CHAPTER 6 : Ragnok’s Predicament

AN: 1. A reader asked about how Harry already evolved in the fourth chapter but still had a subservient personality when dealing with Goblins. >>> His evolution is a slow process. Before the merging of memories, his personality was evolving, albeit slowly. He had some sudden outbursts during that time but those were minor. After the merging, the evolving process becomes faster, and his outbursts come out with full force. Until he builds up his occlumency his meek (cultivated by Dumbledore) personality and his original (moulded during his Dursleys years) personality will fight for dominance. He will build up his occlumency slowly in the coming months and finish the whole process faster afterwards. I considered making up his personality soon after the merging, however, it looked like a hastily composed part.

2. Harry potter will be a neutral character, an individualist who follows his own heart and generally shrinks rules and tradition. Only sometime after the story, he gets thrust into a bigger world, he sees the ugliness of the world. From there he becomes the domineering man who only cares about loyalty and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He will play by certain rules but without mercy or compassion.

3. Like I mentioned previously, Harry will have a lot of flings but will get paired up as the story goes on.

…....

Ragnok.

Ragnok watched as Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, walked out of his room. The last sentence the young man spoke was more like an order than a suggestion.

Only after the Potter was out of his eyesight, did he sigh a relief.

That was some intense aura they sensed for a moment.

The aura that he sensed only from powerful people like Dumbledore, Voldemort and some Grandmasters (mastery in a particular discipline of magic will be detailed later).

Initially, he believed that Potter's victory against you-know-who was a complete fluke, or the use of an artefact just like Potter mentioned. Seriously, who would believe that a 17-year-old, who had no skills and power would best a Dark Lord, who had decades of the worth of experience.

That was why he hoped to subdue Potter or have the boy under his debt. But nothing went as he expected.

He waved his hand at the guards and security to leave the room and spoke to Ironclaw.

"Your report on Potter was nowhere near accurate…..Even I misjudged his character a lot. I want a new report to be submitted on my table by this time next week. I hope the report will be truthful and legit or I will have your head for this"

He waited for a moment so that everyone in the room could focus on him. Especially the Elders. If handled improperly, this would lead to another Goblin-Wizard war.

"Bill told me that Potter is usually submissive, never spoken out unless you annoy him too much…..This Potter is anything but submissive. He threatened us all, inside my office and left to do some Gringotts business", he mocked himself and others present in the room.

These three elders may have authority above him, but they weren't any better in dealing with this matter. They created an even bigger mess. Thankfully he was not involved in it.

He was not any better too, if it wasn't for the elders he would have been the one to be in this mess. He too initially thought of forcing Potter to his will after reading the initial report of 'Harry Potter' that was assembled by Ironclaw.

Since he was recently promoted to be the manager, he still didn't consolidate his power base. He originally planned to use the Potter situation to his benefit.

But with the elders having a higher rank than him in the nation, he couldn't speak much, when they took over the situation. That was why he didn't speak out when he was interrupted during his speech.

'If it wasn't for the elders being present here, I can guess where I would have ended up in this Potter business. Thank Merlin, these fools were present today to take the fall'

He turned to the elders sitting beside him, except for the one who was shaken to the core and cowering in his seat, the other two were looking better. Better in the sense, in the physical form.

"Elders please go back and discuss this matter with your folks. Present them with the current situation and come to a decision". Then he turned to Ironclaw.

"Deal with the Potter's task and come to my office later"

Clearly, Ironclaw was also shaken by the performance of Potter.

And Ragnok also wants to know what was the result of Potter trying to gain entry into the vault.

After everyone left, he started to think. This Harry Potter was very different. Something must have occurred to him in the past for this extreme change.

Anyhow reasoning with Potter has just become difficult. He had already asked the elders to let him do the dealing but in the end, they still interfered and messed up the situation.

It was also a blessing in disguise for him. Now he can take charge of the headquarters with more authority.

'Hm..Loss of dragon is not really a big deal. There are many eggs are being poached out of several dragon reserves all over the world. And several dragons are present in the underground tunnels of Gringotts. The lives of goblins lost due to You-know-who is also not a big matter.

