See If I Care

10

"Into the cart." Alex climbed into the cart and the goblin got in the front. The cart took off down the tracks at a frightening speed and Alex had to cling to the edges to preventing being thrown out. A minute later, they reached a hall of sorts with five doors. The cart stopped at the font of the hall, directly opposite the middle door. Alex slowly climbed out of the cart and inspected the doors. The door on the far left had the Hufflepuff coat of arms, while the door next to it had the Ravenclaw coat of arms. The middle door held the Hogwarts crest. The door to the right of the Hogwarts one had the Gryffindor coat of arms. Finally, the far-right door held the Slytherin coat of arms. The vault they had come for.

Alex walked straight to the door, placing their hand below the snake on the coat of arms. They allowed a slight amount of their magic to flare and felt a slight prick on their palm. After accepting their magic and blood as from Slytherin, the door swung open. Inside the vault was pile upon piles of golden galleons, silver sickles and bronze knuts. But Alex ignored the money, heading straight to the back of the vault.

Salazar had told them of a secret compartment at the back of the vault, only able to be accessed by a Parselmouth. They found the carving of the snake near the bottom of the back wall and crouched down, covering it with their hand.

$Show me your secrets,$ Alex hissed, the phrase being the one Salazar had said would open the secret compartment. The stones shifted and moved away, revealing a compartment the size of their bedroom back at Hogwarts. Inside, was many things that they would come back later to investigate. For now, they simply grabbed the parchment from on top of a chest, right where Sal and Helga had said it would be. They shrunk it and placed it in their pocket, planning to read over it when they got home.

They walked out of the compartment and it closed behind them. They then exited the vault, closing the door behind them and hearing it lock in place.

"Back in the cart," the goblin said and Alex reluctantly climbed in. A quick ride later and they were outside the vault that Alex knew to be their trust vault. The slipped the key off their wrist, inserting it into the lock and opening the door.

The key had been placed in their wardrobe in their room at Potter Manor when they were born, the key to the heir trust vault. A similar key had been placed in Harry's room, only it was the key to the secondary heir vault. Alex had found the key when they were 5 and had attached it to a bracelet so they didn't loose it, as they could tell what it was.

They stepped inside the vault, picking up a leather bag from the floor. The bag had obviously been placed there to hold the heir's money. They opened the bag and collected some handfuls of money. They filled the bag up completely, knowing that even if they emptied the vault it wouldnt matter. The vault was attached to the main Potter vault and would automatically be refilled to 1,000 galleons each year. Lily and James wouldn't even know they were withdrawing money.

Exiting the vault, they climbed back into the cart and endured the last ride for the day. The goblin led them back to Griphook's office, before walking off again. Alex knocked and pushed the door open, finding Griphook already inside. He was seated behind his desk, 8 ring boxes in front of him. Alex sat down in front of Griphook, the same chair they had previously used.

*We shall start with the heirships first. You simply need to place each ring on your right ring finger and allow the magic to accept you.* Alex did as instructed, starting with the Potter ring. Even though they didn't fully carry Potter blood anymore, the family magic had accepted them as the next heir, regardless of if they carried the Potter name or blood.

The ring was cold as they slipped it on, and they felt the magic flare around them. It was comforting, the feeling of family.

They slipped the Black heir ring on next. Sirius had put in his will that the Potter heir was to be his heir as well, obviously meaning for it to be Harry. Too bad they had forgotten about them. The magic of the ring was cold, and on the darker side of magic. They felt it brush over their core, before settling. As the magic settled, the ring merged with the Potter heir ring.

They picked up the Slytherin heir ring next, placing it on his right ring finger, the same place it had sat just earlier that morning. The feeling of Salazar's magic swirled around them, a feeling that they had gotten used to from working with the founder. The magic accepted them quickly an the Slytherin ring merged with the other two heir rings.

*The lairde rings go on the right pointer finger. The process is the same as with the heir rings.*

Alex picked up the Peverell ring, placing the cool metal on their finger. The magic around the ring hummed, changing to match their magic. The magic felt ancient, even older than that of Merlin's, or the other founders.

Next, they picked up the Gryffindor ring, placing it on his finger. The magic was fierce, but warm, exactly like Godric. The magic easily accepted him, the ring merging with the Peverell ring.

The Ravenclaw ring was slipped on next, the magic not even having time to flare before the ring merged with the other two. The same happened with the Hufflepuff ring, the ring merging as soon as it was placed on their finger.

Alex picked up the Emrys ring last. The magic swirled around them, accepting them but not submitting. The powerful magic continue to swirl, even after the ring had merged with the other 4. Alex allowed their magic to flare, filling the room with even more powerful magic. They felt the Emrys magic soften and settle and pulled their magic back into their body, storing it behind their mind shields as Rowena had taught.

*Thank you Griphook. May your vaults overflow and may your enemies fall at your feet. I hope we meet again, great and noble goblin,* Alex said, rising from the chair.

*It was my pleasure, Guardian of Magic. May your power remain strong, we will meet again,* Griphook replied. Alex left the room, easily finding their way back to the entrance hall. They spotted Remus, standing next to the door, an anxious look on his face.

Alex quickly walked up to their new guardian, a smile on their face. They tapped Remus on the arm, gaining his attention.

"I'm ready to go now. I have a lot to tell you when we get home." Remus gaze moved over their body, seeming to take in all the changes that had occurred. His eyes stopped on the snake still coiled around their shoulders. Akira had been hidden under their cloak, but now had her head resting in sight on Alex's shoulder.

"Yes, you do," Remus agreed. He led the way out of the door, but before Alex left, they turned on the spot.

*May your vaults overflow and your enemies fall at your feet. May your power remain strong, Great and Noble Goblins. We will meet again,* they said, loud enough for their voice to be heard by every goblin in the hall. With that, they turned back around, walking out the doors.