Disclaimer & Warnings: See chapter one for all warnings, disclaimers, etc..., disregard HBP & DH and, note this story contains disturbing images involving Dumbledore, mild-bashing of Hermione and Ginny, and possibly a bit of Ron angst. From here on this will not be repeated, as you've been sufficiently warned.
HPHPHP
CH 2
HPHPHP
Petunia was sitting at her spotless kitchen table sipping her morning tea when the boy her family had been forced to put up with came in and sat down across from her. She blinked and then chose to say nothing, hoping that by ignoring him that he'd go away. That didn't happen.
"What was your mother or grandmother's name?" He asked suddenly. "I mean their maiden names."
Petunia frowned at him. "Why do you need to know that?"
Harry sighed, having hoped that she would just answer without questioning why he needed to know. "I've just received some news that can only be clarified if I know their original names."
She shrugged and then said, "My mother's name was Natalie Grimmorning and my grandmother's maiden name was Agatha Marsh."
"That's a strange name," he observed. "Grimmorning..."
"It was given to her when she was orphaned as a young teenager," Petunia said. "She told us about it once. Apparently she arrived on the doorstep at the Queen's Salvation House (…i…) with no memories and only one letter stating that her name was Natalie. She had been wearing a necklace with inter-laced initials NG and it was believed that her last name began with a G. Apparently, the administrators agreed on giving her that peculiar last name because on the day that she had arrived it had been a 'grim morning'. My mother could never remember anything else before arriving at the orphanage. She was just over thirteen years of age and had full on case of amnesia. She had to re-learn how to read, write… basically re-learn everything that wasn't considered physical memory."
She recalled a time when her own sister, who'd just turned sixteen, had asked that same thing. "You know your mother asked me that too, when she was a teenager. Why are you asking now?"
"I received some news," Harry said leaning forward whispering. "I think it has to do with your mum. Can you tell me anything about what she looked like and did she ever get her memory back?"
Petunia took another sip of her tea. She looked into the family room, her gaze settling on a dark photo album that had never been opened since her move into this house. "Get the album."
Harry knew which one she was talking about because it was the lone one on the only bookshelf that she ever cleaned. He cleaned all the other shelves around it for years, except for that one. He never knew why and never questioned it believing it to be one of his Aunt's quirks of behaviour, but he had a feeling that he was about to find out. He came back with it, but noticed that his aunt was heading downstairs to the finished basement. He followed her down to the corner where he had been storing his things and waited.
"You've set it up so that 'they' can't see anything," she said. "I can sort of see your belongings, but most times they are not there." She sighed, took the album and opened it up to a specific page, full of old colour photos. "My mother had reddish blond hair and green eyes, only they were pale green, not as dark as your mum's or yours. Yours are even darker, see." She pointed out a pregnant woman holding a small dark curly haired girl. "She never did regain the first thirteen years of her life, but I believe that she was content with the rest of it. She always said you can't miss what you never know."
"That's you," he said pointing to the little dark haired girl.
"Yes," she confirmed. "My mother was having a hard time with her second pregnancy, but holding me helped to ease some of her pain. She had periods of unhappiness and never told me why they happened. I don't believe she even knew why or what happened either."
"I don't think that she could tell you even she did remember," Harry said, glancing at the area where he had hidden that mysterious scroll. "I believe something happened to her that made her less than she was."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't be angry with me, but I think that she was a full witch and I believe that her magic was forcibly taken from her," he explained. "I don't know how much more you'd want to know."
"I don't want to know anything else," Petunia said sucking in a deep breath of displeasure. "You can have this picture. It's from a time before she married my father."
The image was that of a young woman staring at an apple tree in full blossom. Her dull green eyes were hidden behind a pair of black old-style horn rimmed glasses. She was looking at the flowers as though she was seeking answers from them. She had such a look of sadness that almost made him want to cry on her behalf.
"Can you take me into town in three days time?" Harry asked still focused on the picture.
