"Founding families?" Harry furrowed his brow. "Ancient and Most Noble? Is that like some kind of title given to old, rich families?"
"I see you do not know much about your heritage," the goblin stated with a frown.
"It seems I know next to nothing about my heritage," Harry responded to the goblins statement a bit bitterly. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what to think when it came to this new bit of knowledge. His parents had never mentioned their status within magical society, almost like they hadn't cared about that (knowing his dad and mum they probably didn't), and it wasn't like he could blame them since they had a psychopath coming after them and, according to Professor McGonagall, they had been in the middle of the war. Their status in the wizarding world probably hadn't mattered at the time.
Still, if his family was so important to wizarding society, then why was he sent to live with his non-magical relatives? Relatives who not only knew next to nothing of magic (beyond what little Petunia knew thanks to his mum), but also hated magic with a passion. Why not have someone who could teach him about his place within the wizarding world raise him? At the very least Dumbledore should have sent someone over to him to help teach him about magical society a year or two before he started going to Hogwarts so he would have all the necessary information to make informed decisions that would help solidify his position among his peers. It bothered him that he, on top of being a magical celebrity who had done nothing to earn his fame, happened to belong to a family that was apparently partially responsible for creating the very government Britain's magical society was founded upon.
"Hmm..." the goblin looked at him for a few seconds, before apparently coming to some kind of decision. "Well, there is not much I can do to help you with your lack of knowledge. Even if I did have all the information you would need to know your station in life, it would take far too long to explain."
"I understand," Harry forced himself to say. He didn't like not knowing everything, especially when it came to something as monumental as this, but they had already wasted enough time and the goblin looked like he was beginning to get impatient. It was hard to tell since they all seemed to be scowling constantly. "I would like to access my vaults."
"Unfortunately," the goblin started, and Harry had to resist groaning as he realized that there was more bad news ahead. "You will not be able to enter the Potter vault until you come of age."
"So I won't be able to access the Potter vault until I'm eighteen?"
"Seventeen," the goblin corrected, and Harry raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Eighteen was the age where people were considered adults in the non-magical world. Was there a reason it was different in this one? Deciding he would find out later, Harry smoothly changed topics.
"You said nothing of the Evans Vault."
"Indeed," the goblin smirked. "As the Evans Vault was one opened by your mother, and not tied into the Potter family accounts, you are eligible to open it despite not being of age."
"Very well." Harry didn't even need to think before making a snap decision. "I would like to see the Evans Vault first, and then my Trust fund."
"Of course."
The goblin reached into another drawer and pulled out two keys, which he handed over to Harry.
"These will allow you to access the vaults in question. Griphook!" As he shouted what Harry could only assume was a name, the door to the office opened up and another Goblin walked into the room. This particular goblin looked very much like most other goblins; short, with a large nose and pointed ears. He had several skin spots on his head, which was bald at the top and had hair sweeping down near the back. Harry turned back to goblin in charge of his vaults as said creature spoke. "Griphook will lead you to your vaults."
"Follow me." The goblin turned around and walked out without waiting to see if Harry would follow him. Frowning, the young wizard took off at a brisk walk to catch up with the much shorter goblin.
He was soon led out of the hallway and into another hall that was much different from the splendor he had seen so far. The hallway itself was sloped, informing him that the vaults were underneath the surface of the bank. Granite and rock covered all sides of the hall from floor to ceiling. The floor was uneven and pocked with marks that let him know this cave was likely very old, and the only light in the dank, dark space were lit torches that were evenly spaced along the hall.
They eventually came to what looked like a cart on a railway. The cart was old, rickety and looked like it would be thrown off its hinges at the slightest provocation. Likewise, the railway seemed to travel along an erratic path that looked almost like a roller coaster of some kind. At least, the part of the railway he could see did. It was so dark in the cavernous space that he could only see maybe fifteen meters in front of him.
"Get inside of the cart please," Griphook spoke in an impatient tone. Harry got the feeling this particular goblin didn't like humans very much, or maybe he was just naturally rude. He was going to have to look up more information on goblins when he got the chance so he could understand them better.
Despite his thoughts and musings, Harry entered the cart and sat down. Griphook moved into the cart as well, standing at the front where he pulled a lever.
There was no gradual increase, no warning. One moment the cart was at a standstill, the next it was blazing its way along the tracks at a speed that made Harry's eyes water. He did not know how fast they were going, but even to his incredibly perceptive eyes everything just seemed to be blurring by. They were going extremely fast. The only thing he could really make out were when they had passed over a large pit of flowing lava.
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