Harry waited for a few minutes until Sharptooth arrived in the room.
“Good morning, Mr.
Sharptooth,” Harry greeted him calmly and politely.
“May you have gold flowing in your vaults and blood dripping from your blades.”
Having already been informed by Runook that Harry was now versed in traditional goblin greetings, Sharptooth was not surprised at the greeting.
He climbed into the empty chair designed for goblins opposite Harry and greeted him back.
“Good morning, Mr.
Potter,” he greeted back.
“May your vaults be filled with gold and business flow like water.”
Completing the formal greetings, Sharptooth stared directly at him.
“How and where would you like to start, Mr.
Potter?” He questioned.
Harry had come prepared, knowing exactly how he wanted the conversation to flow.
“Tell me first all that you consider important, Mr.
Sharptooth,” he responded.
“After learning all there is to learn from you, I will decide how to continue further.”
Sharptooth nodded and took a deep breath.
“I assume that you have gone through all the books that I had recommended to you,” he said.
“And now you have knowledge about how our wizarding world functions, and the role many of the old families play in the Wizarding Council, also called the Wizengamot?”
“I went through the books and much more and I am aware of these things,” Harry responded.
“Very well,” Sharptooth continued.
“Even so I will start with a summary.”
“The Wizarding Council was formed to govern magical Britain almost a thousand years ago, during the time of the Hogwarts founders, King Arthur, and Merlin.
Over the years, this structure has been modified or changed with various major and minor adjustments.
The latest system, which functions now, is around two-hundred-fifty to three-hundred-years old.”
“But even with these changes, what never changed in the Wizarding Council was the power that many of the ancient families possessed.
Even so, the current Wizengamot is the most democratic one since its founding.”
Harry nodded, indicating for the goblin to continue.
Though he already knew most of this historical context from his recent study and from the memories he had inherited, he let Sharptooth to fully build up the background and did not interrupt him.
“Now coming to you, Mr.
Potter,” Sharptooth said, leaning forward. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
“Your family, the Potter family, is classified as a Most Ancient and Most Noble Family.”
“In the case of houses with such a status, the Ministry of Magic has very little say regarding the terms of inheritance, heirs, and Lordships.”
He adjusted a few papers on his desk and read through them.
“Your great-grandfather and your grandfather, Charlus Potter, were brilliant minds,” Sharptooth said.
“They specifically mandated in your family charter that if the family lacks a Lord and the current heir is not of age to take over the Lordship of the Potter family, the designated magical guardian of said heir will have no say whatsoever over the main family vaults.”
“At most, a magical guardian can only regulate the trust vault of the heir, which is set up specifically for each next generation heir.”
“This was one of the most brilliant stipulations they put in the family charter,” Sharptooth remarked.
“It made sure that your self proclaimed magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore, does not get to touch a single penny from the Potter family vault.”
“Not only that,” Sharptooth continued, a grim smirk playing on his sharp goblin features, “but the charter also dictated that if no living member of the family is left behind, all vaults belonging to the Potter family are to be sealed completely shut for three centuries using ancient goblin magic.”
“And after that prescribed time, all remaining wealth and family heirlooms are to be distributed entirely through the Magical Britain as Gringotts sees fit,” he said.
“The only requirement is that no single person or family will get more than five percent of the total wealth.”
Harry listened keenly.
It did not take a genius to realize how incredibly clever his grandfather and ancestors had been.
“This specific regulation completely bound Dumbledore’s hands, preventing him from siphoning any major funds from your estate,” Sharptooth explained.
“Furthermore, it stopped anyone with eyes on your wealth from simply killing you, as doing so would instantly lock the vaults away for 300 years.”
“To say the least,” he continued, “even before your parents’ deaths, Dumbledore had been systematically trying to weaken the autonomy that the old families hold over their inheritances and their societal functioning.”
“But since the Wizengamot is practically governed by those very families, he has been mostly unsuccessful.
After all, even the so-called ‘Light’ families currently in Dumbledore’s camp are not willing to give away their ancestral power so easily.
They do not want the fate of their families to lie in the rules and laws made by Wizengamot.
They want to be the one controlling their fortunes.”
Sharptooth sighed, his long fingers tapping against the desk.
He was contemplating and he continued speaking.
“But now, since the last war, many prominent families have become extinct or are on the verge of total extinction,” he said.
“If things continue as they are, Dumbledore will slowly gather enough influence to wield a two thirds majority in the Wizengamot.
Once he achieves that, he will likely change the laws exactly as he wishes.”
“But none of what he is doing is a crime,” Harry remarked.
Sharptooth nodded back.
“Yes,” he responded.
“None of it is actually a crime.
According to him, he is only trying to bring regulations to reduce the power of the dark pure blood families, guilt tripping the Light families into voting in his favor.”
“But before that, let me tell you one thing.
I have not told you everything about Dumbledore’s manipulations, and I cannot do so because of the goblins’ magical oath to remain neutral in wizarding politics.”
“I can only tell you what directly affects you and your family, as that much scope is permitted for an account manager of a Most Ancient and Most Noble Family.
You must discover the other things on your own.”
Harry nodded in understanding.
“Now, Mr.
Potter,” Sharptooth continued, “upon your parents’ deaths, Dumbledore used his position as Chief Warlock to get your parents’ will sealed.”
He paused and adjusted his spectacles.
He was waiting to see Harry’ reaction.
And he did get a reaction.
The goblin could see the expression of anger forming on Harry’s face.
“Ideally, this should not have been possible,” Sharptooth continued.
“But using the war as a prelude, Dumbledore passed many emergency regulations that granted the Chief Warlock extensive discretionary powers.”
“Even so, sealing the will should have been out of his reach.
However, after the death of your grandparents, James Potter never actually took up his Lordship,” Sharptooth said.
“Therefore, their testament was never treated as the will of a Lord of a Most Ancient and Most Noble Family, but merely as that of a regular member of such a family.”
Harry’s face tightened in anger.
Even the last wishes of his parents had been denied to him.
He had not been allowed to read his own parents’ final words.
Sharptooth sighed with a trace of genuine sadness on his face.
“No one knows why your father never took up the Lordship of your family,” he continued.
“There were more than eleven months between your grandparents’ demise and that Halloween night when James and Lily perished.”
“But honestly speaking,” he remarked, “I would not deny Dumbledore’s manipulation behind this as well.
Your father was far too trusting of Albus Dumbledore.”
Harry nodded solemnly.
He could not deny Dumbledore’s involvement either.
After all, he himself had been a victim of those very same manipulations for his entire life.
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