The Master of Death

Chapter14: Manipulating Malfoys

It was early in the morning when he met Sirius in the hallway.

Harry had woken once he'd accidentally shifted in his sleep and the injury on his wrist had flared up full force. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to mend his burnt skin. Cursing, he had eventually dragged himself out of his bed, looking for bandages and a long-sleeved shirt, which would hide his blisters for now. He doubted that there was something he could do as most injuries caused by dark curses had to heal on their own. Groggy and somewhat pissed off, Harry had just finished his task, when he'd encountered his godfather.

Harry hadn't thought that anyone was already awake and appropriate for this early hour, Sirius still looked very ruffled.

A short conversation later, Harry had learned that his godfather had just been on the way to get some coffee. Apparently, a very insistent owl had woken him up. He'd received a letter from Gringotts, telling him that everything was ready. Despite Sirius' grumpy complaints and Harry's lack of motivation, they decided that it was probably best if they went to Diagon Alley while no one was around yet.

And thus it came, that half an hour later they sat inside the same office in Gringotts they had the previous day, with the walls covered in drawers and lines of strings behind the carved desk.

"Very well. Only to be formal, what is the title you want to claim?" Gornok asked from behind a high stack of parchments.

"Lord Black," Sirius answered as they watched the goblin sorting through the papers. He still had dark rings under his eyes and he was fidgeting with the old signet ring Harry had taken from Kreacher sometime before. It had rather surprised him to see Sirius wearing it.

"Mhh." The goblin nodded and after a few moments, he stood up and determined walked up to the wall of strings that hung from the holes near the ceiling. He pulled on one, which to Harry didn't look any special and then sat down as if nothing had happened.

They sat in awkward silence, Harry petted Death who once more accompanied him in his snake form, while Sirius's frown deepened with every second. Gornok did nothing to help their confusion. But eventually, Harry heard someone approaching.

The door behind them opened shortly after and another goblin entered. He was smaller than Gornok and apart from a silvery pocket watch, he wore no jewellery.

"Sirius Black. I need everything required," Gornok demanded. The other goblin nodded and then disappeared.

They waited for some time. Next to Harry, Sirius' fingers drummed on his thighs. Death slithered slowly over Harry's arm. Eventually, the door opened again. The goblin carried a few documents and a box made of shiny black wood. He walked over and put it on the table, while Gornok took the parchments. He started to shuffle through them before he briefly raised his head and dismissed the other goblin with a nod.

Gornok hummed as he looked through the papers. Sirius on the other hand stared at the black box, and Harry followed his gaze. It was decorated with different patterns. On top of it was a beautiful carving showing the Black Family crest. Harry couldn't detect an opening, but the artefact pulsed hungrily with dark magic.

"Hm... mhhm... yes this should all be correct," Gornok muttered and raised his head, "Now, Mr Black. You seem to fulfil all conditions. You are of age, listed as an heir in these documents and current head of the house."

"Well then," Sirius said and already reached for a quill.

"Oh, not so fast," Gornok said, "Every family has different conditions. While with Mr Potter, the simple confirmation of his identity through blood was enough, the Black family states that only someone able to open this box is worthy of this title." The Goblin pointed at the carved box with a long spindly finger.