CH 5
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Harry received an Owl from Ron a week before they had to catch the train for the first of September in order to begin their sixth year at Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was graciously being invited for a back-to-school shopping day on August thirty-first and a stay over for only one night at the Burrow, in order for all of them to catch the train together as per their usual back-to-school routine.
'I think his mother is making him invite me,' Harry thought with an inner snort of upset, as his friend had not written to him at all throughout the whole of the summer. 'I wonder if Hermione is there and I hope that Ginny has truly gotten over her crush or else I'll be hard pressed to keep the peace on that matter. Something strange has been going on for a while now. First he's my friend and then he turns on me and then he's my friend again. Odd!'
"What do you think?" He asked Winky and Dobby for their opinion on the letter. "Should I go?"
He had asked their opinions several times during the summer after they had both chosen to be fully bonded to him. He valued them and they knew it because they could feel it along their magical bond links. In so knowing this, they provided him with usually the best advice they could. Because of that he knew that he couldn't ask for a more loyal set of friends, even if the Wizarding World could only see these amazing creatures as 'the help'.
"He being your Wheasy," Dobby said.
"You go," Winky told him. "You go doos yous shopping first and then goes to Wheasy's."
Dobby nodded because that was a good idea. "Keepies one or twos stuff for school to buy, but Master Harry be getting most before going with the Wheasy's' Mum. Not makin' 'em jealous."
"That sounds like a good plan," Harry said. "I suppose I could spend a day in Diagon Alley or Muggle London before meeting up with them. Do either of you know if there is another Inn that I could stay at, instead of the Leaky Cauldron? It's too public and has too much people traffic going through it."
"Pink Elephant on Trampass Way," Winky said immediately.
Dobby agreed and then he said, "That or Hanging Donkey down a ways from Pink Elephant."
Harry blinked at the names of the Inns. He shook his head and said, "I guess it would be a good idea to look at both before deciding. Are there any others?"
"Winky be going with Master Harry and helping with Master Harry's shopping," she said decisively. "Winky be taking care of Master Harry, so Winky be going with yous. Once you with the Wheasys Winky be packing and taking everythings to school and puttings them in yous new room."
"Thank you Winky," Harry said. "I'll pack an overnight bag and something for the school shopping. Dobby you're coming to the school too, right?"
"Yes Master Harry," the excited house-elf said. "Dobby be closing up the house first, whiles you and Winky be shopping for school."
"Why don't you close up Galileo's Spindle too," Harry said. "Let the owls have the freedom to come and go as they please, but if any wish to seek me out in order to start being Magical Post Owls again, have them come to the school and I can negotiate terms with them. Hedwig will be there and she'll have to agree their addition to the household."
"As Master Harry wishes," Dobby said with a bounce in his feet. Work was work and the closing up of buildings to prevent rot or moths did take wonderful working time.
Dobby had to make sure that the fresh foods wouldn't spoil, so he went to Potions Master Snape to ask if he needed anything before giving the food to a couple of out-of-work house-elves that he knew. They weren't disgraced like Winky and he had been. Their Masters had passed away naturally, but had left no information as to the care that the house-elves were to receive upon their deaths.
He was nervous because he wanted to approach his Master or Master's Wizard Counsellor about them. The weather was going to change quickly now that the Magical School was starting up again and these neglected house-elves needed homes to be working in. He was planning to bring them up to his beloved Master Harry soon and to see if he'd would be willing to approach the Potions Master on their behalf. Of the three neglected elves, two had worked in the employment gaining speciality training in the gathering of potions ingredients while the other was the best help a Potions Master could want because it had been trained to assist in the tedious preparation of nasty ingredients and it absolutely loved doing it too.
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Winky showed Harry the 'Pink Elephant Inn' and the 'Hanging Donkey Lodge', both of which were very different and slightly more upscale than the Leaky Cauldron. In the end he stayed the night at the Pink Elephant Inn because he confided to his female house-elf that it looked cleaner and that it was the one that she had suggested in the first place.
Winky blushed a bit and let out a twittering giggle with the flutter of her ears. However as soon as they were settled in a room far from the other customers and in a more exclusive section of the Inn, she pushed him out the door reminding him to buy more underwear and thick socks for school. This caused him to blush, but he nodded his head and then he made his way to Gringotts to meet with his workers and take out some money for the necessary purchases.
Harry shopped for a new wardrobe of basics, like new jeans, shirts, everyday robes and also robes indicating his station as a Lord of several prominent Wizarding Families. He got most of his school supplies leaving only the little things like a few potions ingredients he was running low on, quills, parchment and notebooks for school, etc...