Three days would be just what he needed in order to come to some of the terms of accepting this part of his unknown heritage. He planned to accept the conditions of the scroll, but he needed the time to absorb the changes that he knew would come from the release of magic locked in seal the scroll. Not that he specifically knew just what he was going to receive.
She turned to look at him and knew that he had just come to a decision some kind. "Very well," she said. "What about your watchers? I know they are there."
"The one that will be there in three days will either leave to report our departure or...," he paused and then continued on wary of her reaction. "They might just not be there. He's not the reliable sort, although if he isn't there there's a very small chance that he'd be replaced by someone else. I don't really care about the matter. We can deal with it when the time comes."
"Is that why you're waiting for three days to pass," she asked.
"Partly," he answered. "I need to do a few things, but you needn't worry about bringing me back here once you take me to town. I've already gone through my magical maturity and I've been re-enforcing the wards on your house with what I learned from some books I purchased before coming back for this summer. Once I'm gone, any memory of your family and your relationship to me will disappear from my World completely. Your house will be protected, but you'll no longer be in anyone's memories as having been my guardians, save my own."
"Why not take us completely out of your memory?"
"What do you think will happen if Dudley has a green-eyed child?" Harry asked and then he explained. "I believe that's the genetic tell for a magical child in your family line from now on. Although I suspect that it might only come about with a second child. I think that if they're born with that feature, they may be Witches or Wizards, but I can't make any guarantee on that count. These are only my suspicions based on the current evidence and... well... I have a strong 'feeling' in my gut about it."
Petunia's eyes widened. The implications were monstrous and momentous. If she had chosen to have a second child, it might have had green eyes like her sister or her nephew. That potential second child might have been a Witch or Wizard according to her nephew.
"Are you sure?" She asked with a shake in her voice.
"Yes," Harry said with certainty. "That's why I don't want to erase you from my memory. It wouldn't be fair to that future child should they ever be unwanted because of a magical gift. I'll be removed from your family's memory, Uncle Vernon and Dudley will never remember me. I just can't remove it from yours because of your future grandchildren. I want you to have a viable option for their future. That is, if your son continues to be like his father. I will set up a post box or some legal service which you can use to contact me should anything like that happen."
His aunt knew exactly what he was talking about. Her husband's need to be normal and her own personal need to be better than her sister, even if her parents were a little biased towards Lily. She knew that the way her nephew had been treated was not something that she would want for any of her potential, future grandchildren.
"Very well," she said. "You set that up and I will be cautious. I will even mention it in my Will should I pass on before your Uncle or Cousin."
Harry nodded, knowing that that was the best he could hope for from his Aunt. "I need some time to get things ready," he said. "I should be upstairs in time to make the afternoon tea for you and Dudley."
She looked at him and knew that he would do everything in his power to protect the last bit of his blood family no matter how he truly felt about them. If she was the only one to remember the boy, then so be it. She felt that it was a justified penance for the way she had treated him when he was but a tot.
Although he had been treated, as they'd been instructed to, by that letter he had in his small chubby baby hand when they found on their stoop that November morning. That was not something that she was prepared to discuss with him now or ever. Besides that letter was long gone and she had the feeling that he already speculated on some of the inconsistencies with the way he was raised.
Harry watched her go up the stairs and then set out to plan his next course of action. He would accept Natalia's request because he wasn't sure if the fourth generation of her blood could handle it. Anyone later and it would be too late anyway, so re-claiming the magical heritage needed to be up to him. At least this was one aspect of his life that Dumbledore could not have foreseen or anticipated.
A reason for choosing to leave in three days was that he knew who his watcher was going to be. No charm, spell, potion or invisibility cloak could hide them from his 'new' sight. He never regretted the forms or outlet that his magical maturity had taken when he had re-directed the influx of magic into the physical pathways of his limbs, sight or mind. He could no longer be deceived by such means anymore. So he had made a list of his watchers and knew who was watching the house and when.