But a break-in at Gringotts headquarters by three seventeen-year-old kid-wizards doesn't boast any trust in other people having their money stored here. Even if other wizards didn't trust in Gringotts, in the end, they must return here for any banking purposes. It was just, the Goblin nation's prestige is at play here.

Of all things, a goblin banker helped them in the process.

Potter's suggestion also has merits.

But a lot of goblin forged artefacts/weapons are in the Black family vault. If this chance is forgone then the goblin nation can forget about getting those weapons and artefacts from him for another century. Because in the future, Potter's influence will skyrocket like Dumbledore, then he can't be touched.

Forcing him by power (Magical power) is almost impossible, clearly from what he had just seen Potter is powerful. Maybe more powerful than You-know-who'. Ragnok was already calculating how to handle the mess so that he could profit from it.

There are several factors he had to consider.

Firstly, the other party being Potter also did not sit well with the goblins. Potters were one of the main reasons for their failure in several rebellions. Wizards may have forgotten about their history. But the goblins revel in their history. Modern-day goblins were not that powerful but several of their ancestors were more powerful than the present-day Dumbledore. Their forging techniques were also superior. Just look at the Gryffindor sword. That sword won Godric Gryffindor many duels in cementing their legacy, HOGWARTS.

Goblins arrogance was also so high at that time. They often times went on a killing spree or hunting in nearby lands. Hunting muggles.

Until the statute of secrecy, there was no separation between the muggle world and the wizarding world. Then came the Statute of Secrecy, after came Goblin rebellions (actually that was just a regular yearly hunt in the nearby villages but the wizards turned it into rebellions which in fact later became full-blown rebellion). 14th and 15th century were littered with Goblin rebellions.

The initial part of their rebellions was a huge success.

Then the Potters came, soon the whole of the wizarding world united and their ancestors lost. In each century one or two Potters were always present in suppressing their rebellions. The population dwindled and their people settled in Scotland.

During rebellions, a lot of forging methods were also lost. After the last rebellion, they went back to doing banking business and forging.

A deal with the ministry, they were made the only banking institution in the better part of Europe, enjoying the monopoly. Which expanded to America later. They couldn't force monopolize the American markets but their galleons became the common currency at one point.

Gold rolled in due to banking but weapon forging dwindled. The separation of muggles and magic resulted in less occurrence of wars. The wizarding world forgot how to fight with a weapon, only using wands. Now only certain wizards commission for goblin forged steel. Not for wars or fighting but for decorations.

Ragnok too never really put any hard work into practising his magic. Only some goblins did. They still fight between clans to increase the standing of their clan, but there was never too much bloodshed as it once was. Those fights can be hardly described as bloodthirsty.

All these reasons accumulated together that resulted in the goblin nation looking weaker and weaker as time went on. The only solid point is that Britain's economy is heavily relying on them and some other services too (like warding, curse breaking, brokering….). Or else they would have already gone extinct.

Warding is provided only for wealthy clientele. Curse breaking is a hobby for goblins like how quidditch is for wizards. So these are not their most important services like banking.

Something must be done to improve their standing. The present dispute looked like an opportunity to Ragnok.

Britain's wizarding world just went through a war. And the wizarding world's hero has a debt to settle with the Gringotts bank. If Ragnok utilized this opportunity properly, he might come out on the top.

Goblin nation can also benefit if they didn't screw up the chance that is.

…....

Harry

He meditated for a few minutes to control his rage.

'That was plain stupid' a voice in his head said.

'Well, now they will understand who they are dealing with' the same voice replied. It was happening again. Voices in his head.

At the end of the meeting, his emotions were not under his control. He could guess the reason for it too.

He needs to practise and master Occlumency as soon as possible. At least emotions based occlumency.

The door opened slowly and Ironclaw entered with a slight fear on his face. Harry could literally sense/smell fear emanated from the goblin.

Another one of his newfound abilities it seems. He noted it in his mind and decided to explore it later.

