Disclaimer:
I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Mischief Managed Damn It!
Title: Book 1, Chapter 4
Posted Date: March 23rd 2020
Updated Date: May 24th 2020 / September 12 2020
Filius took a sip of the tea that was offered to him by the waitress while studying the boy seated before him currently looking through the booklet for those raised outside of Magical Britain and taking a quick bite of the sandwich, his mind churning with thoughts on the boy.
After he met the young Potter outside of the school area, Harry led him to the nearby cafe where they were greeted warmly by the staff and directed to a table that Filius noted to be in full view and in a direct path for the staff to reach if required. Considering the careful glances at them every so often and what he had gathered from the two men earlier, Filius felt somewhat assured that the boy was in safe hands within this community even if the wards were active. He had to wonder what had happened to make the adults that appeared so far to be really protective of the young lad, it could not be just because he was an old man searching for a young boy.
As for Harry himself, Filius could not help thinking of the boy like a puzzle that was itching to be solved; now that they were sitting to have tea for their discussion, Filius took a closer look at the child. His appearance was certainly a lot like his father, but the chin was a little narrower than James and his cheekbones were somewhat similar to Lily's. His hair was cut short to tame the unruly hair, but under the correct lighting the ends revealed a tinge of red, and of course without anything to block the eyes, the bright color and beauty of said eyes were shown. As mentioned, Harry had a decent build despite his rather small size that spoke of a fair amount of exercise that in his mind was good for decent endurance and bursts of speed. By themselves, it did not mean much but when looked on as a whole, all those elements made young Harry very different from the description pushed around in the world as a scrawny youth with messy black hair and round glasses. Unless someone looked at him carefully, he could actually stand next to other wizards and not be noticed at all.
The boy's behavior thus far seemed to be one who was polite and mature while guarded at the same time, not to mention being quite blunt on certain matters that could be considered borderline rude to some. There was surprisingly little presence to him, and if it was not for his goblin heritage, Filius would have thought that Harry was a ghost. His movements were also unusual in the manner that they were silent and precise that it reminded him of Minerva's method of walking as a result of her animagus side, not something he would expect of a young boy especially when he saw how Harry managed to avoid getting hit by passers-by with the ease of one having done so multiple times.
His eyes were perhaps the biggest indicator though: bright, filled with knowledge and a touch of mischief, but hidden behind veils of wariness, a child who seemed to be guarded and have aged just a bit faster than needed.
What on earth happened to Lily's precious boy?
"This seems somewhat informative." Harry remarked as he closed the brochure for muggleborns' introductions to the school. "But it is also outdated, not to mention a touch restrictive and arrogant if I am allowed to say."
"How so?" Filius asked as he placed the cup down on the table, curious to see how the boy would interpret the introductions.
"Firstly, the manner in which you introduce prospective students starts with the introduction letter you send to us." Harry lifted the letter he had received from Hogwarts. "Am I right in guessing the format has not changed for a few years?" A nod from Flitwick prompted him to continue. "The format would be a decent welcoming letter for newcomers, but likely around the mid 17 or 1800s. The manner this letter is worded makes it sound that the receiver should be honoured to come to the school without the option to refuse the invitation."
"But Hogwarts is one of the best in Europe." Filius automatically defended its status in Europe, although he knew better than to claim it was the best in the world like Minerva and a few others do so to sell the idea.
"Not everyone would want to go to Hogwarts even if it is the best school in Europe. Some may not be able to afford it, otherwise want to attend another school. Based on the brochure provided, you are only providing basic magic courses." Harry lifted another pamphlet and a folder of papers for Filius to view. "You have mentioned about Hogwarts being the best in Europe. That is true to a certain extent, because if you look at that document, you would find that it does excel in the major subjects that are given at the academy such as Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology, but it is lagging in other areas such as History and Potions. I have checked with other schools and their lessons span over a larger number of subjects and areas that Hogwarts does not have or discarded over the years, either due to budget cuts or whatever reason given. There is also the case where Hogwarts does not appear to offer mundane subjects like Mathematics and Physics to study." That drew the half goblin's attention from the folder.
