Chapter 2

The next morning, Harry headed down to the main floor of the Leaky Cauldron for breakfast. Tom asked about the payment for the room…of course Fudge didn’t actually pay for anything just set things up. Cup of Tea and small egg with toast consumed, he promised Tom that his first stop was Gringotts. Tapping the brinks to get into Diagon Alley, Harry relished the wonderful chaos of the magical world. Stepping through he headed toward the gleaming white marble bank that towered over the rest of the Alley.

“Harry! Child what are you doing here?”

Spinning around to try and find the voice, Harry wobbled into a sign outside of Mr. Jigger’s apothecary. “Miss Anna!” Harry was so confused... what was Miss Anna from Little Whinging doing in Diagon Alley? She was so…normal…

“Oh sweet Merlin, you’re okay. I heard all the commotion last night and was so worried!”  It looked like she was tensing her whole body to keep from pulling him in for a hug, or to physically assess him for harm the way he had seen Mrs. Weasley do to Ron last summer after the car incident. Harry was so confused.

“Yeah, it wasn’t… I mean…I needed to get out, and here was the only place I could think of,” Harry rambled, still trying to sort through the madness of Miss Anna being in Diagon Alley.

“Oh Harry, I’m not mad, I was just worried after spending time with you this summer, what you’ve told me about school. I’m sorry, I should have made it more clear that you could come to me if you needed anything. Or even if you didn’t need anything, just to come spend time with us. But you’re alright?

“Yeah, I’m okay, I got out before Uncle Vernon realized what had happened, that I was running away, I mean, too busy trying to hang onto Aunt Marge.

“I see. Well that’s something at least.”  With a heavy sigh, Miss Anna gave Harry a long searching look. “Where are you headed Harry?”

“Gringotts’s. Need money for school stuff and to pay for my room at the Leaky.”

“The Leaky…Merlin. Okay. Let’s get that taken care of and get your shopping done and then you’re coming home with me, I’ll get you to the train and see if I can’t figure something out for you for next summer so that you don’t have to go back home to the Dursleys.” Miss Anna sighed as she gently guided Harry back into the early morning stream of shoppers and down the cobblestones towards the bank.

“thanks. But that’s not necessary, Dumbledore  - ,” Harry cut off. He’d told Miss Anna a lot over the summer about life with the Dursleys and his issues at school in vague, muggle-friendly terms. But now, he was wondering what all was safe to tell her. Was she going to agree with Dumbledore?

“Mmmm, yes, I can see how he would complicate things. But he is only your headmaster. He has no say in where you live, that is up to your guardian, or the DWMC if they aren’t doing their job taking care of  you.”

“DWMC?” Harry questioned. He hadn’t heard of that before. Like most things in the Wizarding World, he thought darkly.

“Department for the Welfare of Magical Children”

Harry’s head was pinning as he followed Miss Anna up the stairs to the shining doors and copied her bow as she passed the goblins. That was strange. Hagrid didn’t bow to the goblins. Were you supposed to bow? He was so lost. What else was new, really? Taking their place in the queue for a teller, Miss Anna quietly waited for their turn only requesting a meeting with her account manager and if available, the Potter account manager. 

With a dismissive nod of the head, they were asked to step aside and wait, they would be shown back to a conference room momentarily.

“The last time I was here they asked for my key and we went down to the vault, why are we meeting with an account manager?” Harry asked quietly as they waited.

“Because I have some questions, Harry, that the goblins can hopefully answer. And honestly, this is fastest, and I’d rather them verify some things before we deal with the vault withdrawal.” Was the quiet response.

“Oh. Okay. Can I even get into my vault if I don’t have my key?”

“Don’t have your – “,  Miss Anna cut off as a goblin asked them to follow him. Winding paths carved into stone, like a warren lined with tapestries depicting bloody battles and ancient weapons lined the walls. Finally, they stopped at t a door and the goblin knocked before announcing their presence.

“Ah. My Lady. Welcome. Unfortunately, the Potter account manager declined to join us as he is currently in another meeting. What can I do for the two of you this morning?” greeted a sharp looking goblin from behind his large leather topped desk.

“Greetings Master Bloodflick. May your vaults fill with the gold of your enemies,” answered Miss Anna. “We are here for a fund withdrawal for Mr. Potter. But as he has just informed me he does not have his key on his person, we may need to do an inheritance test.”

“I see. Yes. We can do the standard test just to confirm identity and you can be on your way.” the goblin, Bloodflick replied, a glint in his eyes. “However, as we have not seen young Mr. Potter at Gringott’s except once and he has not deigned to answer any correspondence that the bank has sent to him, we will be doing a more in depth test. Just so that there are no concerns on behalf of the bank, you understand.”

“Of course.”

Harry was lost. “Excuse me. Sorry. I’ve never gotten any mail from the bank. Ever. Was I supposed to?”

Piercing black eyes, worse that Professor Snape’s pinned him to the back of his chair. “Mr. Potter. The bank sends you monthly statements for your accounts as well as a request for a biannual in-person meeting to go over investments and withdrawals. Are you telling me that you have not received any of those communications?”

“Er…yes? I’m guessing it’s also really bad that before my first year Dumbledore was the one who had my key for Hagrid to bring me here and then last year he gave it to Mrs. Weasley?”

Miss Anna and Bloodflick shared a horrified look at that confession before Bloodflick dissolved into rapid curses. Well, Harry assumed they were curses from the body language and general tone but since he didn’t speak Gobbledegook he couldn’t be sure.

“Full inheritance and health scans!” scribbling quickly on a scrap of parchment that disappeared the second it hit the plate labeled Out Box, the goblin turned his focus to Miss Anna.

“Our thanks for bringing the child in to us. We will get this rectified and those responsible for the issues will be dealt with.

“For the full inheritance and health scans we will send him down to the ritual room. The ones that we can do here in the office aren’t comprehensive enough for what I want to have documented on the boy at this point, given the little that he has shared.”

Miss Anna nodded while Harry was still struggling to catch up. He figured that the key thing was a problem, he didn’t like that he didn’t have it. And that Mrs. Weasley had access felt wrong but he couldn’t explain why. “Miss Anna, don’t you have things to do? What about your kids?”

Turning fully in her seat to face him, Miss Anna gently brushed his scruffy black hair away from his eyes. “Harry. My little ones are fine. They are with someone that I trust to keep them safe and cared for while I’m away. I came here looking for you, because I was worried about YOU, child! Do you understand? You may not be mine, but I’m here because you needed me to be. And because, today, this is where I need to be.”

Harry’s green eyes shone with tears. A mum. A mum was here for him the way he always wished for one. Blinking hard and clearing his choked throat he looked down. He would not get his hopes up. He would NOT.

The moment broke with a rap on the office door. “If Mr. Potter would follow me.” Nodding, Harry stood to follow the new goblin out.

“Harry, I’ll be here when you’re done. Promise.”