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 5
Posted Date: April 10 2020
Filius made his way out of the office while carrying his customary suitcase to the meeting room where the headmaster had called for the annual staff meeting that normally dealt with issues before the term starts on the first of September, somewhat thankful for the fact that he was alone for now to gather his thoughts on all that had happened.
It has been 4 days since his meeting with the young Potter, during which Filius had been gathering facts and compiling a list of points to be taken note of. Despite the conversation he had with Harry, Filius was not the Head of Ravenclaw without bothering to do his research on the education levels and the advancements in the muggle world. (Or perhaps it should be considered 'non-magical' world? He would think about it later.) In the four days he spent researching, his perception had been thrown about like he was in one of Gringotts carts set to the highest speed going in loops. He did have some idea about the education levels having dropped with the budget cuts and cancellation of classes, not to mention the document provided by Harry, but this was damning. Hogwarts used to boast being in the top ten in the early 1700s with plenty of graduates achieving the minimum of EE for the major core subjects with no Trolls for other subjects, but it started dropping in the ranks around the late 1800s and early 1900s. Around the late 1950s after Grindelwald's defeat, Hogwarts was ranked 50th in the education level. By the time of Voldemort's reign of terror, Hogwarts was ranked 68 with Defence Against the Dark Arts being the one subject that had the highest graduates due to the push for more Aurors to deal with the war.
Now it was hitting the 74th rank, out of 103 academies across the world. The only reason Hogwarts was not lower was due to their core subjects holding the rank up, but it was barely holding on when compared to Beauxbatons and even Durmstrang.
It was not just because of education that brought the level down; there were other factors that contributed to the drop based on the students' behaviour, the manner the staff performed their tasks, the environment and so on. A part of him was relieved that he was considered one of the nicer staff based on the report he had obtained, but he was downright dismayed at how many of his former students were angry at how they were essentially lied to for working so hard at an education only to be denied a place in their country due to blood prejudice, and then to be ridiculed by other countries for the mediocre education that had plenty of muggle-borns or half-bloods floundering and forced to return to the muggle world to get back to their old roots.
This could not go on any longer.
He had considered all that have been discussed and revealed to him, and this only deepened Filius's desire to do right for Lily's son. He had seen what was going on at Hogwarts and Britain for the past few years, and he was determined to fix it whatever way he could to make sure Harry would have a safe learning experience even if he may not come to Hogwarts. It was perhaps a good thing the annual pre-term meeting was called as he could deliver his ideas and doubly so that Severus was not around for the meeting due to a potions convention that saw him out of the castle for the next few days. He had no doubt that the man would try to argue against this.
He came to the room where some of the staff were already seated and chatting with one another. He greeted Septima Vector and Hagrid before taking a seat, taking out a notebook and a folder for his demonstration later. It was not long until the rest have arrived with Albus bringing up the rear in his ever color-confusing robes. Filius had pondered whether Albus was wearing those robes due to senility or to make his opposition dismiss him as eccentric and therefore harmless, something he believed strongly to be the latter. As those thoughts went through his mind, Albus took a seat in his chair and looked to them with a smile and twinkling eyes.
"Good morning to you all, I trust that everyone is ready for the start of the term?" He looked around him at the faces of the staff. "Well then, let's begin the meeting."
From there, the meeting went on more or less the same as other meetings: Madam Hooch complaining about the quality of brooms and needing funds (which Albus refused), Filch complaining about Peeves and wanting him gone (which Albus refused), Sinistra wanting better equipment for her Astronomy Tower (which Albus refused), the complaints towards Severus's constant point taking and giving (which Albus refused), other teachers complaining about the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry getting out of hand in their lessons and in corridors, and wanting him to do something about it (which Albus deflected and eventually refused), and other matters that was almost the same. Then came the part on prospective students and their questions.
"There are a few who want to know more about our subjects." Minerva pulled out a list from her robes to read. "As of late, there have been a number of muggle-borns asking for muggle subjects. This year has the highest request to date, evidently there is some educational reform going on that I am not aware of and this would affect a lot of them if they don't follow their education well." She looked troubled as she looked to them. "I understand that we have to get muggle-borns into Hogwarts to teach them about their magic, but we have also been losing numbers due to their requests for muggle subjects that we don't provide. From what I understand, a fair number are standard for their education and if they can't have those subjects, they would just look elsewhere for both sides."
"That is also the case on my part." Filius used that opening to make his move. "I had a few of them asking about the subjects, both muggle-born and muggle raised half-bloods, and I had to ask a few of my ex-students about the subjects that are common in the muggle world. These subjects are something extremely important to their future, and despite what most of us would think, they do need something to function in the muggle world despite having magic."
"Has it really gotten to that point?" Pomona Sprout asked curiously, genuinely having no idea about the education system for muggles.