"We ca…can.. g..go to the Potter family vault now Mr P..Pot..Potter and then to the B..black family vault" Ironclaw said shakily.

…....

The cart brought them to the depth where high-security vaults were present. Harry noticed that the renovation process was still going on.

As they went deeper, he could see there were several sphinxes and dragons stationed in several pits.

His encounter with the sphinx was quite memorable.

He was under a lot of pressure because of the finals of the Tri-Wizard tournament.

To reach the cup he had to pass through a sphinx. Of course, he answered the riddle, but the thought of fighting a creature with a human head and lion body made him cringe at that time.

Harry looked toward Ironclaw expecting an answer.

The goblin sighed and replied, "We don't just have dragons for the security Mr Potter. Sphinxes, dragons, trolls some vaults even have griffins guarding them. Potter vault was usually guarded by a sphinx. This week we are not dealing with any transactions regarding vaults. That is why all of them are herded here".

…....

Ironclaw waved his hand in front of the vault and his magic opened the door. There was another large door with just a star shaped design in the middle.

Ironclaw looked at him.

"Well, I don't have a key" Harry replied.

"Uhh…some old families like Potter, Black, Bones didn't trust us to safeguard their wealth and properties" Ironclaw waited for a moment and continued.

"So they brought their own vaults here to be placed. When the treaty was signed, while most families accepted us as the sole bankers, some families opposed it. And these families held some amount of power too. Hence they included a clause to place their own vault with some additional conditions"

"Please place your hand on the rune and allow your magic to flow"

Harry did as he was told. Foreign magic seeped into his body, most likely inspection type magic, he guessed. The process took a few minutes and then he felt the foreign magic slip out of his system.

Before he even processed what was happening a needle appeared in the centre of the rune and pricked his palm drawing a drop of his blood. It took him a second to realize what had just happened.

Magic rolled of his body and Ironclaw was lifted off the ground as the goblin clutched his neck.

"What the hell was that. This thing just sucked in my blood"

"Mr.P…pot..ter, th..is vault doesn't belong to grin..gotts. This se..curity system was dev…developed by your ancestors. Pl…please…." Ironclaw managed to speak a full sentence as Harry's magic was crushing his neck.

Harry loosed his grip on his magic and asked Ironclaw to continue.

"cough..cough..cough….huh..huh…" Taking a few deep breaths the terrified goblin continued. "It was brought here in the late 16th century by the Potters after we established the monopoly in a banking institution. Potter family heads were selected through this method for many centuries. Many older families also follow this method. From what we were said your blood gets added to the vault and it will help determine the next family head" Ironclaw rushed his explanation.

After the explanation, Harry's anger slowly receded.

He didn't have any compassion for anything related to blood magic. Blood magic just spooked him.

Blood wards that made his life living hell and a Dark Lord getting resurrected using his blood, he had gone through a lot.

If anyone experienced what he had experienced, it will make anyone despise blood-related magic.

On top of all of that from his memories, he could see Voldemort only showed interests in offensive blood magic like generational curses, bloodline curses etc…. he never showed interest in the positive side of blood magic. He used blood magic to break the limit of human physical capabilities. Moreover, he used that kind of magic only to bring harm to others. This also added his wariness against blood magic.

While he was busy with Ironclaw, the vault doors were already open. He couldn't see the contents of the vault. A layer of smokescreen concealed what was present inside. This was an entirely different experience compared to breaking into Lestrange's family vault.

"How will the other family members access this vault if only I can open it"

"Only the lord of the family can get past this kind of family vaults Mr Potter. Every other member of the family has their own vaults or separate accounts here. Even for us goblins, any proceedings related to the family vaults are just placed in front of this door. We don't what happens beyond the mechanisms we placed"

"I will be waiting by the cart Mr Potter. Anyone other than the consented party won't be able to enter. After your work is done find me at the cart, Mr Potter"

Harry found contradictions in his words. Ironclaw first admitted if selected by the vault they will gain the Lordship. But from the way the goblin acted, he doubted that was all the truth.

…....