Mundungus Fletcher is one of his most unreliable Order of the Phoenix watchers and he was scheduled to watch the Dursley's house three days from now. It was a perfect time to go. Meanwhile Natalia's scroll was waiting for him.
HPHPHP
Three days later he had a backpack over his shoulder and was walking out of the house with his Aunt. Inside the pack was everything that belonged to him, due to several shrinking and compartmentalizing spells and charms. He even had a few things that his Aunt had given him.
They were small things that used to belong to his mother, plus that sad photograph of his grand-mother, Natalie Grimmorning, also known to him as Natalia Grindelwald. He didn't mind these odds and ends of his mother's life, even if they were girly. Most were photos of a happy childhood with young neighbourhood friends which predominately showed a dark haired boy with distinctive features that tugged at Harry's memory. However he couldn't place the boy, yet.
One of the items was a much loved doll. Go figure why his Aunt Petunia would keep anything of his mother's, let alone some old abandoned toy, but he took it anyway. He had so little from the maternal side of his family that this was better than the nothing he had before.
They were out of the door and just as they were about to get into the car, a familiar and completely unexpected voice said, "Going somewhere Mr. Potter?"
Harry looked around and to his dismay it was Professor Snape and not the idiot Fletcher that was supposed to be watching his house today. He sighed and answered, "Yeah, we're going shopping. Did you want to join us?"
"You know that you're not to leave the house," Snape said with a frown, fingering his hidden wand.
"I have before," Harry said getting into the car and rolling down the window. "You don't have to worry about me..." The air outside the car was displaced and a soft crack sounded from within the car startling his Aunt. "Don't worry Aunt Petunia. We now have an unseen passenger. Let's go. The plans have not changed because of him. Remember what I told you."
"All right," his Aunt said with pursed lips because distasteful magic had obviously been performed in her presence. She didn't say anything further as she pulled out of the driveway and made her way into London proper.
Harry directed her to a parking facility that she was familiar with, but he directed her to an empty section of the car park. He got out of the vehicle and said, "Give me a few minutes Aunt Petunia. I've got to shift our guest. The man has not been awake for the entire ride."
"What do you mean," his Aunt asked.
"Remember I told you about the spell that would remove you and your family from the memories of those in my world," he said. She nodded. "Well once we left the property, anyone who should have been watching the place would have fallen asleep. No harm would have come to them, they'd just be a little disoriented and then they'd have gone back to their normal lives as though nothing happened."
He then opened the rear passenger door in order to pull out his disillusioned and sleeping Professor. The man had been in a type of sleep stasis ever since they left the Dursley's driveway.
"Not exactly a light-weight, are you Professor," Harry huffed to himself. He managed to get the man fully out of the car. He sat him down, leaning him up against one of the pillars in the car park and then he closed the door to his Aunt's car. He walked over to her window.
"I'll write to you when I have set up a proper postal address. Don't worry. Uncle Vernon and Dudley will never know that I've been living there for the past sixteen years. I returned Dudley's second room back to the way it was. They might have dreams, but I don't know much about that, however if I ever do set foot back inside your house or your property line they will remember everything. Those in my World never will though and that's the best certain thing about that final ward I set up. If you move, just write to me and I can set up similar wards at your new house. It will protect you against any unfortunate attacks by the Dark Ones that are causing some of the strange problems you're noticing lately in the normal news."
He looked at his Aunt one last time and nodded to her. She nodded back, saying, "Thank you," and then left him there with an invisible man and only a backpack containing all of his meagre worldly possessions.
Harry looked at his Professor, sitting there, slumped against a pillar in a Muggle car park. Even disillusioned he could see him clear as day. He sighed and wondered if he should just leave him there or 'enervate' the man and then leave.
Both options presented a problem for him. He didn't want the man to wake up wondering what he was doing in such an area of Muggle London. Also he didn't want any letter from the Ministry of Magic finding him in order to penalize him for use of magic in a predominantly Muggle environment.
