DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Those rights belong to the gracious J.K. Rowling.

6. A Little Help from the Goblins

After talking about their plan for the next two hours, Remus left. He would return and have breakfast with Harry and 'Snuffles' before they went back to Gringotts. Harry felt bad about not having another bed in the room for Sirius, but Remus took care of that by transfiguring one of the chairs into a bed. He would reverse it the next morning so no one would be the wiser. He would also bring a change of clothes for Sirius. Harry let Sirius have the shower first. He needed it much worse than Harry did.

As Harry was dressing the next morning, Hedwig returned with a letter from Mr. Howe. He was available to meet with them at three. He was quite pleased to hear that Harry wanted to meet with him, as he had been under the impression that the Potter business had been transferred to another solicitor. Breakfast was a quiet affair. Harry made sure to slip Snuffles an extra couple of pieces of bacon. They took Snuffles back upstairs to the room and he and Remus made their way to Gringotts.

Once they were shown to Griphook's office, they got down to business.

"I apologize for being vague yesterday but until I was certain of the specification of the Potters' will I could not be sure which direction we should go. Mr. Potter, to be blunt, someone has been manipulating your finances. Now that we have discovered this, we have frozen all Potter accounts until we are able to determine how to proceed. May I ask how you got the key you presented the first time you visited Gringotts?"

"Hagrid had it. I had no idea of what Gringotts was until we stepped in. Why?"

"Upon your parents' deaths, the Potter Vault was sealed with the exception of your trust vault, as we knew you had survived the attack. The only key to your trust vault was given to Lord Potter the day he set it up. I verified the first time you entered your vault that this was, in fact, the same key we provided Lord Potter. I can only assume that someone removed it from your parents' home after their death. Apparently, prior to your coming of age, Albus Dumbledore presented an affidavit of magical guardianship and was able to enter your trust vault. A sum of 10,000 galleons has been removed over the ten years since your parents' death. The deductions stopped after you were given your key and you assumed control over your trust account. As I told you yesterday, Albus Dumbledore requested to participate in yesterday's reading under the guise of being your magical guardian. We then took a closer look at the document he provided and checked with Wizarding Family Services for their record. Wizarding Family Services had no record of a guardianship for you, magic or muggle. The document presented to us was a forgery. Mr. Dumbledore had also sealed the written copy of your parents' will that had been filed at the Ministry. As Mr. Dumbledore has no standing with the goblins, we went ahead with yesterday's proceedings. I believe you can see where this discussion is leading."

"You mean Professor Dumbledore was stealing from me?"

"Yes. I believe so. We have been able to track some of these transactions. We have discovered some were converted into muggle money and transferred to an account at the Bank of England. The account is in the name of Vernon and Petunia Dursley."

Harry got really upset at this statement, "You mean he was paying the Dursleys to keep me? All I ever heard from them was how much of a burden I was to them, how I was taking food out of poor Dudley's mouth. They could only afford to give me Dudley's hand me downs! How much is that in English pounds?"

"The current conversion rate is one galleon to five pounds."

"So Dumbledore gave them £50,000 pounds over ten years to take care of me?"

"Yes."

At that point the room started shaking and everything on the desk started rattling.

Remus jumped in, "Harry, calm down. It will do no good to let your magic go wild. We can work through this."

"But Remus …"

"I know Harry. But we can work through this. I suspect Griphook has already worked out a solution."

"I have, Mr. Lupin. We have also requested an audit of the account at Barclays that Lady Potter mentioned. It appears that some of the money removed from your vault was used to subsidize the mortgage on the Dursley's home. Only half of the money went directly to them. The remainder was used to 'buy down' the mortgage on Privet Drive. The Dursleys are under the impression that their mortgage payment is £800 per month instead of the stated £1600 per month. We have arranged with Barclays to provide the Dursleys with a notice that their mortgage has been adjusted and that their new payment is £1600 per month. The subsidy has been halted."

"So the Dursleys now have to pay double what they were paying? Wicked!" said Harry.

Remus just laughed at that.

"Although we cannot reclaim all of the money that has been taken from you at this time, we at Gringotts believe we have worked out an equitable solution. The only other option would be to go directly after Mr. Dumbledore in both the goblin court and the wizard court. With his position over the wizard court we would be hard pressed to get a proper verdict. We can prosecute him in the goblin court for theft by deception, if you wish. I would advise against it."

"Why?"

"I believe it is unwise at this time to, as the muggles say, show your hand. Although Mr. Dumbledore will hear most of the contents of the will from those present, it would be best to let him think he has not been caught. He will be getting enough pressure on multiple sides as to his placement of you with the Dursleys among other things. I suspect he will be hearing from the Dursleys soon enough in regards to their mortgage payment and the need to increase their stipend."

