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Harry Potter was exhausted as he flopped down on the bed in room 11 of the Leakey Cauldron. His first full day away from the Dursley’s had been amazing fun, but it had been tiring. He must have walked the entire length of the alley 2 dozen times. He hadn’t bothered to really do any shopping, instead just focusing on learning where everything was, the only thing he had bought while out in the alley was some ice cream.

But that made him think he should stop by Gringotts. He didn’t understand how his stay at the Cauldron was being paid for, he didn’t think the Ministry would pay for a teenager to live out of a motel room alone for 3 weeks, but he was sure he didn’t have enough to pay for it himself in what coins he had left over from the year before.

It also wouldn’t hurt to get more information on his finances. He didn’t even know how much he had in his vault or how much the Hogwarts tuition was. For all he knew he would run out of money to even pay for his school and supplies before he finished, and then he would be stuck since he knew the Dursley’s would never pay for him to go.

Pushing worries like that aside, Harry went to sleep early.

The problem with going to sleep early was that it could cause a person to wake up early. Harry was used to getting up around 7, both from school as well as having to get up at that time to make Uncle Vernons breakfast before he left for work. With his going to sleep so early he found himself wide awake and unable to fall back asleep by 4:30.

Deciding not to bother wasting any more time Harry got up and got ready for his day. He had seen that the bank was open all day and night so he could easily go to his vaults and ask a few questions. It would actually probably be easier since there probably wouldn’t be that many people there.

As Harry had expected the bank didn’t have that many people in it, but he was surprised at how many there were. At that early in the day there were only 4 teller stations open and each one had someone at it. Staying back to wait his turn Harry looked around.

Noticing movement off to the side Harry saw Griphook make his way out of a side door. “Hello Griphook.”

Griphook froze momentarily in shock, humans generally couldn’t tell one goblin from another let alone remember their name. “Good morning Heir Potter.” Griphook greeted formally, showing respect in turn for the respect of remembering his name. “Are you here to make a withdrawal?”

“Kind of.” Harry shrugged. “I was actually wondering if there was a way I can get an accounting of what is in my vault. Once I know that I will be able to tell if I can take out any more money or not since I want to save some to make sure I can get through school.”

Griphook gave a slow blink. “Heir Potter, that information is in your monthly statement. The statements go out at the first of each month. It is only the eighth of this month, surely it isn’t too far out of date for your use.”

“Is there a way that I can get those monthly statements starting next month than?” Harry questioned.

That put Griphook on edge. “Heir Potter, I would like for you to follow me so we can go over a few things.”

Harry agreed, not noticing that the tellers in the room had been listening with half an ear as they served the humans in front of them. All had noticed that the human had been polite and had even remembered a goblins name, it had earned him a modicum of respect. It had also worried them that something was wrong as they knew every client of the bank was supposed to get monthly statements.

“Heir Potter, I need you to add three drops of your blood to this potion so we can verify you are who you say you are.” Griphook pushed forward a bowl of the pre-made basic identity potion. It would give a name, parents names, and inherited vaults and titles.

Harry just did as asked, slicing the tip of his pointer finger and adding the needed blood before using the provided healing salve to seal the cut. Griphook took the potion back and placed a quill in the bowl. Once the potion had all been taken in he balanced the quill over a sheet of parchment and they both watched as the quill started to write.

Griphook had known the basics of what to expect, but even he was surprised.

Name: Harry James Potter

Father: James Fleamont Potter

Mother: Lily Grace Potter (Evans)

Inheritance:

Potter (Heir) - Paternal - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 37,685,494 Galleons, 104,083 Sickles, 195,795 Knuts

Peverell (Heir) - Paternal - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 148,060,045 Galleons, 100,479 Sickles, 100,064 Knuts

Gryffindor (Heir) - Paternal - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 197,360,205 Galleons, 100,579 Sickles, 100,530 Knuts

Slytherin (Heir) - Conquest - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 148,057,246 Galleons, 128,293 Sickles, 137,918 Knuts

Quinn (72nd in Line) - Maternal - Squib Line - Applicable to Ireland 

Personal Vault Value: 5,000 Galleons, 100 Sickles, 100 Knuts

Harry just stared at the results for a moment. “What… What does all this mean?”

Griphook had expected the Potter title, but the rest was a surprise. There had long been rumours of the Potters being descended from both Peverell and Gryffindor, but it had been over 3 centuries since a Potter had last needed an inheritance test since they were always previously brought in by the Lord of the house. They only needed the verification for an unaccompanied Heir. Seeing how important this one client was to the bank Griphook hoped no oversights had occurred since the loss of the last Lord and Lady Potter.

“This is what you will possess once you come of age. You have your Potter trust vault that was set up for you by your parents when you were born. And then there is the Quinn vault. You are an, admittedly, very distant member of the Quinn line, it hales from Ireland and has no political standing here, however every member of the family is entitled to a personal vault, that we can have moved from the Ireland Gringotts to this one. There are no strings attached and it is yours simply by right of birth. Once it is moved here you will be able to access it without any limitations, however once the money is gone it is gone and will not be refilled unless you request it from the Lord of the family and he decides to grant it to you.

If you would like I can go over the basics of each family with you starting with the most applicable one for you, the Potter estate.”

“That would be great.” Harry beamed, pleased he had decided to speak with Griphook rather than wait.

Griphook called up the Potter family files and opened them to gather the information and hesitated at what he saw. “This is odd?”

“What’s wrong?” Harry questioned worriedly.

“It’s just…” Griphook flipped a few sheets and then flipped back. “It says here that the reading of your parents wills was scheduled for November 4th 1981, but they are listed as still pending, which means they haven’t been read. All of your families investments have been left stagnant and most charitable donations have been stopped, only the one funding scholarships and extra curricular programs at Hogwarts is still functioning. It also says you have an open marriage contract.”

“A WHAT?” Harry freaked out at that last part. “But I don’t want to get married.”

Before Griphook could respond a gruff looking goblin slammed open the door. “What is the meaning of this cart driver Griphook. Why are you calling up information on one of my clients?”

Griphook looked up at the new goblin with hard eyes. “Account Manager Rockfist, so nice of you to leave your office. Heir Potter, this is Account Manager Rockfist, he is the one who is supposed to be managing the Potter accounts. 

Account Manager Rockfist, this is Heir Potter. He came to the bank today requesting his financial information. I summoned it so I could help him go through it as per his request.”

Harry didn’t know much about goblins, but he knew a power play when he saw it. Rockfist clearly looked down on Griphook, and Griphook obviously didn’t like Rockfist.

Rockfist turned to the human in the room, completely disregarding the other goblin. “Mr. Potter, if you would follow me I will ensure you receive all pertinent information to your fathers family.”

Harry glanced at Griphook and saw that he had covered the inheritance test but gave him an encouraging nod. “Certainly.”

An hour later Harry was guided back to the main lobby of the bank in a less than impressed mood. Rockfist had an excuse for everything, but it just didn’t add up to Harry. Something was off, and he knew it, he just needed to get a chance to speak with Griphook alone again.

And Harry was in luck. “Heir Potter, are you ready to go down to your vault now?”

Harry looked up and saw Griphook waiting just before the doors that led to the lobby.

“Rockfist said Heir Potters transactions were complete.” The goblin messenger who had been guiding him said from his side.

“His transactions with Rockfist are.” Griphook kept his head high, he knew what many thought of him but wouldn’t let it stop him from honouring his word. “However, he also came here today to collect from his vault. As such, I shall take him to his vault.”

“Thank you for guiding me back, but Griphook is right, I do need to visit my vault.” Harry left the messengers side and went over to the cart area with Griphook.

Only once they were both in the cart and were a decent distance away did Griphook speak again. “You seem… unsettled Heir Potter.”

“I am Griphook.” Harry said, neither of them looked at each other as they spoke, and instead just watched the track in front of them. “Rockfist said all the right things to make it seem normal, but I can’t help feeling he was not giving me the full picture. May I ask you a few questions to clarify?”

“It is up to you Heir Potter. As you are the client you may give me private information at your leisure, but unless you sign a waver giving me permission to discuss it with another I am bound to silence.” Griphook was pleased the Potter Heir was showing such cunning. His father had been many things, but overly cunning was not one of them, his grandfather however was.

“Rockfist claims that the investments were allowed to stagnate because the Ministry sealed my parents wills so there was no one left who could direct the finances. However just a few moments later he told me that my magical guardian was the one who received my monthly statements. He said that it was normal for a guardian to receive the statements until the child came of age at 17, but you seemed confused as to why I wasn't receiving them. Then there was the marriage contract. He said my parents were the ones to make it for me, but wouldn’t let me even see it, he assured me that it was fine and that it wasn't my business to know and that my future was secure, but it felt… off.”

Griphook ground his teeth at what he was hearing, while a goblin could selectively edit what they told their clients if they so chose, although doing so was only done if the client was about to make a foolish decision, they were barred from outright lying. “Heir Potter, I share your unsettled feeling. Something does indeed seem to be off with how your account is being handled. I would request that you allow me to speak with my superior about this matter and meet me back here tomorrow evening at 8 so that we can discuss matters further.”

“What do you need from me for the permission?” Harry asked.

Griphook pressed a small button on the dash of the cart and a trey table unfolded over Harry’s lap, the magic of the trey stopped the wind from affecting the parchment or quill. “All you have to do is read that over and sign it. It is very important to always read anything before signing it. I will also warn you, that is a blood quill. It will use your own blood, when you sign your name the back of your hand will sting for a moment but will heal immediately after without any lasting affect.”

Harry got a little nauseous as they went round bend after bend while trying to read, but he eventually managed it. The contract was rather straight forward, it gave permission for Griphook to speak with his superiors about any details of his account he deemed pertinent. Harry quickly signed just as the cart started to slow, feeling the sting and seeing his name on the back of his hand, but like Griphook said it healed quickly.

“I seem to remember this ride taking less time the last times I was here.” Harry mentioned just before they came to a stop.

“I took the scenic rout.” Griphook informed him.

