Taylor minmaxes the Wizengamot.
Quoting myself, as this idea did not leave my head.
It was rather insistent.
POV:
Taylor
Gringotts Bank
Diagon Alley Branch
Office of Guttlekraw, Senior Director of Identity, Inheritance, and Asset Allocation
I sat on an uncomfortable chair, Harry sat on an equally uncomfortable chair next to me. The leather over the frame of wood had no padding underneath it. I rubbed a finger on the thick, almost puckered surface of the seat and absently wondered what animal had provided this skin.
Senior Director Guttlekraw sat behind his orderly desk and watched us shift around in our attempts to get comfortable. The old fashioned banker's desk pad looked out of place next to a small stone bowl and what looked like an extremely vicious letter opener.
Harry had told me about how goblins run the banks for the magic users. He left out the part about how absolutely terrifying they were. Take a baboon to start with - so you can tell it is somewhat related to a human - and make it half great white shark. And then half crocodile. Yes, this is three halves, but according to Hermione magic lets you cheat. A lot.
Point is, goblins look close enough to human out of the corner of your eye. If you aren't paying attention, it is easy to fall in to the trap of thinking they're funny little people with a chip on their shoulder. If you look closely you can see their reactions, movements, and instincts are not human at all. Looking at their pointy teeth, sharp, almost claw-like fingernails, and how their joints articulate - they're very obviously ambush predators. All too easy to imagine a mob of them swarming over you out of a cave. Amy would probably go all glassy-eyed if she could use her powers to explore their biology.
And I'm absolutely positive their sense of smell is much better than a human's since Guttlekraw seemed to be amused by the adrenaline dump panic sweat that was soaking my armpits and back, even though I had done my best to keep a poker face intact.
It took every ounce of self control I could muster to not reach down to the moleskin pouch containing my swarm. A pouch that was much larger on the inside. Did I mention magical cheating?
Guttlekraw steepled his knobby fingers in front of his chest.
"How may my office be of service to you today?"
Harry lead off the conversation we had roughly mapped out this morning. Bill Weasley had helped a bit, so Harry followed his advice and got right to the point.
"My godfather, Sirius Black, died and I believe he left me assets. I would like to know about them. Or any other assets of mine that Gringotts has knowledge of."
Guttlekraw looked almost bored while Harry talked, until he got to the 'any other assets' part. A barely noticeable flicker of pure rage flashed across his face and was quickly gone.
"Are you asking me to tell you what your account statements or annual asset reports already tell you?"
"No. I'm asking you to tell me what the statements or reports
haven't told me. I've never received any correspondence from Gringotts. Ever."
At this point I leaned forward slightly and chimed in with more of Bill's advice to us.
"We are ignorant, him slightly less the me. We don't know what we don't know, we don't know what questions to ask of you, and most of the answers you give us will require you to also explain the context and concepts of those answers. If you educate us, inform us, we can be profitable customers."
Guttlekraw slowly sat up straighter.
"Interesting. Also unexpected."
Harry snorted. The dark and bitter tone in his voice became more noticeable.
"I also have concerns about security and privacy."
The Senior Director went absolutely still.
"Explain yourself!"
"Every time I sneeze, it ends up in the Daily Prophet. Can you guarantee that none of your clerks or tellers will take a bagful of galleons to leak a few choice bits of information to that rag? Or to Albus too-many-bloody-names-Dumbledore?"
"None would dare, they would lose their heads!"
"Yet I have never received a statement or report and know nothing about my assets. This should be easy to verify. Did my parents set up any safeguards on the account I have access to? Or any actions I was supposed to take with respect to the account when I turned 11 or 13?"
This was another key point Bill made to us, that Harry's parents should have left something to him to take or to do at those ages. The old families handed down an heirloom, or instructions for a family ritual, used Gringotts to make sure it happened, and used such events to further reinforce their families' relationship with Gringotts. Especially if there was a chance they might be dead.
Guttlekraw placed his hands flat on his desk.
"You are asserting that Gringotts has been compromised."
"Like Taylor said earlier we don't know enough. And I don't think my ignorance is an accident. Again, if my parents or grandparents left me an 11th birthday heirloom, I never received it. The list of people able to make that happen should be short and fairly easy for the auditors to check."
Another peice of Bill's advice slotted in to place.
Guttlekraw looked apprasingly at Harry, then leaned over and picked up the handset for the brass speaking tube mounted on the wall. He let out a harsh sounding outburst of the goblin tongue and put it back.
"The audiors will find out if anything... inappropriate happened with your account."
"Good. Now what?"
