To make it clear: All rights to characters, setting, story and central concepts in this story remain the property of J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter's author. This is just me playing in the sandbox.
Dues
"You can do better, Harry," Hermione said. He seemed to be lying down and saw her bent down over him. Her hair and robe were unkempt and she looked tired and vaguely sad. It looked like she had been crying.
Harry Potter woke up and groaned. "Oh bloody hell. Really, Hermione? Fifty-seventh life? Who needs fifty-seven lives?" It must have been his imagination, but he thought he heard a faint "You do."
Still groaning a little Harry got up and dressed. He could smell Aunt Petunia's attempt at coloring Dudley's old things gray. They were supposed to be his new school uniform. How she ever thought they were going to fit Harry he never found out. Probably because he hadn't bothered to try.
Harry walked to the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Sooo, what's cooking?"
"Your new school uniform," Aunt Petunia said.
"Eh. Really? I'll look like I'm wearing bits of old elephant skin, then. Lovely first day," Harry snarked.
"Now don't you take that tone with me, Harry!" Petunia screeched and turned to glare at him. She had perfected that beat-down-Harry glare long ago.
Uncle Vernon and Dudley came in just then. Sometimes Harry wondered if they had ever heard of obesity - he could see that in a few years it would be a battle to fit through the door. Dudley beat everything with his Smeltings stick before setting it on the table. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper. Harry watched as Vernon pretended to read more than just the sports and stocks pages.
Then came the click of the mail slot and the flop of letters on the doormat.
"I'll get it," Harry said. He ignored everything except his Hogwarts letter and opened it. Making it look like he actually read it he shouted back to the kitchen. "Hey, Uncle Vernon! What's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
There was a thundering silence, and then the sound of an elephant stampede as Uncle Vernon stomped into the foyer. "Give me that, boy!" he said and tried to grab the letter. Harry sidestepped the clumsy grab easily.
"Nuh-uh. Not before I get some sort of explanation. It says I've been accepted there, and that I need to contact them by owl or by letter before the end of the month. What does contact by owl even mean?" Harry danced to the living room and took out the list of supplies and necessary books. "And why do I need work robes? A pointed hat? Dragon hide? What is this, some kind of joke?"
Uncle Vernon made another grab that Harry avoided just as easily. "Boy! Give that to me right now!" he shouted, his head turning an interesting shade of puce.
Harry made it look like he was still reading the page while avoiding Vernon. "Book of Spells? History of Magic? Magical Herbs? Potions? Beasts? Dark Forces? Owl, cat or toad? Not allowed broomsticks? Wow, I wish all this was real, it sounds wicked!"
He turned to look towards the kitchen, just barely dodging another grab from Vernon. Aunt Petunia stood frozen next to the over boiling pot, looking at the letter in his hand with horror. "Aunt Petunia, what is it?"
"It really came. You really are… Vernon! What will we do?" she screamed.
"Wait, you knew? This is real?" Harry exclaimed. He had gotten to be a rather good actor in some fifty-odd lives. Acting, like everything else, took practice. He had gotten a lot of it.
"What's going on? What's real?" Dudley asked confusedly.
Harry got bored with the show. He pointed his finger at Vernon who found himself stiff as a board and falling on his back. A little twirl of Harry's finger made ropes appear and tie him up. Then he turned to still-sitting Dudley and repeated the twirling motion tying him to his chair, and conjuring a rag over his mouth. The gestures weren't really necessary but it gave a certain flair to magic Harry enjoyed. "Magic, cousin, magic is real."
Harry turned to Petunia.
"So, Petunia. I'm not very happy about how you have treated me. Now that I know that you know about magic I really don't have to hide it anymore. Sit down," Harry said calmly. He gestured with his hand and the pot moved over the sink and emptied itself and then set it down on the stove. Another gesture picked up the elephant skin and wrung it dry above the sink, then floated it towards Harry. With his other hand he made another gesture, causing the varicolored set of clothes to turn into black robes. He took the clothes and dressed in them while Petunia slowly moved to sit on a chair.
