Chapter Two
He wasn't surprised to find a goblin in the office. He was surprised to find it was one he recognized. "Hello Ragnok," he said softly.
"Lord Potter," Ragnok replied, watching as the wizard sat down in one of the chairs. "Shall we go over your legal and financial issues?" Harry gave a nod and Ragnok took the file from him. "For starters you are one of the richest bachelors in the ESUN, Lord Potter. And even with the acceptance of your brother back into the family, you would still be considered Lord Potter due to your status of the Lord of the house of Black. The Ministry has been trying to gain access to your vaults, but have been and will continue to be unsuccessful."
"Thank you," Harry said softly.
Ragnok gave a nod. "It is not a problem, as we all owe you much, Lord Potter, for what you did during the war. The Ministry would do well to remember that." He glanced down at the folder. "Now, about your company. Dumbledore has been trying to get control of it since your emancipation, but the board is holding off until you confront them. The headmaster is claiming you are 'unstable' and therefore unable to head the corporation."
"That's nonsense," Harry said bluntly, annoyed that the headmaster would do that, but not completely surprised by it.
"Of course it is," Ragnok agreed. "Which is why you need to meet with the board. And possibly gain some lawyers to sue him."
"That…would be interesting," Harry murmured, giving that some thought.
"Indeed it would," Ragnok said. "You currently have near six billion galleons in Gringotts, Lord. And that doesn't take into account the muggle bank accounts that your grandparents set up." Harry's eyes widened at that, having not known that he was that rich. "This card," Ragnok said, sliding a small plastic card towards him. "Can be used in both the Wizarding world and the Muggle world and will take out of the respective accounts."
"Convenient," Harry said, pocketing the card.
They continued talking about the details of the accounts and lordship for quite some time.
Meanwhile, back in Une's office, the five pilots had all taken their seats and were waiting for Une to explain about the newest agent. Une sighed, settling back in her chair at their expectant looks. "Agent Potter fought a war almost completely on his own. Only, you five don't know anything about this war. In order for you to understand, you have to know that magic is real."
"Magic?" Quatre murmured, frowning. The other four looked just as believing.
"Yes. Magic," Une stated. "As in wand waving, potion brewing, broom flying magic." She continued on, explaining about the war. About Harry's part in it. How he had been trained to fight by the headmaster, who had pretended to care, only to have everyone turn their backs on him when his 'duty' was done. How nothing was really known of his life before he was eleven, and how his life after was not the best. How he'd lost the only people who had ever really cared for him.
She fell silent, allowing the five to take this in, noticing that their looks of disbelief had died away sometime through her speech. Une studied the five boys, smiling slightly at how they had grown in the few years since the last war. At nineteen, they were no longer children.
Trowa was the tallest at six foot three. He was still slender, but had filled out some since the war. Quatre was the next tallest at five foot eleven, and had lost his baby-face as Duo had called it. Instead he was an incredibly handsome, aristocratic blond with a mean streak that none of the agents wanted to come across.
Wufei and Heero were at the same height, at five foot eight, and hadn't really changed all that much aside from losing some of the childishness in their features. They had both mellowed considerably personality wise as well, something that the other agents were grateful for.
Duo was the shortest due to malnutrition at a young age. He was only five four, but was still taller than Harry by two inches. He was still the joker of the group, and still happened to go Shinigami at times, just as Quatre was known for going Zero.
However, Une knew they were the best she would ever get and she was entirely glad that they were on her side this time. Besides, she had rather grown to like them over the years.
"Magic," Heero muttered. "That…actually explains a lot."
"It does, doesn't it?" Quatre replied with a sigh. The others nodded slowly, all looking towards the door when Harry walked back in.
He could feel their eyes as he reentered the room. And yet, he couldn't feel anything remotely disbelieving in their gazes, despite having been told about a world being hidden within a world. Harry dropped into a chair, giving a sigh. "I accept your offer, Lady Une," he said. "However, I have a company to run, and I'm not completely healed from the war," he explained, absently massaging his thigh, which was beginning to ache.
