Gringotts Wizarding Bank

> Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts.
>
> Rubeus Hagrid's opinion of Gringotts, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Gringotts Wizarding Bank** was the only wizarding bank in ***Great Britain***, and was owned and operated by ***goblins***. It was founded by a goblin named ***Gringott*** in ***1474***. Its main offices were located around the North Side of Diagon Alley in ***London***, ***England***.

### Location

Diagon Alley (North Side), Charing Cross Road, London, England, Great Britain

In addition to storing money and valuables for wizards and witches, one could go there to exchange ***Muggle money*** for wizarding money, which appeared to not be very difficult, as shown when Hermione Granger's parents did so while paying for her school supplies.
The currency exchanged by ***Muggles*** was later returned to circulation in the ***Muggle world*** by goblins. According to Rubeus Hagrid, other than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gringotts was the safest place in the wizarding world.

## Location

Gringotts Wizarding Bank was located on the north side of Diagon Alley. It was the side closest to the ***Leaky Cauldron*** and, thus, closest to ***Charing Cross Road*** and ***Muggle*** ***London***. The bank was located near ***Potage's Cauldron Shop***, ***Flourish and Blotts***, and ***Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour***.

## History

### Break-ins

#### 1991 break-in

Main article: Break-in of Gringotts Wizarding Bank (1991)

> Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. "*But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you,*" said a Gringotts spokes goblin this afternoon.
>
> *Daily Prophet* article, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

The break-in of 1991 was committed by Quirinus Quirrell, who was attempting to steal an object from Vault 713. The vault, one of the higher-security ones, held a small grubby bag, inside of which was the Philosopher's Stone. Albus Dumbledore sent Rubeus Hagrid to retrieve it while the latter was escorting Harry Potter to Diagon Alley in order to buy his school supplies.
Later that very same day after Hagrid and Harry left the Alley, someone, apparently a very powerful wizard, broke into the vault. Although he was unsuccessful in obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, the break-in shocked the Wizarding world because it was practically unheard of for Gringotts to be robbed. The culprit was not caught, though it is later learned Quirrell broke into the vault acting under orders from Lord Voldemort. Also the protection around the vault was minimal at the time, since it no longer contained anything and thus had nothing to guard.

## Description

> They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops.
>
> Physical appearance of the bank, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Gringotts was an imposing snow-white multistoried marble building located partway down Diagon Alley, near its intersection with Knockturn Alley, that towered over the neighbouring shops. It was the place where British witches and wizards stored their money and other valuables, in heavily-guarded vaults miles below ground.
When Harry Potter first visited Gringotts, he was told by Hagrid that one would have to be mad to try to rob Gringotts and that, apart from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was the safest place for anything valuable to be kept. Goblins were extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which made them ideal guardians for the valuables of the wizarding world. The goblins had a code that forbade them to speak of the bank's secrets, and would consider it "base treachery" to break any part of that code.
The centuries-old bank was run by ***goblins***, and they alone knew the secrets of the twisting underground passages and the enchantments and creatures in place to defend against intruders. There was a rumour that Cornelius Fudge was trying to take over Gringotts when he was ***Minister for Magic***; however, as it was published in ***The Quibbler***, it was likely unsubstantiated.

### Entrance and main hall

From Diagon Alley, a set of white stairs led up to a set of burnished bronze doors. The doors were flanked by a goblin in a uniform of scarlet and gold, though during the Second Wizarding War the goblin was replaced instead by two ***wizard guards*** with ***Probity Probes***. This was the entrance to Gringotts, and it led into a small entrance hall and another set of doors. Engraved on these silver doors were the words:

 File:Gringotts Wizarding Bank PM.jpg

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

Through these doors, also flanked with goblins, was a vast marble hall long counters stretching along its length with doors leading off to the vault passageways with around a hundred goblins sitting at them. The vaults extended for miles under the city and were accessible through rough stone, complex and interconnected passageways by means of ***magic carts*** that were operated by goblins. ***Dragons*** and other mysterious beasts lurked in the depths as additional security devices.
Private entrances to Gringotts could be arranged. They they were very uncommon. Those who had great wealth and/or power were the only ones capable of arranging it.

