Potter Castle

Harry slowed from his jog through the surrounding forests as he approached the main entrance to his castle. The scale of this place never ceased to amaze him. Sure, it wasn't Hogwarts, but this was his house, and how many people could say they live in a six story castle? The heavy doors swung open as he approached causing Harry to smirk. It was good to be a Potter.

He cast a cleaning charm on himself as he made his way to the third floor library to try talking to Paranoid Potter again. He paused, smoothed his hair and took a deep breath before entering the library's entrance chamber. Harry confidently addressed the portrait, "Lord Potter, it is good to see you again."

Paranoid Potter locked eyes with him and remained silent for a good minute before coolly replying, "Are you going to try steal from me, boy?"

Harry morphed his face into the very picture of innocence, "I don't understand, sir. Why would I steal from you? We share the same goal, or at least I thought we did. If this really is a concern for you, I can try to borrow money from someone to fund the investigation into the goblin and ministry treachery that cost you who knows how many millions of galleons. It will just look a little, well, weak I guess, if the law firm representing you is anything but the best."

"Those filthy goblins! And Charlus! It was his fault. I will kill them all, I'll show them –" Harry spaced out as he waited for the rant to finish, just barely managing not to laugh at this ridiculous portrait.

After a few minutes, Harry ended Paranoid Potter's monologue, "Exactly, sir! But we need to recover what was stolen first. I found the right legal firm, but I can't just appear on their doorstep and beg for charity. That would disgrace our prestigious name. Sir, the future of the Potter empire depends solely on whether you were clever enough to see the treachery coming and act accordingly. Sir, were you that brilliant? Did you save the future of our ancient and noble bloodline?" Harry's mouth twitched as Paranoid Potter swelled with pride and boasted about how he had known all along. However, his heart sank soon after as Robertus seemed to remember his distrust of Harry. He was soon screaming at him again, causing Harry to storm from the room, slamming the door behind him.

(-)

After the elves had confirmed that the Potters had multiple unplottable holiday homes, just like the Malfoys, Harry had them search those homes for more coins. Harry's new total was just over four thousand galleons, and he now had the option of selling those holiday homes once he figured out how that worked. With a great deal of excitement, he started on the letter to Tonks and Tonks. Susan had asked her aunt for a recommendation and she had confidently recommended the Tonks duo. In return, Harry had insisted on taking Susan and Hannah to the Falcons game and the two had happily agreed, although they had insisted it would be at their own expense. That game was tomorrow, and Harry couldn't wait.

(-)

Harry stumbled out of the fireplace into the entrance hall at Bones' Manor. Hannah rushed forward and hugged him causing him to blush and Susan to giggle. Susan thankfully greeted him far more sedately and gave him a quick and gentle hug before introducing him to Amelia Bones. Amelia's greeting was polite, if a little abrupt, and Harry got the feeling that she was an understandably busy woman. Something about her reminded him of a combination of Mcgonagall and Dumbledore. She exuded power and Harry immediately understood how she had obtained her reputation.

He briefly imagined her staring down her wand at him in the middle of a battle and quickly looked away. He frowned slightly as he considered how much he hated that feeling. He couldn't wait until he was strong enough to look anyone in the eyes and have them break eye contact instead. He hated feeling small and weak. He decided he needed to get back to work on his panther. He had to make it bigger, faster, and stronger. It needed to be spell resistant and vicious like that troll had been, but completely under his control. Maybe he could have two of them, one visible and one not. One roaring and one silent as a ghost. Maybe he could add poison to their teeth, and perhaps the one could be made of smoke rather than steel. He started smirking and his eyes gleamed as he considered the potential of his creations.

Hannah and Susan waved their hands in front of Harry's face but he apparently didn't notice. Hannah's face broke out into a wicked grin as she sweetly announced, "Well, there is only one other thing we can do" before launching herself at Harry and tickling him until he was rolling around on the floor and begging her to stop.

