Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.
Second Time Around: Year 2: Chapter 2: Financial Matters
Once Sirius returned he, Remus and Harry sat down with Hermione. Their purpose was to try and explain why house elves were treated as they were and why they behaved like that. Quickly, though, they realised Hermione wasn't going to change her opinion any time soon. Harry remembered she could be quite stubborn at times and he soon realised this was one of these occasions. After half an hour of fruitless discussion Harry decided to go to bed. The others soon followed.
Next morning, when Harry got up he found Kreacher had made breakfast for him, Sirius and Remus, but not Hermione. He asked Kreacher why and was told that she had decided to make her own breakfast. Kreacher wanted to know if he should stop her but Harry said to leave her to it. He explained that, if she wanted to do it herself, she should be allowed to. He couldn't see any point to trying to stop her when she was so determined about something.
Hermione and Remus left after lunch. Remus was escorting her home and would then be doing some odd jobs for friends so would not be returning for a few days. This would give Harry and Sirius a chance to sort out the Horcrux hunt. They decided to visit Little Hangleton the following morning, giving them the whole day to locate and destroy the Horcrux there. They spent the rest of the day going over Harry's Gringotts account, the goblins having provided Harry with all relevant information at Christmas but, because of other things, this was the first chance they'd had to review it.
Apart from Harry himself, the only person with access to his Gringotts' account was Dumbledore. He held the title 'Account Manager' and it noted this would terminate upon Harry's 17th birthday. Also included in the statement was a list of transfers to a Petunia Dursley, described as Harry's legal guardian. Sirius explained that this was standard procedure when a child was orphaned in the wizarding world, although it was rare for the guardian to be a muggle. These transfers had occurred monthly until the 1st of September last year, when Harry started at Hogwarts. It noted future payments would be made on the 1st of July and the 1st of August until Harry's 17th birthday at which point they would stop automatically. Harry asked if it would be possible to change some of the records and Sirius told him they would need to visit Gringotts.
Sirius apparated him to Diagon Alley and they walked to the bank. The goblins at the door bowed as they entered as they always did. Harry approached the first free goblin.
"My name is Harry Potter. Could I speak to someone regarding my account please?" he asked the goblin.
"Do you have your key?" the goblin asked. Harry showed him the key. "One moment please."
Shortly after another goblin approached. "Mr. Potter?" he asked.
Yes, sir," Harry replied.
This way, please." Harry and Sirius followed the goblin into an adjacent office where they met another goblin. This goblin introduced himself as Sharpclaw.
"Mr. Potter please sit down," Sharpclaw said. "What is it you wish to discuss?"
Harry and Sirius sat down before Harry spoke. "I have a query about my account statements. I see that money is being paid into a muggle bank account in my aunt's name. I assume this money was for my upbringing?"
Sharpclaw examined the statement. "That is correct. As your legal guardian Petunia Dursley is entitled to a monthly stipend. That cannot be changed without the consent of your account manager, Albus Dumbledore."
"That brings up my second query," Harry said. "Can I make somebody else my account manager?"
"No. That change can only be made if the existing account manager dies or otherwise becomes incapable of performing their duty. The existing manager does have the authority to nominate someone to replace them if they no longer wish to have the responsibility but they must provide a suitable replacement."
Harry nodded before turning to Sirius. "So, unless Professor Dumbledore agrees I cannot stop the Dursleys getting that money, even though they are obviously spending it on Dudley and not me."
"It seems so, yes," Sirius replied. "Sharpclaw, can Harry add another name to the list of people with access to his account?"
Sharpclaw glared at Sirius before replying, "No. Only the account manager can do that."
"What if I no longer consider my existing account manager to be trustworthy?" Harry asked Sharpclaw.
"Do you consider Albus Dumbledore unfit to hold this position?"
"I don't entirely trust him. Barely 6 weeks ago he put me in a life threatening situation. Luckily I had already contacted Sirius and he, along with another auror, arrived in time. Also, my house elf was on hand in case anything happened; which it did," Harry explained to the goblin.
Sharpclaw thought things over before saying, "Is there any record in the auror office of this incident?"
Harry turned to Sirius. "Was that matter recorded?" Harry, of course, already knew there had been a formal investigation but wanted Sirius to tell Sharpclaw this.
"Yes there was," Sirius said. "I personally filed the report which Madam Bones herself reviewed. She was the one to start the inquiry into Dumbledore's actions."
"I see," said Sharpclaw. "That changes everything. If the Ministry of Magic is investigating Albus Dumbledore then you may indeed have a case for having him declared unfit for the title of Account Manager. You will need to bring a notarised copy of the report with you to this office along with notarised copies of all relevant documents. Once we have those we can strip Albus Dumbledore of his authority to access your accounts for a short time at least, although if he is subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing we will no choice but to reinstate him with a full apology."
