Dumbledore's disturbing dream returned, and he felt some aggravation.
'I am on the same window seat, and my left arm remains attached to the window.'
He looked around and saw the enormous serpent still enclosed in glass. Riddle's diary and Slytherin's locket were attached to the same windowpane as his arm. And he saw Ravenclaw's diadem attached to the windowpane beside the locket. This time, the golden egg was silent, but a pair of red eyes appeared on the side and stared at the headmaster.
Dumbledore's left arm filled his body with pain, but he couldn't find his wand to cast any spells.
'Why can't I change this dream?' he wondered. 'No one can break my occlumency shields.'
& CHANGE SCENE &
Swiss Dwarves (7 July 1996)Using muggle transportation, Harry travelled from London to Zurich on 1 July. He arrived at St Pancras International Railway Station in London just after 5:00AM and boarded the train for Paris via the new chunnel under the English Channel. Without using any magic, Harry enjoyed the quiet time on the train and engaged a young couple with a baby in conversation.
In Paris Gare du Nord he had to transfer to Paris Gare de Lyon but then he was on another train headed for Zurich Hauptbahnhof, Switzerland. The entire trip took him eight hours and he scoffed imagining the warning from Dumbledore of the Death Eaters finding him in the press of muggles. He arrived at the hotel and found Preacher and Dobby waiting for him when he stepped into his hotel suite.
In Surry, the guards from the Order of the Phoenix watched 'Harry Potter' working in the garden and washing the windows. They never realized they watched Breacher who transformed into Harry (with a long-lasting elven Polyjuice). The elf forced himself to move slowly as he worked in visible areas and remained in the house and yards to fool the guards.
The same afternoon he arrived in Zurich, Harry was introduced to Harvell Stoneson who would be his primary account manager. The dwarf listened quietly as Harry described what he wanted; z first set of vaults for his Potter wealth and valuables, and a second set of vaults for his Black wealth and valuables.
"We are aware of your name and reputation, Mr Potter. And I am personally sorry for your dilemma with your bankers and guardian in Britain. However, Bank Suisse is delighted to have your interest. Now, how much wealth are we talking about?"
Turning toward Dobby, Harry took the account balance for the various Potter vaults and handed them to the dwarf. Watching carefully, Harry noticed the dwarf's face grow tense for a moment. After a moment, Stoneson said, "This is a sizable amount of wealth to transfer out of Britain at one time. You may cause panic and ruin many wizards and their businesses."
"Then Britain should have done a better job of educating me and giving me reasons to be a loyal son," Harry replied. "If I do nothing, my banker and my guardian will continue looting my fortune."
Now he handed over the account statements for the Potter accounts that showed monthly withdrawals during the past fifteen years by Albus Dumbledore. The frequency with which the wizard paid sums of money to the account manager, a goblin named Sowsbreath, concerned the dwarf immediately.
"The ICW banking council will find this interesting when they yell about upsetting the economy in Britain."
"And the Black fortunes will move as well," Harry said, turning to Preacher for the paperwork with those account balances.
After glancing at the paperwork Stoneson took a deep breath and said, "I must bring in my superiors before we can go ahead with this. No one will believe Suisse Bank didn't compel you…an underage wizard."
Handing over another piece of paper with the certificates of authenticity from Ironstream, the former account manager for the Black vaults, Harry said, "I am emancipated. If Suisse Bank doesn't want my…what is the total, Dobby?"
"My Mr Harry Potters, Heir Potter and Lord Black, has one tens tens tens tens tens tens tens tens tens galleons he wants to move to a bank that has honest creatures guarding and managing monies." (One billion in elven counting 10X10X10X10X10X10X10X10X10)
From the other side, Preacher spoke up and added, "Lord Black brings ancient relics and books that your curse breakers can examine and determine what needs to be destroyed and which are safe to study. Much profit for Bank Suisse in coming years as they make the magical world safer."
Harry nodded, "Yeah, my ancestors never met a cursed item they didn't collect and store away. Most of them are under stasis charms but not everything."
"We want your wealth deposited in our bank, Mr Potter," Stoneson stated firmly. "But with the inflow of this much gold, the bank needs to prepare for speculation…and for the sudden crash of Gringotts London."
Harry was pensive for a moment and then asked, "How much of a crash?"
