Harry Takes Control

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. That happy burden belongs to JK Rowling and others.

CHAPTER 6

The two men entered Diagon Alley and noticed that the street was unusually crowded. Harry was slightly nervous but only let it show in the slight straightening of his back and clenching of his hands at his side. Lucius noted this with a slight sense of pride for how the young man was reacting to the crowd. He was carrying himself with pride and confidence, as any Lord should.

As the two strolled down the street the crowd parted to let them through. They were shocked that Harry Potter was showing his back to the enemy and that the enemy in question was not attacking, but appeared to be following along as if a servant. A reporter present saw the two and followed them to the bank taking pictures every few feet. The stunned crowd did not disburse until the two men entered the bank.

Upon entering the bank, Harry calmly and confidently walked up to an open station and quietly, so no other customers could hear, asked to speak to the goblin in charge of his accounts. He and Lucius were ushered down a corridor on the left side of the bank that held private conference rooms for the more influential customers. They only had a moment to wait until his account manager, Griphook, joined them.

“Mr. Potter, it is nice to see you again. I see that you are causing the usual stir among your fellows.”

“Hello Griphook, it’s good to see you as well. This is Lucius. While he has to appear to be a servant in the eyes of the ministry and the wizarding public, he is actually my financial advisor, among other things. When we are in private please address him as such. I admit that I have little knowledge of money, never having any to my name until I came into this world, so I will rely heavily on the advice of both of you to ensure that my accounts prosper.” Harry tried to convey his sincere wish that Griphook help him and work with his advisor.

Griphook was pleased with the appeal and gave Harry a smile that showed all of his pointed teeth. “It is good to know that at least some humans can still admit their shortcomings when it comes to managing their accounts and that some of them even have the courtesy of remembering the names of the goblins that handle their gold. As a sign of respect, I will gladly work with Lucius to increase your share of that gold; you made a good choice in advisors, Lucius Malfoy has quite a head for business and has increased his own family’s fortune considerably since he has been in charge of its finances. He too always remembered those who helped to manage his fortune,” Griphook nodded to Lucius as a sign of respect, which Lucius returned.

“We were informed of the nature of Mr. Malfoy’s release and have prepared the necessary paperwork to give control over his accounts to you. Once that is completed I will have to address your advisor as simply Lucius, as you do, or as Mr. Potter as he will become part of your household. I will let the two of you decide which address is more appropriate. The ministry has already completed their part of the documentation as they seized the Malfoy accounts after the Malfoy heir became a fugitive.” Griphook began removing forms from the thick folder that he carried in with him.

“Thank you, Master Griphook, for your vote of confidence. You may address me as Lucius after the transfer is complete. I can assure you that I never wished to serve the Dark Lord and am helping Mr. Potter of my own free will, even though I am bound to serve him. I will do all that I can to ensure that his accounts prosper under my care and will listen to any advice you have to offer.” Lucius finished his statement with another slight bow of his head as a sign of respect to the goblin in charge of his master’s accounts.

“Well spoken Lucius. I look forward to working with you. Now Mr. Potter, please complete these forms to gain control of the Malfoy family accounts. We will then go on and read the wills of James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, and Albus Dumbledore.”

Harry paused in the middle of his signature upon hearing that he was included in Dumbledore’s will. “Did you say Albus Dumbledore? I thought that his estate was given to Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix.”

“Yes, a small portion of his estate did go to those organizations. However, the majority of it goes to you as he named you his heir. When we complete our business today your will be a Lord four times over and have more gold and property than any other person in all of Europe, only very slightly passed in the world by an American wizard named Bill Gates who, I heard, made quite a fortune in the muggle world.”

Harry looked as though he had just been told that Voldemort was his father and he was being forced to marry Belletrix Lestrange. He was the wealthiest person in Europe? He was Dumbledore’s heir? When did Dumbledore do that? Did he truly care for Harry that much? Did Dumbledore care for him enough to ensure his future in this way?

Harry knew that his friends, while supportive in the past, would not embrace his plan to save and protect the wizarding world. They would think that he had turned into another Voldemort and was seeking to rule them. He would prove them wrong in the end. But for now, the only people that Harry knew had ever loved him were his parents, his godfather, and now his mentor. They were all dead now. They were all dead because of Lord Voldemort. He would make that…thing…pay for taking away the only people that ever loved him.

