Chapter 1: Letter from Gringotts
Harry sat on his bed with a puzzled expression taking over his face. In his hand, a letter was clutched. It was from Gringotts Bank. He had received a message that was unexpected to say the least.
When he woke up this morning, on his birthday, the last thing he expected was a summons to Gringotts.
The owl had woken his up in the early morning with persistent pecking at his window. When he had let the owl inside, it dropped the letter onto his bed and fled. It seemed that even owls wanted nothing to do with him. The past few weeks, he had received nothing from his friends or godfather.
It was as if they had forgotten him. Or they finally discovered that he was more trouble than he was worth. Harry sighed sadly. Everyone always left him eventually. Sometimes he wondered if he was better off not knowing his parents because then he would never disappoint them. And he knew that they would be disappointed. After all, if his friends didn't bother replying to his letters, what hope would he have for parents that he put in danger by solely existing think about him.
As he opened his letter, he couldn't help thinking that the expensive parchment was wasted on him. He was just a burden that caused trouble where ever he went. Definitely underserving of fine parchment.
Regardless, he carefully opened the envelope and pulled the letter out.
Mr. Potter-Black,
Your presence is requested at Gringotts bank. There are matters of upmost importance that need to be addressed immediately. There have been discrepancies in your accounts.
When ready simply say "Potter-Black".
Crankshaw
Gringotts account manager
Harry narrowed his eyes, his more Slytherin side coming to the surface. The goblin had said accounts. This implied that he had multiple vaults at least and money from different families. He was also addressed as Potter-Black. He knew his godfather, Sirius Black, was a member of the Black family, but he had no such claim.
Intrigued, Harry scrambled to dress and spared a glance around the room. If he was leaving for Gringotts then he wasn't coming back. He had always hated it at the Dursleys, especially after discovering Hogwarts. You know what they say, you don't miss what you don't have. Once he found Hogwarts, his conditions at the Dursleys seemed even more intolerable. He was glad to have a way to leave this place.
Hopefully he would find that he had some long lost relative. Maybe this would be how he got the Black name. If not, then even a property that was left to him would suffice.
With escape in mind, Harry pulled his wand, the Marauder's Map, photo albus, and invisibility cloak from underneath the floorboards. He then slowly opened his bedroom door and cautiously made his way down the stairs.
The Dursleys thought they had Harry under their control. Due to this, they never bothered to lock the cupboard door where they stored his trunk. Their confidence in his fear of them couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, Harry used all of his Slytherin cunning to make them believe he was under their control. It helped in situations like these where they didn't bother to lock away what they didn't want him to have.
He could recall many nights where he would sneak down the stairs to feed himself after being denied food that day. They were none the wiser, too sure that they were threatening enough to dissuade any rebellious actions from Harry.
That would be their downfall.
Harry opened the cupboard door and quickly lifted his trunk out. Now more than ever, he wished he could use his wand. A shrinking and featherlight charm would be very helpful now.
He left the trunk where it was for now. He had one more stop to make.
He made his way up the stairs again and stood outside Aunt Petunia and Vernon's door. Vernon had caused him so much pain while he lived there. It was time for his revenge.
He made his way to the dresser and slowly opened the drawer. It wouldn't do for them to wake up now when he was so close to what he had dreamed of. He opened the envelope kept in their and pocketed the money inside. This was Vernon's savings that he kept secret from Aunt Petunia. He used it for his less than noble purchases.
That done, he turned to the occupants of the bed. A glare formed on his face. There they slept peacefully completely unaware of the world around him. What he would give to be so naïve. They must feel so safe. They never knew pain and hunger like he did.
His glare intensified as he thought about what he wanted to happen. He had been able to control his accidental magic for years. As long as he had enough emotions behind his actions, then he was able to control what he wanted to happen. The only catch was he had to only focus on a single emotion. When another was added, things didn't turn out well.
His rage intensified as he pictured Vernon suffering though everything he had under their care. He wanted his to feel the pain and hunger he went through as a child.
A light surrounded the bed, showing his wishes were taking affect. He smirked, satisfied that his revenge would be realized.
