Chapter 4 : The theft.

Harry, Remus and Sirius made their way to the Leaky Cauldron by way of the Floo Network, Harry tumbling out of the fireplace last.

"There HAS to be a way to not fall flat on your face when getting out of the fireplace!" Harry exclaimed as he climbed to his feet.

'There is no momentum to the movement perceived while traveling through the Floo network and so there is no need for you to counter that perceived momentum when you exit. Simply stand still or, take a normal step out.' Silias explained.

Harry groaned as he dusted himself off but was unable to voice his displeasure with Silias's decision to wait so long to tell him this little fact.

The lunchtime patrons of the Cauldron all had a quick laugh at Harry's exit, as did Remus and Sirius.

"Just stop throwing yourself out of the fireplace when you get to the end and you'll be fine." Sirius explained as he brushed sooth out of his godson's hair.

"Ok, so now where do we go?" Harry asked, ignoring the chuckles coming from the surrounding witches and wizards.

"Jangles and Japes!" Sirius exclaimed like an over excited five year old.

"How about we stop over at Gringott's first to get some coins and then we'll head to Jangle and Japes." Remus countered.

And so the trio made their way out the back door of the Leaky Cauldron and into the alleyway leading to Diagon Alley. The portal opened on its own as a family made their way back to the Cauldron from the Alley.

They made their way through the busy 'start of summer', lunch crowd towards the Gringotts. Happy families were shopping or eating ice cream at Florean Fortescu's. One small girl came out of Magical Menagerie carrying the strangest exotic bird Harry had ever seen in his life.

Arriving at Gringotts, Harry greeted the guard in Gobledygook and the guard simply nodded back in response.

"Ok, so I'll just nip down to my vaults to grab a bag full of coins and then we clean out Jangle's and Japes!" Sirius declared as they made their way to a free goblin.

"I also need to get to my vault." replied Remus.

"Same with me." Harry agreed.

"Nonsense, you guys don't need money, it's my treat."

Harry gave Remus a quick look and was glad to see that the werewolf seemed as uncomfortable with this proposition as he did.

"Fine! Can't give this stuff away … bunch of bloody independent fools …" Sirius grumbled as they finally arrived at a Goblin.

Their first stop was Remus's vault, close to the surface. This section of the Vaults was very different than the sections further down. Instead of large doors, the walls were covered with small little door about the size of a trunk. Remus made his way to one of these doors and inserted his key in the lock. Seeing the contents of the rather small vault, Harry felt rather poorly about the massive amounts of coins in his own vault. Remus, having filled up a small pouch with a modest amount of coins, rejoined the others in the mine cart and they made their way deep down into the bowels of the Bank.

The Blacks, being an old, pureblood family, had vaults deep within the banks system of caves. The doors to the vault were dark and ominous looking. Instead of handing his key to the goblin in charge, Sirius simply approached the vault, laid a hand on the door and the door swung open.

The vault was gigantic, making even Harry's vault appear small in comparison and was filled with large piles of Galleons, Knuts and Sickles.

Sirius filled up a large bag and they made their way to Harry's vault. Harry passed the key to the goblin and stood dumfounded at what was revealed. Instead of the mounds of coins he had had when last he had come to has vaults, only small piles were left.

Harry stood there blinking his eyes, in surprise.

"Is there a problem Mr. Potter?" asked the goblin from the entrance.

"Uhm … well … yeah. Where's all my money?" Harry asked, waving at the small piles of coins, not looking away from his vault.

"Well, let us see here." said the goblin as he made his way inside the vault.

"Well, it would appear that you came here a few days ago and made a rather substantial withdrawal. It would appear that your account has currently reached it threshold and you are no longer allowed to with draw funds so that you have enough money to finish your education."

Harry stared at the Goblin and blinked some more.

"Harry hasn't been out of the house in over a week. This must be a mistake." Replied Sirius angrily.

"Perhaps, perhaps but Gringotts has not had a successful theft in over three centuries." replied the goblin, with a sneer worthy of Snape.

"Harry, you didn't come and empty your vault now did you?" asked Remus in his usual quiet voice.

"No! I haven't been out of the house since Sirius came to get me." Harry explained.

"Very well." sighed the goblin. "I gather you would like to contest these transactions?"

Harry nodded furiously. The money itself wasn't really the problem it was that, yet again, someone had robbed him of something his parents had left him.

"Back in the cart then, I will take you to your account manager." the Goblin explained in a defeated voice, herding the three wizards back to the cart.

The ride back to the main hall was done in silence and a short moment later, Harry, Remus and Sirius were seated inside Griffhacks office, waiting for the account manager's arrival.

"So Harry." Sirius began after a few moments of silence. "You're one-hundred percent sure you didn't empty out your account?"

"I haven't left the house since I got there except to go to the park with you guys and Tonks."

"Right … right." Sirius replied nervously.

They sat in silence for a time, Remus looking pensive while Sirius fidgeted nervously.

"It's just that if you did, the Goblins will find out and well things can get a bit messy from there." Sirius suddenly explained, in a rush.