"You wish to study muggle subjects?"
"Before getting this letter, I have been studying hard to get myself into a prestigious middle school and a good university. I am already going through an advance course and getting a fair number of offers and scholarships to attend those institutions. While I certainly would not mind learning about magic, I am concerned that I would have to give up my mundane education to do so. One does not simply rely on magic alone to get things done, not to mention I can have a better time adapting to do so." Harry paused to take a sip of his drink. "From what little I have witnessed the past couple of years in this country, a vast majority of the magical folk seemed to be tolerant at best and downright prejudiced against anything related to mundanes or non-magical folk. While that might be what you guys want, that does not mean you can afford to make those mundane-born so ignorant to the point of uprooting them and forcing them to conform to your ideals on blood prejudice and society as the world has marched on quite a fair bit in the past couple of centuries."
"Now I have checked other academies and thus far, I would have better luck going abroad to Salem or even one of the Asian schools. Failing that, the next best would be to hire private tutors, something I made sure to check I can do so as it is a given right by the charter and thus cannot be contested. From what I heard about some of the professors, I might be better off doing so." He paused to look at Filius in the eye. "I also make sure that I have the means and resources to do so, regardless of what some might want to believe and try to interfere."
That statement alone told Filius a lot of facts not mentioned out loud. Young Harry clearly planned it out well to present his argument, and it was noted with relief that he did not subscribe to the blood mentality that has plagued the upper echelons for so many years, which was very good in Filius's opinion. There was also the bit that Harry was not looking for a life or education in the magical world, or rather Magical Britain. He was seriously looking into having good education in both sides of Britain, and failing that he would look elsewhere for it, knowing that he would likely be hounded or downright obstructed by people who would want to make sure he stayed in Hogwarts, either out of perceived entitlement or avoid the loss of prestige from having "The Boy Who Lived" leave. That last bit was clearly a jab at Albus for his supposed attempts to control the boy, something that Filius was still trying to wrap his head around.
But something niggled at his mind…
"I apologize if this is repetitive, my knowledge regarding muggle subjects is outdated by a fair bit. You have been offered to go skip grades in the muggle education system?"
"I prefer calling regular people mundanes. It is less insulting for them." Harry took another sip of his drink. "As for your question, I have been in the advanced program since I was eight. Most of my teachers were supportive and willing to push me harder to learn more. By my calculations, I should be preparing for my GCE O Levels by next year, something I believe is the equivalent of your OWLS if I am not mistaken. I am making sure that I can continue my studies so that I can take the exams and pass them for the next level." At that Filius was honestly floored at the boy's admittance. Some would put it as arrogance to boast in such a manner, but the half-goblin could see that he was genuine in his statement and confident that he was going to pass said test. And if what he heard from the two mug… mundanes were true, Harry was very intelligent for one his age to be preparing for this 'university' and wanting to continue with his mundane studies.
So alike Lily…
"Sir?" His thoughts were interrupted by Harry who was looking at him oddly. Taking a glance, Filius noted that the other adults in the store were looking at him with raised eyebrows, before feeling something on his face. Raising a hand to it, Filius was surprised to find it wet with tears. He then let out a chuckle that was a mix of amusement and melancholy.
"My apologies Mister Potter, those words and the confidence you exhibited reminded me a great deal of a student I once knew." The half-goblin took out his handkerchief to wipe his eyes dry. "She had the same level of belief when we were discussing about her prospects of the future."
"I see." Harry nodded politely. Filius thought a bit before putting it out there.
"Indeed, your mother was one confident woman to go far." That definitely grabbed the young man's attention as he looked at him keenly, his mask now showing cracks.