Lucius watched the play of emotions that crossed Harry’s face. There was confusion, shock, gratitude, mourning, anger, and finally determination each emotion clearly displayed for all to see. He would have to teach Harry to guard his emotions more closely so that they could not be taken advantage of by others. But he was also almost giddy at the challenge of handling such a large sum of money and making it grow. His passion had always been business. Investing, managing, and bargaining were his favorite past times. Simply sorting out the details of all of the accounts could take months, if not years.

Harry finished signing the documents to take over the Malfoy family accounts and handed them over to Griphook for his signature. “Here you are Griphook. I had no idea that I was left that much. Would it be possible for you to simply give me the bottom line regarding my accounts and a listing of the properties that I own? I would like to read the wills on my own at a later time. I have a lot to get done today, and I know that after I read them I will not be fit for anything else for the rest of the day.”

“I understand Mr. Potter. I will give you these forms to sign for the Potter, Black, and Dumbledore estates while I get those summary documents for you. In each set of forms you acknowledge the fact that you are the heir and accept control of the family accounts. In each vault there is a family tapestry outlining all people, past and present, which have links to those families. I will need a drop of your blood to determine if there are families in which you are named an heir” Griphook explained while holding out a dagger and a small piece of paper with a circle in which the blood was to be deposited.

“Thank you Griphook. I will save visiting the vaults for another day as well. For now I will simply take a money bag when I am done signing these forms” Harry said after piercing his finger and placing a large drop of his blood on the paper.

“I will get that for you as well then. Since you are such a well-respected customer, there will be no activation or monthly fees. I will leave you now,” with that Griphook left the two others to contemplate Harry’s newfound wealth.

Once Griphook was gone Lucius quietly told Harry what he thought of him. “I am proud of you Harry. Not many people would have handled a surprise like that as well as you did. And you are correct, the wills would most likely contain personal messages that would leave any person emotionally drained, and we do have a great deal to get done this day. I will help you go through them when you are ready, if you would like.”

“I would like that Lucius,” Harry said with a small smile. “Perhaps we will look at them tonight, when I have finished my business in the Alley and found us a place to stay. For now I am going to put it in the back of my mind or I will accomplish nothing today.” After that, Harry resumed signing the forms need to claim his inheritances.

About twenty minutes later Griphook returned carrying a large box. “Mr. Potter here is a break down of your accounts. Vaults 1 – 4 belonged to the founders of Hogwarts, vaults 5 – 19 and 687 belong to the Potter family, vaults 20 – 32 belong to the Malfoy family, vaults 33 – 47 belong to the Black family, and vaults 48 – 61 belong to the Dumbledore family. You are now head of the eight most ancient and wealthiest families in all of Europe. Their combined wealth is 418,876,985,716,512 galleons, ownership of or in almost all wizarding businesses and several muggle businesses. You also have ownership of several professional quidditch teams, 238 properties including Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the buildings that hold the Ministry of Magic offices, and 17,786 house elves.”

Harry was astounded by his newly found wealth and nearly fainted when Griphook finished his summary of the accounts. “Wow. Um, ok, thank you Griphook. But, how can I own the founders’ vaults, Hogwarts, or the ministry offices?”

“That is simple. The Potter family is directly descended from the Gryffindor line. The Evans family, which is actually a long but pure line of squibs, is descended from the Ravenclaw line. For both, you are the sole remaining heir as they stipulated that only a witch or wizard of immense power could inherit their fortunes. No squibs or muggles were allowed inherit and whereas your parents were both powerful in their own right, neither had the raw magical power needed to claim possession of their birth rights. The Slytherin line actually has two living heirs, you, through your mother, and Tom Riddle, through his mother. Slytherin stipulated that the person who would inherit his fortune had to be a pureblood wizard, have the gift of parseltongue, and cannot commit crimes against other purebloods. Since Tom Riddle is a half-blood and has committed several crimes against purebloods he does not fulfill the requirements. Your mother’s line made sure to marry only witches and wizards or other squibs from pureblood families, until her sister Petunia married a muggle. You, Mr. Potter, come from a very long line of purebloods and have never committed a crime against another pureblood and can converse with snakes, so you are the only eligible heir. The Dumbledore family is descended from the Hufflepuff family, but in the blood test it was determined that he was not loyal enough to take up the inheritance. Apparently, he was always quite concerned with his image and used others to further his own plans which were not necessarily what was best for the general population. Therefore, you are the first individual in each instance deemed worthy to inherit the wealth and power of the four founders.

