Chapter 32: All That Glitters
If this was the epitome of a wizard bookstore, Gold was not impressed. He flipped throughout tome after tome at Flourish and Blotts, snickering at how antiquated and inaccurate the doctrine was.
No wonder Harry had such an inadequate education. Some of them were amusing though. Like those books about hexing your father in-law, he should buy himself one of those books.
He still hadn't dealt with the Moe situation. Not the way he wanted too. At least he and Regina had managed to convince Belle not to indulge in trying to get revenge on Cora. Though, he could tell she wasn't happy about it—and he suspected that Regina had threatened her. And normally that would've had him pissed and running to defend his ladylove, but right now he was annoyed with Belle and worried that if she went through with said cockamamie idea she'd be dead. So, he let Regina threaten her and acted none the wiser about it.
The airplane ride here was extremely tense though. Ridiculous things those were, airplanes. He'd really rather had poofed to this God forsaken country, but like he told Harry he had no idea about the UK's geography. Jus the bits and pieces he knew from the television.
Which meant poofing was out, especially with a child and true love in company. Himself, he'd risk it. He could handle anything, save for maybe a TARDIS. Those things seemed deadly. And that man who lived there was annoying, depending on the various version he was dealing with. Oh, and those companions…
He forgot that was just a TV show.
However, most people thought he was a character in a terrible fairytale where he was reduced to tears when someone guessed his name.
Please. Plus, he wasn't that short.
He had just gone through why fairytales weren't completely accurate with Harry throughout most of the past week, and he had enough of that to last a lifetime. Really, he should write himself a book: The True Story of the Dark One. Or sue the Brothers Grimm or whatever fairytale writer wrote that horrible version of his origin story.
Between that and the ongoing cold war with Belle, he had barely had enough time to plan for this trip.
Though nothing, really uneventful had happened so far. They had done a lot of ridiculously touristy things earlier in the day, after checking into their hotel.
That seemed to cheer Belle up. And then they went to the magic world and he wasn't really that impressed so far.
With their spell collection. Maybe their history selection would be better?
Goblin War. Goblin Rebellion. Goblin War. Goblin Battle. How many goblin wars were there? Were they like the orgs of this realm? Seriously, why didn't they just call him to take care of the goblins—not that he would've came without a price. But it seemed silly.
Then one book caught his eye: Harry Potter The Boy Who Lived: The Unauthorized Biography.
Gold's lip curled up as he grabbed the book. They were publishing unauthorized biographies about his son? That was not going to stand.
Gold decided to flip through such rubbish to see what he was dealing with. He rolled his eyes as he read about James and Lily Potter and what devoted parents they were.
Baby stealers. He thought. Really, anyone who dealt with Cora, were not good people. Or for that matter put glamour charms and magical blocks on a child.
They should be glad they were dead.
Really, "adopting" a child in the middle of a wizard war? Not smart. Especially when those two had a target on their backs.
The details on Lily Potter were especially vague, other than a pretty and surprisingly talented muggleborn there was nothing.
There was a bit more about James Potter and his friends. Interesting. Apparently, one Sirius Black betrayed them. A member of James Potter's little gang of friends.
He was in some wizarding prison now.
Rumple was going to have to remember that when he killed him, since it was his fault his son almost died. Besides Cora, Voldemort, and the Potters of course.
Seriously, adopting a child in the middle of a war. Illegally adopting a child, he might add.
Then there was the whole Voldemort attack which actually was not so much of a mystery to Rumple.
He survived because he had the blood of the Dark One running through his veins. And a killing curse couldn't kill the Dark One. In fact, it was an insult. Any sort of magical curse was. It just rubbed off on him. Made him stronger actually, since those sorts of things were dark magic. It must be the same for his son, Rumple thought. It was the only explanation, not some mother's love hoopla that the book was stating.
Of course this was a theory.
But mother's love, please.
"Rumple," Belle said. "Do you want to buy that?"
"Oh, yeah." He said throwing the book into his fiancée's arm. "I think it might do for some light reading. Have you seen Harry? I want to go to that wizarding bank to check out some things?"
