Harry Potter and Lord of House Black

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Vault 22, Gringotts Wizarding Bank,

"Un… unbelievable…"

"Merlin's Beard…"

"To think this kind of wealth rested here…"

Whether it was Rigel, Nymphadora, or Andromeda… all of their jaws were left hanging open as the gates of Vault 22 yawned open, revealing a vast rectangular chamber, the size of which, Rigel predicted, was even larger than an Olympic Swimming pool bathed in dim, flickering torchlight.

Shelves and alcoves lined the three walls of the hall rectangular hall that were crammed with ancient tomes, old and dusty scrolls, along with glittering artifacts of immense value as well as historical importance wrapped in protective cloth and various kinds of cursed items, the effect of which no one could even begin to imagine at first glance, began visible at a glance… but that was not what made three people gasp in shock… no… it was not the tomes, or the artifacts, or the cursed items… but the gold and the many types of jewels kept there that stunned them…

As you'd expect from a family that parades itself as the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black… Its main family vault was not only lined with ancient relics of immense monetary and historical value but also piled high with unimaginable wealth as mounds and mounds of gleaming gold coins spilled from overflowing chests and thousands of Gold bricks arranged neatly as though making an entire walls of Gold casting a warm, radiant glow across the room.

Jewels of every conceivable color and size were nestled in velvet-lined boxes, ruby necklaces, sapphire-encrusted rings, emerald tiaras, and large diamonds that shimmered like captured stars and would most certainly find their place alongside the biggest diamond in the world in the British Museum should they ever reach there. Precious magic metals glinted from goblets, plates, and intricately crafted statuettes, vases, and other items, with each piece being a testament to the centuries of prosperity and power accumulated by House Black.

Honestly, staring at the piles of gold and jewels inside the vault, Rigel couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. Sure, he'd expected plenty of wealth—but not this much.

So stunned was he that he turned to the older goblin who'd guided them and asked, "How… how much is this vault worth?"

The goblin, unsurprised by such a reaction, smiled quietly. Most heads of ancient wizarding families show a similar expression the first time they lay eyes on their family vaults. Of course, the scale varies; some houses aren't nearly as wealthy, but the shock is always the same.

Ragwurt still recalled Regulus Black's reaction when he first saw the vault 22, and now he'd committed Rigel Black's astonishment to memory too, finding it rather amusing that both father and son asked similar questions…

Chuckling softly, Ragwurt said, "Well… to be fair, the total worth of a vault like this isn't easy to put a figure on. It's not just gold, you see, there are jewels, artifacts, and all sorts, which can't be priced on a whim. But if you want an estimate, I can tell you the amount of gold here, since we always keep a running count of that in every vault."

"Do tell," Rigel said, giving a slight nod.

"It's about 150 metric tons," Ragwurt replied.

'I'm gonna faint,' thought Rigel, struggling to keep his balance as soon as he heard Ragwurt, '150 metric tons of gold?!!'

Still, he stepped into the vault, his legs shaky beneath him.

Like he had indeed expected to be filthy rich… but not this kind of filthy rich.

He didn't even realise it, he was born into a billionaire household.

Now, with the generational wealth he'd inherited, he was a billionaire himself at the mere age of six. The amount of gold the Blacks had stored in Vault 22 alone was enough to earn them that status, never mind the jewellery, artifacts, other treasures, and the interest earned on all the gold and wealth kept here, which would only continue to increase the wealth without him even having to do anything.

And this was just one of many vaults belonging to the Blacks.

Not to mention, the vast lands, properties, and castles they owned throughout Britain and other parts of Europe…

Truly, those with immense wealth don't even need to do anything… their wealth alone keeps making them richer and richer…

Undoubtedly, the Blacks are one of the wealthiest families in the entire European magical world.

'Or perhaps both the Magical World and the Muggle World combined, given that the number of billionaires probably hasn't exploded in this day and age…!'

'To think Sirius Black left all this behind… what a brainless idiot,' Rigel thought, mocking his Uncle for running away from the family legacy.

If he were in Sirius's shoes, faced with a choice between this fortune or whatever else that Sirius chose, Rigel wouldn't hesitate for a second and discard the latter.

'Good for me… Sirius didn't deserve to inherit House Black's wealth.'

'And all those galleons in Vault 711, Alphard Black gave him… I've got to get those back too… Ungrateful lot don't deserve a single penny!' Rigel thought with a cold snort.

'And now that I think about it, all this wealth passed to Draco since there were no Black heirs left after the Second Wizarding War… That means the Malfoys, who are probably just as rich as the Blacks, if not richer, suddenly doubled their wealth.'

'I do wonder if Lucius Malfoy had any hand in Grand Uncle's early death…' Rigel pondered, knowing the Malfoys benefitted most from it, as seen in canon.

