Gringotts Wizarding Bank

**Gringotts Wizarding Bank** is the only bank of the wizarding world, and is owned and operated by goblins. It was created by a goblin called Gringott, in 1474. Its main offices are located around the North Side of Diagon Alley in London, England. In addition to storing money and valuables for wizards and witches, one can 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 is later returned to circulation in the Muggle world by goblins. According to Rubeus Hagrid, other than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gringotts is the safest place in the wizarding world.

The motto of Gringotts Wizarding Bank is *Fortius Quo Fidelius*, a Latin phrase that means "Strength through loyalty".

## History

The bank was created by Gringott in 1474.but was then put in the hands of the Ministry of Magic shortly thereafter, being under some degree of wizarding management already by the 1500s' when Tertius applied for the job of Curse-Breaker to two wizards who were discussing job vacancies at the door to Gringotts. In 1865, the Ministry decided to put full control of Gringotts back in goblin hands, regulated by an Consortium of Goblinary Finance & Red-Nosed Wizard Investors.

On 29 November 1926, Gringotts was put on lockdown with protective enchantments cast.

During Voldemort's control of the Ministry (1997 to 1998), the bank was put yet again under the Ministry. With the defeat of Voldemort and the end of the Second Wizarding War, Gringotts was presumably put back into Goblin management.

### Break-Ins

So far, there have only been two known break-ins and theft (or attempted theft) of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, with one taking placing in 1991 and another in 1998.

#### 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 spokesgoblin this afternoon.*"
> ― *Daily Prophet* article[source]
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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.

#### 1998 Break-In

*Main article: Break-in of Gringotts Wizarding Bank (1998)*

> "*The vault we need to get into isn't empty, and I'm guessing its protection will be pretty powerful. It belongs to the Lestranges.*"
> ― Discussion of breaking into Gringotts[source]
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The break-in of 1998 was committed by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were aided by a reluctant Griphook in exchange for Godric Gryffindor's sword. They broke into the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange, where one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes (Helga Hufflepuff's cup) was hidden. They came to the conclusion that a break-in was necessary after Harry deduced the location of the Horcrux after the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor.

At the doors of the bank, two human guards had Probity Probes — devices that detected concealment charms. Harry quickly used a Confundus Charm on the two guards and Hermione passed by them unchecked. Once inside the bank they were in danger of being found out and Harry had to use the Imperius Curse on a goblin and a Travers in order for them to continue onward. However, when they went into Bellatrix's vault, which was stocked with all manners of treasure, they found out that the treasure had the Gemino and Flagrante charms placed on it, which meant that thieves would be burned by the objects, which also duplicated until the thief was crushed under the burning weight of the fake treasure. The Trio still managed to escape with the Horcrux by fleeing on a half-blind dragon that was part of the security for the vault, leaving parts of the bank in ruins. Upon learning of this, Voldemort slaughtered a large number of bank guards and clerks, including Griphook, effectively venting out his rage and eliminating witnesses.

## Description

> "*They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops.*"
> ― Physical appearance of the bank[source]
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Gringotts is an imposing snow-white multistoried marble building located partway down Diagon Alley, near its intersection with Knockturn Alley, that towers over the neighbouring shops. It is the place where British witches and wizards store their money and other valuables, in heavily-guarded vaults miles below ground.

When Harry Potter first visits Gringotts, he is 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's the safest place for anything valuable to be kept. Goblins are extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which makes them ideal guardians for the valuables of the wizarding world. The goblins have a code that forbids 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 is run by goblins, and they alone know 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 leads up to a set of burnished bronze doors. The doors are 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 is the entrance to Gringotts, and it leads into a small entrance hall and another set of doors. Engraved on these silver doors are the words:

 *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, is 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 extend for miles under the city and are accessible through rough stone, complex and interconnected passageways by means of magic carts that are operated by goblins. Dragons and other mysterious beasts lurk in the depths as additional security devices.

## The 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[source]
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In contrast to the grand marble of the entryway and the main hall, the passageways to the vaults are stone and dimly lit with flaming torches. They slope down to a track, upon which run little carts controlled by the goblins. These carts take visitors deep beneath the surface of the earth, through a "maze of twisting passages," to the vaults. The carts go very quickly, which makes Hagrid a little queasy and prevents its occupants from getting a good look at their surroundings, and seem to run on a vast, complex, interconnected series of tracks that allow them to move to and between any vaults.

