Harry felt more than a little on edge as he and Albus made their way through the main hall of Gringotts, where he saw numerous goblins moving or counting literal piles of jewels and precious metals.
"What Brynjolf wouldn't give to get his hands on all of that..." Harry muttered in a voice that only Albus heard, making the old man chuckle lightly as they approached a specific counter.
"Good morning." Albus called out to the goblin working the counter, who looked up from the pile of gold coins he was counting with a barely contained look of disdain.
"Professor Dumbledore. To what do we owe this....unexpected pleasure?" The goblin visibly sneered with false politeness.
"I am here to escort young Harry to his vault, and discuss the turnover of his family accounts to him." Albus stated while pulling out a small key and a sealed letter.
"Let me see that!" The goblin declared as he practically snatched the letter from Albus, and began reading it as soon as he got it opened.
The goblin's eyes bounced between the letter and Harry as he read it, specifically to the scar on his forehead, before he finally grunted in what sounded like reluctance as he picked up a little bell on his counter.
*Ding a ling a ling!*
The bell chimed and another goblin appeared almost instantly at the side of the counter.
"Take professor Dumbledore and young mister Potter to one of the private rooms."
"Sir." The other goblin grunted in acknowledgement, before leading the two of them to one of the many side rooms.
As the duo departed, the goblin at the counter tried to resume counting his coins, only to pause when he realized he was one short.
"That is quite the bad habit you have there Harry." Albus said as the goblin left them alone in the room, and Harry began twirling a large golden coin between his fingers.
"Only to those with bad attitudes. And I plan to give it back." Harry replied as he looked the coin over curiously. On one side was a wizened wizard with the words 'Gringotts Bank', and on the other was a dragon with the words 'Unum Galleon'
"You'll have to excuse the goblins for their lack of manners towards wizards. There is much bad blood between our respective peoples after numerous wars throughout history. You'll learn more about it from professor Binns at Hogwarts." Albus said while showing a slight grimace, though whether it was from the thought of relations between goblins and wizards, or this professor Binns, Harry did not know.
"So what's up with these vaults?" He instead asked, changing the topic to the reason for their visit.
"Ah! Well, when your family went into hiding your father entrusted me with the managing of his accounts if the unthinkable should happen until either you came of age, or extenuating circumstances allowed you take control of them early. I believe the current situation applies to the latter, even though you technically should have only had access to the trust vault they left for school supplies and other expenses until then."
"And what exactly are we talking about in these vaults?" Harry asked, his curiosity rising at the thought of being able to start with a sizable amount of wealth.
"I am not entirely sure. I only checked in occasionally to make sure everything was as it should be while the vaults were closed, not to check the actual contents you had waiting for you. With the roots your family has though, I think you should be quite well taken care of for the foreseeable future."
The words were barely out of Albus's mouth when the door opened again and another goblin entered the room accompanied by a wizard wearing official-looking robes with an M embroidered on the chest. Neither of which noticed Harry's hand flash as he returned the Galleon to his pocket.
"Greetings mister Potter, professor Dumbledore!" The wizard exclaimed as he hurried towards Harry as soon as he entered, his hand extended to shake. "My name is Demetrius, and it is such an honor to finally meet you!"
"That's what I keep hearing." Harry said as he shook the guy's hand, and ignored the obligatory glance at his scar.
"Shall we proceed?" Albus asked with mirth in his eyes.
"Of course sir, if you please." Demetrius said while taking a seat, allowing Harry to sit across from him while the goblin remained standing.
"Are you going to take a seat as well?" Harry asked him out of curiosity while pointing to an empty chair.
"Not many wizards offer a seat to one of my kind mister Potter." The goblin said while looking at the seat curiously.
"I don't care. We are doing business, that's all that matters to me." Harry replied as if the notion of not offering someone a seat was stupid. And surprisingly, the goblin smiled at that.
"I like you mister Potter. The name is Griphook, and I manage the Potter accounts along with several other wizarding families. Shall we discuss business?"
With that the goblin, Griphook, took the seat Harry gestured to while putting down a large book on the table in front of them.
"This is the ledger that had been used to keep track of the Potter family accounts since they first opened with us. I could bore you with the details of the transactions since they were first opened, but I think the last couple pages are what you would like to see."
True to his word, the goblin opened the book directly to the final pages with any writing on it and pushed it over to Harry to read. All it showed though were the deposits made into the account every month for the last ten or so years.
"What are these deposits from?" Harry asked while pointing to them.
"I think I can answer that mister Potter." Demetrius said as he pulled out another ledger from within his robes.
"The Potter family has had numerous investments and businesses that they've owned and managed over the generations, along with developments that have been made and owned by certain members of your family. However, our records stated that when your family went into hiding your father, who was the last head of house Potter, sold off every business that required his direct attention due to the fact that no one knew how long they would be in hiding for.