He found and bought a portable lectern or lidded desk for his Lordship stuff like letterhead and magically watermarked parchment paper. The watermark being the same as the full Crest on his ring and could be altered per family so that the Black coat of arms would be the watermark or it could remain as Harry's full crest that had been created upon his accepting the responsibilities of his Family's wishes.
He had a larger seal created to match the full coat of arms and Family Motto on his ring. His ring could be used as a seal, but when he rolled up letter or sealed them he wanted something that would show the full coat of arms clearly. These were placed in the lectern with different coloured wax sticks, which were used for sealing various types of correspondence in the Wizarding World.
The lectern had retractable legs and a securable cover that was keyed specifically to Harry's magic and a combination of keys and trick locks. There were several slots for paper and drawers that could contain pots of ink. It had a hidden latch underneath that hid a small stool which also had retractable legs for ease of travel. This was again created for those Wizards that liked to travel and have everything they needed in order to be able to maintain their proper correspondences.
It was like having a portable desk and Harry liked that because there never seemed to be enough tables in the Gryffindor Common room for study nor in the library when it was time to study for exams. Strangely no additional 'empty' classrooms were made available to students during this time, as it seemed to be the 'tradition' to force the students to 'make do' with what was available.
Harry had stepped through to Muggle London on the day before he had to meet the Weasleys and found an electronics store that catered to Muggles and Wizarding folk alike. It seemed that the store had a Muggle front, but in walking through the store, parts were accessible only if you had magic. This sometimes resulted in 'lost' children, but this was only the case when the lost child turned out to be a Muggle-born.
He managed to obtain a computer net-book completely set up to work in a magical environment. He was also able to purchase a small device that held a lot of music that could be downloaded into it provided he had the appropriate accounts and paid them on time.
The sales clerk took the time to walk him through several very useful programs and showed him how they worked. He was shown websites that catered only to Witches and Wizards. They were not Muggle based sites.
Harry now had access to online libraries from the Americas, Africa, basically any place that had a Human Wizarding Society. The net-book was loaded with a few translation programs and programs that could hold books that were 'borrowed' from those libraries or even hold books that were web based only and could contain them indefinitely should Harry choose to buy them.
That little computer was about to become Harry's best friend from now on because one of the things that he did was set up several different email accounts, locking his screen names and passwords inside his impervious lectern. The various accounts were set up to receive news from around the world and to receive different subscriptions to publications that might contain some ideas on how to defeat a Dark Lord, plus anything else that could be remotely interesting to him. It was better than getting the Prophet or any kind of magical paper Wizarding subscriptions.
Harry was also fully aware that he'd have to go over his choice of career for his future, but without knowing his own personal interests, he couldn't make that decision just yet. Besides there were a few things he'd need to discuss with his Head of House in order to make some drastic course corrections. It seemed that he had been given a list of courses available in order choose from based on what the Headmaster decided he should be trained in rather than a full listing of all courses available for his sixth year.
He had a meeting set up with his Head of House to take place after the evening meal and his Potions Professor would be there in the capacity of Counsellor. The man had already agreed to be there for the meeting barring any unforeseen incident like a call from the Dark Lord.
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August thirty-first, Harry was sitting in a booth near the floo waiting for the Weasleys to show up. He had a privacy screen up that prevented people from bothering him as he was using his new toy while waiting. The floo had been activating on and off for most of the morning, but there was no indication that the Weasley Family had even come through yet. He had asked Tom, the barkeep, that before sitting down in the corner booth near the floo.
There was a burst of soot and a cough nearby.
"Bloody hell," Ron grumbled shaking his general over robe. He looked around and heaved a sigh that he didn't see Harry. Another cough and a sneeze announced Hermione's arrival. "I don't see the prat," he told her.
"Quiet you idiot," Hermione hissed. "You know he could be anywhere around here and hidden."
"Whatever," Ron grumbled. "It wasn't my idea to invite him."
"No it was your mother's," she replied. "She's right to do so. The Order hasn't been able to track him all summer so they don't even know if he's alive. But since we sent the letter and it obviously was received because we got a reply, we know he's fine."
"You hope," he said. "You what the prophecy says. It's him or You-Know-Who. I'd rather they both do themselves in and that way we're rid of both of them."
"Shush Ron," Hermione hissed. "Not everyone is in the 'know'. How about we go to the Eeylops to pick up some treats for Pig? Maybe Harry'll be there getting some Owl Nuts for Hedwig, you how she likes those things."
