Once they got back settled in Sharptooth's office, Arcturus asked, "Do you know how we can find out about Harry's accounts?" That had been bothering him since Harry had asked his question. Who had Harry's key? Why did they have it? And were they spending Harry's money?
"Let me call Goldfinger," the account manager said, pressing a rune on his desk and speaking into it using his native language. When he finished, he looked up and addressed Vic. "Until then, Mr. Potter, the senior, who do you want as your account manager?" he asked, shuffling parchment around his desk. "I am a Black account manager," he added on as if to explain his questioning.
"Oh, is this Goldfinger the Potter account manager?" Vic asked, looking perplexed. He too was wondering the same questions as Arcturus, therefore was a bit distracted by the question.
"Yes," was the answer.
"I'll discuss it with him when he gets here," Vic said, jostling his leg a bit, making Harry bounce. Harry protested that he wasn't a baby and got down to explore the office.
"While we wait, I need to set an heir account up for Harry," Arcturus said, waving toward the roaming child, who was poking in the bookshelves. "I think 2,000 galleons will do for a start. To be topped off every year. I want there to be 5,000 galleons by the time he gets into a magical school," he stated, going over the figures in his head. "That should be enough for school supplies and frivolous things."
"I'll see that it is done," Sharptooth said, jotting down the amount on a piece of parchment and making the necessary arrangements. He filled out the parchmentwork and had Arcturus sign it and Harry's account was set up.
"Will he be going to Hogwarts?" Vic asked, looking at Harry and wondering if that was a smart thing to do.
"Not if we are not in England," Arcturus stated, then shushed the man. They would discuss this later in private. While the goblins were discreet, they could be bought for the right price. He trusted their transactions so far to remain confidential, they had been paid for that, but what Vic was discussing wasn't client privilege.
Just then another goblin knocked on the door.
"Enter," Sharptooth said.
Goldfinger came in with a large ledger and went to the desk and set it down. "I am Goldfinger," he stated. "I have been the Potter account manager for these past twenty years. James Potter was my last client before his demise," he said, lowering his head a bit in a show of respect.
"Well met, Goldfinger," Arcturus said, nodding to the goblin. "We are wondering about Harry's account. We don't know where his key is."
"What authority do you have to ask?" the goblin asked, looking at the two men and the child.
"I am his uncle," Vic said, looking for all the world like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.
"Can you prove this?" was the question. There was a great deal of doubt laced in that one question.
"I will vouch for him," Sharptooth said, knowing the complete truth. He would not tell the other goblin what was occurring. While it was not socially acceptable, it was client confidentiality. He would be protected if it ever came out.
"Very well, his key is being held by Albus Dumbledore," Goldfinger stated, only to be stopped by Vic's shout.
"On what authority?" the other man said, banging his hand on the desk.
"The Wizengamot," the goblin stated, flipping through some parchments.
"I want that key as soon as I have the parchmentwork drawn up," Vic proclaimed. He didn't know what game Dumbledore was playing, but it stopped now. The old man was supposed to have Harry with a loving family and the key was supposed to have been given to them for Harry's upkeep. Now he finds Harry with the Dursleys, and the old man has the key. This was not Quidditch.
"Very well," Goldfinger said, going through his ledger. "There has been little movement on the accounts since James died. Only the allotment for young Harry's care," he said, opening the book to the appropriate page. There showed a small amount of funds going to the Dursleys for Harry's care.
"Wait! The Dursleys were being paid to care for him?" Vic said, standing and laying his hands on the desk like he was going to explode at any moment.
"Well, yes, it was arranged by Albus Dumbledore when he left Harry in their care," Goldfinger said, turning the book and showing the withdrawals. "Were they supposed to care for him without assistance?" the confused goblin asked. That didn't make sense to him in the least.
"They didn't spend a farthing on him," Vic said, using muggle currency as reference. It was something Lily had explained to him once that a farthing was the lowest form of currency. He knew those bastards didn't spend anything on his godson/nephew. "He wasn't even given decent clothing. He was so skinny that I'm sure the boy only got scraps for food," he exclaimed.
"What is a farthing?" the goblins both asked.
"Less than a quarter of a penny, which is less than a knut," Vic explained, using the loosest terminology he could think of. He was sure they understood.
