The pub was quiet, the morning sunlight slowly filtering through it, carrying the faint scent of stale ale and old wood as Harry entered. Scanning the occupants, he noticed the lack of customers. Stepping further inside, he approached the barman who was cleaning the counter.
"Hello sir, could you grant me access to Diagon Alley?" he asked.
Tom the barman looked up at the blonde-haired and blue-eyed teen, before smiling and nodding. "Aye lad, follow me."
Harry released a silent sigh, thankful for his newfound shapeshifting abilities.
'Bet I wouldn't have been able to take a single step into this pub in my original form without pandemonium happening,' he mused.
Tom guided Harry to the back door, then stood in front of a brick wall. Fishing out his wand, he tapped a combination of bricks before humming lightly.
Harry stood in awe as he watched true magic happen for the first time.
Though not as spectacular as his own ability, it was incredible seeing something from the movies come to life.
Thanking Tom, he quickly pushed through the now open brick wall and located his destination.
Pushing through the morning crowd, Harry ignored the entire alley.
'I'll have time in the future to enjoy this place,' he thought. 'I have plans that need to be sorted as soon as possible.
Who knows if Dumbledore could appear in the next ten minutes.'
Arriving at the giant white building near the end of Diagon Alley, Harry couldn't help but be in awe. Large marble pillars, arching windows, and massive metal double doors.
The building looked more like a fortress than a bank.
Hopping up the steps, Harry merely nodded at the two Goblin guards in their metallic armor as he completely ignored the warning message so many fanfictions mentioned.
'It's just word count, I swear. Everyone doesn't need to know about heeding the bank's warning.'
Entering the bank, the grand hall echoed with the scratching of quills and the clink of coins. He noticed it was almost a 1:1 replica of the movies. Goblins sat at their high counters in two rows, with additional ones scurrying around doing errands.
Walking towards the closest available teller, he stood still and looked up, waiting for them to finish their work. 'Even if they're close to their canon depiction, I need their help right now. I can't be like other wizards and disrespect them.'
After waiting for a few minutes, the Goblin finally placed down his quill and leaned forward to Harry. "Hello young wizard. How may Gringotts be of service today?" he asked in a gravelly voice.
"Good morning, teller. I have quite a... serious matter of importance that requires complete and utter privacy. It has to do with inheritances, and possibly more. Could we speak somewhere else?"
The Goblin raised an eyebrow for a moment, then nodded.
Gesturing to Harry, he hopped down and led him to a side door. Entering the room, Harry noticed it seemed to be a conference room of some type, with a large wooden table and seats spread out around it.
Taking a seat, he took a deep breath and began talking.
"I need to do an inheritance test as well as access my family vaults. Does Gringotts function in any way regarding Last of Line emancipation and Lordships?"
Using his memories of multiple stories he'd read online, Harry threw out his options, hoping one of them was true.
"The only time Last of Line would be applicable would be for an heir of a Most Ancient and Most Noble House. Lordship would be granted at the age of nine years old and onwards. Though we do not advertise it, Gringotts has complete autonomy regarding registering Lordships within law, as within our agreement with the Ministry, we control access to every house's inheritances."
Harry let out a sigh of relief. His gamble had paid off completely. "Then I need to enact those options through Gringotts as I fear doing it in the Ministry would not work."
Shifting his appearance, Harry reverted to his original form, though being a shapeshifter, and a completely healed one, he chose to lock in a new height, weight, and build.
Now he looked like a very active 11-year-old.
"I am Hadrian James Potter, last in line of the Potter family."
The Goblin's eyes bulged slightly, then he slowly nodded. "I believe that we shall need your key as proof of who you are, Mr. Potter."
"Unfortunately, I've never held my key, Mr. Teller. I only recently discovered that I was magical, and I came here as soon as possible. Whoever is holding my key has not once come and spoken to me."
The Goblin muttered under his breath slightly, almost as if swearing, before snapping his finger. A parchment and knife appeared on the table. "Simply cut your finger and allow a drop of blood to splash on the parchment. If you are who you say you are, it should display on the page. We will discuss recovering your key after."
Nodding, Harry picked up the knife and pricked his finger, allowing a drop to fall on the paper.
Leaning back, he sat in bated breath as words began forming on the parchment.
The Goblin picked it up, quickly reading its contents, before barking in a foreign language in anger, and displaying it to Harry.
------------------------
Inheritance Test
Identity: Hadrian James Potter
Age: 10
Available Lordships through Blood: House Potter, House Peverell, House Slytherin, House Gryffindor
Available Lordships through Magic: House le Fay
Available Heirships through Blood or Oath: House Black
------------------------
Harry couldn't help but chuckle, a slight shake of his head accompanying the sound; the sheer absurdity of those fanfictions was right. He was essentially the owner of Hogwarts, along with five Lordships and a possible sixth one.
"Well, Mr. Teller. I believe this answers our questions. What's next?"
The Goblin smirked a toothy smirk before clapping his hands.
"I believe this needs to be given to someone with much more power than me. I've called for King Ragnok to come and assist you from here."
Just as he finished his words, the door slammed open and a much larger Goblin in armor marched into the room. His gaze swept through the occupants, before nodding at the teller.
"You may go, Bloodaxe. Ensure your memories are removed when you leave."
The teller, now known as Bloodaxe, nodded at both Harry and Ragnok, before swiftly leaving.
Harry stood up quickly, inclining his head in respect to the King of Goblins. "Well met, King Ragnok. I apologize for pulling you away from your duties, but Bloodaxe stated you were required to aid in my quest."
Ragnok merely smiled, before sitting down.
"Think nothing of it, Mr. Potter, or should I say, Lord Potter? I'm abreast of all situations within my bank, and have been watching since the moment you entered this room. Now, tell me, what do you intend to do now?"
A wave of relief washed over Harry. It seemed the Goblins were far more accommodating than he'd initially thought. Pausing for a moment, he thought about his next words.
"Simply put, I've been raised in the Muggle world, and I believe illegally. My 'family' have abused me for my whole life, be it through physical labor, emotional abuse, and almost near-death beatings. I want to claim my Lordships, possibly have the Goblins hired to check me for anything magically binding, and then check my accounts."
Ragnok's meaty hands crashed onto the table, a slew of human swear words escaping his lips, before he shook his head.
"Apologies. To Goblins, children are the most sacred and protected. Hearing you recount your past has angered me. If you will follow me, we will go to our healers and see what can be done for you."
Harry nodded happily, before standing up.
'I'm going to fuckin' bury you, Dumbledore.'