Ragnok could only think of one item that fitted the criteria Lord Potter was alluding to, and the very thought of one of those in his bank made his blood boil. Now was not the time to lose his temper though, especially not at the bank's new largest depositor. Largest depositor by a very large margin too.
"If the new owner of the vault requested that all items be checked, no blame on anything found there would be attached to them."
Sighing in relief, Harry asked if every item in all of his new vaults could be checked, and that he would of course pay Gringotts for the service. Between them, they came up with the plan to store all dark items in a separate vault, awaiting Harry's decision on their disposal.
There was of course no decision to be made on the horcrux Harry suspected might be in the Lestrange vault, it would be destroyed immediately after being identified. All parties were in full agreement on this.
After Harry had opened the last of the chests, and Hermione handed over her fourteenth note, the teens returned to their seats. Everyone in the room realised that British magical society had just taken a massive shift. To where however, no one was quite sure. Wars had been fought over sums a great deal less significant than those involved here today. It was difficult to raise an army though when you had effectively lost all your money, property and businesses in one fell swoop. Even more so when you didn't know who had carried out the deed.
Ragnok was almost afraid to ask if there was anything else Gringotts could do for the young lord, both he and Barchoke were mentally bracing themselves when he said yes.
Pulling a slip of parchment from his pocket, Harry handed it to Barchoke. "This property and business are currently mortgaged. I want to buy those mortgages from whatever bank currently holds them, and then ward my new properties. This has to be done as quickly as possible, and then set up a new mortgage for the existing customers at one percent."
Barchoke almost dropped his quill at hearing that. "One percent is way lower than anything Gringotts offers. You could charge a lot more than that, and they would probably still be paying less than they are at the moment."
Nodding, Harry then filled in the missing information. "The customers are muggles, muggles by the name of Granger. I'm already stealing their daughter, I do not want to be accused of stealing their gold too."
The silence in the room was broken by the second bout of goblin laughter they had heard today. This time though it was Ragnok who broke protocol.
"Lord Potter, when I received your request from Barchoke here, I knew you would either be a wise man or dragon food. Still, charging your future in-laws minimal interest shows you as a very wise man indeed. It shall be done. Since Barchoke also booked the restaurant for you, we know you have a meeting with the Grangers at four. We will do our utmost to have the purchases in place by then, warding can follow as soon as you like after that."
Nodding in relief, Harry deliberately didn't look at Hermione. They needed to stay focused and were keeping their communication to a minimum level. He knew that would change though the instant they left Ragnok's office. It was now time to address the last item on their agenda.
"It is our intention to open a school for witches and wizards. This school will be in Italy, thus avoiding interference from the Ministry and Dumbledore. We intend to do all our business through Gringotts and would appreciate any help, advice or introductions you could supply us with." That they would pay for any such service was understood and appreciated by all.
It took a lot to impress Ragnok yet this young wizard had just done so time after time. Any other pureblood with a twentieth of Lord Potter's resources would be making outrageous demands of Gringotts. Here was someone who not only recognised he needed help, Lord Potter was not afraid to ask for advice - and was prepared to treat them as partners and pay for that advice too. Lord Potter appeared to understand the golden rule, spreading gold around ensured everyone profited. Ragnok would personally contact their branch in Naples, and ensure Lord Potter got the best deals from all the businesses in the Naples magical district.
Harry was beginning to think there was a bit of seer in him, since they hardly stepped out Ragnok's door when a barrage of mental questions from Hermione hit Harry hard enough to see him physically wince.
'One at a time, love, even our bond can't handle that many questions at once.'
'What the bloody hell was that all about, buying my mum and dad out? Are you intending to blackmail them or something?'
While Harry winced once more at Hermione's tone, he couldn't fault her questions. 'We both know how stubborn they can be. If I own the properties, they get warded whether your parents agree or not. They have no idea of the danger they could be in, but are obstinate enough to refuse our help. I promised you I would do everything in my power to keep them safe...'
'...and I all but accused you of blackmail, sorry.'
Harry didn't want Hermione to be sorry. 'You understand that if they tried to keep you from me, I would do everything in my power to change their minds. You are my anchor, love, I can't do any of this without you by my side. I still hope to convince your parents that a summer in Italy is their best option, we both know that's unlikely to happen.'
Hermione could only agree.
They were so wrapped up in each other, both forgot about the outside world - other than following Barchoke along the corridor.
The marauders were behind them, Sirius nudged Remus. "They're doing it again."
"Yeah, though they're usually a lot better at hiding it than this."
"Do you think we should mention it?"
"No, they'll tell us when they're ready to."
Raising his voice so Harry and Hermione would hear him, Remus was able to say that he'd already sorted all their holiday spending requirements with Barchoke yesterday. It was now time to head for their second meeting of the day, in the Ministry of Magic. All four wondered what shocks that would supply.
....
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