Disclaimer: Not mine
Thanks: to my beta, for fixing these chapters!
Harry Potter and the Ties of Blood
Chapter Ten: Reading the Will
Gringotts was as huge and imposing as ever, Harry noted distantly, as he and Charles made their way down Diagon Alley. They were moving at a speed that would get them to Gringotts as quickly as possible while drawing as little notice as they could get away with.
Harry looked different enough, without glasses, his hair grown out and dressed in his finest robes, that people shouldn't recognize him. A quick charm on his scar had made it seem much less noticeable than before, but it was fairly likely that someone who actually knew him well would be present on the street; Harry knew that a large number of people in the Order would be present for the Will reading also.
They didn't speak to each other either; Harry's voice would be far more recognizable than his appearance at this point, and it would make the day extremely difficult if they were spotted. They made it to Gringotts safely, and Harry heard Charles sigh softly in relief.
Harry yawned as surreptitiously as possible while they waited for a staff member to speak to. He had slept straight through until midday, and Holly had needed to be a little inventive when she tried to wake him. A shower and a light meal had made him feel less annoyed at being awake, but he was still very tired after the dance the night before.
"We are here for the reading of Mr. Black's Will," Charles murmured quietly to the teller when they finally reached the end of the queue. "Mr. Potter and escort."
The teller nodded and summoned another goblin. "Gaptooth will show you to the room you requested," he said, also quietly, and Charles nodded in thanks. Harry and his Sire followed the new goblin out one of the many doors in the bank. They were led to a small room with a glass wall on one side; through it, they could see a far larger chamber filling with people.
Harry recognized Hermione, the Weasley's, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore and many other members of the Order of the Phoenix making their way into the room and sitting down. He also noticed Draco Malfoy and his mother, and a number of people he recognized as being mainly Slytherin's from school, accompanied by older family members.
These must be all the Pureblood relations to the Black family, he decided. Malfoy, he knew, was a reasonably close relative. He hadn't paid much attention to the other names of distant family on the tapestry at Grimmauld Place.
"This chamber is completely unnoticeable from the other side," Gaptooth explained to them quietly. "You will be able to hear everything that is said perfectly clearly, however. Good day." He was gone before either of them could say anything.
"Goblins on a whole detest wizards," Charles said quietly, as he and Harry took the only two seats that had been provided. "Our society has wronged them too many times to count now, but they remember every single slight we have ever done them."
"You would think that we would be smart enough to keep on good terms with the beings that hold all of our money," Harry remarked absently. He was looking at the room filled with people from old his life and trying to find some semblance of emotional attachment to them. There was nothing. The people in the room before him could have been strangers for all the concern he felt for them.
He watched as those who were friends of his looked around hopefully – Albus Dumbledore was doing a fairly good job of feigning unconcern, but Harry could tell that the old wizard was paying as careful attention to each new arrival as anyone else in the room.
"They're looking for you," Charles remarked.
Harry nodded in agreement. "I know. Dumbledore isn't doing a very good job of pretending he doesn't care, is he?"
"He seems to have everyone in there fooled, but then, they are distracted. Are you feeling any temptation to go and talk to your friends? If you want to go back, you know I won't stop you," Charles said quietly.
"You are my Sire, and I am not yet well enough versed in vampire laws and customs to think about leaving your side for any amount of time," Harry pointed out.
"That wasn't my question."
"No, I feel no inclination to speak with them. I feel no connection at all to anyone in that room, positive or negative," Harry told him.
"I am getting a better idea of what's happened to your emotions," Charles told him quietly. "I hope to have a cure by Christmas, but by the end of the school year at the very latest."
Harry nodded. "It would be good, to feel again," he said quietly, missing the sympathetic look his Sire sent in his direction. Charles was prevented from speaking as a goblin walked into the room carrying an important looking document.
Harry listened quietly as his godfather's Will was read. It went much as he expected it might. Sirius had left monetary amounts to Remus and a few other people he had been close to, but everything else had gone to Harry. He had been named head of the Black family as Sirius's heir, and had been left 'all associated properties, inheritances, monies and artifacts', including the family elf.
