Albus Dumbledore was also fuming. He'd been using the Potter trust vault for his own purposes for almost seven years. Why should that suddenly change? He wanted to talk to his account manager, the one he had bribed annually to get unsupervised access to that vault, but the goblin was unavailable. From the tone of that answer, he doubted if his account manager was still alive. That was quite worrisome, though. Albus knew that he used to "shorten superfluous procedures" with bribes. That worked quite well in wizarding Britain and only slightly less when in other magical areas. While not quite legal, most magical governments saw it as an unavoidable part of the administration and only punished those who were caught red-handed. He should have remembered that the goblins were much stricter about that, even stricter than most muggles. If that goblin talked before execution… He didn't even want to contemplate the options.
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Discover moreRead Sci-Fi BooksWatch Sci-Fi FilmsDiscover Sci-FiRead E-BooksPlay Tabletop RPGsLuckily, he had already bought his annual upgrade for his wardrobe. Practically everything else was covered by the budget for Hogwarts or the Chief Warlock. He'd need to send Minerva to handle the Hogwarts accounts, though, and that meant he wouldn't be able to save some of that gold in his own vaults. Well, they were currently inaccessible to him, if he understood that correctly, so it didn't really matter.
Most worrisome, though, was the requirement to give back all the Potter heirlooms and possessions which he had "borrowed" from James and then Harry. While he believed they would have allowed him, had they been able, he had the impression that the goblins had a different opinion. His pensieve, about half his library, the invisibility cloak, his thrones and quite a few smaller items were "borrowed" from either Potter Manor or Potter vaults before his access to them was blocked, about a week after James died.
And then, there was the money. He was kindly requested to give the details of how he had used the Potter money for the benefit of the Potter Heir. Couldn't they understand that a man in his position couldn't be bothered with such minute details? Evidently, they couldn't and wouldn't. Now, unable to give them such a report, they would probably take back all he had "saved" from Potter's money with a hefty fine and interest. Well, that was life. One can't always win. He still didn't like it at all.
Discover moreAuthor tools kitFan fiction merchandiseCreative writing coursesCommunity forum membershipStory writing softwareAt least another worry was quietened. A few days earlier, all his monitoring and tracking charms on Harry had failed. He didn't know the exact time since he had not been at Hogwarts for more than a week due to his other positions. After reigning in his panic, he called Arabella on the Floo. "How is Harry? I've noticed no report from you for some time," he tried to sound as nonchalant as usual.
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"Oh, he's quite well. I've asked his guardians to let him spend some time here and help me with some chores and I now see him daily. I think he had a bout of accidental magic a few days ago."
"What happened, then?" Albus would have known if any obliviators were sent there.
"Nothing much, really. He only glowed for a few seconds. He may have removed his childhood bind, I think."
That wasn't welcome news for Albus. He needed the brat to be weak and look up to the Great Albus Dumbledore, not to be a strong and confident young man. Well, maybe it wouldn't be too bad. He'd cast enough binds to keep the brat weak. If one was overcome it may not be too bad, as long as it's only one.
Discover moreCrossover fiction guidesMobile app premiumGenre specific bundlesFan art commissionsFiction press newsletter"Well, he's growing up. It's natural, I believe," Albus said, trying to keep to his grandfatherly image. "And how are his relatives?"
"As usual. I heard the husband was called to speak with the bank, but I have no details. They sometimes talk to random customers just to make sure everything is as it should." Arabella knew some more, but since Albus had only vague ideas about the muggle world, she didn't need to elaborate.
"That's good, then. Well, I need to do some other things. Please keep me informed of any change." Albus said, before ending the call.
'In your dreams,' she thought.
After Sharpclaw had interviewed her, he decided to tell her, along with Harry, about the finds in his treatment. She was appalled at the severity of the binds cast on the child, and surprised he could still do so well despite his binds. It only made her suspicions of Dumbledore grow. He may have been a great wizard, when young, but she had a feeling that he was up to no good when Harry was concerned. She vowed in her heart to do what she could for the boy.
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Discover moreTrade ForexFan fiction booksFan fiction appWriting forum accessEbook subscription serviceHarry was enjoying his summer. He spent some time each day with Mrs. Figg, reading the magical booksand doing the magic described. He visited the public library regularly, meeting with some friends there. He also visited other of his friends and spent some time with them. Dudley was keeping his distance from him and so was Vernon, to a lesser degree, despite sending venomous glances at him since the visit at the bank.
Harry happened to overhear another conversation about that matter.
"I see you drew quite a bit of money from that account each month. What did you use it for?" Petunia asked.
"I'm helping one of the secretaries at work. The poor girl has no family and her fiance left her." Vernon was sweating buckets when he said that. It was evidently a lie.