"You knew my mother?" Filius could feel a bit of his heart aching slightly from the hopefulness, wariness and slight desperation in his voice. From what little he understood from the two men from before, Harry had grown up with less than flavourful stories of his parents and would likely hope to get something positive from anyone. Filius decided he needed more of the wonderful tea and treats to fatten the boy up and to keep the story going. After signalling to the waitress and gesturing to the items on the table, Filius turned back to the boy with a gentle smile.
"I do, both of your parents in fact. Granted, my experience with James Potter was more due to his penchant for trouble." Filius chuckled at the memories of the man getting into detention more times than anyone else in the past century. "He was skilled in Transfiguration to the point that Minerva (that's Professor McGonagall of Transfiguration and the Head of Gryffindor if you are interested to know) had considered at one point bringing him under her wing, but he was a little too over-the-top with his work and with the war going on he was not interested in obtaining a mastery of the subject. He was however quite proficient in the defensive arts against the dark wizards, even becoming an Auror after graduating."
"Auror..." Harry tested the word on his tongue. "That is the magical equivalent of a police officer."
"Indeed, one of the stronger fighters at that time." Filius paused in his thinking, not wanting to dwell on the fact that Jame's supposed brother in blood and partner was the one who had led to the betrayal and death of Harry's parents. He proceeded instead to his favourite student instead. "Your mother though, she was one I knew very well." Based on the increased eagerness, he had the feeling the boy wanted to know more of his mother as opposed to the father, curious but not something to be surprised of, likely because of Petunia poisoning his mind on her.
He was so going to be hexing that woman into the next century when he got his hands on her!
"Your mother was a very inquisitive young girl when she came to Hogwarts. She always looked to magic with an eye that could analyse and take apart spells, yet appreciate them for the beauty that could arise from them. She had always believed that it was not so much the nature of the spells but the intent of the user that would define the usage of spells." Filius recalled with fondness. "She was quite creative with her spells and potions, sometimes creating the most interesting combinations from the most common of spells or the most unusual potions."
"How so?" Harry leaned forward a touch bit, eager for more information on her.
"There was that one time during her third year in the late summer of 1974. Arguably one of the more horrendous spells of heat waves at that time, everyone was removing their robes in an effort to stay cool." Filius chortled at that point. "I don't believe I have seen that many students walking around in thin clothes and applying cooling charms every 5 minutes as the heat kept sapping the magic. Even for us professors, each of us were forced to adopt rather drastic measures to stay cool. Minerva ended up transfiguring her entire classroom to create more windows in an attempt to get more wind into the classroom. Big mistake." Filius laughed at the memory. "The wind coming in was more of the hot variant than the cool breeze. Madam Pomfrey was beside herself when all of Minerva's students came to her Hospital Wing from heat stroke."
"Now your mother had a rather ambitious idea to keep cool under the heat. She combined cooling charms and runes involving the wind and water to a big tube of metal, then introduced an aerosol version of a potion to cool the body down. As a result, she was able to create the equivalent of the... what do you call it, the air-conditioner?" A wide-eyed Harry answered his query. "Oh yes, she became very popular for that period, in fact my office has a more compact version that she created and gifted to me sometime before she graduated." Filius smiled nostalgically "I do recall that her first few tests were quite explosive to say the least, by that I mean her suddenly getting buried under 2 feet of snow or wet from a sudden cloud of rain above her head." Harry chuckled at the sudden image of his mother in her youth covered in snow while glaring at her smoking invention.
"Of course, she also possessed quite a temper, that I will not lie. There were a few students who had picked on her due to her height and heritage during her early years, but she could tangle with them in either wand work or words." Filius continued. "I may be understating it lightly when I say that your mother did not like your father at all when he went around pranking some of the people around her. She practically tore into him about his behavior and those of his group named the Marauders that one time dear Alice got itching powder in her robes. I have never seen boys screamed so loudly while clutching their behinds in all my years in Hogwarts as the fiery red head chased after them with hexes from one end of the school to the other." Harry laughed at that description as his mind now conjured the image of four kids being chased down the corridor with his mother coming down on them with her red hair waving in the air as she fired off hexes at their behinds.
