Harry found himself once more in the room on the sixth floor the next morning after breakfast.
On the table, in addition to the tea and biscuits that were always there, were twelve large books.
"I can tell you that today will not be as fraught as the last two times we have met."
Harry sighed in relief. Despite yesterday being mathematically proven to be a good day, it had still been a difficult day and he had been hoping that today wouldn't be so hard.
"Yes, I'm sure you feel as relieved as I do. Unfortunately despite today not being so fraught, it will still be a mentally taxing one as today we will be going over the basic information you need to know about managing your estate, hence the books."
Harry squared his shoulders, "I'm sure it won't be too bad," he said firmly.
Albus smiled, "I'm glad to hear you say that.
"Before we get started I want you to close your eyes."
He waited a moment for him to do just that.
"Think of your last name. Think of being a Potter. Think of all of those who have come before you. Think of all of those you wish to come after you. You are the heir to the Potter Estate. You will one day be the Head of the Potter Estate. You will care for those under your protection, striving to give them a better life. You will honor your forefathers and the gifts they have given you with their hard work. You will one day leave your Estate to another in the hopes that they too will watch over the Estate as diligently as you have."
Harry felt something heavy settle on his hand and he opened his eyes to see a thick gold ring with a shield adorned with a horse and a ram on his left pinkie finger.
"That, Harry, is the Potter Family Heir's ring. No other but the Potter Heir may wear that ring."
His chest filled with warmth as Albus continued speaking.
"If you no longer wish to show the ring to the world all you need do is wish for that. If you wish to show it once more, all you need do is wish for that. Regardless the ring will always be with you as a part of you. The ring can not be faked and it cannot be removed, you can however wish for it to worn on another finger, or on a necklace around your neck.
"When you are the Head of the House, at age fifteen or if you choose to accept the responsibilities later, the ring will switch out for the Potter Family Lord's ring, which will have the full crest of your family."
Next they moved onto the Black Family ring after willing the Potter ring away.
Unlike the Potter Family ring the Black Family Heir ring did not feel comforting, instead feeling cold and unyielding. Adorned with a simple dog the ring was unwelcoming, apparently not appreciating that his nearest relative of the Black family was several generations away.
Finally was the Dumbledore Family ring, which was once more welcoming with its gleaming phoenix that seemed to move when he wasn't looking directly at it.
Now that he'd pulled each of the rings to the forefront he could feel them as part of him. It felt much the same as when he'd first started using magic; they'd always been with him as a sort of background noise. It almost felt like being acutely aware of his nose.
"Each of these rings are representations of your position within your family, or in this case, your families. In lieu of a signature on legal documents you will dip this ring in wax and press it to the parchment, or use it to seal closed a letter that speaks of official family business. Some legal documents will require a signature as well and it is still common practice to sign letters off with some form of greeting. You will not sign informal or personal letters with the ring, nor any school work."
Harry murmured an assent and Albus continued.
"For day to day use you can wear whichever ring you like, whenever you like, or not wear one at all, however for political or official family functions you will wear the Potter family ring, as it is the ring of the family you were born into, unless the functions are explicitly on behalf of the Black or Dumbledore family.
"Additionally each of the rings imbues the wearer with certain protections and abilities. As I am not a Potter or a Black I do not know what those rings do precisely, though I can say that they will allow you access to any part of the Potter or Black Estate, regardless of the wards put in place.
"The Dumbledore Heir's ring also allows you access to any part of the Dumbledore Estate, unless I have specifically forbidden you from going there. It also has a built in shield charm to protect you from minor offensive spells and will boost a wide array of offensive and defensive charms.
"Finally it will allow you to call the family familiar, Fawkes."
A moment later a massive ball of flame appeared in the air beside Albus startling Harry and causing him to scramble out of his chair and back away.
As quick as the flames appeared they disappeared leaving a bird to majestically fly through the room before landing on Albus's shoulder.
"Fawkes is a phoenix. Fascinating creatures. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful familiars. Fawkes has been in our family for over twenty generations and will see us to our end."
The bird cawed but it was like no other bird he'd ever heard, seemingly carrying a cheery tune in one single note.
