The air of Diagon Alley hit Harry like a physical force, vibrant with colour, sound, and a palpable energy that set his internal System indicators alight. [Situational Awareness Lv. 7] went into overdrive, struggling to process the sheer volume of unique data points.
🔔 [Major Environmental Profile Initiated: [Resource Node: DIAGON ALLEY] - STATUS: ACTIVE!]
[Energy Signature Analysis: High concentration of [Unclassified Magical Energy] detected within defined location boundaries!]
[Environmental Threat Level: Low-Moderate (Crowds, unfamiliar elements), specific entities require profiling.]
[System prioritizing data stream filtering. Recommend User focus observation.]
His [Observe Lv. 6], bolstered by [INT 22] and [WIS 21], tried to take it all in simultaneously. Towering buildings painted in impossible colours, shop windows displaying bizarre items—spells glowing faintly, cauldrons stacked high, animals he'd only read about in fantasy books, hovering broomsticks. People milled about, witches and wizards in robes or strange Muggle-wizard hybrids of clothing, chatting, bargaining, laughing. Every face was new, every sound held the undertones of magic he could now perceive. It was glorious, overwhelming, and filled with unknown quantities his System desperately wanted to classify.
Mistress Vance seemed unperturbed by the sensory chaos, smiling warmly at the awestruck expression she expected on any Muggle-raised child's face. "Take your time, Mr. Potter," she said, her voice calm. "It's quite a sight. We'll need to visit Gringotts first to sort out your funds, then we can tackle the supply list. Gringotts is... well, you'll see."
She began walking with a brisk stride, navigating the bustling crowds with ease. Harry followed, [Stealth Lv. 8] and [Agile Evasion Lv. 7] automatically guiding his movements, ensuring he didn't bump into people or draw attention despite the traffic. His [Situational Awareness] expanded its scope, tagging groups, processing conversations overheard in the din, profiling architectural styles. It felt like walking into a densely packed data field.
Every new shop name, every odd item displayed, every distinct magical being or effect the System detected was logged. [Location Tag: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour - Status: Business], [Item Tag: Broomstick (Nimbus Model?) - Status: Magical Transport/Sporting Goods], [Entity Tag: Owl (Type: Barn Owl) - Status: Magical Pet/Delivery System]. The Leaky Cauldron was merely the door; this street was a world in itself.
Ahead, the crowd seemed to thicken around a particularly imposing building. Gleaming white marble, rising majestically above the other shops, guarded by towering bronze doors and... were those small, clever-looking creatures in uniform? Harry focused his Observe.
🧍 [ENTITY: Goblin (Species: Goblin). Role: Bank Security Personnel.]
Level: Undetermined.
Alignment: Unknown (Species default complex/neutral to humans).
Abilities: [Potential Magic (Non-Human/Earth), High Dexterity, Keen Perception, Unclassified Physiological Resilience.]
Threat Level: Variable (Current Status: Passive, Security Duty - Appears High if Protocols Violated).
🔔 [NEW ENTITY TYPE DETECTED AND PROFILED: GOBLIN! Categorized as [Intelligent Non-Human Species: Magic-Adjacent/Economically-Integrated]. Adding to System Database.]
Goblins. Bankers? Security? Their pointed ears, long fingers, and serious expressions were unlike anything he'd ever seen. The System flagged them as intelligent and powerful in ways Harry couldn't immediately classify, yet tied them specifically to this economic hub.
Mistress Vance led him up the white steps, past the stern-faced Goblin guards. Inside, the main hall was vast, marble again, with long counters manned by more Goblins scratching away at ledgers or weighing coins with scales that looked far more sophisticated than Harry's.
🔔 [Location Profile Updated: [Resource Node: DIAGON ALLEY -> Specific Nexus: GRINGOTTS WIZARDING BANK]. Functions: Currency Storage, Exchange, Security, Asset Management. Operating Species: Goblins (Primary).]
[User Objective Fulfilment Path Clear: Access Currency via Gringotts Protocols -> Exchange Muggle Currency -> Retrieve Allocated Funds.]
[Sub-Objective: Investigate Magical Currency - Status: IN PROGRESS (Data accumulation ongoing via environment/entity interaction).]
She went to an unoccupied counter. A Goblin with sharp eyes and an even sharper look took them next. "Identification," the Goblin said, his voice guttural but clear, looking at Mistress Vance.