"That will be priceless! Aunt Petunia going after Professor Dumbledore!"

"My next question is a bit personal, but I believe it must be asked."

"Sure."

"Please describe your life at the Dursleys. You do not need to go into detail. Were you given sufficient food? Appropriate accommodations? What about proper medical care? Were you seen by a wizard healer prior to going to Hogwarts? You have stated that you were given your cousin's second hand clothes so that column we can tick off as a no."

"No."

"No, Mr. Potter?"

"No, as in 'no' to each of your questions."

Remus interjected, "You mean they never took you to St. Mungos before you went to Hogwarts? It's a requirement of all muggle born or muggle raised children to have a complete physical and appropriate wizard vaccinations before you go to Hogwarts! Did Madam Pomfrey check you out when you got there?"

"There are wizard vaccinations?"

"I should have known! Didn't Hagrid give you the pamphlet for muggle born or muggle raised children?"

"There's a pamphlet?"

"Of course! How do you think they know how to get to Diagon Alley or to Gringotts to exchange money? It also provides information about each class and additional material to make it easier to blend into the magical world."

"All I got was a quick tour with Hagrid then he headed back to Hogwarts and sent me back to Privet Drive on the underground."

"Albus has a lot to answer for! I think it would be wise for you to see a healer, Harry."

"But I've been in the hospital wing several times over the past two years, and Madam Pomfrey hasn't said anything."

"Be that as it may, this needs to be done. Griphook, do you know a healer who would be discrete about this? Due to Harry's fame, a trip to St. Mungos would be tantamount to publishing it in the Daily Prophet."

"We have a goblin healer on standby just for this. We feared this was the case. Our healer can do more than just the standard physical and vaccinations."

Remus asked first, "Could you elaborate?"

"We can perform the basic physical and vaccinations, as well as checking for any hexes or charms placed on Mr. Potter, and also check for any bindings on his magic."

"Ah yes. I know James put a bind on his core as he was constantly showing accidental magic even at that early age. If you wanted something like a stuffed toy, Harry, you just had to put out your hand towards it and it would come to you immediately. It was suppose to expire when he turned ten, so that his magical core could stabilize before he went to Hogwarts. This would be a good thing to check."

"So is accidental magic how I ended up on the school roof one day?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dudley and his gang were chasing me around the playground. They backed me into an area near the kitchen. All I remember is wishing I was somewhere else where they couldn't get me. The next thing I know I was up on the roof and everyone was yelling at me to come down. They had to get the custodian to come up and get me."

"How old were you when this happened?"

"Eight."

"You apparated when you were eight with a bind on your core?"

"I guess so."

"We definitely need to have your core scanned."

"If you wish, we may go there now. I will send someone to let them know we are coming. Marspok!"

Marspok entered the room. "Yes, Account Manager Griphook?"

"Please notify Healer Sormot that we are on our way to see him."

"Of course. Account Manager Griphook."

Once Marspok left, Griphook stood and asked them to follow him. Once again they went through a warren of hallways before coming to another nondescript door. Griphook opened it and ushered them into what was apparently the outer office of the medical section of Gringotts. He spoke to the person at the desk in Gobbledygook for a minute. "Healer Sormot will be with you shortly. Once you are finished here, Marspok will show you back to my office."

"Do you know how long this will take? I hadn't figured on being here this long so I made another appointment at three."

"The initial scans should only take about an hour. If treatment is required, Healer Sormot will set another time for you to return, barring anything serious."

"Thank you, Griphook."

After Griphook left, Remus turned to Harry. "That was very sly of you the way you asked about the time."

"Well, the sorting hat did want to put me in Slytherin."

"It WHAT?"

"It's another of those long stories that I probably should hold and tell both you and Sirius together."

At that time, another goblin entered the room. "I am Healer Sormot. Mr. Potter, if you will follow me. I'm sorry but no one else can be in the examination room. I will let you know if there are any problems."

Harry followed the goblin into the examination room. He had very little experience with muggle doctors, but those he had were unpleasant. Madam Pomfrey was alright, but he was tired of always ending up in the hospital wing.

"Mr. Potter, if you will remove your shoes and lay on the examination table we will begin."

Harry took off his shoes and hopped up on the exam table as requested. It didn't feel like any exam table or hospital bed he'd ever been on. Instead of a hard surface, it felt like he was floating on a cloud. He instantly relaxed.

"You may feel some tingling through your body or possibly a feeling of warmth. It should not be uncomfortable. I will let you know when the scan is complete."

