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.

Also, thank you to those that left a review on the last chapter. To reply to MystiYew, this is a slow story with time skips when needed. Speaking of which, I should look to add a date on each chapter for more clarity. I'll see what I can do by the next chapter release.

Booker Anderson stepped out of his rental car and looked around the area in nostalgia. This would be the last time he would be in his hometown, Houston, for a long while. Booker came back to meet his friends for one last hurrah before starting his adult life. It was bittersweet, but that's what life generally was like.

He walked into the busy bar and saw his friends wave him down from a table in the back. Booker walked towards them with a smile and exchanged enthusiastic hugs from friends he hadn't seen in years.

"I'm glad you remembered the little people back home, Book!"

Booker rolled his eyes at his long-time friend, Garrett, and said, "Dude, you call me every other month. I can't forget about you even if I tried."

Everyone at the table chuckled at the little jab and settled back down. A glass of beer was pushed in front of Booker before Garrett spoke, "Guys, let's drink to this nerd. The man who came from the bottom, with literally nothing, and turned himself into a fucking rocket scientist!"

Glasses were raised, and the table cheered as they chugged down their drinks. Booker laughed and followed along, even if his friends were technically wrong. It was true that he did come from nothing but a rocket scientist, he was not. Of course, Booker wasn't the type of guy to break the mood by correcting his well-meaning friend, so he let it go.

They spent the next hour talking about their new jobs, girlfriends, and just life in general, before the topic that's been trending with the entire world inevitably popped up.

"What do you think was happening there? That shit was freaky, dude."

"I don't know man, I honestly thought it was fake before I saw, like, twenty different angles of that beam recorded by so many people."

Booker kept quiet since he didn't want to speculate too much on it, mainly because of how much it scared him. Plus, no major governments nor anyone credible had addressed the now-famous giant beam of light that appeared in the rural UK. The ones that did speak of it were mainly conspiracy theorists claiming that the world was ending or Jesus had come down to cleanse humanity of their sins. So yeah… Booker wanted no part of it, especially with his new job starting soon. Any negative attention right now and Booker could kiss his future goodbye.

Unfortunately, Garrett had other plans, "Book! You should know more than us, right? We're just bankers and lawyers. You are the dude who deals with shit like this."

Booker squirmed in his seat and decided to give a vague answer, "It's honestly above me, guys. I don't really work with stuff like that."

Jason, the guy sitting next to Booker, raised his brow in interest and asked, "But what is that 'stuff'? Like, what's your best guess?"

Booker hesitated for a bit, then decided that since this was just around friends, it wouldn't hurt to say some of his theories, "Alright, fine, I'll tell you my guess but don't let anyone know you heard it from me, got it?"

He continued when everyone nodded, "That thing looked like a solid beam of light that's half the size of a football field. The only thing I know that can produce something similar, though smaller, is a laser… the fact that there were no reports of blindness tells me that it isn't a laser. Plus, a laser the size of that beam would need to be powered by multiple nuclear reactors… which is also impossible."

His friends were staring at him with interest clearing visible in their eyes, and Garrett said, "So? If it's not a laser, then what is it?"

Booker gave a sheepish shrug, "Either the Brits advanced their technology centuries into the future… or it's aliens."

They stared at him for a few seconds, then burst out laughing while holding their sides. Booker had a wry smile on his face while surrounded by his laughing friends.

Jason slapped his back and said, "Shit, dude, you really had me going there."

This wasn't a bad reaction by his friends in Booker's mind, but he wasn't joking with them. That beam couldn't be explained by anything that humans currently had access to. That fact frequently filled his mind with anxiety or excitement, depending on the day.

Thankfully, they moved off that topic and talked about other nonsensical things before Jason looked behind Booker and whistled, "Damn… Check out that girl."

Curious about what Jason had seen, Booker turned around to see a stunning brunette staring pensively at their table. When she noticed their attention on her, a smirk grew on her pink lips before she flagged down a server. A minute later, a drink was put in front of Booker, with the server simply saying, "You're a lucky man."

Booker knew that he was a decent-looking guy, but this woman was way out of his league. If they knew each other beforehand, then maybe, but at first sight in a random bar? That was suspicious.

Obviously, his friends didn't think so, with Garrett saying, "Get the hell over there! What are you waiting for?"