"And you say they never spent any of the money on Harry?" Goldfinger asked, adding up all the money that the Dursleys were given over the years. He got the figure of 50,000 galleons, which was £250,000, that was quite a tidy sum of money. "I will do an audit. We have humans that will go to them and ask questions. If they cannot produce receipts for his upkeeping, they will have to repay the account. If they fail to do that, I will turn the case over to the Inland Revenue," he threatened. He was very upset over this. He had been assured by Albus Dumbledore that young Harry was well taken care of.
"I can attest that Harry was kept in a boot cupboard and wearing hand-me-downs when we found him," Vic said, looking at said child, who was still perusing the books. He didn't seem to care what they were talking about over here, which was good in a way. On the one hand, he wanted Harry to open up to what happened there. On the other hand, he remembered Harry's tears the night they rescued him.
"I will also be having words with Dumbledore," Goldfinger said, then he got a funny look on his face. "I'm sorry, who are you? You say you're a Potter, but I've never laid eyes on you before," he said, narrowing his beady eyes at him. "I have the Potter family tree, and you are not listed on there," he added.
"I was just adopted into the family," Vic said, glancing at Arcturus and Sharptooth as if to ask how trustworthy this goblin was.
"Tell him," Arcturus said, looking at Sharptooth who nodded in agreement. "He'll need to know if he's to help us with Dumbledore," he added. They might need more goblins in their corner. "Remember you are under client confidentiality to keep this secret," he warned Goldfinger. "Vic will be taking you as his manager as a Potter. We will pay the necessary fee."
Sharptooth decided to come clean by saying, "This was Sirius Black. He was adopted into the Potter family to hide and to take care of the Potter heir. He now goes by Victor Henry Potter. I, we, have decided that he will be called Vic and will be known as a bastard child of Charlus Potter." He felt better for having gotten that off his chest. He knew it was better to have Goldfinger on his side in case it got in front of the council.
"I can see where that would be necessary," Goldfinger said, looking at the happy boy who was thumbing through a book with pictures in it. He could work with this.
"I have an account that I need you to manage," Vic said, giving him the key and parchmentwork.
"I can do that," the goblin said, putting the parchmentwork with the ledger and taking an impression of the key on the top of said book. He handed the key back. "You will get monthly statements from me along with young Harry's. Dumbledore has been getting his, but you will now be his primary caregiver, and will receive his allotment. Get me those adoption parchments as soon as possible."
"I don't need the allotment," Vic said, waving it away. "Put it in his trust fund," he added, thinking that Harry could use it to play pranks when he went to school. He'd teach him the fine art along the way. He may now be a Potter, but he was still Padfoot even under this new guise.
"Very well," Goldfinger said, making a note to do just that. "Will that be all?" he asked, wanting to get back to work. He needed to get that audit going as soon as possible.
"I'll make sure you get all the parchmentwork before the end of the week," Vic said, getting his key back in his pocket and standing.
"I think we're done with everything today," Arcturus said, waving Harry to put the book back and come to them. Harry did as bid and was soon standing next to Vic.
"We just need to go to the vault," Vic reminded him, picking up Harry like the boy was just a toddler. He was as small as a five-year-old, and his new uncle just couldn't help but treat him like one.
"Yes," the old man said, getting up from the chair and going to the door.
"I will take you," Goldfinger said, picking up his ledger. He shoved it under his arm and went to the door. "I just need to drop this off at my office and we'll be on our way. I also need to recall Harry's key, which I can do while we're at my office," he added, looking at the boy on Vic's hip.
"Yes, we don't want Dumbledore to have that key any longer. However, I don't want him to know who has it," Arcturus said, giving the goblin a pointed look.
"He won't hear it from me. As far as I am concerned, the man has no business with me any longer," Goldfinger stated, a firm look on his face. He was very upset that he was duped for so long. He had been taken in by the man's grandfatherly demeaner. No more though, if Dumbledore wanted anything from him, he needed the parchmentwork, just like everyone else.
"Good," the old man said, walking swiftly down the hall.
They made it to the office and Goldfinger put the ledger in the drawer it belonged in and pulled out a bowl. He did a bit of waving over it with a knife and soon there was a key in the bowl.
"I entrust this key to you," he told Vic, handing the key to the new Potter. "You will give it to young Harry when it is time for him to go to Hogwarts. His other vaults are blood locked and don't require a key," he said, looking to Harry at that part. "You can access them when you are of age."
"Okay," a confused Harry said, not sure what all that meant, but was excited to find out.
"I'll explain it later," Vic said, putting the key with his and they exited the office.