"Ok," Harry said, and tried to allow himself to relax into the cloud. After a short time, he felt something akin to humming all through his body. It wasn't uncomfortable, just different. He did feel some tingling in his arms and hands. Then, without warning, he felt like something had stabbed him in the head. He cried out in pain. "Ouch! What was that?"

"We are almost done. I believe I know what caused the pain, but let us complete this before I am able to be certain."

About ten minutes later Healer Sormot told Harry the examination was complete and he could put his shoes back on. He was shown into another room that resembled Griphook's office. The goblins must have a standard office setup. Remus came in right after him.

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

"Fine."

"I believe we have covered that response before."

"I don't feel any different. Well except my head."

"What's wrong with your head?"

"All of a sudden, my scar started hurting really bad. It went away fairly quickly, but there's still a bit of a headache left. Otherwise, it was fine. I'd love a bed like that. How long was I in there?"

"About 90 minutes."

"Wow. That long! I thought it was only suppose to take an hour. Are we going to be late for the other appointment?"

"I think we'll be just fine. Healer Sormot?"

"Mr. Potter - and you are?"

"Remus Lupin."

"Mr. Lupin, are you Mr. Potter's guardian?"

"Not legally, no."

"I'm afraid I cannot discuss the findings of the examination with anyone other than Mr. Potter and his guardian."

"It's OK Healer Sormot. My guardianship is currently unknown at this time. I'm fine with Remus hearing the results."

"Very well. Your overall health is relatively good despite everything we have found. You still suffer from chronic malnutrition; however, it has shown improvement over the past two years. As a result, your bone growth is stunted and your muscle tone is weaker than it should be. I believe much of this can be reversed with a course of potions."

Harry made a face, "I hate taking potions. They taste nasty."

"Be that as it may, this will allow you to catch up with your year group norms for height, and allow you to add some additional weight. The next item of concern are several bone fractures that have healed improperly. There is evidence of a broken wrist in your left arm as well as several broken fingers. You have two rib fractures that have healed improperly, as well as an ankle break in your right foot that did not heal well. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I'd rather not."

"Harry, Healer Sormot must know so that he can determine how best to treat you."

"Dudley and his goons were chasing me. I thought I had out run them but the next thing I knew I tripped over something and crashed down on my arm. Then when I went to tell Aunt Petunia, Dudley beat me there, and when I came in the door, he pushed me out and closed the door on my hand."

"And the ribs?"

"I tripped."

"Really Mr. Potter, I do believe you can do better than that. I am sworn to secrecy of anything you tell me. Now, how did it happen?"

"Dudley and his friends again. I had told the teacher that Dudley had ripped up my homework. He had to stay in from recess. On the way home, he and his friends decided to play their favorite game of 'Harry Hunting'. This time when they caught me, they took turns punching me. I think one of them kicked me a couple of times. After that, my side hurt and I had some problems breathing for a couple of weeks."

"And the ankle?"

"I had just finished cleaning the upstairs bathroom and was heading back downstairs to put up the cleaning supplies. I had a hard time seeing ahead of me. As I got to the stairs, I felt a shove in my back and the next thing I knew I was at the bottom of the stairs. My ankle hurt awfully bad, but my uncle just said I was faking it to get out of doing chores."

Remus interjected, "Harry, what did your aunt and uncle do to punish your cousin for these assaults?"

"Punish? Dudley? As far as I know, he's never been punished in his life. Anything that's happened has always been my fault."

"Mr. Potter, I am quite curious about the scar on your arm. My readings show traces of basilisk venom."

"Oh yeah. That happened at the end of last school year."

Remus paled, "Harry, how did you come in contact with a basilisk? There hasn't been one sighted in all of the British Isles in over 700 years."

"That's another one of those stories that will take way too long to tell here. If it weren't for Fawkes, I wouldn't be here now."

"Fawkes? Professor Dumbledore's phoenix?"

"Yes. He cried over my arm and everything healed up just fine."

"That is amazing. I am anxious to hear the entire story."

"The next question I have for you is about your right arm. My scan shows recent bone growth within the past year. How did you manage to hurt yourself to the point you had to have all of the bones in your right arm regrown?"

"A rogue bludger and Gilderoy Lockhart."

"What do you mean, Gilderoy Lockhart? Who in their right mind would let that incompetent fool anywhere near children?"

"Ask Dumbledore. He was our DADA teacher last year."

"Oh my. We do have a lot to talk about, if he was your teacher - and I use that term loosely."

"The last item as it relates to your physical health that I would like to discuss with you is your scar."

"What about it?"

