IRRESISTIBLE

Chapter 3:

The room the two were ushered into was a mix of shades of brown and mauve, a large desk dominating the stout room, a trio of chairs facing it in front of Harry and a larger, arm chair behind it.

The crowning feature of the room was the back wall, an otherwise blank expanse of deep scarlet dominated by a huge painted shield. Smaller, differing, shields encompassing it. Three to its left, four to its right.

"Do you like it?"

Earthcrack, hands folded behind his back and a somewhat proud and impish smirk on his lips. Gesturing to the office space with a quirked brow, "My predecessor had the Ogden family front and centre, but I found yours to be more appropriate. Especially considering how the Ogden's aren't going to be around much longer."

He breezed past that comment, eyes firmly on the crests, eyes fixed on the suit of arms that apparently belonged to his family: a shield with some sort of flask its center, surrounded by a quintet of golden, five-leafed clover like symbols. The entire thing split into quarters where two corners were white and the others black.

"Why-"

"Mmm, the flask is an odd choice." Earthcrack picking up on the sub-audible question, a knowing look in his eyes when Harry's attention returned to the speaker, "Your family's fame is massively attributed to its advancements and inventions in the field of potions."

An image of Snape with that wall mounted crest on his robes had Harry's nose turned up for a moment, before his outrage returned to him when he realised he was being distracted,

"What those goblins did to Daggerkeep is unacceptable. It was an assault!"

"Perhaps to a human." His response was airy and bordered on dismissive, "But by Ministry law itself, we are free to govern and punish ourselves however we see fit. Daggerkeep's own behaviour was out of order and, although I do not agree with the guards handling of the situation, it was far from criminal."

"What-"

Harry wasn't exactly ignored or interrupted, but the action of Earthcrack bowing so low his glasses slipped from his nose and hung taut from their chain… he was left spluttering JUST long enough for the goblin to get a word in edgeways,

"I apologise for the actions of the goblins you encountered today and I assure you that it is not behaviour or practices we encourage within this branch of Gringotts or the company as a whole."

He bowed low, his voice was the epitome of contrite yet unwaveringly firm.

This was the end of the discussion, that was what Harry REALLY took from that statement.

However,

"And what will happen to Daggerkeep? And the guards?"

"The guards will be flogged and Daggerkeep will be demoted." The airiness returned, accompanied by a sharp nod that really threw him through a loop, "Daggerkeep's actions towards you are part of an uncomfortable pattern of behaviours he has been previously warned about. He will return to work beneath the bank and out of the public eye, as he clearly cannot be trusted around humans."

"F-flogged?!"

"For most of the world, their only interaction with our kind is via the banks. Thus many of our staff have to also act as ambassadors and representatives of our species. Thus we take situations of this nature very seriously and, in many cases, incredibly personally." His voice was a little gravelly in that moment, contrition present however, "I humbly apologise and will endeavour to ensure Teller Daggerkeep is appropriately punished and the guards are reprimanded."

The pair of them paused whilst the Harry stared down at the bowing goblin,

"I think Daggerkeep has been punished enough." He eventually snarled, Earthcrack raising his head to see the cool, hard gaze of the customer and responding with a,

"Understood."

A frosty atmosphere settled over the room as Earthcrack slipped behind the desk and sat in, what Harry presumed to be, his chair. He gestured for the boy to take a seat and Harry slowly obliged,

"Now tell me, Mr Potter." A small stack of parchment shoved to the side as Harry finally sat down,
"Erm, you can call me Harry."
"I'm not comfortable doing that, Mr Potter, but I thank you for the gesture." Earthcrack bowed his head with a small half smile, Harry unconsciously bobbing his head in response. "Now, allow me to assist you. What did you come here for?"
"Ah, I wanted to get my account balance and take out some money." Harry's hands in his lap and fidgeting, "Though, I've got a few more questions now."

There was a small sympathetic smile on the goblin's face as he nodded, his hands moving to (what Harry assumed to be) the drawers of his desk and whipped out a hefty stack of parchment.

"We'll get your first request squared away then you can get some money on your way out, does that work for you?"
He mulled it over for barely a second, nodding as Earthcrack's gaze snapped down to the parchment and pushed the small golden spectacles he wore further up his nose.