Booker shrugged and picked up the drink before walking to the far-too-beautiful woman that had singled him out.

He reached the table and was about to greet her before the brunette spoke up first, "Hello, Mr. Anderson. I'm glad to be finally meeting you."

Booker froze in shock. First of all, the British accent was very unexpected at a tiny bar in Texas, but hearing his last name stunned him. They weren't even introduced to each other yet, so how the hell did she know him?

"Yes, I know all this might seem a bit strange, but I came here specifically for you. If you are willing to have a seat, I could tell you more."

It was just now that Booker realized that the brunette was dressed in what looked to be office attire. She still looked ridiculously good, but clearly wasn't dressed for a bar like this.

Slowly taking the seat in front of her, Booker said, "So I'm guessing this drink doesn't mean what it normally does."

Her amber eyes sparkled in amusement as she said, "Not normally, no, but you might like what I have to say even more."

Curious now, Booker said, "Alright, I guess it won't hurt to hear you out."

She clasped her hands on the table and said, "Excellent! Now, I know that you are headed to California to start your new job. But I'm here to give you another choice."

Booker sighed, "Look, lady, I'm not interested in anything else. I'm not sure how you got to know about my job, but there won't be anything that'll make me change my mind."

"Not even if I told you that we are much further ahead compared to anyone else in the world on the subject you are about to research?"

That made him pause a bit. Booker's mind ran through all the possible institutions that could claim this, but it wasn't possible from what he knew. That's precisely what he said to her, "Impossible."

"I heard what you and your friends were discussing, Mr. Anderson. I would think the word, impossible, should be something to be used carefully these days. I won't say more on that, but to show how serious we are, I'm prepared to match the salary of your current job offer, plus give you a signing bonus worth two years of salary. Other expenses will be covered, of course, but we can speak further when you give us a call."

Booker's eyes widened in shock at the offer as he was handed a business card. He muttered something as the brunette got up to leave before numbly walking back to his table.

Garret was the first to talk, "Well? Did you get her number, you lucky shit?"

Booker was still dazed as he said, "No… But I think I was just offered a job."

Jason leaned over to read the card that Booker was holding.

Hermione Granger

Chief Scientific Officer

Trivia Industries

Harry ran his hand through his messy hair as he walked into the recently repaired Potter Manor. Visually, everything looked perfect, but Harry could feel that the wards were still shot to hell with his magic, but it should be fixed within a few weeks. He was just glad that there wasn't a giant hole in the quidditch grounds.

Harry reached out with his senses and felt Hermione was back in the study. With a smile, he walked towards his new girlfriend. It had been a couple days since Harry had seen Hermione. He had been getting Patrice Botrel and his family settled into a spare manor of the Black family, and Hermione had been in the States to meet some guy that Luna recommended for hire. Thankfully, all of that was over, so there should be time for some relaxation.

"YES!"

Harry heard Hermione yell and rushed over to see what happened. He found her doing a dorky dance next to the table with the cube-shaped portkey. Harry just smiled and watched his girlfriend be adorable for a few seconds before clearing his throat.

"Ahem," Hermione froze at the sound before looking at Harry standing there with a smirk on his face. He said, "I never knew you were such a terrible dancer, Hermione."

Instead of giving him a reply, the brunette launched herself at Harry and mashed their lips together. Harry had frozen in shock before finally closing his eyes in contentment and moving his lips against Hermione's. It was only a minute or two before they separated. Still, Harry was deliriously happy that Hermione was the initiator of the kiss.

Even though they had decided to start dating a week ago, the pending work hadn't really given them a chance to explore the new relationship. Hermione taking the initiative to kiss him felt like validation in Harry's mind, even though he knew it was a silly feeling.

"Not that I didn't love the kiss," Harry started, "But what brought that on?"

Hermione turned to pick up the portkey and presented it to him with an excited smile, and said, "I fixed it! It won't destroy everything when we activate it anymore!"

"Brilliant! Does this mean that we're ready to go back?"

That made her smile dim a little, "Almost… but my original hope in the Flamel Grimoire didn't pan out. It's still useful, so I appreciate you getting it for me, but it didn't contain any information related to Mithril."

Harry tilted his head in thought, Mithril sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember from exactly where, so he asked, "Mithril? I feel like I should know what it is, but it's escaping me."