Harry noted that both Draco and Narcissa Malfoy looked highly disgusted by the proceeding of the Will, and knew from that expression that they couldn't do anything about what Sirius had left in his Last Will and Testament. Everything Sirius had done was strictly within his power.
As the room on the other side of the glass began to empty, Harry overheard part of conversation between Dumbledore and Remus, who had remained until everyone else left the room. "I was truly hoping Harry would be present today. Until we can speak to him, we have no way of knowing whether it is safe to use Grimmauld Place as headquarters."
"I was hoping he would be here too, but for slightly more selfish reasons," Remus sighed. "I feel that I failed him; disappearing as I did to deal with Sirius's death on my own. I should have been there for him." A pause, then: "How could Harry's presence determine if Grimmauld Place was safe?" Harry noticed that Remus actually seemed interested in the answer; the last time they had spoken, the man had been so apathetic it was impossible to talk to him.
"I'm not sure how Sirius claimed Harry as his legal heir, or if the process he used actually worked. Since his actions gave Harry control of Kreacher, if Harry could summon the elf and give it an order that the elf obeyed, then it would confirm that Sirius did in fact do everything right when he was organizing his Will," Dumbledore explained. "Well, Harry has promised that he will be attending Hogwarts in September, so I suppose we will simply have to wait until then to find out if it is still safe."
"Your current location is not so bad from all reports. Everyone seems to be coping alright."
"It doesn't have quite the same security," Dumbledore pointed out. "And Harry being here would have meant we could ensure that he is safe and well still – all our efforts have come up with nothing and now the Ministry isn't even helping in the search. Minister Scrimgeour may be prepared to accept a letter as proof that Harry is alright, but he could have been fooled."
"Personally, I think that Harry is probably taking a well-deserved break from his relatives," Remus remarked. "I wish that I had made myself more available to him after everything that happened. If I had, perhaps he wouldn't have felt the need to leave as he did. But I think his friends are right, it's doing him good to be away from Privet Drive."
"The blood wards protected him there," Dumbledore sighed. "If it wasn't for them, then I would be happy to see Harry away from those people as well. If he doesn't return there within the next two weeks, the wards will fall, and he will not be able to return there if he is threatened."
"If it gets that bad then he can hide in Headquarters with all of us there to protect him," Remus pointed out, "Or in Hogwarts – it will be the last place to fall should Voldemort get further ahead in this war. Harry will be fine, Albus. He's been keeping himself alive for years now, I'm sure he will continue to do so."
"I hope you are right, Remus. The consequences of losing him would be more dreadful than I like to think about." With that, the conversation ended as Dumbledore left the room. Remus stood there for a few minutes longer, as if hoping that Harry would suddenly appear, then he left as well.
"That was interesting," Charles remarked softly.
"The bit about the blood wards falling, you mean?" Harry questioned softly. The Will itself hadn't been hugely surprising; he had become accustomed to the reality of having a vast fortune at his disposal, the knowledge that he had an even larger one than before didn't particularly phase him.
"Yes. It is a sure sign that they were made by a wizard – no vampire would craft wards which actually needed you to be there in order to keep them going. What if you have to go away unexpectedly and can't go back for over the specified time limit, for whatever reason? But it is good news – they will have fallen by the time you return to Hogwarts, so the Headmaster will not force you to return there at the end of the year."
"We will have to see whether he will actually allow me to return to Potter Manor peacefully," Harry said, frowning slightly. "At least he has nothing else to hold over me to force me to go somewhere I do not wish to now. Or he won't, in two weeks time."
Their conversation was interrupted as Gaptooth entered the room. "All the other wizards who were here to view the reading of Mr. Black's Will have now left the bank," he announced. "I will take you to the conference room you arranged for your meeting with Mr. Scrimgeour."
"Thank you, Gaptooth," Harry said politely, standing with Charles. "Also, please convey our thanks to all personnel involved in setting this room up for use by myself and my companion. It was much appreciated." The goblin looked slightly surprised by the polite tone Harry used, but didn't seem at all impressed. He didn't say anything else as he led them down a few more corridors and gestured to a door.
"The Minister will join you there," he said shortly and left.
"Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked Charles in confusion.
