35 The Goblin's Proposal

Harry arrived at Gringotts and approached the teller with the shortest line. He checked the nameplate on the counter and greeted, "Good morning, Teller Gornuk. I'm here for my ten o'clock appointment with my account manager, Corpnik."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Potter. Please follow me," Gornuk replied, leading Harry through corridors until they reached the door of an office made of polished oak wood, adorned with a golden plate.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Potter," Gornuk said, knocked, and entered the office. Shortly after, he emerged, stating, "Corpnik will now meet you."

"Thank you, Gornuk," Harry acknowledged and confidently walked into the office.

"Greetings, Mr. Potter. May your business be profitable and your enemies cower at your feet," Corpnik greeted him.

"Greetings to you too, Corpnik. May your business always bring profit and your enemies not even know how they were defeated," Harry responded, nodding toward the goblin.

"I see you have informed yourself about some of our customs. What did you want to discuss with me today?" Corpnik inquired.

"First, please call me Harry. If we want to work on a profitable basis for both of us, we need to have a basis of trust, Corpnik."

"Second, I would like to know what transactions there have been in the Potter accounts. I already know that my former guardians, my mother's Muggle sister and her husband, embezzled the funds that they were given for my care."

"They only spent the bare minimum that couldn't be avoided on me. I want those funds back. How you do it, I don't care, but I know that the goblins always catch thieves."

"I also would like to know the advantages of getting a ledger for my vaults compared to the quarterly statements."

"While we are on the topic of embezzlement, do I get monies from those people using my name in their books and for their products? If not, I want that changed."

"They can either give me my share of the profits or pay a hefty fine for using my name without permission. And if you can, I'd like to get those Harry Potter books that Lockhart author wrote relabeled as fiction."

"Next are the current investments for my family. I'd like to see the profits those investments made over the last ten years and possibly adjust them."

"If you have suggestions for profitable investments that you couldn't realize until now because you need the permission of the owner of the vault to make them, I'd also like to hear your reasons for the investment plan," Harry straightforwardly stated, outlining his intentions for the meeting.

"Well-structured and to the point, Harry. I like seeing a wizard who knows what he wants and what he is talking about," replied the Gringotts representative. "Especially someone as young as you are. Very well, let's start with some explanations."

"The ledger is a detailed statement of all possessions your family keeps at Gringotts and has outside in investments, real estates, and living property," he explained. "It is constantly updated, which means you always can see how much you own. The monthly statements only contain the contents of your vaults in galleons, sickles, and knuts. Objects are only listed in their overall number, not their kind."

"We will, of course, take care of recovering the money that was embezzled from you with interest. We are connected to the Muggle banking system through a dummy bank that only exists in name."

"The people that use your name are separated into two groups. There is one manufacturer who produces toys that has organized that eight percent of the profits are transferred to your trust vault for the usage of your name to advertise his products. Romano Lockhart didn't do that, and I'll gladly put one of Gringotts' barristers on the case."

"Your family investments mainly date back to 1978; that was the last time your grandfather Charlus changed the portfolio," he continued. "Your father James was too busy with his schooling first and then the war against the Dark Lord to really take an interest in investments."

"The investments are in both the wizarding and Muggle worlds. I think your mother inspired your grandfather to invest the equivalent of ten thousand galleons in a company that was developing communication devices that work similarly to the phones the Muggles use at their homes but could be carried around easily."

He shared details about the success of this venture, explaining that the original investment that got Harry's grandfather twenty percent of the shares of the company now had a value of sixty thousand, nine hundred and five galleons.

"The other investments are in the wizarding world," he added.

"You hold five percent of Flourish and Blott's, twelve percent of Madam Malkin's, thirteen percent of Quality for Quidditch, twenty-one percent of the Daily Prophet, fifty-one percent of a magical creature farm in Norfolk, sixty-three percent in a vineyard with an attached winery in southern France, and lastly, you hold eighty-nine percent in a professional Quidditch training facility in Canada. All those investments are doing well, especially the Quidditch facility."

Three years ago, the vineyard faced a challenging harvest, but resilient measures against insects and frost in the following spring enabled a swift recovery, ensuring a fruitful yield the next year.

"Now, Harry," began the elder Potter, delving into the family's investment strategy, "your grandfather and his father before him always followed the same path."

"He sought out budding enterprises with the potential for success in the coming years," he continued, "sponsoring the founders and acquiring shares in return. Active involvement in the business ideas and offering advice when needed was crucial."

He acknowledged, "The latter part might be a bit premature for you, but I'm confident that once you finish school, you'll excel with this strategy. All your current investments were established using this approach."

Smiling, he shared a success story, "Your great-grandfather Henry displayed an astute intuition when he acquired a dilapidated Quidditch facility from its founder."

"The founder, an enthusiastic wizard who loved Quidditch, lacked the knowledge of running a business. Your great-grandfather took charge for three years, hiring competent individuals for both the practical and economic aspects."

"Trainers for the practical part and managers for the economic part. Within five years, the facility turned profitable, and by the decade's end, it transformed into a financial powerhouse, to use the muggle term."

He revealed the community-oriented approach, "The eleven percent you don't own is divided among the senior workers who committed to the facility in its early, challenging days. They played a crucial role in convincing professional teams to use the training facilities and establishing camps for children and teenagers."

"Corpnik," he concluded, "described how one of the most successful Potter investments began."

....

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