"First, please call me Harry; if we want to work on a profitable base for both of us, we need to have a basis of trust, Corpnik. Second, I would like to know what transactions there have been in the Potter accounts. I already know that my former guardians, my mother's muggle sister and her husband, embezzled the funds that they were given for my care. They only spent the bare minimum that couldn't be avoided on me. I want those funds back. How you do it, I don't care, but I know that the goblins always catch thieves. I also would like to know the advantages of getting a ledger for my vaults compared to the quarterly statements. While we are at the topic of embezzlement, do I get monies from those people using my name in their books and for their products? If not, I want that changed. They can either give me my share of the profits or pay a hefty fine for using my name without permission. And if you can, I'd like to get those Harry Potter books that Lockhart author wrote relabelled as fiction.
"Next are the current investments for my family. I'd like to see the profits those investments made over the last ten years and possibly adjust them. If you have suggestions for profitable investments that you couldn't realize until now because you need the permission of the owner of the vault to make them, I'd also like to hear your reasons for the investment plan. I want to see my parent's will, I know the original is always kept at Gringotts and the Ministry holds a copy. And lastly, I want to discuss with you the concept of introducing a credit card to the wizarding world. I'd gladly tell you everything I know about the system in the muggle world if we can come to an agreement about the profit-sharing." Harry listed his intentions for the meeting.
"Well structured and to the point, Harry. I like seeing a wizard who knows what he wants and what he is talking about. Especially someone as young as you are. Very well, let's start with some explanations. The ledger is a detailed statement of all possessions your family keeps at Gringotts and has outside in investments, real estates and living property. It is constantly updated which means you always can see how much you own. The monthly statements only contain the contents of your vaults in galleons, sickles and knuts. Objects are only listed in their overall number, not their kind.
"We will of course take care of recovering the money that was embezzled from you with interest. We are connected to the muggle banking system through a dummy bank that only exists in name. The people that use your name are separated in two groups. There is one manufacturer who produces toys that has organized that eight per cent of the profits are transferred to your trust vault for the usage of your name to advertise his products. Romanio Lockhart didn't do that and I'll gladly put one of Gringotts' barristers on the case.
"Your family investments mainly date back to 1978; that was the last time your grandfather Charlus changed the portfolio. Your father James was too busy with his schooling first and then the war against the Dark Lord to really take interest in investments. The investments are in both the wizarding and muggle worlds. I think your mother inspired your grandfather to invest the equivalent of ten thousand galleons in a company that was developing communication devices that work similar to the phones the muggles use at their homes but could be carried around easily. By now it has become a very profitable company and the original investment that got your grandfather twenty per cent of the shares of the company now has a value of sixty thousand, nine hundred and five galleons.
"The other investments are in the wizarding world. You hold five per cent of Flourish and Blott's, twelve per cent of Madam Malkin's, thirteen per cent of Quality for Quidditch, twenty one per cent of the Daily Prophet, fifty one per cent of a magical creature farm in Norfolk, sixty three per cent in a vineyard with attached winery in southern France, and lastly you hold eighty nine per cent in a professional Quidditch training facility in Canada. All those investments are doing well, especially the Quidditch facility. The vineyard had a bad harvest three years ago, but they recovered the following year by taking more protective measures against insects and frost in spring. I have three more businesses that would be interesting to invest in.
"First you should know that your grandfather, and his father before him, always used the same investment strategy. He looked for young enterprises that promised to become successful in a few years' time. He sponsored the founders of the enterprises and got shares in exchange. He always kept involved in the business ideas and offered advice if necessary. The last part will probably be a bit early for you, but once you finished school I'm sure you would also do well with this strategy. All the investments you hold currently were created the way I described. I have to say your great-grandfather Henry proved a really good nose when he bought the run-down Quidditch facility from the founder. He was a very enthusiastic wizard who loved playing Quidditch, but he had no idea of how to run a business.
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Your great-grandfather took over the management for three years and hired competent people to run it full-time. Trainers for the practical part and managers for the economic part. After five years the facility was profitable and after ten years it had turned into a cash cow to use the muggle term. The eleven per cent that you don't own are split among senior workers of the facility that got them for their commitment to the facility in the beginning when times were hard and they had a lot of convincing to do to get professional teams to use their training facilities during the year and to get camps for children and teenagers set up." Corpnik described how the most successful investment of the Potters had started off.
Harry was very impressed how good at doing business his great-grandfather had been. He hoped he would be able to follow in his footsteps. Well, he had one idea already. He would see how it worked out.
"The three investments I want to suggest are an apothecary in a side alley of Diagon Alley whose owner is a very competent witch and on her way to gain her mastery in potions. At the moment she only sells ingredients of high quality and books that are a key to becoming a successful brewer. There is a reason why Slytherin house produces the best brewers besides their head of house being a bit biased against the other houses after all. She presented us her business plan and I checked it thoroughly. As soon as she has her mastery, which will probably be in about two years at most, she will start selling potions that the normal witch or wizard needs regularly, like cough potions, pepper-up potions, headache potions and the like in her shop. Those potions, while high quality, will be reasonably priced. At the side she will take special orders that are only needed for special uses and prepare them for much higher prices. As good Potions Masters are really rare in Great Britain she won't have to fear much competition in that field and as an addition to her normal range of products it works nicely I think.