"The bank?"
He nodded. "You can stay here, see if there's any useful books if you want. Honestly, I find this place to be a little dull."
Belle nodded. "The spell books do seem a little outdated, from a theoretical stand point. Though I do think some of the culture stuff is interesting."
He smiled, "Get as many of them as you want, sweetheart."
She smiled. For the first time in a long time. If he knew that taking her to the bookstore would've gotten such a reaction, he would've done it a lot sooner. Maybe he'd buy her this bookstore. He was expanding his business to the UK after all, he'd bought that Grunnings and the bank the Dursleys did their business a few weeks ago.
Why not expand to the magical world as well. It would make a nice wedding present.
"Get away from me!"
Rumple's ears perked up. That sounded like his son!
Sure enough, there was Harry be forced to take photos with a man who could've given Charming a running for being a living Ken doll.
No, this would not do.
Harry was trying to defend himself though. And did a good job. The solicitor remark was a nice touch. However, he needed to add a little bit of the Dark One there.
That way they'd never mess with his son again. And it seemed to work. The Charming lookalike used the bathroom in his robes. And the photographer muttered something about hating lawyers and how Rumple was not normal.
He thought about turning one of them into a gastropod.
But that was probably too much.
Especially since he was planning on turning other people into gastropods of some sort this week.
Harry shook his head at him and muttered that he was fine.
That to Rumple equaled maimed. Although, he only knew Harry for a few weeks he knew him enough to know that fine meant bad. Good meant fine. And bad meant he was about to die.
He also knew him enough, not to push. And he was told by the hospital psychiatrist not to push.
Yes, the hospital shrink. Apparently, social services insisted that he see someone after his event with Moe French.
Harry muttered that he thought Dr. Cortez was a quack. Gold mumbled that at least she wasn't a bug, and was sort of thankful for the help.
He also liked the fact the shrink backed him up about the Moe French thing with Belle.
Not that it did any good.
Harry sighed. "I forgot that the bank is at the other end of the ally."
Rumple nodded as they passed an apothecary and other various magic shops. They approached a shop that was filled with broomsticks and Harry started walking over there.
"Seriously, dearie, we're not here to buy a mop."
Harry shook his head. "They're not mops. They're brooms. You can fly them."
He seemed so excited. Actually excited that instead of telling Harry that he could just charm himself to fly, Gold actually let him look at the things and was planning on purchasing one of the more ridiculously overpriced ones for his birthday too.
Though, he had no idea which one to get.
"It would be the Nimbus 2001." The salesperson said. "Are you a muggle?"
"A what?" Gold said.
"Non-magic folk." The woman said. "Don't worry, my nan's a muggle. Wonderful woman she is."
Rumple inwardly rolled his eyes. "I just don't get brooms. But my son does. I want him to have the best."
"Well, we already reserved all the Nimbus 2001's. You'll…"
"I. Want. My. Son. To. Have. The. Best." Gold said again.
"Sir, Mr. Malfoy already reserved them. We have plenty of other good brooms."
Gold rolled his eyes and got down to business, "Trust me, I can pay twice as much as this Mr. Malfoy. I just want one broom today, dearie. And you will get it to me."
The clerk looked at him exasperated. Until Gold got out the gold he had spun a couple of nights before. Then the attitude changed completely.
"I thought so." Gold said with a smirk. "Now, will you package the broom.? I want it to be a surprise. His stepmother will be picking it up later today."
She nodded as Gold text Belle on his new smart phone—because ten minutes in the real world told him it was antiquated to have a flip phone—and told her to pick up the broom after she left the bookstore.
Muggle. What a stupid word. Yet, everyone seemed to think he was one. Couldn't they see true power?
They certainly knew what money was though. With the amount of stuff he had accumulated. There was a decent potion shop on this block, who would've thought? He also thought about getting Harry another pet. Most of the other shops were lacking though. He would never be caught dead in wizarding robes, the tailoring was just horrid, and the color patterns were more lurid than any ensemble he'd attempt to wear in the Enchanted Forest (and he had pushed the envelope back then). Then there were the wand shops, again useless. Though he was tempted to go into the wand place Harry went to, just to see if the old man was as creepy as Harry said.