"Okay, there are four vaults attributed to your name Mr Potter." Harry perked up a bit, eyes widening a little, "The first is your Trust Fund vault, which currently has: 2,800 Galleons, 137 Sickles and 220 Knuts, which I assume is the only vault you were aware of."

Harry nodded his affirmation and Earthcrack settled the parchment on the desktop,

"You see, Mr Potter, there are many families across the world with long histories and lineages within the magical community. The majority of these are the Purebloods and, with VERY few exceptions, Gringotts Bank service's their financial needs." He rested his elbows on the desk and threaded his taloned fingers together, "These families set up Family Vaults, in which they store their money, possessions and various secrets for safe keeping. Your family being no exception."

"My family is old?"
"Incredibly. As well as having interbred with many ancient families, such as the Euphemia's and the Peverell's, the Potter line predates the bank by several centuries." He slipped a sheaf of parchment away as he spoke, "Ironically, however, yours was the last of the Ancient Houses, in Europe that is, to entrust us with your funds."

His drawer clicked closed after some rummaging, a small thin book slid across the table to Harry's confused but expectant gaze,

"This is a short primer that will likely answer most of your questions regarding both your family personally AND pureblood families in general."

Harry took the book and for the first time was grateful for the size of Dudley's cast-offs, as it fit comfortably in his pocket,

'Still getting replaced though.'

"Thank you." Harry did give a small, seated, bow that was received with a small nod.

"Now, the next vault will be the Potter family vault." He shuffled the parchment once more, slipping one sheet to the back and nodding with a little satisfied smirk on his face at what he saw, "Now, your Trust Fund is funded by this account also, and anything that is left over in your Trust Fund when you reach your majority will be returned to this account."

Seventeen seemed an odd age to Harry, but he decided to just allow it,

"Wait, why can't I access it now?"
"Access to the Family Vault of any customer can only be made when an individual is recognised as an adult." Earthcrack spoke with an air of finality, "It is a practice mutually enforced by the bank and the Ministry of Magic's Department of Records."

"But why seventeen? You become an adult at-"

"Eighteen? In the Muggle world that is the case. Again, I recommend you either read your primer or ask your magical guardian for more information." He paused, having nodded quietly to himself in deep thought before slowly (in a voice barely above a whisper), "I also recommend you check in at the Department of Records as soon as possible to discuss your position as the last of your family."

There was a bit of a crushing feeling associated to that last tidbit, a chest pain that overrode Harry's curious suspicion,

"So… there really isn't…"

"You are the last of the Potter's I'm afraid. You have some cousins in the Black family and distant relatives in those with Peverell blood. But you are what is left of your family."

Silence, broken by the shuffling of paper.

"We can send you the full balance of the Potter family vault, alongside the other two, after a full audit is performed. It would be 10 Sickles per vault, sign here if that is agreeable."

"Wha… fine." Harry took his gaze from him and instead to the slip of paper slid across the desk to him. The top text was a simple "Audit Request for the following Vaults:"

His breath hitched when he read the trio of sentences beneath.

The first: Family Vault of House Potter. Expected.

The second: Provisional Vault of Harry James Potter.

The second was enough to give him pause, and he was a hairbreadth away from looking away to ask what it was, when the third caught his eye.

Personal Vault of Lily Evans (subject to acceptance).

"My mum had a vault?"

"Of course. A remnant of her financial status before marrying your father. It became more of a seperate savings and investment account, separate from your father's own assets." There was a tone of approval, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips as he spoke, "Very clever I will say. Not many in her position even bother to differentiate their assets from their rich spouses."

He nodded along a bit, honestly unsurprised when hearing it put like that. Despite how truly little he knew of his parents in general, he was very comfortable with the idea that his mother was an intelligent woman.

"It says 'subject to acceptance' here, why is that?" Harry had some idea on the meaning and Earthcrack was eager to elaborate,

"Your mothers Will left the Vault to you. That Will, however, was read whilst you were a baby and thus, you weren't able to accept it."

Harry gave the barest of nods, eyes fixed on the words. They burned to see but he just couldn't tear his gaze away.

"She knew she was going to die, then." A statement, but answered as if otherwise,

"Most had a general idea, particularly muggleborns like Mrs Potter."

Harry's own lip pursed this time, biting back a scowl as a memory resurfaced. A pleading woman silenced by a flash of green light.

Harry failed and he scowled at a Dark Lord he could only see in his mind's eye.