Now dressed the way he knew Petunia recognized from her childhood with Lily, Harry took stock of the situation. Vernon was laying down in the living room, his eyes the only part of him that moved. Dudley seemed to be petrified and had wet himself. Petunia was severely shaken but seemed to be slowly composing herself. Still, she gripped the edge of the table so hard her knuckles were white.
"Now, Petunia, how are we going to move forward from here?" Harry asked.
"How.. How are you doing this? You don't even have a wand!"
"Remembered that, did you? I don't really need one, see. Wands are a bit like training wheels. Handy tools for beginners, but a bit limiting in the long run. Once you learn to drive without training wheels then you can do a lot more than you can do with them. It just takes practice."
"But you haven't even been to school yet!" Petunia exclaimed.
"Ah. Yes. But magic makes many things possible. Now, down to business."
"Business?"
"Yes. A rental agreement, if you will. I will rent my space under the stairs from you for a reasonable price. I will stay here for the summers during my school years but otherwise I will stay at Hogwarts. Or until I get another place to live in. I will not require you to prepare food for me or to buy me things. I also will not work for you, or do any chores. I will avoid being seen or heard, preferring to stay separate from you as much as possible. I find you quite offensive." Harry waved his hand. A parchment appeared on the table. "Sign there," Harry said and pointed at a line at the bottom.
Petunia took the parchment gingerly and read it through. "Thousand pounds per year? Where are you going to get that much money?"
"You don't need to know. Please note that it also states that I will pay five thousand pounds for all the years you've taken care of me so far in addition to rent. This five thousand pounds will be paid to you when I graduate from Hogwarts on the condition of this agreement remain in effect," Harry explained. "You need to have Vernon sign that as well. I'll give you the room for a few hours."
He waved at Dudley before turning towards his cupboard. On his way there he also freed Vernon, who chose to stay on the floor until Harry disappeared into his cupboard.
Once inside his small space Harry focused for a moment, conjuring a rune carver's set. He started to improve his new home. First a set of space expansion charms followed by runic arrays making the charms permanent. Then transfiguration and conjurations until he was satisfied with the look of the space, and another set of runes to make those changes permanent. Then he spent the next two hours enhancing his home, making it his. Once done he had his own house inside the cupboard.
As Harry tried to leave his new home the door didn't open. He shrugged, extended his hand and felt around for a while. Then he waved his hand and the door opened with a mighty crack as the boards nailed to it and the walls gave way. He stepped out the door and waved his hand fixing the boards, unbending nails and collecting them against a wall. Then he walked into the kitchen, where Dursleys were waiting for him. The adults, anyway, as he heard sobbing from upstairs where Dudley's room was.
"Boy- Harry, after careful consideration we have agreed to these terms and have signed the contract," Vernon grumbled, handing Harry the parchment. Harry took a pen from the table and signed it as well, then made three copies with a wave of a hand.
"One for each of us, and the fourth goes to Gringotts for the goblins to record and keep safe. Petunia can probably tell you how bad an idea it would be to piss off the goblins. I'll see you September first before leaving for Hogwarts. If you need me before that, just knock on the door. I'll come as soon as I can."
Harry then concentrated for a few moments and Disillusioned himself. He picked up his rune carver's set from his home and walked outside to set up protections for the house. The blood wards Dumbledore set up failed the second the loop restarted as Harry was far older than seventeen at this point, and they really weren't that strong anyways.
After two hours of work on the protections he Apparated to the alley behind Leaky Cauldron and entered Diagon Alley, still Disillusioned, and walked to Gringotts. As he stepped inside he dismissed the invisibility and walked straight to one of the goblins guarding the way to back rooms.
"I'd like to see Head Goblin Nognuk," Harry said to the goblin in Gobbledegook.
The guard looked surprised. "You won't," the goblin said.
"Grindmaw, I know you. And now that you know that I know, you will run ahead and inform the Head Goblin that Harry Potter is coming."
Grindmaw glanced at his partner, and then nodded and ran down the hallway, turning left and out of sight. He was gone a few minutes and returned to accompany Harry to an opulent but very practical office twice the size of Dursley's living room. Behind a heavy wooden desk sat a very old goblin with ancient eyes and several visible battle scars across his face.
Harry was fluent in Gobbledegook and conducted his business in that language.