"Goblins don't like it when humans – especially wizards – are polite to them. They assume that it's only an attempt to win their goodwill, which will then be used as the basis to make huge demands on them. They tend to avoid wizards who are actively polite."
Harry sighed. "I was only being polite," he said.
"I know that, and you know that. It was the right thing to do," Charles assured him.
"I suppose I will simply have to show them that I am being polite because I consider the right thing to do, rather than to take advantage of them," Harry remarked, opening the door and stepping into the room, noting that the Minister had not arrived yet. "Goblins would make better allies than enemies."
"Actions speak louder than words," Charles quoted the old adage in agreement, as they took their seats to wait for the Minister. He arrived only a few minutes later.
"Mr. Potter!" the Minister waited until the door was firmly closed behind him to exclaim loudly and come forward to shake Harry's hand.
As they shook, Harry examined the man who had taken over from Fudge. He was a tall man, and it was obvious that he had seen more than his fair share of combat, although he was not nearly as scarred as Alastor Moody. He had a huge mane of hair and intelligent tawny eyes and walked with a pronounced limp. Harry felt vaguely reminded of an old lion.
"Minister," he said politely. "This is a close friend of mine, Charles," he added, gesturing to his companion.
Charles stepped forward and shook hands with the Minister as well. "Minister," he nodded, "Harry has been staying with me since he left his relatives at the beginning of the holidays."
"I see," Scrimgeour obviously wanted to ask more, but clearly wasn't sure that it would be a well-received question. He held his silence as they returned to their seats around the circular table in the middle of the room. "How did you cope with your late godfather's Will, Mr. Potter?"
"Well enough. He left me a great deal, it's still sinking in," Harry answered, not giving the Minister an opening. "How goes the Ministry's stand against Voldemort?" He was pleasantly surprised when the Minister didn't flinch at the sound of the Dark Lord's name.
"Could be doing much better," the man said honestly, "But we could be doing a whole lot worse as well. At present we're counting our blessings, as he hasn't been too active this summer. It's giving us some chance to reform and deal with everything that Fudge left on our plates."
"I imagine there has been a lot of house-cleaning going on at the Ministry at present," Harry said diplomatically. "I hope you weren't put in too difficult a situation when you took control."
"I'm coping," Scrimgeour said with a wolfish smile. "But it's difficult to win the public's support at present, what with all my predecessor's failings getting a bit too much press coverage. I was hoping, Mr. Potter, that you would be able to help on that front."
"That would depend largely on the help you wanted, Minister."
"Rufus, please," the Minister said – had Harry not seen the faintly calculating gleam in the man's eye as he said, he would have almost believed that the comment was offhand.
"Then you must call me Harry," he interrupted before the Minister could continue.
"Of course, Harry," Rufus couldn't quite hide how happy he was to get Harry's permission to switch to a first name basis. "I was hoping that you would like to become a more … public figure at the Ministry. Possibly come by and have a few tours of our departments, maybe a few photos with the Aurors? I heard you wanted to join them."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible at present," Harry said politely. "I would be happy to take you up on your offer at some point in the future – in exchange for a few concessions on your part, of course."
"Concessions?" Harry saw the change in the Minister's eyes; from pleased to trapped. He knew - and so did the Minister - that Harry was needed; concessions he asked for would have to be carefully considered and if not granted outright then compromised, at risk of losing the public's support entirely.
"I will want your assurance that the press does not treat me as they have in the past. The constant up-down of their opinion of me has been ... distressing, and tends to make my life unnecessarily difficult. I realise, of course, that the Ministry doesn't have a lot of control over the Prophet, but as our friendship will be of mutual benefit, I'm sure that there will be mutual support. I will say good things about the Ministry, but you must also say good things about me," Harry watched as the Minister relaxed, and gave an internal smirk.
"Of course, you have no need to fear a repeat of my pre-decessors mistakes regarding your image," Rufus said. "Was that all?"
"No. As you said, I have an interest in joining the Ministry, possibly as an Auror, possibly in another department I haven't quite decided yet. I would like your assurance that my opinions and suggestions - should I choose to voice them - will be listened to."