## Gringotts vaults

> The vaults were reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels.
>
> Description of the Gringotts carts, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

In contrast to the grand ***marble*** of the entryway and the main hall, the passageways to the vaults were stone and dimly lit with flaming torches. They sloped down to a track, upon which ran little carts controlled by the ***goblins***. These carts took visitors deep beneath the surface of the earth, through a "*maze of twisting passages*" to the vaults. The carts went very quickly, which made Hagrid a little queasy and prevented its occupants from getting a good look at their surroundings, and seemed to run on a vast, complex, interconnected series of tracks that allowed them to move to and between any vaults.
The vaults themselves varied in size and security. The largest, most well protected vaults belonged to the oldest and richest wizarding families and lay deepest beneath the surface. Those vaults closer to the surface seemed to be smaller and had fewer security precautions surrounding them — they used keys, for example, rather than requiring the touch of a goblin to gain access. The rules around who was allowed to access vaults seemed to change; sometimes wizards were asked for identification or a key to be allowed access, yet both Molly Weasley and ***Bill Weasley*** were able to get gold from Harry's vault for him.

It is possible there was a charm forcing the wizard to give the gold to its rightful owner. However, even this wouldn't explain how Sirius Black was able to order a Firebolt in Harry's name, but take the gold from his own vault — despite being an escaped convict at the time. It also seemed that only blood relations could inherit a Gringotts vault; Albus Dumbledore implied strongly that when Sirius died as the last of the Black family line, his vault was cleaned out and its contents added to Harry's, rather than Harry inheriting the vault as well, though this could be excused as due to Harry already having a vault the bankers would not see fit to grant him an additional one.

It seemed that any vault belonging to a criminal would remain guarded and untouched, as when all the ***Lestrange family*** were sentenced to ***Azkaban*** for life, their vault was not evicted, leaving it a safe-place for Voldemort's horcrux, though it is possible that they had non-criminal relatives who could be in possession of the vault during their incarceration, but as Sirius Black was the last Black by name for at least some of his sentence and his vault remained without anything being confiscated, it would seem that Gringotts operated outside of wizard law, at the very least in rights of ownership towards their vaults and what was kept inside.
There are several vaults that were known specifically:

## Security

> I got it out of your vault for you, Harry, because it's taking about five hours for the public to get to their gold at the moment, the goblins have tightened security so much. Two days ago Arkie Philpott had a Probity Probe stuck up his ... Well, trust me, this way's easier.
>
> Gringott's heightened security during the Second Wizarding War, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

 File:Dragon attack Gringotts.JPG
Gringotts used a variety of security systems. Most lower security vaults, such as Harry Potter's, required a key; higher security vaults required the touch of a certified Gringotts goblin. Higher security vaults might have various enchantments upon the doors. For example, the door to Vault 713 needed to be stroked by a certified Gringotts goblin, which caused it to melt away. If anyone but a Gringotts goblin touched the door, the person would be sucked into the vault, which was checked for trapped thieves about once per decade. This, and the fact that visitors must travel in the mine carts to access the vaults, strongly suggests that there were Anti-Apparition Charms around the bank.

 File:Harry-potter7-movie-gingotts security.jpg
At various points, the bank had used ***Dragons***, ***security trolls***, and ***Sphinxes*** to guard the highest security vaults, such as the ***vault of the Lestrange Family***. Though affiliated with Gringotts, the dragons kept there were not actually "tamed" in the traditional way, in the sense that they were merely used to discourage intruders and unauthorised persons from approaching the vaults to which these beasts were stationed at. They were "conditioned" in an inhumane way that compelled them to retreat whenever they heard the sound produced by ***Clankers***, which only the goblins possessed.

The usage of Sphinxes were troublesome for some clients, when they wished to make a withdraw but were unable to answer the riddles that the Sphinxes gave as security questions. Another security measure was the ***Thief's Downfall***: a charmed waterfall that the goblin carts must pass through, it cancelled all enchantments and magical concealments, and threw the carts off their tracks. Some vaults used the Gemino and Flagrante charms; when any item was touched by a thief, it multiplied rapidly and burned them, eventually crushing and scorching them to death. Objects within Gringotts couldn't be summoned. At times, ***Probity Probes*** were used on clients to detect enchantments, magical concealments and hidden magical objects.