He sighed again and then leaned up against the same pillar, although on the opposite side of his Potions Professor. He leaned back in such a way that he looked like he was just standing there waiting for a ride.
It didn't take long when the other man began to groan and wake up. "What the bloody hell?" Snape muttered out loud and looking around. "Where the hell am I?"
"In a Muggle car park," Harry replied from his side of the pillar. "You're also in Muggle London."
"Why would I be here? Why aren't you living at..." It was then that the man realized he couldn't remember where James Potter's boy was supposed to be living. He did recall his orders to monitor the youth, but the location and circumstances were no longer in his mind.
"I have some errands to run," Harry said casually. "Now that you're awake, you may go back to your own errands or what have you. Sorry to have inconvenienced you." He took several steps to leave the area when his Professor stood up and stopped him.
"Potter," he said. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Gringotts," Harry said in honesty. "There are a few other places I need to go after that and then I'm going home, why do you ask?" He was careful not to mention his Aunt Petunia or the Dursley family. The ritual spell to induce selective memory loss had to take and that would only be finished in the next thirty minutes or so.
"You're not to go out on your own," his Professor said. He knew that a spell had taken place and that his memory had been altered in some fashion. He was fishing for the missing information, but the insolent boy was not cooperating. He wondered if he should take the boy back to Headquarters by force or just leave him to his own foolishness.
"I understand," Harry said. "Did you wish to join me?"
"I believe I will," the man said standing next to the youth.
'The Order members would make my life difficult if I didn't accompany the wilful brat,' he thought. The boy only shrugged and soon they were on their way to Diagon Alley and the Wizards Bank in London named Gringotts.
Once in Gringotts Harry was pulled to the side away from the general lines and the taken into an office where the managing Goblin told his Professor to wait outside. Snape had no troubles complying with that request. He didn't care nor did he want to know anything about the boy's poor finances.
'Probably has only enough to finish his education,' the man snorted contemptuously. 'I don't care to listen to that drabble.'
However he only stated that he'd wait there and seated himself in a comfortable chair. He pulled out the latest 'Monthly Potions Periodical' and continued to read the article that had fascinated him. It was regarding blood lines and a potential for the potions field to help determine whether blood line magic had been transferred to other families during times of war.
Behind closed doors, Harry was getting several shocks of his life. Many of which was documentation related to his current holdings and the process for the 'Right of Ownership Ritual'. There wasn't much, but the goblin told him that only someone who had passed his magical maturity could undergo such a ritual.
"I have," Harry stated blandly.
The goblin blinked at that statement. "You do realize Mr. Potter that magical maturity only occurs in humans after they've reached the ages of seventeen or older. It is rare for the occurrence to take place at the age sixteen."
Harry took a deep breath and then asked, "Do you not have a process from which to tell if someone has reached their magical maturity?"
"We do," the goblin said. "We usually don't use it because if the client lies about it, the consequences are unenviable."
The Boy-Who-Lived smirked and asked, "Do you always inform your clients about that factor?"
The goblin blinked and then grinned, a slightly feral grin, "Certainly not."
"I must assume that the unenviable results mean that there is some kind of loss, magical or monetary," Harry observed. "However I'm not concerned about the process and I do firmly believe that I will be one of the few that will pass your process to confirm that I have reached the adequate magical level in order to go through the Right of Ownership Ritual."
"You are a young man, whose standing in the Wizarding World is such that we try to ensure that you'd be advised of these kinds of consequences," the goblin said. The boy only nodded his understanding of the situation. "Very well, I will call forth the next Goblin Magistrate scheduled to oversee General Inheritance Rituals. In the meantime, I humbly suggest that you review each and every one of these papers. Please initial each and seal it with a drop of your blood in order to acknowledge the fact that the information has been received and approved by you. I wouldn't want you to accuse the Bank of neglecting their duties in regards to your finances."
"What if I don't approve of the information I see," Harry asked. "How will that be handled?"