"Interesting… I found out who owns that account you transfer the money to, and I went to check on the poor girl, as you call her. She lives in a house larger than ours, one that she was proud to tell me that you bought for her to reward her for her performance in bed. You also promised her to divorce me and marry her, didn't you?" Petunia sounded matter-of-factly as if it didn't concern her.
Harry wasn't sure about the bed thing, but he knew what divorce meant. Would his uncle divorce his aunt? He considered it quite a good idea. The house was much pleasanter when Vernon was at work or somewhere else.
"No! I just…" Vernon seemed unsure of what to say.
"Well, if you want her so much, then I won't stop you. Go live with her, if you like. She's younger and curvier. I hope she's also a good cook. Just make sure to give back the Potter money and pay the alimony. With your position at Grunning you can surely afford it, can't you?"
Vernon paled. Keeping a young mistress while using Potter's money seemed an attractive idea. Supporting one woman and child while marrying the other and without the benefit of Potter's money was extremely… unattractive, to say the least. And he would need to return all the money not used for its intended purpose, too. He would be broke. His mistress would find another supporter for sure, but who would want him? Despite his bravado, Vernon knew that he was very far from the ideal man the women were looking for. Without Petunia and with very little money… He didn't even want to think of that.
"No, please… She means nothing to me, just some distraction from time to time. You are my wife and I don't want to divorce you. We can work this out, you know…"
Harry didn't listen any longer. Whatever the outcome, the power balance in the family was shifting and it seemed to be for the better. At least he hoped so.
–..–
Just before the end of the summer vacation, Mrs. Figg took Harry on another trip to London. This time, they took a tourist bus to enjoy the good weather and see some of the attractions of the great capital. They still arrived at Gringotts early enough. Harry had a quick check-up with the healers, who informed him that all his injuries were gone and he had also grown to his full potential since the treatment. Indeed, his trousers seemed a bit short lately and he was slightly taller than Dudley. His eyes were also found to work as well as could be expected. He would be free from eyeglasses for the foreseeable future. His forehead was, of course, free of any scar or remains of it, just as smooth as of any child his age.
Sharpclaw also had some news for Harry, who didn't mind letting Mrs. Figg hear it too. "All the books and artefacts that Dumbledore had taken were returned to their proper places. We confiscated all the money Dumbledore had taken from you with interest and fines and put it back in your vault. The one who allowed him that access is no longer employed by Gringotts. It's more difficult to get back the money from your uncle. He spent most of this money on worthless stuff. He's now trying to reach an agreement with his bank for paying it back gradually."
Harry chuckled. "Well, he did pay for the furniture in my room and he also pays for my clothes, lately, so you can deduct that from what he needs to pay, but he spent practically nothing on me until I was almost six, and very little for another year or two."
Sharpclaw wrote that down. "It will only affect his debt slightly. Most of it is accumulated since you were left there until you went to school, judging by his own words."
Harry gave it some thought. From what he knew, Aunt Petunia would have treated him much better, had Vernon not interfered. He didn't mind punishing Vernon, but he didn't want Petunia to suffer. He didn't mind Dudley too much although he suspected that Dudley could have grown better without his father's influence. "I wouldn't like that to make my aunt suffer," he said.
Sharpclaw chuckled. "It looks like your aunt is going to divorce quite soon. We shall give her a monthly stipend for you, probably smaller than what Dumbledore let Vernon have, but more than good enough to account for all your needs and more. Vernon would have to pay it all back of course, but he can have any arrangement with his bank that he likes. We won't interfere with that."
Harry nodded. "That sounds alright to me." His thought then wandered to another subject. "Do you think we can buy some books about doing magic without a wand? I'm not allowed a wand yet, you know."
Sharpclaw refrained from chuckling. His client was still unaware of his extraordinary powers, and it was safer this way. He still answered truthfully. "You may find some books at the bookshop, but you should know that these are considered very advanced magic and you may get some curious looks or worse. You need to take some money with you, I suppose, since I doubt you want to reveal your ring right now."
"How much money would you suggest?"
"About twenty Galleons should be enough. Take thirty, if you want more than four books," Sharpclaw advised.
Harry nodded and turned to Mrs. Figg. "Will you go with me, please?"
She smiled. "Of course, dear. It's been a long time since I last visited that place, but I still remember the way."
–..–
Eventually, Harry only bought two books about wandless magic. He found a few more, but they seemed to cover the same material. He also found an interesting bookabout wards and another about defence. He took them both.
Nobody paid any attention to the black-haired boy whose eyes were shadowed by a baseball cap, as many children wear, and nobody even asked for his name. He was just another boy spending the summer vacation doing some shopping.
When he came home with four books, Dudley barely glanced at him. Books were of no interest to the fat boy, unlike food and games. For all he cared, Harry could fill his room with books and he won't mind at all. Sweets, though…