Chapter 4: Gringotts

Gringotts was busy with patrons who became very excited when Harry entered the bank. On the other hand, the goblins were not very pleased. Even if they had accepted his reason for breaking in, they didn't trust him anymore. Taking a ride on the back of a dragon through a bank wasn't a very good way to build a pleasant relationship with his bankers. He could already see Griphook frowning from behind the counter when the goblin spotted him. At least he thought it was a frown. One could never really tell with goblins.

While he approached the counter, a familiar voice from the side distracted him: "Tch, of course I would run into Potter of all people today." An arrogant female voice said Harry glanced at the speaker; it was a girl his age who looked familiar, although for the moment, Harry couldn't recognize her. She was very skinny with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a Hogwarts uniform with the Slytherin symbol on it. "Not going to say anything, Potter?" the girl asked in a snarky voice, but there was uncertainty concealed behind her blue eyes.

The tone was too familiar for him; after all, he often heard the way she said the word 'Potter' during his six years in Hogwarts. Now it was all too clear who she was, but still something about her was off; he just couldn't place what it was. "Pansy Parkinson? I didn't expect you, of all people, to approach me in public. How can I help you?" Harry asked politely, since this was the most polite conversation he ever had with her.

For a moment, she hesitated before she replied, "Tch, nothing. I just recognized you and accidentally called out to you." She said, but Harry felt there was more. "Oh, I see. It's nice to see you, I guess? What brings you here?" Harry continued fishing for some more information.

"This is a bank... What could I possibly want here?" she replied sarcastically once again, her regular behavior shining through. Seeing that he was next, Harry decided to finish this meeting for now. He would think more about it later. "Okay, well, then I will leave you to your business then. It was good to see you, Parkinson." Harry turned around, leaving the dark-haired girl behind as he approached Griphook at the counter. "How can Gringotts help you today, thief?" Griphook gruffed. As good of a reply as he expected.

"Hello Griphook," Harry greeted back unbothered by the goblin's behavior; after all, if everything went well, he wouldn't need to rely on the goblins for long and would just beam his wealth out of his vaults and never work with the goblins again. "I need to withdraw some galleons from my vault and exchange them for pounds. Is that possible, or should I return another time?"

"It's fine. We can do it now. I hope you will bring some new funds into your account soon. As your account manager, a dead-end job it now is, you could use some new income, besides the silent partnership with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. You no longer have any interests in goblin investments." His tone was surly indeed.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. That's why I need some funds. The business ventures resulting from them will be quite profitable." Harry replied, unbothered by the goblins once again taking away his part in their investments. "For you, I hope that's true. Key?" already tired of the conversation. Griphook led him towards the Potter main vault on an uneventful trip, while the money changing was painful with reminders that he was a thief to the goblin nation and he would forever have to deal with the unfairness or keep his own money... with massive withdrawal fees.

Outside of Gringotts, Harry once again spotted Pansy; she left the bank a few moments before him and headed towards the entrance of Knockturn Alley. Which was strange; although it has become much safer since the death of Voldemort, it's still not a place where a girl should head in alone. And finally, Harry realized what had been bothering him about Pansy. Her clothes, her nails, and her skin In Hogwarts, they were always in pristine condition, trying to maintain a beautiful appearance, but right now her clothes were worn down, and her skin and nails were obviously not taken care of for a while. Why was she even wearing her Hogwarts uniform right now? Even if she decides to return to Hogwarts to repeat her seventh year, there is no point in wearing it weeks before the year starts.

Making a decision on the fly based on a feeling in his gut, Harry decided to follow her into the alley. He didn't need to shadow her for long until she turned towards a run-down building; at the entrance door was a disgusting fat old man sitting. The man clearly recognized Pansy as he began to talk to her.

Trying something new with his newfound knowledge, he focused his magical and mental powers to enhance his hearing and listen to the conversation. "This is not enough. That's the second month in a row where you came short with your rent." The old fat guy said this while secretly taking a peek at Pansy's well-developed breast.

Hearing this put more questions on Harry's mind. Why was she living here in this run-down building and not in some big pureblood mansion? Pansy, meanwhile, paled considerably. "But this is enough to cover the rest of the rent from last month and this month." She complained nervously.

"It was last month. But the missing payment forced me to cover the cost myself, and I had to raise the rent. I am sorry, but with this market, I have to do this." I replied to the old guy with a lecherous grin. Harry could already see where this conversation was going; that fat dude was absolutely doing it on purpose, and the market was just an excuse.

"But I don't have more. I already have trouble buying food this month. If I wasn't allowed to eat at work, I would starve." Pansy said pleadingly that the arrogant demeanor she displayed previously in the bank had completely vanished.

"Well, I could agree to a form of alternative payment." The fat old man laughed lecherously while staring up and down at Pansy's body. It took the girl a moment to realize what he meant: "Ehh, no. There is no way I would do that." She cried out.

"I see, then I am sorry to say that, but you have two hours to vacate your room. I will need to find a new patron as soon as possible. Of course, my offer still stands." The old man laughed maliciously. This shut Pansy up. She couldn't come up with a reply. The pure-blood girl was clearly in a pinch.

"Is there a problem here?" Harry said loudly as he suddenly stood besides the two of them, himself unsure of what he was doing. Why was he helping Pansy, a girl who had made his time at Hogwarts much worse? He doesn't know. But there is one thing he is sure of: being petty wasn't him, and some schoolground squabbles were no reason to not help someone in need. Even if someone wanted to deliver him to Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts to save her own skin,

"Who are you? How is this your business? You better fuck off." The old man was clearly unhappy to be interrupted so close to his goal. "I don't think so." Harry said before looking at Paansy. "How about I help you pack your things?" he asked the clearly distressed girl.

"But where should I go? I have nowhere to go. This was the only place I could barely afford." She said she was still unsure of what she actually should do. "Don't worry about that. You can stay at my place until you can stand on your own two feet. I have enough space." Harry said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

Pansy looked shocked at him. "You are helping me even after I always treated you so badly? Only after I landed in this situation did I realize what a person I was. I am honestly sorry." This was actually a bit of a shock for Harry, but he didn't show it. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I will suddenly forget what you did. But I would never let someone suffer if I could change it."

In this moment, the old man decided to interrupt and pulled his wand. "I don't care. I won't let you ruin this for me. She was desperate enough to become my toy. Avad," he began to cast. Harry reacted instantly and wandlessly cast the disarming charm with a wave of his hand. Since receiving the repository, his ability to cast magic has improved massively; it doesn't feel like a wand is helping him at all.

He didn't hesitate and cast a stunt next, putting the fat pig on the ground. Once that was done, he turned towards Pansy, who stared at him with shock. "Let's go get your things. You really don't need to stay here anymore. Let's hurry; there are some things I still have to do today." Harry said it kindly as he offered her a hand like a gentleman.

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