A/N: Hey guys sorry I've been gone for a while, but I am back! And I have a beta, the lovely Jucy Sam, so you get a betaed chapter this week! I would also like to note that the fic is cannon up until 6th year, so at this point Harry doesn't know about the Horcruxes, but he did find the HBP's potion textbook.
Read, Enjoy, & Review!
3. More Shocks & New Discoveries
Harry was just taking the sausages off the stove, when the Dursleys came lumbering down the stairs.
"Where is our breakfast, Boy?" Vernon bellowed.
Harry responded demurely, "It will be right there in a second Uncle."
"Don't you know my Duddleykins likes to eat immediately after he gets downstairs? You ungrateful child," Aunt Petunia admonished.
Yeah right, you guys just want to be able to punish me for not having the food hot enough when you get downstairs. Harry was tired of trying to balance his relatives' mood swings. Harry finished plating the food, and quickly put the food on the table, deftly avoiding Dudley's outstretched foot. As he turned to go back up to his room, Harry heard his aunt gasp.
"Ver…Vernon! Look at what the freak has done to himself!" Aunt Petunia exclaimed.
Harry's uncle, who was behind Harry, yanked Harry back by his collar. "What freaky thing have you done to yourself, Boy!"
Harry quickly spun around by his walrus of an uncle, and was disoriented for a split second before he saw Vernon's fat face peering at him.
"What is the meaning of this, Boy?!"
Dudley, who didn't want to miss out on the action, waddled around the table to see what all the commotion was about.
"Da…Daddy! What did he do?"
"Tell us, Boy, what did you do!"
"I didn't do anything, you filthy muggle!" Harry growled out.
Harry's patience had long ended about the time he was yanked back by his collar, and he was feeling right murderous. Harry felt his incisors start to elongate, and his fingernails grow into hardened claws.
"If you would be so kind as to take your fat, grubby little fingers off my person," Harry hissed lowly.
Vernon, who was surprised by the sudden change in the attitude of usually subservient boy, found himself following the sarcastic order.
"Wha… What's wrong with your teeth!?"
Harry snarled at the two engorged meat sacks in front of him. Did they always stutter this much? Pathetic cretans!
"Look at his skin, Dad!" Dudley pointed out, with his eyes as wide as saucers.
Harry looked down at himself. His skin was covered in golden downy fur, and he realized with a shock, he had grown even bigger. As Harry was marveling at his new shape, he felt something coming at him from behind. Harry whirled around, just in time to see Aunt Petunia bringing a hot skillet down towards his head. His instincts took over. Harry knocked Petunia's arm to the side, concurrently hooking his right leg around her ankles. The thin woman landed hard on the dining room floor, the hot skillet landing between her spread legs, her eyes widening comically. Vernon thundered, as he tried to strangle Harry from behind. What is with this guy and approaching people from the back, Harry wondered idly, as he rolled the heavy man over his shoulder. Vernon landed on the floor next to his wife, splintering the floorboards in the process. Dudley, the coward, had started to run for the door when his dad attacked Harry. The loud crash of Vernon's fall made him turn around momentarily. Harry who was entirely fed up by this point snarled at him.
"Get your abnormally fat ass on the couch!"
Dudley squeaked and huddled down on the end of the couch that was the farthest from Harry. Rolling his eyes, Harry ordered his aunt and uncle to the couch as well. The fact that Harry had grown claws and fangs and had managed to heft Vernon over his shoulder, made them docile as they proceeded to the couch as ordered.
"Look, I have had enough of you shits! As of last night, I am legally an adult in the magical world, and as such I can get the hell out of here. If you would shut up and let me pack in peace, I'll be gone in 30 minutes."
Spurred by the knowledge of Harry's imminent departure, Vernon yelled with bravado, "As if I would let you stay here and infect us with your freakiness, Boy. Get out of my house. Get. Out!"
"Yes Uncle Vernon," Harry said mockingly.
Surprisingly, Harry found his stuff all packed in his room. Looking around suspiciously, Harry even checked the loose floorboard for his wand and the album of his parents' pictures. Everything was in his trunk, which had mysteriously made its way up from the cupboard under the stairs. The Ethrie just chalked it up to his magic responding to his desperate need to get out of the Dursley residence as quickly as possible. Harry put on his invisibility cloak and shrunk his trunk, tucking it into his pants pocket along with his wand. He went downstairs to the living room where the Dursleys had decided to watch T.V.