"I can get the paperwork," Sirius said. "It's my report so I won't even need to go through Madam Bones although I will tell her of what is happening. I don't doubt she would back up my actions since she is the one investigating Dumbledore anyway."
Harry turned to Sharpclaw. "Thank-you for your help, Sharpclaw. I daresay we will be back next week to sort this matter out. Could we arrange another appointment for, say, next Wednesday?"
"Harry, we could come back tomorrow. All I need to do is go to the auror office and pick up the file," Sirius said.
"What about our other plans?" asked Harry.
"We can always go the next day. I think we should get this sorted out quickly," replied Sirius.
Harry decided this would be better so he asked Sharpclaw, "Would tomorrow be suitable?"
"If you wish to come back tomorrow that will be suitable. Come in at 11 o'clock. Are there any other matters you wish to discuss at this point?"
"No. Thank-you Sharpclaw," Harry said before they left the bank.
When they returned the next day they were met by Professor Dumbledore. "Good morning, Sirius; good morning Harry. I understand you wish to look into your Gringotts account. As I am your Account Manager I have decided to make it easy for you to make any changes, even if you wish to appoint a different Account Manager," Dumbledore said.
Harry was surprised by this and also suspicious. Why would Dumbledore willingly make a change that would not benefit him in any way while, at the same time, giving Sirius more authority?
"Professor Dumbledore, I assume Gringotts has been in touch with you?" Sirius enquired.
"Not Gringotts, no. Madam Bones informed me that you had retrieved a copy of the file the Ministry holds in relation to Professor Quirrell's death. From that I surmised you wanted to assess my ability to manage Harry's affairs. I have decided to withdraw from this aspect of Harry's life since he obviously has complete faith in you."
"I don't follow the logic of what you said but it does simplify matters," Sirius said. "Might as well get this sorted out quickly, then. I have to get back to work and Harry is off to visit friends for the rest of the day." Hermione had contacted them the previous evening and invited Harry over. Her mother was in London shopping and had offered to pick him up if he was interested. Harry had, of course, said yes and they had arranged to meet outside the Leaky Cauldron at 1 o'clock. Harry warned them he may be a bit late but now it appeared as though he would be early.
Their business at Gringotts was completed quickly and Harry and Sirius were able to head to the Leaky Cauldron where they had lunch. The Grangers arrived at a quarter to one and, after a brief chat, left with Harry.
When they arrived at the Granger's house Hermione showed Harry to the room he would be sleeping in that night. The Grangers lived in a modest three bedroomed house in a town about an hours' drive from London.
Hermione asked Harry what he had been doing so he explained. "Sirius has been helping me sort out my Gringotts account. That involved having him made my Account Manager instead of Dumbledore. That proved surprisingly easy. Dumbledore himself turned up and personally authorised the change."
"Why was Professor Dumbledore your Account Manager?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know for sure but my best guess is that he was responsible for my parents' wills and he was given financial control out of simplicity. Honestly he seemed happy to be relieved of the job."
"Do you have any other plans for your holidays?"
"Sirius and I are planning a day trip to get away from London and later I'll be going to the Weasleys' because Sirius will need to get back to work. He can't have much leave left available to him, after all."
"I got a letter from Ron asking me to come and stay as well. He said I could come for the last two weeks of the holidays. I guess you'll be there at that time, too."
"Looks like it, yeah," Harry said. After that the conversation drifted along before Hermione decided to walk to the local park and invited Harry to come along. Harry noticed that, although Hermione knew most of the local kids, she didn't seem very friendly with many of them. One of them thought Harry was her boyfriend but Hermione said they were just friends. Harry already had a girlfriend, she added, which Harry realised was a lie. He and Susan had broken up, a fact Hermione was well aware of.
The next morning they walked to the local shops. Harry realised Hermione had many older friends among the townsfolk and she seemed happiest when they were at the library or the bookshop. This did not surprise Harry, he already knew she was a bookworm.
That evening Harry had a light meal with the Grangers before Sirius arrived. The Grangers, Sirius and Harry had a short conversation before Sirius took Harry back to Grimmauld place. Their trip to Little Hangleton was scheduled for the next morning so they decided on an early night.
Next morning Harry got up early and went to the kitchen. Once there he summoned Kreacher.
"How may Kreacher help master?" the elf asked.
"I would like you to prepare two servings of bacon, eggs and toast, along with a pot of tea. Have it ready in ten minutes, please," Harry said. With that Kreacher popped away. Sirius arrived soon after.
"Morning, Harry. All set for our little hunt?" he said.
Harry nodded, "Kreacher is making breakfast, should be ready in about 10 minutes. Once we've eaten we should leave straight away. The sooner we start the better."
Sirius nodded in agreement. "The sooner the better."
Author's Note: Dumbledore still has many contacts in the Ministry, including in the Auror's Office. It would be easy for one of them to see what Sirius was doing and advise Dumbledore of what was happening.