The Minister froze; then forcibly relaxed. He looked like he was carefully weighing his response to Harry's request. He couldn't afford to say no, if doing so would alienate Harry. The Ministry needed Harry's support too much for that, but the request was a very difficult one.
Harry remained silent, forcing the Minister to respond. "Of course, any suggestions from such a well-regarded young man would be taken very seriously by the Ministry as a whole," the Minister bowed to Harry's demands, although he certainly didn't promise to act on Harry's suggestions. Harry didn't let his satisfaction show – that was just the first step towards getting vampires a better lot in magical society.
"I am aware, of course, that suggestions I make might not be in line with the direction the Ministry is moving. I do not expect such suggestions to be necessarily actioned, just seriously considered," Harry added; he didn't want the Minister to be backed into a political corner; it would make him dangerous. "Was there anything else you wished to discuss? It has already been a long day for us."
"When could we look forward to your presence in the Ministry?"
"You will most definitely need to wait until school begins, I'm afraid. I have no plans to move into the public view until then. You and I will both undoubtedly need to speak with Professor Dumbledore regarding the matter of allowing me off school grounds to attend tours of the Ministry Departments and any functions you might want my presence for. I would also consent to meeting with reporters, or conducting interviews via the Floo network or letters during the school year, in which I would be happy to mention my involvement with the Ministry," Harry told him firmly.
"That sounds delightful, my dear boy. Would you mind if I mentioned in an upcoming press conference that we had met and were looking forward to a much closer relationship?" Again, the Minister could not help but show how desperate he was for Harry to agree.
"I would have no problem with that at all," Harry assured him. "But now my companion and I must really be returning to our home, if there was nothing else? We are expecting guests tonight."
"Of course," the Minister nodded. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today."
"Think nothing of it, Minister," Harry returned politely, opening the door and holding it to allow the Minister to pass through first. "I look forward to seeing you more in the upcoming school year."
He and Charles left the bank shortly after and Charles Aparated both of them back to Potter Manor, relieved to get out of the hustle of Diagon Alley and away from the stressful possibility of someone recognizing Harry.
"I think that went well," Charles announced as they settled in to a light meal and a game of chess. "You dealt with the Minister admirably."
Harry nodded absently, his mind elsewhere, "Charles, in the Will, it was said that I was to receive all associated inheritances. What did the mean? I didn't receive any inheritances, as far as I'm aware."
"You haven't read anything about Inheritances yet?" Charles enquired, Harry shook his head. "An Inheritance cannot be claimed by a minor, and can only be claimed by the Head of a House. Unless you are emancipated before you turn seventeen, you will have to wait until next year to receive any of the Inheritances you are due to receive."
"And you can't claim them on my behalf?" Harry asking, wanting to confirm.
"No; no relative or legal guardian can claim any inheritance for their charge. You have been named Head of the Black family, and as such you are the only one who will be able to access the Inheritances."
"What do you think they will be?" Harry asked, with only the barest hint of curiosity.
"That is not for me to say," Charles dismissed the query. "You will not learn anything of your Inheritances until it is time to accept them. I will say no more on the subject."
Harry nodded, making a mental note to look into Inheritances in the library as soon as possible. Charles' reticence on the subject was enough to make him want to find out more. Knowing as much as possible about anything and everything to do with his life would be important.
"Harry, you were listening to the conversation between Dumbledore and the werewolf, weren't you?"
"Remus Lupin," Harry said automatically, and Charles gave him a strange look. "The werewolf...His name is Remus Lupin. And yes, I was listening."
"It would be a good idea to confirm that your godfather did everything correctly when he was organizing his Will," Charles pointed out. "Perhaps you should summon the house elf he mentioned, to make sure. Otherwise the entire Will could be called into question."
Harry gave a slight nod. "Kreacher!" he barked, and with a loud crack the revolting, mad house elf appeared. Harry saw the disgust on Charles' face as he looked down upon the wreck of a being in front of them. Kreacher was, as usual, muttering insanely under his breath.
"Silence," Harry ordered, and the elf looked surprised when he stopped speaking. The outrage on Kreacher's shriveled face was almost comical. "It would seem that Sirius did perform the magic correctly – I am your master now Kreather."