That just went to show how paranoid the Potters were. Not even the Blacks blood locked their vaults. They used dragons. Maybe they thought it was better, who knew. Maybe not paranoid, but smarter.
A quick trip to the vault and they were in Diagon Alley again.
"I need a wand," Vic said, looking at Ollivanders. He was not looking forward to getting a new one, yet at the same time he was.
"Do you want to risk going there?" his ex-grandfather said, tapping his cane a bit. It would be a good test as to whether or not Vic would be recognized.
"It'll be a good test," the other man said, voicing the old man's thoughts, adjusting Harry on his hip.
"I'll take Harry to the ice cream shop. You go and get your wand," Arcturus said, nodding to him to put the child on the ground. Harry would have to walk. He was old enough not to be carried around anyway. Vic was just spoiling the boy.
Vic put Harry down, and the two moved off, and Vic moved towards the wand shop. The bell jingled as he entered, and he waited impatiently for Ollivander to pop out of wherever he was going to. He really hated it that that man felt the need to scare his customers. His eyes darted around the room looking for the old man.
"Can I help you?" Garrick Ollivander said from behind him.
"Gak," Vic said, jumping three feet in the air. "Don't do that," he said, twirling around and clutching his heart. He took a few deep breaths and said, "I need a wand."
"You are awful old to be needing one," Garrick stated, going around his counter and pulling down some boxes. He eyeballed the man. He didn't know him. He knew everyone who came into his shop. If they had purchased a wand as a child, he knew them as an adult. However, this man he did not know. Yet…
A measuring tape jumped from the counter and started measuring Vic's arms and chest.
Vic stood and let the tape do its thing. He never knew what the measurements were for, but he was not a wandmaker. "Mine was broken in a duel," he stated as nonchalantly as he could. Inside he was sweating like a fool. He was wary that Garrick would recognize him.
"Pity, do you know what the makings were?" Ollivander asked, still pulling down boxes. If he told him that, then he would know who the man was.
"No, it was a legacy wand," Vic said, like that was the norm in his family. "I got it from a box that was in a secondhand store." That was not unusual for poorer families.
"I didn't get your name," Garrick said, tilting his head as if that were a new experience for him.
"Victor Henry Potter," Vic said, shooing the measuring tape away when it started measuring his nose. "Bastard child of Charlus. I go by Vic," he added brightly. "Me mum was a muggle," he said, making sure that he was known as a half-blood. Anything that would separate him from Sirius Black.
"I see," the old man said, peering hard at Vic. "I can see the resemblance." He knew Charlus, but he had never known the man to step out on his wife. Dorea would have had his gut for garters if she knew. Yet here was a man who was definitely a Potter. "You can prove you are a Potter?" he asked, coming from around the counter.
"I can," the man said, taking the wand handed to him only for it to be snatched from his hand and replaced with another.
"I would hate for my friend's name to be besmirched," Garrick stated, thrusting a third wand into the younger man's hand.
"I have no intention of doing such. Me mum fell pregnant before his wife did," Vic stated, hoping the magic his grandfather did would show on any blood work. That was the tricky part and what made it dark magic. The memory spell should take care of it, but they would need to do one more spell to make sure. "I do believe that there was a pact going on," he added conspiratorially. "A surrogacy of sorts."
"I see," Garrick said, thinking that Charlus and Dorea were having such a hard time having children that they might have tried to have one with help. This man might have been a product of that. The woman might have backed out at the time. Still Charlus would not have abandoned his child. Unless the woman hid in the muggle world. Which was entirely possible. The man did say he was a half-blood.
It took fifteen wands, but Vic was soon the proud owner of a dragon heartstring and red oak wand.
"That will be seven galleons," Garrick said, waving his wand and cleaning up the few things that broke when they were testing the wands. There was a smashed vase that had been taken out for just that purpose and a broken shelf, and a busted window. Ollivander cleaned it all up with one swish of his wand, showing he did this on a regular basis.
Vic paid the man and left the shop. He went to the ice cream parlor and was greeted by a messy Harry and a disgruntled grandfather.
"What happened to you?" he asked, sitting with his cone, and eating it quickly. He got a slight headache and slowed down.
"Just some old biddies who were cooing over Harry. I hate busybodies," Arcturus said, waving him away. "Let's go home." He was done with people for the day. He never liked spending time in public.
