Gold, Oaths, and Gifts
Gringotts; the largest bank in existence within the magical world. The oldest and, at the same time, one of the places still standing that were most deeply imbued with magic. Its walls did not only guard gold and relics; they safeguarded centuries of history, broken oaths, uncomfortable treaties, and secrets that even the most powerful wizards did not dare to openly claim. For many of them, breaking some of those treaties meant losing far more than simply their riches.
It was run by one of the most bellicose races in the magical world; the goblins. Throughout different eras of magical history, they had been declared enemies of wizardkind, protagonists of bloody wars and rebellions that left indelible scars on both sides. And yet, the most important pillar of the magical economy rested entirely in their hands.
Gringotts was not just a bank in London. It safeguarded foreign gold, the fortunes of ancient bloodlines, and reserves from across the entire magical world. As one of the true titans of the magical economy, it had established an almost absolute monopoly, at least in Europe; not through direct conquest, but through financial control and a reputation impossible to match.
In London, competition simply did not exist. There could only be one bank, and that was Gringotts. Any institution that had attempted to rise as a rival had disappeared over time; not through open violence, but through economics and treaties that slowly suffocated any attempt at opposition.
In other places, such as the United States, the situation was different. There, MACUSA exercised much stricter control over magical creatures and over the flow of money. Gringotts' influence was more limited; its hands did not reach with the same freedom. However, that did not mean absence. There were branches, indirect agreements, and carefully monitored channels.
And even so, Gringotts' expansion never stopped. With goblins in charge, the very idea of slowing its growth was absurd. Greed, after all, was not a flaw for them.
And now, one of the leaders of Gringotts' main headquarters in London was standing there, looking at his student with a genuinely annoyed expression.
Percy wore the innocent smile of a cheerful and happy child as he stood right in front of Einjard's desk. The goblin, for a change, had removed his armor as a security guard; something he seemed to do only when he was inside the bank, as if he needed to protect himself and the doors of Gringotts even from wizards. Distrust came naturally to him.
"So…" Einjard stared at Percy intently. "You want to give a gift to your mother and your brother for Christmas." He paused. "And why is that my problem?" said the goblin in his usual gruff tone.
"Well, Aunt Mor said that you have interesting things that wizards lose once they die, and that when their vaults are left without an owner, the goblins keep them. And I thought there might be something interesting for Harry and Mom," Percy said with a confident smile.
"As I already said; what do I have to do with you wanting to give someone a gift," the goblin replied, clearly annoyed.
"I have money to pay for it," Percy said.
"No, you don't," the goblin replied dryly, looking at him.
"That's true, I don't," Percy admitted immediately, showing that he had been caught. "But I surely will in the future," he added quickly.
The goblin could only let out a sigh before looking at his pupil. Percy still had that innocent smile, trying to convince him, though it did not seem to be working very well. Einjard watched him closely, evaluating him.
Then, suddenly, something seemed to occur to the goblin. His eyes gleamed for an instant, filled with questionable plans, greed, and opportunity.
"Fine. I might have something for you; but you'll have to earn it," the goblin said quickly, already thinking about the many pros and cons of his investment.
"Really? Great," Percy replied, smiling, without having the slightest idea of what his teacher was planning.
"I need to make some preparations. Come back in an hour or two. Or walk around the bank; but do not touch anything, unless you want to lose a limb," the goblin said as he rose from his seat and walked away.
He left Percy excited to know what his teacher was preparing; but also thrilled by the permission to walk around the bank. Normally, Einjard never allowed it, so of course he would take advantage of it to explore it from beginning to end. Above all, he wanted to see if he could meet the supposed dragon that protected the deepest vaults.
And, at the same time, earn something to give to his brother.
…
At the house, Harry was sitting on the couch. Every so often, he lifted his head, looked around, frowned, and returned to his Quidditch book. Then he lifted his head again, this time with a slightly confused expression.
"Mom, where's Percy?" he asked, noticing that something noisy was missing that, normally, would be bothering him at that very moment.
Sally peeked out from the kitchen, where she seemed to be baking Christmas cookies. Laki was packaging them with magic, while the decorations floated around the house, placing themselves on their own, preparing everything for the holidays.