The goblin then looked up and was slightly surprised to realize that the boy might not know anything about the current transactions taking place in his name. He had been assured that when he was hired that everything was over and above board.
"Perhaps you should read each piece of documentation at your leisure and then inform us as to which is unacceptable. We do offer the services of a Lawyer well versed in these matters, however I don't recommend that you obtain the services of the same one that drew up these papers."
Harry frowned and then scowled as he scanned through the first five pages of one contract. It was an agreement to allow the Order of the Phoenix to withdraw a specific number of Galleons per month from a Black Family vault in order to maintain what was basically his own house. Not only that, but there was an additional contract attached that transferred No. 12 Grimmauld Place to the Order of the Phoenix under the name of that organization's leader.
He looked up and said, "Who is my accounts manager? Who authorized such contracts to be drawn up? What difference would it make if I did the Right of Ownership Ritual before or after signing these?"
The goblin coughed and then said, "Prior to that ritual we'd need to verify that you have actually gone through your magical maturity. The...um person that requested that these be drawn up made them conditional in which they were to be signed prior to your magical maturity or else the conditions in them would be denied."
"Well that certainly solves one dilemma," Harry said tossing the papers back on the goblin's desk. "Since I've already gone through my magical maturity, these are all moot. You may test me now before I go any further with this drivel. It will be further proof to you, now call forth that Goblin Magistrate."
"Certainly Mr. Potter," the goblin said. He took back all of the contracts that had needed his signature and then handed him a couple of ledgers filled with items and information. "These are ledgers to the vaults currently in your name. Please go over them to ensure that any transaction that has taken place corresponds with the monthly statements that you've been receiving."
Again Harry huffed sighed and then asked, "What monthly statements? I have never received one notice from this Bank."
It was at this point in time that the goblin realized that something wrong had occurred in the bank. He had been hired to do a specific job and he knew that he should have called for a full review of the boy's entire estate and all accounts connected. This was not the first time that such was needed, but it was the first time in this century. He didn't like the fact that he had let money influence his quality of work, but he needed to see this through because of the standing of the person who had ordered such bad accounting practices to continue. It needed to be stopped, but he didn't know how.
"Mr. Potter," the goblin began. "I believe that we will have to call forth a review of your accounts and your entire estate. This may take some time, however if you happen to have any conditions that you wish us to follow please let us know immediately."
"First," Harry said, waiting for the goblin to pull out a parchment and begin a list. "I want you to test me for my magical maturity before any other transaction takes place. Next you'll employ honest above-board goblins to review the estate and accounts information in all my ledgers or I will do so. I do not want any goblin who's been employed in this task previous to this date. I want immediate copies of all banking statements and any other correspondence that should have been received and reviewed by me. I want to know who has been accessing my accounts and I want to see all documentation that I may have signed related to their access. I want to complete that ownership ritual before all else because I have a bad feeling that all of this work will be doubled, should I have inherited a legacy elsewhere."
"The review will take time," the goblin said. "Do you wish to call forth a witness or witnesses related to this request?"
"Yes," Harry said. "I would like Misters Fred and George Weasley the owners of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Professor Severus Snape renowned Potions Master and who's currently employed at Hogwarts, Dobby De-Chausette (...ii...) currently a non-bonded house-elf employee of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the goblin named Griphook Bonebreaker currently employed here under the Gringotts' Vault Security Section, to witness this request."
The names caused the goblin to pause and consider the sincerity of the boy's request. He looked at the boy and realized that it really was a young man that he was speaking to; technically he was a Young Lord.
He wasn't someone that needed to be led around by the nose or kept in ignorance. The fact that he's calling forth for two magical creatures to witness anything proved to him that the Boy-Who-Lived's sincerity for everything coming into play at this meeting.
"Might I suggest that the Magistrate witness the process once you've completed the Ritual," the goblin suggested. "As soon as the rituals and spells are completed, we will have a legalized document listing your requests in a simplified format. It will still be official and will be translated appropriately into legal runic language, but such a translation will not alter your requirements."