And he wouldn't put it past Lucius Malfoy to pull a stunt like that, all for the sake of the Malfoy family…

'Now that I've inherited this fortune… wouldn't he be setting his sights on me?' he wondered, a chill flickering in his eyes, but just as quickly as it came, it vanished.

'Forget it. As long as I'm careful, I've got nothing to worry about. Besides, Draco and Aunt Narcissa are still family.'

With that thought, he shook his head and finally stepped into the vault, carefully taking in everything stored within.

Nymphadora, mesmerised by the sheer amount of gold and treasure, the likes of which she'd never seen before, moved to follow him inside, but was stopped by Ragwurt before she could take a step. The goblin warned her firmly, "Careful there, Miss Tonks. Only those of pure Black descent may enter this vault. As I know, you're of mixed heritage with a Muggle-born father… should you step in, you'd be inflicted with a deadly curse."

"Is… is that true?" she murmured, swallowing hard in fear. She hadn't expected such a curse to protect the vault of House Black.

"House Black is very strict about blood purity as their family motto says," Ragwurt explained. Then, turning to Andromeda, he said, "You may enter, Mrs. Tonks. Though disowned, your blood is as pure as Madam Lestrange's and Madam Malfoy's. I assure you, you won't be touched by the curse."

Andromeda stared at the gleaming treasure inside the vault. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to step in and take a proper look, the kind of wealth her maiden family had, the kind she'd walked away from for love. But she stubbornly pushed the thought aside, placing her hands on Nymphadora's shoulders and shaking her head. "I'm alright. I… don't think I want to go in there. I'll stay here with my daughter."

"Well, if that's what you want… please wait here…" Ragwurt shrugged before stepping in with gleaming eyes to take a proper look at all the gold and other valuable stuff and also guide Rigel through all that…

…

"These artifacts…" Rigel muttered, eyeing some that clearly oozed dark stuff.

From behind, Ragwurt warned, "Lord Black, I'd advise against taking much interest in them, or touching them, until you're well-versed in the Dark Arts."

"I know… just taking a look from a distance," Rigel shrugged, glancing back at the artifact, before moving on to other things. He then started checking the deeds for properties owned by House Black that were kept in a Black Cabinet. Some lands caught his eye, old ones granted by Muggle rulers centuries ago, some of which were even in the distant countries on other Continents, including but not limited to the USA, but he didn't linger on those. Instead, he specifically searched for the deed to the small building opposite Ollivanders, where 'Mulligrubs Materia Medica' now operates.

After skipping through over a hundred documents, Rigel finally pulled out the deed he was searching for, "Aha… found it," he said.

With that sorted, Rigel put back the remaining documents where they were placed before and began sifting through more items. Unsurprisingly, it took him nearly two hours to go through everything in the vault and get a rough estimate of the total worth of the vault 22 from Ragwurt, and the number certainly stunned Rigel… However, there was something else that caught his attention.

With a frown settling on his face, Rigel wondered, "This is odd… why isn't there a single Galleon in the vault?"

Only now did he notice the oddity: Vault 22 held a vast fortune worth several billion pounds in gold and other treasures kept here, yet not a single Galleon was among them. Even the piles of gold coins he spotted were gold coins from various eras in the past, not Galleons.

He spotted dates on some as far back as the 6th century BC, from the first gold coins issued in Anatolia by King Croesus of Lydia, through coins of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, all the way up to the 17th century, when the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was officially established.

The presence of these coins alone tells a lot about the history of House Black, stretching back some 2,500 years. But that wasn't what was troubling Rigel just then. What puzzled him was that, despite the sheer heap of gold coins, not a single one was a Galleon. He shot a look at Ragwurt, eyes mixed with confusion and suspicion as he wondered to himself, 'This isn't the handiwork of Goblins, is it?'

The older goblin just shrugged and explained, "When Gringotts first opened and wizarding families began stashing their wealth in private vaults, Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts weren't the currencies in circulation. Sure, we'd started issuing them, but it was still far from the time when those coins became the only widely accepted currency throughout the Magical World." He paused, then added, "Once that happened, the old wizarding families, like the Blacks, decided to keep separate vaults specifically to store their Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, to make sure those coins didn't get mixed up with the real gold, silver, and copper coins."

"I see…" murmured Rigel, catching on. At the same time, he figured it had something to do with the fact that Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts weren't actually made from pure gold, silver, or copper; rather, cheaper magical alloys that could only be smithed by the goblins.

Naturally, the wizarding families wouldn't want these alloy coins mixed in with genuine gold, silver, or copper treasures.

Yes, contrary to what many might reckon, Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts aren't crafted from real gold, silver, or copper; they're made of alloys crafted by Goblin smiths.

The fact that Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts aren't made up of real Gold, Silver, and copper explains why the exchange rates between Wizarding and Muggle currencies are.

If a Galleon made of pure gold was worth only about four or five pounds (the current exchange rate), it'd wreck the economy. Muggle-born wizards would just launder money by exchanging Muggle currency for Galleons, then melting down real gold, silver, or copper into bars and coins to flog back in the Muggle world, getting filthy rich in no time.