"Elara Vance, authorized representative," she replied, presenting a small, formal card the Goblin eyed before looking towards Harry. "This is Mr. Harry Potter. Here to access his vaults and make arrangements for his Hogwarts supplies."
The Goblin's sharp eyes snapped to Harry. They narrowed. He stopped scratching his ledger. Other Goblins along the counter seemed to subtly pause their work, heads slightly tilted. A silence seemed to spread from their counter, subtly but noticeably, despite the overall bustle of the hall. Harry's [Situational Awareness Lv. 7] immediately spiked. He wasn't detecting danger, not directly, but intense, focused attention. From multiple points. Centered on him.
The Goblin spoke, his voice gaining a hard edge Harry hadn't heard from Tom the barkeep or Mistress Vance. "Mr. Harry Potter?" He leaned forward slightly. His voice dropped, but carried perfectly to Harry's acute hearing. "The Harry Potter?"
Harry's mind, guided by [Gamer's Mind Lv. 6] and processing data at phenomenal speed ([INT 22], [WIS 21]), connected the reaction to his name. 'The Harry Potter'? It wasn't confusion. It was recognition. Profound recognition. It linked back to the faint unease his high [CHA 20] sometimes registered from adults looking at his scar without understanding why. This Goblin knew.
This was it. The information about himself. His identity. Step 1 of the Primary Quest ("Investigate the Source... Hogwarts") led him here. Step 2 ("Navigate Prerequisites/Acquire Supplies") put him face to face with the keeper of wealth. And that meeting point... right where his unknown identity would intersect with his physical presence.
Before Harry could even formulate a System-optimized response (Confirm identity? Feign ignorance?), the Goblin nodded sharply. "Mr. Potter's vault," he stated, less a question than a command to the surrounding silence, "will require specific verification. Griphook!"
Another Goblin, smaller and perhaps older-looking, bustled over. "We need to take Mr. Potter to his vaults," the first Goblin instructed Griphook. To Mistress Vance, he said, "The main account vault keys are held by master-level Goblins. We were informed an account holder might visit. We did not anticipate it would be... this account holder, or so soon." He didn't seem pleased. To Harry, his voice was different again, tight with unreadable regard. "Follow Griphook, Mr. Potter. He has your keys."
Griphook motioned to a doorway behind the counter. Mistress Vance, sensing a change in the protocol, looked slightly bewildered but gestured for Harry to proceed. "It seems accessing your vaults requires special procedure, Harry," she said quietly. "Go ahead, I'll wait here or perhaps arrange something at the front. Griphook is entirely trustworthy within the bank."
Harry followed Griphook, the silence of the main hall returning as they moved away from the central counters, whispers picking up in their wake like agitated static that only his Awareness fully parsed. They went into a narrow stone passageway, surprisingly quiet. Harry risked a specific Observe on the key Griphook held.
🔑 [ITEM: Gringotts Vault Key (Primary Account).]
Description: Small golden key. Appears linked to multiple storage nodes (vaults). Binding: High-level [Unclassified Magical Protocol: Account Holder Verification/Security].
Ownership: Authenticated to User: H. Potter (Account Name: Potter Main Estate).
Note: This key accesses a considerable amount of stored [Magical Currency].
Detected Status: [Operational].
It was confirmation. Not just a vault, but vaults. Linked to a named account, Potter Main Estate. It was his.
They reached a kind of platform, and Griphook gestured towards a small cart on metal tracks. "We go down," the Goblin said. The ride felt less like transport and more like a roller coaster through stone caverns. Cold air whipped his face, tracks twisted unexpectedly. It was exhilarating and slightly terrifying, another unique magical experience his System logged.
Finally, they stopped. Before massive stone doors. Griphook unlocked the outer door with a tap of his finger and a low chant that Harry's System noted as [Magical Authentication Protocol: Vocal/Glyph Type - Unclassified]. Inside was another, smaller door. Griphook inserted the golden key.
With a low grind of stone, the inner door swung inward.
Inside was... not a room. A cavern. A breathtakingly large cavern, absolutely piled high with gold coins. Mountains of gold, glittering in the torchlight. There were other piles too, silver and bronze. Chests of them, overflowing. Harry stared. He'd practiced subtly moving individual coins from Dudley. He'd imagined a small handful of gold might look impressive. This wasn't impressive. It was impossible. It was vast.
