Chapter 4: securing the future
Going to the nearest available goblin, she made her way.
"What do you want wizard." Sneer the goblin, looking down on her.
"I came to enact a contract passed with the bank."
Hearing her, the goblin lost it sneer to adopt a more neutral expression. While they love belittling Wizard, business was business, and it would look good on his resume if he made the bank lose client, more so when they are of prestigious and wealthy families.
"Documents?" Asked him dryly.
"Sent yesterday." Respond her crisply, earning a nod from the goblin, before he starts to look for say document inside the shared folder of ongoing business, available on each goblin desk on the hall.
Finding say documents; he rapidly read through it, briefly stopping on the reason why such actions were toke. Tending his hand while still reading, Lily didn't lose time and give a copy of the rapport.
Seeing the confirmation of contract' breach, a snarl briefly appears on its face. While goblin despite Wizard, child are another matter entirely, even from other race, as long as they are still unborn. Seeing that a child was conceived from a rape, done by a member of a highly 'light' family, was all need for it to go along.
Seeing the clearing signature extract from a drunken man, a smirk pass on its lip, it seems that it wasn't only goblins who like to rip one off of wealthy wizard by using their laws.
"Very well. All documents are accounted for and previously completed. With the authorisation of Lord Potter, we can process without the interference of the Potter Accountant. You are aware that by opening a Vault under the Name of Evans, you have made yourself the head of the magical house Evans, and as such, unable to store or claim any Potter heirloom, artefacts and grimoire pertaining to family magic." Say him, finally giving her a glance from above he documents.
"I do."
"Good. Under the contract signed by Lord Potter, he recognises the rape, potioning, line thief of the Evans headship, the thief of Evans line by rape child, and thus willing to pay yearly compensation for as long as the line thief exist." Finish him with a smile, knowing that since it was Lord Potter first, and unique child, he could difficultly disown it until another is born. Should the child turn to be a boy, he would put into peril his line by doing so, in short, the wizard fucked himself deep and hard. Should he came to die, the possible boy could claim the house dead and empty the Potter Vault legally, killing one of the sacred 28. There was none other joy for a goblin to rip-off wizards of their gold that this way, regretfully it hadn't happened since the 18th century.
What the goblin wasn't aware, or uncaring, thinking she doesn't know, was that by creating her own house, Lily wasn't submitted to the ICW regulation and treaty. If something were to happen to James, the Evans could and would empty their Vault from Gringott, and there would be nothing they would be able to do as long as they didn't use another magical banking system. Being a muggle-born, it wouldn't be difficult for her to change the entire amount of Galleon into pounds an open a muggle account.
Should something happen to her, a letter was already ready for her child, describing how all happen and what to do. She did not doubt that if something indeed happens, the old fart would meddle in it and the three moron would obey to the finger. For this, she had a contingency plan. The problem was that she needs her child to be birth; otherwise, all would be in vain.
Putting the issue to the corner of her mind for the moment, she takes her attention back to the goblin.
"... Now, for the rate, as a victim, you are to choose the rate of the yearly compensation the Potter Vault would need to pay, as well as a primary deposit of good faith, already allowed by Lord Potter. All these are regretfully under restriction." Sigh the goblin, knowing that even will all the goodwill of the world; they would need some years to dry or at least take a massive chunk of the Potter fortune.
"Following the Potter charter, such act had strict sums already put in place." Say Lily seriously, confirming the goblin fear.
"Alas, how much are you allowed to fine Lord Potter for the breach ?" Asked it somewhat fearfully to lack of fund.
"Each breach are to be accounted for separately."
"At last there still some hope." Sigh it in relief.
"Quite." Responded her while taking a particular book from her pouch.
Opening the book on its marked page, she rapidly as possible go through the text, but for once, the goblin didn't mind, there was money a stake after all.
"Here we are. For the case of potioning from a scion of the Potter Household to a noble third party. For a case of Loyalty potion: 15 G." The goblin grunt at the pitiful amount."For the case of a love potion (high): 25 G. For a case of a love potion (unknow): 30 G. For the case of mind-altering potion: 20 G.
For the case of line thief: 100 G. For the case of line thief of headship: 250 G. For line thief of heirship: 100 G. As the Potter charter didn't recognise rape child as legitimate, no charges can be held against the father, other than the precedent crime' fines available."
"So a total 540 G, not a hight amount, but still decent and enough to live off comfortably without continuous high expense..." Start it but stop seeing the knowing smile of the woman facing him.
"Did I share that the value was of the past?" Smirk her.
At this, he fell back in his chair lazily "I don't see..." Before her word lights his thoughts. "When?" avidly ask him, clutching to the tread of the law.