"Indeed. Prick your finger with the knife and place three drops of blood in the bowl. This will validate what you are eligible to inherit."
Guttlekraw tapped the side of the bowl with his own knife and it briefly filled with flame. He opened an ancient looking leather-bound ledger and looked at the pages. He slid the book over to Harry, who picked it up to look at it.
Harry POV:
Everything had been going like we had talked about with Bill. Until I looked at the book in front of me.
'Potter' was listed, we expected that. I didn't think I'd have multiple vaults or that I'd be rich.
'Black' was listed with lots of vaults. I didn't realize how absolutely loaded Sirius was.
'Gaunt' was listed with a modest vault, along with a stipulation that the Gaunt lordship was mine by blood, magic, and conquest.
What the hell?
'Peverell' was listed and also had a note the the lordship was mine by blood and magic. I looked at Guttlekraw.
"Gaunt? And Peverell? I've never heard of them."
"Old families, thought to have died out." He rapped his knife against the bowl on his desk and a picture unfurled in to the air in front of us. It was a family tree, not nearly as stylized as the tapestry from Grimmauld.
"Your father was descended from Ignotious Peverell. Your mother from Antioch Peverell on her mother's side and Cadmus Peverell on her father's."
The relevant sections of the family tree lit up with a greenish gold flare. The Senior Director continued.
"Your mother is a descendant of Praetorius Gaunt on her father's side. As he was also descended from Cadmus Peverell, that has helped carry both lines to you."
"Why me?" -as if I hadn't been saying that a lot lately- "And why now?"
"The old families created a bond to carry their magics forward. Children born to that family would, for the most part, have magic from that bond flow to them, and in turn feed that bond with their own magic. That is why certain talents or affinities run more strongly in families than outside."
"Like Parseltoungue? Or wandcrafting for the Ollivanders?"
"Exactly. Families bound to magic by blood and magic. And the family magic can be more compatible with some of the children than others. In your case, the magic of the Gaunt and Peverell families was dormant and waiting for a compatible descendant. The other descendants of these families are either dead, do not have magic, are squibs, or their magic is not compatible."
I sat back in the horrible chair. I noticed Taylor had her notebook out and had been writing things down. Thank God she remembered to do that.
"So I may have distant cousins from these families out there, but I have the strongest claim on the lordship because of the family magic."
"Yes. A branch of the Gaunts moved to the Americas several hundred years ago. They changed their name and I'd be very surprised if the family magic recognized them."
I sat thinking for a bit. I suspected I knew the answer to what I was about to ask, but it was best to be thorough.
"And that bit about conquest?"
Guttlekraw's face lit up.
"You have defeated another Gaunt family member in combat three times without losing. One of you would have been trying to kill the other. In your case, their claim on the lordship would have needed to be at least as strong as yours."
"Hmm... so killing a person possessed by a spirit, or destroying fragments of personality and memories bound to objects count as much as single combat?"
Guttlekraw POV:
The two young humans sitting across from me were not what I had expected. The female had done an admirable job of clamping down on the abject terror running through her body. The scruffy young Potter heir had been focused, to the point, and respectful. Quite unlike his peers or his father.
I would need to ask the young female why she was acting like the pouch on her belt was a weapon.
Back to matter at hand. Young Potter asked if killing possessed people counted? Objects with embedded memories? Fallen rock and flooded shaft, what is he talking about?
I asked him to explain. He did. He even told me he was greatly condensing the explanation to be more efficient. I would need to have a note of commendation placed in Curse Breaker Weasley's file, his obvious instruction had been most helpful.
The Philosopher's Stone? A basilisk?
I interrupted.
"We would have heard if a bounty had been claimed for a thousand year old basilisk."
Young Potter rolled up his sleeve to show me the large puckered scar on his forearm.
"A fang from her went in here" - he turned his arm over - "and came out here when I drove the sword through the roof of her mouth and into her brain. And I never claimed the bounty. I didn't know I needed to and nobody ever told me I should."
He told me about stabbing the diary with the fang he pulled out of his arm, and the duel in the graveyard after the resurrection ritual. The young female was obviously hearing this in detail for the first time.
We would need to get a team underneath Hogwarts to retrieve the basilisk carcass. And that diary sounded like an abomination. He should be evaluated by healers. But back to the matter at hand.
I took out several wooden boxes, some plain, some ornate, and set them in front of young Potter.
"These are the rings for the families you are the head of. You need to put them on, starting with the Potter ring."
He did. The Gaunt and Black rings took longer than the others to settle on his finger. He exhaled as his magic flared and the sigils of his families unfolded in the air above his head. His eyes were glowing a vivid iridescent green when he opened them.