It was as if Sally had ended up running late with the decorating; something that, clearly, a bit of magic could solve without any trouble.
"He said he was going to Gringotts to see Mr. Einjard," Sally replied with a slight smile when she saw Harry asking about his brother. They spent the whole day fighting, but they also could not stay apart for too long.
"Gringotts," Harry said in a thoughtful tone.
At that moment, the doorbell rang, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"I'll get it," he said, standing up from the couch. He set aside the book, which he had barely managed to make any progress on, and walked toward the door at a hurried pace, with contained excitement.
As soon as he opened the door and saw the person standing there, his expression turned slightly disappointed.
"Oh… it's Mr. Adrien. Hello," Harry said, quickly recovering his manners.
"You know, you're really easy to read," Adrien said with a slightly forced smile, noticing Harry's disappointment without any difficulty, as he casually ruffled his hair.
"Oh… I'm sorry. I was hoping it would be Mr. Dorian," Harry admitted with a bit of embarrassment and a sincere apology.
"Well, you don't have to be so sad. Actually, I came on his behalf," Adrien said as he pulled a rectangular box from behind his back.
Harry's eyes widened with excitement. He raised his hands to take it, but Adrien stopped him immediately, placing a hand in front of him.
"Wait," he said gently. "Because there were some changes of plans regarding what Dorian wanted to give you."
Harry frowned at once.
"Changes? Did the information I asked for not work?" he asked, worried.
"No. It worked. You really did a job that none of the knights have been able to do with such precision so far. Especially because we do not have anyone who could move with such freedom inside the school. That's why we decided to slightly change the object you requested. You asked for an enchanted sword made from the residue left behind by the Veil, with some minor improvement, something that was not used because it was considered useless. But I spoke with the old man…" he said, while slowly opening the box.
Harry's eyes lit up when he saw what was inside. A clean, simple bronze sword, deeply familiar.
Anaklusmos.
"We felt this could be more useful for you. According to the studies we carried out, it is not dangerous. It only has some camouflage abilities. Even now, if I do not concentrate enough, I still see it as a baseball bat. And apparently it can transform into a pen. Other than that, it does not seem to have anything special," Adrien explained with a smile, seeing Harry's excited expression and, above all, understanding why he had asked for this as payment for that small intelligence job.
"Great. Percy will be really happy to have it. He really seemed to like it when he saw it," Harry said as he carefully took the sword, visibly happy.
At that moment, Sally came out of the kitchen. When she saw Harry holding that familiar sword, she smiled slightly. She had also taken part in the weapon's safety studies, to make sure it did not pose a danger to her children. Although, of course, a sword was never completely safe for anyone, it was safe enough for the little knight apprentice named Percy to have it.
"Hello, Adrien. It looks like the paperwork finally ended," Sally said with a smile. After all, as coworkers, they saw each other quite often, and there was a natural familiarity between them.
"There are still a few things pending, but I wanted to bring Harry's payment before Christmas, so his gift would not arrive late," Adrien replied calmly. Then he looked at Harry. "By the way, what did you say it was called?"
"Riptide," Harry replied, as he carefully put it away and was already beginning to think about how to wrap it for his brother.
Adrien nodded. "Actually, Gema seems to have found something that…" Before he could finish the sentence, his phone rang. He raised a finger, asking for a minute, before answering.
Adrien listened for only a few seconds to the person on the other end of the line before his expression became completely serious and, for an instant, dangerously cold.
"Is she alright?" he asked immediately.
After receiving confirmation, he nodded. "I understand. I'll be there right away," he said quickly before looking at Sally. "I need you to come with me. It's urgent."
Sally saw his expression and nodded without hesitation.
"Harry, sweetheart, wait for your brother here. Lia, please, take care of Harry," Sally said quickly, addressing her son first and then the family's house-elf.
"Leave it to me, mistress," Lia replied at once.
Harry was left with a confused expression, wanting to ask what had happened. However, he did not have the chance to do so. He could only watch as his mother hurried out alongside Adrien, the box with Riptide suddenly felt heavier in his arms.