A/N: This story is on a 1 chapter delay. My supporters will get early access to future chapters before I post them here. Check out my profile if you want to support me or find me on Twitter as EreborMarkus. You can also find me by googling EreborMarkus.

I just want to say that the updates will come slightly faster from now, and I'll be going back to edit the previous chapters to polish the story a bit more. If any significant changes are made, I'll have them in the author's note. Also, there's a basic timeline available at the bottom of the story. It'll get more detailed as the story progresses.

On to the story

Harry appeared inside the living room with a soft pop. He took in the damage and saw that it was relatively fixable, but the wards would probably need Hermione's expertise. Speaking of Hermione, Harry started to walk towards her when he felt her in the study. Harry quickly went over what he wanted to say to Hermione and wondered if this was the wrong time to bring it up. After all, they both did just discover a world-changing secret. However, before Harry could overthink, he had already reached the study. He saw Hermione was waving her wand over the spacesuits while muttering something.

"What did Ron want?" Hermione spoke without losing focus on her work.

"Apparently, he thought that I died. Oh, and Susan wants to see me."

Hermione frowned and stopped her work to look around, "Looking at the state of your home, I can see why Ron would think that. But why does Susan want to see you?"

Harry shrugged, "Beats me. I'll go see her in a couple of hours, but I wanted to do something first."

Hermione was already turning back to restart whatever the hell she was doing. Harry casually said, "You know Ron thought we were doing something kinky when he saw what I was wearing. He actually thought all the damage was caused by us fucking."

Hermione didn't miss a beat with her reply, "And now you know exactly why I don't want to talk to him. It'll be a loss to the world if I get infected by his stupidity."

Harry frowned when she didn't say anything after that. There wasn't even a flush on Hermione's face at the idea of them together, but then again, they were both on the wrong side of thirty years. And adults generally don't respond like schoolchildren.

"You know Hermione… I was thinking about Ron's idea, and you know, it didn't sound that bad."

Hermione froze for a second before turning to face him incredulously, "Really, Harry? You really think that now is the best time to try and get me in your bed?"

Harry chuckled nervously, "Of course not! I mean… Do you think it's a bad time?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, Harry. Yes, it is."

"Ah, right. Maybe I'll just go see what Susan wants then?" Harry said, almost as if it was a question.

Hermione didn't even deign him with an answer this time, so Harry just cleared his throat and disappeared with a soft pop.

The assistant sitting outside Susan's office jumped a little when Harry appeared in front of her. Harry's mind was still filled with thoughts of how badly he had failed with Hermione… again. It wasn't the first time she rejected his advances, and it certainly won't be the last time Harry tries to, as Hermione says, 'Get her in his bed.' It's been a years-long mission at this point, ever since Harry realized just how much he enjoys Hermione's company.

"Lord Potter, Minister Bones is ready for you."

Harry was brought out of his thoughts and gave a small smile to the young assistant that alerted him, "Thank you, Clarice." He entered the office and immediately noticed that Susan's appearance looked eerily similar to Ron's state.

Her usually neatly groomed figure was gone. Instead, disheveled hair and a worried frown could clearly be seen on her face. Susan Bones looked like she had gone through hell in the past day.

"Harry," Susan breathed out with a tone of both worry and anger, "We all thought you were dead!"

"Ron might have mentioned something about that," Harry said with a bit of amusement.

Glaring at him in anger for making light of the disaster he had caused, Susan growled out, "You think that this is funny? The whole world saw what happened! And by the whole world, I include the muggles!"

Harry's smile dropped immediately, and he asked with trepidation, "How bad is it?"

"Almost as bad as it can get. Most of the muggle governments are convinced that there's a new superweapon that was exposed. As if that wasn't bad enough, I just got word that some muggle recorded the whole thing and put it on the internet. So even the civilians know about this now!"

Harry grimaced at that, realizing that the magical world might be exposed with his and Hermione's adventure. Harry still had no regrets about what they had done, but he would have to speed up the timeline of his plans to try and mitigate their blunder.

"Do the muggle leaders know that it was magic that they saw?"

Susan shook her head, "Only the Prime Minister does. I just spoke to her about it a couple of hours ago."

"Then I can work with this. Let the Prime Minister know that we made a breakthrough in energy production… and that the beam of light was the result of our success."

Susan looked at Harry in confusion, "I have no idea what you just said, Harry."

"Right… sorry, I've been around Hermione for too long," Harry said before pulling out a communication mirror, "Let's just ask the woman herself."

Harry waited for Hermione to appear in the mirror before saying, "The muggles saw what we did, Hermione. We might need to start blurring the lines between our worlds faster than we wanted."

