Dumbledore's Guilt: I Really Deserve to Die!

After leaving the Leaky Cauldron and walking a few hundred meters, almost every other step someone greeted Dumbledore along the way.

Minutes later, the three stood before a building towering noticeably above the surrounding structures. Outside the grand bronze doors stood two sharp-faced creatures shorter than Harry, their crimson-and-gold uniforms marking them as Gringotts goblin guards.

Though Dumbledore was a wealthy figure in the magical world, he didn't carry large sums of money on him during ordinary outings—his personal expenses weren't that high.

Besides, buying candy with Galleons tended to earn you rather "warm" greetings from shopkeepers.

The goblins, seeing Dumbledore arrive, immediately sent someone to greet them. After a brief exchange, the group boarded a mine cart and sped deep underground.

Harry had never known, until now, that he was a rich second-generation... no, rich Nth-generation heir.

Staring at the pile of gold filling the vault and the scattered loose coins in the corner, his mouth dropped into a perfect "O."

The vault was deep, holding far more Galleons than the movies had ever shown.

"This is the Potter family's pure cash reserve. Taking out a hundred Galleons should be enough to keep you comfortable for the year. If you have no concept of Galleons, let me convert it: a hundred Galleons is roughly twenty-five pounds," Dumbledore explained considerately.

Hogwarts' financial aid distribution was extremely strict—even the Weasley family's situation hadn't passed review. A child inheriting a major family fortune like Harry naturally had to spend his own money.

"Mr. Dumbledore, you've miscalculated. A hundred Galleons can now be exchanged for five hundred pounds," a goblin beside them quietly corrected.

Goblins generally had little patience for wizards withdrawing money from Gringotts, but they showed some tolerance toward Dumbledore.

"How could the exchange rate shift that much?!" Dumbledore was shocked.

"That rate you mentioned was from over forty years ago. Muggle prices have skyrocketed in recent years; the pound isn't worth nearly as much anymore."

Though Harry still had no real grasp of how many five-hundred-pound sums filled that vault, he understood one thing: even without anyone else's help, he could now afford to eat his fill every day.

"Professor, may I ask a bold question? How much is my enrollment grant?" Tom asked, eyeing the sea of Galleons with sudden curiosity.

The economic system of Harry Potter had always been bafflingly portrayed in the books. Even before he transmigrated, he'd seen endless debates online. Now that the magical world was real, perhaps the economy had shifted a bit too.

Dumbledore thought back for a moment—it had been too long since he'd handled student intake, and his professional skills were a bit rusty. "About thirty Galleons. Enough for books and daily necessities. As for expensive wands and cauldrons, the school also sells secondhand ones."

After saying this, he noticed Tom seemed to be studying the Galleons in the vault.

Oh no!

He remembered that in his early days, Voldemort had raised funds by using his handsome looks and silver tongue to trick many witch nobles out of their heirlooms.

This vault full of Galleons—could it be stirring the darkness in this child's heart?

"Big brother!"

Harry suddenly called out, his face serious as he looked at Tom.

"Big brother, I've received so much help from you this past year. If you hadn't stepped in, I don't know what kind of life I'd be living now..." Harry's voice grew faster, and tears even welled at the corners of his eyes.

Thinking back on the last year, he truly didn't know how he'd endured ten years of mental abuse before.

"Just say what you need," Tom said, snapping back to attention. He hadn't been staring at the vault—he'd just been lost in thought.

He wanted to build some positively symbolic personas, like [Justice] or [Great Benefactor]...

The [Born Dark Lord] persona was useful, but it carried risks—it could deepen people's negative impressions of him. He worried Dumbledore might one day use Legilimency on him.

If the original plot held, Dumbledore would die when Tom was in sixth year. If Dumbledore felt his time was short, he might decide to take Tom with him to reduce future risks to the world.

So, to keep advancing the [Born Dark Lord] persona, he'd need either Dumbledore's death, surpassing the century's strongest White Dark Lord in power, or offsetting it with some positive personas.

Personas on the panel could conflict. Once set, even if the whole world forgot one of Tom's personas, as long as he didn't delete it, the persona and its bonuses wouldn't vanish from the panel.

"Second brother has received so much kindness from big brother, and now I can finally repay you! I know big brother is short on funds, so I'm willing to split half the vault's gold and valuables with you—no, all of it. Big brother can take whatever he wants." Harry wiped the tears from his eyes. He was serious.

Tom felt a bit helpless. This kid... such a chuunibyou.

Back when they had free time, he'd told Harry some stories from Water Margin, Fruit Force, Pleasant Goat, and other tales. Ever since, Harry's speech and grammar had turned into this strange, archaic Chinese-English hybrid that even Tom found hard to follow.

But what could he do? Harry was at the most chuunibyou age of his life. He'd learn to be embarrassed when he got older.

"No, second brother. This vault was left by your ancestors. Every Galleon is filled with their care. Even if you're willing to share, I have no face to accept it." Tom didn't hesitate, refusing outright.

Beside him, Dumbledore's body trembled slightly.

"Big brother, you still—"

As Harry tried to persuade Tom to accept his gratitude...

"Don't give it to me. That's an order!"

"Yes!"

Harry answered immediately, but his eyes reddened again.

In nearly eleven years of life, Tom was the only one who had ever given him a sense of family warmth. And now he showed such selflessness.

"Good child..." Dumbledore suddenly placed a hand on Tom's shoulder.

For some reason, his conscience ached with guilt. He had actually suspected an eleven-year-old child of coveting a friend's fortune.

Merlin's Beard, he really wasn't human!

If he didn't make amends, he felt he might wake up in the middle of the night and slap himself.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, forcing a kind expression, and said gently to Tom, "How about this... I'll personally fund an additional enrollment grant for you. Study hard at school from now on."

"Yes, thank you, Professor." Tom and Harry said in unison.

["Selfless" +100 progress, impression level reached Lv.1, persona activated, achievement points +1]

["Friendly" +100 progress, impression level reached Lv.1, persona activated, achievement points +1]

[Selfless (Lv.1): One without selfish motives. Others will subconsciously overlook the valuables on your person—no need to fear thieves coveting them.]

[Friendly (Lv.1): Your words and demeanor make others feel relaxed and at ease, making it easier to gain goodwill and trust during conversations.]