"I have seats on the Wizengamot? How did I not know that?"
Broken hammers, this day is a bad seam of ore. I briefly told him about the old families (including his) that made up the Wizard's Council, and the founding compact with the monarch of the time, and how the Council became the Wizengamot, and how the Wizengamot in turn created the Ministry of Magic.
The young female was busy enough writing that she did not reach for the pouch at her side, and the sigils flaring above young Potter's head faded away.
Taylor POV:
The Senior Director's explanation sketched how Harry had several positions of prominence in the legislative/judicial body he had been dragged in front of around a year ago. Interesting.
Guttlekraw finished, looked at me, and pushed the knife and stone bowl over toward me.
"Your turn."
I thought about objecting, decided against it, and took the steps Harry did. I felt a brief prickling all over as the column of flame lit.
Harry handed me the old ledger and the goblin tapped the bowl with his knife. I looked down at the book and the surprisingly familiar last name listed there.
"Lady Powell? By blood and magic? How is this possible?"
The Senior Director looked at me.
"The old families register their blood and magic with Gringotts. You have Powell blood, are recognized by the family magic, and are recognized by the Gringotts registry. As I'm an accredited ritual master, I stand as a witness for your claim."
What to tell him, and how much...
"Can you keep confidential what I'm about to tell you? Tell nobody?"
"Yes. Unless it impacts the safety and security of Gringotts."
"That's a loophole large enough to push a mountain through. Wouldn't every witch or wizard qualify as a threat?"
The goblin looked amused.
"In your case, for this conversation, I will amend that provision to 'existential threat'. Agreed?"
"Yes. As long as it is a current threat, not just a potential threat."
Guttlekraw looked to be thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Oh, well spotted young one. Agreed, please continue."
So I quickly told him about how I had been bounced out of my own world and dropped into this one. How my world had no magic, and nobody with magic for me to inherit it from. His eyebrows climbed their way up his forehead.
"Unprecedented! And your marriage to young Potter here?"
Ok, he's still doing a threat assessment. Great. Harry and I looked at each other.
"Too much vodka and too many bad decisions." I answered.
"We've decided to make the best of it." Harry added. He's so noble it hurts sometimes.
Guttlekraw seemed satisfied.
"If you look at the lineage display, you can see that blood and magic list you as the descendant of Wilkinson Powell, born 1919, died 1945. Your mother's paternal grandfather."
"I remember Grampa Wilkie, he died when I was.. six maybe?" A picture swam in my head of a kind old man with a shock of steely gray hair and extremely large ears.
"Your world's Wilkinson Powell must have moved to America as a young man. Our Lord Powell fell fighting against Grindlewald's forces and was the last of his line. Until you."
Guttlekraw slid a slim wooden box over to me. I opened it, took the ring out, and put it on my finger. I was totally unprepared for the shock of sensation that ran throughout my body. The ring, and the family magic it was bound to, were communicating with me like my swarm did. It clicked in to place and felt right, like it had always been there. I looked up as the Powell sigil was fading away.
"I also have a seat on the Wizengamot. Really wasn't expecting that. Can you recommend a lawyer to put on retainer?"
The goblin rubbed his hands together.
"Oh, certainly. I know just the candidate. And a healer for you, Lord Potter!"
Any additional conversation was interrupted by the team of auditors practically jumping into the office. Things got a bit complicated after that.
≈================≈
A few days later
The Burrow
Harry POV:
The cascade of meetings and correspondence had finally tapered off for now. Gringotts was no longer a hornets nest of furious activity. Reportedly the heads of the account managers and clerks that had help suborn my 11th birthday inheritance decorated the hallways.
The Owl redirection stppping me from getting almost all of my mail had been reset and taken over by Gringotts, who would sort through and forward my mail after performing safety checks on it. Dobby was thrilled to have more work to do.
Speaking of elves, our solicitor recommend we deal with Kreacher one way or another. The ceremonial goblin silver dagger from my 11th birthday was on the ground in front of me. Taylor stood next to me.
"Kreacher! Your Lord Black calls you!"
With a pop he appeared and was his usual charming self.
"Nasty, filthy halfblood mongrel shames the House of Black! How far our house has fallen! How disa-"
"Silence, elf!" I said very forcefully, pushing a fair amount of magic in to it.
He abruptly shut his mouth and glared venomously at me.
I picked up the knife from the ground.
"Elf, you will answer the following question. Do you want to serve the House of Black, or do you want to end your service?"
The glares continued. He stood, clenching and unchanging his hands for quite a while.