"Fine," the tall red headed youth, sighed and followed her out of the Leaky Cauldron.
'I hope that the prat won't be there, but that's not going to happen.' Ron thought to himself. 'I never believed him when he said that he liked our home and now the Order is worried about him because they couldn't remember where he was supposed to be living. I bet he did something to wipe their memories.'
Harry sat there stunned at what he had heard. He let the privacy screen fade away as he put away his muggle net-book. He quickly stepped out into Muggle London to catch a breath. He walked into a convenience store nearby and picked up a few magazines and word puzzle books, plus mazes and a thick Sudoku book. He wasn't really looking when he made his selection. He just picked up the ones that had interesting covers. This was to give him some time to calm down from what he had just heard.
'There's something wrong with Ron,' he thought. 'It is definitely worse now, but are these his true feelings or is something causing it?' He sighed and then vowed to be careful during the school year. 'I'm just going to have to suck it up for now, as I'm committed to stay overnight at the Burrow.'
He tucked his purchases into his backpack and then returned through the doors of the Leaky Cauldron to make it look like he had just arrived, instead of being there the whole time.
Another interesting item that he had picked up at the same time that he acquired his new lectern was a magical enhanced backpack. The pack was keyed to him and his magics too. It has four pouches on the outside and several inner pockets. It had a large main pocket that could hold something the size his cousin Dudley had been when the boy was seven and therefore it was large enough for his reduced lectern. The charms on the pack were similar in that it could become smaller or larger at will and it including a standard featherweight spell that lightened the load considerably. It was in this that he carried his overnight items too.
The floo activated as he walked back into the Leaky Cauldron, only this time it was Mrs. Weasley and Ginny.
"Hello Mrs. Weasley," he said getting the woman's attention and walking up to her. "Ginny," he nodded to the girl who was now getting moony-eyed in his presence yet again. It made him want to roll his eyes and it did cause him sigh silently.
"Harry," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed loud enough for part of the patrons in the bar to notice him there. She was giving him a slight shake before she clutched him in a solid hug. "Where have you been child? We've been worried about you and just where did Ron and Hermione get to? They should have arrived before we did."
"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley," he said, stepping away from her as she let him go.
"How are you doing Harry?" Ginny asked hoping that he would notice the changes in her. She had filled out more this summer and felt that her 'new' endowments would render her more attractive to the boy of her dreams.
"I'm doing all right," he said with barely a glance in her direction. "I don't know about Ron or Hermione because I just walked in here from Muggle London."
"They could have gone to Eeylops," Ginny suggested. "Why don't we go meet them," she said putting her arm through his hoping that he'd hold her hand or let her leave it there.
Harry pulled away and said, "I don't need anything from there." He looked to Mrs. Weasley, who seemed to be frowning at his actions against her daughter. He looked at her questioningly and said, "Why don't we head out and see if we can meet them coming out of the store?"
"Good idea," the matriarch of the Weasley herd said. "Well come on dears we don't have all day." She quickly hustled them out of the doors of the Leaky Cauldron, saying, "We need to make a stop at Gringotts, Arthur has been too busy lately to stop by on his way home from work."
"I don't need to go in there today," Harry said. "How about I meet all of you at Flourish & Blotts? I have a couple of books left to buy and maybe a few potions ingredients and tools from Potions Plus to get, then I will be fully kitted out for school."
"What do you mean you have most everything?" Ginny asked. "Headmaster Dumbledore said that the owl with your school list returned to the school without successfully delivering it."
"It did?" He asked and then he shrugged, explaining. "I got my list from Professor McGonagall when I asked for it. It came to me directly from her with Hedwig. I was looking up the allowed independent housing within the school for sixth and seventh year students. I requested it and that's when she sent me my school list. I was working my way on picking up most of it slowly so I wouldn't be rushed today. I'm mostly going to be browsing in the stores and buying things that look like fun."
There was nothing that Mrs. Weasley could say about that and it was clear to Ginny that Harry wouldn't be around most of their time here in the Alley. He wouldn't have to follow them around, if he didn't have to buy most of his school supplies.
'Spoiling my plans for showing him off as my boyfriend,' she thought. 'We'll just see about that.'
The trio met Ron and Hermione coming out of Eeylops and their emotions at finding Harry were clear on their faces. They were hoping that Harry wouldn't show up, but since he had been invited and the plans had been made they had no choice, but to accept that he would be around during their last day of summer.
'It's only for one day,' the two of them thought at the same time.
