a suitable Guardian with Sirius Black unavailable.’ Griphook grins once more. ‘Time is money they say and so it is, but information can be worth so much more.’
After drafting a letter to Andromeda Tonks, Griphook is satisfied that he has done all he can for now and decides to call it an early day.
Just before midday the next day, a tired and apprehensive looking, tall redhead is standing in front of the door to the office of the Head of Frozen Accounts. Taking a deep breath, the young man knocks and enters after being called to do so.
‘Curse-breaker William Weasley. You requested my presence, Master Griphook?’
‘Yes, I did, Mr Weasley. Please take a seat. Your boss speaks highly of you, Mr Weasley. You do excellent work.’
Taken aback, William Weasley doesn’t really know what to say, still wondering why he was summoned back post-haste.
‘Thank you, Master Griphook. I hope I will continue to do so.’
‘I’m sure you will, Mr Weasley. Tell me, do you know a Ginevra Molly Weasley?’
‘Ginny? Yes, she is my sister.’
Now deeply confused, he is surprised to see a smile on the Goblin’s face.
‘Ah, that is good. That will make this a great deal easier. Mr Weasley, I wish for you to collect your sister and bring her here in order to meet a valuable client.’
Taken aback, William looks at the Goblin with suspicion.
‘Why do you need my sister to meet a client. She is only nine.’
‘I understand your reluctance, Mr Weasley. Do you know what a Soul Bond is?’
‘A Soul Bond? We studied several types of bonds during training. The only thing I can recall about Soul Bonds is that they are very rare and are a manifestation of pure Light Magic.’
‘Correct. The reason the presence of your sister is requested is that she shares a Soul Bond with the client.’
William looks at him with open mouth, thinking about his fiery spirited sister.
‘My sister has a Soul Bond? She is only nine. Who is the client?’
‘Nine you said? So, she would have been born in 1981?’
William nods. ‘Yes, August 11th. Is that important?’
‘Fascinating, that would make them the youngest Soul Bond ever recorded. You need not worry too much. I can safely tell you that the client is only ten himself. However, the actual reason that your sister’s presence is deemed necessary is because the Bond has been interrupted.’
‘Interrupted? What does that mean?’
‘It means, Mr Weasley, that someone interfered with the Bond.’
William thinks back to what he learned about Soul Bonds, which admittedly isn’t much, and suddenly turns pale.
‘Interfered, you said? Isn’t that dangerous for those who are bonded?’
‘Indeed it is, Mr Weasley, hence the importance of Miss Weasley’s presence. The sooner the Bond has been restored, the better for the Bond mates.’
The clock ticks as William stares ahead, his thoughts a jumble. Focussing his attention back on the patiently waiting Griphook, he sighs and nods his head.
‘I will get my sister, but I will need your assurance that she will be safe.’
If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that he saw a brief glimmer of appreciation pass across the Goblin’s features.
‘I assure you, Mr Weasley, that your sister will be quite safe.’
William studies the Goblin for a moment before giving a final nod and heading for the door. Just as he is about to leave, he turns around. ‘You never told me who the client was.’
‘Harry Potter.’
Stunned, William stares at him before dissolving into laughter and the last thing Griphook hears is his muttering about his sister finally getting her wish.
‘Wizards.’ Griphook shakes his head and turns his attention back to the documents in front him.
He looks at the Will and back at the document detailing the Soul Bond before summoning the information about the Weasley account.
He immediately notices that the Weasleys are neither high profile nor affluent clients, which explains why he didn’t know about the relation between Ginevra Weasley and William Weasley, there was no need to know. However, this does bring up a potential problem and he taps his finger on the letter meant for Andromeda Tonks.
There is two things that most wizards and witches don’t know about Goblins. The first is that while Goblins do not concern themselves with their affairs, they do keep up to date about what is happening, which includes knowing on which side certain figures are. After all, information can be as lucrative as gold. Because of this, Griphook knows that there are those who would use the excuse of the Weasleys relative poverty to take control of the Heir. The second thing is that, while it’s true that Goblins value profit and treasures, there is one kind of treasure that they value above all else, namely family. Ironically, this puts them at equal footing with the Weasleys, of course Griphook doesn’t know this.
Griphook nods to himself. The Heir needs a Guardian and with Sirius Black in prison and the Weasleys financially challenged, Andromeda Tonks, the closest of the Lord Black’s relatives in terms of beliefs, is the logical choice. Keeping it quite won’t be difficult. After all, what the Ministry doesn’t know.
