I'm reborn as Harry Potter

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***

For a while I was just walking down the street, not really thinking about where exactly I was going. I could feel Dobby walking beside me and kept wanting to say something. Remembering exactly what I had given him to do before I met Snape, I decided he wanted to talk about it.

- What is it, Dobby, tell me. Quietly, don't forget no-one can see us.

- 'Ho... sir,' he almost managed, 'why did Professor Snape sir try to kill you? Dobby thought Professor Snape sir was nice, Dobby had seen him a lot at Malfoy Manor before, and Professor Snape sir had always been nice to Dobby.

- He didn't want to kill me, Dobby. He wanted to kidnap me and hand me over to the Dark Lord. You know Snape serves him. It's the Lord who wants to kill me. By the way, what about the housekeepers at the manor, are they all right?

- 'Yes, sir,' Dobby did not pursue the subject of the good Professor Snape sir. - The Malfoy House Elves are fine. They haven't been abused again. Mitty was able to hide Dinky and cured him. Mitty said he would try to listen to what the Eaters would talk about, but couldn't promise that.

- That's good. Thank you, Dobby. - It was worth noting that the elf had become more restrained, and he didn't start saying that he wasn't worthy and that everyone was too nice to him. Maybe he wanted to say something like that, but I didn't give him the chance. - You know, Dobby, why don't you go to Fleur's, you've had enough of running from house to house with me. Get some rest, you've done a good job. And if I need any help, I'll call you straight away. Deal? 

The elf really should have rested. Seeing that he hesitated, I decided to make one thing clear:

- And don't worry about Fleur. Just tell her I've forbidden you to say anything. And tell her I miss her terribly.

I don't think my messages are making things any better. I mean, I love you, honey, but I'm not gonna say anything. After reassuring myself that I was only fifteen and could be weird in relationships sometimes, I hoped Fleur wouldn't get any angrier. I would love to have her around, but how can I do that when every day someone makes an attempt on my life and I have to find a new place to sleep.

After persuading Dobby to rest, I moved far enough away from the house so as not to attract too much attention and apparated to London, not far from The Leaky Cauldron. Just before I jumped, I heard the clapping of incoming wizards in the distance. I guess I was right about magic in a non-wizarding neighbourhood after all, I just hadn't taken into account the slowness of the local law enforcement.

I was so sick of not being able to hide anywhere that I thought for a second I'd just walk into this bar and get a room, but common sense won out. So I walked around the Cauldron on the other side of the street, walked a couple more blocks, and finally found an unremarkable ordinary hotel, where I immediately rented a room for three days. Ambitious, but maybe at least here I could avoid being found.

After ordering dinner for the room, I checked all my things once more and realised that I couldn't avoid Gringotts. The wallet I'd taken on my first visit to the bank after escaping Azkaban refused to convert Galleons into pounds. No matter how hard I tried, nothing would happen to it. There were a fair number of gold coins in it, but if I took them out, no new ones appeared in their place, as if this peculiar artefact had lost all its magical properties and was just an inconvenient money bag.

I put off this question until tomorrow, thought over the plan of action once more, and went to bed.

***

In the morning I woke up much later than usual. I was woken up by the maid who was going to clean the room. After assuring her that it wasn't necessary, I ate breakfast and started to get ready for my scheduled appointments. Putting all my things in my jacket pockets, I decided not to leave anything at the hotel, because I had no idea where I would end up in the evening. After I got dressed and put on my invisibility cloak, I took the portal provided by the goblins in my left hand and waited. I clutched my wand tightly in my right hand, ready to use it if necessary.

The portal went off at exactly noon, pulling me out of the non-magical part of London and throwing me straight into one of Gringotts' offices. As soon as I felt the hard surface beneath my feet, I let the Knut out of my hands, trying to pretend that the portal had worked on its own and hadn't brought anyone with it.

- Your stealth is not necessary, Lord Potter, we are alone here. - Only now did I notice the old goblin sitting at the head of the long desk. This office was noticeably larger than Veselur's, and much more richly decorated. The massive desk in the centre of the room seemed to be carved out of a single piece of marble, flanked by several armchairs that appeared to be seating guests. The walls were lined with weapons ranging from small dirks, to huge halberds the size of Hagrid's. Everything about the place suggested that the goblin sitting in front of me held a high position in the local hierarchy - he was clearly not a cart driver.