"I'd like to see that translation before the witnesses sign any legalized copy, runic or otherwise," the boy said, surprising the creature behind the desk.
The goblin grunted his agreement, secretly pleased that the Boy-Who-Lived was cautious in the matter. This was conveyed by the speed from which notices were dispatched to Harry's named witnesses. The notices included a time to appear for later that same day and a copy of the original agreement, plus a self-updating legal and translated version.
Harry waited for the Magistrate to appear in the room. Rituals and spells for testing magical levels could only be conducted by a Goblin Magistrate appointed to their position based on their age and the strength of their inner magical core. He asked, "How long will the Rituals take?"
The Magistrate appeared and answered that question. "It will take about fifteen minutes to test if you've been through your magical maturity. The results will not be open to others nor given to your witnesses. They need only know that it will take place sometime today. That's why it can be done now rather than after they sign the contract. The Legacy Ritual that you've quoted will take about half an hour to forty-five minutes after the previous one. It too can be done prior to a couple of conditions in this document."
"Is there a penalty for doing the Spells or Rituals before this has been signed by my witnesses?" Harry needed to ask. He didn't want to be in breach of anything, especially a goblin initiated contract. He fully remembered what happened with Ludo Bagman the former Head of Magical Games & Sport. Rumour had it the man still owed the goblins a hefty bundle from that disastrous Quidditch World Cup Match from summer before Harry's fourth year and was currently hiding out somewhere in Greenland doing as little magic as possible to avoid detection.
"No penalty," the goblin said. "There might be a charge, but we can come to terms after the Spell and Ritual is completed."
"How much?" The teenager asked.
"A percentage of your accounts," the goblin Magistrate began to say.
"No dice," Harry said. "I pay in advance or we stop this thing right now."
The Magistrate shrugged. It was a gamble and it was only now that the goblin behind the desk knew that the Boy-Who-Lived didn't truly gamble in the way that normal folks do. "Very well," the goblin accountant said. "You can employ any goblin to go over your accounts and estates, but you have to pay them for their time. It can be done on an hourly, weekly, monthly or yearly basis and it is your job as owner of your accounts to interview them."
"Has any goblin been paid to look after my accounts in the past?"
"Only one," the goblin said. "They earned a lump sum on a yearly basis and they are, currently, still employed by one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
"I don't want that goblin near my accounts," Harry spat out. "I will interview several potential employees right now. I want a range of skills from each to review."
The Magistrate looked at him and then said, "Pay me 40 Galleons now and I will test you for your magical maturity. If it is proved, then you gain access to all your accounts. No penalty for doing that spell before the signing of the contract. Employ whatever goblin you wish after the spell is complete."
It was at this point that there was a sharp knock on the door. "That'll be Professor Snape," Harry said. "He accompanied me here."
The goblin behind the desk opened the door using magic and sure enough there was the man with the legalized runic contract in hand. "Potter," he said. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Let me see," Harry said holding out his hand for the papers. He looked over the original in English and then slowly read the legalized version of it. He frowned at some of the wording and then scowled at the goblins seated in this room. "Nice try gentlemen. It looks like I will have to write my own."
He was still frowning at the documents and was now fully realizing that the goblin in front of him was likely the one hired by Dumbledore.
"By the by," he continued. "You had better call down your supervisors to attend this meeting." He said, and both Wizards noted the pallor of the two goblins in the room. He muttered to himself with Snape listening in. "I sincerely hope that they've been monitoring this office."
"Mr. Potter," Griphook said walking into the room with a copy of the legal document in hand. Dobby was standing beside him holding a copy of the same and frowning. "You were wise in your witnesses and you are correct in your assessment of your situation. I will endeavour to make sure that everything is corrected as your require. Also several goblins and other Gringotts employees, hired for the day, are lining up outside ready to be reviewed and interviewed by you."