Both were silent as they returned to the surface, both lost in their own thoughts.

After leaving Harry Potter in the main lobby Griphook turned and went deep into the bank. He went to the office of the Branch Manager and requested an emergency meeting immediately.

Emergency meetings were only used in the most dire of circumstances. If the issue was not deemed important enough than the goblin who requested it would be put to work in the mines with no chance of advancement. Scheduling an emergency meeting allowed one to meet with the branch manager within 24 hours, but Griphook was surprised when he was immediately shown in since he had expected to wait at least some time.

After formal greetings were exchanged Griphook took his place before the managers desk, there were no seats so as to discourage wasting of time.

“Cart Driver Griphook, I am surprised to see you here.” Branch Manager Ragnock said as he critically examined him. “I received a complaint about you overstepping your bounds with a recommendation to sanction you, and then you suddenly show up at my office.”

Griphook knew it was Rockfist who was trying to get him sanctioned, which in goblin terms meant reassigned to the pits or beheaded. “I assure you Branch Manager Ragnock, I have not stepped beyond my bounds.”

Ragnock picked up the complaint he had just received. “It states here that you took private financial information without proper authorization.”

Griphook was highly insulted at that. “I did no such thing. An underage Heir came to the bank requesting access to his financial information. I took him back to one of the offices and gave him an identity test, as is standard with an unaccompanied Heir. Once verification was made that he was indeed who he claimed, he requested I assist him in going over the financial information. If he had requested a meeting with his families Account Manager I would have arranged it, he did not. If the Account Manager was doing his job properly then there would be no surprises that would need the more detailed information only an Account Manager has access too.”

“If?” Ragnocks voice was cold as ice and hard as diamond.

“The reason the Heir came into the bank for details on his account is that he, at the age of 13, has not received a single financial statement as of yet.” Griphook informed his boss. “We only had a few moments before the Account Manager in question rushed into the office, undoubtably noticing the retrieval of the basic file, and rushed the Heir out, taking the information as he went. But even in only those few moments I had with the files I noticed… discrepancies.”

“Discrepancies.” Ragnock was not liking where this was going, this was supposed to just be a cart driver getting a head of himself. “How would you be able to spot anything like that without a more thorough look?”

“Because I was apprenticed to the previous account manager prior to his disappearance.” Griphook said, he would never forget how his mentor had disappeared and he had suddenly been demoted to cart driver.

“Ah yes, you apprenticed to Account Manager Ironclaw.” Ragnock looked at the cart drivers file and saw the information. “He disappeared years ago. All that was ever found was his left shoe out near the dragon nests. It is believed he got eaten.”

“So many say.” Griphook had never believed that. “Following his meeting with his Account Manager the heir was left unsettled. As that was the first meeting he had ever had with his Account Manager he sought me out once again. I had previously been the one to take him to his trust vault for the first time so he felt more at ease with myself. During the trip down to collect some gold he decided to speak of what was bothering him, as he is perfectly within his rights to do.”

“But there is nothing you can tell me about what you saw or heard since it is bound by confidentiality, which means my actions in regards to your suspicions are limited.” Ragnock reminded the goblin.

Griphook pulled out the signed form. “As I had my suspicions from the moment I saw the ledgers I had this drawn up. The Heir read it thoroughly and signed it without reservations.”

Ragnock took the form and read it over before doing a verification check to ensure it was signed by who it claimed to be signed by as well as that it was done so willingly. Both came back positive. “Tell me everything you think qualifies for an emergency meeting.”

“The primary issue goes back to what brought Heir Potter here this day, the lack of financial statements. According to what Heir Potter said to me on the ride down to his vault Account Manager Rockfist informed him that his statements are being sent to his magical guardian, he also informed him that that was normal. That means he openly lied to a client.

When I saw the financial information there was clear mismanagement. All of the investments were the exact same as they were when I was working on the accounts, not a single thing had changed, which is clear evidence of mismanagement as the accounts were just left stagnant. But while the investments weren’t changed the donations and money going out was. Most of the Potters charitable donations were stopped, but not all. I also did notice a few new lines in the donations column, but only vault numbers were listed rather than the name of the organization as is required by the anti-fraud laws.

One of the last things I did prior to Ironclaws disappearance was arrange for the reading of Lord and Lady Potter’s wills to take place November 4, 1981, but the wills are still listed as pending. Heir Potter informed me that Rockfist stated the Ministry had sealed the wills, but no proof has ben provided so I can not be certain either way. But the thing that upset the Heir the most was a pending marriage contract. Again, according to Heir Potter, Account Manager Rockfist informed him that the contract was written up and signed by his parents. Another outright lie. I know for a fact that is not true as no contract was on file prior to my removal from the account and the date listed for when the contract was filed in the account information was weeks after the deaths of the late Lord and Lady Potter. When Heir Potter requested to see the contract, as is his legal right, he was denied.

Heir Potter expressed… unease with what has been going on in regards to him and his accounts. It would be very detrimental to the standing of the bank to have him close out his account with us and move his business elsewhere, not just for the amount of profit we would lose, but also for our public image. I felt it necessary to bring all this to your attention before it was too late and we alienated one of our largest account holders.”

Ragnock steepled his fingers and thought for a moment. “While there is no denying the Potters are wealthy, I would hardly refer to them as one of our largest account holders.”

Griphook placed the identity test on the desk. Ragnock took the sheet and looked it over. 

“I see.” Ragnock knew they would need to address the issues with the Potter vaults immediately. “You are more aware of both the accounts and the Heir than I am. What would your recommendation be in moving forward?”

“I would suggest a general overview audit.” Griphook said. “Given just what I saw the evidence of mismanagement will be obvious almost immediately.  Once the mismanagement is proven it will be easy to remove and replace the Account Manager. As is, Account Manager Rockfist is only a temporary appointment as only a Potter by blood can select their manager and Rockfist was appointed by Heir Potters magical guardian after the loss of Ironclaw.

I requested that Heir Potter return here tomorrow evening at 8. Given my prior interactions with him I feel he will keep his vaults with us so long as we can show we are working to address the situation.”

“But what would you use to trigger the audit? Your quick glance at the ledgers is not enough.” Ragnock questioned.

“According to Gringotts code 1474.713-m, the bank is required to send financial updates monthly to all Heirs starting at the age of 10 so they may begin to familiarize themselves with the family finances. Failure to send these updates to the Heir and instead directing them to a magical guardian is a clear violation and automatically triggers an audit.” Griphook said, although he didn’t understand why he was being asked. The Branch Manager got his position because he had worked his way up, he should know all the rules and regulations.

“Correct.” Ragnock was pleased to see the cart driver remembered what he had been taught. “As you are already familiar with the Potter accounts as well as the Heir I am placing you in charge of the audit. You will report to the auditors office and select a 5 goblin team to assist you. I want a report on my desk no later than noon tomorrow so we may discuss strategies prior to your meeting with Heir Potter.”

Griphook saluted his superior and took off to get to work. It was perfect for him, he was going to get to do a job he had trained for as well as get some revenge.

Harry made his way back into the bank at 7:55 so that he wouldn’t be too early, but also wouldn’t risk being late. As soon as he walked in he spotted Griphook standing by the door he had lead him through the day before.

Going over Harry greeted Griphook formally. He had spoken with Florean Fortescue about the goblins and had been directed to a book on proper etiquette to use while working with them. He hadn’t managed to get through the entire thing yet, but he had the basics at least he thought.

Griphook greeted Harry formally in return before guiding him further into the bank. But this time they didn’t go to the little office they had before, they didn’t even go to his Account Managers office. Instead he was guided into a large and lavishly appointed office with a clearly elderly goblin behind the grand desk.

After greetings were exchanged they sat to get down to business. Ragnock had had comfortable chairs added to his office specifically for that meeting. Griphook had done what he could to explain what information he had managed to glean about how to handle the Potter Heir.

“Heir Potter, we are grateful you agreed to this meeting.” Ragnock was still furious over what had been found.

“Am I to assume that there are a few issues we need to address?” Harry had known that something weird was going to happen. It was him, something weird always happened.

“There are a few issues that we will need to go over with you.” Griphook said. “First of all, the Ministry did indeed seal your parents wills and assigned you your magical guardian.”

“And who is that magical guardian?” Harry questioned in confusion since he had only heard that term for the first time the day before and hadn’t gotten a straight answer on who it was from Rockfist.

Ragnock leaned slightly forward in shock. “You do not know? Who taught you about the magical world?”

“I’ve never met anyone claiming to be my magical guardian.” Harry said. “As for who taught me about the magical world, it was Hagrid, Hogwarts groundskeeper. My aunt and uncle, who I live with are muggles, and don’t really… like magic. So they never told me anything and when my Hogwarts letter arrived they tried to keep me from getting it by taking my cousin and I and running away from them. Hagrid found me just after midnight on my 11th birthday and made them let me go to school.”

The goblins shared a look before Griphook spoke. “It is a magical guardians responsibility to teach a young witch or wizard about the magical world. In the case of the child being an Heir like yourself they are also required to teach about the government as well as how to manage their estate. Are you saying no one ever taught you any of that?”

“Up until you showed me the identity test I thought the vault you took me to was all I had.” Harry shrugged. “I’ve asked a few people questions, but no one has ever really given me a straight answer. So who is my magical guardian?”

“The Ministry appointed Albus Dumbledore.” Griphook told him sombrely.

“The Headmaster?” Harry questioned in shock. “But why him?”

“Mr. Dumbledore was known to be closely associated with both your mother and father. He also holds multiple powerful positions, not just his title as Headmaster. He is very deeply involved with the wizards government so we can only assume they trusted him.” Griphook said.

“What else?” Harry questioned in a pained voice, he had seen that there was more the goblins wished to discuss. “Theres more to this than just my magical guardian, so what is it?”