'I wonder if he did his homework,' Hermione thought. 'I'm going to have to make some corrections to his essays just to be sure that I remain 'Top of Class'. I can't believe he hasn't figured that my corrections are actually in-corrections.'
'I bet Hermione's wondering if Harry did his homework,' Ron thought. 'I'm going to have to pick up a couple of Spell-Check quills from my brothers' shop… I wonder if Harry would buy them for me. He's got enough money for it. Doubt it! He's stingy!'
Their thoughts did not bleed through to their facial expressions that much. It was a good thing too because Harry might just have changed his mind about staying overnight at the Weasley's.
The group made their way up and down Diagon Alley when Harry spotted Malfoy Junior looking shifty and suddenly turn to go down Knockturn Alley. He wondered if he should follow him or stick with the group. It was going to take some time because the Weasley's were hunting down second hand robes for Ron and Ginny again.
'I might as well go and see what that little Ferret is up to,' Harry thought.
He let Mrs. Weasley know that he was going to the store next door and said that he meet them at Flourean's for a spot of cold ice cream when they were done. It was the last place that they were going to, the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and she knew that she'd need her strength to keep an eye out on all of her children there.
Even though the shop belonged to Fred and George she still felt that they were only 'working' there instead of being the actual owners. She still held onto the feint hope that they would eventually finish their education at Hogwarts and get their N.E.W.T.s.
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Harry followed the blonde Slytherin down the Dark Alley only this time he knew what to expect there. He walked with purpose as though he owned that Alley, which in fact he did. He owned more than half the businesses and land in that Alley because of his Grindelwald inheritance.
That had been a really interesting fact to find out. The shop owners had been notified that their leases were currently in the hands of the new Lord Grindelwald and that he would visit them from time to time to review their selling practices and the items they sold on and off the books.
The Lord, one Harry Potter, had been down there a few times, but this was usually in the company of his Wizard Counsellor. The shop owners were quick to recognise him and they were quick to never hide their true business practices from him because he always knew when they were holding something back. This was part of that new 'seeing the truth' magic that he had incorporated during his magical maturation.
Anyway because this new Lord was curious about what the Young Lord Malfoy was doing in such a Dark and suspicious Alley, he followed him to one of Harry's favourite Dark Shops, Borgin & Burkes. It had all manner of oogie things that gave him a chill up his spine, but because he owned the shop the proprietor always gave him first crack at purchasing stuff that were kind of… sort of… non-classed by the UK Ministry of Magic. There wasn't much in there that was completely harmful or that could be classed as completely Light magic either, but that's why the store was opened in the first place.
Harry had had a long debate with his Counsellor about the different types of shops and eventually the new Lord agreed that a balance must be maintained in the Wizarding World. So he allowed many of the shops to remain among his list of properties, although he did dissolve the ones that he found intolerable to his moral consciousness.
He foreclosed on brothel that specialized in children prostitutes, a bar that dealt lethal drugs openly in the Dark Alley and a few other small businesses that were sliding too far behind in their rent and were resorting to awful methods to be able to meet their monthly payments. Those shops were boarded up for the time being and proposals were making their way across Griphook's desk to lease the buildings for various businesses.
The Goblin had been surprised when Harry had told him not to limit the creatures that wished to open up a shop. If they had the funds and their idea was sound they should be considered for a two-year business trial and supplemental loan. Lord Grindelwald would be the majority stock holder until the business took off and then he was reasonably willing to maintain a fraction of the shares to the tune of thirty-five to forty-five percent depending on the business and the business managers.
Right now though, the Gryffindor watched Draco Malfoy enter Borgin & Burkes and then he shrugged and openly followed him. "Whatcher Malfoy," he said fully startling the other youth. This caused him to laugh and say, "Not aware of your surroundings, that's dangerous business especially in this Alley."
Draco couldn't believe that he had been easily startled because he hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings. "Potter," the blond Slytherin hissed. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"Checking up on an investment," Harry told him semi-truthfully. "And you?"
"None of your sodding business," Draco stated with venom in his voice. "Now will you bloody well leave so that I can finish my business here?"
"Nope," Harry said with a cheeky near un-kind grin. "You're up to something and I'm here to see to it that you fail."
"You can't," the blond said with his face falling and blanching at the prospect of not succeeding in his quest for the Dark Lord. He was an idiot, but a magical Oath made to protect his mother was the only thing that he knew he could do to keep her out of this war. At least he was Dark Mark free for now, but the Oath was binding in its own awful way. "Potter, please you can't ruin this for me."