"Honored Elder, I am here to offer my services as an expert artificer and Curse-Breaker. I'm afraid that I have to insist on secrecy of the highest degree as my abilities should not become known, especially considering my youthful appearance and name."
Nognuk stared at Harry showing no other expression than that of intent study.
"How is it that a ten-year-old human boy can speak properly, and claims to be a master of two very difficult areas of expertise?"
"Due to magic I'm much older than I look, Battlemaster. I am an expert in much more than two fields of expertise but those two, I believe, are what your people value most in your human associates."
"You also have an impressive grasp of our culture, Mr. Potter."
"I had a lot of time to learn, High Lord."
"That title is not meant for outsiders, Mr. Potter," Nognuk reprimanded.
"That is true, Chancellor. We are alone, however, and you did work for those titles," Harry reminded the goblin.
"Mr. Potter, you are not supposed to know any of those titles. From human historical records Battlemaster could be deduced, but the rest have been secrets since they were first used. They are to be used only among our own kind, so how did you come to learn them?"
"Supreme Commander Nognuk, I will not divulge that information. I'm merely using these titles as a way to tell you that I have far more information than I could have gotten in my ten years of life."
"Quite effective, Mr. Potter. I will organize some tests for your abilities, and then we'll see about having you do some work."
"Thank you, Head Goblin. I would also like to arrange for a small vault as I don't yet have the key to my family vault. Something I intend to correct as soon as possible. Even so, I can't take control of my family vault until I'm officially seventeen."
"That can be arranged, Mr. Potter. Come. We'll see to the details on our way."
Nognuk walked with Harry down long passages until they finally reached the goblin city. Harry was the first wizard in almost three hundred years to see its splendor, quite unmatched by any current wizarding dwelling, Hogwarts included. Light came from everywhere, some of it from transparent crystals with a ball of light inside, some from forges and yet more from windows of the dwellings.
The city was layered, each layer like a step in a staircase. The dwellings ringed the huge cavern supported by huge stalagnates and artificial stone columns, all of them rune-carved. The varied stones from which the dwellings and other buildings gave the city some color, the most important of them having precious metal inlays.
Most magicals would also be surprised about how many goblins there were. Harry knew that goblins didn't use expansion charms so their underground city well exceeded the bounds of Diagon Alley. Goblins had had to divert muggle constructions several times to avoid exposure.
"Here. Kragnob and Rugbok will tell you what to do," Nognuk said to Harry. "Test this boy, in all crafts and works of magic," he directed his words to the two goblins working at a forge before nodding and heading out.
Harry grinned. He'd known that Nognuk would want to test him to see what he could actually do. Work didn't really faze him. It had been decades, though, since he last did this kind of work. That would make it almost enjoyable.
"Come here, boy. We need two new pickaxes. Rugbok will forge one, and you the other. We'll see how you measure up," Kragnob said. He was short, even for a goblin, but made up for that in sheer bulk, most of it muscle gained from years working the forge.
"Can I use magic? I'm afraid this body is used to household chores instead of real work. I swear to use magic only where I can't use my deficient strength to manage," Harry said.
Kragnob grimaced. "I suppose you can. But no more than absolutely necessary."
"Then we'd better get started," Harry grinned.
Harry worked the forge for three hours, crafting the pickax and two daggers. With magic he could strike harder and more accurately than Rugbok. Once he had shaped the metal he charmed the pick and carved both wizarding and goblin runes to make the tool more efficient and unbreakable. To empower the runic arrays Harry used his own blood mixed with Kragnob's blood.
When Harry finished the second dagger almost exactly the same time Rugbok finished his pickax he got a rather murderous glance from the goblin. Not only was Rugbok slower but his enchantment work was sloppier.
"Rugbok, now you see what I was telling you. You need to apply yourself more, focus on your work. At least half of the time you were staring at the boy. It slowed you and made your work sloppy," Kragnob told Rugbok.
"As for you, boy, your work is exemplary. I'd say masterwork but you'd shame most of us if you'd really apply yourself. Steel is a wasted material on you. I'd really like to know where you learned goblin runes but I'm pretty sure you won't tell me," Kragnob grinned. The grin showed too many sharp teeth than Harry was comfortable with.