“Since you are heir to all of the founders you now responsible for the building, grounds, and headmastership of Hogwarts. As for the ministry offices, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw loaned the ministry of their time the money to build those offices. The money was never paid back so the buildings and the land on which they are located defaulted back to those families several hundred years ago. None of your predecessors knew of the defaulted loan since it required the heir of both lines to claim the properties and there was not one for either. We cannot divulge any information the founders’ accounts unless specifically asked by a family member or to inform their heir of the inheritance. Your mother never even knew that she was a pureblooded witch.”

It took Harry and Lucius several minutes to process the information. After this time Harry decided it would be best to push the information aside until he could better fathom the ramifications of what was just said. ”Thank you again Griphook for being patient with me. I think I will have to have Lucius explain that to me again once the information has sunk in somewhat. I will also have him explain how this knowledge could affect me and how I could use it further my aims and to better the wizarding population. For now though, is there a way that I can search for a property out of the 238 that I now own where we could stay in until I am ready to set-up a new residence?”

“Yes, there is Mr. Potter. All you need to do is spread out the file or files containing the type of residence you want and list the criteria you are looking for. The properties that fit your description will separate themselves into a pile for you to look through. They are sorted by residences, businesses, and other miscellaneous properties and buildings.”

“Thank you again Griphook. Here are the completed forms. We will just take these with us. Lucius, would you mind keeping track of these for me?”

“Not at all Harry,” Lucius, still somewhat dazed by the information, shrunk the package to the size of a small book and deposited into his robes.

“Here is your money bag and the keys to your vaults. I wish you good luck and a prosperous life Mr. Potter. I am looking forward to working with you and Lucius in the future.” That said Griphook escorted the two men back into the main banking area.

HPLM*HPLM*HPLM*HPLM*HPLM

Lucius and Harry left the bank in a slight daze. Both were having trouble fathoming the sheer amount of wealth at Harry’s disposal. “Lucius, would you mind holding on to the keys and money bag for me? I don’t want them to get misplaced while I am being measured for new robes. I am sure we will both be carrying our share of burdens by the time we are done today.”

“I do not mind Harry” Lucius said quietly. “Why don’t you take a deep breath and calm down for a moment before we get started? You look as though you could use a large drink, but I do not think that wise until our business is done for the day.”

“Thank you Lucius, I really appreciate your help in there. Even if you didn’t say much, I don’t know that I would have gotten through it without your support.” Harry closed his eyes briefly and took a couple of slow deep breaths to clear his mind. Steeling himself and opening his eyes again Harry said in a strong clear voice “Alright, let’s get started. Where should we go first?”

“I suggest that we start with new getting your vision corrected and then go to a stylist for your hair, it is a tradition for the head of house to tie their hair back and to do that your hair needs to be lengthened. Keeping your hair short implies that you are either not an adult or not the head of the family. The old families in our culture will not listen to you if you do not have hair that is at least to your shoulder blades. I will also need to have my hair cut to show that I am no longer head of the Malfoy family. After that, we can break for lunch and then go to collect any other items that you wish. If you do not want to try on clothing, I know a tailor that can come by where ever you choose for us to stay and fit you privately for new clothing befitting someone of your rank. He can create clothes of any style if you give him an example of what you are looking for. We will not need to go by the bookstore. There is a feature that many of the older family libraries have that update themselves with any new publication. I know Malfoy manor has such a library and many of your other properties probably do as well. The only reason we ever shopped at Flourish and Blotts was for extra copies of Draco’s school books for him to use at Hogwarts. As for any items we do not collect today, you can send for them via owl with your account information and most shops are happy to send them to you.”

“Okay. Let’s get started then. Lead the way Lucius. I don’t know where to get my eyes or hair fixed. I never even knew that having my eyesight corrected was an option and my hair has always done what it wanted. After lunch we can go back to the Leaky Cauldron, and find a place to stay. I have a feeling I will not be up for much else today. I’ll just send away for anything that I can think of that is not at one of my properties.”

Lucius led Harry to a small shop situated near Knockturn Alley that Harry had never noticed before. The shop owner quickly gathered the potions necessary to correct Harry’s vision and added an enhancement that would allow him to see through invisibility cloaks, invisibility charms, through walls, and behind him (better than Mad-Eye Moody’s artificial eye). Harry’s eyes burned for about thirty seconds before the pain stopped and he could see better than he ever had in his life, but the enhancements would not kick in until the next morning. “I wonder why no one ever told me that it was possible to correct my vision before. My glasses are always sliding down my nose or getting knocked off at the worst possible moments.”