Harry's face sobered quickly and he looked at the youth closely and carefully. There was something in that young man's voice that stung of desperation. That he said the word 'please' in such a tone raised the Gryffindor's 'helping people flag' up a bit. One eyebrow rose to let the Slytherin know that he was aware that something was up, but he decided that no action would be taken today.
"Ah, Mr. Potter," a voice said coming from the back of the store. It was oily and disgusting, but there was nothing he could do about it. "What can we at Borgin & Burkes do for you on this day?"
Harry hated going into a shop and not buying something, but everything in this store was dangerous in varying ways. He looked to the side of the counter, not quite paying attention to the Slytherin and that's when he remembered that strange cabinet that he had hidden in, when he first accidentally Flooed to this shop before his second year of school.
"That cabinet," he said pointing to the black cabinet with the pearl inlay motif. "How much is that?"
"That," the man said in a surprised tone while quickly glancing at the blond boy who was paying attention to the whole conversation. "That is 1000 galleons and non-negotiable even for you Lord Potter, it's a genuine 'Vanishing Cabinet' after all it's complete and has valid magical authentication papers."
Harry raised his eyebrow at that line because everyone in this alley had, for some odd reason, only ever called him Lord Grindelwald. It was like they wanted that Dark reminder of just who was in their store because of his ownership. The name Black was too common in this area of the world, but Grindelwald was something else altogether. Hence, the Boy-Who-Lived's current surprise at being addressed as plain Lord Potter right now.
He shrugged and then pulled out a bank draft and wrote out the amount to the name of 'Cash', as he didn't want the trace of this purchase to be registered until he had a chance to properly record it by way of the shop's business receipt. It was an obscure method of recording purchases, but the Wizarding World Gringotts' bank drafts could only ever be made out to 'Cash'.
Business receipts contained a company's letterhead or logo and signatures of the owners when money changed hands. This method kept many businesses as honest as possible, although 'other names' or 'subsidiary company names' were sometimes given when a business was taken over. The new owner's of that business could use any of the old names instead of its current, 'proper' name. It was much like the amalgamation of Wizarding Families and their multiple choices of family crests.
Harry waited patiently for Mr. Borgin to get the receipt set up properly to include all of the company's names. This was part of his Counsellor's advice when they came to this alley to review some of the businesses that he was legally linked to. As soon as the receipt was ready everything was transferred accordingly and then he was able to take his purchase with him.
Shrinking charms were dead useful, but the fact that Harry was the one doing the spell told Draco Malfoy everything that he needed to know. He watched with detached curiosity now, as the Gryffindor opened his backpack and tucked away the small cabinet that had been labelled as a 'Genuine Vanishing Cabinet'.
Harry looked back at the Slytherin and then slipped a concealed note in the other boy's pocket as he brushed past him on his way out of the store. The emotions that he had seen had made his earlier summer decision to help the boy out however he could, easier. The letter was simple and special as it would destroy itself once it was read. Whether his assistance was accepted or not would be another matter to be dealt with or not based on the blonde's decision.
Draco turned back to the proprietor and observed the man's mannerisms more closely. His was oily and rude, but there was something about the fact that Harry Potter had been in this store without caring what kind of store it was.
"Do you have what I ordered," the Slytherin asked the man.
"Yes, sir, Young Lord Malfoy," Mr. Borgin said. "It's in the back. I'll just go get it now." He pulled his wand and executed a short wand wiggle with no words in order to turn the sign at the door of his shop from 'Open' to 'Closed'. This was about the only soundless spell he could do, but he still needed his wand for it.
Draco nodded his head and waited while the man went to his hidden back room. 'I wonder what Golden Boy is up to?' He thought, but his thoughts were interrupted when he felt the note in his pocket next to the bank draft he was prepared to use. 'What in Morgana's dark Hell?'
He huffed when he realized he'd have to wait until he was completely alone to read it, but then again there was something about the sneaky way that the Gryffindor had delivered it that made him smile slightly and feel a little bit of hope that there might be help for him.
'Because there's no way that this can be anything other than an offer for help,' Draco surmised. 'A prank set up on the off chance of seeing me here is stupid and unlikely. Besides, I can feel a Family seal pressed in magical wax on the note which means that it was pre-prepared?'
His attention was drawn back to Mr. Borgin coming in from the back holding his special order package…
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Harry quickly met up with the rest of the Weasleys at the ice cream shop. In fact his order had just arrived when the others finally showed up. He didn't miss the disappointment on Hermione and Ron's faces regarding the fact that he had already served himself.
