Chapter 2: The Lawyer
"Can Ted Tonks be hired and do you know how much that will cost?" Harry asked. Gornuk looked up from the book on his desk and moved to some files on his desk and started rummaging, he looked to have found the file he needed and opened it to the first page and said, "Here we are, Ted Tonks, Lawyer, hourly rate is 60 galleons and you can arrange to have him on a retainer as well for an annual fee that can be arrange via contract".
"I am happy to pay 60 galleon's per hour, can he be contacted now" replied Harry. "Perfect, let me contact him" stated Gornuk.
Harry watched as Gornuk stood from his desk chair, pushed it back and walked over the fireplace that was the wall, he lit the fire with a click of his fingers and reached into the tiny cauldron and grabbed a handful of what looked to be fine white powder, he tossed it into the fireplace and stated "Ted Tonks, Office", Harry watched in shock as the fire turned green and a head appeared in the fireplace seeming to be that of a man.
"Ted Tonks speaking, how may I be of service" stated Ted, Gornuk replied "A client would like to hire you for the releasing of a will and other matters at the discretion of the client, they require your immediate service are you able to come now".
"My day was just about to end, so I have no current appointments and I am able to step through with your permission" replied Ted. "Permission is granted wizard lawyer Ted Tonks, step through" stated Gornuk.
Harry watched as a man dressed in a navy blue suit with a white shirt and purple tie with a black robe over the top stepped out of the fireplace, after Gornuk had moved out the way. He had brown hair and brown eyes and he was 6 foot 2 inches tall and was carrying a briefcase in one hand and had a watch on his other hand that was yelling "home time, home time".
Once he had stepped through, Ted looked around and saw the only occupants were the goblin Gornuk which he had spoken to and a small child with black hair. It took him a moment to notice the noise his watch was making and he then pressed a button which instantly stopped the yelling "Sorry about that, Ted Tonks how may I help you today?" stated Ted.
"My client Harrison James Sirius Potter-Black would like you to look over some discrepancies that occurred in regard to his guardianship and the releasing of the will that was sealed by Wizengamot court order on the 5th of November 1981, please take a seat" replied Gornuk.
Ted took a seat in the chair next to Mr Potter-Black and watched as Gornuk retook his seat and handed him some papers that showed the transactions of 40 galleons per month, the guardianship papers and the sealing of the will order.
Ted took a few moments to look through the papers and then he addressed his client "Mr Potter-Black what would you like us to focus on first, if we look at guardianship we will have to contact Wizarding Child Services as we can file for your emancipation under the Last of Line clause and that would release the will and stop any further transactions being released to Mr Dumbledore, we could then read the will and depending on the documents details, place charges upon Mr Dumbledore for potential neglect of a minor and theft".
Harry listened to what Mr Tonks said and said in reply "Can we look at the charges filed upon Sirius Black as he is also my Blood-Adopted Father and I think I may have been meant to be released into his custody".
"We can, but if we choose to pursue Mr Black's case first you would still remain in Mr Dumbledore's guardianship and the priority is removing you from his care and the releasing of the will could also provide evidence either for or against Mr Black that could used in his case" stated Ted.
Harry took a moment to think "Ok, lets file for emancipation, do I need to provide you with any details to be removed from Mr Dumbledore's care, as I was never actually raised by him, he placed me with my Mum's sister and her husband and I have never met Mr Dumbledore or learned of magic before today" replied Harry.
"That will help greatly in removing you from his care, as your guardian he is meant to have full custody and also be educating you on matters relating to the Wizarding World and his inability to do so, counts as charges of neglect, now we will contact Mrs Haley Abbot who is the head of Child Services, Mr Gornuk are we given leave to use your floo?" stated Ted.
"Yes do so" replied Gornuk, Gornuk and Harry both watched as Ted got up from his chair, walked over to the fireplace and reached into the cauldron grabbing a handful of powder before throwing it into the fireplace, stating loudly and clearly "Haley Abbot, Ministry of Magic, Child Services Office" a flash of green lit up the room and creating a glow against the stone walls.
Harry watched as a ladies head appeared in the fireplace and as she introduced herself "Haley Abbot, Head of Child Services, how many I help you?".
"Mrs Abbot, I am Ted Tonks Lawyer, working on a emancipation case for a client of mine based on the Last of Line Clause, would it be possible for you to step through to discuss the case and file the emancipation papers?" stated Ted.
"Yes I can step through, give me a moment to collect my papers" replied Mrs Abbot. Harry watched as she disappeared back to her office and the saw how her body moved through the floo, she wore a dark green midi length dress with a black robe thrown over the top and black boots.
"Ted, good to see you again, it's been a while" stated Mrs Abbot. "It has been, this is my client Mr Harrison James Sirius Potter-Black, with your permission Gornuk, may I conjure another chair for Mrs Abbot" asked Ted. "No need" replied Gornuk, Harry watched as the desk expanded and another chair was automatically added.
"Bloody Brilliant" stated Harry. "We like to think so" replied Gornuk. "Thank you Gornuk" stated Ted. Harry watched as everyone took or retook their seats and decided to sit on the end so he wasn't left in the middle seat.