“Your now former Account Manager Rockfist gained the position after the Manager selected by your grandfather and reaffirmed by your father disappeared. During the course of the audit Rockfist was questioned and he confessed to killing Account Manager Ironclaw and feeding him to a dragon. He has since been sentenced to the pits as punishment for his crimes. But prior to being selected as your account manager by your magical guardian, Rockfist managed the personal accounts of Albus Dumbledore.” Griphook said. “We have no evidence that Mr. Dumbledore was involved in the murder of the former manager, but he did use it to his advantage.

Once taking over the accounts Rockfist failed to manage your accounts properly. Now, as the Potters are such an old and wealthy family there has only been minor damage done to the accounts, and adding in the other accounts you are in line for you will never need to worry about your finances unless you do something particularly foolish.”

Griphook said, nothing Albus Dumbledore had done was illegal that they found, and they had looked. “Despite not properly managing your accounts he did still meet with your Account Manager every few months. Despite not training you about this world he did serve as your proxy.”

“Wait.” Harry held up a hand. “Proxy, proxy of what?”

Ragnock really didn’t like how clueless such a powerful and important Heir was. “The Potter family is an ancient and noble family. As such they have hereditary seats in the Wizengamot, which is the magical worlds equivalent to the Muggle House of Lords. They also have a seat on the Council of Magic and the Hogwarts Board. Mr. Dumbledore has been voting in your name on each one.”

“But he can’t do that, I didn’t give him permission to do anything in my name.” Harry said horrified, even though he still didn’t really understand.

“The Ministry did when they named him your magical guardian.” Griphook informed him.

“What about that whole marriage contract thing my parents made for me?” Harry questioned fearfully.

“Your parents did no such thing.” Griphook said. “I was apprenticed to Account Manager Ironclaw up until his death. Your parents refused to make a contract for you. The contract that was listed was created by your magical guardian 2 weeks after the death of your parents.”

“So we can just get rid of it?” Harry said hopefully.

“Unfortunately no young Heir.” Griphook sighed. “As your magical guardian Albus Dumbledore was well within his legal rights to create a contract for you. It is a binding contract.”

“And if I break it?” Harry questioned fearfully.

“Then the Potter family will lose all political standing, half of your estate will be seized as punishment by the Ministry, and you will be required to pay restitution to the family of your betrothed, restitution which will most likely consume the remaining half of your estate. And that is before you get to the social impacts. The Potter family will be named oath breakers and shunned. You personally would be barred from most forms of gainful employment, effectively forcing you to leave the magical world. Any children you may have will also be punished. 

Only your grandchildren and on will have any form of standing in the magical world, and that is only what society chooses to give them. They, unlike any children you might have would be able to attend Hogwarts or gain employment in the Ministry, but they would still carry the stigma. The last family to violate a marriage contract was the Weasley family over 300 years ago. They only managed to regain their seat on the Wizengamot 20 years ago, and they are still looked down on by many in the wizarding world.”

Harry blinked. He knew how people were always looking down on Ron since he had seen how those like Malfoy treated him, but he had never fully understood why. Knowing that it was because of a broken contract 300 years before was horrifying. He knew there was no way he could do that to any children or grandchildren he had. There was no option for him, he would have to see the contract through, he just hoped the Headmaster hadn’t made it too bad. Surely the man wouldn’t do anything too horrible since it would get out that he was the one who made it.

“So who do I have to marry?” Harry asked in a dejected voice.

“A few things you should know about marriage contracts.” Griphook said. “When most are created they just state that one person from one family will marry someone in another family. No names can be added until the child reaches the age of 13. Also, the contract is valid if signed by one guardian for each child, but is only sealed once both parents sign if the child has any. What this means for you is that Albus Dumbledore can, and did, sign a marriage contract for you.

However, the contract is only signed by one individual in the other family. As there are two parents in that family the contract is binding, but not sealed. This means that there is still time to renegotiate terms. A problem arises in that as you are under age Albus Dumbledore speaks for you and has already signed on your behalf on your birthday. Only the other family can change terms now.”

“But who is that family?” Harry questioned, he was really starting to hate Albus Dumbledore.

“The Weasley family.” Griphook said.

“WHAT?” Harry was stunned. How was that possible? He knew Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they had never seemed like the kind of people to force him into something like marriage, let alone the children they adored.

“The base contract states that the Heir of House Potter will marry a Child of House Weasley within 6 months of the younger party reaching the age of majority and graduating from Hogwarts. It was signed on your behalf by Albus Dumbledore and the as of yet named Weasley child by Molly Weasley.

As stated, your name was formally added to the contract on your 13th birthday by Albus Dumbledore. But again, no Weasley child has been named as of yet. And since Arthur Weasley has not signed alterations can still be made to any clauses. As your side has already been signed only the Weasley’s can add, remove or alter the clauses that already exist. If they do so prior to signing then it will be as they state, as you can no longer add, remove, or alter anything.” Griphook really hoped he could protect the young Heir from the clauses Albus Dumbledore had created.

“You said no names can be added until the child is 13. But all the Weasley’s are… Except…” Harry’s face went ghostly pale. “Oh Merlin, they want me to marry Ginny. I can’t. I just can’t. She’s….”

“Please take a few deep breaths young Heir, it will do us no good for you to pass out.” Ragnock stated as the dark haired boy before him started to sway.

Harry gasped in a breath but his world kept spinning. “Is there anything we can do?”

“There are a few things, but we are hampered by your magical guardian.” Ragnock said. “Anything we do on your side of things will need to be addressed with him, but he seems to be your primary problem at the moment. The only way to remove him would be if your parents named another magical guardian for you and we had the wills unsealed or you came of age.”

“Then we unseal the wills.” Harry tried.

“As you are underage you can not do that. Only an approved petition to the Ministry will unseal your parents wills. You would need to be of age to do so yourself, which would be mostly pointless by then as you would no longer have a magical guardian by that point. The only other one who can make the petition is Albus Dumbledore and it is very unlikely he would do so. And even if the wills were opened there is a good chance that he was named as a potential magical guardian for you by your parents given their close relationship so you would be right back where you started.” Griphook said.

“Since I clearly have no clue about any of this, do either of you have any recommendations?” Harry sighed in exasperation as he felt the walls closing in around him.

Ragnock was pleased, it was rare for a human to acknowledge their limitations, rarer still for them to look to a goblin for assistance. “The first thing we need to do is get the Potter accounts a new manager so they can oversee all of this for you.”

Harry glanced around for a moment before making his decision. “Can Griphook do it. He said that he was apprenticed to the previous manager before he was killed, and since the accounts have mostly been left alone he’s more likely to be able to get up to speed with everything fastest.”

“I am in agreement.” Ragnock nodded approvingly. “Well Cart Driver Griphook, would you consent to being Potter Account Manager Griphook? I can use the emergency powers to assign you to the position as the previous manager has been removed.”

“I accept the position.” Griphook nodded his gratitude to both the Branch Manager and the Heir that had selected him for the position. Under normal circumstances Heir Potter would have no say in who managed the accounts, but since Rockfist had been arrested for murder as well as mismanagement he could be assigned the roll by the Branch Manager without the approval of the magical guardian. He would stay in the position for a minimum of 2 years to correct any and all errors before a new manager would be able to be assigned at the request of Heir Potters magical guardian.

Griphook and Ragnock quickly went through the paperwork assigning Griphook the position of Account Manager.

“Back to the marriage contract issue.” Griphook said, extra pride in his voice. “As you can not change it on your end it would be best to address it with the Weasley family. As only Molly Weasley signed there is a good chance her husband is unaware of the contracts existence. Arthur Weasley might be more amenable to making any changes you would request. We could request a meeting with him?”

“He’s not in England.” Harry announced, seeing the looks on the goblins faces he continued. “He won some prize money from a draw or something and the entire family went on vacation. And Mr. Weasley really doesn’t stand up to Mrs. Weasley. I think he would be more likely to listen to his wife, even if he didn’t agree with what she did.”

“There is also the risk of him mentioning it since he will not be bound to privacy as we are.” Ragnock added.

“You seem rather well acquainted with the Weasley family.” Griphook pointed out.

“Ron Weasley, the youngest of the boys, is my best friend, but I’m also close with the twins. Fred, George, and Ron, rescued me last summer when my aunt and uncle tried to keep me from going back to Hogwarts and I spent the last few weeks of the summer with them.” Harry explained.

The two goblins yet again exchanged looks at the implications of the Heir’s home life before Griphook spoke again. “And the parents never mentioned anything about this to you?”

“No.” Harry shook his head. “I mean… Mrs. Weasley kept acting like I was just one of her kids, but I thought it was just because she was a nice person.”

“But you don’t feel comfortable for us to discuss this matter with Mr. Weasley.” Griphook clarified.

“No.” Harry started to think and had an idea. “You mentioned about privacy.” Harry waited until the two goblins agreed. “Is there any way we could see about talking about this with Bill.”

“Bill?” Ragnock questioned.

“From what I know the eldest of the Weasley children, William, Bill, Weasley works for Gringotts. He’s a curse breaker based in Egypt, the entire family is visiting him there right now. Is there any way we could speak to him about it. From everything I have heard he is more willing to oppose his mums views than his father. But I don’t know if he would be able to help me…”

Ragnock had to admit the Heir had good instincts, he just second guessed himself too much. “It could work. Curse Breaker Weasley doesn’t just work here, he is also the Weasley family Heir when his grandfather passes. He would actually have more of an influence over the contract on their side than his parents and we would be able to trust his discretion on the issue.”

“But can we get him here?” Harry questioned. “He’s in Egypt, with his family. Can he get here without alerting anyone?”

“It would be rather easy.” Ragnock said. “He is under contract to the bank, although he works in Egypt he would be based out of this branch as he is a British citizen. We could transfer him back here for a few days to attend meetings and then send him back after. It would get him here without alerting his family that may be involved in the contract.”

Harry wanted to be happy with that, but he knew that it really wouldn’t change much for him, the contract was filed, and no matter what he was going to have to marry a Weasley regardless of what he wanted. “Can we do that then? I really don’t want to be forced to marry anyone, but if I have to then at least I can limit how bad it is.”