"I hope to never see you again, and if someone comes to see me…"
"We'll tell them that you went to get blown up like your parents, Boy! We aren't messenger pigeons!" Aunt Petunia yelled.
Harry ignored her, pleased that if anyone came looking for him they would get some extraneous rant about how he was "evil seed" or a "bad influence".
"Just one more thing. Obliviate."
Harry removed the Dursleys' memories of that morning, and replaced them with false ones depicting them throwing him out of the house since he was old enough to find a shelter to stay at. He made sure that in the memories, he looked like he had before his inheritance. It wouldn't do for someone to find out what he was before he was ready to reveal it himself. He was thankful that Hermione had researched those memory spells, in preparation for changing her parents' memories. Harry left number four Privet drive, ducking into a back alley to apply a glamor, another one of Hermione's useful spells. After altering his appearance to look like a tall man with short blonde hair and hazel eyes, he called for the Knight Bus. Two minutes later, the purple bus stopped with a bang in front of Harry.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus. I'm Stan Turnpike. Where are you off to Mister… ?"
"Smith. Mister Smith. The Leaky Cauldron, please." Harry got on the bus.
"Take it away Ernie!"
Harry made a plan as the bus zigzagged through traffic. First he would go to Gringotts to get some money and the items that Sirius said were in the Black vaults. Then he had to go to muggle London to get some shopping done because he was now too tall to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs. Then maybe get more information about his inheritances, creature and monetary, and about the wizarding world in general. He would also need to create an alias, so he could move about freely. Maybe the goblins could help me with that.
"The Leaky Cauldron. Your stop Mr. Smith."
Harry got off the bus, wrapping his invisibility cloak about him. Just because I don't look like myself, doesn't mean I should attract any unwanted attention. He made his way to the entrance to Diagon Alley, tapping the now familiar pattern on the stone wall. Diagon Alley was bustling; busy with people who were doing their summer shopping, though it wasn't as crowed as it was during the week before school. Harry headed to Gringotts, following someone into the bank, to not draw attention to the door opening by itself. Harry's eyes searched out for the familiar goblin. Spotting Griphook behind a nearby podium, Harry waited until he was standing next to the goblin before taking off his invisibility cloak.
"Griphook, I'm here to discuss my accounts."
The goblin looked at him, "And you are?"
"I would rather not say in such a public place, though I can say that you sent me a package on the 31st"
Griphook's eyes narrowed in understanding, "Follow me this way Mr…?"
"Smith. At least until I can set up a more permanent alias"
"Right."
Griphook led Harry to a small office behind the row of podiums. It was a very tradition power office, with a mahogany desk with two one-seaters in front of it. Behind the desk was a large shelf filled with many books with no writing on their spines.
"Have a seat Mr. Potter. Please remove your glamour," Griphook said with a fierce showing of teeth, as he himself sat in the leather chair behind the desk.
Harry wisely removed the glamor, thinking that Griphook would probably kill him if he were not who he said he was.
"What has warranted this…incognito visit, Mr. Potter? You have not seemed interested in coming to the bank, other than your yearly before school money withdrawal."
"I apologize for my seemingly negligent behavior, Griphook. I was unaware that there were certain… responsibilities that I have not been taking care of. Your letter alerted me to this fact, and I would like to find out what exactly has happened here."
Griphook raised an eyebrow at the apology, "And pray tell where is your magical guardian? One would think he would not let you roam around unprotected during such a tumultuous time."
"I have recently found out about his status as my magical guardian, and other unsavory details of his honor, and have thus taken it upon myself to come by myself. As of my birthday, I am an adult in the magical world, and thus I no longer require him as my representative."
Griphook took a minute to observe the young man in front of him. His previous interactions with the boy indicated that he had not been so well spoken. Perhaps he was ready for the responsibilities.
"Very well then. What would you like to discuss?"
"I suppose my first order of business should be to arrange a time for the reading and execution of my parents' and godfather's wills. Then I would like to review my account with you, as you have been the account manager."
"Yes, indeed." Griphook retrieved a large black book from the bookshelf. He flipped to a page marked with a silky black ribbon. After contemplating the contents of the page, he looked back a Harry, who was fidgeting nervously in the prolonged silence.