Realising that there was no one else here but us, I threw off my robe and said hello.

- Hello. You are, I take it, the manager who sent me the invitation. I apologise for my secrecy, but there was an incident during my last visit to the bank that I would like to avoid in the future.

- I understand, Lord Potter, there is no need to apologise. I am indeed the manager of Gringotts Bank. You may call me Director if you prefer. I had a name once, but I've been in this position for over a hundred years, so I've forgotten it.

Looking at the goblin with interest, I realised that he was almost the most important representative of their race, at least in Britain. I have been given a serious honour, but how did I earn it?

- I suggest we get straight to the point," the manager said. I would not call him Director, a word I have only negative memories of. He waited until I sat down in the chair nearest to him and continued: - "As you understand, I am far from often meeting with wizards, and usually it happens only on serious matters. This case was no exception. The fact is that Gringotts Bank needs to notify you personally about the temporary freezing of your account and the change of attorney.

I was stunned. What had happened? Had one of my enemies convinced the goblins to deny me financial security?

- I'm afraid I don't understand. What is the reason for such a decision of the bank? And where is Veselur? I have an excellent solicitor, and I have no complaints against him. It seems there's been a mistake.

- I understand your concern, Lord Potter, and I can assure you that it is standard procedure when a solicitor can no longer fulfil his duties. As soon as a new trustee for your account is identified, the freeze will be lifted immediately.

- What about Veselur? - I repeated my question, inwardly tense.

- Unfortunately, Veselur has been found guilty of financial fraud, and he has been suspended immediately. His fate should not concern you at all.

- What kind of fraud? I'm not sure what my solicitor was accused of. And what does freezing have to do with it? I think such procedures take place quite often, are accounts blocked every time and wizards have no access to their own money? - Now I understood why my wallet didn't work yesterday.

- Okay, - the manager sighed, - I'll try to explain in more detail. The thing is that the day before yesterday your former attorney transferred more than two hundred thousand Galleons to another wizard's account. Did you agree to this?

- No," I said, confused. Had Veselur robbed me?

- I didn't doubt it, for he had no proof of your consent. Fortunately, the attorney of the wizard whose account the funds came to, did not hide this information, and turned to me. We care about our clients, Lord Potter, and we tried to thoroughly investigate the situation. As a result, we found out that the transfer was illegal. Veselur was immediately suspended and taken into custody.

- I am grateful to you, manager, for your prompt action," he nodded, "but could you tell us to whose account the funds were transferred? And for what purpose, for as far as I can tell, Veselur does not profit from it.

- You are mistaken. Firstly, a goblin is entitled to a considerable commission from the transfer, and from a transfer of this size the commission can be equal to a year's salary. And secondly, he could also have forged the paperwork by making a mistake on purpose. The proceedings are ongoing. As for your question, it was the account of Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. We have concluded that it is due to the fact that Albus Dumbledore attacked you in the office of this very Veselur very recently. Do you have any guesses?

- 'Yes, I do have one suggestion,' everything fell into place. - It's a setup. If you remember, it was Veselur who discovered that Dumbledore's solicitor was illegally using the bank's records for his own purposes. So Bromstein took his revenge. He first glamoured the cart when my solicitor and I nearly crashed that very day, and now apparently he's come up with something more elaborate. Obviously, my solicitor is not to blame for anything.

- I'm afraid it's not that simple, Lord Potter. I understand what you're saying, but we have no way of finding out the truth through potions or mind-penetration like wizards do, because your methods don't work on us. Veselur said almost exactly what you said, so we checked and made sure that Bromstein spent the whole day behind the cash register in the main hall, and he had no way to perform such a complex manipulation.

- So he had accomplices! - I was amazed at how easily goblins could get rid of an employee. - Why don't you interrogate Dumbledore? Ask him why my solicitor is transferring money to him.

- There are regular transfers to Albus Dumbledore's account, no surprise there. Many wizards seek to help Hogwarts through him or support his secret organisation, which is a secret to almost no one. That's why Veselur chose this account, because no one would pay attention to a transfer from Harry Potter to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Many people, including goblins, know that you used to be bound together by a very good relationship. Even though this sum is much larger than other such transfers, if it weren't for Bromstein, we would never have known the truth. I have no choice but to thank him for his vigilance. There's no way to prove that this is some kind of conspiracy.