"Ah yes, silly me. I forgot to mention that even their song is highly magical. They have the lucky ability of making themselves understood to individuals they are not bound to, as such, after a time, you will one day understand Fawkes nearly as well as me. And, when you one day succeed me and are bound to Fawkes, you will be able to understand him better than any one else, and he will understand you in turn.
"Why don't you say hello?"
"Ah, hello Fawkes."
The bird cawed once more, sounding cheery and welcoming. He took flight again and flew around Harry, gently caressing him with his wings while Harry stared in awe. At last the bird burst into flames and was gone.
Bringing his attention back to the matters at hand, Albus said "Now, for these books," as he gestured to the large stack of books off to the side. Harry shook himself out of the slight daze he'd entered and settled down. "The first is a book on etiquette. I am aware that you have been studying what you can, but the books you have gotten from Ms. Granger are for how the average citizen interacts with each other and the books you have gotten from Heir Longbottom only just scrape the surface of what you need to know.
"Ordinarily I would sit with you and go over the rules one by one, however given both of our busy schedules that unfortunately is not possible. Luckily I have known this was to come for many years and so have prepared as best I can.
"Throughout the book you will find pieces of parchment which will have reading comprehension questions, essay assignments, quizzes, and study guides for tests. You will read the book and complete the assignments at your own pace, then give me the assignments as you complete them. I ask that you keep to the assigned length for the assignments so as to make grading easier and quicker.
"As for the quizzes once you open the quiz the book will close and you will not be able to open it until you have turned the quiz in. Finally, you will hand in the study guides and we will set aside a time for your tests. The tests will have two parts, a practical and a written test.
"Even with all of this the best way to learn is to practice, practice, practice. As such you are, to the best of your abilities, going to incorporate the things you learn into your daily life as best you can. For instance, there is an entire chapter dedicated to meal time etiquette. While you can obviously not host a ball to practice for, you can eat your meals as if you are attending a ball. Make sense?"
Harry nodded, then recalling his admonishment he said, "Yes, sir."
"These three are from the Dumbledore family library and are only copies, though they are self updating and are warded against being opened by any but members of the family and our employees who have need for such information.
"The top book is The Dumbledore Family Tree; it dates all the way back to the founder of our family in 833 BC, one Isaf Dumbledore and follows the family to modern day. It lists every marriage and birth that has occurred, along with a brief list of any individual's notable accomplishments. This is true for anyone who marries into our family along with the first generation of children produced by those who marry out of the family.
"For this you will simply write a brief summary of events that occurred in each century that is no more than four paragraphs long with a word count of no more than five hundred. You will turn it in and I shall grade it. If I feel you have not adequately absorbed the information then you will go back and reread that century. Again this will be done at your own pace."
After getting confirmation that Harry was following and would do as he was told Albus continued once more.
"The second book is The Dumbledore Estate Law Book. This book is actually available to any citizen of the Dumbledore Estate and any Ministry of Magic Official with the proper credentials. The book also dates back to when the Estate made its first law which is a simple one that has been revised time and time again; do not commit murder."
Harry blinked in surprise, "Do not murder has been revised?"
Albus chuckled, "Indeed. Laws as a general thing must be as detailed as possible to account for many circumstances. The first revision happened only three months after the law had been put to print and states, 'One shall not purposefully commit an act of murder, except in the case of self defense when the victim has been attacked by another who has the intent, or seems to have the intent, to murder the victim.' Seems fairly strait forward, yes?"
Harry nodded, "So there have been many revisions like that?"
"Yes, which brings us to your next assignment. For each law and its amendments you will write an essay that is no less than a foot long. For each additional amendment you will add an extra four inches to your essay. With this rule in place your very first essay will be three feet and eight inches long."
Harry's eyes widened and he glanced at the thick book that would no doubt be the cause of many, many long essays.
"This book," Albus said gesturing to another thick book, "will aid you in these essays. It is a legal dictionary for, even with the Dumbledore Law book copy being translated into modern English it is still an unwieldly and dense book that you will no doubt struggle with. You will be able to do the Dumbledore Law book at your own pace but I expect you to have finished it by the time that you take control of the family whenever I retire.
"That said I do not intend to retire any time soon, however these two books are The Potter Estate Law Book and The Black Estate Law Book respectively and I expect you to also follow these directions for the books and have them completed by the time you take control of them."