The seats were now surrounded by packages and two briefcases and it looked oddly like organised chaos. "As you have been made aware Mrs Abbot, my client is filing for emancipation based on several factors Mr Potter-Black has never met his guardian Mr Albus Dumbledore, nor has he been educated on the Wizarding Way, he has also only just learnt of magic, so his education has been neglected and the guardians appointed by Mr Albus Dumbledore were not appointed by Wizarding Child Services, Mr Albus Dumbledore is also receiving a stipend payment for the minor child and has not provided evidence that the stipend is going towards the minor child's care that and several of these factors can count as neglect of duties to a minor in one's care" stated Ted.
"That would be correct, as outlined by our laws, now Mr Potter-Black is all the evidence you have given Mr Tonks, true and correct and is there any further details you would like to add" asked Mrs Abbot.
"Everything stated is true and correct Mrs Abbot, I just want to be away from my relatives as they do not like magic and emancipation seems to the best way and from the accounting of my vaults I will also be able to afford to look after myself financially as well" replied Harry.
"Ok as you are the Last of your Line for the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, we are able to grant you emancipation and so long as no one files a counter claim for the next 31 days, as of the 31st of August, you will become fully emancipated, you will receive a letter during the next school holidays for a surprise visit checking up on your living situation and you will just reply with your address and a visit can be made to be sure you are taking care of yourself, that is all done Mr Potter-Black, Gornuk and Mr Tonks, have a good day all and I will inform you Mr Potter-Black if there are any counter claims for custody" stated Mrs Abbot.
"Thank you Mrs Abbot" replied both Ted and Harry. Harry watched as Mrs Abbot stood from her seat, walked over the fireplace and took a handful of floo powder from the little cauldron beside the fireplace and called "Haley Abbot, Ministry of Magic, Child Services Office" a flash of green lit up the room again and Mrs Abbot left as quickly as she came giving Harry a sense of calm knowing that he may never have to return back to his relatives home again.
"Now Mr Potter-Black, we shall we reconvene on the 31st of August, as we will be able to organise for the announcements to be sent to all relevant parties in the morning for the will reading which can occur later in the afternoon at 6pm, there will also be a private reading in the morning at 10am, as your emancipation will be fully granted, the majority will just think a public reading is occurring due to your return to the Wizarding World. Then we can look further into Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore based on the information the private reading occurs and you can decided which bequeaths the recipients can receive, is this all agreeable to you Mr Potter-Black and is it possible to hold these meetings again in your office for a fee Gornuk" stated Ted.
"Yes Lawyer Ted Tonks that is fine and I will arrange for the room to be held for 2 hours, 1 hour each at 10am and 6pm on the 31st of August for a fee of 20 galleon's per hour, is that acceptable Mr Potter-Black" replied Gornuk. "Yes that is fine Gornuk, the payment can be taken from my Trust Vault, I shall see you both then" replied Harry thinking of his plans.
"Good day to you all and I will see you both on the 31st and thank you for your time Gornuk" stated Ted. "Thank you Mr Tonks for everything you've done today" replied Harry. "No problem" replied Ted, Harry watched as Ted retrieved his briefcase, stood from the chair and walked over to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder and he heard the name "The Tonk's Rose" being declared before Mr Tonks walked through the fire place with his black robe billowing behind him.
Harry turned back to face Gornuk and asked, "Is there a way to get to Potter Cottage in Roundstone". "There is" replied Gornuk, Harry watched as Gornuk checked the book with the Potter name on it, then yelled out "Posey" and a pop was heard before a small creature with big eyes and bat-like ears and old purple dress appeared.
"Ohh Posey is so happy to see Little Master at last, we have a Master once again, how may Posey serve" stated Posey. Gornuk looked at the little creature and said "Posey, Mr Potter-Black, would like to make Potter Cottage his home for now, would you be able to take him there". "Yes, yes ,yes Posey can, she can" replied Posey.
"Well Mr Potter-Black, Posey will take you to Potter Cottage, a fee of 20 galleon's will be deducted from your trust vault for today's service and for a further fee of 50 galleon's, so you will always have access to your money, Gringotts can provide you with 2 bags linked to your Trust Vault one will be a refillable money pouch where you can take as much money as desired from your Trust Vault and the other for a fee of 1 galleon per year will automatically convert your galleon's into muggle money, just state the currency and amount it will automatically appear" stated Gornuk.
"That would be bloody wicked, yes please take the money from my vault and thank you for all your help today Gornuk and its nice to meet you Posey" replied Harry. Harry watched as Gornuk passed over two bags one was a black pouch and the other was a gold pouch, Harry grabbed those and placed them in his pocket "It is no problem Mr Potter-Black; the black bag is for muggle money and the gold pouch for muggle money, now off you go it's been a long day" replied Gornuk.
"Posey, I am ready to go, is it possible to bring my packages as well" stated Harry. "Yes Little Master it is, now hold on to my hand and we shall go" replied Posey.
Gornuk watched as Mr Potter-Black and Posey disappeared with a loud pop from the office leaving it as empty as it had been before they arrived, "Another day's work done and a little wizard back in his rightful home" stated Gornuk, before he approached the office door and left as he arrived.
Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites. I hope you like Gornuk. I didn't like the idea of using Griphook, because of how his storyline goes. I felt like a new character would add a different spin based on the possibilities presented as well. Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoyed this chapter.