"Would it suit you to have the reading of the will next week? It would allow us to send summons to those who are included in the will."
"Yes, that would be fine," Harry responded with a frown. "Would it be possible to not summon Dumbledore? Since I have read the wills, I know that he has nothing of consequence to inherit, and his presence will make my attendance most difficult."
"By law, all individuals mentioned in the will are required to be present. Therefore we can not just simply leave him out of the summons. However, since you have proven yourself adept at glamor, you may attend the reading as your own proxy," Griphook purported.
"We would have to make this "proxy" identity most authentic. I am sure Dumbledore will investigate an unknown person who attend the reading of Harry Potter's relatives," Harry said sarcastically.
Griphook peered over the top of his glasses, "One would have to wonder what has awakened this sudden wariness of the Headmaster."
Harry decided to ignore the goblin's inquiring gaze, "It would be beneficial to create such a person, as I had already wanted to create an alias that would enable me to move about more freely."
"A wise choice I am sure. We can certainly do that after we look at your estates." Griphook wrote down the agreed date and time for the will readings, and gave Harry save the date card.
"Here you are Mr. Potter. If anything should change, for example someone is unavailable to come on the date and can not send someone in their stead, the card will vibrate and display the new date and time. Now, I believe that I sent you your account details. Did you bring them with you?"
Harry nodded in thanks as he pocketed the card. I should also invest in a wallet. "Yes I have the documents here."
The Ethrie removed his trunk from his pocket, enlarged it, and opened it. On the top was the box that Griphook had sent him. He reached in and removed the necessary documents. Griphook took the parchment, unfolded it, and put it flat on his desk. He reached into a drawer and removed ceremonial knife with a wickedly sharp point.
"If you would give me your hand, I will prick your finger and allow a drop of blood to fall onto the parchment."
"What exactly will happen, and why do you need my blood?" Harry asked suspiciously. It had been told throughout potions class that many potions and spells that involve blood are often used for nefarious purposes. Snape would be so relieved that I remembered that.
"This is a special parchment that has been soaked in an inheritance potion. Blood is required to display all properties or goods that have been left or bequeathed to an individual."
"Why doesn't any body fluid work then?"
"What you want to know is why it requires blood specifically. As blood is a guarded body fluid, containing body cells with DNA and person-specific properties, it the safest and surest method of ensuring that the inheritance is indeed given to the right person. Furthermore, blood that a person has willing spilled differs vastly from that was forcibly taken or taken under false pretenses. Other body fluids do not change depending on the will of the individual, and thus can be used to steal another person's inheritance. The potion has been made to first identify the blood as being willingly given for the purpose of identifying an inheritance. It then confirms the identity of the individual giving the blood. Only then will it display what legally is to belong to the person."
After hearing the detailed description, Harry procured as sharp pin from his pant's pocket. I guess I would not need this to pick my bedroom lock or protect myself from Dudley anymore. He scourgified the pin, and said, "Then let us use my pin. I have no idea where that knife of yours has been, and I don't know what you will do with it after this."
Griphook again bared his teeth, but this time in approval of Harry's unwillingness to trust him with his blood. Not that he would have done anything with it. As an executor of the Potter estate, he is unable to engage in behaviors harming the Potter family.
"Most wise Mr. Potter. If you will," he said waving his taloned hand at the parchment paper.
Harry grinned and proceeded to prick his right index finger with the pin, using his thumb to make a single drop of blood to well to the surface. He allowed the drop of blood to fall onto the parchment. The moment the drop landed, Harry put his finger in his mouth and scourgified the pin. Griphook handed Harry a Band-Aid with a wry grin and looked to the parchment. The parchment glowed a warm yellow.
"What is happening?" Harry asked.
"Yellow means that the potion recognizes your blood as willing given, however it has seen some abnormalities in your person. Fortunately these abnormalities do not have anything to do with your willingness to be here or undergo this process." As the parchment turned a vibrant blue, he continued the explanation. "The blue signifies that the person who gave the blood is who they say they are.". Lastly the parchment turned a royal purple, which had Griphook's eyes widening suddenly. "AxesClash!" (A/N: goblin exclamation of surprise).
"What?! What is it?"
Griphook looked at the parchment in awe. "Purple signifies that you are of royal descent."
Harry approached the now dormant parchment, as writing started to appear on it.