On his first visit to Gringotts, Harry was told by Hagrid to be cautious. Goblins were extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which made them ideal guardians for the valuables of the wizarding world. This became one of the primary reasons that Voldemort chose to hide one of his precious horcruxes in the deeper vaults of the bank, and was explosively furious when it failed his expectations. Ironically, Harry later did ***rob Gringotts*** with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, the only known successful theft in the history of the bank, by taking advantage of a ***former employee***'s knowledge of the inner workings of the bank. It is unknown if Harry was able to resume normal business with the bank following Voldemort's defeat.

During the Second Wizarding War, security of the bank was further enforced, as it was taking normal clients around five hours to make withdraws. ***Probity Probes*** were a known security measure used during this time, which could be stuck up a certain part of their bodies. Only employees of the bank would be able to get money out of a vault for a client much faster, as Bill Weasley did for Harry Potter.

## Employment

> Are you seeking a challenging career involving travel, adventure, and substantial, danger-related treasure bonuses? Then consider a position with Gringotts Wizarding Bank, who are currently recruiting Curse-Breakers for thrilling opportunities abroad
>
> Pamphlet on Gringotts jobs given to Hogwarts students, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

While Gringotts was largely staffed by goblins, including ***Griphook***, ***Bogrod***, and ***Ragnok***, it is known that the bank did employ humans: Gringotts actively advertised career employment to Hogwarts students at least for ***Curse-Breakers***, and might likely also do so to other wizarding schools elsewhere. ***Bill Weasley*** worked as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts in ***Egypt***, retrieving artefacts from ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids after his graduation from Hogwarts.

When Bill wanted to do work for the Order of the Phoenix, he transferred to a desk job in England to be near home. That same year, ***Fleur Delacour*** took a job at Gringotts as well after participating in the ***Triwizard Tournament***, to improve her English, though she only worked part-time. They also employed Dragon Feeders, a job with a high mortality rate, at 7 Galleons per week.

At least during Harry Potter's break-in of the bank, there seemed to be a full-time security force that was comprised of ***wizard guards***, who rushed to the scene when the Lestrange vault was broken into. Despite this, Griphook mentioned at that time that the goblins resented "wand-bearer" interference in their internal affairs.

### Goblins

* ***Ragnok***
* ***Griphook***
* ***Ricbert***
* ***Bogrod***
* ***Gornuk***
* ***Nagnok***
* ***Blordak***
* ***Snaglok***
* ***Burgock***
* ***Odbert***
* ***Bodrag III***
* ***Garnuff's family***
* ***Unidentified goblin stockbroker***
* ***Unidentified Gringotts spokesgoblin***
* ***Tall goblin***
* ***Clever goblin***
* ***Magic goblin***
* ***Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (I)***
* ***Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (II)***
* ***Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (III)***
* ***Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (IV)***
* ***Unidentified goblin killed by Voldemort***
* Numerous unnamed ***goblin***s

### ***Guards***

* Unidentified Gringotts Bank goblin guard
* Marius
* Unidentified Gringotts guard (I)
* Unidentified Gringotts guard (II)

## Competition

Gringotts had no known competition in the wizarding banking industry, and was almost surely a monopoly in Britain. Rubeus Hagrid said it was the only wizard bank, but it isn't clear if he meant in Britain, or in the wizarding world as a whole. It is known, however, that the bank at least had dealings in Egypt, where Bill Weasley worked as a Curse-Breaker as of 1993.
It is likely therefore, as goblins tended to be at odds with wizards on political and social levels, that the Ministry of Magic had laws set in place to stop Gringotts intentionally regulating the wizarding economy, likely through the Goblin Liaison Office.

## Etymology

Gringotts may be derived from the word "ingots", which means a mass of metal cast in a convenient form for shaping, remelting, or refining. Also "Gringo" is an informal slang used by Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries to describe merchants of foreign nationalities, or really anyone who is foreign and (apparently) rich, a fitting term if one considers it refers to a bank run by the Goblins.

## Behind the scenes

 File:IMG 6573.jpg
* In Template:PS, the interior of the Australia House in London was used for the Gringotts grand entrance hall.

## Appearances

Template:Imagecat

* Template:PS Template:1st
* *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (film)
* *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1*
* *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2*

1. ↑ AOL Live Interview with J. K. Rowling - October 19, 2000
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Template:HL
3. ↑ Template:HBP
4. ↑ Template:POA
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Template:PS
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Template:DH
7. ↑ Template:COS
8. ↑ Template:WU "Brilliant Event: First Year at Hogwarts"