Gringotts
Bill and Fleur weren’t present for the first couple of weeks in which Harry stayed at the Burrow, because they had gone to France to visit Fleur’s parents, who were due to arrive at the Weasleys’ a few days before Harry’s Gringotts appointment. As the wedding drew nearer, Mrs. Weasley began obsessively assigning everyone in the house numerous chores, ranging from tidying up the front room to weeding the garden (a rarity at the Burrow). The day of the Delacours’ arrival was stressful for all quarters, as Mrs. Weasley frantically had Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny scour what felt like the entire house for the smallest speck of dirt or the slightest untidiness in a way that Harry felt would put Aunt Petunia to shame. She argued with Ron about cleaning the chicken coop (which had already been done the day before) for reasons which he couldn’t fathom, and made Hermione and Ginny repeatedly tidy up Percy’s old room for M. and Mme. Delacour’s use, which caused Ginny to mutinously comment that if she and Hermione cleaned the floor one more time, they’d dissolve a hole through it.
The result of all this was that Mrs. Weasley was so busy preparing for the Delacours’ arrival that she wasn’t present when they actually did arrive. The rest of the household only found out when Bill and Fleur went upstairs in search of his mother and found Ginny and Hermione grumpily exiting the Delacours’ room. Seeing Fleur prompted the former to go upstairs another floor and shout, –MUM! They’re here!†to the relief of all others in the house, and to which Mrs. Weasley legged it down the stairs to greet them.
M. Delacour was a squat, jolly man who was fond of the French game Pétanique, and who took an instant liking to the Weasley family and to Harry and Hermione. His wife, who looked like an older version of Fleur, was more reserved than her husband, but Mme. Delacour was very gracious to her hosts, and helped Mrs. Weasley cook lunch. They brought their eleven-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, with them, who looked away and blushed spectacularly when Harry greeted her. Reminded of Ginny at that age, Harry couldn’t help but turn to her and wink in amusement, which caused her to roll her eyes.
When everyone settled down, Harry and Ginny were left to the task of assisting Fleur and Mrs. Weasley with dinner, and as he sat at the table peeling potatoes, Harry looked outside and observed Kingsley and Hestia Jones in the distance, moving about the perimeter with their wands out, and he assumed that they were strengthening the wards around the Burrow. Harry glanced across the table and saw that Ginny observed them too, because she was staring out the window with her brow furrowed. He only hoped that the wards would still be unfinished by his birthday, which wasn’t for another eight days.
Harry caught Ginny’s eye as he returned to the potatoes, but neither of them said anything, not wanting to draw Mrs. Weasley’s attention. Ever since Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived at the Burrow, Ginny had gone out of her way to arrange places for them to get together and plan their departure, while distracting her mother with a new chore to take care of. Harry suspected that Ginny sometimes deliberately caused messes or problems simply to keep her mother busy. Thus far, she was successful. By all appearances, Mrs. Weasley suspected nothing. Harry was stunned at the lengths Ginny went to in order to help them in what ways she could, even though they both knew that these last few days at the Burrow could very well be the last time he ever saw her.
Hermione so far had made little progress in her research of Rowena Ravenclaw, but she had managed to learn more about magical transportation since their arrival. The evening of the Delacours’ arrival, Hermione appeared in Ron’s bedroom, where he and Harry were playing a game of chess, and she closed the door and locked it, before pointing her wand and whispering –Muffliato.â€
–Find something?†asked Harry.
–I asked Fred and George what they know about Portkeys,†Hermione told them. –Apparently they’re very much our only way out of the Burrow without the Order seeing us leave.â€
–But wouldn’t the Ministry detect us using one?†asked Ron.
Hermione took a seat on Ron’s bed. –The twins said that Portkeys operate on arcane wavelengths not unlike those of a radio channel. If you know how to ‘tune’ the Portkey to an unrecorded wavelength, the Ministry can’t detect it.â€
Ron stared at her. –That makes the Portkey laws and regulations complete rubbish!â€
Harry snorted. –Yeah, and when has the Ministry ever been reliable?†Ron was unable to argue with that point.
–The problem is,†Hermione continued, –that the Death Eaters have known about this for years. Barty Crouch Jr., for instance, was able to Portkey Harry out of Hogwarts without the Ministry detecting it. The Order, however, finally discovered it in the past couple of years. ‘Course, Portkeys are useless for entering areas that are Unplottable or protected by the Fidelius, unless the creator has actually been to those places.â€
–So did Fred and George say anything about these undetectable wavelengths?†Harry asked.