"It has, and while the pure-bloods probably don't care that much, education standards have been changing greatly in the muggle world to the point that ignorance would prove detrimental to our stature of secrecy and economy in the long run. I have complied a list of the names that Minerva and I have discussed for those students, and I know of one prospective who is seriously considering going abroad to other academies that allowed both magical and muggle education to be done because he was offered several scholarships to some of the more renowned muggle academies. He has been doing those studies by an accelerated program and does not want to give them up." Filius answered while watching Albus stroking his beard. "I know we had students in the past doing their own self-studies for muggle education, Lily was one who could do so. Why don't we use this year as a test-bed to see if we can implement full time for the next batch?"
"I suppose we could attempt this with proper scheduling." The old wizard mused as he looked thoughtful. "May we know the names?" Filius took out the list of names and began reading them out while mentally preparing for the possible outburst.
"Sally Ann Perks, Justin Finch Fletchley, Hermione Granger, Sue Li, Daniel Winchester, Fay Dunbar, Bernard Maltby…" Filius kept one eye on Dumbledore as he prepared to say the next set of names "Grace Nutley, Harry Potter, Scott Summers…"
"Excuse me, did you just say Harry Potter?" Septima interrupted being the closest to hear the names. "Mister Potter wants to study muggle subjects?" That definitely got the rest of the staff to talk, but it was the reaction from Albus that was most telling. The old man was clearly shocked and there was a hint of panic and anger in his eyes before his expression smoothed over and changed to one of grandfatherly curiosity.
"Why would he want to go to a muggle institution? I thought his name was on the list since his birth." Bathsheda Babbling asked only to be interrupted by Albus who leaned forward with twinkling eyes at Filius.
"You have met Mister Potter?" Albus's tone was polite and curious with an undercurrent of earnest desire that set the hair on Filius's neck straight up. "Curious you happened to meet him, I was not aware of it."
"I received the letter when Minerva was out the other day and went to the location where the flock of owls were making a mess of the area." Filius told a half-truth considering the time he had his discussion with Harry, there had been some owls carrying the Hogwarts Acceptance Letter flying past the area. Harry was amused as he looked up at something that he could see and remarked that someone was really desperate to find him to send out that many. The boy must have known that the headmaster was behind the flock of owls trying to find him. "It is kind of hard not to miss owls carrying our letters to some spot before hovering around the area."
"If I may ask, where is that location?" Albus asked only for Filius to direct a stern glare at him.
"First off, he was only visiting someone there. Secondly, I believe that I had warned you about sending in multiple requests to someone who only just got the letter without a chance to reply. One of the Obliviators was there trying to understand why the owls were appearing there and I had to get Mister Potter out of there to avoid issues." Filius growled fiercely. "Thirdly, that is not the topic on the table."
"Mister Potter's name is on the list so he is guaranteed to come here, and considering I am his magical guardian, I should be wondering why he is refusing." Albus spoke only to be interrupted by Filius.
"No, you are certainly not his magical guardian." Filius snapped. "You seemed to have forgotten about that debacle two years ago where you were placed under a restraining order to not go to him. I have gone to check the records and gotten it confirmed with the boy that he is currently with new guardians, both magical and non-magical. Now stop propagating those lies and let us return to the topic?" Albus clearly wanted to continue only to be restrained by Minerva.
"We can discuss about the whereabouts and legal matters of Mister Potter later after the meeting." Minerva looked at Albus with eyes that clearly demonstrated that she would likely have words with him on the topic and that it was in his good health to stay silent for the time being. She then turned to Filius with some hint of curiosity. "That being said, am I right in asking that Mister Potter is the one who has the offers from the muggle academies?"
"Indeed, he is the one." Filius answered while maintaining a cool gaze at Albus. "If you want to know why he is considering going to a different school, you can thank his muggle relatives" - his goblin heritage was evident by the growl that got the more squeamish moving back a few steps - "for that bit. The young man has been abused physically and emotionally from an early age and constantly told lies about his parents being no-good drunks whom died in a car crash and that he should have died with them to save them the money." That earned shocked expressions from the staff and a particularly venomous glare from Minerva directed at Albus who seemed to want to interrupt but unable to from the tightening grip. "The boy thankfully decided to ignore them and went on to study on multiple subjects that saw him being fast-tracked for higher education, even if that earned him a few hard hits for performing better than his cousin."
"I'm sure the boy is exaggerating." Albus tried to speak only to earn a shake of the head from Filius and an even tighter grip from Minerva that made him wince.
"He is not. I told you I went to check on records about his status. He was admitted to the muggle hospital after an incident that saw them arrested and sent to prison, and then upon his first visit to Diagon Alley, he got some of the Goblin Healers to check on him. Considering the amount of swearing in our mother language, I wager the muggle healers were understating the injuries instead."
"What is your impression of the boy?" Septima asked as an attempt to stop the headmaster from arguing and to learn more of the young wizard.