“I will have him brought here tomorrow.” Ragnock said. Normally they were less accommodating, but given how badly Rockfist had screwed up they needed to appease the Heir to ensure they didn’t lose his business. “If you would be able to return to the bank again tomorrow at 1 you will be able to meet with him and Account Manager Griphook in his new office.”

“It won’t be a problem.” Harry said. “I’m staying at the Leakey Cauldron for the rest of the summer. That’s actually why I came here in the first place. I wasn't sure what was going on with the bill for my room at the Cauldron.”

Griphook flipped open the account book he found the second to last line, just above the note of the withdrawal the day before. “Your Magical Guardian authorized a lump sum payment to cover your staying at the Leakey Cauldron and your meals there through to the end of summer.”

Harry gave a tight smile. “I’m so glad the Minister who arranged for me to remain at the Cauldron, going so far as to order me to stay close by, and my magical guardian who has never even bothered to tell me about his position decided I needed to know nothing, yet again.”

Harry was frustrated, but he also knew it wasn't the goblins fault. They had no control over the Ministry. And it had been the Ministry that had put Dumbledore in charge of his life. And it was Dumbledore that was messing up his life.

Rather than getting into a self pity spiral Harry instead decided to get back to the Cauldron, put the final touches on the essay he had been working on that afternoon and get some sleep, hoping the next day would bring better news.

Bill Weasley was on edge as he was led through the UK branch of Gringotts. He had worked for Gringotts for a number of years and he had never been ordered back to his base branch. He knew the order he had been given said it was so he could attend meetings, but he was still worried.

And that had been before he had to deal with his mums reaction to him leaving. She had been furious that they had come all the way to Egypt to visit him just for him to return to England. He had pointed out that he still had work to do since he hadn’t been able to take any time off since they hadn’t even told him they were coming until a few days before they arrived. Thankfully his dad had been able to calm her down, or at least get her to hold her tongue for a moment.

When he was brought not to a meeting room but the Branch Managers office Bill really started to worry. He had never even met a goblin that worked closely with the Branch Manager, he only dealt with the most important of jobs. Being brought in Bill made sure to keep to every bit of etiquette he knew as greetings were exchanged and  his escort left.

“Curse Breaker Weasley, thank you for arriving so promptly.” Ragnock said graciously, although it wasn't like he had had a choice. It was an order, even if it was worded more as a request, and they both knew it.

“Branch Manager Ragnock I must ask, why am I here?” Bill was really worried. “I was informed this was about a meeting, and now I’m here with you.”

“You are here for a meeting Curse Breaker Weasley, I just wished to impress upon you the importance of said meeting.” Ragnock needed this employee to understand the importance of him working with them. “To give you a full understanding of what you will be meeting about allow me to explain. A few days ago an Heir came in due to someone manipulating his financial updates. During the investigation that followed it was discovered that the Account Manager that had been assigned, after murdering the previous manager, after the death of the Heirs late parents, had been negligent. The manager has been appropriately reprimanded. Now is time to mitigate as much damage as possible.”

“I still don’t understand.” Bill knew that manager would be wishing he was dead for a very long time before that wish was granted. “I’m a curse breaker.”

“Indeed.” Ragnock nodded. “But during the audit of the Heirs accounts the Weasley name came up. You are here not only because you are employed by Gringotts but because you are Heir Weasley.”

Bill stood up even straighter, the fact his family name came up in a situation that had already gotten a goblin all but killed was not a good thing, it in fact had a very great potential for disaster if he was reading the Branch Managers implications correctly. “And will my grandfather be involved as Lord Weasley?”

“No. The situation is rather… Delicate.” Ragnock said in as diplomatic a tone as a goblin was capable. “As an employee of the bank you are bound to secrecy in a way your grandfather is not. This situation is to be handled with the utmost discretion. If we are able to find a way out of it then you may involve your grandfather if you deem it necessary, but this will be kept within a limited group, do you understand?”

“Yes sir.” Bill knew better than to openly speak of bank business without permission. 

After receiving what amounted to an order to assist and a warning to be discreet Bill was escorted out of the office. He was led to another office just a few tunnels away from the Branch Managers office, and Bill understood what that meant. The closer an Account Managers office was to the Branch Manager the more important the account. And the only things separating this office from the Branch Manager was the legal and auditor departments. Bill almost whined as he realized just how important this client was and that his family had most likely done something to offend him.

Going into the office Bill was introduced to Account Manager Griphook. Sitting on the other side of the desk was an obviously young boy with messy dark hair and green eyes.

“… And this is Heir Harry Potter.”

Bill blinked as his suspicions were proved correct, this was the Boy-Who-Lived. But he didn’t understand what was going on given that information. As far as he knew Harry was best friends with his younger brother and was close with his sister. He had also been told that Harry was supposed to be on vacation in Paris or someplace by Ron and that was why he hadn’t been invited to go to Egypt with the rest of his family as the twins had wanted.

“Hi.” Harry gave a shy wave at the tall red head. Bill was tall like his father and Ron, although he was more muscular. He had expected someone like Percy given what he had heard about the man, but Bill looked… Cool.

“Heir Potter.” Bill bowed in deference, recognizing an Heir of a higher house.

“Please, just call me Harry. I’m not used to this whole… Heir thing yet. Griphook just told me about it a few days ago.”

Bill was startled by that. As far as everyone knew Harry had been raised knowing everything an Heir would need to. If what he was being told was true then that was clearly a lie told to the people, and he had no doubt it was true since it was coming from the goblins in regards to a client account.

“But what does that have to do with my family?” Bill questioned in confusion.

Griphook looked to Harry to ensure he was ok with him explaining further, once Harry nodded his approval Griphook continued. “After the passing of the late Lord and Lady Potter their wills were sealed by order of the Ministry. As the wills were sealed there was no way to determine who they had selected as magical guardian, so they assigned one themselves. They selected Albus Dumbledore.

The involvement of your family occurred 2 weeks later when Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley signed a marriage contract between Heir Potter and a Child of House Weasley.”

“THEY WHAT?” Bill jumped to his feet in horror. He knew very well that it was a marriage contract that had ruined his family in the first place. His mother knew that too. “Can we just cancel it?”

“Unfortunately no.” Griphook said. “As the contract has been signed by a representative of each family, and a guardian of a child in each family, it must be fulfilled. Heir Potter is required to marry a member of your family. The reason you are here today is in the hopes that as Heir Weasley you will be able to assist us in mitigating as much damage as possible.”

“Could we just extend the time limit on the contract so a Potter and Weasley can marry in future generations?” Bill said hopefully. He was a curse breaker, not a lawyer. His grandfather, as Lord Weasley, had given him a basic rundown on marriage contracts, but they had never gone in depth because they had thought no one in the family would be stupid enough to sign one of those blasted things again.

“No.” Griphook shuffled through some of his papers and pulled out the most recent version of the contract. “A name can only be added to a contract once an individual reaches the age of 13. Heir Potter turned 13 a week and a half ago. On his birthday Mr. Dumbledore arrived and added his name. And that is what leads us to our current suspicion. We believe Mr. Dumbledore and your mother plan to force him to marry your sister as she is the only one under 13 in your family and your mother has not added the name of any of her children as of yet. Heir Potter has categorically stated that if he has to marry a member of your family it will not be Ginevra Weasley.”

“I’m not trying to be mean about it or anything… I just… Not her… I just… No. Not after what she did.” Harry couldn’t figure out what to say and just shook his head.

“I thought you and Ginny were close?” Bill was confused by the boys reaction, he had heard about how Harry had helped Ginny when she had almost been killed the year before. “And what do you mean what she did?”

Harry gave Bill a blank look for a moment. “Didn’t anyone explain what happened at school this last year?”

“Not really.” Bill had tried to get answers, but it hadn’t gone well. “I was told there were a series of attacks at the school and that Ginny got hurt and almost died, but other than that no. Any time I bring it up mum gets really over protective and yells at me for upsetting her. Ginny isn’t willing to say much of anything other than that you saved her. She’s always been a bit spoiled as she’s the only girl after so many boys, but it’s gotten more extreme now. To the point that if she even pouts mum and dad will distract her with some new trinket or toy. 

Rons acting like Ron always does. The twins have been watching everyone. And Percy, well Percy’s been off. He’s upset about something but has been avoiding pretty much everyone. Can you explain what happened?”

“It’s a long story.” Harry said nervously as he glanced at Griphook, he didn’t know how long they had for the meeting.

“It is fine for you to explain Heir Potter. I am your Account Manager, I have no other work but ensuring the protection of your families finances, and a problem marriage contract would be detrimental to that outcome.” Griphook encouraged, interested himself. Goblins generally didn’t pay much attention to what the wizards were doing unless it effected them so he had no idea anything had even happened.

“Ok.” Harry shrugged. “I guess it all started for me last summer with the arrival of a house elf named Dobby…”

Over the next half an hour Harry gave a general overview of his previous year. 

After explaining about the arrival of Dobby and the letter from the Ministry he told them how Fred, George, and Ron ‘borrowed’ their dads flying car and arrived to rescue him. He also mentioned his ending up in Knockturn Alley and how he had seen Lucius Malfoy trying to sell things and the fight between him and Bill’s father. He also mentioned how Dobby had sealed the entry to the train and how Ron insisted they take the car.

Then he explained about the detention with Lockhart and hearing the voice. And again hearing the voice on Halloween on their way back from the death day party only to find Mrs. Norris hung from a wall sconce with the threat painted on the wall. He mentioned that the reason they didn’t tell any of the adults about the voice he had been hearing was because both Ron and Hermione had pointed out hearing voices was bad and he had been worried.

After that it was onto the quidditch match and the cursed bludger. Harry explained about how the staff believed that Colin had been sneaking out to see him and been attacked. He told them about how when they had opened the camera the film had burned.

Things picked up in December when Lockhart decided to hold a duelling club. He explained about how Draco had summoned a snake and that was how Harry discovered he was a parselmouth and how he had used it to keep the snake from attacking one of the students but how everyone had assumed he had been egging the snake on and decided he was the one attacking people. It had been the very next day that Nearly Headless Nick and that same student from the duelling club had been attacked. 