He couldn't waste time though.
Which was why he was going to the bank. The one place where he was sure he'd find some answers.
However, towards the bank a side street towards the ally drew his attention.
Dark magic.
He felt it. He welcomed it and he wanted it, but he'd have to explore later. But now, he wanted answers. And the answers were always where the money was.
"I don't know why we're going to Gringotts." Harry said. "It's really boring. Besides, you can make your own gold."
Gold shrugged. "That's not the reason we're visiting, dearie. Banks can hold a lot more secrets than money."
"Yeah, the goblins will hold you prisoner in their vaults."
"That would be false imprisonment." Gold pointed out. "And you could have a lawsuit over that. Both criminal and civil."
"In the wizarding world?"
"Well, you could rip their hearts out."
"Ew!" Harry said.
Gold shrugged. "It's not that gross once you pull out a couple or so."
"Oh, I'm sure." Harry said. "If you're an evil villain."
"We've been over this." Gold said. "You know that there are shades of grey. You know that I've done things in my past…"
Harry cut him off. "I know, Dad. But pulling out hearts of people, really?"
It still gave Gold the warm and fuzzies to hear his son call him Dad. He knew it wasn't for the exact reasons he wanted—Harry didn't really feel like calling him Gold was appropriate after finding out the truth about, well, him and no way did he want to say his real name so Dad was just the most logical thing to call him. Still, it gave him a nice warm feeling—something that the Dark One hated to admit he liked like a lot.
Gold shrugged. "If it was someone you hated, I bet you'd pull out their heart."
Harry shook his head. "I really don't think so."
"Just you wait." Gold said.
He noticed Harry rolling his eyes. Honestly, he hoped Harry would never pull out anyone's heart. But if he did, he was sure his son would have perfect cause because Harry did not seem like a heart hoarder like his blasphemous mother.
Banks were one of the places in the not so non-magical world that Gold felt the most in place, but Gringotts was like no other bank. Still though, he wasn't intimidated by the goblins. Perhaps, because from the books he glanced at he knew they lost every rebellion and war that they attempted to have.
However, he wasn't ready for the rude reception.
"Muggles and muggleborns are on that side." The goblin barked out.
"I am not a muggle." Gold said, "And my son is a wizard. I want to talk to a bank manager."
The goblin rolled its eyes. "Yeah, that's not going to happen unless you have an appointment. And if you don't have an appointment, we're booked up till next year."
Gold glared at the creator. "I don't think I need an appointment."
The goblin shook his head. "Yeah, well, that's not the policy here. Especially for muggles."
Then goblin started gasping for air.
Harry looked at his father, "Are you really doing that right now? That's not gray?"
"It is because he was rude to me." Gold said, "Can I see a bank manager now?" He asked the goblin.
"I'll see what I can do." The creature said still glaring at Gold, but now not doubting that he wasn't a muggle.
Harry shook his head.
"Regina would do it too!" Gold said trying to justify his actions.
Harry sighed. "And to think I thought Henry was lying about you being a big bad evil villain."
" I was just standing up for myself." Gold said with a shrug. "He wasn't going to let us in."
Harry nodded. "I know, but did you really have to suffocate him? Couldn't you do something a little less showy?"
"He was about to escort us out of the building and not in a pleasant fashion, might I add."
"Mr…."
"Gold." Gold said to another goblin. This one was dressed like an investor banker. Gold noted that the suit probably came from Brooks Brothers. Not bad. Though a bit boring in fashion choices. " That's Mr. Gold, Esquire to you. And I believe your facility owes my son and I an apology."
The bank manager grunted.
"That's not an apology, dearie."
"Do you want a meeting or not?" The manager asked.
"Such poor customer service." Gold said, "That needs to change."
"Are you sure you're not a muggle?" The bank manager asked.
"Oh, I'm sure." Gold said as they were lead down the corridor to the goblin's office.
Once they were settled the bank manager looked at Gold and said, "There's no Gold account at Gringotts."
