The Harry Potter Saga: Agustus 2011

"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."

—Inscription on the doors of Gringotts

Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only known bank of the wizarding world, and is owned and operated by goblins. It was created by a goblin called Gringott. Its main offices are located in 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. According to Rubeus Hagrid, other than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gringotts is the safest place in the wizarding world.

History

The bank was created by Gringott at some point in his life. ^[1] The bank was then put at the hands of the Ministry of Magic. In 1865, the Ministry decided to leave full control of Gringotts back in goblin hands. During Voldemort's control of the Ministry (1997 to 1998), the bank was put yet again under the Ministry. ^[3] With the defeat of Voldemort and the end of the Second Wizarding War, Gringotts was presumably put back into Goblin management.

Break-Ins

Main Article: Gringotts Break-In
So far, there have only been two known break-ins of Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

1991 Break-In

The break-in of 1991 was committed by Quirinus Quirrell, who was attempting to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Vault 713.

1998 Break-In

The break-in of 1998 was committed by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, who stole Helga Hufflepuff's Cup from the Lestrange Vault.

Appearance

The façade of Gringotts as seen from Diagon Alley.

This snowy-white building towers over neighbouring shops. Customers pass through a set of bronze doors and then an additional set of silver doors before entering the lobby. The main floor is paved with marble and has long counters stretching along its length. The vaults are miles below, accessible through rough stone passageways and then by means of magic carts that travel speedily along mining tracks. Dragons and other mysterious beasts lurk in the depths as additional security devices.

Security

The bank itself is guarded by the Gringotts Bank guards. There are a number of methods to opening the vaults. Most vaults, such as Harry Potter's, use small golden keys. 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. For even deeper vaults, such as the one of the Lestrange family, they have powerful magical creatures, such as dragons or sphinxes as guardians.
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. Ironically, Harry later did rob Gringotts with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley^[4], the only known successful theft in the history of the bank, by taking advantage of a former employee's greed against them. It is unknown if Harry was able to resume normal business with the bank following Voldemort's defeat.

Employment

While Gringotts is largely staffed by goblins, it is known that the bank does employ humans.

Goblins

Guards

Humans

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.^[5] 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.

Known vaults

Weasley Vault

The Weasley family has a vault that is closer to the surface than Harry Potter's vault, and had fewer security measures. When the Weasleys entered it in the summer of 1992, the vault contained only a small pile of Sickles and a single Galleon, all of which Molly Weasley took out.^[6]

Vault 687

Harry Potter being escorted to his vault in 1991.

Harry Potter first ventured to Gringotts in 1991, when he learned that his late parents had left him a great deal of money in a vault. This was fortunate for Harry, since his Aunt Petunia and his Uncle Vernon would have surely taken most, if not all, as "proper compensation" for "opening their home" to him. While they would have had to exchange it for Muggle money, this appears to not be very difficult, as shown when Hermione Granger's parents did so while paying for her school supplies.
Harry's vault required a key for entry, and was at a moderate depth — further down than the Weasley Vault, but not as far as Vault 713. It also had fewer security measures than deeper vaults.^[7]

Vault 711

Vault 711 belonged to Sirius Black, and perhaps to the Black family in general. Sirius used gold from his vault to pay for Harry Potter's Firebolt in 1993^[8]. In 1996, it contained a "reasonable amount of gold"^[9]. Given its depth, it is likely a high-security vault. Upon Sirius' death, he left all the money in the vault to Harry in his will.

Vault 712 Edit

Instead of being used as a regular vault, Vault 712 is used by the goblins as a (presumably unsanctioned) lounge, suggesting it is unused.

Vault 713

The Philosopher's Stone was held at Gringotts in Vault 713, in a small, grubby bag. Rubeus Hagrid was charged with moving it from Gringotts to Hogwarts in 1991, which he did expertly. Later that very same day, Professor Quirrell broke into the vault under orders of Lord Voldemort; although he was unsuccessful in obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, the break-in shocked the Wizarding world because the culprit was not caught. The robbery was reported in the Daily Prophet, because it was practically unheard of for Gringotts to be robbed.^[7]

Lestrange Vault

The trio together with the other two goblins in Lestrange's Vault

The Lestranges, a very old pure-blood family, had a vault in Gringotts guarded by a dragon and full of treasure protected by the Geminio and Flagrante curses. It, at one point, was used to store the sword of Godric Gryffindor, unknown to the Lestrange's that it was actually a fake. It also served as the hiding place for Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. It was this item that Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger sought to steal when they broke into Gringotts in 1998. They managed to steal the cup, severely damaged the cavernous interior and freed a dragon while escaping.
The security of this vault was even higher than that of Vault 713, as a goblin had to place his entire palm on the door, to open it, rather than just a finger, and it was guarded by a dragon. Each item in the vault was also enchanted with the Flagrante curse and the Gemino Curse, which meant that thieves would be buried by the object, which duplicated until the thief was crushed under the fake treasure.^[4]

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.

Behind the scenes

According to the film adaptations of the series, Harry Potter's vault is number 687.
Death Eater Travers must have a vault in Gringotts, as he was holding a key while entering the bank when he encountered Hermione Granger disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange before she, Harry, and Ron robbed the bank^[4].
Gringotts appears to serve the wizarding world in the same way the US Federal Reserve stabilises the economy in the United States (as similar institutions exist in other economically stable countries). It independently maintains the balance of the British wizarding economy, disallowing individual wizards, witches or groups to manipulate national financial matters for personal gain. This would also explain part of the goblins' resistance toward wizarding domination over the operation of Gringotts during the Second Wizarding War, that such interference by the Death Eater-controlled Ministry of Magic threatened the very economic stability of the wizarding community they were charged with protecting. Evidence that this may be the case appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where Bogrod is seen examining leprechaun gold in disgust. Not only is such gold worthless, to allow it to continue to circulate would generate inflation, which is contrary to economic stability.
If you look closely on the 422nd Quidditch World Cup Programme, you will see that Gringotts sponsors the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.