The elf was shaking his head in silent denial. "You organised for your last master do die, Kreacher. That is a death sentence for any house elf, as I am sure you are aware," Harry continued. "But I understand that Sirius and you shared a mutual hatred for one another, and that this was mostly why you acted as you did.
"I will not have you executed, though it is within my rights. You will have to earn the right to this continued mercy – you will act as a proper house elf. You will not speak rudely to or about me, my old friends, Sirius or any other member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will not give away any information related to these people to anyone besides myself, without my express permission. You will return to Grimmauld Place and you will continue to assist them in the clean up that is going on there – do you understand? You may speak."
"Kreacher understands," the elf said resentfully.
"Good. In return for your good behaviour, I ask that you bring any objects that members of the Order of the Phoenix discard – be they dark artifacts or family heirlooms – to me immediately. I will find an appropriate place to store them, and decide on a case-by-case basis what to do with those objects. Rest assured nothing will be destroyed or discarded without a very good reason."
"New-Master will not destroy the noble house of Black?" Kreacher asked hesitantly.
"I will do nothing of the sort. I want you to go to Albus Dumbledore and tell him that we have spoken. Tell him that Sirius performed the magic correctly and that I am your master now, and that Grimmauld Place will still be open for use as Headquarters. And Kreacher?"
"Yes Master?"
"Bring me those things that you ferreted away in your little nest downstairs; I will take care of them here for you, and I promise that they will be well looked-after."
"Yes Master!" Kreacher vanished, but just before he did, Harry saw – for the first time – a look of happy contentment on the elf's face.
"That was remarkably well handled Harry," Charles remarked.
"Without all the emotional attachments to my Godfather, I can see that his treatment of Kreacher was a huge factor in the elf's betrayal," Harry shrugged. "If I treat him decently, then he will have no cause to try to betray me as well. He could provide a good ally in the fight against Voldemort if we can convince Bellatrix and the Malfoy's that Kreacher is still loyal to them, while retaining his loyalty ourselves."
"You are thinking more objectively … I would consider that a great thing if I didn't know the reason behind it," Charles told him proudly, but sadly. "When we get your emotions functioning as they should, please don't forget how to do that."
"I'll try," Harry acknowledged.
"I know you will," Charles smiled at him. There was a sudden crack beside them and Jinty appeared, holding an envelope.
"Mister Charles, Master Harry," the elf bobbed his head at both of them, "This is being just delivered to Master Harry's room! Jinty is thinking Master Harry is wanting it right away!" he offered the letter to Harry, who reognised it immediately as having come from Hogwarts.
"Must be the OWL results," he said to Charles, not even noticing when Jinty vanished again, his job done.
"Well go on then! Open it!" Charles ordered, much more excited than his young ward at the prospect of seeing the exam results.
Harry offered a brief smile at his Sire and very slowly broke the seal on the envelope. He could see Charles' anticipation building, and got some small pleasure out of the suspense he knew he was causing.
He opened the accompanying letter first, and read through it quickly.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Please find enclosed a copy of your results for the OWLs you sat at the end of last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Congratulations on achieving your OWLs. The Department of Education is delighted to be able to provide you with your examination results, and your school (Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) has included a list of the courses you will be able to attend next year, based on your results.
After this year, your attendance at school is not compulsory. Should you wish to leave Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and move directly into the work force, simply send a message to your school informing them of your decision.
Should you choose to sit you NEWTs, we advise you select your courses for the next two years very carefully. Your subjects, the marks you receive for the NEWTs themselves and your assignments throughout the school year will have a huge impact on the careers that will be available to you.
Signed,
And then followed a long list of signatures from all of the ranking members of the Department of Education, Harry skimmed over them without much interest. He handed the letter to Charles to read through, and smirked slightly at the look his Sire gave him.
While Charles read through the letter, Harry took out the next sheet of parchment in the envelope and read through it very carefully.
Mr. Potter, please find below a list of your results for the OWL examinations you sat last year.
Astrology-The student has received an Acceptable grade in the practical examination, and an Exceeds Expectations grade in the theoretical component of the course and has achieved an overall grade of Acceptable.
