Disclaimer: this story uses characters and settings from J.K. Rowlings' wonderful creation Harry Potter. I get neither fame nor money for the stories I create off her work. All I get is the reviews my readers grace me with. This yet another collaboration with darkshadowedrose. This one is a bit of an even split the way The Day Albus is.
A/N: Darkshadowedrose is evil. I've been struggling with writer's block . Her solution spin me up on a new plot line. Fortunately this one should be mostly short. Short chapters and quick posts I'm aiming for 30-35k words in short 500-1500 word chapters we'll see how it goes though. I've started to post when I've got 20 chapters. I'll continue to work on Sirius and Prongs as I work on this. Oh and she's finally got her page problem fixed and is posting. She's got a good Inuyasha Bleach Xover going up once a week check it out.
Yet Another Universe
Chapter 1
Harry sighed it had been two weeks since the final battle. Tonks wasn't speaking to him. She blamed him for Remus dying, but it had escaped her that she could have died too, which would have left his godson an orphan. Tonks had been on her way to the battle when Harry had stunned her and tied her up, leaving her in the Headmaster's quarters so she would be found after the battle. He figured he'd done his job by his godson by making sure he at least had one parent. Hermione had left to find her parents. Neville had pulled him aside and told Harry that Ginny had moved on in the past year with a Ravenclaw in her year, despite her implied promise to wait for him. Of course Ginny still acted like she'd been faithful, which left Harry doubting the faithfulness of the Weasleys in general. Ron had been less than true as well. Harry still considered him a friend but he took promises of enduring faithfulness with a grain of salt. Actually he was taking the whole magical world with a shaker's worth of salt.
Reporters mobbed him whenever he set foot outside of Hogwarts. Kingsley was trying to solve problems and had asked Harry what had possessed him, that he robbed the LeStrange vault in Gringott's. The goblins were on the brink of war. Half the people he met treated him like the second coming of Merlin; the rest were scared of him. He really felt like disappearing, instead he was on his way to a meeting with the goblins in the neutral ground of the Great Hall. He had the sword ready to hand over, Neville had cleaned it and given it to him this morning.
Ragnok the Goblin leader was in the Hall with twenty warriors behind him. Behind them were sixty more. "Harry Potter, you have broken the laws and treaties between our peoples."
Harry dropped Gryffindor's sword on the table between them. "The sword is yours. Is there something else you want?"
"Reparations for the damage you caused. Your monies confiscated and for you never to cross the threshold of Gringotts ever again."
"No. I got rid of Voldemort so your business should improve. I'll pay for the dragon. I'll pay for repairs. I'll even pay a blood price of ten galleons a head for any goblins that died directly from my actions. But that shouldn't take more than a third of the Black fortune. I will not pay more than that. As far as never crossing the threshold of Gringott's again give me what's mine and fine. There are other banks." Harry knew he really should be taking a more moderate tone, but he was tired of being Fate's whipping boy. Finding out the way Albus had played him all those years and fulfilling the prophecy had left him feeling like enough was enough; he wasn't going to take it anymore. Harry ignored Kingsley's wince.
Ragnok scowled, he looked at Kingsley. "What is your opinion Minister?"
"Harry's actions were necessary to save us all from Voldemort. I feel there is room here to negotiate. He has made an offer would you like to make a counter offer?"
"Half the Black fortune."
Kingsley looked to Harry. Harry frowned, "Fine half, but when you bring me the rest and the Potter fortune it's converted, no more than a fourth in wizarding currency. After all, those other banks are mostly in the muggle world and they don't take wizarding money. Gold, platinum, and silver ingots, gems, and muggle currencies, yes. Knuts, sickles and galleons, no. Oh, a few last things. I want a third party to be oversight they get to verify that I'm not getting robbed. I want a magical oath with your life as the surety Ragnok that you won't try to take more than the agreed upon amount, , and that oath holds all the goblins to it."
"Anything else?"
"Trunks that shrink. Bring it to me in shrinking trunks. Card deck size will do."
Three weeks later after the ceremony where Harry, Hermione, Neville and Ron got their Order of Merlin First Class, and numerous other warriors from the battle got Order of Merlin Second Classes, Harry stopped by the Weasley's to check on Molly and George. Fred's death had hit the two of them the hardest. He walked through the front door and found Ginny shagging with a boy he'd seen at Hogwarts on the table. "Sorry." Harry frowned, he knew he'd never be able to eat at that table again. "I came to check on Molly and George. I thought they'd be here."
Ginny's boyfriend said, "Molly went to the store with George."
Ginny was frantically buttoning her blouse. "Hey Harry-"
"Save it Ginny. I wish you every happiness."
"Harry-"
"Don't, just don't." Harry quickly exited the Burrow and apparated to the public apparition point in Diagon Alley.
He was instantly mobbed. He apparated to just off the Hogwarts grounds. He entered the school and headed for the room of requirement. He really couldn't take this. He decided he was going to leave. He paused outside the room when he found the elves were still cleaning it. He changed his mind and headed to the Gryffindor common room. Once there he settled down at a table and started to write he intended to leave the magical world but he wasn't going to leave without a word. He'd had to put up with the insanity that the magical world generated, but he figured that he could maybe change a few things by leaving some of his hard earned wisdom behind. He also took a page out of Hermione's book and made a list of the things he'd need.
When dinner rolled around he went down leaving his letters on the desk, but taking his list with him. Half way through dinner a contingent of goblins appeared. They were followed by Percy Weasley. Ragnok walked up to Harry and dropped a stack of boxes in front of him .There were twelve boxes each the size of a deck of cards.
"I count my side of our bargain fulfilled. I would have an oath on your magic never to cross the threshold of Gringott's again."
"Percy? You were witness?"
"Yes, he's being truthful. One of those trunks holds non-treasure items from the Potter family vault including a portrait of your parents, a family grimoire, some journals, a couple other portraits, and the family ring. And all the paperwork on holdings for both the Potter and Black families that aren't kept in the bank. All those trunks are ready to be keyed to you alone for security. It hadn't been stipulated but I figured it was a good idea so I insisted."
"Thank you for the thought Percy. How do I do that?"
"Enlarge the trunks then smear a little blood on the lock. And touch it with your wand and say a password."
Harry quickly went through, briefly verifying that the trunks held treasure securing the treasure using treasure in parseltongue for the password. He finished the last trunk. He lifted his wand to the ceiling. "I, Harry James Potter, Lord Black swear on my magic I will never willingly cross the threshold of Gringott's Bank again in my life. Good enough?"
Ragnok frowned for a long moment then nodded. Harry tucked his new trunks into the oversize pocket in his robes where he kept his treasures: the map, his father's cloak, his album, a feather from Hedwig and his shrunken Firebolt. He was also carrying the Elder wand for lack of knowing a place to hide it. After what he found out about Albus, he didn't feel right hiding it in his tomb.
Harry tiredly headed back to his dorm. In the corridor shortly before the Fat Lady's Portrait he felt suddenly as if someone had pulled the rug from beneath his feet and then as if someone had dropped an activated portkey in his pocket.