Chapter 38

"I'm a what now?!" Deidric's voice rose an octave.

"The future Lord Black," Suffet uttered once more, this time slower as he noticed the shock on the young man's face.

"Suffet, I have to get Nurrak. He'll probably sob once he hears this news!" The Potter account manager stated before hurrying out the door.

"Wait... Oh, there he goes again," Suffet rolled his eyes. "I didn't want to get Nurrak's hopes up before you even accepted."

"I am so very confused," Deidric muttered as he looked at the family tree Harry was scrutinizing.

"This is interesting," Harry said. "It seems your ancestor was a child of Phineas Nigellus though it doesn't specify if it was a he or a she,"

"That is common for that time. Many purebloods struck their children off the family tree after they reached the age of seven and never showed signs of magic. For there to not even be a name then the ritual magic cast upon a baby after birth to form a magical bond with the parents failed. That's an extreme case of detecting a squib."

"I've brought Nurrak!" The Potter account manager re-entered dragging a disheveled Goblin. "Nurrak meet the future Lord Black!"

"That's not funny!" Nurrak replied. "Are you really going this far to make a mockery out of me?! My wife already left me because of this scandal!"

"Nurrak, Briggal isn't joshing with you. There is a legitimate heir here," Suffet stated while gesturing to Deidric who looked so out of place right now. "The genealogy doesn't lie,"

"Let me see that!" Nurrak roughly grabbed the parchment from Harry's hands and nearly stuck his nose to it as he was scrutinizing it. "By the Goblin King's handmaiden! This is great!"

"Heir Black, should you accept you will be saving not only a Noble family's fortune but also a Goblin's pride!" Nurrak uttered as he proceeded to shake Deidric's hand enthusiastically, something that was nearly unthinkable for a Goblin to do. They were more of the stab-first-ask-questions-later kind.

"Could one of you please just explain what is going on here?!" Deidric asked as he looked from Goblin to Goblin.

"Nurrak, The young heir hasn't accepted the position yet," Suffet told his colleague. "You accosting him like that probably isn't helping. I would advise you to explain the situation you are in currently."

"Right, uhm... my apologies," Nurrak stepped back while nervously adjusting his cufflinks. "I will assume you wizarding folk know nothing in-depth of Goblin customs. The Gringott's clan operates on a caste system. The mine workers are the lowest caste while the bank employees are one of the higher castes as we answer to the King. Goblin Healers are on par, status-wise, with the bank employees. It takes rigorous training to become a bank employee and that is something we pride ourselves on." Now Nurrak looked nervous. "Our status in the bank also depends on the state of the accounts we manage. It is our everything. It determines which areas we may travel to in the Goblin nation, where we may eat, live, and which females we may woo."

"That sounds very rigid," Harry remarked.

"The structure has worked mostly well for the Goblin nation as it gives us incentives should we wish to climb the caste ladder," Nurrak stated. "For us, it ensures that qualified people end up in qualified positions. Yearly, exams are hosted for particular professions, and those who wish to better themselves may attempt them. That is how I got where I am today. My parents are lower middle caste which is home to the domestic workers. I climbed to this position out of sheer will,"

"But I digress. As I previously stated a bank manager's status is dependent on the state of the account they manage. Currently, the Black account is the laughingstock of the bank,"

"When Sirius Black escaped in 1993 the Ministry ordered all Black assets frozen. I as the account manager was essentially rendered useless at that point. Business transactions were put on hold, and employees of family-owned businesses could not be paid. This also resulted in the businesses closing down and no stock market trading in the Muggle world."

"There is a grace period of 2 years for an account manager to get their account back on track however without a new Lord overseeing the estate and Sirius Black still at large it was almost certain that I would be sentenced to the mines for this blunder. The grace period ends in two months," Nurrak seemed somewhat frantic when he recounted all of this.

"Being sentenced to a lower caste in Goblin culture is the ultimate shame. It also means that you are ineligible for retaking the exams," Suffet added. "Nurrak's mate has already taken custody of the children and distanced herself in wait for the inevitable. No one blames her for her actions. Taking the children and distancing themselves ensures that they still get benefits to live on should anything happen to Nurrak,"

"So Heir Black, I beg you, please take up the mantle of Lord Black. The Ministry will have no choice but to unfreeze the account and I can see my wife and children again!" Nurrak practically pleaded.

