"Harry, I don't care what your Uncle says. He wants his stipend check and, in order for him to get it, you need to sign this paper. Otherwise, I'm sure you'll know all about it when you go home at Christmas time. Your Uncle doesn't strike me as a person who takes his disappointments lightly." Which told Harry the old man wasn't aware his relatives no longer called Privet Drive their home.
Nor did he miss the implied threat in that statement. They both knew Harry never went home until June when school dismissed for the summer. Not that the threat carried any real teeth to it since he knew his Uncle wasn't expecting any such check at all and wouldn't be angrily waiting for Harry at Christmastime. Still Harry didn't want to be sent home then. He'd have a hard time faking being injured when he returned if he was.
Nor, given the leaks in his accounts when he and his Aunt and Uncle had sat in the kitchen of Privet Drive going over them, did he have any doubts in his mind that if Dumbledore once again gained access to his accounts Harry would never see adulthood. Because there was no way Dumbledore would ever want to explain to Harry what he'd spent Harry's childhood using his inheritance for. The old man was an old hand at making problems like Harry would become disappear for good.
For that matter, even if he didn't sign the paperwork, there was no way he was going to see adulthood. If he did sign, then Dumbledore would have to one day account for his thievery and there was no way he'd do that. If he didn't sign, then Dumbledore would have no way to pay his fellow thieves and ran the risk of being exposed for what he was when they spoke out against him. Even if he tried to make them disappear before they could speak out, he'd be running a risk that wasn't wise for someone like him to run.
But one thing for sure, him not paying those people their bribe money would mean all those people would turn on him. That meant Dumbledore could possibly get hurt depending on what he was using Harry's money to pay them for. Bully boys don't really like it when their money source dries up. And they have a very nasty habit of turning the skills that made them worth paying on the source of that money well. Usually because they'd also built up a lot of grievances of their own against their so-called benefactor in the time they'd work for him. Which was all the more reason to believe, his life could be numbered in weeks or maybe months if he was lucky.
And in this regard, not one adult he knew was trustworthy. Not that he had ever had a reason to find an adult trustworthy. He hadn't. Well, maybe Steve the neighbor. But even there, he'd only trust Steve so far. After all, he really didn't know why Steve had singled him out to aid as he had. He definitely had no one here amongst the witches and wizards. Most of them were trying to get him killed and those who weren't, only wanted to take advantage of him and use him to their own benefit. Well, a few weren't but they also weren't in a position to help him against the Old Man.
Murmuring almost too quietly to be heard he said, "I see. So that's how you want to play this year. Very well, Old Man. You lose." Dumbledore didn't hear him well enough to understand what he said but the Sorting Hat was siting on a shelf nearby and was close enough to hear every word. It kept it's brim shut however, as it'd do Harry no good to have Dumbledore know what he'd said. But if the Hat had been made with eyes, they'd have been wide open. Finally a victim had found out what kind of a man the current Headmaster truly was and was refusing to be any such thing.
Using the code he had worked out with the goblins, Harry signed the paper knowing it'd buy him time to find a solution to the dilemma. He needed to be here long enough to sit his Owls. After that he could easily disappear and no one would be able to stop him. But Owls were at the end of the school year.
So he had to find a way to survive until then. Right under the Old Man's nose. The code he'd used would tell the goblins to keep the old man ignorant for as long as they could and make him work for every single coin they gave him. Not just this month. But every month for as long as they could. It also told them to make the Old Man return to the Bank each month for the coins he claimed to need and to gradually shorten the time between visits if they could. Harry wanted the Old Man out of the Castle as much as possible this year. He'd be safer that way as none of the teachers would act against him without the old man's approval. Dumbledore didn't like it when people messed with his chosen victims without his permission.
The code was simple and allowed anyone who didn't know better to assume the signature was genuine but too much ink here and a backwards letter there, full middle name instead of just the initial and the inclusion of his mother's maiden name made it a language all it's own. Even if Dumbledore went straight to Gringott's with his trusty little paper, he wouldn't be gaining access to Harry's real accounts today. Oh, he'd gain access to some money. Harry couldn't afford for him not to really.
Which was why, upon the advice of his Uncle who had a lot of experience in corporate espionage and thievery, they'd set up a small account with trackers on every coin and attached it to this particular code. Every time someone came in showing this signature, their name would be added to a list the goblins were compiling along with the amount of their withdrawal. And the money they withdrew would be traced in an effort to locate all the thieves. Not just the money man. And each person found would be made to account for every knut they'd received just as every money man would.
But only when Harry was safe from anything Dumbledore or his people could do, would the goblins move forward to deal with the conspirators trying to steal from him. They all knew Harry needed at least one more year of formal education before he could say good-bye to this place if it became necessary for his survival.
And since Lady Tonguelash was his rightful legal guardian, they'd do what they could to give him the time he needed. Even if it went against the grain for them to knowingly let a thief profit from their crime. In this case, it was either allow a little stealing now or be responsible for the death of their Holder which would allow the thieves to steal the entire account. A
nd since Harry was, or would be, the Lord of Five, that was a lot of money. Furthermore, getting the rightful Holder killed wouldn't restore their tarnished honor. Or make Lady Tonguelash happy with them. In fact, getting him killed would probably bring her back into the Bank and then they'd find out if she could wield a weapon as well as she could use her sharp tongue. The Goblin Nation really wanted to avoid that if they could.
Dumbledore smiled happily with his eyes twinkling as he looked over the parchment now bearing what he assumed was Harry's legal signature. He released the boy as quickly as he could without raising flags and made his plans to be away from the Castle the next day. Harry went down to eat his lunch concealing a sneer of disgust with the blatant thievery of his Headmaster.
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