Frowning, Hermione said, "I should have known what all that energy would do to the wards. I guess I was just too excited and jumped in without thinking."

"It's already done," Harry said, trying to placate Hermione, "I was just telling Susan that we should use energy production as an excuse. I remembered you mentioning that fusion was still causing issues for the muggles, right? I mean, shouldn't you be able to do it with what we know now?"

Hermione thought for a few minutes and replied, "I don't see why not. If not fusion, then I should have some type of alternative. But I can't do it alone, though, Harry."

"Brilliant!" Harry said with a cheery smile, "As for the help, I can finally put that company I made in the muggle world to use. Use it to hire whoever you want."

Susan watched the two talk as if she wasn't in the room with a twitch in her eye, "This is all well and good. But what in Merlin's name am I supposed to say to the Prime Minister?"

The two turned to Susan with sheepish faces, and Hermione said, "Sorry about that, Susan. Tell her that we might have discovered a way to change the way the world is powered. Make no promises on the timeline and tell her that we will be hiring the best talents from across the world to come work in the UK. The prestige of having that in the country will get the government to back off."

Still having no idea at what the brunette was talking about, Susan just made sure to memorize what Hermione said. Then, after reciting the words in her mind, Susan looked back at Hermione, "How about you just come with me? If the Prime Minister asks more questions, which I assure you that she will, I'll be completely lost."

"I will not!" Hermione said with distaste, "You're the one who's the Minister. You do the dirty work of talking to politicians."

With a bit of humor sneaking into her voice, Susan said, "Did you forget I'm a politician too?"

Hermione gave Susan a pointed look and shut off the connection, leaving the amused Harry and Susan alone.

"She doesn't forget anything, does she?" Susan asked Harry.

Harry thought back to when Hermione found out that Susan was a regular visitor to his bed. That was not a fun time, but that was also long before Harry had started to chase after Hermione. The jealousy was, and still is, strong in her. Now, if Hermione just accepted Harry's advances…

"Well, I should just get this done now. You do what you need to, Harry. I won't bother to ask for details since I know you won't tell me, but remember who depends on you. A mistake from you will affect the lives of all of us."

Harry watched in silence as Susan disappeared in a flash of green fire. He wondered when he had turned into a Dumbledore type of figure. Harry often remembered his deceased mentor saying how his mistakes were magnified due to his influence over society.

And now Harry was in the same position, but it was also a position that Harry had actively sought. Getting out of his restless thoughts, Harry focused on his barely used company office in muggle London and apparated out of the Ministry of Magic, popping into a seemingly ordinary muggle office.

Or it would have been ordinary if not for the utter lack of workers on the floor. That was because Harry had to rent an entire floor of the building for the best chance of warding the office from curious muggles. And even though the cost was a bit unseemly, money was the last thing Harry was ever worried about.

Harry's ears perked up when he heard giggling from his personal office. With a quirked brow, Harry walked towards the closed door and knocked twice, "Teddy, are you using my office to impress your lady friends again?"

Harry stifled the laugh that threatened to escape him when he heard a feminine gasp before his godson cursed loudly. Harry discreetly cast an anti-apparition ward so they would be forced to face him instead of escaping. Harry usually didn't mind Teddy using the floor for his escapades. Still, he would prefer if his personal office was free from horny teenagers.

Sadly, when the door opened to reveal who was inside, Harry wished that he let them escape.

"Victoire!?"

The beautiful blonde girl that Harry saw as a niece squeaked out, "Hi, Uncle Harry."

"I… What in Merlin are you two doing?" Harry practically yelled.

Teddy, who stayed silent so far, finally said, "Victoire's my girlfriend now. Surprise?"

Harry pinched the top of his nose and took in a deep breath. While he would love to chew his godson out for daring to bring Victoire to the office, Harry wasn't her father, and she was an adult.

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't see anything," Harry finally said, making the couple smile. "And find some other place to do… whatever it was you were doing."

"Yes, Uncle Harry."

Harry nodded while thinking, "Dear Merlin… Even Teddy's getting more action than me these days."

"Is my office clean?" Harry asked.

After Teddy nodded, Harry continued, "Good. Let's go inside and have a talk."

Harry stepped into his office and looked over the decor to make sure nothing was defiled. The furniture looked to be in order, and nothing had suspicious stains on them. Thankfully, the sign that displayed the company's name, something Harry was particularly proud of, was unmolested.

Trivia Industries.