"The deposits you see are the remaining royalties due from all of those businesses despite no direct management from your family. Even without you doing anything, you will be receiving monthly deposits unless you specifically decided to stop them altogether."
"I see." Harry said as he looked over both ledgers meticulously.
He had spent years managing the books for the Thieves Guild whenever he stopped in at the Ragged Flagon, and he had also ran numerous jobs altering the ledgers of certain businesses to make sure their thievery went unnoticed. So not only was Harry analyzing the ledgers to see what exactly he owned, he was also looking for any signs of alterations or inconsistencies.
Aside from his money there was also apparently a number of high value artifacts and heirlooms located in his family's main vault, which were all apparently moved there around the same time his father sold off most of their businesses and assets. Altogether, Harry's assets were equivalent to hundreds of thousands of Galleons, as well as similar amounts of Sickles and another form of currency called Knuts. Also, Harry noted that in Demetrius's ledger, he owned two remaining properties that had a side note saying they were destroyed.
"What are these properties here?" He asked while pointing to them.
"Ah! One was the ancestral home and territory of the Potters, a modest piece of land located in the countryside away from prying muggle eyes. The other was a small home in Godric's Hollow, where you were born and where your parents went into hiding from You-Know-Who."
"Huh?" Harry uttered at the unfamiliar reference.
"Oh! I apologize Harry, I forgot to mention something. Because of how terrifying he was, Voldemort's name is borderline taboo to say for most people out of fear. Many simply refer to him as either You-Know-Who or the Dark Lord." Albus explained for him.
"Seriously?" Harry uttered in disbelief, but sure enough he noticed Griphook grimace as the old man said his name, while Demetrius actually squeaked in fright. Bunch of cowardly milk drinkers.
"Unfortunately. I've been trying to convince everyone of how silly they're being, especially since his defeat ten years ago, but I've been met with very limited success." Albus said sadly.
"Ehem." Demetrius coughed to get their attention obviously to get the conversation back on track.
"Anyways... While you still own the land mister Potter, the homes and other buildings that once stood on them were destroyed during the war. You-Know-Who readily went to the ancestral home of the Potters first, and tore everything there down after failing to locate any of you. And after that night in Godric's Hollow, the home you and your parents were living in was destroyed by whatever it was that defeated him."
"And how much will it cost to rebuild?" Harry immediately asked.
"Pardon?"
"I want to rebuild the houses that were on my family's land. Is there a problem with that?" Harry repeated himself, while cocking a brow.
"Its not that you CAN'T, but it is rather unusual for someone so young to want a house built. Especially someone who is expecting to attend Hogwarts in a month."
"And maybe I would like a place to stay during the summers?" Harry pointed out, before glancing at Albus.
"Preferably, you would be returning to stay with your aunt and uncle-"
"Not happening." Harry immediately stated.
"Harry-"
"Albus, no matter how young I look on the outside, I am sixty years old on the inside. I will NOT subject myself to staying with those people if there is another alternative. Not without potentially turning them into corpses at least."
Griphook and Demetrius were both silent as they watched the back and forth between the boy and elderly man, neither quite knowing what to make of Harry saying he was sixty years old.
"Hmmm..." Albus hummed as he contemplated how to respond.
"Can you guarentee your own safety if Voldemort or his supporters come knocking then?"
"No. Just like I can't guarentee that the next thing I eat or drink won't be poisoned, or that a car won't run over me in London, or that a horse won't kick me in the head."
"All excellent points..." Albus admitted.
"Very well, though the Ministry will still insist on appointing you a guardian to watch over you during the summer holidays."
"Then its a good thing we have until the end of term to figure that out." Harry replied, to which Albus tilted his head in affirmation.
The rest of the meeting involved Demetrius helping Harry make arrangments for the rebuilding of Potter Manor, namely by promising to put Harry into contact with an architect, before he and Albus descended into the depths of the bank together with Griphook.
The first stop was at Harry's trust vault, so that he could get the funds he needed for school supplies and living expenses for the next month, as he and Albus already discussed Harry staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the start of term.
From there they descended even further to another vault, where Albus collected a single small package that was tightly bound in cloth.
"Something I should know about?" Harry asked curiously.
"Perhaps once the term begins. Something tells me you'll be finding out no matter what." Albus said with a twinkle in his eye, before they made the return journey to the surface. Of course, Harry returned the coin he had taken when they first entered the bank, confusing the goblin even more when it suddenly reappeared on his counter.
"Shall I accompany you for your school shopping as well, Harry? I have been finding your company remarkably refreshing."
"Do whatever you want. Not like I know where the different shops I'm supposed to go to are anyways." Harry replied, so Albus readily led him through the alley as they started purchasing Harry's school supplies.
