Harry Potter, Sovereign - Chapter 8

Harry entered Diagon Alley under his invisibility cloack, following Caitlyn and Scathach. He stayed close to them, touching their hands through the cloak.

The women looked slightly impressed by the alley for a bit, but refocused. They moved swiftly toward the bank, leaving sight-seeing and exploration for later. Harry didn’t want to have any problem with the goblins, so when the group reached the entrance of the bank, Scathach leaned toward one of the guard and spoke in a low voice so nobody but the guards could hear.

“We have an invisible friend here who doesn’t want anyone to know he is here. I hope it won’t be a bother.”

The guards stiffened after hearing the first sentence, but then relaxed. It wasn’t rare for people to want to conceal their identity when they entered the bank, but it was still surprising for said people to announce it before entering. One of the guard nodded and signaled one of the other sentinels within the bank. He turned to the 2 women and answered.

“You may get in.”

“Thank you.”

With that, the group entered, and soon found themselves in front of a teller. Making sure there were nobody nearby to overhear, Scathach leaned toward the goblin and whispered.

“Mister Potter wishes to inquire about the status of his assets with the bank. Discretly”.

They left the counter and went to the waiting area. A few minutes later another goblin came and told them to follow him. They walked for several minutes, taking several turns before arriving at the door of an office. The goblin knocked sharply twice and waited for an answer. Then he ushered the group inside. Once they got in and the door closed behind them, Harry took of his cloak and walked toward the desk behind which an old goblin was sitting.

“I am the manager of the Potter accounts, Goldblade. It’s a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to finally meet you, heir Potter. That is, if you really are Harry Potter. Before conducting any kind of business, I will have to verify your identity.”

“Good day to you manager Goldblade” Harry said as he took a seat in front of the goblin, his summons opting to remain standing behind him. “What do you need to check my identity?”

“Just a few drops of blood” he said as he took a knife and a parchment from one of his desk drawer.

Harry understood what he needed to do. He prickled his finger and let a few drop of blood fall on the parchmin. At the third drop, Goldblade stopped him and took the parchment. Meanwhile, the wound closed itself, surprising Harry. On the parchment, writting started to appear, starting from the blood spot.

[Harry James Potter, 15 years old. Son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Rose Potter nee Evans.]

“Your identity has been confirmed, Lord Presumptive Potter. What business do you wish to conduct?”

“I wanted to be made aware of everything I own, and anything my parents left behind. But before that, what do you mean by Lord Presumptive Potter?”

Goldblade looked at him with a piercing gaze for a second before answering. Scathach and Caitlyn turned worried looks to him.

Harry was stunned. He had become aware that there was a lot he didn’t know about. But discovering that his family wasn’t as ordinary as he was led to believe? It hurt. It hurt because the people around him that knew his parents hid it from him, knowing how much he missed them and wanted to know about them.

“I wasn’t told anything about it” he said in a monotone voice, trying to keep his calm. “Please explain.”

“In the past, the mundane and magical worlds weren’t separated like nowdays. Just like your mundanes counterparts, it was possible for magical families to be elevated to nobility. These nobles families have earned privileges due to their contributions to magical Britain, either in war, in politics and economy, or in the advancement of magic. At the bottom of the magical nobility are the Noble houses. Above are the Elder and Noble houses, and at the top are the Ancient and Noble houses. The Potters are one of the 5 remaining Ancient and Noble houses of magical Britain.”

“But… If that’s the case, why wasn’t anything done when I needed help?”

Harry was losing his calm, and magic started to crakle on the surface of his skins. His fists were clenched so hard his nails dug into his skin.

“Why wasn’t anything done when I was accused of assaults? When I was attacked by dementors? When I was entered in that cursed tournament?”

“Unfortunately for you mister Potter, the privileges and protections granted by that title apply only when there is a head of house or a regent. Without them, the house is considered suspended. But fortunately for you, you won’t have to wait for your 17th birthday to claim the position of Head of house Potter, the Lord Potter. Your participation in the Tri-wizard tournament, a competition reserved to a.d.u.l.t witches and wizards, started the process of emancipation. To complete your emancipation, you only need to attain 5 OWLs.”

After several seconds, Harry was able to calm down. Barely. He had a lot of things to prepare, and unleashing his wrath on a reasonable target could wait until later.

“I want to know everything that I own. Money, properties, anything I have the right to.”

“Wait. That’s not possible. I haven’t even used 1000 galleons yet, there should be more than 6000 remaining.”

“260 galleons were transfered to the muggle account of one Petunia Dursley nee Evans every year until you started your magical education at Hogwart. It was then reduced to 50 galleons.”

A magical pressure formed in the office, and Harry’s eyes were glowing noticably. Goldblade was internally surprised and anxious. Considering what his experienced magic senses told him about the young man in front of him, he didn’t want to be on the receiving hand of his anger fueled accidental magic.

“The Dursley were paid money coming from my vault to take care of me?” he asked in a low, cold voice.

“… That seem to be the case” Goldblade replied cautiously.

“And who put these payment in place?” Harry asked in an emotionless tone.

“The one acting as your magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore.”