Crossing the smokescreen gave him the same feeling of crossing the Hogwarts platform barrier.

Inside the vault was….a palace no….a castle with gates. Not to the size of Malfoy manor, even bigger. He thought it could fit the Hogwarts castle in here and still, there will be some space left.

The gates opened as soon as he came near them. He could feel the link or a bond being formed with the….vault/castle.

At the gates, there were several ghosts welcoming him into the castle.

Harry could feel the bond to these ghosts and the bonds were growing stronger as he walked closer.

"At last a worthy wizard, it has been nearly a century you damn boy", a ghost spoke jovially.

Harry who was getting a feel on the bond was forced out his musings as the ghosts circled around him. One of the ghosts placed a wooden box in front of him. It looked like a high-quality jewellery box.

Before even he opened his mouth to ask what it was, a ghost stopped him from speaking. He gestured for Harry to open the box.

There laid a ring, a signet ring to be precise that had an eye, set within a triangle (look up Illuminati ring). the whole symbols were carved on a blood-red jewel stone.

Harry took the ring and placed it on his middle finger. The ring adjusted to fit his finger correctly. Out of nowhere, some new set of information flowed into his mind. Locations of properties that belong to the Potter family. Some hidden treasure locations, some were just warded to keep thieves out of the property.

"You should return to Potter Castle present in Bristol. That castle has a passageway built-in that directly leads you here. For now, you should return to the goblin outside. You can research on your newfound secrets after you are done with the Gringotts business", the ghost that placed the ring in front of him spoke.

'How did he know I still have business with Gringotts' A voice questioned him in his head.

Another ghost answered his mental question laughingly. "Did you really think sorting hat is the only artefact that can rummage through your mind. As soon as you placed your hand on the FAEDERRICE rune all your secrets are known to us".

'All my secrets…..Fuck Fuck Fuck….' panic increasing, Harry was quickly losing control over his emotions.

Seeing his increasing panic the ghost reassured him, "You do not need to worry too much. We are your ancestors. We elected you to enter this vault. That means we will help you in any way you need"

"Seriously how do you expect us to choose you to lead my house without any assurances" another ghost chimed in.

"You can come here directly through Bristol castle to here. As soon as you connect to the castle wards, you will understand what I have just said.

We have a lot of work to do. Your mind is all messed up with two memories. You don't have any basic education in magicks too. You have a lot of untapped potential which you are letting it go to waste at the moment. We can help you with that. And you can ask any question to your heart's content when you return here"

Harry just nodded dumbly and returned to the smokescreen. He still couldn't fathom what just happened.

He came to the vault to evaluate his family's resources but he was told off by some ghosts to return on a later day.

'Is everything regarding my life is this silly'

"Who are you all?" He turned to ask the question.

"We are your ancestors. Didn't I tell you that already"

"No..no….what exactly are you? Ghost? Spirits? Souls? Wraiths?"

As the bond between the….ghosts and him became stronger and stronger he could feel the wrongness of their existence. Like they shouldn't be present in the first place.

"We will talk about that in the next session. Now go on" As the ghosts didn't give him any answer he could only ask about them later or research into this matter himself.

As soon as he left the smokescreen, the door closed behind him.

….…..

Inside the vault.

"Maybe we should have gone easy on the lad and given some explanation and answers"

"Ohh..Shut up would you? The boy is sharp and shrewd. He knows how to handle himself"

"It is not about that, his memories are jumbled, if he doesn't choose the correct path, then….."

"Merlin….I asked you to shut up. Correct path? The correct path for whom? For you? The boy will choose for himself. Our only duty is to support him in whatever direction he chooses" The ghost who appeared to be younger than everyone shouted at the particular phantom who spoke just now.

"What do you mean, whatever direction. He should…"

As the two ghosts were having arguments. The only female in the group dispersed the rest with a hand gesture. She then cleared her throat gaining the attention of the two who were arguing.

"Go through the rest of his memories. We will decide on that particular topic along with Harry Potter once he reaches here"

The castle returned to silence soon after.

…....

AN: That's all, you guys. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you next week.