–The Order doesn’t like to browse through them,†Hermione said, –in case they accidentally use one that the Death Eaters also use. The twins told me that they’ve found a couple that the Death Eaters don’t seem to use, but unfortunately, the Order knows about them.â€
–In short, if we used the safe ones, the Order can track us, and if we find an untested one, we might find the Death Eaters on our heels,†groaned Harry.
–Can you open a new one, like getting your own channel?†asked Ron.
–I understand that Fred and George are trying to do so,†Hermione told them, –but they haven’t quite figured it out yet.â€
–Did they suspect anything when you asked?â€
Hermione laughed. –Of course they did, but you know them. They know you too well to think that you’ll accept the Order’s security measures, and if you’re determined enough to go off and fight, they’ll help you find a way to do it.â€
Harry smiled. –Where would we be without them?â€
–Without a Marauder’s Map and a joke shop,†Ron sniggered.
Mrs. Weasley had planned to take the Delacours on a tour of the neighborhood the day after their arrival, which would end in a picnic near the Burrow, but that plan was cut short when M. Delacour, who had a weak stomach, took ill during the night. Knowing that Harry needed an escort to Gringotts that morning, Bill was thus free to take him there, and so at 10:30 the pair of them got ready to leave with the promise of returning by 12:30 if the appointment didn’t take too long. Mrs. Weasley was still worried about Harry’s security, but along with him being accompanied by a skilled Order member, it also happened to be raining; consequently Harry wore a sweater with his hood up, which made him less noticeable.
Diagon Alley wasn’t as crowded as it usually was during summer, and Harry suspected that it was because of Hogwarts closing; nobody would have received a book or supply list. There were a few Aurors and other officials stationed around the alley, Harry noticed, but little activity except for a few women at Madam Malkin’s and a group of teenagers outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. This made it easier for Harry and Bill to get to the bank inconspicuously, and they therefore arrived ten minutes early. Harry pulled his hood down as they approached the goblins stationed at the door, and seeing him there, one of them bowed slightly and allowed him entry.
As they approached the front desk, Harry recognized the elderly goblin who always worked there, bent down over his book of numbers. He looked up just as Bill stepped before the desk.
–Good morning, Ragnok,†he greeted cordially.
–Mr. Weasley,†the goblin returned the greeting, before turning his attention to Harry.
–I have an appointment with a Mr. Rok Grimrook,†Harry told him unnecessarily.
Ragnok nodded slowly. –We have been expecting you, Mr. Potter. Just so that you’re aware, you will be required to present your wand to Mr. Grimrook for security measures. Mr. Weasley, you know the way to Grimrook’s office.â€
Bill nodded. –If you’ll come with me, Harry.â€
Harry followed Bill into an antechamber to the right of the desk, where immediately to their left, Bill led him into a lift.
–Third floor,†he said as Harry stepped in and closed the door.
–Do you know this accountant?†Harry asked as the lift ascended.
–I’ve met him,†Bill answered. –I don’t think he really wants to be working at Gringotts, personally, but he’s a competent accountant, and he’s fairly well-known and respected in the Tylwthteg goblin nation.â€
The lift stopped, and Bill led Harry out into a hall with red walls, from which hung portraits of various prominent goblins. Near the end of the hall, they arrived at an oak door with a polished brass nameplate, which read –B. Grobschmied and R. Grimrook.â€
Bill knocked, and after a moment, a goblin answered, who Harry recognized as Griphook.
–Mr. Potter.†Griphook bowed him inside. –Mr. Grimrook will see you now. Mr. Weasley, if you could wait outside, please.â€
The office was a large, round room with a crackling fire lit in a fireplace to Harry’s left, and the walls were lined with bookshelves. To the right of the door stood a small desk, at which Griphook seated himself. In the center of the room, however, was a much larger desk, behind which the accountant sat.
Rok Grimrook was fairly tall for a goblin, close to Harry’s height, but he appeared to be much younger than the other goblins one usually saw working at Gringotts. He wore a black wool frock coat, and his face wasn’t as hard or strict as other goblins. He stood as Harry entered, and beckoned to him to have a seat in the front of the desk.
Harry did so, and Grimrook held out his hand, which Harry shook.
–You must be Mr. Potter,†Grimrook greeted politely. –I worked with your father when I first was hired here. You look a lot like him.â€
The goblin sat down again, and Harry did the same.