"He is an intelligent and polite young man who can be a touch blunt when delivering points. He is quite well-known around the town for being an intellectual who has been offered scholarships to several high-schools and at least one university. That would be the education equivalent for a mastery after Hogwarts." Filius added after seeing confused expressions about the university portion. "The muggle academies are very competitive for those with great talents, and considering he also has an interest in the arts-and-crafts alongside languages, he has no shortage of academies to choose from. From what I gathered from the locals, him obtaining this university scholarship at his age is almost unheard of and would see doors opening with opportunities for him."
"He is however very cautious." Filius added as he recalled his conversation and decided which portions to talk of. "During our discussion, he was particularly careful in giving out information and withholding those that he wanted to be kept secret. It is my belief that he had thought of the magical world providing answers to questions he had and a way of ensuring his own safety. He had mentioned about those who had helped him disappearing without a trace before the incident. When I find whoever decided to interfere with his life, I will make that person pay dearly for harming Lily's son." Filius gripped his hand tightly at that. While a few nodded, Filius, Pomona and Minerva noted Albus's expression getting lines of panic at his words. The half-goblin had half expected something based on his discussion with Harry, but this seemed to confirm his theory that Albus had something to do with it.
"What are the issues he has against attending Hogwarts?" Minerva asked. To that, Filius handed over the folder that listed key points from his discussion with Harry, limited strictly to what he felt should be known to them.
"His main issues are related to education. He is used to having quality education and the option of studying ahead, something that a couple of our own students had done in the past. He understands the need to control his magic, not that he has issues on that department considering the demonstration he showed me."
"Wait, he was already performing magic?" Minerva perked up while others showed interest in the topic, while Albus seemed to be restraining himself of something.
"Simple tasks like levitation and summoning, but done easily without a wand." Filius felt he could tell them that much, after all he was telling them something that most kids would likely be able to if given the chance, though for Harry's part, he was quite focused in the task. "In any case, he is open to learning magic, but he wishes to continue his muggle studies for his scholarships. He has researched other schools and I am sad to report that our academics are severely lacking."
"But Hogwarts is one of the best in the world." Albus spoke out.
"We are not the best in the world, merely the best in Europe." Septima countered as she flipped through the papers that was handed to her. "The other academies around the world have been leading for the past couple of decades, and even here in Europe we are barely pulling ahead of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang due to the core subjects." She turned to Filius with a glance. "These are accurate I presume?"
"I got them from the source and researched further." Filius crossed his arms. "We are supposed to be one of the best academies yet we are trailing behind. We are being mocked for not upholding the standards we keep boasting about, be it educational, security or otherwise. As it stands, these factors work against us in getting more students into Hogwarts, and in the case of Mister Potter, he will definitely not be convinced into coming here."
"He must come to Hogwarts!" Albus seemed to have gotten agitated enough to push Minerva's arm off and slammed both hands on the desk, drawing stares from the staff at his behaviour. "People would be expecting him to come there in September. The consequences would be catastrophic if he is not in Hogwarts!"
"Well then, if you want to get the boy here, you better start cracking on it." Filius raised an eyebrow while internally smirking at the reaction. "Again, his education standards are high, and this set of documents are just a copy. There is one prepared for the Ministry to read as it is technically involving the education department there. In short, we need the major areas fixed thoroughly, so that would mean History, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions at the very least." He pointed to the folder that was now on the table after it had been passed around. "He knows about our staff, so you should focus on that. I do know that he plans to hire a tutor in the event that they can't be dealt with. It is in our charter so you cannot disapprove it."
"As his magical guardian..."
A loud slap on the desk that saw small cracks issuing from the impact interrupted Albus's sentence as Filius looked at him with a quiet fury that saw Minerva and Hooch moving everyone back from the potential blow-up. "I believe I just told you that I had checked thoroughly on Harry's guardianship, and that you should stop propagating those lies. Perhaps you were his guardian in the early years, but considering the restraining order, the arrests of those muggles, and other factors I have confirmed with my fellow brethren from Gringotts, you did not perform your duties as you should." He took back his hand to reveal a big hand-print in the hard wood table. "Stop wasting time, stop your lying and focus on your duties as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Right now, we have students who want to carry on their muggle education, and we need to plan carefully." The two of them stared at each other with an intensity that saw a few of the staff nervously gripping their wands in preparation of casting a protection shield. After a few more seconds, Albus seemed to sag into the chair and nodded.
"We will see to a test year for them. If it works, we may try for another few years." He answered. With that, the staff got back into their seats and nervously tried to come up with a suitable arrangement for those children to do their studies. The meeting ended on a rather odd note and they were about to leave when Albus asked for Filius to stay back. The half-goblin stayed put alongside Minerva who looked like she wanted answers one way or the other. Albus waited for the staff to leave the meeting room before raising his wand to apply silencing and security wards. Once done, he lowered it down and took a moment to center himself.