Lady Une gave him a concerned look, despite the fact that he couldn't see it. "Would you like our doctor to check your injuries before you leave?"
Harry looked startled for a moment, before shaking his head. "Uh, no. No thanks. I'll be fine." There was no way he was stepping into any medical facilities for a while; he hated those places with a passion. Quatre and Duo gave stifled snickers, but all five boys knew exactly how he felt.
Lady Une rolled her eyes. "Barton, keep an eye on your brother, and check over his injuries when you get home." Trowa gave a nod, a faint look of amusement flashing over his face at Harry's pole axed expression.
"Home?" the wizard asked, his brow furrowing into a frown.
"Yes, Agent Potter," Lady Une said patiently. "Do I have to remind you how close I am to my Aunt Minerva. I know you have no place to live at the moment, and that you are currently wearing the only things you own, as everything else had been burned." She noticed the looks of anger on the pilots' faces at that, but ignored it for the time being. "Speaking of which, Aunt Minerva wanted me to mention that she managed to repossess your father's cloak, and ingenious map and your photo-album, and they are currently in your vault."
Harry gave a small smile, relief washing over him at those words. He didn't much care for his other possessions, as he could do without them, but those three were all he had left of his parents and he was exceedingly glad to have them back. Even if he could no longer see the photo-graphs, he could at least share them with his brother.
Lady Une gave all the boys a smile, waving them out of the office. "You six have the rest of the week off. Get to know each other." Considering it was only Tuesday, this was somewhat of a surprise.
Harry gave a small sigh and made to push himself out of the chair, only to find that someone—Trowa, if his guess was correct—was already helping him up. He murmured his thanks and the six left the office, Duo chattering on about nothing, as usual.
"So, Harry," Quatre said gently, to one side of the wizard. "What company were you talking about?"
"Phoenix Fine Incorporated," Harry replied. "My grandparents started it about a decade before they were killed." He figured the others were listening, as all conversations had stopped.
"PFI?" Quatre asked, slightly shocked. "That's the second largest company in the ESUN!"
"Only behind Winner Enterprises," Harry said with a smirk in Quatre's direction. Ah, so he had figured it out then. "Unfortunately, Dumbledore is trying to wrest control away from me. Something about me being 'unstable' or some such rot."
"Dumbledore," Trowa repeated softly, a hint of anger in his voice at the mention of the man who had literally made his little brother's life hell. He glanced at Quatre and saw a familiar gleam in the blue eyes.
"Well," Quatre murmured with a smirk. "If it's a legal battle he wants…"
Duo crowed with laughter. "That old geezer ain't gonna know what hit him!"
Harry gave a small, confused smile. "I appreciate the help, but…"
"Enough," Heero commanded, although his voice was oddly gentle. They had exited the building by this point, and were all standing on the sidewalk in front of it. "You're family."
Harry ducked his head, wrapping his arms around himself in a self-hug. Quatre glanced at him, frowning at the confusing clash of emotions that Heero's simple statement had caused. Trowa caught Quatre's frown and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, not bothering to remove it even when the younger teen stiffened at the contact.
Quatre gave a small smile. "Duo and I have some work we need to finish. Why don't the rest of you get some lunch? Duo and I can take Harry shopping after."
"How about Heero and I let the brothers get to know each other," Wufei said with a not-so-subtle glance at Heero. "We can all catch up later."
"That sounds fine," Trowa said, smiling lightly as Duo blew him a kiss before Quatre dragged him away. Wufei and Heero said their goodbyes as well, walking away not quite hand-in-hand. "Any preference?" Trowa asked.
"Nowhere fancy?" harry said with a sheepish grin. "I have the feeling that I'm going to have to attend many formal business dinners. No point in starting early."
Trowa chuckled softly and led Harry to a small sandwich shop that the pilots often frequented. They ordered their food and took a seat at a small table out near the street. Silence enveloped them as they ate, before Trowa murmured, "I'm sorry, but I just can't remember you."
Harry shook his head. "That's fine. I wasn't expecting you to. I can barely remember you myself, I was so young when…"
"What happened?" Trowa asked, wanting to know the reason for the separation.