It had taken them longer than normal looking for robes and there was nothing that they could do about the fact that he ordered his treat before them. He'd had the time to go visit Borgin & Burkes, the store he told Mrs. Weasley that he was going to visit and had actually been sitting for a full five boring minutes before making his decision to order something to eat.
A short while later they were all on their way back to the Burrow, after having visited the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Harry had purchased the Wizarding equivalent of 'Fake Ice Cube Bugs'. The boys had taken the idea and created real chill-your-drink ice cubes that never melted and were complete with wriggling colourful bugs trapped inside the ice. They were only good for about three to five uses once the package was open before the ice fully melted and revealed that the bugs were a type of sweet candy to be eaten.
He also came out of there with several Spell-Check Quills, a few other pranks that were 'converted' to a Wizarding equivalent and three very tiny Pygmy Puffs. The twins didn't know how that had happened, but the three Puffs could never be separated either, so they had to be sold together.
Harry had never had a pet, but they reminded him of small gerbils with long tails, so he also bought a cage for them and some toys. He planned to build them their own gerbil like maze and was hoping that they would be fine with it. They were extremely cute too, so he blamed the female memories in his mind for those thoughts and the need to buy the fuzzy chirpy little things.
When they had finally returned to the Burrow and had been there for a while, he actually had to raise his voice in order to get some peace from Hermione's nagging. "That is enough Hermione," he said loudly. "I do not need you to look over my homework. I will pass or fail without your considered help and that is the end of this discussion."
"Harry," she hissed. "You've always asked for my opinion and assistance before now. What's changed? Where were you this summer that has changed you so much?" She was fishing information regarding his whereabouts, but she wasn't doing any better than Mrs. Weasley or Ron.
"I was at home," Harry said. "As for your opinion and assistance regarding my schoolwork, I think it's better if I start standing on my own two feet. I should have been taking responsibility for my own scores in school rather than relying on you to help me out with my studies. I'm truly sorry that you now feel like you have a responsibility to make sure that I've done my work, but I feel that I might have gotten more out of my O.W.L.s if that had not been the case."
"It was all a matter of studying," Hermione said.
"Yes, but it would have been better if I had used my own notes," Harry said. "I've come to a decision that because we only have two more years of school left, I will be working on my own in order to determine the career I wish to take."
"What do you mean by that mate?" Ron said with a chocolate frog leg sticking out of his mouth. "Aren't you going to be an Auror like your father was? Like we planned?"
"I don't know about that," Harry said with a sigh. "I really haven't had that good a look at what's available in the Wizarding World career wise. I really don't want to follow my father's footsteps just because he was my father. I want to be able to make an informed decision about potential careers before ever stepping into one that I'm not even sure that I want."
"Why, Harry?" Ron asked, all of his plans going down the drain about following the Boy-Who-Lived into the Auror field and gaining fame and glory that goes along with it. If he had been truly honest with himself, he'd know that he wouldn't have made it on his own and that's why he was hoping to apply with Harry.
Harry looked at Ron and asked, "Why did you choose to be Auror rather than something else? You must know loads more about the different career options that are out there."
"Yeah, well of course I know." Ron said, even though he was lying and everyone in the room could tell even without a magically enhanced sight. "It was the best idea at the time."
"Because of Umbridge," Harry nodded, even though he was still trying to get used to the number of lies he'd been receiving all day. Almost every little comment flashed as a lie to him and he was slowly getting a headache because of it. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I can't keep that decision, especially after I read all about the other courses available at the school."
"What other courses," Hermione asked. "There are no other courses listed."
"I'm talking about the ones that don't have a Ministry N.E.W.T. attached to them," Harry said. "I've set up a meeting with Professor McGonagall about it. We'll see what type of work I'm suited for, instead of just being a 'Defender' for the Wizarding World."
"That's not what an Auror is all about Harry," Hermione interjected.
"Yeah, I know." Harry agreed. "However that's how everyone looks at me sometimes and I don't want that to continue. So I'm going to explore my options before it's too late to do anything about it."
"Whatever," Ron said. "Mum when is supper going to be ready?"
"It will be ready soon," she said puttering over the cooking tools in her kitchen. "Ginny please set the table, the rest of you wash up for the evening meal."
They had a lively discussion of things that were happening in the Wizarding World and just as the desert was about to served Ginny shrieked in pain. She stood up quickly from the table, but everyone could see that the fingers of her left hand were trapped in some kind of multiple, finger trap where three of her fingers were being pinched and were stuck together.