"So, does that mean that two of these other books are also The Potter Family Tree and The Black Family Tree?"
"Ah, excellent deduction Harry, they are indeed and you will also write the same assignments as you will for The Dumbledore Family Tree as I am acting as your guardian, I am technically an employee of the Potter family and the Black family and as such I can grade your assignments."
Harry breathed out a sigh of relief; while the family tree assignments seemed to be straightforward summaries, the law books seemed much more difficult.
"This brings us to the last of the books," Albus said as he gestured to three separate books. "These are, respectively, The Dumbledore Estate Census and Taxes Book, The Potter Estate Census and Taxes Book, and The Black Estate Census and Taxes Book. Just like the law books these books can be accessed by any who live or work within the estate in question or government officials with the proper credentials.
"These books are perhaps the most difficult of the books for they detail the demographic makeup of your citizens, the names, birth, and where necessary death, dates, their location, and how much each citizen has paid in taxes and how much they owe. It also details how much money was collected in total, how much money was paid to the Ministry of Magic, and how the rest of the money has been used.
"They are each self updating and are maintained by the foreman of each Estate. For the Dumbledore Estate this is Ray Raphael, for the Potter Estate this is Remus Lupin, and for the Black Estate it is Elizabeth Ashland. You will meet Remus Lupin tonight, Elizabeth Ashland tomorrow and Ray Raphael some time next week when he gets back from his holiday.
"You will meet with each of them once a week and may correspond with them through letters as often as you like. They will teach you what these books contain and how they relate to their and your jobs.
"However the most complex part of each of these books can not be understood until you have taken at least one semester of Arithmancy and as such I expect that, when the time comes to select electives for third year and beyond, that will be one of your courses."
"Of course sir."
Albus gave him a pleased smile before getting serious once more. As he extracted a book with a pale blue cover which had no writing on its exterior, he spoke in a calm but firm tone, "This book is a beginners book on the very dangerous magical study of what is known as the Mind Arts.
"It is said that the Mind Arts are studied only by politicians and criminals and they are not wrong for they are studied by those who have to keep the most dangerous of secrets from those who would seek to use them against you.
"As the future Lord of your Houses you will be one of the most important politicians in the country second only to the Minister and tied with the other Lords of the Wizenagamot. With these duties comes State secrets that, for the good of your citizens, you must protect at all costs."
Harry swallowed, his eyes wide.
"The Mind Arts consist of two main lines of study, both of which you will learn. Legilimency and Occlumency."
"To put it in the simplest of terms; Legilimency is the study of entering someone else's mind while Occlumency is the study of guarding one's own mind from Legilimency."
"The mind is a many layered place which connects in many different ways to one's body, magic, and soul and to master the mind is to understand, and to some degree, alter or control the others."
"My father, when he began teaching me in the Summer of 1886, described it as the more complex than even the most advanced Alchemy however a good friend of mine, Lord Aaron Smith, described it in terms you might understand better; 'It is like performing brain surgery on one's self without anesthesia and with only minimal guidance.'"
Harry blanched in horror.
Albus nodded, "Good, so you understand the seriousness of the matter, and how very serious I am about being able to keep those State secrets."
Harry swallowed, "I- I suppose so," he agreed as he stared at the innocuous looking book in Albus's hands.
"Unlike the other subjects we have discussed today I will be personally guiding you throughout the entirety of your study of the Mind Arts and you are not to attempt it without me."
Harry nodded rapidly, "Yes sir."
"Good. You will read this book in its entirety three times before we begin working together. In it are suggestions for you to do every day or when something in particular occurs, however you are not to do any of that without my explicit direction to do so.
"Again, I can not stress enough how critical it is to not study the Mind Arts without me. Many a magical has done permanent and lasting damage to themselves and I do not wish for your name to be added to the list."
"I'll never work on it without you," Harry swore.
"Excellent. Now why don't we take a break and have some tea."
Harry accepted this and, as they silently drank tea he let his mind turn over everything he'd learnt so far. A quick glance at the large stack of books made his head swim.
When Albus had informed him that he was to inherit three titles he had not really appreciated the vast amount of work that would entail.
"Sir, may I ask you some questions?"
"Of course, Harry, I encourage you to always ask any questions that occur to you."