Care of Magical Creatures-The student has received an Exceeds Expecations grade in both the theoretical and practical components of this subject, and has achieved an overall grade of Exceeds Expectations.
Charms–The student has received an Exceeds Expectation grade in the practical examination, and an Exceeds Expectations grade in the theoretical examination and has achieved an overall grade of Exceeds Expectations.
Defence Against the Dark Arts-The student has received an Outstanding grade in both the practical and theoretical components of this exam and has achieved an overall grade of Outstanding. The student has received bonus marks in this examination by casting a corporeal Patronus at the examiners request.
Divination-The student has received an Acceptable grade in theoretical component of this course, and a Poor grade in the practical examination and has achieved an overall grade of Poor.
Herbology-The student has received an Exceeds Expectations grade in both theoretical and practical components of the examination and has achieved an overall grade of Exceeds Expectations.
History of Magic-The student has received a Dreadful grade in the theoretical examination for this subject, and has achieved an overall grade of Dreadful.
Potions-The student has achieved an Acceptable grade in the theoretical component of the examination, and an Outstanding in the practical component and has achieved an overall grade of Exceeds Expectation.
Transfiguration-The student has received an Exceeds Expectations grade in both theoretical and practical components of this exam and has achieved an overall grade of Exceeds Expectations.
Overall, the student has achieved:
1 Outstanding Grade
5 Exceeds Expectations Grades
1 Acceptable Grade
1 Poor Grade
1 Dreadful Grade
The student has received 7 OWLs, and failed two subjects.
Once Harry finished reading through the marks, he read through it again, with one eye watching Charles. The vampire was actually fidgeting with his eagerness to find out how Harry had done in his exams, and Harry took a brief pleasure in breaking through Charles' reserved outer shell.
Looking over his results, Harry couldn't help but think that he could have done a lot better. His time with Charles over the summer had shown him some of the benefits of study, and he knew that if he sat the same exams again today he could do much better than he had the year before.
Then again, the year before he had been struggling with Fudge, Umbridge, Snape, Dumbledore and Voldemort, as well as his own adolescent hormones kicking in. He supposed that in light of that, he had done well enough. "Here Charles," Harry finally took pity on his Sire and handed over the grades; he smiled slightly as Charles snatched them from his hands.
He waited patiently for Charles to read through his results; his own thoughts were mostly on the Potions grade. He knew that Snape refused to teach anyone who scored less than an Outstanding in his subject, and over the summer Harry had found a new appreciation in the art of Potions-he had hoped to continue learning about it through the school year.
His old dreams of being an Auror had faded since he had been Turned. His goal was still to become part of the Ministry of Magic if he could, but it no longer mattered to him whether that was in Law Enforcement or another department. It would have been nice, he supposed, to get into the exclusive Auror academies, but as dreams went it was a fairly small one.
"What do you think of your marks Harry?" Charles interrupted his musings on the future.
"I could do much better now, but last year was a difficult year and I think I did was well as I could have at the time," Harry said honestly. "I'm disappointed in Potions grade – I was definitely hoping to continue the subject this year."
"Are you actually disappointed or just a turn of phrase?" Charles asked.
Harry considered. "Disappointment is the emotion I should be feeling; I have no actual emotional response to this news," he said after a moment, and Charles sighed slightly.
Harry pulled out the other documents in the envelope. The next one down showed a list of classes available to him at NEWT level.
Astronomy – General
Care of Magical Creatures – Advanced or General
Charms – Advanced or General
Defence Against the Dark Arts – Advanced or General
Divination – General (Please note that Professors Trelawney and Firenze consider proper examination of your talents in this area to be impossible, thus the course is open to all students, regardless of whether they took Divination at OWL level, or how they performed).
Herbology – Advanced or General
History of Magic – General (Please note that although you received a fail grade in this subject, Professor Binns accepts all students for NEWT level classes, regardless of pass or fail grades in the OWL examinations.)
Political Studies
Potions – Advanced
Transfiguration – Advanced or General
At the bottom of the page was a note from Professor McGonagall.