"I. Didn't …"

"Right … right" interrupted Sirius placatingly.

The door to Griffhack's office finally opened to allow the account manager to enter,

"I am sorry to have made you fine wizards wait but when I heard of the challenge on the transactions, I went and verified the paperwork straight away. Unfortunately for you Mr. Potter, the paperwork appears to be in order." The goblin explained as he took his seat behind his desk.

"If you were any other wizard, we would fine you for making a false claim and send you on your way but as we have had favorable dealings to date, I am willing to listen to your complaint." the goblin continued, preventing Harry from arguing about the fairness, or lack thereof, of the process.

"The most expedient way for us to determine if you, or an agent of yours, did in fact empty your vault would be by use of Veritas Serum. Mr. Black, would you allow the questioning?"

Sirius turned to Harry for confirmation and Harry gave him a nod.

"Right, sure." Sirius replied, sounding a little unsure.

"Good, if you could administer three drops to Mr. Potter, we can begin."

Remus took a small vial from the goblin and approached Harry.

"Alright cub, just stick out your tongue and I'll drop three drops. You'll feel kind of strange, don't fight the feeling and just go with it."

Harry felt three drops hit his tongue and he swallowed reflexively. Short seconds later, Harry found himself within the familiar confines of his mind but not within his protective walls. A dense fog filled Harry's mental landscape and Harry found it difficult to do much of anything.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

Harry's mental avatar jumped in surprise at the loud and commanding voice, looking about for the source of the voice. Finding nothing Harry decided to answer the question.

"Harry James Potter."

"WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU HAVE WITHDRAWN FUNDS FROM YOUR TRUST ACCOUNT?" the voice demanded.

Harry walked about, trying to find the source of the voice while trying to recall the answer to the question.

"Sometime last summer." Harry replied, unable to remember the exact date.

"WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ALLOWED ONE OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO WITHDRAW FUNDS FROM YOUR ACCOUNT." The voice demanded after an indeterminate amount of time.

"I've never allowed anyone to withdraw funds from my trust account." Harry replied quickly.

The voice remained silent for a moment.

"HAVE YOU IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, PLANNED TO DEFRAUD GRINGOTS?" the Voice of God, as Harry had decided to call it, demanded.

"No, never. This isn't even about the money; it's the principle of the thing." Harry replied.

After a time, Harry felt the fog lift and his senses return to the real world.

"Well Mr. Potter, you at least appear to be innocent of fraud." the Goblin stated looking very disturbed. "Would you by any chance have insights into this situation?"

"Well Draco Malfoy used Polyjuice to steal stuff from my room once." Harry ventured.

"That is not impossible but Polyjuice does not store well, it would last a month at the most." the Goblin offered.

They sat there in silence, not daring to interrupt the goblins train of thought.

"Who has had access to Mr. Potter over the last month?" asked the Goblin.

"Harry just came back from school so pretty much anyone." replied Sirius.

"But this person would also have had access to Mr. Potters key and since he is currently in possession of his key, it would have had to be someone who currently has access to him. Perhaps your home has been broken into?" the Goblin offered.

"Our home is under Fidelius. Only Sirius, Harry, Dumbledore, Nymphadora Tonks and I have access to the house." explained Remus.

"I doubt Albus Dumbledore would have staged a theft of young Mr. Potters accounts as he was Mr. Potter special guardian for the past twelve years and had full, un-restricted access to the vault and never once made a withdrawal when it would have been perfectly legal for him to do so." the Goblin pondered out loud.

"There's also Kreature and Dobby. But I trust Dobby with my life." Harry added.

"What of this Kreature character and why were neither of these people mentioned?" Griffhack asked angrily.

"They're both House-Elves, both are a bit insane. One hates us all while the other is completely devoted to Harry, defied his original family to try to save Harry from the Basilisk." Sirius explained, hoping to placate the angry goblin.

Griffhack calmed down considerably.

"What of this Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Auror Trainee, my cousin from the branch of the family that got disowned when her mother, Andromeda Tonks, married a muggleborn, Theodore Tonks. I'm planning on bringing them back into the Black family while I kick out a few less desirable members like Belatrix Black-Lestrange and Narcissa Black-Malfoy." Sirius explained.

"I will need to interview both you and Mr. Lupin under Veritas and later, Ms. Tonks as well. We can forgo the questioning of Albus Dumbledore." The Goblin explained, handing the bottle of Veritas back to Remus.

Remus gave Sirius three drops and Harry noticed that his godfather's eyes suddenly became unfocused and his face loosened into a neutral expression.

"What is your name?" Griffhack asked in a normal yet commanding voice that resembled the VoG in no way, shape or form.

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Have you withdrawn any funds from Harry James Potter's trust account here at Gringotts?"

"No." was Sirrius's simple reply.

"What about the money you gave me after I was robbed at Hogwarts?" Harry asked him.

"I gave you that from my funds." came the monotone reply.

"Have you in any way, shape or form, planned to defraud Gringots?"

"Yes." was Sirius's reply.

Harry quickly turned to stare at his Godfather while Remus simply buried his head in his hands and groaned. "Not this again."