"I have entertained your little request, now I would like you to answer my questions." Albus seemed to give off an aura of wrath as he looked over his glasses at the half-goblin. "Where did you meet Harry Potter?"
"In the area where you left him." Filius looked back with a cool gaze, daring Albus to try and read his mind. "He wanted a discussion on his education with one of us after he met someone in the area."
"Who is his guardian then?" There was a certain tone of frustration, curiosity and something that got both his and Minerva's hair on end. It was clear that Albus did not expect his loss of guardianship over Harry to be voiced out so openly and he wanted to do some form of damage control.
"Someone who has already taken steps to fix Harry as best as he could." Filius answered clearly. That gave Minerva the opening to fire both wands at Albus.
"I told you that those muggles were the worst sort and that Harry should not be raised there! Did you listen?! No, you bloody did not!" Her Scottish accent was coming out in her agitation. "Abused to the point of needing the goblin healers! Lied to about his parents being drunks! You keep assuring me that he was safe, but from I just heard, you don't know bollocks about his safety and just left him there!"
"The blood wards..."
"They don't mean anything to those with same blood that can touch him!" Minerva got in real close to Albus and practically hissed her words out. "I will help Mister Potter and those students to continue their education and I will see to it that Mister Potter's expectations be met properly. Without. Any. Interference." Filius could not help but wonder how on earth she managed to deliver the amount of venom in those words without raising her tone. Albus looked back to Filius in an effort to distract himself from Minerva.
"Do you know which schools have offered Mister Potter those scholarships?"
"No, and even if I do, I won't be telling you." Filius replied with his mind arts clamping on the rage bubbling at the question. "If you try to interfere with his education and life again, he will know and would more than likely spite you by going to a different school. I did not tell him about you, but he is smart and since he has already been to Diagon Alley before, and people had told him that you were his supposed guardian, odds are very good that he knows who you are and is suspecting you of his placement with those muggles."
"Then what do you suggest we should do?" Minerva asked after taking a few deep breaths.
"Give him options on what is possible and let him choose what he wants. He is looking up information on all the different academies to determine which would provide the best education. From my discussion, he has yet to decide on taking up the offers of the scholarships or to take the magical education that allows continuation of his muggle studies." Filius told them upfront before looking at Albus specifically. "Do not try to restrict him with laws that would only drive him away. He knows he has inherited enough money to disappear in the muggle world and to hire tutors for magic lessons."
"We do need to increase our standards. The core subjects that I spoke of are related to staff issues. We can't do anything about the Defence class due to the curse, but we can handle the other two. Binns has become legendary in his method of sending our students to sleep, Saint Mungo has actually requested him to come to them to assist with those suffering from insomnia." Minerva snorted at that remark. "And as for Severus…"
"Severus is someone I trust and…" Filius waved away Albus's most practiced speech used in Hogwarts while Minerva gave her opinion by rolling her eyes.
"He is a problem that you cannot keep covering forever, no matter how much you seemed to believe in your position. You know he has a bad history with James Potter in the past. You know that his behavior towards anyone not from his house has seen plenty fail their potions and costing this nation our aurors, healers and potion masters. You also know that he will likely pick on Harry if he comes to Hogwarts. Honestly speaking, if I did not know any better, I would say that you are encouraging him to weaken this country for some dubious reason." The half-goblin held up a hand to stop the potential counter-argument. "It is one thing to be strict in a field that could see people getting hurt if they are not careful, it is a totally different matter to be outright bullying and degrading students on perceived slights while abusing their authority. All of us know this and are very fed up with it. You will get him under control before that information reaches the education department." With that, Filius turned around and went to the door, pausing to look back at them.
"We only have about a month to deal with this. I will try to make contact with the young man and hopefully convince him to come to Hogwarts. I need not remind you of the fiasco that would come about if he does not come on the train in September, so please clean up this house." With that, he left the room and walked off, hearing the distinct tone of Minerva's yelling even in the distance. Filius would let her do her bit on bringing together something for the students to handle the muggle subjects.
He had a letter to write to Harry Potter.
~ooOOoo~
It was a busy morning at Diagon Alley on the second last day of July. Being so close to the date Hogwarts begins its term, the streets were getting filled with both current and prospective students going about buying the essentials for their lessons. It was utter chaos to say the least with vendors shouting out bargains, animals clamoring, people trying to redraw their money from the goblins and the occasional temperamental child wanting the latest Quidditch broomstick, so one could be forgiven for not noticing a certain boy making his way to Gringotts, pausing briefly to bow and greet the goblin guards before moving on, and then getting a goblin personally guide him into the inner offices.
"By the gods, the amount of noise out on the floor." Harry shook his head while looking at his guide with slight disbelief. "How on earth do you fellows not want to silence them, or at least tell them to be quieter?" The goblin snorted in amusement as they turned around the corridor.