Susan could hardly breathe as she laughed at the two of them and she even caught her aunt smiling at the wrestling match taking place in their entrance hall. Harry eventually pinned Hannah under him but Hannah still got the last laugh when she suggestively asked Harry what he was going to do to her now, causing him to leap away from her and gape at Susan, her aunt and some other person who had arrived during the tickle contest.

Harry was clearly mortified so Susan tried to ease his embarrassment by introducing him to the auror trainee, Vanessa Strobel, who would be escorting them to the Quidditch match. Harry couldn't believe that Hannah had managed to royally embarrass him again and shot her a glare as he greeted their escort.

They side along apparated to the Falcons' home stadium shortly afterwards and Harry immediately forgot about everything Hannah had done as he marvelled at the scale and splendour of the stadium. The sound of tens of thousands of excited witches and wizards assaulted his ears and Harry grinned from ear to ear as he tried to take it all in.

Vanessa led the three children to their seats as quickly as possible without allowing them to buy any food or paraphernalia but Harry didn't really care since he was here to watch Quidditch and nothing would distract him from his goal. Twenty minutes later the match started and Harry spent the next 90 minutes with his mouth open as he gazed at the spectacle in absolute awe. Hannah and Susan had tried to talk to him during the game but he had distractedly patted one of them on the shoulder and continued watching the game instead of responding and they hadn't tried to distract him again.

(-)

Harry was silent and introspective for the rest of the afternoon at Bones Manor, but the three children still enjoyed their time together under a tree on the perfectly manicured grounds. The two Hufflepuffs had teased Harry about supposedly drooling over the Quidditch but he just smiled in response so the teasing hadn't really continued.

Harry grabbed his broom the moment he arrived back at Potter Castle and spent the next hour at top speed in the air in his own little world as he dreamed of being a professional Quidditch chaser. The elves finally called him inside as the shadows lengthened and a chill crept into the wind. Harry dove rapidly one last time and fluidly dismounted on the move, his first step taking him through the doors to the entrance hall. He asked an elf to run a bath and bring "So you want to be an Animagus?" for him to read while he relaxed in the warmth under the bubbles. A fire was already crackling in the fireplace when he reached his room. Harry smiled and thanked his wonderful elves before rushing to the warmth of his well-deserved bath. He sighed happily as the heat caressed his tired and cold body and marvelled yet again at his good fortune.

(-)

Harry sat nervously in the foyer of the Tonks and Tonks legal firm in Diagon Alley. He was 30 minutes early and he knew they were one of the top three wizarding law firms in Britain so he was happy to wait. He didn't really know what to expect, but he hoped this would get the ball rolling so he could finally recover what was rightfully his. He tried reading, but even his treasured transfiguration books weren't enough to calm him and keep his attention today. At exactly 10:30, the receptionist's voice startled him from his racing thoughts, "Mr and Mrs Tonks will see you now. Please, follow me."

Harry followed the receptionist down a long magically stretched corridor and they stopped at one of the two doors right at the end. His heart was racing. These offices, the entire building, everything exuded class and sophistication. He felt his age, he felt out of place, he felt small and ill equipped for this. What if they didn't take him seriously? He needed this to go well, but he felt out of his depth and he had to somehow figure this out on his own. He felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder and looked up into the warm eyes of the receptionist. She smiled at him and he smiled weakly back. Then she opened the door and introduced him to Ted and Andromeda Tonks and before he knew it, he was sitting on a couch across from the two impeccably dressed lawyers.

Andromeda smiled comfortingly at him as Ted got the conversation rolling. "So, Mr Potter, I believe we know why you're here. To be completely sure though, what would you like us to do for you?"

Harry swallowed and tried to respond but his mouth was dry and nothing came out. He couldn't believe it. He was embarrassing himself and the Potter name. He pleadingly looked at them and Andromeda thankfully helped him along, "We know you would like legal counsel about the whole mess with the goblins, the ministry and the suspiciously premature dismantling of the entire Potter empire. Is there anything else?"

"No ma'am, just that" Harry responded, thankfully more confidently now.