"I noticed when the part of the exam to detect any charms, curses or hexes reached your head you had a considerable amount of pain. Does your scar hurt you normally?"

"No, not really. Only when I'm in the presence of Voldemort it seems."

"But Harry, you were 15 months old when he gave you that scar. How can it be hurting now?"

"Add it to the list of things I need to explain along with the basilisk and several others."

"You've fought Voldemort recently?"

"Yes."

Remus thought he was going to be sick. "Do I want to know how or why you have fought Voldemort recently?"

"Probably not, but I suppose if you're going to be managing my affairs you probably will need to know."

"I probably will need a bottle of firewhiskey when this is over."

"Our cursebreakers have experience with many types of dark curses. I am able to arrange for you to meet with them if you are interested in learning more about your scar and possible ways to break the connection."

"I would love to get rid of this thing. It's more trouble than it's worth."

"I will discuss it with them and set up an appointment for them to study your scar."

"Is there anything else Healer Sormot?" Remus was afraid to ask, but knew he had to.

"Unfortunately, yes. An analysis of your magical core, Mr. Potter, also yielded a few surprises. You have evidence of a binding on your core placed by James Potter when you were approximately a year old."

Remus answered this one. "Yes, James had to place that one, as Harry was performing accidental magic from the time he was only a few months old. It was suppose to have been lifted when Harry was ten years old in order for his core to stabilize before he started Hogwarts."

"Yes, that block has been released however it apparently released when you were approximately eight years old."

"Harry burned through the block that early?"

"Yes. Mr. Potter's core appears to be a bit larger than we commonly see in a wizard his age and it has not yet matured. Additionally, he had another block placed on his core at age eleven. This one was placed by Albus Dumbledore. It restricts Mr. Potter to 60 percent of his available magic."

"He WHAT! Albus Dumbledore will rue the day he heard the name Remus Lupin when I get through with him. I believe I can solicit some help from a certain tabby cat witch as well. And possibly a dungeon bat."

Harry had to laugh at Remus' description of Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. "So what does this mean for me?"

"Have you had problems performing magic at the same level as your classmates?"

"A little bit, but I just thought that was me. Some folks just find it easier than others."

"No, that is the block. It can also cause you to have problems remembering things you have learned as well."

"So how do I get rid of it?"

"We will be able to remove it, if it is your wish. However, I have more information to give you first."

Harry rolled his eyes, "You mean there's more? Why can't I be a normal wizard like everyone else?"

"We found several charms on you as well. One is a tracking charm. Another is an aversion charm. That one is set to cause immediate ill will towards anyone named Dursley. I suspect if we checked them we would find a similar charm on them. The final charm we discovered is an owl redirection charm."

"Do I need to know who placed those?"

"I believe you already know the answer to that question."

"I understand the first two, but what's the purpose of the last one? Why put an owl redirection charm on me?"

"This charm lets owls trying to find you to deliver their mail to a different place."

"But I have no problem getting owls from Hogwarts or the Weasleys, not to mention my own owl!"

"This charm can be set to specify which owls it allows through and which owls should deliver your mail elsewhere. Tell me, have you ever received a statement from Gringotts?"

"No."

"We send out quarterly statements to our account holders."

"So somewhere is a dead letter drop, with letters to me?"

"It could be a room, a person or just about anything. After you defeated You-Know-Who, many witches and wizards were happily offering to adopt you or make you their heir. I'm sure several of them wanted to offer their daughters in marriage."

"Ewwwww! I think I'm a little young for that. So somewhere, there is a pile of mail with my name on it?"

"Unless someone immediately destroyed it, yes."

"What can I do to get out from under all of this?"

"We are able to remove the bindings as well as the charms. I can set you up with another appointment to have those taken care of. I can set that for the same day that you visit with the cursebreakers."

"Great! I'd love to have all of this done with before I go back to school."

"When would be convenient for you?"

"I've got another appointment tomorrow so would Friday be OK?"

"Of course. Would nine in the morning suit you?"

"Not a problem."

"If you will ask for me, someone will bring you here. I will have the cursebreakers look at your scar first, before we do anything else. It should only take about an hour to remove the binding and charms on you but I do not know how long the cursebreakers will need."

"Like it took an hour for the scan?"

"Any other questions?"

Remus had one. "Would it be possible to get a copy of your results? We have an appointment with Director Bones tomorrow. I would like for her to see the results of our Chief Warlock's actions."

"Certainly." With that, Healer Sormot waved his hand, and a second copy was produced and handed to Remus.

"I will have Marspok show you out."

"Thank you, Healer Sormot. I will see you Friday."