The Inheritance of:
Kgosana Harry James Mmoloki Potter Black Gryffindor Peverell Motalhabani
Family Name – Title – (Address) – Net worth in Galleons
Motalhabani – Kgosana wa ba Yimlayarians / Prince of the Yimlayarians – (Kgosana / Prince Motalhabani ) – 30, 656, 196, 512
Peverell – Grand Duke Peverell – (Your Grace) – 4, 940, 105, 231
Gryffindor – Duke Gryffindor – (Your Grace) – 1,678,403,294
Black – Marquis Black – (Lord Black) – 9, 105, 194
Potter – Earl Potter – (Lord Potter) – 7, 027, 659
Loriein – Knight Lath Loriein – (Sir) – 1, 289, 650
Harry looked at the parchment in shock. That is a lot of fucking money. He looked at Griphook, when the goblin got up from his seat.
"Where are you going, Griphook?"
"Just a minute, Kgosana Motalhabani. I will be back with my supervisor."
Harry stared at the goblin's retreating back in concern. Why is he going to get his manager? Harry looked back down at the parchment. Damn! His life was never easy. In the last couple of days he had learned that he was some sort of magical creature, Dumbledore was not quite trustworthy, and now he finds out he is a prince and has an ungodly amount of money. Ha! I guess it means I will have a lot of money to go shopping with later. Harry could feel his mind starting to crack. Who would blame him? He had been through a great number of ordeals since his parents' death. While Harry was ruminating on the sorry state of his life, Griphook came back with an unknown goblin.
"Kgosana Motalhabani –"
"Please Griphook, please just call me Harry"
"Yes, Harry. As I was saying, this is the overseeing manager of all Gringotts accounts, Gornpik. Gornpick, this is the young prince I was telling you about."
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kgosana Motalhabani."
"And I you, Gornpik. Might I ask why you are here?"
Before sitting down, Griphook ushered Gornpik into his chair behind the desk, while he himself took a seat next to Harry. As he settled himself in the chair, Gornpik looked at Harry appraisingly.
"It is Gringotts law that should an individual come into to receive an inheritance, and has unexpected results, that I should be called in to make sure all is well."
"I see. And me being a prince, a Peverell, and a Gryffindor was most unexpected was it not?" Harry said wryly.
"Well, yes. Anyway, Griphook also brought it to my attention that you seemed to be unaware of your inheritance and your current magical guardian's status."
"Yes. With the help of Griphook I have come to realize that I am not as cognizant of the wizarding world as I should be."
"Pardon me, Kgosana Motalhabani, but I find it difficult to believe that a child who was raised muggle," Gornpick looked at Harry to confirm this fact. Harry nodded. " That a child who was raised muggle did not ask questions or attempt to learn more about this new environment. Especially a child who it is widely known to be more inquisitive then they should be. Your business with the Sorcerer's Stone is proof enough that you have a habit of getting into situations that no child should be in."
Harry thought about that for a moment. When he was very young he had been quite inquisitive, always asking for better explanations in kindergarten and asking his aunt and uncle why they treated Dudley differently. However, that seemed to stop at some point. Harry had just assumed that being shoved into a cupboard and being starved as punishment for questioning his aunt and uncle had simply made him stop being so curious. However, as Gornpik has pointed out, many of the scrapes he got into at Hogwarts, was the direct product of his curiosity getting the better of him. That and there was a substantial lack of supervision. Any other kid would have not followed a voice in wall saying kiillll… kiiillll in that creepy voice. They would have just thought they imagined it or told the teachers. But Harry has never really had anyone to depend on. If anything happened to him, he definitely could not have ran to Aunt Petunia for any kind of assistance. But self-reliance and being nosy had ended getting himself in more trouble. I wonder…
"Harry?" Griphook called softly.
"Hmm. Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking about what Gornpik said."
"If you would allow us, Kgosana Motalhabani, we would like to make sure that you are completely well, mentally, physically, and emotionally. The results of the inheritance potion, your recent finding about your guardian, and other suspicious event, have made us believe that there is some foul play at work here."
"What do you mean mental health?"
"Well there is a disparity between your personality traits and how you behave. One would think that you being curious and determined, would be at the top of your class, but you barely look at your school work."
"And how would you know that Gornpik?"
"Why, Harry, don't you know that your life is for public consumption!" Griphook laughed ironically.