"Kreacher will serve." he finally ground out.
"Very well."
I made a small cut on the palm of my hand with the knife, waited a moment for the blood to well up, and pressed my hand on to Kreacher's forehead. I pushed as much magic as I could out of my hand.
"Kreacher the elf, I name you the head elf of the House of Black. I charge you to serve my wife and myself, and any issue we may have. You will protect us, our secrets, and our property. Will you serve us faithfully and well?"
He grabbed my forearm with both hands, pushing my hand more firmly against his head.
"K-k-kreachchcherr ww-ill!" His body shook violently as he replied.
He slowly straightened up. He looked centuries younger.
"Young Lord Black is strong. Young lord's magic is deep, a wide smooth dark current. Kreacher is proud to serve such a strong Lord Black."
He snapped his fingers and the rags he was wearing changed into a vest and shorts, with the Black crest on display.
"Kreacher, return to Grimmauld Place. Let none other than my wife and I enter. Begin cleaning so my wife and I may move in to a house worthy of the Lord and Lady Black."
"Kreacher will."
He popped away.
"That went much better than expected!"
≈===============≈
Many weeks later
Wizengamot Chamber
August session
Observer's Gallery
Taylor POV
We had snuck in to the Wizengamot chamber under Harry's cloak and sat on the far end of the balcony overlooking things.
The past few weeks had been difficult. Harry had kept everyone out of Grimmauld until he took control of the wards and Kreacher cleaned up. Then we caught a few of the members stealing goblin wrought silverware and other antiques from us. Dumbledore had thrown an epic tantrum when we kicked his vigilante club out of our townhouse. It didn't matter to the Headmaster that some of them were stealing from an orphan.
Molly Weasley alternated between blaming Fletcher (for doing most of the stealing) and me (for making Harry angry about the stealing). It had been a relief to move out of the Burrow to Grimmauld. Much quieter. Especially once Harry formally pressed charges against Fletcher and Diggle.
Remus Lupin had moved in, as Harry had hired him to be the Steward for the House of Black. Tonks still alternated between Grimmauld and her own flat but had slowly moved in with her husband. Lupin was definitely more frigid with Dumbledore after the elderly wizard defended the theives and chastised Harry.
Gringotts had put together a team of solicitors (not lawyers) for us and we had met nearly every day to discuss our goals and possible strategies to meet them. We had gone clothes shopping accordingly.
We still had a large amount of documents and financial statements to work on from the Potter and Black accounts but were happy to take a break from reviewing them today.
We waited in the balcony as Dumbledore gaveled the session to start, and worked his way through the agenda of existing business. It took several hours.
"And thus concludes the standing items of existing business on today's agenda. Are there any ad hoc motions for this body, before we introduce the scheduled new business?"
Harry lit his wand and projected his voice.
"I hereby claim my seats in this body."
Everyone turned and gaped, and you could've heard a pin drop. Dumbledore looked liked he'd been kicked in the groin.
"Harry, you are underage. You can't take your seat yet."
"You, Minister Fudge, and several Ministry department heads all declared me of age when you forced me to participate in the Triwizard Tournament when I didn't enter myself. This body confirmed that status when they placed me on trial in front of it almost a year ago for saving my cousin from dementors. Senior Director and ritual master Guttlekraw of Gringotts confirmed that status when he witnessed me take up the lordships of my families. As I am the last of my line, custom, precedent, and the law also confirm my status."
"Harry, as your magical guardian I must insist you refrain from claiming your seats."
"And as the head of the impacted families, someone who is no longer under your guardianship, I must insist on claiming those seats."
Dumbledore said nothing and blinked owlishly at Harry. After a long while the seated members of the Wizengamot began to grow restless. Finally a formidable looking old battleaxe bellowed at Dumbledore.
"Give up, Albus, you know you're in the wrong. He's entitled to see if the chamber will accept him."
Harry turned and bowed.
"Thank you, dowager Lady Longbottom. If the chamber does not accept me today, I will wait another year to claim my seats."
Dumbledore continued to stand impassively. He ignored the very animated chatter that had broken out. He waited a long while and raised his gavel.
"As there are no ad hoc motions, we shall"-
A man stood on the far side of the chamber and raised his lit wand.
"The House of Selwyn moves that young Potter be seated."
"House Longbottom seconds the motion."
"As does House Ogden."
Dumbledore looked furious.
"The motion carries."