Potter, I have managed to convince Professor Snape to accept you into his class, but this comes with added requests. You are to attend weekly after-hours potions lessons with Professor Snape, as well as hand in an extra essay each week for each one that you did not get an Outstanding in last year, and if he does not feel that you are performing on-par with the rest of the class, then he reserves the right to remove your from his class at any given time–if you get an Outstanding in the examinations at the end of your sixth year, then in Seventh year none of these conditions will continue to apply. If you fail, you will not be allowed to continue in the subject.
Good luck in your career Potter; I've done what I can for you,
Professor M. McGonagall.
"Charles," he said softly, and handed his Sire the page.
"There you go then," Charles announced cheerfully, "You can do Potions after all. Are you still going to pursue a career as an Auror?"
"I'm not certain any more," Harry said with a shrug. "I would like to become a figure of some influence in the magical world; for more than just my defeat of Voldemort. I want to be able to speak out about the injustices that are being done – most specifically to our Vampire brethren – and be in a position to have some of that legislation changed. It's of no particular concern how I manage to do that."
"I see," Charles nodded slightly. "If you want to keep up in Potions with these restrictions I would advise that you start on the assignments from last year before you return to school, it will help you keep on top of things once you get there."
"I was thinking the same thing," Harry nodded. "I'll owl Hermione and ask her if she still has a list of all the assignments, I think I may have lost a few over the year, or thrown them out in disgust."
"What other subjects do you think you'll take?" Charles asked him, and let Harry think about it for a little while.
"Well, I'll definitely need to take all the basics: Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions. I won't take Divination, it was a waste of time before and I don't think that's going to change. I don't think I'll take History of Magic either; the professor is extremely boring and I've barely learnt anything from him in the past."
"What about Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy and Herbology?" Charles promted.
"I'm less certain about those. Although Hagrid is a friend, he isn't the best teacher in the world. I think that I will learn enough about dangerous creatures if I simply continue to talk to him than I would in the class. Herbology would be good as so many plants go into Potions, although the subject itself doesn't particularly interest me. Astronomy … there's nothing really for or against it."
"And Political Studies?"
"I've never heard of the course, but depending on the teacher it could be really interesting," Harry allowed. "It would be a better course to cover what actually interests me in the History of Magic course I imagine."
Charles nodded thoughtfully. "I would suggest not taking Astronomy or Care of Magical Creatures, free your time up so that you can concentrate on the classes that will get you the farthest and still have time for Quidditch, socializing and any independent studies you may want to pursue."
Harry nodded his agreement, taking out pen and paper to draft a quick letter to McGonagall.
Dear Professor McGonagall,
You have my sincere thanks for speaking to Professor Snape on my behalf regarding Potions; I promise I will complete all assignments past and present to the best of my ability, you will not regret giving me this chance! In regards to the subjects I would like to take this year, could you please sign me up for:
Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Political Studies, Potions and Transfiguration?
Thank you again,
See you in September,
Harry Potter.
He went to show the letter to Charles, who shook his head. "You should no longer need my opinion on letters before sending them," his Sire told him. "I trust in your ability to word letters appropriately, in the future I would like you to share that trust. If you are drafting a particularly delicate letter and feel unsure of yourself, then by all means come to me."
Harry nodded. "I should probably send this immediately," he remarked, standing up. "Until tomorrow?"
"Until tomorrow, sleep well Harry."
"You too Charles," Harry returned, heading back to his room. He gave the letter to Hedwig, who took off immediately, then wrote out another letter to Hermione, asking her for the essays they had been supposed to work on for Potions the year before. He would get Kreacher to deliver the letter tomorrow.
His schooling for the next two years mostly organised, Harry pulled out his fifth year Potions textbook to read through. Even if he didn't have the essays just yet, it wouldn't hurt to start refreshing his memory now.
If everything went according to plan, Harry should have a fairly calm remainder of the holidays, aside from trying to finish all of the various projects he had started up at the Manor and getting everything ready for his return to Hogwarts.
As he turned off the light to go to sleep some hours later, he remembered that very little in his life had ever gone according to plan before.
Chapter Edited 21 October2008
This chapters question: As a half-vampire, do you think Harry should/would be able to have children?
Again, only minor changes.
WolfMoon