The shopkeeper cleared his throat and responded by saying, “Well, Mr. Potter the procedure is quite expensive and while not illegal, is also not encouraged. When these potions were first created, there was about a one in five chance of becoming blind. The potions have greatly improved since then. With the increased stability and power of the potions built into the formulas by Potions Master Severus Snape, only about one out of one hundred lose there vision permanently.

“Most people still do not trust the potions or Master Snape and do not want to risk their eyesight when they can purchase self-correcting glasses or contact lenses with same enhancements for a fraction of the price with no risk to their vision. The only problem with that is if the eye glasses get knocked off or contact lens removed the person is left helpless. For people such as yourself who are always moving around and ministry law enforcement officials, for which enhanced eyesight is a requirement, the advantages outweigh the cost by a significant amount.”

“I didn’t know that Snape actually created potions, I thought that he just made them because he was good at it and liked to rub it into everyone’s face that he was better at it than they were.”

“Oh no, Mr. Potter” the owner exclaimed, sounding offended. “Potions Master Snape has actually either created or improved the formulas of most medicinal and therapeutic potions on the market today. He is just about the most respected potions master in the world. When he started at Hogwarts as a professor, he told me that he was very excited to be able to pass on his knowledge to the next generation. He actually taught me how to make this vision correction potion just after he graduated. He is truly a remarkable teacher.”

Harry let out a bitter laugh before explaining about the Snape that he knew. “You must be talking about a different Snape. The Severus Snape I know loathes children and abhors teaching. He makes it his sole purpose in life to torture and belittle his students past the point of tears and makes it next to impossible to nurture any fondness of the art.

“When I first went to Hogwarts, I was excited to learn that I would be taught how to brew potions. I thought that I would be good at it because I have always cooked the meals for aunt and uncle and actually enjoyed making complex confections. On my first day of class he humiliated me in front of the entire class because I did not know material that was not taught until at the end of the year, if not the next. He then blamed me for a mistake at the next table saying that I should have been watching them and doing my own work at the same time. He has spent the last six years making my stay at Hogwarts as miserable as he could.

“The only time I have ever glimpsed the man that you are talking about is last year when I unknowingly ended up using his old potions text book. The student that created the notes in that book could have done all that you are talking about. I only found out that the potions book used to belong to Snape when I chased him after he murdered Albus Dumbledore in front of my own eyes.

“The man that taught you must have died when he accepted Voldemort’s mark and when I next meet the man he is now, I will kill him on sight.” By now Harry was seething with anger and loosing control of his magic as potions vials all around the shop were on the verge of breaking.

“Mr. Potter, Harry, you need to calm down before you level this shop with us in it. Later tonight I will tell you about the Severus Snape I knew in school and how he became the man he is. I will also tell you why he killed Dumbledore. I think I am the only one, aside from himself and a very few others, who could tell you what his motivations are and were. Just know this for now, everyone wears masks that hide who we are from those around us. Severus looked to Albus Dumbledore as a son looks to a father. I will explain more in private later tonight. For now calm down. Why don’t we finish up here and go get your hair styled and then get some lunch and find a new home? Does that sound alright to you?”

“Alright Lucius I will let the matter drop for now, but I expect you to explain yourself later. Let’s go.”

The shop keeper watched on shocked at Harry’s outburst and surprised that Lucius was able to calm the irate teen down.

“Thank you Harry for trusting me,” Lucius responded for his ears alone before stepping back and formally addressing his master again. “Follow me Mr. Potter, the stylist is near the ice cream parlor.”

Lucius next led Harry to an upscale salon that Harry had seen, but never entered. When they entered the shop, Lucius asked for his personal stylist to help them. The stylist gave Harry a potion to lengthen his hair to the middle of his back. He then used his wand to trim, style, and set his hair in a design similar to Lucius’ own hair but with more of his natural wave. For some reason his hair actually stayed where it was and the stylist explained that there were spells that prevent the type of control problem that Harry’s hair seemed to have.

Lucius had his own hair cut shorter in the back, to the nape of his neck, with the sides and fringes the same length and delicately framing his handsome face. He explained to Harry that since he no longer had the title or privileges as the head of a family he also should not have long hair. Even with shorter hair, Harry thought that Lucius was gorgeous and barely resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair.

Harry decided that he would rather not go try on clothing today and asked Lucius to contact the tailor tomorrow for a private fitting. He also began to feel the shocks of the morning catching up with him and informed Lucius that they would get any other items they needed another day or through owl post. With their jaunt through Diagon Alley at an end, they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to find a place to live. Even though it was only shortly after mid-day, Harry was mentally and emotionally exhausted and was looking forward to resting in one of his new homes.