–Now, before we begin, Mr. Potter, we must verify your identity,†Grimrook told him. –I’m not sure if they informed you of this or not. It’s a new procedure, because we’ve had a couple of cases of identity theft using Polyjuice Potion in the past year.â€
Harry nodded, and Grimrook held his hand out. –Your wand, if you please.â€
Harry hesitated, but he drew his wand out and handed it over to the goblin, who looked at it very carefully. He ran his fingers down the wood, scrutinizing every detail of it, before dropping it on a set of scales that Harry recognized from the Ministry of Magic. After a moment, Grimrook pulled a strip of paper from a slit in the base, and analyzed it.
–Eleven inches, holly, phoenix feather,†he read. –And this wand was registered six years ago.â€
Harry nodded, and Grimrook handed the wand back. As he did, Harry saw Griphook slide off his chair and run to the desk, a folder in his hands. Grimrook took the folder and opened it. At the front lay a blue-tinted sheet of parchment, which he looked over for a moment, before turning to Harry.
–We need you here today to transfer authorized access to your full inheritance to you,†Grimrook informed him. –Your full account was under Sirius Black’s and Albus Dumbledore’s custodianship. After Professor Dumbledore died, Ragnok placed the account under my custodianship until your coming of age.â€
–How much is in it?†asked Harry.
–You have a trust of six hundred Galleons and six Sickles remaining from the original eight hundred which your father laid aside for your education,†Grimrook read from the document. –You already knew about this, I have no doubt.â€
Harry nodded.
–In addition to your school trust fund,†Grimrook continued, –you have since received a fortune of two hundred thousand Galleons annually from the Black inheritance…â€
–How much?†Harry interrupted, gaping at the goblin, who didn’t react to his disbelief.
–… on top of the one hundred thousand you receive from your own family’s inheritance,†Grimrook said, as though there had been no interruption. –You will also find that Sirius Black’s primary benefactor, Alphard Black, had shares in Flourish and Blott’s and Gladrags. He also had investments in the following Muggle corporations: General Electric, Bloomsbury, and Disney, all of which rebuilt his own fortune after his father Pollux Black disowned him. These assets have subsequently passed through Sirius Black to you. We have access to the Muggle bank accounts, but we can terminate our own access to these if you wish.â€
–What do I do with it all?†Harry stammered.
–It is yours.†Grimrook passed Harry the papers. –You may do with it what you wish. I, however, would recommend that you hold onto these assets for the time being. You see, should you lose access to your assets in the Wizarding World, these Muggle investments may prove to be extremely useful.â€
Harry stared at Grimrook. –Is that likely?â€
Grimrook didn’t reply, but Harry noticed that he raised his eyebrows and was looking at him intently, as though there was something he wasn’t at liberty to communicate. He then began discussing the benefits and possible disadvantages of each of Alphard Black’s shares, gave Harry various suggestions on what he ought to do, should any of the businesses go under, and then produced a sheet of paper from a desk drawer, which he handed to Harry.
–This form bequeaths all authorization and access to these assets to you,†Grimrook told him. –All we require from you is a signature.â€
He then passed Harry a quill, and Harry quickly read the document, then signed it. As he passed it back to Grimrook, he asked, –Is that all, then?â€
–Not quite.â€
Grimrook turned to look at Griphook pointedly, and the latter stepped away from his desk and quitted the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Grimrook opened another desk drawer and pulled a wooden box from within.
–About a week before his death, Albus Dumbledore left this here to be given to you before you come of age,†Grimrook told him. –He did not specify what it contains, but he says that you will find it useful. Only you can open it.â€
His hands shaking, Harry took the box. A note was attached to it, written in Dumbledore’s elegant writing: –Use it well.â€
After shaking Harry’s hand and showing him out of his office, Rok Grimrook returned to his desk and opened another drawer, from which he pulled two goblets, which he placed on the desktop. He then unstoppered his decanter and poured some mead into both goblets. He had just sat down again when a door on the wall opposite the fireplace opened, and an older goblin stepped into the room.
–It is done?†Benedict Grobschmied inquired, watching Grimrook closely.
Grimrook glanced at the door, and nodded. –It is done.â€
He then picked up one of the goblets and offered it to Grobschmied, who accepted it but didn’t drink from it.
–Mr. Potter noticed nothing?†he asked as he sat in the chair the young wizard had just vacated.
Grimrook sipped some of his mead, grimaced, and lowered the goblet. He took a small teaspoon from next to the decanter and stirred the mead a bit. –No,†he answered after a moment. –I don’t think he suspected a thing.â€
Grobschmied sipped his mead. –I admire your skill, Rok. Now all that’s left for us to do is wait.â€