After that things had gotten much worse for Harry. During the next weeks Fred, and George, and on occasion Percy, had to escort him to and from classes because he was repeatedly attacked by those blaming him for the attacks. He even had to be escorted to and from quidditch practice by the rest of the team after he had been followed a few times.

Bill had been impressed to learn that three second years had managed to successfully brew polyjuice potion and also manage to get into the Slytherin common room. He had laughed knowing that, although they hadn’t found the information they had wanted, they had still learned about where the Malfoy’s hid dark artifacts and told his dad. 

It had been in the first week of January that Harry had found a diary in the girls loo. He explained about how someone had tried to flush it down Moaning Myrtle’s toilet and upset her, causing her to once again flood her bathroom. 

After finding the diary everything seemed to become mostly peaceful. He had still had people targeting him, but there hadn’t been any new attacks. Both Bill and Griphook were instantly on edge, more than they had been before anyways, when Harry describe how he wrote in it and it showed him a memory of Hagrid being blamed for the attacks 50 years before. Bill thought the idea of Hagrid being in any way responsible was ridiculous, but it did explain why he had been expelled if people thought he had.

Harry went over how after witnessing the memory he and his dorm mates had returned from class the next day to find his trunk broken into, his things strewn all over and the diary missing. Harry’s voice got choked up as he explained how Hermione and Penelope were attacked in the middle of March. After that the staff finally responded in an attempt to protect the students, but Harry explained it was almost completely useless since it was dependant on the staff actually putting in the effort to look after the students, something they never really did in his opinion.

Griphook in particular was disgusted when Harry explained about how the Minister had shown up at Hogwarts with Lucius Malfoy and arrested Hagrid without any evidence or even legal authority to do so as no charges were filed. Goblins generally didn’t like the Ministry so more evidence of their corruption just solidified his views. Bill had felt himself immediately begin to worry when Harry mentioned Hagrid telling them to follow spiders, Bill knew very well the kinds of creatures Hagrid had.

Harry told them about how he and Ron eventually did as Hagrid said and found themselves in an acromantula nest. Bill had nearly passed out at that given how dangerous those particular creatures could be, he was also impressed Ron had gone there given his well known phobia of spiders. Between what they were told by Aragog and the note they had found in Hermione’s hand they knew the creature was a Basilisk. This caused both Griphook and Bill to start choking, both knowing good and well just what those creatures were capable of.

It had only been shortly after that that Ginny had been taken. Harry’s voice was almost completely monotone as he explained what had happened after that. Describing his near death was much harder than he would have thought given he had already had to do it once right after, plus give a generic outline to Hermione when she had demanded to know what had happened.

“Heir Potter, I would request that you allow me to make an appointment with our healers for you. From your description the Hogwarts staff really didn’t do anything to assure your health after what happened.” Griphook said, shocked at just what had happened around the children of the wizarding world. No goblin would ever allow something like that to happen to their young.

“Why?” Harry asked in confusion. “Fawkes healed me.”

“Basilisk venom is particularly potent and has been known to stay highly toxic even centuries after the victim has passed. Phoenix tears may have stopped your death, but that does not mean that there will be no residual damage. For all we know the tears may have just destroyed the venom, being used up in the process. It would be better to address it now than have anything bad happen later.”

“Sure, if you think it’s needed.” Harry said.

“Harry, I’m still slightly confused.” Bill said. “I can understand you being upset with Ginny about what happened, but by your own words she was being possessed. But your reaction to marrying her seems rather disproportionate even given your being forced into this contract.”

Harry sighed as he looked over to the eldest Weasley brother. “I will admit, I didn’t catch it at first. But after everything had settled Percy and I talked, and that was when I noticed it.

The diary. I found it in the loo in January. According to Tom, who I will admit isn’t exactly the most trustworthy of sources but Ginny also partially confirmed it later, Ginny had thrown the diary away because she had grown to suspect what it was doing to her. Tom mocked the things she wrote about how she had woken covered in rooster feathers only to find out Hagrid’s roosters had been killed and how she had woken with red paint on her hands and found the message about the return of the heir had been done in red paint. 

Ginny isn’t stupid, she knew she was involved, at least partially, in what had been happening. And I can empathize with her about being afraid to come forward. She saw how I was treated and attacked because people thought it was me and I can’t really blame her for not wanting that kind of treatment, but in doing so she left me to deal with it with no way of proving I was innocent. I can also understand that the professors are all but useless and, at least in my 2 years there, have never really done a damn thing to truly help or protect the students so there’s no guarantee they even would have listened to her.

But the only time I had the diary outside of my trunk was when it showed me the memory of Hagrid. I was sitting in the common room during that. So Ginny must have seen me with the diary. It was the next day she stole it back. But I want you to think about that. She had been out from its control for over a month by that point. She had gotten rid of the diary because she knew it was using her to hurt people. But when she stole it back she still didn’t try and get help.

It was the middle of February when she took the diary back. Hermione and Penelope weren’t attacked until the middle of March. That means Ginny had the diary for an entire month. And the only thing she apparently did during that time was go back to writing in it. All she had to do was take it to a professor and it all would have been over, but she didn’t. 

When she woke up in the Chamber she kept babbling about how she had been too afraid to tell anyone because she didn’t want to be expelled. But that means she decided that her not getting in trouble was more important than peoples lives. If Hermione hadn’t figured out about the Basilisk, and Penelope hadn’t had a mirror, then the two of them would have died. Ginny is incredibly lucky that she didn’t actually kill them, it was only a fluke no one did die. And her excuse was that she didn’t want to get expelled. And I can understand, I wouldn’t want to be expelled either, but there comes a point where you have to decide just what you are willing to risk to get what you want, and Ginny apparently decided that killing someone was fine. But the worst thing was what she did to your brothers.”

“None of the boys were hurt I thought?” Bills voice shook slightly as he realized just what his sister had truly done.

“Not physically.” Harry had gotten up and had been pacing as he had ranted. “Ginny saw how much the attacks were hurting people, not just the ones petrified, but their friends. The first boy attacked, Colin, wasn't just her year mate, he was her house mate. She saw how upset and scared his friends in the house were. She also saw that with Ron and I about Hermione’s attack. She even sat with us a few times as we talked about it.

And from what you’ve said Percy is withdrawing and I’m pretty sure I know exactly why. The Ravenclaw Prefect that was attacked, Penelope Clearwater, is Percy’s girlfriend. Percy was devastated by her attack. Percy, the boy who has never met a rule he didn’t love actually snuck out almost every night after that, I caught him a few times. He would sneak to the hospital wing to visit with her. He told me that even if she didn’t know, he just couldn’t leave her there alone.

What was worse was that he was blaming himself. Percy was supposed to meet Penny at the library for a study session but had gotten held up dealing with a fight between some third years. He convinced himself that if he had just been on time Penny wouldn’t have been hurt. 

And Ginny sat there. Ginny sat with Percy while he cried. While he blamed himself. And she said nothing. She knew it wasn't his fault but she said nothing. Seeing her brother suffer like that was less important to her than her not getting in trouble.

And she didn’t get in trouble. From what you’ve said your parents are even spoiling her. I can’t imagine how Percy is feeling as he tries to figure out how to deal with the fact the little sister he loves attacked his girlfriend after months of keeping the fact she had been hurting people a secret all while watching as she gets spoiled like his suffering and the suffering of others means nothing.

If she can do something like that to her own brothers I just… I can’t. The way it was explained to me marriage contracts require at least one child. And if I had to have a child with Ginny I would never be able to trust her alone with them. Maybe she will grow up, maybe someone will bother to teach her getting everything she wants isn’t more important than the lives of a few muggle-borns, but right now I have no reason to believe that’s true given everything you’ve told me about how your parents are treating her. I would never be able to trust her around a child of mine and you can’t have a relationship with someone you don’t trust not to kill your child and then lie about it.”

“Deep breaths Harry.” Bill was suddenly at Harry’s side as the younger boy started to hyperventilate as his mind spiralled under the idea of being forced to marry and have a child with Ginny.

“Heir Potter.” Griphook called for Harry’s attention. “I have arranged for an appointment with our healers to take place in an hour if that is amenable to you?”

Harry slowly let out the deep breath Bill had made him take and relaxed slightly, not that he was thrilled about having to see a healer. “That is fine Griphook. I apologize for freaking out the way I have.”

“No need. You have held yourself together remarkably well these past few days given everything you have learned and your age.” Griphook assured, he had actually been expecting the boys melt down to happen on the first day given what he had known about the boys fathers emotional control, or lack their of.

“Griphook, do you have any suggestions?” Harry asked as he and Bill retook their seats.

“Indeed I do.” Griphook was pleased with the respect the Heir was showing in asking his opinion yet again. “I took it upon myself to look into the Weasley family to determine the best possible match, although I could not incorporate your emotions in my judgment due to you being human while I am a goblin. Of the current Weasley generation there are 4 potential matches.”

“Four?” Bill said in confusion at that. “There are 7 of us.”

“Not precisely.” Griphook said. “The contract specifies a Child of House Weasley. You for instance, although a Child of House Weasley would never be referred to as such in any legal documents. As Heir Potter is referred to as Heir Potter you would be referred to as Heir Weasley.”

“That still leaves 6.” Bill said.

“No. During my search I learned something interesting. Your late Uncles, Fabian and Gideon, were the Prewett Co-Lords. With their deaths the title passed to the next in line. In the Prewett family the title always goes first to magical twins, so your younger brothers Fredrick and George were automatically named Co-Heirs upon their births. Moreover your Uncles specifically stated that Fredrick and George were their Heirs and made arrangements for them and the house. Your Great Aunt Muriel currently serves as steward of House Prewett, but when your brothers come of age it will pass to them in full.”

“How come none of us were ever told?” Bill asked in shock.