Earthcrack coughed a bit shakily, Harry noted a small tremor in his voice and hands when his attention returned to him,

"Her will is easily retrievable and can be delivered to you here if you give me a few minutes."

He was given those minutes by a VERY eager preteen, said young man left with a small, dark bowl hovering at his side as a result.

"What is-" He spotted an inscription and slid to his feet to step closer, "Behold the Neo-Pensieve?"

A questioning look made its home on Harry's face and Earthcrack's entire demeanour soured, lips pursed and face scrunched up as he spat,

"This is a Neo-Pensieve, a device made to project impressions of memories to be viewed at a later date." He took a sharp breath through his teeth and (whilst looking as if he'd bitten into a lemon) he added, "I am… obliged… to inform you that this product was created with generous funding from the MatiSYahU Bank."

His eyes narrowed a little in confusion,

"Matis- wha-" He tried the name a few times on his tongue and just gave up with a quiet exclamation of, "What is that?"

"They are both NOT a bank and no company you should be concerning yourself with." Earthcrack roared out his retort, wincing himself in the face of Harry's flinch. A confused, and a little incensed, twelve year old glaring over at a quickly apologetic goblin, "Forgive me. They are con artists, they give 'loans' to individuals but the collateral they require…"

He didn't continue and outright refused to elaborate when pushed, silence settling over them once again as Earthcrack busied himself with the device.

A fizzling sound followed by a low, deep thrum filled up the room. Harry's attention brought to the device which he finally realised resemblance to a projector. A beam of silver light spat out of the lens of the device, stopping dead a few feet before it, forming an odd blob like shape in the space between Harry and it. It swirled and moved, like ripples on a pond, as it stretched and expanded into the rough silhouette of a person.

Then, in an instant, everything leapt into focus.

And his mother stood before him…

Not tall, maybe a few inches taller than Harry. Draped in fairly Muggle looking clothes with her long falling just above the waistband of her jeans.

She stood as a chrome representation of herself, paused in time in a form reminiscent of the Hogwarts ghosts. Just transparent enough to see the dark shape of the desk behind her, but opaque enough not to see details.

There was a small bell sound and, as if signalled, his mother moved, arms coming up from her sides to fold over her chest,

"I recognise this as my last will and testament. My name is Lily Joanne Potter, and I'm leaving everything to my son, Harry James Potter."

"I'll give you some privacy." A quick word from Earthcrack, more a murmur as he swiftly exited the room.

He didn't need to, Harry didn't notice it at all, he was focussed on his mother...

She looked impatient, her arms folded over her chest and her foot tapping a sharp, impatient rhythm on the floor.

Though the woman was a silvery apparition, it was still breathtaking to see his mother in something other than a moving photograph. Moving,

'That's what my mum sounds like.'

There was a click, oddly like a door closing, Harry's mother rolling her eyes in response,

"Finally. Eugh, honestly, I swear he was taking his sweet time on purpose." She scowled whilst looking at something over Harry's shoulder.

Her arms unfolded and her fingers threaded into her hair as she unleashed an explosive sigh.

Those eyes snapped to him, so fast it actually made him jump. Her demeanour had changed, gaze soft and a warm smile curled up the corners of her lips,

"Hi baby, I hope you're okay." Such a warm smile, Harry's heart stopping in the face of it, "I got Snarlkick, the lovely goblin you might have heard huffing in the background, to get out so we could chat for a sec."

She rolled her shoulders back and actually settled into a small crouch, now just below eye level of her child,

"I've written out a will in case this one becomes irrelevant. But, if you're hearing this one, that's… I'm guessing Voldemort killed me if you're hearing this one."

Her smile twisted into a frown, eyes downcast as Harry's heart climbed into his throat and felt the heat leave his body. She shrugged,

"No point fussing about it now, there's nothing I can do about it." Flippant, she rolled from the balls of her feet to her heels and a half smile, "Besides, at least I'm leaving a will. Your dad just wrote down which of his mates are getting stuff and left you the rest. He's out in the lobby right now being a nuisance."

Lily rolled her eyes but a rueful smirk and a small glimmer settled in her gaze, her eyes drifting from Harry to stare off for a moment. Drawn out of her musings by a small bell sound that had her fixing Harry with her gaze again,

"I'm leaving you everything I have; which, honestly, amounts to a few galleons and my old school supplies. Pet got most of the inheritance from mum and dad, she's the oldest after all, and I haven't exactly lived long enough to make it big in the wizarding world."