"Thank you Griphook," Harry said sincerely.
This startled the other goblins in the room because they had long since been convinced that no human could ever differentiate them from one another. Even his Professor had one eyebrow up, wondering how the teenager could tell this goblin from the others in the room.
"You may interview them in the next room," Griphook said leading the way. He made sure that the interview room was magically secure before going back to the locked room that contained to goblins that were bent on cheating the Boy-Who-Lived out of honest service. He paused and said, "Do you wish your Professor to be here while you make your selection?"
"He can come in," Harry said and then looked at the man with a mischievous air. "If he can keep his mouth shut during the interview process."
Severus Snape just 'humphed' loudly, conjured an extra chair and placed it just outside the door, but away from the creatures that were milling out there. There was a growing queue of Gringotts workers, some humans, some goblins and some others, like hybrid house-elves that were the result of Dark Arts experimentation and foul entertainment.
"The first one hundred beings need to fill this out," Harry said out loud, firming up a limited number of interviewees. It would take a while, but he knew how to narrow things down even more. He had a list of questions prepared and looked to his Professor to make duplicates, as he was not yet emancipated due to his magically mature status, which had yet to be determined a Goblin Magistrate.
"Please copy this for me, Professor Snape," Harry said. "It may still be early morning yet, but this will shorten up our time here too."
"Very well," Snape said. "I'll admit to some curiosity about your process."
He copied the document one hundred times with a number in the top right hand corner. Many were sent to the individuals waiting in line and the rest was sent it to a table by the door, just outside of the room. There was a sign posted above it and it stated that the questionnaire needed to be answered prior to being called into the room by number.
Griphook noticed that Harry was relying on the darker man to perform spells in the room. It would be faster if Harry had his magical level tested first, so the goblin summoned another Magistrate. This one he knew could be relied on to test the Boy-Who-Lived without seeking a fee.
"Magistrate Ignatia Bonebreaker," Griphook said. "May I present Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Knock it off Grippy," the wizened female goblin said. "I may be your grandmother, but I know who this young human is. So you need to be tested for evidence of your magical maturity before you get on with gaining reliable estate managers."
"That was the idea when I arrived here today," Harry said with a closed mouth, genuine smile.
"Very smart," the elder gobliness said looking him up and down as though trying to judge his worthiness or something. Harry didn't mind it. "I will do it."
"Isn't that a conflict of interest?" Professor Snape asked. "I mean with the two of you being related." He was nodding to Griphook.
"No," she said. "It's a matter of skill, age and experience. Plus there is a list of Magistrates that rotate on a regular basis. I was the next in line for such a situation. However the outcome is not yours to witness, so you sir must step out for the next few minutes."
Professor Snape bowed respectfully to the gobliness and then he took up a sentinel type duty outside the room sitting in his conjured chair. He was curious about the questionnaire. So, on a lark he decided to pick up the last one and actually began to apply for a position.
There was a list of ten questions, but the questions were oddly put. Seven were multiple choices with a small section of lines for which you had to explain your choices. The last three were situational and required longer written and well thought out answers.
Not many of the human workers at Gringotts wanted to answer such questions and therefore they put the questionnaires back only to have them be eliminated magically and completely from the pile. Once a form had been touched by someone with the intent to apply, the process had to occur in full or else be removed completely from consideration. Also there was a countdown clock that removed a number from the top of the pile of applications and banished it away every two to five minutes.
'Now that is smart,' Severus thought pulling out a magical quill that automatically filled with ink from the ink pot it had been linked to. It was a contained conjuration spell that he was always surprised that not many of his students caught on to, not even his favoured little Slytherins were familiar with such. 'He'll eliminate any form that has been touched so that he has less people to interview. Well done Potter, five points to Gryffindor.'