Vic laughed at his ex-grandfather's plight, finished his ice cream, and cast a cleaning spell over the ice cream covered Harry. He picked the boy up and they went to the Leaky Cauldron and went back to the house.
"Grandfather, and I really can't call you that anymore, we need to do a heritage spell on me and make Charlus my father," Vic said when they were ensconced in the study. He was sitting in his chair with Harry on his lap and Arcturus was sitting behind his desk as usual.
"You may refer to me as Uncle Arcturus," the former grandfather stated, looking at Harry and saying, "You too." He then went to his bookshelf and took down a book. He read for a few minutes, turning pages, looking for something. "Ah, here it is," he mumbled. "We can do this, but we'll need more blood from Harry," he said, looking at the little boy.
"How much?" Harry asked, trying to look brave. He was getting used to getting pricked, but he didn't have to like it.
"Not much, about thirteen drops," Arcturus said, reading the ritual again. It was dark magic, to be sure. Mostly because it fundamentally changed the parents of the person. Sirius Black would cease to exist, and Victor Henry Potter would be a real person. Right now, he was halfway there, but this would bring him into reality.
"I can do that," the child said, counting them in his head and imagining what that would look like.
"We need to do it on the new moon, which is in three days, so be ready," Arcturus said, closing the book.
"We will," they said, together.
Hphphp
The next few days were spent shopping for the child and Vic. They made sure to get the aging potion as well. Harry was given his Skelegro and vitamins, so he was growing like a weed. They only bought toys and a few outfits for him until he stopped growing.
Vic, they completely kitted out. To which he was grateful. All the clothes in the house were outdated and smelled old. He had always been a clotheshorse and was proud of it. He liked to look good and was happy to, once again, look properly fashioned.
The day came and they all trooped down to the ritual room.
"Vic, this time you need to be up on the dais," Arcturus said, indicating where Vic needed to lay down. "Put your head here, and make sure your hand sits near the basin," he instructed.
Vic warily did as bid and adjusted himself to lay where indicated.
"Harry, come here," Arcturus said, waving the boy over and picking him up and sitting him on the platform near Vic's arm. "Your hand needs to be near the basin too," he said, putting the boy's right hand near the bowl. "I'm going to cut your knuckle and let it bleed the thirteen drops and then heal it, but I want you to leave your hand right here, okay?" he coached.
"Okay," Harry said, firming his resolve.
Vic put his free hand on Harry's back to show that he was there to support him. The two just waited for Arcturus to do what needed to be done.
Arcturus cut Harry's hand and bled the thirteen drops into the basin and then healed the cut. He then cut Vic's hand and bled it too, but he didn't heal it. He swirled the two bloods together. He then called out, "De translatione patris Charlus Potter." He directed the blood to the open wound and then sealed it.
Vic went into convulsions.
Arcturus snatched up Harry and they watched as Vic shuddered on the platform. He was jerking about for around two minutes. Then he stopped and sighed. His features were more defined as a Potters. However, little else changed.
"Just one more thing, then we're done," Arcturus said, handing him the aging potion.
"Good," Vic said, sounding exhausted. He took the potion and swallowed it down. He blanched at the taste, but nothing else happened. "Hit me," he said, looking at his Uncle Arcturus.
Arcturus threw a spell at him, and words started forming in the air. 'Victor Henry Potter. Born, 25 July 1958. Father, Charlus Potter; mother, unknown.'
"That's a relief. Will that show on a blood test?" Vic asked.
"Why is the mother unknown?" Harry asked, looking at Vic.
"She's supposed to be a muggle," was the answer.
"So?" was the comeback.
"Muggles don't show up on magical test."
"Oh," Harry said, scrunching up his nose.
"Yes, it will show up on a blood test," Arcturus answered the original question.
"Good, then we're done," Vic said, his shoulders sagging with relief.
"What now?" Harry asked, yawning loudly.
"Bed for you," Vic said, getting up and picking up the tired boy.
"Now that you're all Pottered up, you need to get those parchments," Arcturus said as they left the ritual room.
"I will," Vic said, not looking forward to going to Knockturn Alley. He knew it had to be done, and he was in fine health, but there were disputable people down there. "What was the man's name again?" he asked, remembering what the man's description was.
"Spike," was the answer. They were quiet as they rode the stairs up to the bedrooms.
"Okay, I'll go tomorrow," Vic said, laying Harry down on his bed and kissing his forehead. He was thankful that they were doing this. if only for Harry's sake.