The predatory grin returns to Griphook’s face as he dispatches an owl with the letter and leans back to patiently wait for Mr Weasley to return with his sister.
An hour later, the door to his office opens and Williams Weasley enters holding the hand of a small girl with long, flaming red hair.
‘Master Griphook, this is my sister, Ginny Weasley.’
‘Hello, Mister Griphook. How are you.’ The young girl had stepped forward, holding out her hand. With an amused look, Griphook leans forward and shakes the offered hand.
‘I’m very well, thank you, Miss Weasley.’
William, who was about warn his sister, just shakes his head, and looks at her with a smile.
Beckoning the two of them to follow, Griphook leads them to a secure area of the bank from where only Gringotts employees can apparate. After telling them the destination, he quickly disappears, followed by William, with Ginny holding onto her brother.
In the quiet, normal neighbourhood of Privet Drive, three figures appear, a Goblin, a young man, and a young girl. While both William and Ginny look around the strange neighbourhood, with Ginny noticing how dull it is, Griphook, having cast a notice-me-not charm on the three of them, narrows his eyes as he looks at number 4.
‘Mr Weasley, would you be so kind to check for wards?’
Going into work mode, William steps forward and begins to wave his wand while muttering spells under his breath, both Ginny and Griphook watching him with interest.
After a while, William steps back, a frown on his face.
‘There are extensive wards around the property including a blood ward. The thing is the blood ward is very weak, almost as if it has never been fully charged.’
‘Blood wards, you say?’ Griphook now takes a step forward and moves his long finger in an intricate pattern. ‘Whoever put up these blood wards was either incompetent or didn’t know the first thing about them. You are correct, Mr Weasley, they were never fully charged and as such are failing.’
Griphook looks at the house and around the neighbourhood.
‘Mr Weasley, I suggest that you approach the house by yourself while Miss Weasley and I wait for you here. I suggest the standard precautions.’
With a nod, William casts a disillusionment charm on himself and sets off, stopping on the pavement in front of the house. After a final check to make sure that nobody is watching, he casts another quick spell, detecting four people inside the house. He frowns as he detects one very weak magical signature. If what Griphook told him was correct, that should be Harry Potter but why was his signature so weak?
He carefully moves forward until he is facing the door and casts another spell. What he hears causes him to turn white and take an involuntary step back. Still shaking he hurries back to Griphook and hurriedly whispers something in his ear, careful not to let his sister hear.
At first Griphook’s face turns as pale as William’s was then a look of fury comes over his face.
‘Mr Weasley wait here with your sister. I will be back as soon as possible.’
With that he disappears, leaving the two humans alone.
‘Bill, who is in that house?’
‘What? Oh, nobody, Ginny. Nothing for you to worry about.’
An angry look now appears on Ginny’s face.
‘You’re lying! There is someone in there and he is hurting.’
‘How.. How do you know that?’
Ginny’s forehead wrinkles in thought as she turns to look at the house.
‘I don’t know. Ever since we came here, I can feel someone. Someone in that house. Whoever he is, he is scared and hurting.’ With tears in her eyes, she turns back to her favourite brother. ‘Please, Bill, you have to help him.’
Seeing the look of anguish on his sister’s face, Bill looks at the house, chewing his lip. With a final look at his sister, he makes up his mind and, readying his wand, sets off once more for the house at number 4.
No sooner has he done so or the sound of someone apparating causes him to turn back only to see Griphook standing next to a disgruntled looking witch.
‘What is the meaning of this, Goblin? Why have you abducted me from my office?’
‘Madam Bones?’ Bill flinches as the woman, who he recognizes as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, whirls around with blazing eyes.
‘And who are you? Are you the one behind this?’
‘Please, Madam Bones, we mean you no harm. I’m William Weasley and this is my sister, Ginny.’
‘Weasley? Arthur’s children?’
‘Yes, Madam Bones. I’m sorry to bring you here so abruptly but we need your help urgently.’
He quickly explains what he discovered, causing Madam Bones to be the third person in a short time to turn white.
She quickly gathers herself and straightening herself, she sets off towards the house while at the same time sending off several silvery forms.