"When have you made these plans, for what purpose and have they been acted upon." Griffhack demanded as he angrily stood on his chair.

"The first time was in first year. James and me were bored in history of magic class. I'd just received a howler during lunch from my mother berating me for being sorted in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. Bella had mailed my mother right after the sorting to tell on me so James and I worked out a plan to rob my parent's vaults in revenge. We never did it obviously, we were bored and I was angry."

"Their plan involved James's invisibility cloak, brooms and pretty much everything from Jangle and Japes. It would never have worked." Remus informed the other two.

"Planning this became a bit of a game for James and me and we'd refine our plan over the years. I submitted a cleaned up copy of this as my infiltration thesis for my Auror training." Sirirus continued in his monotone voice.

They waited a short time for the Veritas Serum to lose its hold on Sirius and then Remus was questions and his answers were less eventful than Sirius's.

"Well it would appear that none of you are responsible for the theft, I will proceed with your re-imbursement. If Miss. Tonks is responsible for the theft, Gringotts will find retribution there." Griffhack explained, seeming rather resigned.

"Thank you sir, if you do find out who stole from me, would it be possible for you to let me know?"

"Gladly Mr. Potter, we pride ourselves on insuring the safety of our client's accounts and we will do everything in our power to insure that your faith in our services is restored." the Goblin explained, looking both tired and angry.

"Please accept this small bag of Galleons so as to tide you over while your accounts are remedied." Griffhack told Harry as he deposited a large sack of coins on his desk.

The trio took their leave from Gringotts. Remus and Sirius appeared very relieved and Silias was also.

'You are one for strange situations Mr. Potter.'

"Why does stuff like this happen to me? First wizard to survive the killing curse, youngest Seeker in a century, Parselmouth, I kill off that thing in the secret place, I get kidnapped by a possessed professor, I'm the first person to be robed at Gringots in a couple of centuries …" Harry lamented quietly.

Sirius, having apparently heard Harry's mumblings to Silias, patted him comfortingly on the shoulder.

"Being normal's overrated. Just look at me and Andromeda; the only two Blacks to reject the family heritage and traditions. The Black's didn't always end up in Slytherin, a few of them went to Ravenclaw but I was the first Lion in that Snakes den and then you have Andromeda, ignoring marriage contracts and pureblood tradition by getting hitched to a muggleborn." Sirius explained consolingly.

"But you made those choices, I didn't! Things just keep happening to me." Harry explained, his voice getting harder as his anger grew.

Sirius remained silent, not really knowing what to answer to that statement. Remus was the one to take over.

"I haven't really had a normal life either Harry, my condition has made it impossible. I was very lucky to be able to attend Hogwarts, all other werewolves have had to be home schooled and that was before the laws restricting magical creatures from obtaining wands. Thankfully, I graduated from Hogwarts before that horrid woman Umbridge made her way to the ministry and put in place all these laws to restrict the right of werewolves and other 'creatures'."

"And you can't exactly say that Tonks is exactly normal, I mean Metamorphs are quite rare." Sirius added in the end.

They walked quietly down the alley, not really seeing any of it until they found themselves in front of Jangle and Japes.

"Well, let's get some shopping done then." Sirius exclaimed, apparently breaking himself out of his morose mood.

Harry found himself propelled into the joke shop. The moment they passed the threshold, both Sirus and Remus appeared to shed the years of pain and suffering between the time they had left Hogwarts and now. Sirius gave Remus a quick look and made a mad dash to the back of the shop while Remus went the opposite direction with more decorum.

Harry recognized many items from things the twins used at Hogwarts but never having visited the store himself, he was rather curious. The store was filled with prank items; dung bombs, wet start fireworks, quill's that would cause anything written to sporadically turn invisible, Fanged Frisbees. Among the more destructive items were also some items that were a bit tamer; Animated temporary tattoos, animated fake insects and animals; gum that turned your teeth different colors for a short time.

Harry picked up a few fake spiders, and some gum, thinking they would make a good joke to play on Hermione and Ron respectively.

His items selected, Harry looked around for his godfather and Remus. Both were still shopping. Remus was being very selective in his purchases while Sirius simply grabbed anything that seemed to catch his attention. Harry laughed, seeing both adults surreptitiously try to see what the other was purchasing.

Harry made his way to the counter to pay, waiting for a boy his age to finish purchasing a small number of items. Harry noticed a few fireworks, a tube of some type of glue, a horn that would spray out confetti whenever it was blown and a small stack of howler paper.

Harry admired the ingenuity of the wizards that came up with these ideas and wondered what else wizards could do if they could look beyond their world and took a look at the muggle world.

The boy ahead of Harry finished paying and made his way out the door. Harry approached the counter.

"Is there anything wrong sir?" the man behind the counter asked Harry, a puzzled look on his face.

"No, I'd just like to buy these now." Harry explained, placing his selection unto the counter.

The man looked at him strangely but added up his bill and quickly took his money.

Harry then went to sit on a small bench in front of the store while the 'adults' finished making their purchases.