- But," I said with a frustrated expression, "would you really believe that liar Bromstein, who tried to kill me? And give up a good employee? - Seeing that my words didn't hurt him in any way, I continued quietly: - What will happen to Veselur now?

- There will be a trial soon, after which he will most likely be executed. He broke one of Gringotts's cardinal rules. It's hard to imagine a more serious offence. When the sentence is carried out, we can begin the search for a new solicitor for your account. We have several candidates, but after the events that have transpired, I feel it is my duty to conduct a more thorough vetting. As for the amount of money that was transferred, you will need to write a petition to get it back. Given that I am personally aware of the situation, the money will be returned to your vault as soon as possible.

I pretty much didn't listen to what he was saying, thinking about Veselur. In fact, this was all my fault, because if I hadn't fallen for Dumbledore or dragged him into Veselur's office, things might have gone a lot differently. Suddenly a rather absurd thought occurred to me, and after thinking for a while about how immoral it was, I decided to voice it:

- Tell me, manager, what if this money, this two hundred thousand Galleons, which, in fact, represents a fortune, I will not return to my account, but will make it my gift to the bank, for their prompt action and defence of my interests? - After watching the goblin become animated, I continued: - and the bank, as a return favour, will give me my former attorney to deal with him myself?

- Are you trying to buy the goblin? - Seeing that he was starting to get angry, I hurried to develop my thought.

- No, I just want to personally deal with the person who wanted to deprive me of my financial well-being. You understand, don't you? Besides, just by executing him, you won't get any profit, but by giving him to me, you'll get rid of the one who broke the laws of this place, but you'll also find yourself in a serious plus. And I'll choose which punishment to use. - I hope I've hinted enough that I want to personally execute Veselur. He looked at me with a hard stare after a while, and I thought I'd be sent to the next cell for suggesting such a thing, but in the end, money prevailed.

- An hour later in the lobby. - He rose with that short phrase, clearly signalling that the audience was over. Nodding, I hurried out of the office before he changed his mind.

One of the goblins standing in the corridor escorted me to the exit. On my way out, I put my robe back on, and decided to go shopping in it. I'd rather the shopkeepers think I was strange than have someone spot me in the crowd again.

Although, what crowd am I talking about? Leaving the bank, and trying not to think about what had happened, I looked round the alley. It looked even more bleak, if that was even possible. In the absence of schoolchildren, whose holidays were over, there was hardly anyone here. At first glance, I could count no more than twenty wizards walking briskly towards a particular shop without looking around.

Feeling more confident in my invisibility cloak, I followed the route I had planned, but soon I realised that I wouldn't be able to make the purchases I had planned. For example, I wanted to buy myself a new Lightning Bolt, but it cost three times as much as what I had in my wallet. Just a little while ago I was thinking that I had too much money, and now I have to save money. There was no telling when the goblins would be able to find me a new attorney.

As a result, I decided to limit myself to a visit to the potions shop. Even though it was my least favourite subject at Hogwarts, I could still assess the degree of usefulness of this or that potion. Moreover, many potions were truly indispensable, and I would have gladly bought up half the shop, but now I had to limit myself to just a few flasks, on which I spent almost all of my available funds. The vendor was not at all surprised when first a voice came out of nowhere and then coins appeared on the counter. He silently stacked everything I needed and watched me closely to make sure I didn't steal anything on my way out.

As I scattered the potions into my pockets, I realised that I was becoming more and more like a walking suitcase. Once again I thought about the necessity of having a house of my own, and for a while I looked around at the windows of the neighbouring shops, most of which were closed. People didn't know what to expect, because at first it had been clear that the Dark Lord had returned, but now the authorities said it wasn't certain. The mages did not take any chances and waited for some clearer information to understand what to expect in the future, but no specifics appeared, and the magical world slowly fell into disrepair.

When I returned to the hall, I saw a small group of goblins in the far corner of the hall, with Veselur standing among them. He didn't look good, but it was obvious that he hadn't been bullied or tortured. He just looked like someone who had been slandered, dishonourably dismissed, and was about to be executed. As I came close to them, without removing my robe, I said quietly:

- I am here.

The steward nodded and pointed to my former solicitor.

- Here, he's all yours, Lord Potter. Do as you see fit. We will notify you when the accounts are available again. - With that, he turned around and, along with the other goblins, walked away, leaving us alone.