“That I can not say. All I can say is that both your mother and Great Aunt are aware of the situation as they were at the will readings.” Griphook said. “But that means the Co-Heirs of Prewett are also not viable option for the marriage contract. That leaves us with Charles, Percival, Ronald, and Ginevra. Heir Potter has already stated he will not marry Ginevra so she is out.”

“I just realized, all the others are boys.” Harry said as the thought struck him.

“And?” Bill and Griphook said at the same time.

“Marrying your own gender is illegal.” Harry said slowly. “At least, it is in the muggle world.”

“Not in the magical world.” Bill said. “Because of potions and spells both genders are capable of conception so there is nothing that precludes same-sex relationships. In fact a majority of witches and wizards go for either due to not placing any artificial limits on who they can love.”

“Boys can get pregnant?” Harry questioned in shock.

“All third years at Hogwarts have a sex education course taught on weekends. What kind of friend would I be if I denied you the right to learn all these horrifyingly embarrassing facts along with your dorm mates?” Bill grinned. “For now, all you need to know, is you can marry someone of either gender and still be able to fulfil the child clause in the contract.”

“Indeed.” Griphook said. “As for the remaining three, I would recommend Charles.”

“Charlie?” Bill questioned in slight surprise. 

“Why him?” Harry questioned.

“He is of age.” Griphook said simply.

“So is Percy.” Bill pointed out.

“But wouldn’t that mean he isn’t a ‘child’.” Harry questioned.

“A Child of House Weasley only means someone born into the house. Even now Arthur Weasley would still be referred to as a ‘Child of House Weasley’, age has nothing to do with that aspect.” Griphook chose to respond to Heir Potter first as he was his client. “As for Percival, yes he is technically of age, but he is still in school. Even once a child is of age they are still technically under the guardianship of their parent or guardian until they leave school. As an adult, out of school, with his OWLs and NEWTs, and a stable job there is no way to argue that Charles should be under anyones guardianship.”

“And why does that matter?” Harry questioned.

“Because he can sign contracts on his own behalf.” Griphook pointed out. “We have one year to get the contract signed before there is a risk of Genevra Weasley’s name being added. It would be risky to wait any more than we absolutely have to. 

As I have previously stated, as Mr. Dumbledore has signed the Potter side of the contract is sealed, only the Weasley’s can edit or remove the clauses that already exist or add new ones. It’s why contracts are normally signed by both sides at once, so the other side can’t make changes. But we have the benefit of potentially being able to work with a Weasley to design a contract you can tolerate. Charles will be able to change any and all details of the contract and there is nothing Albus Dumbledore or his mother can do about it.

If we were to use any of the other children we run a higher risk. As of this moment we have no proof that Molly Weasley is aware of what the current list of clauses state, but we also have no evidence she doesn’t. If we used any of the other children it would tip our hand and run the risk of her signing the contract that already exists or going straight to Mr. Dumbledore. If we can trust Charles Weasley then he would be the best option to ensure Heir Potter has a choice. It also has the side benefit that once the contract is signed, as Heir Potters betrothed, Charles will gain the position of magical guardian so he will be able to allow me to do my work as well as keep Mr. Dumbledore from accessing any of Heir Potters assets.”

“Charlie’s a good guy, we can trust him to help in any way he can. Although we will need to be careful about going against the Headmaster, he’s still a very powerful and influential man.” Bill said to a nervous Harry. “I actually agree with Account Manager Griphook. With how he laid it out it’s clear Charlie is the best option. I know you haven't met him Harry, but he is a genuinely good person, he would never try and take advantage of this situation.”

Harry sat and thought for a few moments. “I just don’t want to force anyone into a situation like this. Griphook, can Bill approach his brother and talk about all this with him so we can get his opinion?”

“So long as Charles agrees to privacy and secrecy spells.” Griphook nodded. “We do not want anything we are doing to get out right now.”

“Right now Charlie’s still in Romania. He’s supposed to be meeting us in Egypt in 3 days. If we can arrange a portkey for him I should be able to get him back here by this evening if I tell him its an emergency. That should give me enough time to get him caught up and we can meet back here again tomorrow.”

Griphook looked to Harry as this was about him.

“That works for me. I’m staying at the Leaky Cauldron so I can get here whenever.” Harry said.

“What does Heir Weasley have your permission to discuss?” Griphook asked for clarification.

“He can explain anything he feels is relevant. And Griphook, you have my permission to discuss anything you deem pertinent with Bill as well so he can give his brother the full picture.”

After going over a few more things a goblin healer arrived to meet with Harry and take him to the healing ward for his tests. By the time the results came back Griphook and Bill were still in talks so Griphook gave him a basic overview of Harry’s less than impressive health to pass on to his brother.

Harry woke up in a healing ward a few hours later and was released with a message informing him he would be meeting with Griphook, Bill, and Charlie at 10 the next morning.

“Bill, what is so important? Is everyone ok?” Charlie asked as soon as he arrived at the Burrow. He had been called to the Gringotts branch, told there was an emergency and given a portkey to the branch in the UK before being sent to see his brother at their childhood home.

Bill was sitting at the kitchen table with the paperwork he had brought with him spread around him. “The family’s fine, for the most part, but it's a bit of a mess.”

“What’s all this?” Charlie was worried when he saw his brother take a sip/gulp of firewhiskey.

“It would seem our dear mother, in all her infinite wisdom, decided to sign a marriage contract.” Bill sighed.

“She did what?” Charlie growled in horror. “She knows that’s what ruined the Weasley family.”

“Yup.” Bill agreed.

“So what am I doing… Oh merlin… Is it for me?”

“I’m hoping so.” Bill said to his brothers horror.

“WHAT?”

“Charlie, it’s bad. I mean really bad.” Bill ran a hand threw his hair. “Mum signed the contract with Headmaster Dumbledore.”

“I AM NOT MARRYING ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!” Charlie shouted.

“What?” Bill looked to his brother in shock before laughing. “No, mum signed for a Child of House Weasley, Dumbledore signed as magical guardian of Heir Potter.”

“Harry Potter?” Charlie questioned in shock. “This is about giving Ginny the fairytale life she wants, isn’t it?”

“We think so. A name can’t be added until the child is 13, and since mum hasn’t added a name yet we figure she’s waiting until Ginny’s old enough. Problem is, Harry absolutely refuses to marry Ginny, and I don’t blame him.”

“And what’s wrong with Ginny?” Charlie questioned. He wasn't angry, but he didn’t understand his brother’s reactions.

After making his brother agree to the privacy and secrecy spells Griphook had required Bill sat Charlie down and told him what Harry had told him about his last year at school. He made sure to mention what Harry and Percy had both figured out about Ginny’s actions. By the end of it Charlie was just as horrified and couldn’t blame Harry for not trusting his sister.

“So what does all this have to do with me marrying Harry Potter?” Charlie questioned as he sipped his own firewhiskey he had gotten half way through Bills tale.

“Dumbledore has already signed for Harry since he’s 13. That means Harry is stuck, there’s no way out for him. He is required to marry a Weasley or suffer the same fate our family did. But since only mum signed the contract, and she hasn’t added a name yet we still have a chance to save this. Since I’m Heir Weasley it can’t be me, and apparently the twins are the Prewett Co-Heirs so their out too.

As a legal adult who isn’t in school, you can sign the Weasley half of the contract without us having to tell anyone anything. Even better, you can change the contract to something both you and Harry can tolerate. If we use any of the younger kids we run the risk of mum or Dumbledore mucking this up.”

Bill held out the clauses Dumbledore had signed off on with a look of disgust on his face. “Right now, this is the life Harry is looking at. We can’t let this happen to him.”

Charlie took the contract in concern and started to read. Bill had been given a copy and had read it shortly before, hence the firewhiskey. The contract wasn't as bad as it could have been, he knew from stories passed around while he'd been at school there were some contracts that were basically slave contracts, but it still wasn't great. The contract that Harry was already bound to was strict in the sense that it required fidelity, required that he remain in the UK, and dictated certain aspects of his finances, but it could have been worse. From what he knew many marriage contracts tended to be lenient when it came to affairs since they were more about politics and as long as there weren't any illegitimate children affairs were overlooked. Charlie personally wasn't a fan about the fact that whoever Harry married would have just as much control of his vaults as he did, it was his inheritance, if he wanted to share with his spouse that was one thing, but to mandate it wasn't exactly fair since he had no real say in who he married. He loved his little sister, but he knew that if she had free access to the Potter vaults she would empty them within a matter of months on frivolous things. And he really didn't understand forcing Harry to remain, the boy deserved to be able to live wherever he wanted, but it did make sense in the way of keeping him available to be a public figure and to be used as a symbol to keep things going the way Dumbledore had been planning for decades it seemed.

“If you agree to this… You can basically rewrite the entire contract to one both you and Harry can live with.” Bill told his brother once he saw he was done reading the contract.

“And Harry, what’s his opinion on that monstrosity and marrying me?” Charlie asked.

“For the clauses, he has no idea. He’s already panicking and didn’t want to make it worse so he didn’t read it. As for you… He’s worried, about you.” Bill smiled slightly. “We met about all this today, and his major concern, other than not being forced to marry our sister, was that he didn’t want to force anyone into marrying him. He’s a really sweet kid.”

Charlie looked at the list of clauses one last time and made his decision. “If he agrees then I’m in. I never planned on marrying, but I won’t let someone do that to anyone.”

Bill let out a sigh of relief. “There’s a few more things I need to mention to you before we go to the bank tomorrow.”

For the rest of the evening Bill gave Charlie a basic outline of what had been going on in Harry’s life. After the health scan Griphook had been furious. Harry had shown signs of longterm malnutrition, over a dozen broken bones, numerous concussions, as well as muscle and joint damage. The healers had chosen to just knock him out so they could start to treat as much of the physical damage as they could, but he would be on potions for at least a year.

Both brothers swore they would help Harry in any way they could.

The next day Harry once again made his way back to the bank. This time he was worried as he was possibly meeting a man he would one day have to marry. Why oh why couldn’t Harry have a normal life?