He smiled wanly at Albus before asking, "So you said that there are three different law books, one for each estate. But I thought that all laws applied to everyone."
"Ah another excellent question Harry, and I'm very pleased you asked it. First I must ask a question of my own, how much have you studied out system of government?"
Harry flushed, "Uh- I mean I learnt about it in school, when I went to a muggle primary school."
Albus gave him a reassuring smile, "That's quite alright Harry, its not an interest that most people your age have. Perhaps you ought to take notes, as I'm afraid the answer is long winded. Zalby."
Harry accepted the writing supplies and readied himself.
"First I must tell you that our system of government only loosely resembles the muggle government, or at least now it does. Our system is known as a Constitutional Plutocracy. To put it simply the wealthiest members of society govern over the less fortunate according to a set of rules put together in a constitution."
"Zalby please get me the copies of the British Ministry of Magic's Constitution, the ICW Constitution and The International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy Act."
Harry found himself beginning to regret asking his question.
As three thick tomes appeared on top of the rest of his books Albus continued, "Now you are not currently required to read any of these," Harry sagged in relief, "however over the summer I will expect you to begin doing so and we'll go over the basics right now."
"The Noble Families each rule over an Estate. They own the land of the Estate and rent it out for people to live and work in, and even own many of the businesses that people work at on the Estates. In exchange for living on the Estate citizens pay the Noble Family taxes which the family then uses to ensure that the citizens are able to have a certain standard of living.
"These families make trade deals with each other, make laws to allow their constituents to be safe, healthy, and happy, and protect their constituents. The Noble Families also convene in a group called the Wizengamot, which is wizarding Britain's highest court of law and parliament. Here is where the laws for all citizens are made, along with decisions about trade and war.
"In 1707 the Wizengamot instituted the Ministry of Magic and elected the first Minister of Magic. The Ministry is a middle man for the Noble Families between the Muggle government and the International Confederation of Wizards.
"In 1505 The International Confederation of Wizards was founded to make overarching laws which would protect magicals all over the globe from muggles while also making magical trade easier and forming a place where governments could attempt to work things out in an effort to prevent wars, which it has largely been successful at.
"In 1692 the ICW, as it is colloquially known, instituted the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy. This was the magical world's first and best combined magical effort, which has hidden the magical world from the muggle world.
"As of 1750, Clause 73 of the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy formally laid out what each wizarding governing body's responsibility for concealment and possible disciplinary actions for any breaches. There have been many amendments to this but the basic premise remains the same.
"To bring us back to your question on the differing laws; as each Estate was assigned each Lord or Lady decided on specialties for each Estate. So, for instance, the Dumbledore Estate's primary focus is on Alchemy with a specialization in Defense and Offense. The Black Estate's focus is Necromancy and Blood Magic with a specialization in Healing, Defense and Offense. Meanwhile the Potter Estate's focus is Potions with a Healing specialization.
"Each of these Estates have their own concerns.
"Let's see, what is a good example…
"Ah yes, a hearing I recently oversaw on the Dumbledore Estate was about the way certain Alchemy Labs must be warded-
"Do you know what a ward is- Excellent.
"So you understand then, that Alchemy Labs require different kinds of warding than, say Potions Labs. However Alchemy is a highly technical and difficult field to master; I spent nearly twenty solid years studying it in order to be able to properly manage my Estate, and one day you will also be required to study it in such a way. Worry not, I will instruct you in this once you are an adult and have more time on your hands.
"To bring it back to the matter at hand, in my course as a judge on the case I had to use my extensive knowledge on Alchemy to determine who was in the right and what to do about it. But to, say, Lord Aaron Smith, he would never need to focus on such a thing. As such there would be no reason for him to waste his time training his people on how to enforce such a thing, as I had to do, and as he would have to do if this law were to be implemented on a national level.
"Its all about the focus and specializations of each Estate and ensuring that the members of said Estate only focus on the things that matter to them. That said, there are some overarching laws that are true for all citizens of Britain, which are maintained by the Ministry of Magic. There's more to it than that, which your law book will help explain, but that's the basics of it.
"Does that all make sense? Do you have any questions?"
Harry took several moments to turn that over in his head, then move onto his next question.
"So… I saw on a chocolate frog card that you are the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, so that means you the head of three different governments? And the Headmaster of Hogwarts? How on earth do you manage!?"
