Antonio and Amelia emerged from the Ministry of Magic after a couple of hours. With Amelia's help and Antonio's newly gained reputation, the process sailed through very smoothly. No one dared to place any impediments in the way. Antonio was treated with respect which was generally reserved for Lords from the more powerful families.
Antonio was holding a thick bundle of parchments in his hands. These were the official documents confirming his takeover of Marius' position and properties.
"Congratulations, Lord Olario," Amelia said with a grin. "You are now officially a seat holder of the Wizengamot, an esteemed member of the Wizarding Council. It is one of those rare moments when someone actually raises their status within the Wizengamot, not something we say commonly."
"I wonder if it calls for a little celebration," she added. "A treat to me."
"It does," Antonio nodded. "But I think I should complete the other two remaining processes first. And then you will have your treat."
There were two more things left before everything would be fully completed. The first required them to go to Gringotts and claim all the vaults and properties under Gringotts Wizarding Bank management in the name of the Marius family.
The second was to go to Marius' manor and take over the wards of the estate. They had been provided with a keystone by the Ministry, which would allow Antonio to assume control of the wards.
"To Gringotts first?" Amelia questioned.
"Yes," Antonio nodded, and both of them disappeared from the street, reappearing right in front of Gringotts.
The duo entered with confident strides, and even the reclusive goblins, who rarely interfered or cared about human affairs, other than money, showed a flicker of surprise and recognition on their faces upon spotting Antonio. Even so, they were not too surprised; they had clearly been expecting him to arrive and claim what now rightfully belonged to him.
Antonio approached one of the counters and placed a stack of parchments on the table in front of the goblin. These were the Ministry orders.
"I would like to claim my vaults," he said softly, yet his words carried a stern weight and quiet power.
Many people thought of goblins as innocent, harmless, even persecuted creatures. But this was not the whole truth. They had indeed been persecuted by humans, forced underground, with Gringotts being the only place where they were freely allowed to operate.
But behind this arrangement was a long history of bloody battles, and in those battles, the goblins had been cruel enough.
Apart from that, goblins were far from harmless. They valued money above everything else and were very willing to use ulterior and deceptive tactics to con a human out of his wealth.
And Antonio understood all of this very well. He also understood the best way to deal with them. Never act overly respectful with them. They would see it as weakness, and immediately try to press their advantage, forcing you into a corner.
The clerk looked up from his documents with a frown on his face at being disturbed, but his eyes widened slightly as he recognized the face before him.
"Lord Olario," the goblin clerk mumbled, his voice a little more respectful than it should have been.
Antonio gave a small nod, and the goblin hurriedly picked up the parchments. He cast a quick glance at the documents.
"I will inform my senior," he said. "Please wait for a couple of minutes."
The goblin immediately scurried away.
"You have quite a reputation, Lord Olario," Amelia said in slight amusement. "Even the goblins seem afraid of you. I have hardly ever seen them being so respectful to anyone."
Antonio could only chuckle in response. He had to admit that he had such a reputation.
In less than a few minutes, a goblin arrived, with the earlier clerk following behind him.
"Lord Olario," the goblin greeted. "I am Tooks, a senior administrative clerk at Gringotts."
Tooks had Antonio's parchments in his hands and he seemed to have already gone through it.
"Please follow me," he said, and he led the duo into a small room with seating arrangements.
"I assume that since Miss. Bones had been accompanying you, you have no problem with Miss Bones being part of this procedure?" Tooks asked once the trio had taken their seats and made themselves comfortable.
"No," Antonio replied. "I have no problem."
Tooks nodded and continued, "Very well. I have asked someone to bring the list of all the vaults and properties of the Marius family that Gringotts looks after. It should be here in a minute or two. Thereafter, we will begin the handover process."
Antonio nodded, and the trio waited in silence. Within another couple of minutes, a goblin entered the room carrying a few parchments, which he placed on the table between them.
"Please go through them," Tooks said, and Antonio understood what he meant. He pulled another parchment from his own bundle, the one containing the same information provided by the Ministry and made a quick comparison of the two.
"Everything is fine," he nodded after being satisfied. The records matched in both the documents.
"Great," Tooks said, pulling out a small square shaped stone from his breast pocket along with a small knife, which he placed on the table.
"As per what you have stated to your Ministry, everything will be transferred to your name. The name of the Marius family will forever be gone," Tooks informed.
Antonio did not need to be told what to do. He picked up the knife, pricked his finger, and dropped a few drops of blood on the stone. The blood was absorbed instantly, and the stone gave a golden flash.
"Congratulations, Lord Olario," Tooks remarked.
"It is done," Tooks continued. "Every vault and property under the Marius family now belongs to you. Antonio Olario."
"Congratulations, Lord Olario," Amelia too offered from the side.
"Thank you," Antonio replied with a grin.
"Lord Olario," Tooks asked. "Would you like to pay a visit to your new vaults?"
"No," Antonio answered immediately. "I will come some other time. For now, let them be as they are."
"Very well," Took responded.
Antonio gave a final nod, picked up the stone, place in his robes and left the room with Amelia Bones.
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