"Get this thing off of me," she turned accusingly to Harry who was stuck sitting next to her because of the girl's manipulation with the tableware.
"Not until you apologize to me," Harry said with a glare in his eyes. "You apologize to me and you tell your parents just what you were about to do."
"I wasn't doing anything," she said her face red and furious.
"No," Harry drawled. "Then why were you trying to feel me up? Did you think that if you took things far enough I'd do something about it, like become involved with you? I...don't...think...so!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny said waving her hand in front of his face with the trap attached. "Now remove this thing."
"Nope," Harry said and then explained. "It's a truth trap. It will stay there until you tell everyone here the truth. You lie and it will zap you with a small static shock in really uncomfortable places, like your backside."
"Really Harry," Mrs. Weasley said. "You shouldn't have used any of the twins' toys at the dinner table."
"I didn't get this from the twins," Harry told her. "I invented it because I figured with my political and social standing in the Wizarding World changing as it did this summer I'd have to be very careful of unwanted attention." He glanced meaningfully at the offending had and said, "Especially of that kind."
"What political and social standing," Ron asked. "You're just the Boy-Who-Lived."
"I'm also Lord Potter and Lord Black," Harry said. "I have first tier seats under those names at the Wizengamot and I can vote on Magical Legislation or appoint someone to sit in those seats on my be-half. As for my social standing, I'm the Boy-Who-Lived and my name has been in the papers for like almost ever, if that isn't social standing then I don't know what is."
"Harry's quite right about that," Mr. Weasley said. "Ginny, if you want that thing off your hand, apologize and tell the truth. I have a feeling that it was modified based on something your father had created back in school, wasn't it Harry?"
"Actually it was my mother who created it," Harry said taking some desert from the tray that was now on the table. "She was concerned about a particular rat that was forever snooping outside the girl's loo." He shuddered at the thought of Pettigrew trying to peep at his mum and other girls at Hogwarts.
Hermione frowned when she heard this and said, "But the spells..."
"They only protect so much," Mrs. Weasley said. "I remember at the time some pictures were making their way around the boys' dorms, much to the scandal of Hogwarts. The culprit had been caught and made to compensate the three girls involved for ruining their reputation. They left the school and the family had to move to another country because of it. The boy that was the cause of it was expelled and sent to Azkaban for three years on a sexual offence."
"I don't believe that," Hermione said.
"You should young lady," Mr. Weasley said. "A Witch must always take care of her virtue especially before and after her magical maturation or else she'll lose her powers to those that would siphon off her magics for their own gains."
Hermione quickly looked at Harry's face to see if the term was a surprise to him and she was surprised to note that it didn't affect him one way or the other. He was just eating his desert without making any further comments.
"Is there any references on the subject," she asked. "I'm curious to know about it."
"All references would be given to you this year," Mrs. Weasley said. "Although I believe that the Professors were supposed to mention this to you last year just in case some of you may have experienced a magical influx."
"Last year was a mess," Hermione said. "I don't believe they were ready for what happened when Professor Umbridge was there."
"Well as you all know, when a Witch or Wizard reach the physical age of sixteen or seventeen, there is a period of magical growth, termed Magical Maturity," Mr. Weasley began. "It is during this time that Witches and Wizards are more vulnerable."
"It certainly doesn't help that hormones make things even more difficult for a young witch or wizard either," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Mum," Ginny blushed, mortified that her mother was about to mention something private.
"Hormones are a natural part of life Ginny," Harry told her blandly and without emotion. He wasn't embarrassed to mention it like the other teenagers at the table. "What's this about hormones affecting Magical Maturity? What is Magical Maturity?" He asked fully pretending befuddlement at the term.
"Magical Maturity is a term used in the Wizarding World," Mr. Weasley said. "It's usually just an influx of magic into a person's body and that allows the Witch or Wizard to direct their magics internally. Most focus on improving some of the natural gifts that they receive and others like to use it to bring about physical changes, like height or hair colour. Sometimes they use it to influence their education by increasing their knowledge in areas that they are generally failing in."
"Above all that," Mrs. Weasley said. "It is a personal choice about how the new magic is incorporated into your body through your magical core. All of you should have no worries about this and I believe that it is a mandatory session for those in your year."
"That's pretty interesting," Harry said. "What happens if someone gets their Magical Maturity before taking that course, do they lose the magic or the chance to learn about it?"