Harry had personally come up with the name after learning that Hermione's name originated from Ancient Greece. That had led to Harry learning about Hecate, the goddess of magic and crossroads. Her Roman name just happened to be Trivia.

Harry got a kick out of naming his company after the goddess that basically governed over all the events of his life, while making it sound to most people as if the company only made irrelevant products.

Ron had a good laugh when Harry told him about it, but Hermione just told Harry to grow up.

"Um… Uncle Harry? We really are sorry. Can we just not talk about this… like ever?"

Harry was brought back to the present by Victoire's overly sweet voice. He looked at the blonde girl trying to look as cute as possible, and let out a little laugh.

"That's not what I want to talk about, Victoire. I was expecting to just speak to Teddy when I came to the office, but I think you can help me too."

The couple brightened up at Harry's words as they watched their uncle sit down at his desk. Teddy was a little confused at Harry's action since he had never seen his uncle bother to check up on the office. However, Teddy decided to just wait for an explanation. He felt that it was best to keep a low profile after getting caught with Victoire.

"Right… Teddy. This company won't be just a placeholder anymore. I'll need to fully staff this floor by the end of next year."

"But what about me?" Teddy interrupted, "Will I lose my job here?"

Harry looked at his godson with a bit of disappointment. Teddy was a good boy, but he had grown up wanting for nothing. Harry could never resist spoiling Teddy as he grew. While Andromeda acted as the stern influence, Teddy had still grown up to be a little entitled.

"Remind me again about what your job is exactly?" Harry drawled out.

Teddy ducked his head in embarrassment while Victoire pouted at Harry for making fun of her boyfriend. How cute.

"You have two choices, Teddy. You can either stop delaying and find a real job, or you can stay here and be one of my trusted eyes inside the company."

"Here! I'll stay here," Teddy blurted out. He wanted to prove that he wasn't just mooching off his uncle, and mainly, Teddy wanted to show Victoire that he could be a proper adult.

Harry smiled at the look that his godson gave to Victoire before saying, "Good! Most of the workers will be muggles, obviously, so you'll need to keep your abilities in control. I don't want to obliviate any of my future employees because you thought it was funny to have a pig's snout on your face."

Victoire giggled before quickly quieting down when Harry turned his attention to her.

"As for you, Victoire. I know you wanted to work with Ancient Runes after school. You can shadow Hermione while working as a spokeswoman for the company. Would you be interested in that?"

Victoire let out a loud squeal and jumped across the desk and hugged Harry tightly, "Thank you, Uncle Harry! I would love to do that!"

Harry chuckled and patted the excited blonde on the back, "Don't thank me. Just do your best, and I'll be happy."

Victoire nodded and retreated with a bright smile.

"Good!" Harry said with a clap of his hands, "Now I just have to fill the office with the right people. This is going to be fun!"

Over the next few weeks, certain people all over the world received a strange letter that compelled them to read it. Of course, most of them scoffed at the contents and threw the letter away, but there were enough that were interested that took the time to look a little deeper. With the offer of a prepaid flight and hotel stay, many of the people interested soon found themselves on a plane to London.

A trickle of people soon started to arrive at Trivia Industries. Walking into the naturally lit office, the prospective candidates found a young man with blue hair waiting for them.

"Please don't hesitate to grab some refreshments. We're still waiting for more to arrive before starting."

The small gaggle of people murmured out acknowledgments as they wandered towards the food that was laid out. The brief moment of the awkwardness of strangers meeting was broken by the few that started some small talk.

Surprisingly, none of the invited guests had come from the same background. Their current jobs varied from farmers to teachers. Still, they eventually found out that speaking English was the one thing they all had in common.

Soon, more people arrived at the office to join the early comers in bewilderment. Uncertainty filling all their minds as they spoke to each other.

When there looked to be around fifty people, Teddy clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Looks like everyone's here! Excellent! I just have a few things to say before we start this interview."

The interviewees glanced at each other in bewilderment. It felt a little strange that the person in control looked like the youngest in the room.

While Teddy decided the fates of the people invited, two people were watching them in Harry's office.

Harry and Hermione watched Teddy work like a television show with the wall charmed to be transparent and listening spells cast around the office. They even had food spread out on the table to munch on while they watched.

"This is a bit cruel, Harry. You're making Teddy feel like he's making an important decision today."

Harry shrugged, "He should get some confidence in the start instead of having a failure weigh him down."

Hermione laughed a bit at that, "Even when you want to teach him a lesson, Teddy still gets coddled. Luna picked every single one of these people. That pretty much means that they are all good for the job."

"Exactly why I gave Teddy this job," Harry said, not even bothering to defend himself. "But this isn't what I really care about. So how goes the poaching?"