🔔 [Location Profile Confirmed: [User Asset Repository: Potter Vaults]. Contains: [High Volume Magical Currency - Estimate: Extremely High+]! Items: Gold (Galleons), Silver (Sickles), Bronze (Knuts), [Additional Valuables: Contents Pending Full Scan/Observation - Preliminary Match: Jewellery, Ingots, Unknown Artifacts].]
[Primary Quest Step 2 Objective: Acquire Supplies / Investigate Magical Currency - Task: Access Funds - STATUS: CRITICALLY OVER-FULFILLED.]
[Sub-Objective: Investigate Magical Currency (Understanding) - Data Sample Received: Extremely High.]
[System analyzing data implications. User status change: Wealth Parameter: EXTREME. Impact on Resource Acquisition Navigated. Potential for Procurement Sub-Objectives now OPEN.]
The amount was 'Critically Over-Fulfilled'. His little bundle of Dudley's money suddenly felt pathetic. This was immense wealth. Entirely unexpected. It solved PQ Step 2's primary logistical problem (accessing funds) with a single, mind-blowing action.
Griphook stepped aside. "Your vault, Mr. Potter." He gestured to the mountains of gold. He eyed Harry, a strange mixture of deference and the Goblin's typical severity on his face. "We keep your primary vault holdings secure. Only an account holder, or one presenting the specific account key and authorized papers... can enter here. The Potter accounts... they have been dormant. Long dormant."
Harry walked into the vault, the golden light warm on his face. He reached down and picked up a handful of coins. They were heavier than Muggle money, engraved, impossibly shiny. Magical currency. Real, physical, System-quantified magical money. He could buy his supplies. He could fund his entire entry into this world and beyond. This wasn't just surviving or grinding; this was wealth. This was power. A different kind than levels and stats, but undeniably powerful.
"Need a bag, Mr. Potter?" Griphook's voice cut through the silence, still carrying that complex undertone. "Just say how much you need. For school supplies, likely just a few handfuls for the first year, perhaps some galleons for sundry items or a quality familiar." He paused, then added, looking directly at Harry with those sharp, ancient eyes. "It is... notable, to see a Potter accessing this vault again. The last time... it was your parents. An unprecedented transaction related to an unprecedented event. It has been recorded."
My parents. An unprecedented transaction. Related to an unprecedented event. The quiet words settled in Harry's System-optimized brain, layered with his prior observation of Goblin attention and the "The Harry Potter?" comment at the counter. The System, analyzing context and information, flagged potential correlations with historical events within its nascent understanding of the Magical World.
🔔 [Information Integration Initiated: User Name Identity Contextualized within Gringotts Archive Records.]
[Potential Match Identified: Historical Event Marker associated with 'Harry Potter' name - Provisional Tag: [User Fame Context / Historical Significance - Further Data Required for Confirmation].]
[Potential Link: "Unprecedented Transaction/Event" + User Parents + User Name = Hypothesis: User associated with major historical incident involving parent figures. Requires Confirmation via External Information Source.]
[User Identity Investigation Status: Triggered for External Information Cross-reference.]
[Recommending Immediate Subsequent Objective: Acquire External Historical Data on User Name. Location: Diagon Alley/Information Vendors.]
The reveal of his fame, his history, was starting not with a scar or a loud shout, but with quiet words from a Gringotts Goblin. He was "The Harry Potter" who owned vaults piled with gold accessed by his long-dead parents who made a transaction linked to an "unprecedented event". The System wasn't waiting for the full dramatic reveal; it was processing the data, building a hypothesis, setting up his next investigation objective: find external data confirming this.
He collected a good amount of money as Griphook suggested – feeling the satisfying weight, confirming System logging of his new [Inventory: Magical Currency - XX Galleons, YY Sickles, ZZ Knuts] – secured the vault, and rode the cart back up.
Returning to the main hall, rejoining Mistress Vance (who looked slightly relieved he hadn't caused any international incidents during his special vault access), Harry Potter stood different than when he'd walked in. He wasn't just the small, skinny boy with a dream of magic. He was a Level 12 System User, an accidental anomaly perceiver, a master of subtlety and manipulation, armed with considerable magical wealth acquired through an account linked to his famous, unknown history, ready to investigate the truth of who he was, armed with a bottomless fortune and a new set of objectives handed to him by a Gringotts Goblin and a processing blue screen. The real investigation, powered by gold and stats, was just beginning.