"Come, we'll go to Wardmaster and see if she'll have something for you."
After seemingly wandering around the city without any clear goal they arrived a dwelling. Even after all the time Harry had spent with goblins in this very city he couldn't tell what differentiated this from the others. The way goblins decorated their homes was subtle enough that Harry didn't understand it. To a goblin the differences were obvious.
Kragnob banged on the door. "Out and about, Krandala! You have a boy to be tested here!"
When he didn't get an answer he pushed the door open. "Krandala! Up, up, time to work!"
Harry heard grumbling and rather rude observations about Kragnob's lineage, work quality and weak head for drink. "Kragnob, you cretin! You know yesterday was the celebration of my fiftieth year as a Master. I'd be totally justified in sticking that lump of metal you call a knife into your belly!"
Harry liked Krandala. She had a foul mouth, she was acerbic to an extreme and complained about everyone's ineptitude. So when one got at least one word of grumbling thanks or praise it was precious. She cared for people but expected much and usually got it.
The cantankerous goblin shambled out of her bedroom, obviously extremely hungover.
"You! I don't know you! Why are you in my home? Kragnob, why are YOU in my home?"
"Nognuk unloaded the boy on us. We're supposed to tell him if the lad is any good."
"In what? Pissing up a wall?"
Harry couldn't stifle his laugh.
"Well, at least he's not mute. So what good are you?"
"I offered Nognuk my services as an artificer and Curse-Breaker but it appears he wanted me tested in everything useful. I believe Kragnob can vouch that I'm a decent artificer. Now I'm supposed to work with you, I think?" Harry raised one brow to Kragnob.
"Yeah, sure. I'd like to come check this out too. The kid might have more surprises up his sleeves," Kragnob said with that unsettling grin on his face.
"Hrmph. Fine. Just let me drink my breakfast and we'll go see about warding some upstart's vault," Krandala groused and poured herself an ale. It was pretty much liquid porridge, although it was also highly alcoholic.
"Now, pup, we'll see what you're made of. We're going to first strip all the existing protections from this and then you can add any protections you can finish before midnight. So that gives you three hours," Krandala said grinning. "Well, what are you waiting for? Staring won't gain you any time!"
Harry knew exactly what protections the vault had and what he had time to put in place in the time allotted. He had done this a few times. It almost felt like cheating, but he also knew this vault was actually his, so he did the runic arrays, charms and curses in a pattern he had perfected.
"You're doing that like you had done it before," Krandala said eyeing Harry suspiciously. Kragnob just stood there staring the vault.
Harry lifted a finger to his lips and hushed her. "Well, do I pass?"
"Pass? Boy, even I couldn't have done any better. I would have done it differently but your scheme is good. Rather nasty combination, though."
"Hey, at least it doesn't kill!"
"No, but who or whatever tries to get in will probably wish that it would."
Harry shrugged. "It's a good deterrent."
Krandala smirked. "Yeah, that it is. Let's go find Prangod and see if you can do potions, too."
Harry breezed through even the most demanding potions, and then he and the goblins went to meet Nognuk in his office.
"Nognuk, the boy is either a genius with a dragonload of training, or he cheats somehow. Either way he's probably as good at everything as any master we have. Better, at some things," Kragnob said shaking his head.
"I vote that he cheats. No way a kid that age can out-everything every goblin we have. I think he-" Krandala said, only to be interrupted by Harry.
"Wardmaster Krandala, be silent! You should know better than to even think of it!"
The goblins stood there, stunned by the voice of command coming from an apparent ten-year-old.
"Well, yes, probably best if we don't delve into this. Potter, we'll contact you to consult from time to time and you can come do your own projects here on the condition you do one for us for each one. Here's your vault key. Just sign these, and we're done," Nognuk said.
Harry gave the documents a cursory glance and signed them. The goblins were surprisingly honest and fair as long as you were respectful and didn't waste their time. Since he didn't have any of the prejudice that British wizards and witches had grown up with it wasn't a problem for him.
"I'll come by within a week to do some preliminary work for my projects," Harry said. "Now, though, I think I'll head to bed."
Harry left the bank and Diagon Alley and apparated on the backyard of the Dursley home. From there his bed was just a quick unlocking charm away.