"She sounds awesome." Harry remarked at the description given to him.
"She was Mister Potter, she was." Filius's smile became sad. "She was able to graduate with the highest scores known to Hogwarts, broke a few of the old records and set new ones. Up to now, no one could come close, let alone break them. Just like you, she continued her muggle education and ended up with high grades in that area. She was really talented, yet she did not let that get into her head. She had quite the heart with her." From where he sat, Harry seemed to be visualizing the type of woman Lily was being described to him, lightly smiling at the thought.
"I wish you could have grown up with her, words alone cannot do justice in my opinion." Filius lightly dabbed at his eyes at the memories flowing back into his mind. "Oh goodness me, look at me being a mess. I should be telling you more about Hogwarts instead."
"It is fine. I appreciate the gesture and the story regarding my mother." Harry answered truthfully. Again, the odd feeling came back to Filius at the wording.
"And your father?" The half-goblin noted how Harry hesitated for a moment with indecision in his eyes before firming up with the guard again.
"I am not sure." That definitely rang an alarm bell in Filius's head. "Before this meeting, I have visited Magical Britain a few times, and learnt about them through different sources. And while I appreciate both of my parents, I feel closer to my mother. James Potter though, I am of two minds based on his actions and reported behaviour."
"If I may ask, what are your thoughts on your father?" The half-goblin decided to set aside the discussion of Hogwarts and listened to the boy, curious on what he had heard. But Harry shook his head at that.
"Sorry Professor, but I would like to keep that private for now. May we return to the issue on Hogwarts?" Filius nodded while mentally noting to himself to visit the boy again in the future to talk his parents in case the boy got another erroneous view from unsavory folks who may have reason to hate the Potters. That was when the thought came to him that he needed to confirm his residence.
"There are some questions that I need to confirm with your guardian, and well..." Filius was a touch concerned if he was going to open up wounds, but decided to forge ahead. "From what little I have gathered around from some folks here, you are not staying with the family called the Dursleys?"
"No, I am not." The firm nod and somewhat set jaw told Filius more than the boy probably intended. "I can only say that they are currently indisposed and I have another guardian in charge."
"I understand, I do need to meet up with your current guardian to confirm some issues, and at the same time." Filius glanced to where the staff was "there are materials I need to demonstrate." Harry got the idea and waved to the waitress to get the bill and remaining pastries to go. As he went to pay and apparently to make a call, Filius privately considered what to demonstrate to Harry's current guardian and what to do for the boy to entice him to Hogwarts. It seemed that Harry was currently not favouring the academy due to the subjects that were being taught; in the folder presented, it was quite staggering to see the difference in results. Evidently much of what was taught in the upper levels in Hogwarts was already considered as standard for the lower years, and then there was the issue of teaching standards by Binns and Snape. One would bring students to Morpheus's embrace with his constant droning on goblin rebellions, the other would reduce students to tears and berate them for anything not up to his standards. The latter was more concerning since that man bore a grudge towards James Potter and would likely carry it over to Harry, despite him being more of Lily's considering his attitude and study patterns.
Well if that man cannot look past his grudge, Filius was going to demonstrate how to beat the stupid grudge out with his wand!
"I am ready, professor." Harry came back to the table while carrying a to-go bag. "Shall we make our way?" Filius nodded and followed him out of the cafe, moving alongside him as they moved some distance away. Again Filius felt the presence of the wards on him and got the impression of the wolf seemingly stalking him, and so could not help the question coming out of his mouth.
"If I may ask Mister Potter, how are these wards made?" The boy's left eyebrow raised in a manner that conveyed confusion with a hint of amusement. "I know a thing or two on wards, and I already know that you have knowledge on magic and supposedly in contact with the goblins of Gringotts. This is certainly not your typical ward system." The half-goblin glanced at him at the corner of the eye and his mouth twitching. "I am not your enemy, and while I work for Albus at Hogwarts, I do not follow his teachings as much as the rest do. I do not agree with his methods and his actions as of late."
