Chapter 15: A Ward of the Ministry
Harry did his best to repress a shudder as he entered the large hall. Hundreds of Goblins sat on high stools behind counters, either writing with their quills or examining gems or gold. There were no signs regarding where he should do, and none of the Goblins looked free. There wasn't even a line of wizards anywhere, which was curious. And so, Harry approached the nearest one, who happened to be examining a large ruby.
He stood waiting for a few minutes until the Goblin finished looking at the ruby, scribbled down a few details and looked down at him, "Yes?"
"Hello, I was told that my family had a vault here. They died when I was younger, and I was raised outside the magical world. I don't know what I'm supposed to do to access it."
"Did they leave you a key?" the goblin asked.
Harry shrugged, "Nothing, as far as I know. I was raised in the muggle world and just found out about it. I'm practically a Muggleborn."
"What did your professor tell you?"
"Nothing. No one came to tell me anything. I just got my Hogwarts letter and my aunt drove me to the alley, that's it."
The goblin asked, "And do you have a magical guardian?"
Harry shook his head, "I don't know what that is. I've only ever lived in the muggle world."
"So, you're a ward of the state. This is slightly complicated. Can you tell me your name, child?" The goblin asked.
"Harry Potter."
The goblin nodded and opened a book, "Ah, the Potters. They do have an account here. This is not my department, but I'll send you to the account management offices. They should help you."
The goblin then jumped down and motioned Harry to follow him. Choosing to follow the teller, they walked up to one of the stairs until they reached one of the offices. Harry couldn't read what was written on the plaque on it. And the Goblin teller knocked and walked in towards an older goblin wearing much distinguished clothing. They spoke in some weird language that sounded like a mixture of snorting and spitting than an actual language. But that was their culture and Harry wouldn't condemn it. It was just weird.
The young goblin then exited the room, leaving him with the older Goblin in the office, "Mr Potter, I assume."
Harry nodded, "Yes."
"My name is Bragkor, I am the goblin in charge of frozen accounts. Your case is quite peculiar, Mr Potter."
"How so?"
The Goblin grinned, "Well, even with the rise of orphans in the last decade because of the war with the dark lord, the ministry had done its best to redistribute them around across many families. It was a bid for peace, but you're the only one who had relatives only outside the magical world, while no magical family made a bid for your adoption. Since you were aware of the magical world and thus have no magical guardian, you are technically a ward of the ministry."
"So, I need to go to the ministry just to have access to my gold."
The Goblin's smile widened, "No, it seems that your parents named you their heir in the traditional way. It's a rather old-fashioned way to preserve an inheritance to their line by bringing their heir to Gringotts and naming him the heir by blood."
Bragkor then opened one of the folders and released a piece of parchment that had his name, Harry James Potter, on the top. He grabbed a dagger and pricked Harry's blood with it before he could even react. The moment a drop of blood touched the parchment, the paper glowed gold.
The Goblin gave him a bloodthirsty smile, "It seems like you are in fact, Harry Potter. That's good; now we can proceed."
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