"Simple, we have a sound-dampening charm around our booths to ensure we don't get distracted or annoyed by them. Very good when you have the usual wizard trying to command us to release more gold to them." Harry chuckled at the reply and the image in his mind. They soon reached an office that had a few emblems on it to represent the different families the account manager was in charge of. "This is where I leave you, Mister Potter."
"My thanks, Griphook. May fortune look upon you and your clan favorably." Harry reached into his pocket and took out a Galleon to give a tip to him. "Compliments to your help." The goblin guide nodded his head and walked back to the atrium, privately thinking that he was lucky to be around to guide the boy. Harry was known to be very polite to the goblins unless they earned his ire, (which happened once to very interesting results) and he tend to tip them well on occasions. More often than not, he would give ideas that had helped the goblins and Gringotts in a number of ways that benefited both sides. He was going to make sure to stay on the boy's good side.
Not knowing the thoughts of his goblin guide, Harry turned to the door and politely knocked on it to alert the goblin inside. Hearing him call out, Harry opened the door and entered the room that had dark granite walls and tiled floors that complimented them nicely and increase the fear factor of sorts. At the end of the room stood a dark mahogany table that had gold trimmings and silver etchings of goblin marks, practically screaming the importance of the goblin that was currently seated behind. The goblin, who happened to be the Potter Manager for his family, was one of the 'younger' managers, by that he meant the goblin was at least in his eighties and still able to take on twenty seasoned wizards with his bare hands. Seated opposite of him and to the side was another goblin that was called in for the meeting, also considered one of the 'younger' goblins and a goblin in charge of a different set of vaults.
They aged very well apparently.
"Manager Sharpclaw, Manager Irontooth." Harry greeted while slightly bowing his head. "May enemies coat your blades with their blood and their fortune increase your own."
"Mister Potter." The two goblin managers bowed their heads as once, something that would make many a wizard or a witch look in shock since goblins were a proud race. "May your enemies fall before you and their wealth join yours." The Potter Manager glanced up with a light twinkle in the eye. "Your lessons are paying off, it seems."
"I hope so, the last thing I want is to start the next goblin rebellion that could take down the government." Harry replied as he took a seat at the chair provided. "Even if it would be quite the sight to see the idiots over there wondering if they should be fighting or begging for mercy." The goblins let out a dark and amused chuckle at his words. The boy was quite an unusual character for the goblins to decipher. "Shall we commence with our meeting? Time is money after all."
"Indeed." His manager shuffled some parchments before handing them to Harry. "Here are the updates regarding the estates and last bits of your inheritance. Potter Manor and Lily's Pad have been fully restored while the old Fleamont Apothecary is almost complete with the repairs and upgrades. The other buildings related to your grandparents are also up and running, while other properties that were too damaged or not workable have been sold off with the proceeds moved to the designated vault. We also managed to retrieve majority of the items that were removed from the old vaults illegally, and after checking them thoroughly have been placed into the separate artefact vault. Those that were unfortunately gone, we appraised them and fined those responsible." The goblin let out a grunt that was half annoyance and half satisfaction. "With that, we can finally close the last of the old vaults. Those have been costing us a lot of time and money, not to mention the idiots who keep trying to claim ignorance to their stealing."
"I suppose you make sure to hit their vaults extra hard?" Harry remarked while looking up from the document he was reading.
"With interest." The grin of teeth set on both goblins was enough to make a man run for the hills, for Harry though, he made one of his own in agreement, making sure no teeth were shown to avoid potential arguments.
"Does this mean all the keys have been taken back?" Harry asked.
"Everything but an illegal copy." Sharpclaw admitted with a frown. "We still have the master keys as they were already set to return upon the owner's death, and based on our investigations we were able to get back the copies made from them and changed the security accordingly or close the vaults as per your orders. The good news is that since majority of the inherited vaults did not contain that much Galleons to begin with and meant to hold books of certain information, they were left untouched. For the few that got hit, we got the money back and moved."
"But one particular key keeps evading us along with selected artefacts from the Potter Vault." He looked at Harry in the eye. "We do know that transactions with that key always happen on your birthday when your trust vault refills the amount. We hope to get that and maybe the location of the other items by tomorrow."
Harry nodded with a big frown at the bit of information. All of them knew who it was that had the key and some heirlooms taken before the vault was locked down, the problem would be proving it since that person was slippery as a blasted eel with all the regulations and the people on his side. His solicitor was already on the task, but Harry needed both time and patience to gather the evidence and present it to the appropriate people.
"Onto more pleasant matters." Irontooth presented his folder as a clear attempt to change the subject and move the conversation along. "Your investments have been growing nicely, and the other businesses under the different aliases are flourishing." The goblin turned to Harry with a glint in his eye that suggested respect. "I will admit, I was certain that the ideas you had suggested would fail, yet you proved me wrong by going about it in a manner that proved most profitable."