Harry paused by the road, prompting Filius to do the same as the boy looked at him with an expression that spoke of him pondering an idea. Then with a quick glance around him and a light nod, Harry continued walking but this time to a narrow alley between two blocks. He then stopped again to look upwards at certain points before turning around and looking Filius in the eye, adopting an expression of seriousness that by all accounts should not be on a boy his age.
"Can I trust you on this?" That comment drew a raised eyebrow from Filius who nodded at his odd question and expression. "Okay, why don't we take a faster route to my place?" Harry placed a hand on his shoulders before giving a smile that was similar to James Potter's that sent dread down his spine. "Don't blink." Before he could comment, the scenery around changed instantly from an alleyway to a room with some wood panelling and a single window that showed a tree outside.
"What in Merlin?!" Filius looked around while stepping back, his hand moving to his wand. He barely felt anything when they moved, it could not be Apparation nor could it be a Port-Key. It was too smooth and too quick of a transition, what was that method?
"Apologies for the suddenness." Harry spoke with a somewhat sheepish tone as he made his way to the plain door. "But if we are going to be honest with one another for this discussion, we are going to need a place that we can do that in peace. This place is warded to make sure no one knows where we are or hear what we have to say." He opened the door and motioned to the half-goblin. "My guardian is expecting us. Shall we proceed?"
~ooOOoo~
Harry let out a sigh as he sat in the chair, having returned from seeing Filius out of the house and back to the alleyway from whence they came through, sympathizing with the professor as he left the area in a daze. It had been a lengthy discussion that saw the sun set and twilight starting to come forth, and in some manner Harry could understand the confusion the professor must have felt regarding the content. It sounded outlandish even to him, and he was the one who got the information first-hand.
It was a risk to let someone from the magical school come to the safe-house he had procured with aid from Gringotts, and catch a glimpse of what he could do with his blend of magic, but based on his notes, his favourite journal and some information from the other goblins, Filius was perhaps his best possible ally to deal with Dumbledore.
That and perhaps he wanted to be a touch closer to someone who knew his mother in her youth as opposed to Petunia.
"Are you sure that was a wise decision?" Harry turned to the person who was designated as his 'guardian'. "He might inform Dumbledore about the discussion. And there is the high chance the old man would find more ways to limit your movements in order to get you to Hogwarts."
"Am I sure? Not really." Harry shook his head. "Call it a gut feeling, I believe that he can help us out in the future. Besides, I have already laid it out to the professor on the scholarships and subjects, not to mention other mundane-born have been asking about them as well. If I got it right, he is going to be the first step to solving our problem."
"What are the odds that Dumbledore would attempt to draft some legislation to force you in?"
"Pretty high actually." Harry stretched his arms as he mentally considered all the information he knew on the old mage. "It would not be the first time that Dumbledore would use his positions to create new laws that would restrict others while giving himself the advantage. It only depends on how transparent he is if he goes that route. I already have my solicitor standing by with a few rough plans in case he does try to do this."
"How would he do so in your opinion?" The 'guardian' asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Depends again on his thinking, he might go with the idea that all British citizens must study at Hogwarts for their education if they wish to inherit, that would be the neutral route of sorts. It's not the first time someone from the government attempts to draft that law. The reason it has not properly taken root because others have taken offense to the law since there are people who went abroad for their education and end up losing their inheritance because of it. There is also the case that others cannot afford Hogwarts tuition and end up being home-schooled. When the law was drafted, the government had to fork out a lot of money to get them in." Harry shrugged while shaking his head. "Evidently in their opinion, the taxpayer's money could be better used rather than bringing in the students from poorer families and giving them good education."
