Harry laughed shakily, holding him tight. "Yeah, you are. And you're stuck with me now."
Griphook gave a rare approving nod. "The elf is stabilized. Your instincts served you, Mr. Potter." He leaned forward. "Now, to the matter of your inheritance."
The Reading of the Will
Griphook placed the great scroll on the table, unrolling it with a snap. The goblin's voice shifted into a formal cadence, words echoing against the stone.
"By decree of House Potter and sealed with blood and magic, the following inheritance, guardianships, and legacies are hereby recognized…"
Harry's heart pounded as the words spilled forth. The scroll listed vaults—plural, not just one—properties scattered across Britain and beyond, investments, heirlooms. But what struck him hardest were the names.
"Should Lord James Potter and Lady Lily Potter fall, guardianship shall pass in order: first, to Frank and Alice Longbottom; if unavailable, to Sirius Orion Black; if unavailable, to Remus John Lupin; and if all are deemed unable, to Severus Tobias Snape, trusted by Lady Lily Potter to guard the life of her son."
The name hung in the air like a thunderclap.
Harry froze. Snape? "Err..are you reading this right Mr. Griphook"? Asked Harry. "ofcourse I am, Mr. Potter. We have to summon Mr. Snape to continue reading this will as he is the appointed guardian of you Mr. Potter and his presence is mandatory according to the law". His day couldn't get any weirder thought Harry. Also an unknown dread dispersed in his chest knowing what would Snape do if he comes to know of this new development. Certainly not anything good as far as I am concerned. Why would his mom choose snape of all people to be his guardian. If anyone apart from the close friends and family deserve this it might be Mcgonnagall or Mr. Weasleys. Not Snape. never snape. But his chain of thoughts was put to stop by Griphook by announcing that he is gonna summon Snape at once in order to complete the task at hand.
Far from Gringotts, Snape was already on the way to the Privet Drive when a flash light appeared before him and engulfed him totally leaving him rattled for a couple of seconds. When the light disappeared, he found himself on the steps of Gringotts. Confused as to what, how, why is he summoned to Gringotts suddenly. He sprinted towards the main hall to give a peace of his mind to these little creatures with an affinity to gold when he was stopped by a Goblin and asked to follow him towards the room across the hall. Snape was trying really hard not to curse this Goblin instantly but thought otherwise. He is already here, let's see what all this fuss is about, thought snape and followed the Goblin across the hall. At the door, Goblin knocked it and left as swiftly as he came and left Snape at the door. When Griphook opened the door and signalled Snape to come inside, snape was furious and at the end of his patience because he wasn't use to this type of behavior be it these little gold plated monsters, Dumbledore or even the dark lord himself, well unless the dark lord was in bad mood which seems more often than not these days. However Snape went to the room Griphook opened for him and was startled to see the least expected person sitting in there idly and he was still at loss of words after seeing Dobby there. Seeing Snape Harry tried to shrug this off as indicating that he also don't know what to do in this situation. He just remarked, "Weird, isn't it"? Snape still gathering his thoughts looked sharply at Harry and sneered towards him and said, " Explain Potter", while thinking himself as he was right about this spoiled brat that his concern about this boy's well-being was ill-placed and that he is well taken care of by his relatives. After couple of minutes of awkwardness and staring, Griphook once again initiated the conversation and asked snape to take a seat. " Will you explain Mr... Err." "Griphook Professor Snape. I am Potter's account manager and Mr. Potter is here today for his inheritance reading among other tasks." Before Snape could reply, Griphook continued, "You were named, Professor Snape, as guardian of the Potter heir should the others be lost or unfit."
Snape went rigid. His lips compressed into a thin line, but his hand twitched once, betraying a storm beneath the mask.
"Lily…" The word slipped out too softly for anyone but Harry to catch.
Harry's emotions tangled—"My mum… trusted you?" he asked, voice barely audible.
Snape's gaze snapped to him, cold and sharp. "Do not mistake duty for sentiment, Potter." But the brittle edge in his voice betrayed something more.
Griphook's eyes glinted with a knowing satisfaction. "The inheritance is clear. You, Severus Snape, hold guardianship if required. And given the absence of Sirius Black and the werewolf Lupin's compromised status… that condition is met."
Harry bristled. "I don't need a guardian."