Harry eventually stood in front of a medium size round stone on a pedestal. It was in front of, and below, the Chief Warlock's lectern. He took his ceremonial knife out, sliced his palm open, and placed his hand on the stone. He went through the steps to claim his seats. Everyone expected him to take the Potter seat. A few expected him to take the Black seat. Nobody expected him to take the Gaunt and Peverell seats. Dumbledore finished administering the oath of office. Harry went to sit down and had to evict Elphias Doge from his seat. The elderly man spluttered with outrage but eventually wandered away. Dumbledore continued to look furious when Harry announced he'd appoint his own proxies in the future, if needed.
So far everything had gone as our team of advisors had planned for. Having them approach Lord Selwyn as a contingency was well thought out. It was time for the riskier step.
Dumbledore called out.
"Are there any further ad hoc motions for this body?"
Harry waited and lit his wand.
"The Houses of Black, Peverell, Gaunt, and Potter request a privileged motion, related to the safety and security of this body."
The solicitors mapped this out for us as well - once Harry starts this process, and the rest of the body agrees, only he can decide it is complete. And it has to be an action the Wizengamot can carry out today, in this session.
Dumbledore continued to stare at Harry for several uncomfortable minutes.
"Request granted. You have the floor."
"I move that this chamber be sealed and every presently seated member or proxy of this body retake their oath of office. Members or their proxies absent from this session retake their oath at the next session."
Dumbledore looked baffled. Good.
"House Longbottom seconds the motion."
"As does House Greengrass." Surpising there wasn't any debate. I wonder if they were doing this to humor Harry.
"The motion carries. Sergeant at arms, seal the chamber. Members of this body please take your oaths."
The hollow boom as the doors locked was satisfying to hear.
Harry looked around as things proceeded. Part of the solicitor's plan was to have a few wands for hire seeded throughout the chamber, just in case. About a third of the members had retaken their oaths when Marcellus Flint took his, and then dropped screaming to the floor while grabbing his left forearm.
There was a flurry of activity as people ran over to attend.
"We need to get him to St. Mungoes!" one called out.
Harry set off a cannonblast charm and then a Sonorus.
"Don't bother. He doesn't have his magic anymore. Chief Warlock, can you please refresh this body's memory about what the oath of office contains? I think the part about how members cannot be a vassal to another person or house would be especially instructive."
"How dare you! You did this on purpose!"
"He did this to himself when he swore loyalty to that madman and took his mark. And, speaking for the record, the Dark Mark is a rather nasty blend of an Egyptian slave brand and Roman centurion tattoo-"
"You dare! AVADA KEDAVRA!" bellowed a man in the balcony far to my right. The mercenary closest to me conjured a block of stone that was hit by the bolt of green light, one on the far side of the chamber stunned and tied up the would be assassin before the Aurors even drew their wands.
Dumbledore raised his gavel.
"We will recess, and let cooler heads prevail. The Aurors-"
"No. I have the floor. The privileged motion is still in effect." Harry's voice sounded like two peices of granite rubbing against each other.
"Harry, please be reasonable! This is not the time or place!"
"I am being reasonable. I think it is perfectly reasonable to deny seats in this body to terrorists sworn to follow a man actively at war with this body and the Ministry we empower!"
"Nevertheless I-"
"I have the floor. I do not yield. The privileged motion is still in effect."
"I must insist we-"
Someone other than Harry cut Dumbledore off this time. Tall, distinguished looking, with a rich baritone voice that sounded like sin mixed with rum and magic.
"Chief Warlock, you are coming dangerously close to breaching your own oath of office. Are you willing to risk losing your magic as well? This motion must continue. We must uphold the law within this chamber and without. We must see to our duty."
Harry turned and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Lord Summerisle. The motion continues."
Lord Summerisle walked up to the stone, slit his palm, and insisted the Chief Warlock admitted the oath. Dumbledore grudgingly complied.
The rest of the members eventually took their oaths. Because it was a privileged motion, members could not resign their seats or appoint a proxy while Harry had the floor. I lost track of how many times he said "I do not yield".
Six additional members of the Wizengamot lost their magic. Another stuck his wand under his chin and cast a Reducto rather than lose his magic. Several more people in the chamber tried to attack. The Aurors were significantly more alert and quickly subdued them.
Dumbledore gaveled the session into recess when Harry finally announced the privileged motion was completed. Minister Scrimgeour walked over to us as the doors were unlocked.
The team of advisors had planned for him as well, along with the joint press conference he was sure to suggest.
Dumbledore also headed over to us, but was interrupted by the dowager Lady Longbottom, Lord Diggory, and several other people. Listening to the crowd tear strips out of Dumbledore made me smile as we headed out of the chamber. We'd save claiming my seat until the next session.
