Author's Note: Sorry I didn't update yesterday, hit a bit of a writer's block, but here's a new chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the wizarding world, those rights belong to J.K Rowling.
Chapter 17
Tuesday Morning, At Gringotts
The goblins are deliriously happy today, not only have they decided to try interrogating Albus again to see if there was anymore information on Gellert and the horcruxes, but they have also found heirs to several old families that many people believed have been long since wiped out, and since some of them are of age, the goblins have sent them to Amelia's office in order to help them gain their seats in the Wizengamont. Not only will this give the previously thought muggleborns better jobs than they currently have, but it will also tip the scale in the Wizengamont and maybe, just maybe, help drag the Wizarding World out of the Dark Ages. Now once Rockgrinder gets Albus into the interrogation room, Axegut ties Albus to the chair and proceeds to drop three drops of veritaserum on the old goat's lips. Once it's taken effect, Axegut begins interrogating Albus.
"Thank you for joining us again, Albus, we have a few more questions for you."
"Its not like I have a choice but to answer them, I am at your mercy." Albus replies
"First, can you tell me more about Tom Riddle's parents?"
"All I have are theories, and snippets of memories I have from Tom's mind. I know that Tom killed his father and grandfather shortly after he quit working at Borgin and Burkes, but he only killed his father after he got the truth of why he left his mother and him before he was born."
"Please elaborate us with the truth, Albus. We are dying to hear what you have to say." Rockgrinder says.
"Merope Gaunt, as you know, was a squib, but she was quite talented at potions. She saw Tom Sr. pass by her house for months and believed she was in love with him. However, someone as wealthy and influential as Tom Sr. would never give an impoverished woman like her the time of day, so she decided to brew a batch of Amortentia, the strongest love potion available, and dosed him by offering him a glass of water one day. Two months after she started potioning him, she fell pregnant, and decided to stop potioning him because she felt guilty. She was hoping that once the Amortentia wore off, Tom Sr. would be so ecstatic at becoming a dad, he would forgive her for potioning him. Alas, that was not the case, Tom called her a freak and went to get the police to arrest her for rape, before the police could arrive, however, she fled from her home, and bounced from shelter to shelter until she ended up at Wool's Orphanage, where she gave birth to her son. However, there were some major complications with the birth, and she passed away soon after naming her son. Tom Riddle Jr. grew up in that orphanage and never started looking into his past until after he came to Hogwarts." Albus explains.
"Well that explains why Riddle was looking to lord over everyone, a child conceived via love potion lacks the ability to love, did you know that Albus?" Axegut asks.
"I did not, all I knew is that when I went to the orphanage to give Tom his Hogwarts letter, he knew he was different from the other kids in the orphanage and asked me why he had the ability to speak to snakes, I did not tell him that that ability is passed down through his mother's side of the family, all I told him is that he was a wizard, that there's a fund set up for orphans to go to Hogwarts, and that he wouldn't be able to afford all new items for school since there isn't a lot in that budget."
"Would that be because you were skimming off that fund?" Rockgrinder asked.
"No, because I was only the transfiguration teacher at the time, Armando Dippet was the headmaster at the time." Albus explains.
"Very well, now, about Gellert, where is he being kept prisoner?"
"Auschwitz Concentration Camp, seemed fitting to me after he sent everyone that oppose his views to be killed there." Albus answered.
"Aren't there other prisons you could have sent him to, Nurmengard prison, perhaps?" Axegut asks.
"At the time, I thought it was poetic justice to sentence Gellert there."
"Ok, poetic justice aside, why did it take you so long to take Gellert down and end the war with him?"
"I believed he was doing it to better the wizarding world, not to take complete control over the muggle world to enslave them like house elves."
"When did you learn that Gellert was planning to enslave the entire muggle world?"
"I cannot say for sure, but I think it was around the height of World War 2. It is my belief that Gellert used the muggle war to help fuel his own agenda."
"Again, why did it take you so long to confront him?!" Rockgrinder all but shouts.
"Our blood bond not only keeps both of us alive, but also inhibits us from fighting or killing one another. It physically hurt me to duel Gellert, but since I only disarmed him, the bond didn't kill either of us. This is why it took me so long to confront him, the bond needed to feel that one of us was a danger to themselves." Albus replies, knowing he can't do anything to stop the veritaserum in his system.