"On the contrary," Snape said coolly, though his eyes flickered over Harry's thin frame, the too-visible bones, the shadow of bruises beneath his sleeves. "You need far more than you realize."
Griphook unfolded the scroll and being reading the inheritance which was as follows
"By decree of House Potter and sealed with blood and magic, the following inheritance, guardianships, and legacies are hereby recognized…"
Harry's heart pounded as the words spilled forth. The scroll listed vaults—plural, not just one—properties scattered across Britain and beyond, investments, heirlooms. But what struck him hardest were the names.
"Should Lord James Potter and Lady Lily Potter fall, guardianship shall pass in order: first, to Frank and Alice Longbottom; if unavailable, to Sirius Orion Black; if unavailable, to Remus John Lupin; and if all are deemed unable, to Severus Tobias Snape, trusted by Lady Lily Potter to guard the life of her son."
Harry James Potter
Parents:
James Potter (Deceased )
Lily Potter nee Evens (Deceased)
Godparents:
Sirius Lupin-Black (Wrongfully Imprisoned-Escaped)
Alice Longbottom nee Bismarck (Mentally Compromised)
*Severus Snape (in absence of all above three)
Family Lines:
Potter
Gryffindor
Peverell
Slytherin (by right of conquest)
Vault discrepancies:
1,500 Galleons a Year transferred to the vault of Albus Dumbledore starting in November 1981
1500 Galleons a Year transferred and exchanged into Muggle currency to the accounts of the Dursley family starting in November 1981
800 Galleons a Year transferred to the personal vault of Ronald "Ron" Weasley started in July 1991
800 Galleons a Year transferred to the account of Hermione Granger starting in October 1991
Numerous tomes and books removed from family vaults to the possession of Hermione Granger in October 1991
1600 Galleons a Year transferred to the personal vault of Molly Weasley starting in July 1992
500 Galleons a Year transferred to the personal vault of Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley starting in July 1992
Harry could not believe that his two best friends have been stealing from him since before they even became friends, let alone Mrs. Weasley and Professor Dumbledore who had shown him more love and kindness than any
adult he had ever meet. The chamber fell into a heavy silence after Griphook's final words. The echo of Lily's trust—her choice of Severus Snape—still reverberated through the air like a phantom chord, one Harry couldn't quite breathe around.
Harry's fists clenched against the oak table, knuckles white. His head swam with betrayal from the names etched onto the parchment, and the room itself seemed to tilt with the weight of too many truths.
Snape, however, sat rigid as a steel rod. His black eyes flicked from the scroll to the boy across from him, narrowing as though each line of Harry's slumped shoulders, each tremor of his fingers, was evidence of yet another failing. His lips curled into the familiar sneer.
"Well, Potter," he drawled, each syllable cutting, "I should hardly be surprised. You sit here gawking at a document that dictates the very blood and bones of your inheritance, and yet you look as though someone asked you to solve an Arithmancy equation. Did it never occur to you to pay attention to your own accounts? Or were you too preoccupied playing Quidditch and gallivanting about with your… friends?"
Harry flushed hot, shame rising in his throat. He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. The truth was worse than Snape's scorn. He had trusted blindly—Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, the Weasleys. And all the while, galleons bled from his vault, trust potions rotted in his veins, and enchantments twisted his very self.
"Sir, I—I didn't…" Harry stammered, hating the wobble in his voice. "I thought Dumbledore was—"
"Dumbledore," Snape cut in, venom dripping from the name, "is evidently many things. A financial leech being among them." His gaze was sharp, but his jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. Internally, a storm gathered. He wanted to rage—not at the boy, but at the system that had left him so unprotected. Lily's son, battered, manipulated, drained. A pawn.
Harry shifted uncomfortably, and Snape's sneer deepened, his façade tightening like armor. He would not—could not—let the boy see what brewed beneath.
Griphook cleared his throat with a pointed cough. "Now that the inheritance has been formally recognized, the next step is a full medical evaluation. Given the… length of the enchantments listed, it is imperative we conduct a scan immediately."
Harry's stomach dropped. He glanced warily at Snape, then back to the goblin. "Er—do we have to do that with him here?" He jerked his chin toward Snape, voice tinged with defiance.
The professor's eyes narrowed into slits. "You think this is a matter for privacy, Potter? When your incompetence has already proven you incapable of safeguarding your own wellbeing?"