"Of course not," Gold said. "I prefer my own branch. It's a charming little place in Storybrooke, Maine. We do mortgages too."
"You own the bank?" Harry asked.
"What don't I own?" Gold said.
It was true. He pretty much owned the entire town while Regina ran it as a figure head/evil despot.
"Nice as that might be," The goblin interrupted him, "this is Gringotts the most prestigious wizarding bank on the European continent. I think it's ran a little different that a Muggle bank ran by some Scott in a Podunk town."
"I'm not Scottish." Gold said with an eye roll. "As I said, in this world, I'm from America."
"Even better. A Yank bank."
"Your customer service is horrible. I won't be opening an account here." No, he'd find a way to buy the bank and destroy it. He'd have Mr. Brooks Brothers cleaning toilets or something equally odious.
"Why are you here then?"
"My son has an account that I'm assuming he inherited from his adopted family. I want to look at it. And before you ask, I have full legal rights and am his actual legal guardian."
"Fine, hand please. I'll need some blood to verify your identity."
"No," Gold hissed. "You won't."
"It's just a blood test. No harm's going to come to him. It's standard protocol."
"No, turning you into a gastropod is standard protocol. I don't want anyone touching my son's blood.
The goblin sighed and mumbled something that in orgish meant stupid human. Interesting, that the linguistics between the two language were similar. When he spoke again, his attention was towards Harry. "Do you have a key?"
The boy nodded and pulled out a chain. "It's the only thing I had on me when I was with the Dursleys. Didn't want them locking this up in the cupboard if I had to make a get away."
And Gold's blood again to boil towards his hatred towards the Dursleys.
The goblin frowned when he looked at Harry's key. "You're not Harry James Potter."
"He is." Gold said. "Well, Harry Gold. Harrison James Gold, actually. I added the Harrison, gives it a little class."
"Dad."
"Well, I didn't get to name you dearie. Do you really think your name would be so boring if it was up to me? We can always use Hadrian if you don't like Harrison. But I thought you liked that film star with the hat."
"I'm glad you didn't name me." Harry said. "With a name like…"
Gold cut him off. He didn't want the goblins to even have an idea of what his name was. "Well, are you going to give me a synopsis of his accounts? I'm sure that his adopted guardians had some sort of will on file. Or were they the stupid type who just forget that sort of thing because they thought they were going to live forever."
The goblin scowled. "You need legal authority to get those documents. And I need some sort of verification that this is Harry Potter."
"He wouldn't have the key if he wasn't." Gold said. "I'm sure your bank has security charms enabled to such things."
The goblin sighed. "Fine, I'll get you the report of the accounts. And see what I can find about the will. If there was one."
"Why, thank you." Gold said, "I hope it won't take six weeks. I'm not a patient man."
The goblin sighed and returned a few minutes later with only a couple sheets of paper.
"Seriously," Gold said.
The goblins sighed. "No one was using the account. And to be honest, while the Potters were comfortable, they're not the Blacks. Since no one was really doing anything with the account the past few years, it was just accruing interest. Not much, but enough to pay the assigned guardians for the upbringing of the child."
"You mean, Petunia and Vernon were getting paid to take care of me?" Harry said, "And I still had to wear Dudley's clothes?" Harry exclaimed. "And eat the burnt toast."
Gold seethed. "We're going to have them audited."
"God, you really are a muggle banker aren't you?" The goblin asked.
"I'm not a muggle for the last time." Gold said.
"Well, you're dressed like one."
"And you're not wearing a Brooks Brothers suit? That is the epitome of 'muggle' dress." Gold said before getting back on track. "I want the payments stopped. Immediately. As legal guardian, I can do that. I need a copy of that will."
The goblin sighed. "It wasn't much."
"Well, regardless, I want to see it."
The goblin forked the document over. It really wasn't much, but will's didn't need much to be valid. All it stated was that Harry was to go to his legal guardian Sirius Black and that Black would have control over the finances until Harry was of age.
Not, really answering any of the pertinent mysteries that were going on here.
And Black was in jail.
Which meant, Gold was going to have to visit Azkaban to get answers. Which added an additional item on his already way too long to do list.