"Are you saying my grades have been published in the papers?"
"No, but Miss Granger's constant nagging about you focusing more on your studies has."
"Not to interrupt, I believe we should get back to making sure that you are not being influenced by outside forces. Then we should complete a full audit of your accounts to make sure your shady guardian has not done anything questionable."
"Fine. What should I do?" Harry asked resigned that this day was going to get worse before it could get better.
"We shall give you some goblin potions to assess your condition, then we shall call healers as required. Or we could make an appointment for you to go see them privately if you wish."
"Okay, let's get this over and done with then."
Gornpik got up, presumably to get the potions that he was talking about, and left the office. Harry wanting to keep his mind from wondering again, looked at Griphook to ask him about these potions. He seems very knowledgeable in the area after all.
"So, what are these potions I will be taking?"
"Well, after the Goblin wars and numerous unsavory interactions with wizards who tried to influence goblins with potions and spells, goblins created their own potions to check for wizard magic used against them without their knowledge. As attacks can come from three fronts, potions were made to assess mental, emotional, and physical attacks. The potions basically lists any spells or potion that has been put on or given to you, knowingly or otherwise, during the course of your life, in their respective health domains. For example let us say that someone put a spell on you to make you weak, such that you would be more vulnerable to a more physical attack, that spell would show up on the physical potion's list. It enables use to remove the spell and the damage caused by it. The other big advantage of the potion is that it also tells you what the muggles call the five W's: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. This also lets you know who you should protect yourself against, locations that are likely to be unsafe, and the person's motivation for doing whatever it is."
"Wow that should more than handy." Harry quirked an eyebrow in thought. "Does the ministry know of the existence of such potions?" I can't really see anyone in the ministry being okay with a potion like that out on the market, backstabbing lying crazies that they are.
Griphook smiled a shark's grin, "Why would the ministry need to be aware of such a private matter? It is also very rare that we administer the potion to wizards, so no one will tell on us."
"Well then I consider myself one of the lucky few. Let us say I would like to have a continuous supply of such useful potions, is there anyway to procure them?" That way I'll know when I am being messed with.
"I am sure we can come to an agreement." That was all Griphook could say before Gorkpik came back into the room.
"I have started the audit of you account. Since your guardian only knew about the Potter and Black accounts, we will start with these to check for any unauthorized activity. I've put my best men on it, and we should have the results at the end of business today. We can check the other account later." Gornpik said as he placed a vial rack in front of Harry.
"Here are the potions. Do you want to take them one at a time, pausing to fix any damage between as breaks, or would you find out what is wrong first, then do all the fixing?"
"I think I pause to fix as a break. It will give me time to process the results of the potions."
"Alright, here is the first one," said Gornpik as he handed Harry a pink potion. "This is the physical check one."
Harry took the potion, looking at in apprehension. Down the hatch I guess. Harry knocked back the potion, gaging slightly at the taste. Harry had been expecting some pain, but he was not expecting the extreme nausea that came after 5 minutes. When Harry could not hold back the vomit, Griphook grabbed his elbow and pointed him to the trough lined with parchment paper on the desk that had not been there before. Harry finally lost his battle with his gag reflex and hurled into the trough. He immediately felt better after one up chuck. Gornpik handed him a glass of water.
"Some warning would have been nice!" Harry exclaimed after rinsing his mouth.
"Sorry about not telling you about the unpleasant effect of the potion, but I was worried that you would not take it if I had told you," Griphook said, actually looking contrite.
"Are the other potions going to make me throw up as well?"
"No," Gornpik said. "Since the emotion and mental health are not physical states, we can simply have you add your blood to the vials, and coat pieces of parchment in the solution."
"Why doesn't the physical one work that way as well?"
Griphook took over the explanation, as Gornpik vanished Harry's vomit from the trough and dried the parchment. "The potion actually has to enter your bloodstream to assess damage to various parts of your body. Even after healing, healed parts have a magical residue of the healing agent. The potion will therefore be able to tell us of all injuries and healing that has been done on you. The potion moves like an information seeking amoeba. Once it has all the information about your physical health, it must be spread onto a piece of blank parchment. Unfortunately, the only way for the potion to get to the parchment is…"
"By me spewing it up. I got that thanks."
"While the parchment dries, shall we continue with the other," Gornpik asked.