Mr Tonks took the lead again, "We had one of our associates dig around a little and we have some very important information to share already. However, Mr Potter, we unfortunately need to discuss your financial situation. Our brief investigation suggested that you could probably cover our fees for a time based on your spending since returning to the magical world. However, we need to be sure that you can afford what will likely be a lengthy process. You also need to remember that there are no guarantees that we will actually win. We would like to help you so we will share the information we have without any obligation to proceed, but we do need assurance that you can cover the fees now and in the months to come. Mr Potter, to cover the next six months, we might require as much as two thousand galleons…"

"I understand, sir. I know there are no guarantees and I knew it wouldn't be cheap. What odds are we looking at? And would you be able to help me sell some houses?" Harry replied.

Mr Tonks replied, "I would say there is a 20% chance of recovering something significant. If the ministry took over any companies without selling them, then it doesn't cost them anything, other than a loss of future income, to return the companies to you. We would need to find a legal approach that forces them to return the companies though. I highly doubt that the majority in the Wizengamot would vote in favour of further weakening the Ministry's financial situation if they didn't have to. They are going to blame the goblins rather than accept any responsibility, especially since this has never happened before and it is so unlikely to ever happen again. Your situation with the goblins and the wills was very unique. Perhaps it would be different if the politics here were not so biased in favour of, let's say suspicious individuals. In terms of actual liquid funds, there is no chance of those being returned. The ministry is unfortunately in serious financial trouble, and that's why I worry that they will resist us at every step, or worse, that they have already sold the companies to generate short term funding. Regarding your houses that you want to sell, that's unfortunately not going to be a quick process. The market is still flooded with vacant properties after so many lost their lives in the war. Do you need to sell a property to cover our fees?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I can cover the fees now. I just thought it would be an easy way to remove some of the pressure. I can't just not pursue this, you know? How much would you need up front?"

Ted smiled, "Excellent, we require 1000 galleons up front and we will bill you for the hours we spend on this case on a monthly basis thereafter. Now, onto that information I mentioned. The ministry of magic took a sizeable loan from the Potter family a couple centuries ago when Aaron Potter was a close friend to the minster of magic and goblin-wizard relations were particularly tense. That loan was never repaid and the interest had compounded to the point that settling the loan would literally force the ministry into bankruptcy. When the Potter line was thought to have ended, either your parents did not have wills, which is very unlikely, or someone ensured that both of their wills went missing. Without a will to determine how to handle the estate, the Potter gold was split between a number of charities and organisations, as determined by a committee. The members of that committee were determined by the ministry of magic, so of course the loan was cleared in the interests of the stability and recovery of wizarding Britain. In ordinary circumstances, the goblins would also have a certified copy of the will, and no wizards would be able to tamper with that. Additionally, the goblins' blood magic and family tree system would normally register that you were still alive. However, the Potters and the goblins historically haven't been on the best of terms. The Potter empire had to be run through Gringotts due to its size and complexity, but both parties avoided each other whenever possible. So either the goblins are lying, or you truly weren't ever taken in for blood processing. We will have to dig into that and try find some answers as part of the investigation. Now, Mr Potter, while I can believe that the certified copies of the Potter wills were not left with the goblins, I would be very surprised if your parents hadn't planned for this situation. So, Mr Potter, the first step in our case is to find the certified copy of either of your parent's wills."

Harry replied, "Where would we even begin to look? If the will hasn't turned up then they couldn't have left it with a trusted friend or anything like that. The elves would have brought the wills to me if they were left where I am staying now. There might be other Potter properties that weren't stolen, I will have to check with the elves in case they know. Where else could they be?"

