How Do The Vaults And Other Stuff Like That Work At Gringottbank In My AU?
Well, this is my first post with me explaining some mechanics in my AU that might be different, or just weren't explained in the original so in my AU it has a bigger meaning!
When I write I prefer NOT to use AI, so everything you're going to read on my blog (especially if posted by me (Nella)) then it's all written with human hands! (IF not, it's explicitly said so!)
So, now let's go to the explanation y'all are on on this post for!
How does the vault system work at Gringottbank?
Well, it really depends, becuase there's are two types of families when it comes to vaults:
A unified vault in a family sense means that you and your whole family have one BIG vault where your family has EVERYTHING in a singular vault
That's why almost all of those vaults are the biggest vaults in the bank.
Famous old families that have it: Blacks, Lestranges, Malfoys, etc.
Are there also other families that have it too?
Yes, but the reason why is mostly because it's just more efficient that way; f.e.: the Weasleys: they have unified vault simply because they don't have enough money that it would be worth it to have individual vaults
Individual vaults are smaller then the unified ones. Because, unlike the unified ones, individual vaults are owned by a single person (maximum is two people).
That's why, when Hagrid mentioned Harry's vault, he said his full name (see chapter six). Because he had his own vault pretty much since he was born.
Opening individual vaults in an individual-vaulted families:
An individual vault is opened pretty much immediately after the person is officially born, although the vault is empty at first, the vault already belongs to the person.
Famous families that are individual-vaulted: Potters, Longbottoms, etc.
Inheritence and emptying the vaults
Once a person who owned an individual vault dies, their vault is immediately emptied and all of the contents are moved to the closest person's vault they've set to inherit it all.
Let's take Harry's situation for example:
After his parents have died all of the contents in James's vault that belonged to both of Harry's parents (Lily didn't have her own vault) have been moved to his vault pretty much immediately after their deaths.
No one, the magic that is set in all of the vaults does it. Goblins nor other people who work at the bank move things, they just move on their own.
What happens after a vault is emptied?
Even though, it may seem like at the first impression, that the vault closes and is never used again, after the owner dies, that's just not what actually happens.
After the owner dies and the vault is emptied, it immediately becomes available for a new customer.
Marriage, what does it mean in banking context here?
This is where it gets interesting and also semi-complicated, but once you understand it, it's very simple.
Once you marry, money and other wealth begins to move.
But in what direction? Well, it depends; but most likely to the husband's family, or the husband himself. Because the move of the money depends on what last name you take.
Now let's talk about how money-moving works, from simple to complicated:
1. Individual to Individual (f.e.: Potter to Longbottom)
This case is the simplest one. Because once you marry, you don't have to do anything, you just keep your vault as well all of your money and wealth.
2. Individual to Unified (f.e.: Potter to Black)
The person who has the individual vault has to move EVERYTHING from their vault to the family vault. No other choice, you don't get a choice to keep everything in your own vault, all of it has to get absorbed.
3. A person who hasn't got a vault marries a person who has a Unified vault. (F.e.: a muggle-born to Weasley/other)
All of the wealth the person has and is just too much to keep in the house HAS to be moved to the Unified vault. No other option.
4. Person who hasn't got a vault marries a person who has an Individual vault (f.e.: Lily and James)
Now, this is a lot simpler to understand, but can still get a little complicated. When this happens, the person gets two options: "open" a new vault OR move all of the wealth that is too much to keep at home will be moved to the vault of their partner.
5. Unified to Unified (f.e.: Black to Lestrange)
All of the wealth from one family's vault is taken into account and has to be divided EQUALLY by the number of people CURRENTLY in the family and WITH the same last name as the family to which the vault belongs to and then ALL of the single share has to be put in the other family's Unified vault.
6. Unified to Individual (f.e.: Black to Potter)
Again, from the Unified vault the wealth MUST be divided EQUALLY by the number of people in the family who have the same last name as the family to which the vault belongs to.
Then the person with that one share has TWO options:
- they either have to put everything in the partner's vault
- OR they have to "open" their own individual vault
What if you get disowned from your family?
Let's take as an example Sirius Black:
We all know that our favorite Marauder (atleast I think he's the coolest one from the four of them) has been disowned after he ran away as a teen. But what does that mean in the financial context?
Well, he never was "officially" disowned, because there are no laws that would make it possible to do that.
He just lost the access to the vault of the Black family until his mother died, since everyone else who was alive and related to Walburga or Orion were either dead or married, so the obvious ancestor was Sirius.
After getting disowned you can still open your own individual vault, temporary, but if you inherit the unified vault everything in your temporary vault to the big unified one.
But when you open your temporary vault you only have limited money/wealth, if any.
What happens of you get disowned and you're from a individual-vaulted family?
You just straight up don't lose access to your own vault, so you aren't financially starved if you have enough money/wealth.
What if all of the people from the big Unified family vault with the said last name all die?
Well, then it goes to the biologically closest or via will closest people, EQUALLY divided.
This is pretty much all as to how the Vault system works at Gringottbank works in my AU!
Author of this post: Nella