Harry pulled the pin back out of his pocket and pricked his left index finger this time. He dropped one drop of blood into the presented vials, bandaged himself, and cleaned the pin. Gornpik corked the vials, and flipped them back and forth, until the blood was properly spread throughout the potion. After a minute, he uncorked the vials over more parchment paper. The potions had thickened into a viscous gel that creepy moved to spread itself in an even thin layer over the parchment papers. Harry watched the entire process in fascination. Five minutes more and Gornpik proclaimed the results of the physical assessment potion ready.
Results of Physical Assessment Potion for Kgosana Motalhabani
1 years
Cursed Soul Scar (attack by Tom Riddle)
1 – 4 years
Malnutrition, bruises & scrapes (Harry Hunting), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
5 – 8 years
Malnutrition, Burn marks (cooking), bruises & scrapes (Harry Hunting & chores), Cuts (gardening), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
9 – 10 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), Burn marks (cooking), bruises & scrapes (Harry Hunting & chores), Cuts (gardening), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
11 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), Suggestion Potion (food at Hogwarts; Albus Dumbledore), bruises & scrapes (Retrieval of Sorcerer's Stone), Concussion (attack by Tom Riddle), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
12 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), bruises & scrapes (Chamber of Secrets), snakebite (Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk), Suggestion Potion (food at Hogwarts; Albus Dumbledore), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
13 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), concussion (Dementor attack on train), concussion (Dementor attack during Quidditch game), bruises & scrapes (reveal of Sirius Black), bruises & scrapes (freeing Buckbeak), concussion (Dementor attack at Hogwarts), Growth Suppression Potion (Hospital Wing at Hogwarts; Albus Dumbledore via Poppy Pomphrey), Suggestion Potion (Hospital Wing at Hogwarts; Albus Dumbledore via Poppy Pomphrey), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
14 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), Burn marks (Dragon), bruises & scrapes (Triwizard Tournament), Cuts (Triwizard Tournament; by Peter Pettigrew), Growth Suppression Potion (Hospital Wing at Hogwarts; Albus Dumbledore via Poppy Pomphrey), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
15 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), Growth Suppression Potion (food at Hogwarts), Permanent scaring (Detention with Dolores Umbridge), Scar bleeding (Visions from Tom Riddle), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
16 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), Growth Suppression Potion (food at Hogwarts; Albus Dumbledore), Creature Inheritance Inhibitor Potion (food at Hogwarts; Albus Dumbledore), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
17 years
Malnutrition (Dursley's), LACK OF MUGGLE & MAGICAL IMMUNIZATION
As Harry looked at the results, he was in shock. Growth Suppression Potion? Creature Inheritance Inhibitor? Suggestion Potion? As far as Harry could remember, he hadn't taken any strange potions. But then again I didn't grow up making and taking potions. It would have been so easy to tell him he was taking one potion and actually give him another, especially with the number of times he had landed himself in the hospital wing. I gave him a prime opportunity. There was no doubt in Harry's mind who would want to make him weak, and force him to submit to his will. Dumbledore. The potion did not even have to say it was him. Who else would have something to gain? Harry remembered his awe of the wizarding world. He had been so curious and ready to explore this new magical (literally) world that gave him reprieve from the Dursley's. And yet he hadn't done so. The Suggestion Potion. Dumbledore probably used the potion to make him less studious and more focused on getting into trouble and performing heroic deeds. Like Griphook had intimated, no normal child would have responded to the situations that Harry found himself in, the way Harry had. Maybe I had a nudge in the wrong direction.
Delivering it in the food meant that Dumbledore could have given him the potion at any time. I have been so vulnerable all this time. Even then, Dumbledore had not stopped at bending Harry to his will. The man had had growth suppression potions given to him. To make me weaker. If Dumbledore had known about the malnutrition, and he must have known, what with his many trips to the hospital wing, then the man was purposefully making the Dursleys' damage even worse. All the more to make me obedient and to fight harder. After all it is the underdog, the weakling who trains hard because they have more to lose. Damn him. The creature inheritance inhibitor also made sense. Since Harry's inheritance, he had been so much stronger. It would be so much harder for him to physically attack me now.
As Harry puzzled out the manipulations of Dumbledore, the Gringotts goblins in the room with him were preparing for war. A fight against Albus Dumbledore for committing such crimes against a child and for making fools of them.