Hermione's cheeks flushed a pretty red as she said, "Well… it's a mythical metal that's supposed to be similar to Goblin Silver."

A light went off in Harry's head, "Hermione?"

"…yes?"

"Did you have me get that grimoire for something that only exists in muggle fiction?"

Hermione's face couldn't have been more red as she muttered, "Well, it could have been true. It didn't take you that long anyway."

Harry tried to hide a smile but wasn't very successful since Hermione started to glare at him before huffing.

"I did it for you anyway, you arse. Since Mithril apparently doesn't exist, we have to go to the Goblin Nation for some of their silver."

That shut down any feelings of amusement in Harry. He didn't get along with the goblins, and that was reciprocated. The only business between them was the vault in Gringotts, and even that was only because a war would be triggered if any vaults were seized.

"Hermione, you know how much they hate us for what we did."

"I do, but there's no other choice. I need goblin silver to make that storage device for the archives."

"…Let me guess, I have to do this in person?"

Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic look before giving him a peck on the corner of his mouth and saying, "Yes, you do. I'll have to be there while they forge the metal. The runes will have to be placed at the same time to make what I want."

Harry stayed silent, lamenting that there still wasn't time for that date, before saying, "Alright then, let's go get this done right now. Merlin knows what those little bastards will get out of us for this."

"About that," Hermione said with a sheepish face, "You'll have to go by yourself for this one. I have to find a wand-crafter that'll help me while you go to the goblins."

Harry groaned loudly, "Can't we just meet the goblin after you're done? I really don't want to go alone."

With a chuckle, Hermione patted Harry's face and said, "You're a big boy, Harry. I believe in you."

Harry watched her sashay away after mocking him with a fond look in his eyes. Hermione was unfortunately right, they were on a severe time crunch with the promise made to the Prime Minister. It wouldn't be a good look if his company delayed the very first inspection by the muggle government.

Harry knew that going to the goblins directly would be a disaster, but luckily, he knew a man who had worked with them for decades now. Harry apparated to Shell Cottage, the home of the lovely Bill and Fleur Weasley.

He always felt awkward coming here, not because of a dislike to the people living here, Harry thought they were lovely. Still, the couple was so in love with each other that it could be nauseating at times.

Harry knocked on the door and waited patiently, and not before long, Victoire opened the door and launched herself when she saw who was outside.

"Uncle Harry!"

Harry's breath was knocked out a little as he patted the blonde on the back, "I'm happy to see you too, Victoire, but you're not a kid anymore. You might actually bowl me over one of these days."

Harry saw her eyes roll as she said, "You've been saying that for years, and it hasn't happened yet."

"Who is it, Victoire?" Fleur yelled from inside the house.

"It's me, Fleur," Harry shouted back, "I needed to talk to Bill."

"'Arry! Come inside! Bill will be home soon."

Harry and Victoire looked at each other and bit back the laugh that threatened to escape. Fleur made it her mission to get rid of her French accent after she married Bill, but the one thing that stuck around was the way she pronounced Harry's name. It was something that frustrated Fleur to no end.

As they walked to the living room, Harry remembered what he said to Victoire at the office and asked her, "Have you talked to your parents about the job I offered you?"

Victoire bit her lips nervously and shook her head, "Not yet. Papa has been talking about getting me a job at Gringotts… and I wasn't really sure if you gave me a serious offer, Uncle Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes at Victoire and said, "Of course it was real! I wouldn't offer something like that on a whim."

"Offer what, 'Arry?"

Harry turned to see the beautiful Fleur Weasley arching her eyebrow at him. He got up and gave her a quick hug before saying, "I wanted Victoire to join my company, and she apparently thought I wasn't serious."

"Well, I can see where she gets that idea," Fleur said in a snooty tone while having her arms crossed.

Harry looked at Fleur in surprise and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Papa told me that you were the one who let those bastard Botrels escape his clutches. Not just that, but you settled them here!"

Harry face-palmed at this coming up again, "I already talked it over with your father, Fleur. It had to be done."

"Hmph."

Victoire giggled at her mother acting like a teenager, but she assumed that happens when her father had pampered Fleur their whole marriage.

The two adults looked at Victoire before Harry changed the topic, "Fleur, it'll be best if you let Victoire join my company. I'm working with Hermione on something big, and I don't want her to miss out on the opportunity. Plus, I'll need all the people I can trust there."