The vaults themselves vary in size and security. The largest, most well protected vaults belong to the oldest and richest wizarding families and lie deepest beneath the surface. Those vaults closer to the surface seem to be smaller and have fewer security precautions surrounding them — they use keys, for example, rather than requiring the touch of a goblin to gain access. The rules around who is allowed to access vaults seem to change; sometimes wizards are asked for identification or a key to be allowed access, yet both Molly Weasley and Bill Weasley are able to get gold from Harry's vault for him.

It is possible there is 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 seems that only blood relations can inherit a Gringotts vault; Albus Dumbledore implies 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 seems that any vault belonging to a criminal will 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 operates outside of wizard law, at the very least in rights of ownership towards their vaults and what is kept inside.

There are several vaults that are 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.*"
> ― Bill Weasley on Gringott's heightened security during the Second Wizarding War[source]
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Gringotts uses a variety of security systems. Most lower security vaults, such as Harry Potter's, require a key; higher security vaults require the touch of a certified Gringotts goblin. Higher security vaults may have various enchantments upon the doors. For example, the door to Vault 713 needs to be stroked by a certified Gringotts goblin, which causes it to melt away. If anyone but a Gringotts goblin touches the door, the person will be sucked into the vault, which is checked for trapped thieves about once per decade.

Dragons or sphinxes guard the highest security vaults such as the vault of the Lestrange Family. Though affiliated with Gringotts, the Dragons kept there are not actually "tamed" in the traditional way in that they are merely used to discourage intruders and unauthorised persons from approaching the vaults to which these beasts are stationed at. They are "conditioned" in an inhumane way that compels them to retreat whenever they hear the sound produced by Clankers, which only the goblins possess. The usage of sphinxes are troublesome for some clients, when they wish to make a withdraw but are unable to answer the riddles that the sphinxes give as security questions. Another security measure is the Thief's Downfall: a charmed waterfall that the goblin carts must pass through, it cancels all enchantments and magical concealments, and throws the carts off their tracks. Some vaults use the Gemino and Flagrante charms; when any item is touched by a thief, it multiplies rapidly and burns them, eventually crushing and scorching them to death. Objects within Gringotts cannot be summoned. At times, Probity Probes are used on customers to detect enchantments, magical concealments and hidden magical objects.

On his first visit to Gringotts, Harry was told by Hagrid to be cautious. Goblins are extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which makes 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 are a known security measure used during this time, which can 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[source]
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While Gringotts is largely staffed by goblins, including Griphook, Bogrod, and Ragnok, it is known that the bank does employ humans: Gringotts actively advertises career employment to Hogwarts students at least for Curse-Breakers, and may likely also do so to other wizarding schools elsewhere. Bill Weasley works as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts in Egypt, retrieving artefacts from ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids after his graduation from Hogwarts. When he wanted to do work for the Order of the Phoenix, Bill 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 works part-time. They also employ 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 seems to be a full-time security force that is comprised of wizard guards, and that rushes to the scene when the Lestrange vault was broken into. Despite this, Griphook mentions at that time that the goblins resent "wand-bearer" interference in their internal affairs.

### Goblins

* Gringott - founder of the bank
* Ragnok
* Griphook
* Ricbert
* Bogrod
* Gornuk
* Nagnok
* Blordak
* Snaglok
* Burgock
* Odbert
* Gringotts Head Goblin
* Unidentified goblin stockbroker
* Unidentified Gringotts spokesgoblin
* Tall goblin
* Clever goblin
* Magic goblin
* Unidentified Goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (I)
* Numerous unnamed goblins

### Guards

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

### Humans

* Patricia Rakepick - Head Curse-Breaker
* Bill Weasley - worked as a curse-breaker for Gringotts in Egypt, retrieving artefacts from ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids, later took a desk job in 1995 to work with the Order of the Phoenix.
* Fleur Delacour - took a part-time job with Gringotts after participating in the Triwizard Tournament, supposedly to improve her English.

## Competition

Gringotts has no known competition in the wizarding banking industry, and is most surely a monopoly in Britain. Given that the bank is, according to Rubeus Hagrid, the only wizarding bank in Great Britain, it stands to reason that the goblins would have a tremendous amount of power over the wizarding economy, as goblins are also the force behind minting the wizarding currency, Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. It is likely therefore, as goblins tend to be at odds with wizards on political and social levels, that the Ministry of Magic has 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.