Albus chuckled, "That is correct, and with some very excellent staff members I manage, though it can be quite tiring."
Harry shook his head in amazement, "No wonder you can barely tutor me, here I was thinking its unfair when you're out there helping every magical in the world!"
He grimaced, "Indeed, however luckily the ICW doesn't meet until the summer time, or at least the various government representatives don't, unless there is an emergency. The Wizengamot also only meets once a month, unless there is an emergency. Still much of my time is taken up in correspondence with the various heads of states, attending functions, and of course, running our Estate and the school.
"I do wish though, that I had more time to spend with you. I assure you that I will spend as much time as I am capable of with you, and you will spend much of the summer attending political functions, Wizengamot sessions, and ICW sessions with me."
"Is the Chief Mugwump a heredity position?"
"Ah, another good question, the simple answer is no. The Chief Mugwump is a life long position which is appointed by a vote of the various world's government representatives. Nor is there only one Chief Mugwump, there are in fact between three and five. There however cannot be more than five and there must always be an odd number so that there are no ties."
Harry nodded slowly as he scribbled this down in his notes as well.
"Do you have any other questions?"
Harry thought for a moment before shaking his head, "Not right now, I don't think."
"Excellent, be sure to let me know if you have any more. Perhaps you could write them down as they occur to you and you can ask me during our next session."
"Yes sir," Harry agreed.
"Now, I do have one more book to give you."
Harry grimaced and looked at the stack which had grown to fifteen thick tomes. He was beginning to think that he would legitimately have to spend every waking moment with his head in a book or bent over parchment.
"Yes, I do apologize. The reason I did not include this book in your stack is because it is a slightly different book."
Albus pulled the book that was only about as thick as one of his textbooks and passed it over. The book was a mottled green color that reminded him of moss and in a gold embossment read The Beginners Guide to Magical Beliefs and Holidays.
"This book will help you navigate and better relate to your peers and constituents who all have grown up with such things, well, other than the muggleborns."
"Sir, what happens to the muggleborns when they graduate?"
"Well there are a few options. First the muggleborns, before they start school, are given an overview of the government and their studies of it continue every summer until seventh year. After they've graduated they can choose to apply to live on one of the Estates.
"They can also choose to only be a citizen of Magical Britain, which would technically make their 'lord' the Minister of Magic though he does not make decisions with only their well being in mind as we do, nor can they rent property from him. Instead they will have to buy property from the muggles and convert it to a magical property, maintaining it at their own cost, and likely with their own magic as most businesses will not give their services to someone not living on an Estate.
"Finally they can simply live as a muggle. If they choose this option they will have to snap their wand and sign documents stating as such. They can reenter the magical world whenever they like, though they must buy themselves a new wand and this time must live on an Estate."
Harry had begun to scribble down notes part way through so Albus gave him a moment. When he was done he asked, "Why won't businesses help someone not living on an Estate?"
"Primarily it is a liability issue. I suppose I was not as clear as I could be. Businesses will sell their goods to anyone, services however, have contracts with the various Estates. A business will agree to, say, maintain an entire Estate's floo connections, or part of it. They will fix it up if there are problems and will regularly service it. It's a full package, so to speak. For one individual however, there are almost no contracts that exist of that kind.
"The business can diagnose or foresee if there is a problem based on their prior experiences if there is a contract in place, without having to go to the person who lives there. However with a single individual they cannot simply walk onto the property and check things. It has happened in the past where they have attempted to make a contract with such individuals but the individual will refuse them access at certain times. Because they have other appointments this leads to them not being able to check on things for far too long, which can then cause the, say, floo to start malfunctioning. This will almost inevitably result in the homeowner suing the company."
Harry hummed in acknowledgement turning that over in his head. It seemed there was some kind of obvious solution to the problem but it was escaping him right then so he moved on.
"Does the Minister of Magic live on an Estate?"
Albus frowned in thought, "You know… I have absolutely no idea."
He laughed a little at the stupefied look Harry gave him, "Yes, it is entirely possible that I do not always know the answer to such things. I will ask the Minister the next time I see him and let you know."
"Oh, uh, well thank you."
Still smiling Albus asked, "Do you have any other questions?"
"No, I think I'm good for right now."