Harry bristled. "I'm not incompetent! I just—"
"Just trusted where you should have questioned. Just obeyed where you should have resisted. Yes, I see the pattern clearly." Snape's words lashed, but his voice lowered, almost dangerously. "And you imagine I will leave you alone in this? No. You are under my guardianship now—however reluctantly assumed—and I will remain. Consider it not sentiment, but duty."
Harry's jaw clicked shut. He wanted to scream at him, to shove him away, but something in Snape's tone—iron-wrought, unbending—silenced him.
Griphook motioned to another goblin, who brought forth a shallow stone basin lined with runes. "Place your hands here, Mr. Potter. Professor Snape, if you are indeed recognized by the scroll as guardian, your presence strengthens the legality of this scan."
Harry exhaled shakily and set his palms onto the cool stone. Snape moved closer, looming like a shadow, his robes whispering against the floor.
The runes flared. A faint hum filled the chamber, vibrating in Harry's bones. Then pain—sharp, searing—lanced through him as the magic peeled back veils and layers, dragging truth into the open. He gasped, clutching the sides of the basin. Images flickered across the runes: the cupboard under the stairs, bruises mottling his arms, fists and words from Vernon, Petunia's icy disdain.
Snape's breath hitched. His hand twitched toward Harry's shoulder, then froze midway. He clenched his fist against his robes instead.
The basin glowed brighter, revealing the curses and potions woven into Harry's body. Jinxes layered like chains, potions dulling his mind, blocks throttling his magic. The list was endless, grotesque.
Enchantments/Potions on the person in order of age:
Horcrux (bonded to Soul)
Magical Core Blocked 58%
Poor Eyesight jinx
Hair/eye Color Changed Jinx
Martyr Jinx
Distrust of Authority Jinx (except for Albus Dumbledore)
Mail Ward
Wand control Jinx2*
Glamor
Hatred Potion Keyed to anyone in Slytherin House, a Dark Core
Trust Potion Keyed to Albus Dumbledore, Gryffindor House, Rubeus Hagrid, Ronald "Ron" Weasley, Hermione Granger, Molly Weasley, Ginevra "Ginny Weasley,
Intelligence Dampening Potions (Once a Year since July 1991)
Shocked as he was, Harry could not figure out why there was a spell on him to change his eyes or hair color and what it could accomplish. Harry of course knew about the Glamour spell being on him having applied it on himself before he had gone to his First-Year at Hogwarts to hide the signs of abuse his family had done to him. He was glad that the Goblins had offered to give him a cleansing just based on the length of his results.
"Merlin…" Snape whispered, voice raw before the sneer slammed back into place. "Dumbledore allowed this."
Harry swayed, dizzy with pain. "I-I didn't know—"
Snape's eyes burned like coals. "Of course you didn't. How could you, when every avenue to knowledge was shackled?" His tone was acid, but his rage was no longer for Harry. His thoughts spiraled darkly: Lily's trust had been betrayed. The boy had been broken down, systematically. By Dumbledore. By the mutt's absence. By those Muggle filth.
The scan ended abruptly, runes flickering back to dull grey. Harry slumped against the table, pale and trembling.
Griphook's tone was final. "The bindings can be removed, but it will take time and ritual. For now, know this—your magic has been deliberately shackled, Mr. Potter. And your guardian has legal right to act on your behalf."
After several hours of rituals and charms and potions, Harry felt drained but also he felt like his body is new and years of beating, weakness, starvation at the hands of Dursleys has suddenly disappeared along with the marks in his body.
The chamber emptied slowly, leaving Harry, Dobby, and Snape standing in taut silence.
Harry's heart hammered, confusion twisting with reluctant trust. "So… what now?"
Snape's eyes flicked over him, cool and assessing. His voice was calm, clipped, but carried an undertone Harry had never heard before.
"Now, Potter, you come with me. To Prince Manor. For protection, for training… and because it is my duty as your guardian."
But Harry saw the lie in his eyes—the war within the man.
He nodded slowly, Dobby clutching his side, the bond between them pulsing steady and warm.
As they left the chamber, Harry glanced once more at Snape. For the first time, the hatred wasn't all-consuming. Instead, there was a fragile, unspoken question: Could he be more than just an enemy?
Behind them, Griphook's smile was sharp and knowing. Chains had been broken, secrets laid bare, and the war between truth and manipulation had only just begun.