As she comes to a stop in front of the door, two more wizards appear behind her, their wands out. Barely acknowledging their presence, she opens the door with a simple spell, quickly throwing up a shield to contain the sounds coming from inside. Followed by the two wizards, she walks in with a purpose to her stride. Seeing the scene in front of them, the three of them are quick to shoot red beams from their wands, throwing back three of the occupants of the room.
Looking down at the figure of the small boy lying on the ground, a tear escapes the stern woman’s eye.
‘Kingsley, please take him outside, check him over and bring him to St Mungo’s.’
Without a word, the big man gently lifts the boy up off the ground and carries him outside.
As he lays him down in the grass, he is nearly knocked over by a red blur and whirling around with his wand ready, he is surprised to see a small girl kneeling besides the boy.
He is about to speak when he senses another person behind him. Looking around, he frowns as he sees a tall redhead looking down on the girl and the boy.
‘You’re William, correct? Arthur’s oldest boy.’
‘Yes.’ Bill answers him in a soft voice. ‘that’s my sister, Ginny. We came here on Gringotts business. Thank Merlin we did.’
At that moment they are joined by Griphook, his hands balled into fists as he looks down on the boy.
‘Mr Weasley, I suggest that you accompany your sister to the hospital. I will clear everything with your supervisor.’
Bill gives him a grateful nod and kneels besides his sister. Deciding that this is not the time for arguments, Kingsley does a quick scan of the boy, winching at the results, and then gently places a portkey on his chest, instructing the Weasleys to grab hold. With the faintest of sounds, the four disappear, leaving Griphook alone.
With a sigh, he turns and walks into the house, snarling as he sees the three unconscious Muggles.
‘Master Griphook, thank you for alerting us to this situation. I promise you that I will find out why the Boy Who Lived was placed with these Muggles and why nobody even checked up on him.’
His customary grin once more in place, Griphook turns to the head of the DMLE.
‘I suggest that you start by looking into the case of Sirius Black.’
‘Sirius Black? What has he got to do with this?’
‘While the Potter’s Will was sealed, we Goblins know that Lord Black was named as the boy’s Guardian. While he is currently in Azkaban, and thus unable to fulfil his duties as Guardian, it might interest you to know that he never had a trial.’
At this, one of Madam Bones eyebrows rises and a determined look comes over her face. Smiling internally, Griphook knows that the strict but fair head of the DMLE won’t rest until all her questions have been answered.
‘Meanwhile, Harry Potter needs a new Guardian. I have taken the steps to contact Lord Black’s closest relative, Mrs Andromeda Tonks, in order to have her take over the Guardianship of the Potter Heir in lieu of Lord Black. Now, unless you need me for anything else, I better get going. Time is money.’
Distracted by what she has been told, Madam Bones simply waves him off and with a grin Griphook disappears.
Several days later, Griphook is working in his office when he is summoned to the Director.
Hurriedly making his way to the simple office, he is surprised when the door opens before he can knock.
Stopping in front of the desk, he makes a respectful bow and waits patiently for the Director to speak.
‘Griphook. You did well. You did very well. Not only did you correct the issues you found but in the process you managed to save the son of Lily Potter. This goes a long way to repay the debt we owe her.’
Griphook is surprised to hear that the Goblins owe a debt to Lily Potter but refrains from speaking.
‘As a reward, I hereby promote you to be the Account Manager for the Potter Family.’
Griphook is stunned. To be promoted to be Account Manager to one of the oldest and richest accounts is huge, way above Head of Frozen Accounts, which generally is just an administrative post and considered to be barely above the Clerk job he filled just over a week ago. Seeing that the Director has gone back to his work, Griphook makes a deep bow and leaves.
Sitting once more behind his desk, Griphook stares ahead and slowly begins to smile. It seems that his payday has finally come.
xxxxxxxx
As for Harry Potter. He was brought to St Mungo’s in time and over a long period of time was completely healed. During that time, he got to know his Bond mate and he and Ginny became inseparable. With help of the Goblins, Andromeda Tonks was granted Guardianship of Harry, giving him not only a mother and a father for the first time since his real parents died, but also an older sister in the form of Nymphadora Tonks.
True to form, Madam Bones didn’t leave a stone unturned, and Sirius Black was finally given his trial and declared innocent of all charges. The reunion with his cousin and godson was a happy one.
Thanks to a hard-working Goblin, Harry Potter grew up happy and loved and although there were some bumps along the way, namely one in the form of a certain Dark Lord, he lived a long and happy life with his Bond mate and wife, Ginny Potter née Weasley.