"The charter had been lastly updated in the year 1263, taking as fact value the amount of the fine." Finished her while the smile on her fact was threatening to split her face in two by how large it was, immediately rejoin by the goblin. "Would you be so courteous to share with me the value of the Galleon in 1263 to today equal value?" Asked her innocently while joy was visible in her eyes.
Nearly wrenching a drawer open, he eagerly plunges in the oldest part of his folder, before retrieving the particular file. Opening it carefully and browse the column of numbers, he finally found what he was looking. Taking another file and completing the same action, he raises his gaze to her before responding.
"As of the year 1263, the value of the Galleon equal to today as been fixed at 6672 G, losing some of it value from the year 1260 at 6677 G. For Lord Potter it would fix the yearly fine at 3 602 880 G."
"To this is added the initial fine of 500 G of 1263, or another 3 336 000 G." Giddily say her, barely keeping in place.
"From the yearly accounting of the Potter Vault, the total of Galleon accounted for was of 68 065 985 G 156 486 S and 1 565 K. As Lord Potter Vault falls under Gringott law, he is bound to be able to pay his fines until the emancipation of the concerned younger party. As the child is still unborn, the law accounts for 18 years, with a compensated fine if the amount of year excess the years until such. As it falls under 18 year, the first yearly payment will be automatically transferred on the birth of the child."
~~~
After all, the details were hammered, Lily receive the key to the new Evans Vault, before being led to it, as House Evans was only a Magical House with very few money for the moment, Lily Vault was among the higher, less secure one.
Giving the key to the accompanying goblin, the large granite door soundlessly open. Taking a look inside, piles of Galleon were already waiting for her. As the offended party, she was able to claim at least the initial fine; the rest would only follow after the birth of her child. Even then, the 500 G of 1263 had turned into a staggering 3 336 000 G.
As she was still Lady Potter and intent to stay it for the most time possible, not even a KNut of this would move from the Vault from the incoming 11 years at least. The only downside of this situation was that she was unable to make it fructify. If even a single Knut used for investment or any expenditure, the Vault would appear on the Potter Accountant files, and its existence made known to the Lord, James.
She wasn't worried; she did not need to touch it for now. Putting her documents at the top piles at the front, she exits the Vault, the door sealing it for a very long time.
~~~
Once down with the bank, Lily' stall for a second in the middle of the Alley. She had been thinking about the words of the goblin about the Potter heirloom when her gazes had passed over 'Trumpet Trunk's Tool'. She blanks for a second before a devilish grin draws on her face.
Entering the shop hastily, she was soon seen exiting it with her hand just coming outside her pocket. After a quick return to the bank, she passes through the pub, entering the muggle world, hunting for her target.
~~~
*crack!*
In a slight sound, Lily appear on the boundaries of the Potter Manor after her morning shopping. With a short stop to the Lord office, she snorts at the still passed-out drunk on the floor, while briefly thinking of the need to vanish the carpet, now spotting a large drool poodle.
Stoping into the extensive library, she took her newly purchased trunk out of her pocket, and with a wand's flick, enlarge it to its previous size. Opening the sturdy box, large rolls of brown leather came out from the silent levitation charm.
Emptying another pocket, stacks after stack of paper reams stood on the floor, waiting by the side of the rolls and the trunk.
A few flicks of wand later, the first, of a very long series, a book came out of the shelves, open on a reading desk. The pen on the side of a large stack of paper on the table below arises and start to copy the book on modern stationery.
Nodding to herself, she exits the room, sealing the place manually and magical, just in case.
~~~
For the following days, Lily had started to sift the Manor from top to bottom, retrieving anything not falling under the laws of Gringotts, sending shipment every two days of so of trunks full to her Vault.
Turn out that nearly anything present in the Manor was unrelated to House Potter. While genuine copy, all the authentic artefact where keeps in Potter Vault. As the now only two inhabitants of the Manor, James parent has been murdered a few months prior, it was ridiculously easy for her to plunder the Manor.
Any elves have been gone with the past Lord, James himself had never take headship. The bound, severed after a month, had left the past magnificent house slowly gathering dust in the unused rooms, the majority of it.
From the attic to the basement, she carefully goes rooms by rooms, leaving only the ones with portraits alone, not wanting to give her game yet.
As James had yet to quit his position as hit wizard, she had the entire day to do as she pleases, with the man completely unaware. It was also at this time that she catches him dosing her every night, just before going to sleep. Only the fact that they share different room had allowed her little interaction with the man. Like any typical pureblood, they would not share a bed useless during the night of her most fertile days in attempts to conceive a child, an arrangement she was most than okay to follow now.
~~~
As she sends her first shipment to the bank for them to store the trunk in the Vault, she returns to the library. Opening the door after seeing that no one had come here since her last visit, she enters.
On the floor, a small stack of neatly recorded books was waiting for her. With a flick of her wand, the leather unrolls, before she uses a short series of particular charms. Levitating the nearest stack on the unrolled portion as leather was cut, wrap around it, and the cover harden. The text block fused with the spine, and finally, the title inscribed in the front cover and spine.
