Chương 55: Chapter - 55 : The Devil Among Us part - 5
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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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"Mr Malfoy, the only part of your statement I agree with is that I am a goblin. Now, will you retract and apologise - or must we take this further?"
"It clearly says in the Prophet that the goblins have seized the Malfoy vaults - how is that not stealing?"
Harry didn't let the Slytherin's rage affect him, he'd been expecting this confrontation since reading the letter from his father. "The Prophet must have made a slight error. Those vaults belong to Gringotts, and are rented by the Malfoy family. As with any rental agreement, there are always conditions attached. An adult witch or wizard attempting to attack a young goblin with their wand certainly breaks those conditions and will see them kicked out of Gringotts. When my father heard what the head of the Malfoy family had attempted, he went straight to the director. It should also be noted that, as per the conditions of rental, your father was given twenty-four hours to retrieve anything he wanted from those vaults - before they were sealed."
"My father couldn't get there on time..."
"Again, the conditions of the rental contract allow for this. Had your father been too ill to get to the bank, the twenty-four hours would have been suspended until he was able to attend. In accordance with the conditions of the rental contract, being locked in a ministry cell is not an agreed and acceptable condition for suspension so the twenty-four hours lapsed. It's standard Gringotts banking practice that's taught to every young goblin - and perfectly legal."
Filius then asked a question he already knew the answer to, but wanted everyone else to hear. "What happens to the contents of those sealed vaults?"
Harry almost smiled at his head of house but that would ruin what he was trying to achieve here. "Because the vaults were not emptied in the allotted time, the bank will continue to take its small, annual rental fee for their continued use. The rest of the contents will remain untouched until someone is able to claim it."
Realisation began to sink in for some but Harry wanted no misunderstandings here. "In the case of the Malfoy vaults, that would be Draco when he came of age. This is of course assuming that he himself hasn't already broken those same banking conditions. Just to be clear Mr Malfoy, publicly calling me a 'thieving goblin bastard' over this matter shatters those conditions."
Harry gave Draco a moment to allow that information to sink in before speaking again. "Once more Mr Malfoy, will you retract and apologise - or must we take this further?"
Draco was many things but he wasn't a complete moron. The goblins had the Malfoys by the short and curly's, and he'd just given them a perfect excuse to yank those hairs out by the root. It was time to grovel - no matter how distasteful. Being poor was a far worse fate than eating some humble pie. "I apologise unreservedly Mr Crow, both for my lack of manners and the ill-informed comments I made. I now clearly see my statement was in error and retract every word spoken. I was not aware of what was involved in closing those vaults and acted in haste and anger."
"Perfectly understandable Mr Malfoy, even if it was regrettable. I'm quite prepared to accept your apology and forget the entire incident - this time."
Draco bowed in thanks, before turning to leave the great hall. The entire castle now knew Crow owned his arse, the very thought of that same arse dressed in second hand robes for the rest of his life was more than enough for Draco to keep his head up and defend his decision to anyone. He'd taken the only option available to him, and would continue to do so until he reached seventeen. Then he would be moving the entire Malfoy fortune elsewhere before seeking his revenge. This required an urgent letter home to his father.
Both heads of house returned to the staff table, content the matter had been resolved without breaking any school rules, while Harry sat back down to his interrupted breakfast. Hermione was reading Malfoy's discarded paper but had a question that the Prophet didn't answer.
"Gringotts actually have an official statement on the matter printed in the Prophet. It covers in detail everything you just said, including listing the conditions that are considered a breach of contract. Malfoy could have saved himself the embarrassment if he'd only finished reading. I suppose the 'Malfoy loses Vaults' headline was as far as he got. It doesn't mention though why his mother couldn't just move their valuables?"
Padma supplied the answer to her muggle born friend. "No head of a pureblood family would give his wife access to everything, probably too frightened they would be robbed blind."
Harry didn't know this, and it went against the information he did have. "My mum did, dad had her assigned full access to the Potter vaults. There were obviously things only the head of the Potter family could do, but those apart, everything was equal."
This intrigued both his friends though it was Padma who asked how he knew this.
"My father is the senior accounts manager at Gringotts, the Potter family account is the most senior at the bank. My father knew both my mum and dad, and liked them very much. He says I've got my mother's eyes."
"Your mum must have been beautiful..."
The words were out before it dawned on Hermione what she was saying. Padma was sitting watching both of them turn shades of pink and decided to help out, though she would tease Hermione mercilessly when she got her alone later. "Hey Harry, I think you could get Malfoy to clean our shoes for us. I think you could get Malfoy to do just about anything you wanted!"
"That is not the goblin way Padma."
"Maybe not, but you have to admit it would be funny..."
This cracked the three of them up.
Bill entered the great Hall to see three of his students laughing together, he couldn't help but compare them to his two youngest siblings. Ginny now sat enthralled as Bill told tales of the real Harry after dinner. He didn't want his sister simply switching her fantasy but was indulging Ginny at the moment. Watching Ron's face as he described what Harry had done to the nine older students was worth it. His mother and father had been on Ron's case all week and his youngest brother now couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts.
Taking the carrot and stick approach, Bill was using some of his extra salary to buy Ron a new wand later today. He also promised new robes if he finished all the homework Bill had gotten from Minerva for him. He wasn't entirely happy with having to coerce Ron into doing something but there weren't too many other options available at the moment. The youngest Weasley brother was in the last chance saloon as far as his Hogwarts education was concerned. Bill and Percy were taking on the task of ensuring Ron didn't blow it.
He could practically feel Dumbledore's eyes boring into his back while the Gringotts employe walked toward his students, Bill was certain the approach would be coming soon.
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