"If we were to go to extremes, he would likely push the angle on the silly 'Boy-Who-Lived' routine, how I must be staying at Hogwarts to 'preserve the integrity of the Great British Education', or how I could 'ruin the reputation of the greatest school in the world by not coming', or how I would be 'betraying my parents' for not being in Hogwarts. All while wrapping them all with a bow tie at the top with the words 'For the Greater Good'!" Harry snorted derisively much to the observer's amusement. "In any event, chances are good that even if I am forced to go to Hogwarts, I will have the cards stacked in my favour because I know for a fact that Dumbledore will attempt to bring me over and if done right, I can make a fair bit of trouble for him while ensuring the mundane-born can benefit. The goblins themselves already warned me about the inheritance issue so I got that route handled, and thanks to them, I can continue my regular education if necessary."
"Considering the money you are helping them make, they will definitely be assisting you aplenty." The 'guardian' gave a snort himself. "But you are in a sense going to Hogwarts."
"True, but Dumbledore and the wizards do not know it yet." Harry answered mischievously. "I want to see their response before making the decision."
"How about the idea of him proclaiming to be your magical guardian? I may be serving as your guardian for both sides for now, but people still believe him to be so." The 'guardian' voiced out that thought.
"That should not be too much of an issue considering the debacle from last time with my interview and the article on Dumbledore's ousting from Gringotts. Most people would not know this but my solicitor was able to gather evidence of the Dursleys abusing me and the vaults being pilfered, and with some assistance from the Magical Child Services, which should have been brought in the first place after my parent's deaths, proven that he was acting illegally as my true guardian's proxy. Since my real guardian is unavailable, he was able to pull a few legal strings to make it such that Dumbledore can no longer claim to be my magical guardian for matters concerning magic and putting the word out after the matter was done. He has made it clear to the proper channels that you and one other are now the ones in charge, and we made it such that anyone without my interests at hand would not be able to tell anyone about it. Even the good professor from earlier cannot tell Dumbledore thanks to the charm. And of course, we do have the other option that is already being finalized as a last resort."
"And if the real guardian comes out before that last resort is done?"
"From what I have gathered, that might be a small possibility." Harry crossed his arms while answering. "I don't know the real reason, but the goblins told me that the man who was supposed to take care of me after my parent's deaths is currently in prison for something that they believed is fake. And while his case was supposedly mishandled by two others, Dumbledore was someone who knew the secret and allowed him to be imprisoned. I can't say what due to the oaths involved, but I can say that my real guardian being free means that Dumbledore would have less control. If that man is to be freed, it would probably be on his own terms to make sure I can be under his thumb indirectly. That is circumvented with you taking his place and the other person as backup."
"Why haven't you told anyone then?" That question drew a smirk from Harry that would not look out of place on shark that had smelt a fresh kill in the water.
"The more Dumbledore claims to be my guardian and does something that is definitely not in my interests or with permission, the more rope is going around his neck. Gringotts already ensured that my vaults are not his personal piggy-banks, while my solicitor is already making a fair amount of ground on suing him, the authors of those silly books and the others using my name without paying a dime. Interesting fact, Dumbledore has been taking a good fifty percent of those profits on the side." Harry answered with a type of glee that should not be from a soon-to-be-eleven child. "And while my family may not have been involved in politics, we still have a few seats that Dumbledore has been trying to use or block for the Wizengamot and other panels of the Ministry. I have already claimed my inheritance alongside the vaults and done the paperwork for them with Gringotts having finalized them on the sly to make sure he or his order of spies could not circumvent them, not to mention my solicitor having written statements on them. Once Dumbledore tries something in the Wizengamot, it would be one big fireworks display for us. Even better, we are trying to gain access to the man who was supposedly my real magical guardian. If done right, we can at least remove a fair bit of Dumbledore's power base."
"It would seem you have covered your bases for now. Remind me not to underestimate you or piss you off despite your young age." The 'guardian' nodded before making their way to the door. "I will alert the agency on this. I suppose we should prepare for Dumbledore's response on our end." Harry nodded and watched him exiting the premises before he locked up the safe-house and teleported himself back to his factory home to deal with his homework and experiments.
He was going to be having a very busy month if his predictions were correct, he would need to get his plans prepared.