"Company?" Fleur scrunched her nose in thought, "Do you mean the newspaper or the one that makes brooms?"

Harry shook his head, "It's in the other world. A muggle company that I set up years ago but never really did anything until now."

"Well…" Fleur trailed off and looked to her daughter, "Is this what you want, Victoire? I thought you wanted to join your father at Gringotts."

"No, Maman. Uncle Harry said THE Hermione Granger is going to mentor me! No way Gringotts can match up to that…." Victoire trailed off and mumbled something almost inaudible.

Harry picked up on what she said and couldn't stop the smirk that grew on his face. Fleur saw that and looked at her blushing daughter curiously, "What was that in the end?"

Victoire cleared her throat, "I said Teddy will be there too, so I don't see why I should go anywhere else."

Fleur's face now had a smirk that matched Harry's, "Well, Victoire, you're of age, so I'm sure you can choose where you want to work. Besides, I'm sure you'll be treated well there." Fleur looked at Harry pointedly.

Harry scoffed at her look. As if he would mistreat someone who was practically family.

Before he could defend himself, the floo flared green when a handsome red-haired man stepped out. Fleur immediately jumped up from her seat to snog the life out of Bill, much to Harry's and Victoire's disgust.

"Ugh! You guys aren't alone, you know!" Victorie yelled at the amorous couple.

Mercifully, Bill pulled away from his wife to see Harry sitting in the living room next to his daughter. He rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry, Harry. I didn't know you were here."

Harry drawled, "Don't worry, I'm pretty used to it after seeing it for the last decade."

Bill let out an unrepentant laugh making Harry roll his eyes before saying, "Anyway, I came here to talk to you about the goblins. Do you mind talking in your study?"

"Not at all, come with me," Bill replied, walking out of the living room.

Before Harry followed, he turned to Victoire and said, "Do meet Teddy tomorrow at the office. I want him to introduce you to the new workers. You are going to be the spokeswoman, so get familiar with the heads of the departments."

When Victoire nodded, Harry gave a quick smile to Fleur and walked after Bill.

It wasn't long before they were sitting in the study with the privacy charms up. Bill handed him a glass of firewhiskey and asked, "So, why are you asking about the goblins, Harry? I know, from both you and the Nation, that the less you interact, the better."

"I wish I could keep it that way, Bill, but I found myself needing Goblin Silver… something the wizards can't forge."

Bill stared at Harry in silence for a long while, then sighed, "It's never something easy with you."

Harry gave him a wry smile and shrugged, "I guess I can't help it, but seriously, what do I need to offer without being laughed out of their halls?"

Bill took a sip of the drink while scratching his chin, "I'll be brutally honest with you, if they find out that Harry Potter is the one asking for help, the Nation will demand gold… all your gold. From what I hear, their king wants to humiliate you, Harry, and gold in their eyes equals status."

Bill was a little surprised when he saw that Harry was actually considering this as an option. Bill knew Goblin Silver was valuable, but it wasn't this valuable. Curiously, he asked, "What did you need the silver for? It's not like wizards use magic swords anymore."

Harry stayed tight-lipped, "I'll just say that is for the good of our world. If the cost is to lose most of my wealth, then so be it."

Bill leaned back in his chair and mulled over any other options that might exist, but unfortunately, there really wasn't.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help, Harry. You could try and trade the Sword of Gryffindor for this, but once again, since it's you asking for help, the Nation probably won't take it."

Harry put the glass back on the table and sighed, "It's alright, Bill. I knew this was a long shot, but I had to see if you had any ideas."

Harry left Shell Cottage after saying goodbye to the family. The break-in with Gringotts keeps coming back to haunt him like a damned curse. Sure Harry and his friends caused massive damage to the reputation of Gringotts, but was there really a need to hold a grudge this long?

Harry shook his head at the biased thoughts. He knew that the Nation had the right to hold him responsible, but they went too far when Harry was ordered to give up his vaults as damages. Cursing them after the demands most likely didn't help, but Harry was still an angsty teen at that point… and he might have been getting a big head before Hermione smacked it out of him.

Whatever, that was all in the past and couldn't be changed. Harry disapparated with a soft pop, heading to Hogwarts to pick up the sword before facing the Goblin Nation.