"I think you should take it," Harry spoke up as he saw the panic in Deidric's eyes. "I was Lord Black in my previous reality. Besides helping out Nurrak here it is also a powerful seat in the Wizengamot. Your parents wouldn't be able to touch you and I'm pretty sure that Albus-too-many-names-Dumbledore was planning to prove Sirius's innocence when the time was... convenient. He knows he'll need the Black Lordship to lay claim to Bellatrix's vault to get one of the Horcruxes, monetary backing, and most likely he might be banking on Sirius making him the proxy for the seat in the Wizengamot as we all know Sirius was never one for politics,"

"Well... father did make me study Wizarding law," Deidric muttered. "Not really a fan of it but I do know my way around the Wizengamot. I'll accept,"

Somewhere in another realm, Fate was chuckling. The other sisters had crowded around her as she weaved her powers. "You really hate that bumblebee that much, huh?" Diana asked. "You're literally screwing his plans over right now,"

"I say let her, Diana," Sirona butted in. "We hardly see our big sis enjoying herself."

"Though I have a feeling something else is going on," Andrasta spoke up. "The last time we saw sis actively stepping in was when Ceasar got turned into a pincushion. Do you know how much overtime I had to do as the entity of Victory and Sovereignty thanks to those civil wars?!"

"Why don't we change the channel for now," One of the sisters suggested. "We don't want Mother to get mad for interfering too much,"

The scene then changed to Minerva's office at Hogwarts.

"Augusta, thank you so much for coming," Minerva stated as she offered the Longbottom Matriarch a seat and scones the elves had prepared. "I honestly hadn't expected such a quick visit after only just approving the audit,"

"Yes, some concerning things popped up Minerva," Augusta said as she took a seat. "I know that you are only acting Headmaster right now but perhaps you could elaborate on some of the things we've found,"

"I can try but I don't know all that goes on in Albus's head. He would most of the time do things that I was not privy to," she answered as Augusta pulled out a folder.

"So the Board's auditors have started but already some concerning aspects have popped up. When you answered my letter you told me that you've recently strengthened the wards of the castle yourself. This is usually the Headmaster's job."

"Yes well, Albus was not here and the paintings of the past Headmasters and Headmistresses insisted I be the one to do it. No explanation though I got a distinct impression that they were not overly fond of Albus,"

"I see," Augusta remarked. "We'll leave it at that for now. I wish to get Albus's statement on the situation as well. Another thing I wish to speak with you about is the teacher contracts,"

"What of those?" Minerva frowned. "I've never handled the contracts. Those were for Albus's eyes only,"

"Noted," Augusta stated while jotting down something. "Just so you know there seems to be some discrepancy with the employment contract of Master Snape. The Board has a Research Potions fund to entice Potion Masters to apply for the position. They give their knowledge to the next generation while also being able to advance in their own research. The contract should have elaborated on this clause but that section seems to be missing. This is curious as the Headmaster has for the last few years filed a budget increase for this fund. Now we have no idea where this money has gone,"

"Severus would never, just so you know," Minerva said defensively.

"I'm not blaming him. It is obvious from the contract and the renewals each year that it wasn't a known fact by Professor Snape." Augusta commented. "I am even more in awe that he stayed to teach this long without such incentive,"

"The most concerning thing we've already found was that the ward structure governing Dark objects and Magic has been tampered with. We don't know for how long it has been like that but we have called in a specialist that will repair it today," Augusta stated. "This is concerning the children's safety and I have the urge to give Albus a piece of my mind,"

Minerva frowned. Her hand went toward her chin as she thought about the implications. It would explain how the troll got into the school a couple of years back. Albus had also mentioned in passing on the third years learning about the Unforgivables with a lie demonstration. She kicked herself, which would have sent the wards blaring and locked down the school.

No sooner had Minerva thought that when alarms started blaring.