He made his way downstair and set a hand on his trunk. He held the handle as he whispered "Potter-Black"
.
.
.
He reappeared on the front steps of Gringotts. His smirk was still in place as he thought on what he had done to Vernon. He stopped calling him uncle when he was 6. He had realized that real families took care of children and Vernon did the exact opposite. He didn't deserve to be called uncle.
Although he had very slow self-esteem, Harry was still very vindictive when wronged. How he thought about himself, had no impact on his reactions to others. Only when he cared about a person did his insecurities become known. Otherwise, they were hidden away in favor of his more Slytherin disposition.
Back in his first year, at the sorting, the hat had said that he would thrive in Slytherin or Hufflepuff. But he had already discovered that everyone expected him in Gryffindor. That much was obvious from his interactions with Hagrid and Ron Weasley. So, he convinced the hat to put him in Gryffindor, against many protests.
His Slytherin side showed through as he carefully covered his scar and adopted an innocent and childlike expression. When a man walked by on his way into the bank, he turned with impossibly big eyes to him.
"Excuse me, mister." Harry said.
He knew he looked much younger than he was. The starvation and malnutrition had stunted his growth so he was only the size of a 10-year-old, much smaller than his now 14-year-old age would suggest.
The man turned with an impatient expression on his face. Harry adopted his most adorable and earnest expression. At once the man melted in front of the huge emerald eyes and trembling bottom lip.
"Oh, how can I help you? Do you need help finding your parents?" he asked.
"Could you shrink my trunk please? My parents aren't very nice so I'm going to Gringotts. The goblins will help me find a new family." Harry said sadly.
The man's expression softened completely. This boy was obviously in need of his help. He immediately drew his wand and gave a swift tap to the top of the trunk. At once it shrunk and lightened considerably.
Harry beamed.
"Thank you very much, mister!" he exclaimed.
At that the two made their way into the bank. Harry nodded at the goblins stationed outside the bank and then waited for an available teller.
The man remained by his side impatiently. Now that they were inside the bank, his earlier concerns came back. He was in a hurry to conduct his business.
"I'll be okay now mister. The goblins will help me." Harry looked up at the man through his long lashes.
The man hesitated but at Harry's encouraging nod, he patted him on his unruly hair and approached a goblin. The goblin sneered. This man was interrupting one of his tasks. But what could you expect from foolish wizards.
Harry made his way to a goblin and waited patently in front of his stand. The goblin was examining red stones. He had three piles in front of him. One he was pulling from to inspect and then he would place them in one of the piles. Harry thought that he was seeing if they were real or not.
Regardless, he waited several minutes to be acknowledged. Once the pile was gone, the goblin finally looked up at the child. He was curious. Usually wizards treated them like servants, especially children who were notoriously impatient.
"How can I help you, young sir?" the goblin asked.
Harry smiled and handed the letter over the counter. The goblin examined the contents and then looked at Harry searchingly. Apparently satisfied he stood.
"Follow me, Mr. Potter-Black"
Together they walked through the hallways of Gringotts before reaching the door to an office. The goblin knocked before ushering Harry inside.
"Thank you, sir" Harry spoke.
He entered the office, unknowingly leaving behind a chocked goblin. Harry had done something very rare. He had shown respect for a citizen of the goblin nation.
Upon entering the office, Harry nodded respectfully at the goblin seated behind the desk.
"Please take a seat"
Harry relaxed into one of the comfortable armchairs and awaited further instruction.
"We are here to discuss your accounts. Please add five drops of blood to this parchment. It will show your inheritance and activities spanning the last 13 years."
Silently, Harry took the offered parchment and small dagger. He pricked his finger and let five drops fall onto the parchment.
He handed both items back to the goblin and silently waited for the blood to form words.
The goblin quickly read the information and surprise flashed across his features.
Wordlessly, he handed Harry back the parchment.
"It looks like there is another name to add to Potter-Black"
Harry's eyebrows rose is surprise and a gasp escaped his lips. The parchment couldn't possibly be right!