Hermione's cheer vanished as she sighed, "Not that great. Turns out the world's greatest minds don't want to join a startup that can't provide any proof. I might need to wait until I can build that storage device that Perceive told me about."

"Anything I can do to help?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head, "Not really. Luckily we have all the materials already available on Earth. It's the manufacturing process that's a nightmare. We are so far behind technologically that even if I released the information I received freely to the world, it still couldn't be built in the next twenty years."

They sat in thoughtful silence as they stared at Teddy leading a group of people into a separate room. It looked like Teddy wasn't going to conduct one-on-one interviews.

"Though, there is one thing that you can help me with," Hermione said, breaking the silence. "Nicolas Flamel's grimoire has been rumored of falling into the hands of a pureblood family in France. I think it'll be of better use with me."

Harry simply asked, "The elixir of life?"

"Among other things," Hermione nodded.

"Hmm… I'll see what I can do."

Teddy now had the group in a circle, and they were doing some sort of team exercise.

Hermione gave him praise, "This is a pretty good effort from Teddy."

Harry let out a disinterested noise while staring at Hermione's face.

She saw him looking and asked, "What?"

"Is now a good time to ask you on a date?"

Hermione groaned, "Seriously, Harry? Why are you so persistent with this?"

Harry defended himself, "Hey, if you weren't actually attracted to me, I would have dropped this ages ago. I just don't understand why you don't want to take the natural next step."

"Look at what happened with Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Hermione," Harry deadpanned, "That was well over ten years ago. And as much as I love that man, Ron somehow thought that you broke up with him when nothing actually happened… Do you think I'm that much of a moron?"

Hermione tried to keep a serious expression, but it broke down quickly when Harry let out a smile. The two laughed, remembering Ron's face when he realized that he had accidentally cheated on Hermione.

When the laughter subsided, Hermione said, "He's lucky that Marcela turned out to be a sweet woman… and that his kids got their looks from the mother."

"Alright," Harry chuckled, "That's enough insults towards my mate. So? What do you say?"

Hermione bit her bottom lip before saying, "Fine, we can try and see if dating works for us. But only after you get Flamel's grimoire."

"Why the wait?" Harry asked with a raised brow, "This isn't some sort of delay tactic, is it?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Maybe I'd like a little bit more time to brace myself before we change our whole relationship."

Harry's thoughts immediately fell to the gutter, thinking about finally having Hermione in his bed. However, Hermione clearly noticed Harry's eyes falling to her breasts since she rolled her eyes again in exasperation.

"Merlin, Harry! I don't mean sex! Sometimes I wish you were still the same as the boy I knew in school."

"Why? So I can just look at you dreamily and brood about not dating you? Well, if you want that," Harry said before making dopey eyes at Hermione, making her laugh again.

With smiles still on their faces, they tried to tone down the banter and focus on Teddy's progress. It looked like he was almost done and had narrowed now the choices to three people. Two men and one woman.

Harry wandlessly cast a spell to get some information on the people left and saw that Teddy had an American, British, and an Indian. The two men being British and Indian. The lone woman hailing from the United States.

Harry looked over their background and was satisfied. No matter who Teddy ended up picking for the company, Harry was confident it would be in good hands. Besides, Harry was only letting Teddy hire the marketing head and the public relations. Hermione would still make the crucial hirings.

Speaking of Hermione… Harry got up from the couch and swooped down to lay a quick kiss on Hermione's soft lips before saying, "I'll be looking forward to our date!" Harry apparated to France before Hermione could even react.

Getting that grimoire was now Harry Potter's top goal, and hopefully, nobody put up too much resistance.

Timeline

1980: Harry Potter is born

1991: Event of Book canon starts

1998: Teddy Lupin is born. Voldemort is defeated. Book canon ends

2000: Victoire Weasley is born

2002: Hermione and Ron break up

2003: Ron starts to date an Italian witch, Marcela

2005: Hermione dives into the world of magical artifacts

2007: Ron and Marcela get married

2008: Marcela Weasley gives birth to twin girls, Sofia and Isabella

2010: Harry becomes aware of the impending doom of magical society

2011: Trivia Industries is registered and occupies an empty office in London

2012: Harry starts to uses his fame and power to nudge magical governments in other countries to adopt his vision of the future, a united magical world

2013: Harry brings Susan into the fold, helping her rise rapidly in the rankings of the Ministry of Magic

2015: Susan Bones becomes Minister of Magic

2016: Hermione discovers an anomaly on Mars.

2017: Harry and Hermione find the abandoned Prothean base on Mars