After being shown to Griphooks office Harry got his first look at Charlie Weasley. Charlie was tall like Bill but had the bulkier frame of the twins. This surprised Harry as he was built more like a beater but Harry knew he had been a seeker. His hair wasn't as long as Bill’s, but was longer than the other Weasley boys he had met. He had a kind face that reminded him of Mr. Weasley with blue eyes and plenty of freckles. He also looked incredibly strong and even had a few shiny burn marks on his arms Harry assumed he had gotten from the dragons.

After introductions were done they sat down and got to business.

“Mr. Weasley, your brother will have explained things to you last night, but I still must ask, do you have any questions?” Griphook asked.

“No, I think I have a good understanding of the situation.” Charlie replied.

“And you’re ok… with… with marrying me?” Harry asked in both fear and embarrassment.

“I’m not going to lie, this isn’t how I planned my life going, but I think you could say the same.” Charlie gave a boyish smile. “I never planned to get married at all, but so long as you agree, so do I. I have no more intention of forcing you into this than I’ve been told you have of forcing me into it. What I can say is that I will do anything I can to help you through this.”

Harry gave a slight smile.

“So both parties are in agreement?” Griphook asked and received confirmation from both Harry and Charlie. “Then we will need to get to work on writing up the contract. There are a few things that are requirements in all contracts, but a majority of it will b up to you both.” 

Over the next three hours they negotiated a new contract. It was relatively simple given the amount of time it took to negotiate. A law goblin had been called from the legal department to write up the contract once they knew what they wanted.

Some things that were requirements in all marriage contracts was the requirement for at least one child, something neither Harry or Charlie were opposed too given their interest in family. Another requirement was that spouses were required to reside within the same house for a minimum of 6 months a year, although they were still allowed their own space and weren’t required to share a room, both had agreed they could work with that. But the biggest thing was no divorce, there was actually no such thing as divorce in the magical world, they could separate, but the living together would still stand and they could never marry again unless one of them died.

They didn’t really add much to that. They agreed that although they were required to have one child they would not add limits to how many they could have if they so wished. They also agreed that childcare would be split between the two of them.

One thing that Charlie had insisted on was that Harry would retain full control over his own vaults and titles. In return Harry insisted that Charlie retain control over his own vaults. And since Harry was still in school it was agreed that the Potter vaults would pay for everything Harry would need and Charlie would be reimbursed for anything he bought Harry that was deemed a necessity, Harry had had to bully Charlie a bit over that since Charlie felt if he was to be a guardian then he was responsible. But Charlie wasn’t mad he had been made to agree since school was expensive and although he had a good job it wasn't an expense he budgeted for.

After Griphook had suggested it Harry insisted they add a clause saying infidelity was allowed so long as it wasn't flaunted. Harry might not have any real interest in any of that stuff, but he didn’t want to deny Charlie a chance at a relationship even if he couldn’t get married. Charlie agreed, but he couldn’t help but admit to himself that the idea of cheating on his spouse, with permission or not, just wasn't appealing. 

Other than that they agreed that anything else that came up could be dealt with as it came up and didn’t need to be included in the contract. They also agreed on a dowery of 5 galleons, which was the absolute minimum as it wasn't about money for them.

They talked for a bit longer and made arrangements for another meeting the next day. Bill had explained that before they signed the contract they had just made he wanted to run it by their grandfather first so he wasn't surprised by anything once everything came out publicly. Harry didn’t see a problem with it since he trusted Bill, and now Charlie. They agreed to meet with Lord and Lady Weasley the next afternoon.

Once the meeting was done Bill and Charlie invited Harry back to The Burrow for the afternoon. Since they didn’t want anyone to know that they had been working together Harry went back to the Cauldron and grabbed his invisibility cloak. It took a bit of work to get through the mid afternoon crowds without anyone noticing his presence. Once he reached Bill and Charlie, Bill took a tight hold of his arm and Harry felt a squeezing feeling.

When they landed in the front lane of The Burrow Harry would have fallen on his face but was held up by both Bill and Charlie who had grabbed onto his arms. Both chuckled and explained what he had just experienced was side-along apparition and that it was always horrible, only once you were the one doing the apparating did it even get slightly better even though it could still be highly uncomfortable.

For the rest of the afternoon Harry got to know the two eldest Weasley’s. He found he really liked them and they proved to be helpful.

When Harry explained the elective classes he had selected they were more than happy to give him information on them, although they both warned against divination given how useless the subject was for getting a career. Bill, proving there was at least some Percy like qualities in him went and collected the notes he still had in his room so Harry could see what kind of classes ancient runes, arithmancy, and care of magical creatures were like since he had taken all three of those subjects. Charlie was more than happy to regale Harry with all kinds of extra information for care given his love of the subject.

When Bill went to visit their grandparents to arrange for them to meet them at the bank the next day Charlie and Harry took brooms out of the shed and did a bit of flying. They had plenty of fun playing seeker matches. Harry won most of the games since he was smaller and more maneuverable while Charlie had grown much bigger than he had been during his seeker days. 

After spending a few hours together just relaxing and getting to know each other Charlie apparated Harry back to Diagon under his invisibility cloak for the evening.

The next day Bill and Charlie arrived shortly before they were scheduled to meet with Harry and Griphook and instead join their grandparents in the Weasley Account Managers office. 

The Weasley account wasn't anywhere on the level of the Potter account, the office was pretty much as far from the Branch Managers office as possible, but it had been growing slowly in the past few decades. The only real reason they had an account manager was because they were an ancient and noble family.

“Bill, Charlie.” Cedrella Weasley smiled as she hugged her two eldest grandsons.

“Boys, what is it that was so important we needed to meet here?” Septimus Weasley asked after hugging the boys too.

Bill and Charlie exchanged looks before Bill spoke. “We learned something problematic. We think we’ve mitigated as much damage as possible, but figured you should still know what is happening so if this falls apart you can be ready.”

“And just what did you learn?” Septimus asked with slight fear in his voice.

“Mum signed a marriage contract.” Charlie said quickly.

“She what?” Septimus growled in shock. This could destroy everything he had spent his life building.

“Mum signed a basic marriage contract stating that a Child of House Weasley would marry the Heir of another Ancient and Noble family. The contract was counter signed by the Heirs magical guardian. The Heir just turned 13 this summer so his name has been added, but mum hasn’t added a name yet. Because mum hasn’t added a name and dad didn’t sign we still had a chance to save the situation.” Bill explained.

“Which family did she bind us to?” Septimus asked as he dropped his head into his hands.

“The Potter’s.” Charlie said.

“What?” Cedrella asked in a stunned voice. “If Lord and Lady Potter had contracted their son to a Weasley that would have been huge news within the family. We would have been able to take him in after their deaths.”

“James and Lily Potter didn’t sign.” Bill said. “After their deaths the Ministry sealed their wills and assigned Headmaster Dumbledore as his guardian. Mum and the Headmaster signed a contract only a few weeks later but left Harry completely isolated with his mothers muggle relatives. He only found out about all of this a few days ago when he went to the bank because he hadn’t been receiving his financial updates.”

“All Heirs are to receive those.” Account Manager Sharpstaff said instantly.

“Harry’s situation is complicated.” Bill said with a slight wince. “The Account Manager his family selected was murdered just after his parents. As his guardian Headmaster Dumbledore selected his replacement, who just so happened to be the same goblin that had killed the manager. Harry also seems to be under some kind of mail ward so all mail for him goes to the Headmaster and he only sends on what he thinks Harry needs to know. 

Harry started asking questions about what was going on and all of this came out. His former Account Manager was convicted of murder and neglect of duty as he hadn’t been properly maintaining the Potter accounts along with not sending the updates to Harry but instead directly to Headmaster Dumbledore knowingly. Harry now has a new account manager who is going over everything for him and that’s how the contract was found.”

“That poor boy.” Cedrella shook her head. “How could Albus do something so despicable to a child?”

Bill handed over a copy of the original contract for his grandparents to read.

“You suspect she’s planning on using Ginny for this, don’t you?” Septimus questioned.

“We think that was the plan, but Harry has said not a chance.” Charlie said. “He said he didn’t care what happened, if Ginny’s name was added to the contract he wouldn’t follow through.”

“That would destroy both our families.” Septimus pointed out.

“And what’s so wrong with Ginny?” Cedrella was confused by that reaction to her only granddaughter. “I know she can be childish and a little spoiled, but she’s still young.”

Bill and Charlie once again exchanged looks before Bill explained what had happened the year before and Ginny’s roll in everything. Including what Harry had figured out about Ginny’s culpability in what she had done.

“That stupid girl.” Septimus was horrified. “If that information got out we wouldn’t need to worry about this contract destroying us, that alone would do it.”

“Yeah, we are going to be having a chat with mum and dad about it when we get to Egypt.” Charlie said.

“But you said you had found a way to mitigate as much damage as possible.” Cedrella pointed out to give her despairing husband hope of saving the family name.

“After talking about it with Harry and his Account Manager we found the least objectionable path.” Bill said. “Charlie.”

“Charlie?” Septimus looked to his second eldest grandson.

“Since I’m a legal adult I don’t need mum or dad to be involved in the contract signing. I can edit, remove, or add any clauses I want since no Weasley has signed approving the ones Dumbledore already made.” Charlie pointed out. “I met with Harry yesterday. We talked it out and agreed to the two of us marrying once he’s of age using this contract.”

Septimus and Cedrella took the new contract and looked it over, they were relieved to see it was basic and wouldn’t harm them in any way.

“Are you really ok with this though sweetheart?” Cedrella asked.

Charlie sighed and thought for a moment. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Harry when he asked since he didn’t want to force me into this either. This isn’t what I had planned, I never really planned on marrying, but I can live with it. Harry’s a really sweet kid, and none of this is his fault. If marrying him protects him from people hurting him or trying to use him like that other contract implies then I’m all for it. Yes, it’s not a love match like you guys and mum and dad, but I think we could make it work. Signing this contract protects both him and our family.”

“So what do you need us here for?” Septimus questioned.