For the two following hours, she would repeat the motion, while pondering on the inherent stupidity of the wizarding world. While books were protected by copyright enchantment, shielding them from attempts of magical-made copy, nothing was done against the old reading desk' scribbling enchantments, add to that the unrecognised muggle paper, and voila, newly made books!
This was a golden opportunity for her; the Potter library was a wealth of knowledge going as far as 500 years back, anything older was regretfully lost because of generations of illiterate morons unable to appreciate the knowledge or worst in the hand of goblins' Vaults!
~~~
As the second month of her pregnancy was coming to an end, signs were starting to show, while she would be safe from anyone discovering it, thank the horrible fashion of the Wizard, she knows she had to warn James.
She understands that something was going on when the breaded one came the next morning. After a stressful day between the incessant wapping of James, the painfully childish behaviour of Sirius, the concerning predatory gaze of Remus, the fidgetting of Peter, and the insufferable twinkling old bastard, she knows something was wrong on a different point.
First came James, the very night, she discovers that her potioning had been doubled to her fury. Not only the excessive dosing was overkill, but it would also harm her child! Since he didn't exit the Manor for the entire day, she knows that someone was supplying the potions, indicating an accomplice. Her suspicion directly fall on Dumbledore, not only the man had instantly came over while the year was still on-going, but he immediately came and hadn't left her out of his gaze, until she drank the 'tea' James had made for her.
Sirius was his usual dumb self, thinking he was going to gain a new buddy. Not only his way of thinking was alarming, but she also knows that the moron would to something dangerous, thinking it fun.
She was at first lost for Remus until he came suspiciously near, and not-so-discreetly take a deep sniff. Remembering some treaty on werewolves, it had taken a little time before she understands, but once she did, she feels even more insecure. Werewolfs seems to all develop particular craving after the transformation. Remembering his attitude when they learn that Alice was also expecting, she shudders.
Remus craving seems to be related to pregnant women, more precisely the pheromones they were blasting. From the little she could found, the craving was a very worrying matter. At best, it would translate to the rape of their target, no matter the sex, at worst, in her case, the dead of the child, rape, abduction and the bite, not particularly in this order. From that day, she made sure always to carry a silver knife, ready to kill him at any notice.
Peter was another can of worms she can't made tail off (pun no intended) entirely. His dodgy reaction and the news of spy in the Order was drawing a horrible and worrying image. It was also hinting that there was more to the story, and there came the Gandalf reject.
The man was giving far too much attention at her and Alice, now that she was thinking about it. Him sprouting bullshit about fate and his insistent gaze at her belly when he was thinking she wasn't seeing him was only adding water to the mill.
All this was drawing an alarming future for her and her child. It was becoming evident that Dumbledore was laying the field for something, and she, her child of both was at the centre, frontline. She wasn't liking one bit but was hopelessly powerless about it.
~~~
The months to come would have turned anyone else a nervous wreck, but Lily hadn't time for this. It was the contrary as she was using this as a driving force. With the continuous use of the reading desk, followed by three other she found, her copy of the ancient library was going smoothly.
She had already near fourth-fifth copied and neatly stacked in the trunk. From her estimation, everything would be finished before the birth of her little angel.
As she feared, the news of her becoming pregnant had busted the following day, thanks to a drunken band of idiots screaming in the middle of Leaky Claudron that the future of the Potter line was assured.
Learning that she was waiting a boy had been a relief and worry. On one side, should he ever discover it, James wouldn't be able to disown him even if he wanted, after being diagnosticated now sterile. On the other hand, she fears that he would turn like his father and friend, or being manipulated by the goat fucker, if not both.
James sterility was a spur of the moment and a very bold act. When she learned that he was hit by a stray spell and shipped to St. Mungo in an emergency, she had barely the time to gain a hint of say spell before applying one on his testicles with similar effects.
This had led to an unexpected result when Dumbledore had confided to them the witnessing of a prophecy while interviewing a woman for the divination' post. She had felt like a cold hand was wrecking her inward at his word, understanding why he was so interested in her child.
While the trio of morons had been bosting that they would protect the future of the Potter, she had caught Peter eyes widening briefly at this. Unwilling to trust her fate to the hand of the meddling fool, she had Floo directly to the Hoghead, and ask Alberford the identity of the woman.
What she learned didn't comfort her, but the final stroke was hearing that Severus Snape had caught a part of the interview and most likely the prophecy as well.
From these, two points appear to her. First, Peter was a Death Eater, and so was Severus. Two, the insane blood purist murderer was also aware of it, or at least a part of it.
Her time was growing thin, with her little one soon-to-be-born in less than a month; she had very little time to act. Trusting no one, she starts a mad rush to go through the books available to her.
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