- Harry? - Veselur whispered, trying not to attract attention.

- Harry-Harry," I replied, watching all the guards watching our actions. - Come on, wizard, you need to rest.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, I pictured the alleyway next to the inn exactly as I had imagined it and immediately apparated away.

Once I was outside and made sure no one had seen the goblin suddenly appear out of thin air, I threw off my invisibility cloak and put it on him. If in the wizarding world Harry Potter is more surprising to passers-by than a goblin, it's just the opposite here.

When I got Veselur to my room, I closed the door and relaxed a little. Well, this is by far the most expensive goblin in history. Still, I didn't feel any pity for the money spent.

- Harry, why did you do that? - He looked around warily, as if he thought I was really going to deal with him without witnesses.

- What do you mean? So you wouldn't get executed, obviously. - I leaned back relaxed on the couch, giving him full leeway.

- You don't think I was trying to rob you?

- Of course not, Veselur. I realise that this was Bromstein's doing, and he was able to set you up very cleverly. Your kin are good at taking care of their customers, but they'd do well to take care of the tribesmen they're too quick to condemn to death.

- Well, I haven't been sentenced yet," he calmed down when I realised I didn't think he was a liar, "but it was coming, you're right. But how did you do it? I just don't know what to say. You saved my life for the second time! Harry, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you. And I have no idea what you offered the manager to get me out.

- It was nothing, don't worry. - I decided not to tell him how much his life cost me, so as not to upset him any further. - The important thing is that it's over. I'm going to order some food, and then you need to sleep. From the look on your face, you haven't done that in a while. - He suddenly laughed.

- I'm sorry, I just remembered meeting you less than a month ago. I thought you were mentally ill then. 'I'd like to hire a solicitor and meet him.' - He tried to sparody my voice and laughed again. - 'And who knew then that you would be a real saviour to me.

- This is my fault, Veselur, so don't think you owe me anything. After all, if I hadn't turned up, Bromstein would never have set you up.

- I'm afraid I'll never be able to stop thinking about the fact that you saved my life, Harry. After the trolley incident, I was plotting my revenge on Bromstein, but somehow he found out about it and managed to beat me to it... Wait, where are we anyway? - He only seemed to be paying attention to his surroundings now.

- We're in a hotel in a non-magical part of London. I don't think anyone will find us here, so we can rest easy.

- What happened to your flat? Did someone find it? We put so many charms on it, it shouldn't have happened.

- Honestly, I don't know if it was discovered or not," I shrugged, "It's just that the goblins know about it, and I didn't want to risk showing up there while a half-blood maniac was looking for me.

- It's stupid, Harry. - Veselur shook his head. - 'Please don't judge my nation by Bromstein alone. As you may have noticed, we take our interactions with wizards very responsibly, and our punishments are extremely serious. Even more so, I have only been helped to impose protection by goblins with whom I have been on friendly terms for many years. None of them would reveal your secret. Besides, no one knows they were involved at all.

I felt awkward. I think I'm actually getting paranoid.

- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, but I'm being found literally everywhere these days. This is the third place I've slept in the last three days. I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

- I understand, Harry, it's okay. Just know that you can feel safe there. - That was great news. Looks like I'd written off my cosy flat early and it was worth going back there.

After asking Veselur about his taste preferences, I ordered dinner for the room and made sure the goblin was comfortable. After waiting for him to eat, I placed him on the couch and decided I had time for one more meeting I wanted to make today.

- Harry, what should I do next? - Veselur asked, seeing that I was going somewhere.

- For starters, get some sleep. If you're talking about the longer term, I don't know yet. When I get back, we'll discuss the options available, see if we can come up with something suitable. - I didn't see it as a big problem. I think a creature with an excellent grasp of economics and accounting can always find a suitable job.

- That's good. I'll think about it," he replied, yawning.

After wishing him a good night's sleep, I made sure the door was closed and the sign was on the handle outside. The last thing I needed was for the maid to come across a goblin in my room.

As I walked downstairs, I thought about the fact that everything had gone rather well. I had saved the goblin from death, no matter how much it took. Besides, his story was remarkably similar to my own: unjust accusation and instant judgement - sounds extremely familiar. Fortunately, I was able to break the sequence, and Veselur didn't have to hear his own people sentencing him to death.

Stepping out into the same alleyway, I habitually looked around, adjusted my newly donned robe, and apparated.