The dwarf said, "Let me call in some experts."
Preacher spoke up and said, "Only someone who agrees to complete secrecy. No one can know about this until we are finished with the transfer."
++***++ CHANGE OF SCENE
After studying the Potter accounts and the Black accounts, the dwarves presented an alternative to Harry Potter the next morning.
"Mr Potter, last night we studied the details of your accounts, and we have a proposal for you."
"What?" Harry asked shortly.
Ignoring the boy's tone, Stoneson continued, "Bank Suisse will not destroy Magical Britain's economy and aggravate the IWC or the goblins. When you are grown and look back on this day, you will agree."
Frowning but not saying anything, Harry waited so the dwarf continued, "The goblins and Albus Dumbledore missed something important in your Black vaults."
Motioning the dwarf to continue, Harry waited. Stoneson said, "The goblins cannot in any circumstances give guardianship of the Black vaults to Albus Dumbledore. You are Lord Black and accepted by Magic. You do not have to listen to the old wizard concerning your Black money, properties or artefacts."
"Are you certain he cannot spend the money?"
"Yes, we are certain. And the goblin account manager is going to have a hard time paying any bills or invoices until he speaks with you and obtains your approval of him."
Frowning, Harry mentioned, "Sowsbreath killed the previous account manager."
The dwarf shrugged and replied, "Unfortunately, that is common behaviour in the depths of Gringotts. Your Potter vaults being emptied of cash and valuables will probably cost the goblin his head. Ragnock will be shocked when he learns you had no faith in Gringotts to protect your patrimony."
The dwarves were silent as they noticed the young wizard speaking at length with his elves before agreeing to Stoneson's suggestion. In another discussion, one of the wizards asked, "How do you expect to keep this quiet Mr Potter? The goblins will see the gold being moved to floo or portkey locations to leave the bank."
Sitting back in his chair and sipping his excellent hot chocolate, Harry replied, "Sowsbreath, the new Black account manager as well as the Potter account manager, told me not to bother him again this summer. He said that if I needed gold, my elf was to retrieve the money and leave the goblins alone. And there were no limitations placed on the amount I could retrieve."
Stoneson spoke up from further down the table of eight wizards and dwarves making plans with the Boy-Who-Lived, "Even if you feed magic to both of your elves, it will still take ten or twelve weeks for them to move this much gold and the artefacts from the Potter vaults the distance from London to Zurich. And they won't be able to complete their other duties while doing this arduous work."
Dobby spoke up and said, "Wizards and dwarves not know Great Mr Harry Potter. There be seven tens of elves ready to move gold today. Why be you delaying?"
Preacher added, "Gnomes in Copenhagen would act today and help us move the gold."
Thereafter the dwarves who controlled Bank Suisse agreed to the confidentiality agreement for all their employees (dwarves and wizards), and before noon that second day, Harry Potter possessed four new keys to new vaults for the Potter wealth in the caverns under the Alps.
That afternoon, the first gold and artefacts arrived, and the dwarves kept their lips sealed. For the rest of July, there was continuous traffic of house-elves arriving with chests of golden coins, jewels and ingots of gold and silver. In other vaults, valuable paintings, furniture, and magical artefacts appeared. Within two days, Stoneson became a very busy dwarf and before the end of the week, he was assigned new assistants; the first to manage his old accounts, the second to manage his new account, and the third assistant to prepare for the deluge of officials from the ICW, British government, and Goblins who would appear in the magical departments of the bank once this news broke.
Before returning to England via train, Harry spent part of the second afternoon to exploring the magical shopping district in Zurich. He wore a magical hat to hide his fading scar while Dobby and Preacher followed him as bodyguards. He went into the bookstores looking for information on life in the magical parts of Switzerland and found a bookcase with a banner floating over it that read 'Banned in Britain'. In the large selection of books here, Harry found spell books, books on commerce in Europe and America, and several interesting history books. One was titled 'My Years at Hogwarts' by a wizard named Ernest Whittle. He bought that book and had Preacher carry it back to Privet Drive along with other purchases and lots of Swiss chocolate.
By 27 July, the last of the Potter wealth was removed to the continent without the knowledge of any goblin. In each deserted vault underneath London, Harry's elves left ten galleons on the floor to maintain the rent on the space for another ten years.
& CHANGE SCENE &