"We were in hiding," Harry murmured, his blind gaze far away. "But you were nearly three, two years older than me, and wanted to go out, so Peter took you for the day. No one knew he was the traitor and had given up our location. Mum and Dad were killed that night and you were never found. They told me you were dead."
"Hmm…" Trowa crumbled up the paper his sandwich had come wrapped in, and leaned back in his chair. "So I really am nineteen then? That's good to know."
Harry smiled. "Compared to my almost seventeen. I suppose PFI really belongs to you."
You didn't have to be able to see Trowa's grimace to know it was there when he replied, "You're welcome to it."
"Yes," Harry murmured. "You're more hands-on, aren't you? And you like to work with animals, too."
Trowa blinked, frowning lightly. "How'd you know that?"
"It's…" Harry gave a huff, rolling his eyes. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I could smell it on you." At Trowa's silence, he continued. "After I lost my sight, my other senses became more enhanced, as well as my magic's ability to perceive what's around me. Everyone has a specific scent. You and your four friends all have the underlying scent of gunpowder and explosives, but it doesn't hide your other scents. Heero is…almost like electricity. He's hard to explain. Duo's is oil and grease; does he like mechanics? Wufei smells like tea and metal oil. Perhaps he has a sword or two. Quatre is sand and ink, the ink probably because of WEI. And you, you're chalk—like a gymnast—and animal musk, like a very large cat. A lion, maybe?"
Trowa nodded slowly, suitably impressed. "I work with lions and tigers occasionally. Duo's a mechanic on the side. Wufei has a collection of swords. Quatre's from the desert. And Heero is a computer programmer as well as being a Preventer." He tilted his head to one side. "How does your magic help you?"
"I can't see," Harry answered with a sardonic grin. "But I can…feel what's around me. Like that superhero Daredevil, I suppose. My magic allows me to sense what's there while not being able to see it. There's two people kissing about twenty feet to my left. A cat is crossing the road maybe a hundred feet to my right. Three birds just flew overhead." He rattled off this information without ever moving and Trowa found himself to be just a tad amazed. "I'm just as capable of dodging a bullet as the next person, and probably a better shot than most," Harry finished. He then grinned. "Enough about me. What about you?"
"What do you want to know?" Trowa asked evenly.
Harry smiled, absently tapping a finger against the tabletop. "Well, I already know that you and the others are the Gundam pilots. It was a little obvious considering there's five of you, your ages and the fact that you're the top agents at Preventers. So…what's your favorite color?"
Completely thrown for a loop, Trowa just stared, dumbfounded at that abrupt turn. He finally answered, shaking his head. "Amethyst."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Purple-color, right?"
"Right," Trowa replied. "More specifically, the color of Duo's eyes. They're very unique." He saw Harry's curious look and correctly interpreted it. "He has brown hair. Wufei's hair and eyes are both black. Heero has dark brown hair and blue eyes. Cobalt. Quatre is blond with blue eyes. Almost…aquamarine."
"Thanks," Harry muttered. "Helps me build a picture in my mind, even if it's probably wrong." He gave an impish smile. "My favorite color used to be silver, in case you were wondering." He paused. "You have any pets?"
Trowa shrugged. "I have a couple lions at Cathy's circus."
"Who's Cathy?"
"My adoptive sister," Trowa replied. "I think she'd like you."
"Ah," Harry hummed, nodding. "I have an owl, Hedwig. But she's been missing since things got…rough." He thought for a moment. "Favorite food?"
"Anything Italian. You?"
"Sugar." Harry grinned. "I was never really allowed many sweets as a kid. Can't get enough of them now."
Trowa rolled his eyes. "So long as you don't get as hyper as Duo."
"Hm," Harry grinned. "Heero and Wufei are headed in our direction."
Trowa looked up, blinking, and found that to be true. Well, at least Harry couldn't be snuck up on easily. That was good.
Okay, it's almost one in the morning and so I'm going to cut this chapter short and continue on later. Next one out hopefully soon. As well as the next chapter of Maxwell's Demon and Secret Agent Man.
Hikaru Kosuzaku
