{Gringotts, Diagon Alley}
{7th Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
"Of course, you can call me Heathmond, I have been the accounts manager of the Potter estate for the past 50 years..." Hentmond responded with a grin. The wrinkles on his face shifted and Harry had to suppress a grimance not wanting to offend the clearly old and experienced goblin.
Was he biased and a little unconvinced about the Goblin being the holder of his business matters? Absolutely. Having grown up in a world and seen rampant racism that existed, with his own supposed family who always stared at him like he was a freak of nature. He was well aware that although the color of your skin doesn't actually matter... it does a little bit. At least to him personality and psychological quirks mattered more, his forays into recognizing these qualities during his extensive reading sessions gave him some insight into whom to avoid.
He didn't have anything against the goblin from being a sapient of a different species, but he did know that when push came to shove, the green little midget would abandon him at a moment's thought.
'But then again, maybe I'm judging everything a little too harshly... innocent until proven otherwise right?' Harry thought, he nodded to the goblin and all three of them walked into the room. There was a large table with three sofa chairs lined up for them to sit. He took a seat as the goblin almost vibrated in his seat.
"Although I was concerned that our first meeting would be delayed for a lot longer, I 'm pleased to see that you have taken measures to rectify your mistake..." Heathmond spoke. He grinned again, his sharp triangular teeth reminiscent of a Piranha.
"First, let's confirm your heirship claim before we dive into any serious matters." Heathmond continued not giving Harry time to interject. For someone who looked old, the goblin manager moved with surprising nimbleness as he pulled out a knife and a plain marble bowl from his desk. Even though he couldn't see anything special about those two objects, pulling out a knife did raise several alarms, and what Heathmond spoke about didn't exactly help.
"No need to be worried Mr. Potter, this is a standard ritual knife, I just need a couple of drops of your blood to confirm your identity." Heathmond grinned, the sharp teeth had a malevolent glint.
Harry swiftly looked at Prof. McGonagall for guidance and after giving him a slight nod, she turned to Heathmond and spoke, "Just one drop should suffice. The House of Potter does not have any blood-related constraints tied to the heirship."
Heathmond raised his head in defeat as he acknowledged Prof. McGonagall's words, though he couldn't help but have the last words as he extended his hand, indicating Harry to extend his right hand, "Of course, though Lily Potter never went through a Lineage test. The test could have provided some valuable insight into Evan's family tree... Now your hand please Mr. Potter..."
Harry hesitated a moment, while being poked by a knife's edge wasn't exactly a thrilling experience that he was eager to see through, he also thought about Heathmond's words. To know more about his family was his goal in coming here, but the unease that welled up in him when he looked at Heathmond's grin stopped him from saying anything... for now.
'I could surely do the same process later...' Harry thought, determined to come back to this again as he extended his hand. The Goblin's fingers were rough as he grabbed onto his wrist. At least in terms of strength, the old manager was a little weak so Harry didn't feel pressured.
"Just your index finger should suffice..." Heathmond stated and as Harry unfurled his finger, he swiftly used the knife to poke a hole into it. The pain was sharp but a little muted as Harry watched the drop of blood fall into the bowl as his newest wound tingled. He watched in fascination as the drop of blood seemingly defied gravity as it circled around the bowl of its own volition.
After doing a couple of laps around the bowl, the drop of blood finally settled at the bottom. Harry was kind of underwhelmed but his attention quickly shifted as Heathmond picked up the bowl and dropped his blood which had just taken a lame roller coaster ride onto a piece of parchment.
While the process till now had been lackluster, the way his blood started squiggling on the parchment before it was slowly absorbed without leaving any marks did catch his attention. Blood-red words emerged from the parchment. It wasn't much but the short words made it a little difficult for him to swallow as his gaze stuck to the two names that appeared on the piece of parchment.
...
'''Birth Name: Harry James Potter
Father: James Fleamont Potter {Deceased}
Mother: Lily Potter(née Evans) {Deceased}'''
...
'Deceased...' Harry thought. He didn't cry as he already knew the outcome, he wasn't a kid anymore but seeing the names of his Mother and Father officially linked to him was an emotional moment. He had resented his parents growing up, having been fed a fake story by the Dursleys, he had cursed them on numerous occasions for leaving him with those awful people.
That's why the story about the Boy Who Lived was appealing to him, not the kid's version but he yearned to know what happened that fateful night. He had heard nice things about his Mom and Dad so a small part of him was content, at least in his new memories, memories after his induction to the wizarding world he would remain content that his parents had been good people.
He noticed the Goblin picking up the parchment and before Heathmond could continue to carry on his little charade and move things along, Harry asked, "Can I have that piece of paper?"
His question clearly caught the goblin off-guard, but the malicious glint returned to his eyes as he hesitated. Harry could see that he was putting up an act, the goblin hesitated several times before he finally spoke, "While the parchment isn't at all valuable it is uniqu-"
His speech was cut off by Prof. McGonagall as she stated, "5 Galleons, not a knut more than that."
Her tone contained a sense of finality as the glint subsided from the goblin's eye. He pondered over the battle before he relented and slid the parchment toward Harry, "A gift then, Heir Potter. To making acquaintances..."
Heathmond's change in tone was noticed by Harry and although this gift could prove more costly than 5 galleons he accepted the parchment. At the same time, he realized why he was feeling uneasy around the old account manager.
'Greed... In the muggle world, greed could simultaneously be replaced by malicious intent. I kind of got used to interpreting everyone that way.'
...
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AN - A small interlude into Harry's slightly more mature outlook. We'll move on to Rigel's POV in the next chapter.
P.S- 40+ Advanced chapters on P.atreon!