Ron and Hermione were keeping their mouths shut because as far as they knew Dumbledore hadn't planned on letting Harry attend that particular session. Although Ron was confused about why Harry shouldn't attend such a course. It just wasn't strategically sound to let someone with that much magic, not learn about re-directing it during that invaluable growing process.
"It has rarely happened that a student will go through that process before taking that course," Mrs. Weasley said. "Usually it only affects pure Wizards. I've never heard of a Muggle-born going through it."
"Well then why would any Muggle-born have to take that course," Hermione asked.
"Just because I've never heard of it, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen," Mrs. Weasley said. "Besides it's impolite to talk about it if someone is supposed to go through the process or not, because not all Purebloods are strong enough to accept any influx of magic either."
Ron was snickering thinking about Neville, when his mother glared at him, but it was his father that said, "It's impolite to think about anyone who may not be strong enough to go through the process. Those of us that do have a higher potential in our society. You will find that it's not in your best interest to ever make fun of those that don't experience an influx. You never know if you'll be able to go through that process or not either, Ronald, just keep that in your mind."
"Of course I'll go through it," Ron stated. "I'm a pureblood. Why wouldn't I go through it?"
Harry just shrugged and was about to excuse himself from the table, when Ginny stopped him. "It doesn't matter Ron," she said and then she turned to Harry. "You take this off me right now."
"I can't," Harry said. "The conditions are that you tell the truth. Tell them all what happened and you accept that I will never consider you for any kind of relationship."
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's not how you talk to your betrothed."
Harry glared at Hermione and then turned it to Ginny. "I'm not betrothed," he stated. His anger was clear in his tone. "I have never once signed any contract for a betrothal nor am I likely to pick someone like Ginny who I've always only considered to be a little sister to me and nothing more."
"Harry!" Ginny said with a gasp and tears in her eyes. "The contract was signed this summer."
"It can't have been," Harry said. "I've gone over all my accounts and made sure that there were no outstanding contracts and that there weren't any betrothal obligations before I took on the Mantle of Potter and Black."
"It was supposed to have been signed just before your birthday," Ginny said in a near fainting whisper. The redness in her face blanching as the truth of the matter was becoming clear. Her bragging letters to her friends were lies.
"Albus said that he couldn't get it signed unless Harry was aware of it," Mr. Weasley told his daughter. "Your mother was aware of that and should have told you about it. Molly?"
"I was hoping that Harry would have agreed to it once he had been found," the woman said. "Albus said that he was going to speak with you about it, but he couldn't find you. He then said that he'd talk to you about it at school, but if that is how you truly feel about Ginny we won't push for this matter anymore."
"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Harry said. "I didn't know anything about it and I certainly would not have signed away my choices like that."
Ron was furious that Harry didn't want to be a part of his family by marrying his sister. He was sincerely hoping that Harry wasn't one of 'those' Wizards. He didn't care about a person's sexuality per se, but it gave him the willies to think that Harry might prefer one of his brothers or Merlin forbid... him.
"You're not gay are you Harry," Hermione asked in a casual tone, again fishing for information to use against him.
"Don't know," Harry stated just as direct as he could. "I've never really thought about it, but from learning about the Magical Maturity thing, I'm guessing that's one of the reasons that Witches and Wizards marry young or have those betrothal contracts in first place, right?"
"That's one of the reasons," Mr. Weasley said. "Another is that the magic has time to seek out a matching resonance between two people. It's rare that it never happens, but then it does help to regulate the magical population in some fashion."
"Matching resonance, that's like a soul mate, right," Harry questioned.
"Not quite," Mrs. Weasley said. "But that is close enough to it." She paused to look at her daughter and said, "Ginevra, I suggest that if you want that thing to be removed you tell the truth and apologize to Harry right now."
Ginny was truly embarrassed. She turned beet red, but eventually mumbled out, "Sorry! I was trying to feel you up while we were having supper in order to gain favour."
The trap released her hand. She stood up again from the table and ran to her room. Everyone looked at her and shook their heads about it, although Ron wanted to laugh, but there wasn't anything really funny about the poor girl's situation. He was just being big brother about it and they laugh, poke and make all time.
"I suppose you should all go pack your things tonight so that you don't have to rush in the morning," Mrs. Weasley said. "Off you go now, I'm sure that you do have things to talk about."
The Gryffindor Trio really didn't have anything to talk about, but they were good with small talk. Hermione kept trying to find out where Harry had been living, Ron kept trying to get Harry to turn the talk towards Quidditch and they all ignored the sobs coming from Ginny's room down the hall.
HPHPHP
TBC...