After leaving the Leaky Cauldron, they walked another few hundred meters. Along the way, nearly every other step, someone greeted Dumbledore.
A few minutes later, the three of them stood before a building that towered over all the others nearby. Outside its magnificent bronze gates stood two sharp-faced oddities, each shorter than Harry by a good head. Their scarlet-and-gold uniforms marked them as what they were—Goblin guards from Gringotts.
Although Dumbledore was a wealthy man in the Wizarding World, he never carried large sums of money when he went out. After all, his personal expenses weren't very high.
Besides, paying for candy with Galleons was a surefire way to get a "warm" greeting from the shopkeeper.
As soon as the Goblins saw Dumbledore, they immediately sent someone over to greet him. After a brief exchange, the group climbed into a mine cart and sped toward the depths below.
Harry had never known, in all his nearly eleven years, that he was a rich second-generation heir—or, more accurately, an Nth-generation heir.
He stared at the piles of gold in the vault, along with the scattering of loose change in one corner, his mouth hanging open in an "O."
The vault was deep, and it looked as if it held far more Galleons than the movie had shown.
"This is the Potter Family's liquid assets. Taking out a hundred Galleons should be enough to see you through the year in comfort. If you don't have a good sense of how much that is, I can convert it for you. A hundred Galleons is roughly twenty-five pounds," Dumbledore explained kindly.
Hogwarts distributed its financial aid very strictly. Even the Weasley family hadn't qualified, so a child like Harry, who had inherited a large family fortune, would naturally have to pay his own way.
"Mr. Dumbledore, I'm afraid you've got that wrong. A hundred Galleons can be exchanged for five hundred pounds these days," the Goblin beside them gently pointed out.
Goblins were rarely patient with wizards who came to Gringotts to withdraw money, but they still showed Dumbledore a little courtesy.
"How could I be so far off?!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
"That rate was from over forty years ago. Muggle prices have soared in recent years. The pound hasn't been worth that much for a long time."
Harry still couldn't wrap his head around how many lots of five hundred pounds a vault full of gold amounted to, but he understood that even without anyone's help, he'd be able to eat his fill every day from now on.
"Professor, forgive me for asking, but how much is my entrance grant?" Tom asked, eyeing the Galleons scattered across the floor with sudden curiosity.
The economic system in Harry Potter had always been bewildering. Even before he was transported here, he'd seen plenty of arguments about it online. Now that the Wizarding World was real, perhaps its economy had changed too.
Dumbledore thought for a moment. He hadn't been in charge of welcoming students for a long time, and he was a little rusty. "About thirty Galleons. That should be enough for your books and daily necessities. As for expensive items like wands and cauldrons, the school has secondhand ones for sale."
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Tom seemed to be watching the Galleons in the vault.
Oh, no!
He remembered that Voldemort, early on, had raised money by using his handsome looks and silver tongue to swindle heirlooms from quite a few wealthy witching ladies.
Could this storehouse full of Galleons tempt the darkness hidden deep inside the boy?
"Big Brother!"
Harry suddenly called out, gazing solemnly at Tom.
"Big Brother, you've helped me so much this past year. If you hadn't stepped in to help me, I don't know what kind of life I'd be living now..." Harry's voice grew more and more urgent, and tears even welled in the corners of his eyes.
Thinking back on this past year, he couldn't understand how he'd endured ten years of emotional abuse before.
"Just say what's on your mind." Tom came back to himself. He hadn't been looking at the vault just now; he'd simply gotten distracted by his thoughts.
He wanted to build up a few personas with positive connotations, like [Justice] and [Good Samaritan]...
The [Born Dark Lord] persona was useful, but it also carried risks. It could worsen the impression people had of him. He was especially worried that Dumbledore might use Legilimency on him one day.
If the original plot stayed unchanged, Dumbledore would die in his sixth year. If Dumbledore thought his time was running out, he might decide to reduce the risks the world would face in the future by taking Tom along with him before he died.
So, for him to keep raising the [Born Dark Lord] persona, either Dumbledore would have to die, his own strength would have to surpass that of the greatest White Dark Lord of the century, or he'd have to build up a few positive personas to balance it out.
The personas on the panel could contradict one another. Once a persona had been established, even if everyone in the world forgot about one of Tom's personas, it—and the benefits it brought—would remain on the panel unless Tom deleted it himself.
"Your second brother has received so much from you, Big Brother. At last, he can repay you! Your second brother knows you're short on money, so I'd like to give you half the gold and silver in the vault. No, not half... all of it! Take whatever you like, Big Brother." Harry wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. He was serious.
Tom felt a little helpless. This kid really was... such a chūnibyō.
Back when they had nothing to do, he'd told Harry a few stories from Water Margin, Fruit Attack, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, and other tales. Since then, Harry's accent and grammar had turned into this strange kind of old-fashioned Chinese-style English. Even Tom had trouble understanding him sometimes.
There was nothing to be done. Harry was at the perfect age for chūnibyō. Once he got older, he'd start feeling embarrassed about it.
"No, my second brother. This vault was left to you by your ancestors. Every Galleon in it is filled with the love of your elders. Even if you're willing to share with me, I'd be too ashamed to accept." Tom refused without hesitation.
Dumbledore's body gave a slight shudder.
"Big Brother, you still—"
Harry looked at Tom, about to keep persuading him to accept his thanks, when Tom cut him off.
"Don't give it to me. That's an order!"
"Yes!"
Harry answered at once, but his eyes quickly reddened again.
In his nearly eleven years of life, Tom was the only person who had ever made him feel the warmth of family. Now Tom was showing such selflessness, too.
"Good boy..." Dumbledore suddenly placed a hand on Tom's shoulder.
For some reason, his conscience began to ache. He felt so guilty... He had actually suspected that a boy who had just turned eleven might steal his friend's money.
Merlin's beard, what a terrible person he was!
If he didn't do something to make amends, he felt he might wake up in the middle of the night over the next few days just to slap himself.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and did his best to look kind as he spoke gently to Tom. "How about this... I'll pay for it out of my own pocket and give you an additional entrance grant. From now on, make sure you work hard at school."
"Yes, thank you, Professor," Tom and Harry answered in unison.
[Selfless +100 progress, impression level reached Lv.1, persona activated, achievement points +1] [Friendliness +100 progress, impression level reached Lv.1, persona activated, achievement points +1] [Selfless (Lv.1): A person without selfish motives. Others will instinctively overlook your possessions, so you needn't worry about thieves.] [Friendliness (Lv.1): Your words and actions make people feel at ease and comfortable. You're more likely to earn their trust and goodwill in conversation.]
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