Harry bowed his head respectively while internally preening with pride at his words. When Harry had stepped foot in Gringotts for the first time, he was honestly in shock at the sight of the goblins and their attitudes to the wizards in general. He also recalled how his first introduction to one of the goblin tellers seemed to surprise a fair number of them considering he threw together some words to try and greet them respectfully after watching the denizens interact with them. From there it snowballed to meeting his manager and other goblins who had questions for him, and in turn getting a lot of answers to questions that he had and more. After that he had visited the bank the few times to understand the magical world better while fixing his issues as best as he could, with the relationship being mostly professional but enough for him to give out ideas that most would consider silly at best but profitable for all in the end.
One such idea was the creation of an alternate alley for new-bloods (a term coined by Filius for muggle-borns when he wrote back to Harry after their discussion) and half-bloods raised outside to set up shop and for them to patronage, somewhat in direct opposition to the infamous Knockturn Alley. There was already something of the sort built in the past, but it was poorly maintained and not well-frequented due to the blood prejudice and the poor location it was in, accessible only through a door that was dismissed by others easily. That did not stop Harry from using some of his inheritance to first repair the alley and then to invest in either the shops or new entrepreneurs who had great ideas to take root there, all while asking Gringotts to quietly spread the word to others to visit the alley if they want commodities normally found in mundane Britain. It helped that there was an unused street near the end of said alley that the goblins helped to convert into an alternate entrance way, allowing others to enter there instead of the Leaky Cauldron and bypassing Diagon Alley all together. Harry's ambition was to use said Alley (renamed Innovatio Alley) as a test-bed for newer products and more modern productivity before bringing it over to Diagon Alley, and it was already paying dividends by the first month when he was about to hit ten years of age. His vault made specifically for the alley's rental and profit cuts was overflowing with Galleons and his managers were practically crooning with joy at the amount they were making.
"Indeed, that latest idea you had involving the renting of apartments to the muggle-borns, werewolves and occasional vampires is also quite profitable and useful for us." Sharpclaw agreed with genuine happiness evident in his tone. "Considering their respective issues to work in both worlds, having an actual location to stay in without the usual hassle of losing it would be a boon to them. Give them something that guarantees a stable income, add that we can use their abilities for different services that don't bother with their traits, and voila! You are now known as one of the best landlords for Innovatio." Sharpclaw chuckled at this point. "Well, at least you are known by your alias, Mister Silver."
"It pays to be prepared, not to mention the common sense involved." Harry shrugged. "We have a group of people with skills and talents that no one in Britain wants to use because of blood prejudice, curses and racism. If there is one thing I hate, it is wasted potential. And if anyone tries to press the issue on werewolves, I will just tell them what my solicitor said was the case. Though I do not really understand what he meant." A raised eyebrow from the goblins prompted his reply. "He said that the werewolves basically undergo the same issues as women, having a period once a month that makes them cranky. He then stated that women are worse since they have it for a full week, whatever that means." Harry got the front row seat to the sight of goblins gaping at his answer, before laughing loudly and banging the desk with their fists.
"Werewolves having a period! God, I have got to remember that one for the next meeting!" Irontooth was starting to wheeze for laughing too much, but managed to control himself to a chuckle to get back some air. They were still chuckling when someone knocked on the door and another goblin entered with a folder, pausing at the two acting so uncharacteristically, before turning to Harry with a raised eyebrow.
"Was there a joke that I missed out hearing, Mister Potter?"
"You might hear it later, Manager Gnarlfang. Maybe you can explain that part to me." Harry rose to greet him only to be waved off by the goblin.
"From the looks of it, that might have to be done after working hours." The corner of Gnarlfang's mouth curved upwards despite the tone. "It is fortunate that you are here, this way we don't have to go about wasting time. We can perform the next session of healing later before noon, this should cover the final portions of treatment that would fix the last of your issues."
The goblin then handed Harry the folder with it open and directing his attention to a certain page. "You will be pleased to hear that the purchase of the old stores at the far end of Knockturn Alley has been successful. Considering the tenants there had been racking up a fair amount of debt, we were able to purchase their properties with minimum amounts so that they could avoid working in the mines to pay it off." Harry decided to ignore Gnarlfang's tone of disappointment and mutters on missed opportunities as he listened on to the goblin's report. "And since the location is practically next door to Innovatio Alley and far from the main street of Knockturn, we are able to wall the area off, thus getting more real-estate space and included a couple of safeguards to ensure the residents cannot force their way through that side. Highly doubtful considering there were barely any residents there to begin with and the previous store owners were barely making any money from their wares."
"That is good at least. I refuse to have people using the old stores for something illegal, and with the area walled off, I don't have to worry about attacks from that alley." Harry nodded as he looked through the documents given to him. "I assume the stores are ready for renovation?"