But luckily, that doesn't happen. And why? Simple, the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts aren't made of real precious metals.

Now, back to why there's not a single Galleon in Vault 22, and why old wizarding families like the Blacks prefer to keep their wizarding currencies tucked away in separate vaults…

Aside from the fact that the real valuable metals aren't used to make the coins, the other reason could be that, unlike the treasury of Vault 22, Galleons would often come and go into the Vaults… Keeping them separately from the treasury would make it easier to keep track of the Galleons as they come and go.

Plus, Rigel reckoned the families didn't fancy making the journey down here every time they needed to withdraw a bit of coin. Besides, as the family grew larger with more members, it became all the more necessary to keep the Galleons separate from the main family vault. After all, not everyone should be privy to the vast wealth stashed away in Vault 22; only the Heads of House Black ought to know, lest greed tear the family apart.

That's why Rigel's fairly certain his Grand Uncle Cygnus has no idea what's really inside Vault 22. He reckons Cygnus believes it holds Galleons like the other vaults, so he doesn't grasp its true worth.

Similarly, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Sirius probably don't understand the full depth of the House Black's wealth. Andromeda and Nymphadora have a rough idea now, but since they're going to belong to him anyway, there's little worry there.

All things considered, having separate vaults for different purposes was the sensible move.

Figuring all this out, Rigel gave a nod. "Makes sense…" Then he turned and said, "Alright… I've taken note of everything here. Let's move on to the other vaults."

Ragwurt nodded in agreement, glancing at the deed in Rigel's hand.

Aside from that single deed, Rigel hadn't taken anything from Vault 22. There were a few reasons for that, firstly, he simply didn't need to. And secondly, even if he wanted to, what good would taking gold do? Sell it? Why, exactly, would he sell it? It's not as though he is in desperate need that he'd sell out the gold his family has been stashing here for countless generations.

He'd much rather take Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts with him.

As for not taking the artifacts and cursed items? Rigel had taken Ragwurt's warning quite seriously… he wasn't going to touch anything until he was well-versed in Dark Arts. Who knew what kind of magic those dark objects might be enchanted with? Best to keep a safe distance… at least, until he is knowledgeable enough.

With that, Rigel and Ragwurt stepped out of Vault 22, locking the heavy gate behind them. Rigel took back the black metallic key from the goblin and slipped it into his pocket before turning to Andromeda and Nymphadora, both of whom were sitting on the cart, looking rather bored.

He approached them and apologised, "Sorry about that, it took longer than I expected." Turning to Andromeda, he added, "There was far more inside than I'd initially expected."

Andromeda didn't say anything in response, "…"

Nymphadora, on the other hand, pouted. "It's alright, cousin," she said, feeling like Rigel was having a bit of a brag.

Rigel shrugged and settled down beside the two on the cart. "Let's get going," he told Ragwurt.

Andromeda asked, "Are we heading back to the surface now?"

"Not just yet," Rigel replied. "Aside from the main Family Vault, there are a few more vaults I need to check."

"There's more?" Nymphadora exclaimed, shocked. This one vault alone held wealth she'd never seen or heard before, and now Rigel was telling them that this isn't everything and there's more?

Rigel nodded. "Aye, this is just the main family vault, more like a treasury, really. No liquid wealth in here. For that, there are several other vaults, and I need to look them over before we head back."

Noticing a troubled look on Andromeda's face, he asked gently, "Is something bothering you, Aunty?"

"Well, actually… we need to buy supplies for Dora," she said. "If this takes too long, I'm worried the shops in Diagon Alley will be closed. Coming all this way might end up wasted…"

Rigel understood and murmured, "Ah, that's what you're worried about." He smiled reassuringly, "Don't fret. I doubt the other vaults will take as long as this one." Then, turning to Ragwurt, he asked, "Isn't that right, Mr. Ragwurt?"

"Quite right, Mr. Black," Ragwurt nodded with a smile, glancing back before setting the cart in motion. "There isn't much in the other vaults, so it won't take long to check them all."

"See?" Rigel said, reassuring Andromeda. "We'll get through those vaults quickly and then head back to the surface. Of course, on the way, we'll stop by the Tonks family vault so you can withdraw whatever you need… Is that alright, Aunty?"

Andromeda gave a small nod. "Alright then…"

It wasn't as if she had much choice just then, so she sat quietly as the cart rattled along the track, leaving the depths of Gringotts behind.

After retracing their steps through the dragon's lair, Rigel, Andromeda, and Nymphadora, led by Ragwurt, left the slower old cart behind and emerged from the dark cave where Griphook was waiting for them.

They settled onto this newer cart and set off to visit several other vaults owned by the House Black.

It's just that… with the cart hurtling along at a breakneck pace, Andromeda soon started feeling queasy once more.

"I… I think I'm about to chuck up…" she muttered, clutching the side.

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