Chapter Text
They were winning. Harry let himself believe that maybe, just maybe, they might win this. It may have been an ambush, but there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel. That was, until Bellatrix' spell hit Sirius and he fell through the veil. After that, Harry felt nothing but ice. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was enough to make him go numb.
He wasn't in control of his body as he ran after Bellatrix, even less so when Voldemort entered his mind, and he wasn't fully recovered by the time he got back to Hogwarts. The amount of people in the Ministry's atrium didn't affect him, he didn't even notice it. It was weird, for everything to go from wonderful one moment, to irrevocably horrible, for light to come for a second, just to be snuffed out. Harry didn't snap out of his stupor until the Gringotts owl landed in front of him during breakfast the day before end of term.
Harry grabbed the letter and was about to open it until the barn owl pecked at him. "What is your problem?" The barn owl didn't look amused, but flew off, nevertheless. "Bloody bird." Harry pocketed the letter, deciding to open it in his dorm later. As he went through his day, he didn't notice the odd looks he drew from Ron and Hermione. They'd realized that he'd woken up but didn't know how to reach him anymore. It's like his eyes were open to the rest of the world, but when it came to them, he was blind as a bat.
When Harry got to his dorm, he pulled the curtains around his bed and immediately sat down, casting a silencing charm around himself. He broke the seal open, revealing the letter inside.
-Your presence is not requested but required at Gringotts tomorrow before the sun meets the horizon. Failure to do so will result in a closure of all accounts within Gringotts and accounts unable to be close-such as family vaults-will be frozen, and you will be unable to make a withdrawal.
Yours Sincerely,
King Ragnuk the Eighth-
A closure of his accounts? What did Harry do for them to require his presence, and earn himself a summons from the King of Goblins, nonetheless?
Harry went to sleep that night, a plan to slip past the Dursleys already forming in his head.
After breakfast, Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express. He didn't know why, but Harry knew that if he sat with Ron and Hermione today, he would only get a migraine. As soon as he got inside of the train, he weaved through the crowd, faster than Hermione and Ron together could make it. He reached an empty compartment, placed Hedwig in the overhead compartment, his trunk below him, sat down, and pulled his hood over his face. Sure enough, ten seconds later, Hermione and Ron quickly made their way past him. Harry laughed? Under his breath, he whispered "Do they really think I'm that dumb?". He already knew the answer, and the answer was yes, yes in fact they did think he was that dumb.
Harry knew he'd encouraged it with his grades and lack of study ethic, but that was the point. If they underestimated him, he could pull off a lot more, with much less worry about the result. He sat himself in the corner, facing the door.
Five minutes later, a Slytherin walked in and sat across from him. The immediately pulled out a book and sat down with his legs crossed. Before too long, another Slytherin came to join her housemate in reading. She had green eyes and light blonde hair. Moments after she sat down, the train lurched to a start, moving along the tracks.
After a few hours, it seemed that they'd finally tired from their books. "Why did you sit in here when it was empty except for me, a Gryffindor, The Gryffindor?" The boy jumped at his voice, but the girl just studied him like he was a potions ingredient that hadn't reacted the way she'd expected.
"I sat in here because I wanted to get away from Malfoy and his goons, they're bloody fucking gits sometimes." Harry couldn't help himself; he chuckled. "I came in here because you two weren't talking and didn't look like you'd start talking anytime soon." Harry nodded, that's probably why she gave him that look in the first place, she hadn't expected him to talk.
"I came in here to ditch Hermione and Ron. For being the "Golden Trio", they can be annoying, overbearing, and just all-around gits." The girl remained expressionless, but the boy made a face like he was holding back a laugh. Harry figured that the poor boy probably didn't think that he, of all people, would find an intelligent, condescending lady and an idiotic, moronic quidditch superfan frustrating. I mean, a few years ago and he probably would have laughed at that statement, too.
"My name is Daphne Greengrass, heir to the Ancient and Noble house Greengrass." Her tone was snipped toward the end, like she expected her position to be taken at any time and by anyone.
"I'm Theodore Nott." His voice sounded like he was swallowing something that tasted particularly bad when he said Theodore. "Please call me Theo, though." Harry nodded. His own name was just a nickname of his full one-Harrison.
