Sneaky-Like

"Hey, that's the bank we're looking for." Kali says while pointing at a large, almost gleaming marble building with 'Gringotts Bank' prominently written above its doors.

"Yeah... Now we just have to find a... Friend." Harry trails off, still unsure if their strategy would work.

Kali had suggested it during the taxi ride but Harry was concerned since there were likely defences to prevent that kind of thing... Mind controlling someone to steal all of their gold was a very obvious thing to try for most thieves after all.

Still, he trusted Kali's abilities, along with the fact that almost no one would mind controlling someone just to register as someone's guardian...

Harry walks around the alley to find a secluded spot, eventually wandering down a place called 'Knockturn Alley', which was apparently the place where all the criminals and unmentionables ventured. And yes, it was somehow dirtier than the other places he'd seen thus far.

Almost everyone here was hooded or concealed features with magic, many grinned and focussed on him as he walked, interested in either kidnapping him or some other immoral act. It was almost as if he could smell the ill intent towards him.

Knowing well that he was being followed, he ducks into a dark narrow side road which leads to a small, concealed courtyard. Harry stops in the middle of it and sends a small smile at the two men who'd lumbered in after him.

"Boy, you've wandered into the wrong place, let us take you back to the alley. Wouldn't want you to run into the wrong sort." one of the men grouses, clearly unhappy at being here.

"Hmm, they're actually just trying to be helpful... That, I didn't expect." Kali's surprised remark echoes in Harry's head.

How unlucky for them...

"No. It's you who wandered wrong." Harry states as he telekinetically grasps the wands that were sticking out of the men's pockets, snapping them into his waiting hand.

The men are too surprised to even react, both looking at each other as if they were both simultaneously hallucinating. Then, a stone shard pierces up through the bottom of one's jaw causing the remaining man to try and scream out in terror... But he finds a clawed hand tightly clasping around his face, holding him in place.

Kali stands ominously in her true form holding the man up by his face as her whip manifests in her other, cracking to life with a burst of fiery particles. "Now, be a good boy and listen to your Master." she sultrily says as her whip snakes up and around his neck, burning a chain mark into it.

The man grabs at his throat which burns his hands in panic, but soon stops and goes limp. Kali unceremoniously drops him before turning to Harry. "He's yours to command, Master."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry confidently walks into Gringotts while accompanied by Pat Hashbury, his new 'Guardian'. The man was a simple editor who worked at some place called the Daily Prophet, plus he had no close family so no one was bound to miss him.

They'd had to wrap a scarf around the man's neck to hide the burn that marked his enslavement... If anyone discovered them and took a good look they'd quickly realise what was going on...

Kali had already mentally conditioned the man, making him believe the story they fabricated for him. So, hopefully, this wouldn't go horribly wrong.

Gringotts itself was as expected, the inside decorated heavily with marble and gold, and lined with desks that had goblins working them. They were as Grindelwald had depicted, gross-looking, short creatures with sharp teeth, eerily long fingers, and elf-like ears.

"Disgusting creatures, strange how they've taken such a position of prominence in this realm, most others just force them back to their caves to live as barbaric simpletons. I wonder if they have the same preference for women of other races here too?" Kali idly comments.

"Just shows how pathetic these magic users are..." Harry can't help but utter through their bond.

Soon they reach a desk and request a private room, which they are charged for... Pat helpfully pays however, allowing the group to enter the backrooms with the goblin to explain the situation.

"So, you, Mr Hashbury, are saying that you have been Harry Potter guardian for... Three and a half years now?" the goblin asks with a sneer.

"I have. I only now realised that it had never been finalised, getting it sorted out before my boy went to Hogwarts was the only smart decision." Pat states with confidence.

...

"And what have you to say, boy? Are you aware you have been missing for years now?" the goblin asks Harry.

"I saw... But my guardian thought that keeping me hidden would protect me against my 'enemies' whatever he meant by that..."

...

The goblin taps a small innocuous orb on the side of the table thoughtfully, "Hmm, no lies... I assume you wish to keep Albus Dumbledore unaware of this?" the goblin says, allowing Harry to breathe an internal sigh of relief at 'bypassing' the lie detection device that he hadn't noticed til now.

Pat nods, "I work at the Daily Prophet, I know well enough that the old man can't be trusted. So, can we get this finished? I've still got to take my boy supply shopping."

...

The goblin thinks for a moment before pulling out some parchment and quickly scrawling something on it. A magical contract from what Harry could see, making sure that Pat had no ill intent or had his judgment altered by anything mundane or magical.

Harry watches intently as Pat signs it, then breathes a sigh of relief when nothing bad occurs. The goblin nods, stans, and shakes Pat's hand.

"Good business, Pat Hashbury. I will have Harry Potter's other keys deactivated, you may collect a new one once it's completed. I will have all Owls concerning your charges Vaults and Finances sent to your address.