"They have been stripped, broken down and combined to create the necessary workspace for the proposed jobs you have in mind. Miss Caroline was most pleased when she inspected the store designated for her, she was practically singing praises for you despite your alias." Harry nodded in satisfaction at that remark. Miss Caroline was one of the new-blood graduates who had talent and ideas to bring Magical Britain into the modern world that Harry wanted to discuss and trade ideas with. He met her about a year ago and was happy to talk with someone who did not immediately swoon over his perceived title and was able to talk about similar interests. He saw how despondent she was at her old job in Flourish and Blotts or the times she would be scorned for her blood type, so decided to get Gringotts to help her out by granting her a spot at Innovatio Alley to give her a chance to grab her dreams. And he was right about her intelligence as she immediately guessed that it was him under an alias due to the timing and the specific requirements that fitted her to a T.
With what he had in mind, her skill-set would be most beneficial.
"Next bit of news, the last set of rings had been made." That bit of news got the other two goblins to stop laughing and look a bit more serious. "As you know, you are able to claim your inheritance earlier than most due to your unique position as last heir of your family, not to mention the last member of those other families. While you are able to have the Potter Ring among others, we have to keep it silent to avoid certain parties from knowing. And since you are now the last true heir of those other families, it is best that you have something to prove those fools of your legitimacy once word comes out of it, not to mention the protections that come with them. After the treatment we can proceed to testing for final validation. Just in the nick of time too."
"Why is that?" Irontooth asked.
"It would seem a certain old fool is trying to pass that silly law regarding family inheritance in the Ministry. Again." Gnarlfang rolled his eyes in frustration. "This is the fourth time he is pushing for the law to be approved, but with how many others that could be affected, you would think he would remember that the Dark Families at the least would not allow him to do so, even if they are under the impression that he is trying to restrict them, let alone his own supporters who have heirs of their own. But since you have already claimed your inheritance by right of blood, conquest, trials and as last of the families, his law is honestly a waste of time unless he is trying to ensure other heirs cannot do so without his say-so."
"I wonder if it is because I am at the age where I am supposed to obtain some of my inheritance as dictated by law and supposedly going to Hogwarts?" Harry mused before pausing at a thought. "Or it could be my discussion with Professor Flitwick."
"You spoke with Filius?" Sharpclaw raised an eyebrow at the boy who nodded.
"He was the one that answered my reply to the Hogwarts acceptance letter. I was considering my education options and wanted to see if we can have an ally on our side."
"That must be the case then. You appearing in our world early was not in Dumbledore's plans, not to mention him being denied access to your vaults and the fines imposed on him must be frustrating to him. It is very likely that he has now found out about your discussion and the idea of you not arriving at Hogwarts must have set the bee on his beard." Gnarlfang checked a parchment he took out of his pocket. "That might explain why he included a new clause that spoke of any British heirs of a certain family lineage and age having to come to Hogwarts to avoid losing the inheritance."
"That might work if not for the fact that my family is not considered one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight." Harry pointed out that little tidbit of history. This was perhaps one of the rare moments blood prejudice helped Harry out as it was a blood bigot that wrote the list of family names and felt that the Potter Family with all the non-magicals married into the family and viewpoints was not worthy despite the history of the family.
"Indeed, it would appear the man is basically trying to put in as many parameters as he can to ensure that he can get everyone, and more likely you, within his net. He is getting quite desperate." Gnarlfang paused to give the boy a very serious look. "A word of caution, Mister Potter. As the last of those families and the holder for vaults granted to you, you have a responsibility to stay alive and well at all times. I am not just saying this as one of the managers of the oldest vaults, nor as a goblin who is interested in the gold that is coming in. I am saying it as one whom you are willing to give trust when you have no reason to do so, and I suppose" Gnarlfang muttered lightly while the other two goblins grinned knowingly at his discomfort. "As a friend, it would not do for you to fall before your time."
On his part, Harry took it in stride and bowed deeply to Gnarlfang with an open hand above his heart, following the lesson pounded into his head to show respect. He was grateful for what the goblins have done for him, and this latest act was one that would take the cake. An Inheritance Test to determine his identity and his vaults revealed truths that were quite hard to swallow even by goblin standards, and considering how the pure-bloods of Magical Britain and some other countries behaved, it would be safe to assume that they would try to accuse him of Line-Theft before taking them away from him. Among the different vaults found, there were a few connected to old family lines that would definitely set the wizards on fire, or as Irontooth would put it, "kick the dragon's nest and piss on the eggs", if they were to find out about them. Considering the history of said family lines, rings were required to be crafted and be given the necessary protections, among more intensive research and testing, to ensure he would be recognized as the rightful owner to the vaults and rightful heir to the families in question.
"I thank you for the time and patience that you and your companions have expanded to deal with the issues, and the concerns you have for my well-being." Harry thanked him and the goblins in the room in the proper manner before pausing. "I don't suppose 'that' issue was dealt with?"