She snickered a bit and, despite himself, Harry felt his face tugged into a smile at the sight. Her cheeks dimpled and her eyes crinkled in mirth before she composed herself a little.

His mothers eyes finding his again with a look of deep longing, Harry's breath hitching in his throat at how truly lost she looked in that moment,

"There's so much I want to say to you. I had it all on a list to make sure too, but it just… doesn't feel right to read from a script right now. I honestly just want to ditch this whole thing, run home and snuggle up with you right now." Lily looked so… broken; her arms crossed again with her fingers digging into her biceps as she continued speaking, "You're with your Uncle Mooney right now, first time we've seen him in months. He honestly looked so haggard when Peter brought him in, but 60 seconds with you and he was shining like the sun."

She laughed a bit as she finished her sentence, though a dark, mostly irritated, look briefly settled onto her features,

"Honestly, I don't understand why people are so suspicious of him these days. Even your idiot dad has his reservations, and I know he's dumb but he's the one constantly parroting that his 'furry little problem' doesn't define him."

Harry wasn't given the time to register any of that before his mother was addressing him again with a smirk and a snicker,

"I love your Dad, sweetheart. But he's a grade O dumbass, always has been."
Her smirk, rueful and big, her entire body screaming out that it was true, she really loved his dad with all her heart.

"The lot of them are idiots to be honest. Sirius is out there goading the Death Eaters into fighting him and, apparently, trying to imply he's our Secret Keeper so he can... get targeted more? Moron's got a death sentence I swear." There was a quiver in her voice and she shook her head, "Then there's Remus, scurrying off to who knows where on secret missions for Dumbledore, whilst Peter's just laying low so nobody figures out he's our ACTUAL Secret Keeper. All three, no, all four of those idiot Marauders just throwing themselves into danger."

Lily sniffed, a loopy smile on her face as she looks so close to tears,
"Baby, we couldn't have asked for better people to look out for us." She choked out a bit and had to compose herself. Lost to her desperate attempts to fan away tears and suppress sobs, Harry wishing to lunge forth and hug her once more,

"Heh, Peter's always bringing you toys you know, he and your dad got you this baby broomstick from France. Hovers around about a foot in the air and automatically avoids people and obstacles." That crooked, loopy grin back, "You balance on it so well, chased Padfoot around for about an hour before I left."

"I'm rambling, sorry. It's just, you really are the light of my life, Harry. I can't even express how much I love you, baby."

Her eyes glittering and Harry made an involuntary move to go to her, to throw himself into her arms and sob until he couldn't shed another tear. Tempering himself by the bitter reality that he'd slip right through her,

"You're always on the move these days. I swear you started kicking me as soon as your legs formed." A smirk twisted her lips and she shook with suppressed laughter, "For such a quiet little thing, you made it very clear you wanted out of me."

She descended into giggles, a lovely sound that clenched at Harry's heart and forced tears to prickle at the corner of his eyes once again,

Another sharp bell sounded off in the background, this time Lily turned her head in its direction, face taking an unreadable expression when her attention returned to him,

"I'm so sorry." A croak, her voice small as her fingers dug ever deeper into her arms. Agitation making itself known on her face as her eyebrows knit together. She took a steadying breath that she released as her whole body shook. "If you're hearing this then he got us. Or at least me. And I am so sorry that I'm leaving you alone."

"I promised that I'd be there to protect you forever and ever, and I'm sorry that your stupid mum is a liar."

"I should have pushed to get us out of the country. I should have just taken you and ran. I should have done so much more for you. And this just proves I didn't do enough."

"I'm sorry but I love you, okay? I love you more than anything and anyone. And I love you more than I love anything or anyone." She shook her head and plastered a huge smile onto her face, "Grow up big and strong. Live a happy life. And know your father and I will love you forever."

A final bell tinkled in the background and the teary eyed and smiling visage of his mother vanished. Leaving Harry to blink and stare at where she had once been…

...before falling apart himself in a slew of wails and ugly sobs.

...

[Authors Note] Thanks for waiting and sorry for the extra long chapter and how long it took. Hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you for all the support thus far, hopefully I'll see you next chapter.