"I'm Harrison Potter, but please just call me Harry." The gir-Daphne's eyes raised when he said Harrison, and Theo went open-mouthed. They probably weren't expecting that Harry was only his nickname, but that was understandable. If they'd called him that when he was four, he probably would've asked who they were talking about.
The three sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their minds. That was until the trolly came around. Harry got up, asking for a little bit of everything. He did not want a repeat of his first train ride, buying the whole cart. He'd never admit it, but it'd made him sick for days. Daphne got up after him, asking for some Pumpkin Pasties. Theo ended up grabbing a few Chocolate Frogs, losing a few of them due to his lack of coordination.
For about an hour there was dead silence. Theo went back to his book, leaving Harry to wonder if the person he'd met had been the real Theo, or the Theo that was a mask to strangers and acquaintances. Daphne opened a notebook, and started writing, looking up every so often to make sure that Harry wasn't reading what was being written. Harry was thinking and finalizing his idea to slip the Dursleys. He couldn't risk losing his money in the wizarding world, because that would mean that he couldn't afford to attend Hogwarts. When they were nearing the station, he pulled on a plain white hoodie and some blue jeans.
All too soon and none too late, the train pulled to a stop at King's Cross Station. Harry grabbed Hedwig and his trunk as quickly as he could and rushed for the exit. He didn't want to take the chance of Ron and Hermione spotting and/or running into him. He hurried out of the magical barrier, pulling the hood of the hoodie down over his face, looked down, and made sure the Hedwig was tucked away behind his luggage, out of sight. Glancing up, he saw the Dursleys to his right, and in turn veered to his left.
Soon, he was out of the station and by the street. He pulled out his wand after checking to make sure no muggles were watching, then called the Knightbus. The ride was quick and heart-wrenching as they whizzed around towards the Leaky Cauldron. He paid Stan the fare and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He made his way to Tom.
"Hey, Tom, can I get a room for the summer? Just need it to the beginning of term." Tom looked up at Harry's face, his scar, and back down again. "O' course, now your room'll be the last door 'n to the right." "Thank you, Tom. Oh, and also, can this be between the two of us, wouldn't want anybody to know where I am right now, with all that's happening with You-Know-Who." Harry knew that fear of the name only encouraged fear of the being, but he wasn't stupid enough not to realize that there was a taboo on the name.
"I swear on my magic that I won't tell another living soul, a painting, patronus, or use other means of communication to inform about Harry Potter's location or state of living at the Leaky Cauldron. Does that work for you, 'arry?" Harry smiled "'course it does Tom. Thank you for the reassurance."
Harry got to his room and unpacked his belongings and uncaged Hedwig. "Here you go, girl." Harry opened the window, letting Hedwig fly out to hunt her food. Harry steeled his nerves, making his way to the back of the shop and tapping the proper bricks.
The first thing that Harry realized was how weird Diagon Alley was when it wasn't a rush to get supplies for Hogwarts. The second thing that hit him was that he was here because of something serious, and not because he needed something for his education. He'd never come here for any other reason, at least not that he could remember off the top of his head.
As Harry made his way down the alley and towards Gringotts, he felt like he was being watched from all angles. As soon as he walked into the bank, the feeling left him. The immediate shift made him nervous. If he only felt he was being watched in the open, what did that mean?
Taking a deep breath, he made his way to the first Teller he saw.
"Hello," looking at the nametag "Ripfang, I was told I had to be here by King Ragnuk the Eighth. Would you escort me to him, I'm not sure where I would meet him."
Ripfang smiled, a smile full of sharp teeth. "Of course, Mr. Potter, it'd be my pleasure." Something about the goblin's tone made Harry's skin crawl, but he knew better than to argue with the goblin while in the bank, or out of it, for that matter.
They walked through the halls of the bank, so many twists and turns that Harry got lost a quarter way through the journey. Finally, they came in front of a giant door stretching from the ground, nearly reaching the ceiling. "Here you are, just knock." Before Harry could ask anything, Ripfang left.
With no other option, being as hopelessly lost as he was, Harry knocked. After the third knock there was a sound that soundly vaguely welcoming on the other side of the door. As he reached for the handle, the doors opened. "Come in, Mr. Potter."