"Unfortunately for you, it is a definite nope! While these facts confirmed the illegal contracts that we have found on you and thus effectively voided on all accounts without the remotest chance of people trying to enforce it, it does not change the fact that as the head of several families, you are now expected to… well, 'perform your duties as Head / Heir of the Great Lines' based on laws that even the Ministry cannot change." Sharpclaw called out from the desk. "It is pretty much set in stone and enforced by Mother Magic herself so there is no way to go around it." The goblin snorted in good humour. "In a way, you inherited your grandfather's, uncle's and your ancestor's weird luck. Something with a ridiculous amount of conditions that by all accounts should not be met end up coming together at once, and you Mister Potter are the lucky fellow of sorts." Harry groaned while cupping his face in his hands. Indeed, it was as though God himself made sure the circumstances were just right before rolling the damn dice on his behalf and taking the moment to laugh at Harry's situation.
"Finally, the next batch of muggle currency is ready for your purchase. Thank you so much for helping us get rid of them." Gnarlfang answered as he pointed out that bit on the paper in an overly exaggerated manner to show that he wanted to ignore what happened earlier.
"My pleasure, it is a waste to just destroy those currencies." Harry paused before giving a smirk. "In fact, I might have an idea or two to solve your problems regarding them. This will help the new-bloods with the exchange rates, give them and others possible jobs, give you guys a chance to strengthen your own currency and connections to other talents not yet taken in, and give me an opportunity to improve payment methods and businesses, and more importantly, give us all the chance to really get one up on the wizards if they try something." The goblins all perked up and grabbed blank parchments in a practised motion, more than used to Harry giving out ideas that at times might be weird or insane, but would work out in the best manner possible.
To give some perspective, his least profitable move involved the previously mentioned idea of renting out apartments to those discriminated by the people of Britain. It was a risky venture considering how prejudiced people could be to the point of destroying properties to 'cleanse the filth', but Harry got around it by placing the apartments outside of Innovatio Alley and ensuring the residents knew the different protocols. Once the residents realized they were not getting duped or be thrown out in the event any officials tried to be aggressive towards them, and even given a list of possible jobs for them to try in both worlds, the income came right in, and based on the document he just gotten, he was sitting pretty on the equivalent of 1,945,200 pounds, excluding the taxes and other subsidies.
Innovatio Alley on the other hand, was already making him one of the richest in Britain. And that was not including any of his vaults at all.
It would be roughly two in the afternoon that Harry left Gringotts and leaving the world by Innovatio Alley, having his final treatments completed and lightly chuckling at the memory of his goblin managers telling the others about his ideas and the sight of them gaping at said managers, with a couple banging their heads and muttering why hadn't they thought of it. At least everything was finalized and all of his purchases were done. Harry stepped out of Innovatio Alley, took in a deep breath and letting it out before walking forth to the Underground, his Occlumency aiding his mind in his though processing.
It was weird now that he was one month away from officially entering the magical world. Yes, he had entered the world when he was eight years old, learned about his family and inheritance, studied up on as much local and foreign magic as he could, create and train as many original spells as he could on his own, helped out the goblins with his ideas for Magical Britain, and many others. But it still felt like a dream that magic exists or that he had actual powers inside him. There was still so much about that power, (in his mind he still refer to it as the 'Force') which amazed him for all the possibilities that could be achieved, and made him lament at all the wasted potential these people in the world had at their finger tips yet to be contented with it. There was also a small part in him, a remnant of his childhood from the the Dursleys, that was worried that this was all one big hallucination and that he was actually in the cupboard, delirious from the attack that sent the Dursleys to prison and him to the hospital. Only with the doctors and later the Healers helping him recover from the attack, then he was able to put that aside for the most part.
Now he was going to start his official education, in an academy that his parents had studied at under the control of a headmaster who has an unusual fixation on him to the point of dumping him with abusive relatives, knowingly allowing his actual guardian in prison, withholding his mail and inheritance, stealing his money, attempts to use his name to create false stories of him and propose laws that by all accounts would not be accepted by him, and now trying to legalize bills to make sure that he was there. He would not lie, he was honestly baffled and afraid at the old man trying to regain control on him. He had done all of the planning and preparations he could to give himself an advantage and ensure the old man cannot control him, but as some would point out that for all the maturity he had exhibited, he was still only a young boy, there was only so much he could do in three years even with magic by his side.
There was only one thing left to do now.
Head forth for Hogwarts.
Author Notes:
Hi to all, I hope you are enjoying this story. I honestly did not expect this to be received so well, hopefully I can continue to deliver the goods.
The next chapter will be a time skip to boarding the Hogwarts Express, I don't want to stay too long on the 'preparation' stage. While I write my other stories and parts of the next chapter, what do you think Hermione should be? Friend or foe? As stated in the foreword, she won't be a love interest.
Until next time, I put my pen down for now...