“Given just how badly this could go we thought you would need to be informed in case of any fallout.” Bill explained. “We are meeting with Harry and his account manager in about 5 minutes to go over everything and we thought you should be involved.”

Septimus was pleased with the answer. He couldn’t believe his idiot daughter-in-law had signed a marriage contract without telling them, she knew what had happened to the family last time.

Meeting in a conference room Griphook had arranged Harry and the Weasley’s present made quick work of going over the contract once again to ensure none had thought of anything new to add.

“There is one thing I thought of.” Harry said after going over the final clause in the contract.

“And what is that?” Septimus asked.

“The thing that worries me is that the Headmaster doesn’t seem the kind to give up control like that. If we sign this he will know rather quickly and we can’t guarantee he won’t target Charlie.” Harry pointed out.

“That’s true.” Charlie sighed. “I have a dangerous job and don’t live in the country. Could he use that against me?”

“Or maybe we can remove him from the position because he’s taught me nothing he was supposed to.” Harry added.

“The option I had considered was using Lord Quinn.” Griphook said.

“I am not aware of any Lord Quinn.” Septimus said.

“When we confirmed Heir Potters identity we learned he is in line for a few more titles that were previously unknown.” Griphook said after getting a nod from Harry. “Along with that we found that his mother, Lady Lily Potter, was actually a squib-line descendant of an ancient and noble family in Ireland, the Quinn Family. I looked into the family and found they are a rather large, wealthy, and powerful family in their country.

What I had been considering was seeing if Heir Potter would give permission to reach out to Lord Quinn and request he serve as a decoy magical guardian to hide Charles position. Any attempt by Albus Dumbledore to go after him would cause an international incident and it would take years to work its way through international courts.”

“Or we could use Lord Quinn as a decoy of last resort. I think getting Albus’s ability to control Harry limited would be best.” Cedrella said thoughtfully. 

“And just what are you thinking my dear?” Septimus smiled at his wife. She may have been disowned from the Black Family for marrying him, but it didn’t stop her using what she had learned as a girl.

“If we could restrict Albus’s control over Harry there would be no need to inform him of his removal as magical guardian. As far as I am aware he would only be informed if he tried to do something he wasn't able to.  Charlie could take over without him even knowing so long as Charlie and Harry give Account Manager Griphook permission to speak with him even if he doesn’t have to do anything he says.” Cedrella said.

“But how would we do that?” Harry questioned. “Can we use his not actually looking after me to strip him of the position.

“In a way.” Cedrella smiled at the boy who would one day be married to her grandson. “To remove him from the position at the moment we would require the involvement of the ministry, and we simply can’t trust Fudge given how deep he is in the pockets of those like Dumbledore and Malfoy. But we could go a different way.

Septimus, you mentioned to me a few months ago about Lord Carter. From what you said Lord Carter was actually in a similar situation as Harry is. His father, as the previous Lord, was killed when he was a baby. He was raised by his mother and step-father. They took over the house since they were his guardians and didn’t teach him anything. They nearly ran the family into the ground until he learned the truth and took control, but that left him woefully unprepared for his new roll.”

“I don’t see where you are going with this my dear.” Septimus pointed out.

“We use him and what happened to him to bring back the Heir Tests.” Cedrella smiled.

“Heir Tests?” Harry, Bill, and Charlie asked.

“Yes, up until about 80 years ago all Heirs who came from a family without an active Lord or Lady were required to take what was referred to as an Heir Test to prove that their guardians were properly teaching them.” Septimus smiled as he saw where his wife was going. “The Heir was required to receive 80% or higher to take their position as Lord or Lady. But, until the Heir received that grade, or came of age, they were monitored. It was used to force the guardians to properly educate the child on history and procedures in the Wizengamot and Council of Magic, as all Lords and Ladies either serve on one, or for older families, both. Until the Heir took the test and passed it the guardians were barred from being proxy or accessing or altering their finances.”

“Given Albus has taught you nothing he will want to keep you from taking the test as long as possible.” Cedrella smiled. “But by not letting you take the test he will be legally barred from sitting as proxy in any of your seats. He also won’t be able to get the monthly payments as he would not be seen as caring for you properly. Your Account Manager would be named as a neutral arbiter and allowed to manage your vaults as he saw fit.”

“But what about paying for school and my supplies?” Harry questioned worriedly.

“In that kind of situation it would be up to me to dispense money.” Griphook was thrilled with the idea and slightly ashamed he hadn’t thought of it. “You would still maintain full access to your trust vault, as that is yours. Your tuition comes from the family vault and would require my signature. Any and all expenses from the family vault in regards to you would need my approval, and I can easily deny Mr. Dumbledore. 

As far as he would be concerned he would still be in control while actually having none. Charles would be able to become your guardian and no one would know. If you needed anything more than what was in your trust vault all it would require would be for Charles to petition me. With your permission I could meet with Mr. Dumbledore following his old schedule but that would be as much as he could do… Depending on whether or not the Heir tests could be brought back.”

“It most likely wouldn’t be to hard.” Septimus shrugged. “The dark faction would all vote for it given their devotion to tradition. A majority of the neutrals may also vote in favour so long as it is presented properly. Our only issue is the light, which is currently the largest. Most follow Dumbledore and he wouldn’t want it returned.” 

“Then we don’t involve Albus.” Cedrella smiled. “Albus alway spends the middle two weeks of August attending the ICW conference. That means he always misses the August session of both the Wizengamot and Council of Magic, both of which are scheduled for next week. If you can get Lord Carter on side within the next few days he can present it at the meetings for you. Albus won’t be there to cause an issue, and if it is done properly it can be approved and implemented before he even gets back. It will protect both Harry and Charlie.”

“Yes dear.” Septimus smiled at his wife, knowing better than to disagree with her, not that he would have.

“It would also help Fred and George.” Harry smiled.

“What do you mean?” Cedrella was instantly at attention.

“Oh yeah, something else we learned. Fred and George are actually the Prewett Co-Heirs. Uncles Fabian and Gideon named them so in their Wills, but mum and Great Aunt Muriel seem to have forgotten to mention that.” Bill said sarcastically.

Septimus sighed in frustration. He knew he was going to have to get much more involved in any decision Molly made from then on given everything she had apparently been up to.

Finally, Harry didn’t need to go back to the bank on a daily basis. 

For the first time since forever he got to enjoy his summer like so many other kids did only without constant adult supervision. Although Septimus and Cedrella did meet him for lunch pretty much every day, Septimus only missing on the days of the Wizengamot and Council of Magic meetings.

Harry did end up taking Bill and Charlies advice and wrote to the school requesting to drop divination and take up arithmancy and runes. He received a letter back the next day with the approval and the updated book list from Professor Flitwick.

And Harry had been proud to get that letter. It had taken a bit of thinking, but he had eventually found a way around the mail ward. One day he had had Cidrella take him to the Post Office in Hogsmeade and he got a two-way box there. He did have to lie a bit, but it was worth it. He told the post master that he was under a mail ward for his protection, but that it made things like writing to his friends and getting mail orders difficult.

The way the post boxes worked was that anything he put in his would appear in the box at the post office and they would send it out for him, and anything they placed in his would end up in his box. It would bypass the mail ward as any letters sent to him by those who knew about it would be addressed to his post box number rather than him, and the post box couldn’t be redirected to anyone but him. He told Cedrella and Septimus the post box number and had them test it out and it worked. Hedwig took the letter from Cedrella to the post office and they sent it through to him. 

Although he did introduce the post master to Hedwig. He explained about what a diligent worker she was and requested that unless specified on the letter he let her carry the letters for him. He said he would send Hedwig over whenever he sent a letter through so she could still do her job. The post master found it entertaining, but he understood how temperamental owls could be so agreed with the odd situation.

Cedrella had been pleased when her plan had worked. Lord Carter had worked perfectly in pointing out that some guardians simply weren’t proving competent enough to ensure the Heirs were properly prepared and the Heir tests were immediately reimplemented, but they took it a step further and required all Heirs to take the test, not just those from houses without a formal Lord or Lady. After some discussion it was agreed the test would be conducted by the goblins as they were seen as neutral arbiters that wouldn’t broadcast any information the heirs might not want getting out. The goblins agreed on the understanding that along with conducting the tests they would be checking the health and lineage of the Heirs to ensure that they were being properly taken care of and were indeed the rightful Heirs.

It turned out Harry wasn't the only one with an incompetent guardian. Harry had seen a slightly excited and fearful Neville on his way to get his own wand. He had stopped to explain what had happened.

His gran had taken him to do his test since she had suddenly found herself unable to access his seats or vaults. Turns out she hadn’t taught Neville much of anything so he had failed the test spectacularly. When she had started to berate him the goblins had stepped in and taken her to task about her own failures as a guardian. They informed her rather bluntly that if she didn’t shape up and treat him better they would contact the DMLE to file charges against her since forcing a child to use a wand that didn’t match them could actually be seen as endangerment.

The Longbottom Account Manager, who had never liked Augusta’s attitude, had immediately cut her off while approving funds for Neville to go and get a wand. Neville had found it amazing to see his gran being taken down a peg or two by the manager as he started instructing her on what she was going to have to do next and how she wouldn’t be taking her own failures as a guardian out on Neville.

Cedrella had been thrilled one afternoon shortly after the Tests were passed when she saw an irate woman storm through the alley. She was happy to identify her as Muriel Prewett to Harry.

It had been a few days before the end of summer that Harry had overheard a few people gossiping about Sirius Black that Harry had asked Septimus and Cedrella about the man. They had been uncomfortable with telling him, but they knew they couldn’t let him go back to school unprepared. They explained, as gently as possible, that the man had been friends with his parents, and his godfather, but had betrayed them to Voldemort before killing a wizard and a bunch  of muggles. 

Harry had been devastated. But he had also been curious. Harry had requested that Septimus get him a copy of Blacks trial transcript. He hoped the man may have explained his reasoning at his trial and wanted to know just what would cause the man to have turned against him and his family like that.

Other than that the rest of Harry’s summer was peaceful and he found himself actually wishing the summer was longer, something he had never thought would happen.