One thing Albus quickly learned was that shopping with Harry was certainly not boring.
No matter the store they went in, or what they were buying, Harry somehow always managed to get the best deals Albus had ever seen anyone get.
When they stopped at Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, Harry somehow managed to get nearly a fifty percent discount on his robes, hat, winter cloak, and gloves. Then Harry managed to save literal Galleons when they picked up his textbooks from Flourish and Blotts, along with dozens of other books that Harry wanted to study in depth to learn more about relevant things in the wizarding world. Afterwards they bought all of the equipment Harry would need for the year, a cauldron, scales, telescope, and a few hundred crystal and glass phials.
It was at the apothecary though that bewildered Albus, and anyone else who was watching, most of all, when Harry proceeded to buy just about every single ingredient they had in stock, and then proceeded to start eating them without a single care.
"You do know that is toxic, right?" Albus said as Harry swallowed a pinch of Hemlock.
"Yes, but now I have a decent idea of different uses it may have." Harry replied as he smacked his lips, before downing a small amount of Cure Poison potion that he brewed himself. But all of this also reminded Harry of something.
"By the way Albus, would there be a place in Hogwarts where I can build myself a forge, alchemy station and enchanting table?"
"Interesting request Harry. Unfortunately no, and I can't let you use one of the old classrooms either. Minerva might get mad at me..."
"I see..." Harry said, frustrated that he might not be able to continue using the various skills and crafts he had spent so many years honing. At least not until he was able to build his own work stations in his new manor over the summer.
"There might be another alternative though..." Albus said after a moment of thought, before leading Harry to their next destination.
"Wynch & Tugg Movers?" Harry asked when they stopped outside the shop.
"Yes. They not only assist with wizards and witches when they move from location to location, but they also provide alternatives for those in between, or on the move. You'll see when we go inside."
Leading the way, Albus excitedly entered the shop while a confused Harry followed him. Inside there were numerous counters for various services, along with an entire wall lined with trunks of various designs and sizes.
"Professor Dumbledore! To what do we owe this honor?" Asked the man behind the counter in front of the trunks.
"Hello Tugg. Just helping young Harry look for a mobile workspace. I thought you might be able to help."
"A workshop is it? Well step right-"
Whatever Tugg was about to say froze in his throat when he actually got a look at Harry, and his eyes started to widen in disbelief.
"Perhaps we should go somewhere else Albus." Harry said, feigning disinterest as he turned to leave.
"NO! Please, forgive me! I just wasn't prepared for THE Harry Potter to grace my shop today! Now please, how may I be of service?" Tugg quickly corrected before returned to business.
"I need a place that has plenty of space and rooms, both for moving and storage. Good ventilation for the forge I plan to build inside, as well as for the fumes from my alchemy station. I also need good security for all of the valuable and dangerous items I plan to keep within."
"Right over here!" Tugg said without even blinking, leading Harry over to a selection of trunks on the wall.
"This model has five rooms, including a kitchen and lavatory complete with a bath. It also comes with a air filtration array to ensure that the smoke from the kitchen never filled the space, which would work as well for your forge and alchemy. Please, let me show you inside."
...
By the time Harry left Wynch and Tugg Movers, he had a nice new trunk to store all of his stuff in and do his crafting throughout the year. He was even already planning the layout of all the workstations he planned to build, and how he was going to arrange all of the furniture that Tugg had sold him as well.
"I must say Harry, have quite the charm for acquiring amazing prices." Albus said as they left, and the total amount Harry had paid for the trunk and the furniture came out to less than the trunk's original price.
"I just have a gift for Speech." Harry remarked casually, even as they approached the last place on their list. Ollivanders.
"So is a wand truly necessary?" Harry asked Albus.
"In Britain they are, though there are countries where wizards learn magic without ever using a wand. The difference however is that our spells are far more focused and easier to cast than theirs."
"But if you're ever disarmed, then you're doomed." Harry pointed out.
"Indeed. So does that mean that magic on Nirn doesn't require wands?"
"No, we don't. We can use staves to sling spells if we want, but they can only use a certain type of magic with no variation, and they require charging after so many uses." Harry said while pulling one such stave out of his bag, which he had turned invisible and was pulling around with them through Telekinesis like usual.
"How fascinating..." Albus said as he admired the stave.
"That particular one is enchanted to use fire magic from the school of Destruction. I find it particularly useful when I'm fighting and want to conserve my magic for something else." Harry explained as Albus continued study the staff. When they approached the shop though, he was forced to hand it back to Harry to store away.
As it turned out, Ollivander was already busy when they entered the shop to find an elderly-looking witch inside, along with four kids who looked to be around the same(physical) age as Harry. One of which was currently having the space between her nostrils measured.
"Ah Minerva! What a fortuitous coincidence!" Albus said cheerfully.