"Question number one," he said to himself softly so as not to disturb the others. "You are in charge of reviewing the inventory of your client's vault. You see something that you would like to own, examine and/or read. Do you, yes or no:
Contact your client requesting permission to examine the object: Explain…
Contact your client and submit a proposal for the purchase of said object: Explain…
Contact your client and submit a request for a loan of the manuscript, book or other: Explain…
Answer YES to all of the above: Explain…
Answer NO to all of the above: Explain…"
"Bloody hell," Severus breathed out. It was going to take longer to get the answers out and after skimming the next three questions he knew that Harry Potter was further weeding out some of those that were too greedy or could be cheaters in this line of work.
Pen to paper he began to write his answers when he felt a very tiny ripple of magic flow out from the room nearby. It came in a soft waving flash and was quite an inconsequential sensation.
'Looks like he has reached his Magical Maturity, although I believe that it was a weak influx, as the result of the testing was barely felt,' he thought, finishing his answer to number two. 'I believe that I'll keep this information to myself at the moment. Blackmail in the form of silence should buy me some time to teach that brat a few things that the Headmaster wants the boy to know.'
Back in the room, Ignatia Bonebreaker was picking herself up off of the floor. She had slid down after being blasted into the far wall of the room and this was after receiving an extremely positive confirmation that the Boy-Who-Lived should have been emancipated at least a year ago.
"Are you all right Ma'am," Harry said, going over to her in order to help her stand up and check her for injuries.
"Quite," she said. She noticed that he had contained most of the blast using a wandless, soundless shield and that the actual strength of his magical levels never passed out of the room. "Well done," she said. "You were well within your rights, but I believe that you may have knocked out the monitoring spells."
"With good reason," Harry said. "I do apologize in advance, but I couldn't allow the full strength of my magical maturity or knowledge of it to be released. It is advantageous for me to keep this information secure, which I sincerely apologize once more, but must be assured that your memory cannot be accessed in any matter."
"I do understand," Ignatia said. "It is standard practice for all Magistrates to drink this in order to keep client confidentiality." She held up a small test tube like vial and explained. "This potion will lock the memory from 'any' form of prying for the next hundred years. It is not uncommon for the knowledge of your true magical strength to become known after that kind of time frame."
"Well by then it shouldn't matter any way," Harry said. "I'm okay with that." He watched her down the potion.
His new sight enabled him to determine that she was telling him the truth. His magical maturity did include a few other elements when he tied most of his magic to his mind. Part of it also included a lie detector kind of phenomenon which allowed him to know truth, partial truth and outright lie told by any person. He knew that she was not lying because he could see it physically in her aura.
"We'll do the ownership ritual after I've interviewed the applicants," Harry said. "I'm wondering... can I bind a house-elf to me in this building before the interviews?"
"Of course," Ignatia said. "Best you find one that is reliable and trustworthy. I can oversee the bonding aspect of that too, if you like?"
"Yes please," Harry said. "I would appreciate that."
A short while later, he was soon speeding reading through a couple of the applications. Several he had eliminated based on their replies and others on the feeling that he had received when they entered the room to be interviewed. He had a nasty feeling from some that he knew he just couldn't trust ever.
One by one the numbers were going down. He made a few notations on a few applications that he had wanted to revisit. Those that were eliminated outright had a few objections, until they left the room under a few well placed goblin hexes.
Severus watched as one by one the candidates were eliminated one way or another. He was secretly amused by the various hexes and curses that he spotted. It was an interesting process overall. The numbers called out were slowly reaching one hundred, which was the number on the top of his form.
He turned to the table and noted that the last paper application had just been banished away. The Potions Master was currently one of three remaining to be interviewed and it was all too soon that he was in the hall alone.
"Number one hundred please," Harry called out of the door.
Severus Snape could hardly contain his amusement, anticipating the expression on the boy's face when he walked through that door.
HPHPHP
TBC…(…i…) The Queen's Salvation House – a completely made up name and not meant in any way to copy, duplicate or represent any existing facility (should such still be in existence).
(...ii...) De-Chausette - made up name, basically it means "of the socks".