Andromeda joined in, "Well, I have a theory. My cousin, Sirius Black, was known to be your father's best friend and brother in all but blood. I believe the will was given to Sirius for safe keeping and that if he had died with the Potters, then the Black and Potter wills would both be released together. However, Sirius is still alive, currently residing in Azkaban prison for deliberately killing Peter Petigrew, and accidentally killing a street full of muggles, right after discovering that Peter betrayed your parents. Now, while I can imagine Sirius killing Petigrew in a fit of despair after losing his chosen family, it would still be surprising, and Petigrew's body was never found. That's unusual to so the least, so we had someone look into the records of his trial to see if we could find any clues there. Interestingly, there are no records of the trial. So either he didn't have one, or those records also went missing. There is something very suspicious in all of that so we will focus there to start."

Harry nodded as he took in the new information then replied, "So when can we speak to Sirius and find out if he has the will?"

Ted sighed, "Well, it's unfortunately quite difficult to arrange for a visit to Azkaban, especially to the deeper cells. The ministry also has to approve the meeting, so we expect resistance to say the least. Andromeda is related to Sirius, which might help. At this point it looks like the entire case will probably rest on that meeting so we will focus most of our efforts there. We need to know if Sirius has the will, we need to know what happened when he was imprisoned, and we also need to know if he was named your Godfather or if that was just a rumour. That last part is also crucial. If he is your Godfather, and if we can find precedent, we can have him authorise any of the necessary legal procedures on your behalf from behind bars. If he is innocent and we can prove it, then that becomes even simpler. However, if he is not your Godfather, then we will have to find a way around your lack of a magical guardian, and quickly too before the ministry catches on. If you don't have a magical guardian, then the ministry can select one for you. The law dictates that you can only open law suits if you are the wronged party, so with a ministry guardian refusing to authorise anything, it would likely end any chance of legal action until your seventeenth birthday at best."

Harry hadn't expected it to be easy, but it was really starting to sound like an enormous undertaking that probably wouldn't end well. He wanted them to pay for what they had done, but he didn't even know who orchestrated it. If they were powerful, connected, and intelligent then the odds weren't good, but he had to try. "Sir, I can't pretend nothing happened and just move on. But it sounds like this case might be long and drawn out. I have a few ideas on how to rebuild the Potter empire, but I wanted to check if there were laws preventing wizards from doing business in the muggle world."

Ted smiled, "Mr Potter, every muggleborn witch or wizard has similar thoughts. The muggle economy completely dwarfs ours and it would be full of opportunities for the canny magical. However, it is not only frowned upon, but highly illegal and strictly monitored. The stakes are high for the wizarding economy and for the statute of secrecy. The consequences are severe if anyone is caught doing business with the muggle world. And it's almost guaranteed that you would get caught at some point. There is an entire branch of the Unspeakables that investigates and constantly monitors the wizard-muggle situation. Mr Potter, if you have had any dealings with the muggle world, we need to know about it. If the ministry finds out, they will use it to derail this completely."

Harry was disappointed but quickly soothed the man's concerns, "I haven't done anything, sir. I just thought it would be a good idea. I won't risk it."

(-)

The rest of the holiday was pleasant and Harry enjoyed the solitude and productivity. He practiced quidditch, explored the Potter grounds and surrounds, studied, and best of all, he finally managed to successfully brew the potion to reveal his animagus form. The potion had put him into a trance and he had found himself gliding silently and effortlessly through the night. His eyes locked onto a rat and his world narrowed. The rat didn't see or hear him coming. His agility, sight, and reflexes were unbelievable. His trance had thankfully ended soon after he began devouring the rat, but his excitement hadn't.

He had researched birds of prey and quickly determined that he was an owl of some kind. Based on his research into the vegetation he had seen, it was most likely an owl that lived in Australia. Further research suggested that he was a Greater Sooty Owl, but Harry would need to confirm that with a mirror after his first transformation. He had thrown himself into a deeper study of the anatomy of the bird to help him in his transformation. He couldn't wait to start transfiguring parts of his body, but he couldn't do that without appropriate supervision. He wasn't sure where he would find someone to help, but some part of him knew that he would try the transformation anyway if he didn't find someone this year.

Harry finished checking the last of his homework and then prepared for bed. Tomorrow he would be back at Hogwarts, his other home, and he couldn't wait.