"Thank you, Albus, that's all for now, Axegut, take him back to his work." Rockgrinder says, "Also, send a letter to Minerva to meet with me later today, I have news for her regarding her business venture." With that, Axegut gives Albus the antidote and drags him out of the room so he can finish cleaning up after the dragons near the high security vaults.
Later that day
"Good afternoon Minerva, how are you and young Harry doing today?" Rockgrinder asks once Minerva arrives at Gringotts with her son in tow.
"I am doing well Rockgrinder, thank you for asking. I understand you have news about a possible location for the daycare?" Minerva asks.
"I do, unfortunately, there are no locations available in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley, but there is an old elementary school about two blocks from the Leaky Cauldron available for purchase." Rockgrinder begins to explain.
"It's a bit bigger than we were planning, but I think it would be doable, is there many repairs needed done on it?" Minerva asks, "Also, why would you know about a school for sale?"
"We don't deal strictly with the Wizarding World, we hire graduates that have scored Outstanding on their Arithmancy NEWTS, and they run the muggle side of Gringotts, which is under the alias of Magical Money Bank." Rockgrinder says, "Because of this, we are able to do business in both worlds."
"That's quite fascinating, anyways, back to business, is there a lot of repairs needed for the school?"
"No, thankfully it's only a one-story school, and it only closed down last year due to lack of enrolment. I think if we find an appropriate name for the daycare, you can open it up for both wizards and muggles alike." Rockgrinder says.
"Again, that is a good idea, but unfortunately, wizards' fashion is about 200 years out of date, do you have an idea on how we can drag the fashion scene into this decade?" Minerva asks.
"Actually, a recent graduate of Hogwarts has recently sent us a business proposal for a fashion boutique in Diagon Alley, her idea is to start her own clothing store that shows the latest fashion from all over the world, mainly muggle styles, but made in fabric familiar to witches and wizards."
"Do you happen to know her name? I think I know who you are talking about, but I would like to know and possibly invest in the company." Minerva asks, remembering quite a few students who would rather look at fashion magazines than transfigure a desk into a pig.
"Let me see if I can find it… ahhh, here it is, the business name is Floral Design and the woman hoping to start it is Lyra Greengrass, Lord Greengrass' wife." Rockgrinder says.
"That fits with how I remember her in my class, her homework would always have doodles of clothing items in the margins." Minerva says, glad that one of her former students is pursuing her passion. "I will invest in her company, with the exception she hires a few people familiar with the muggle world and fashion trends, would that be doable Rockgrinder?"
"Yes, it is doable, now back to the daycare, would you like us to purchase the building for you guys?" Rockgrinder asks, bringing the meeting back to the topic at hand.
"Yes, I will talk to Molly tomorrow and help her brush up on how to fit in in the muggle world. We will go later in the week to start getting the school converted to a daycare centre, which shouldn't take long. We will also make up some flyers and post them around some of the local office buildings to get the word out to new parents." Minerva says.
"Excellent, I hope your business ventures work out well for you." Rockgrinder says.
Meanwhile at Hogwarts
Arthur Weasley is trying to sort through the mountain of paperwork that Albus left, how anyone can be so disorganized, he doesn't know. Arthur's currently sorting the paperwork into three different piles in order to send it to the right people. The first pile is paperwork that needs to be sent to the new Chief Warlock, the second pile needs to be sent to the ICW, since he doesn't know who is going to be the new Supreme Mugwump, and the third pile is for him. Once he finds any paperwork addressed to the headmaster, he replies to them, sends them to where they need to go, and anytime a student knocks on the door, he puts the paperwork aside to listen to them and help them in any way he can. As much of a headache the paperwork is, he is glad that he can help the students.
Arthur has also called a staff meeting for later tonight, including the Board of Governors to figure out where they can improve the curriculum and how to go about it. As Arthur finishes tying another bundle of paperwork to a school owl to send to the Chief Warlock, he hears a knock on the door. "Come in, the door's open." With that, a young first year Ravenclaw comes into the office a bit hesitantly. "Come in child, I don't bite. Now, what's wrong miss." Arthur asks.
"Kendall Sunweather Headmaster. I have an issue, and I've tried to ask some of the older students for help, but they keep brushing me off saying their studies are more important."
"Well Ms. Sunweather, I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll give it a go, what's wrong?" Arthur replies.
"Well Headmaster, I just received a letter from Gringotts asking me to come in for an inheritance test. Why do I need one? I'm a half-blood, while my mom's a muggleborns witch."
"Ahh, yes, I have actually had quite a few other students come in to ask that same question, the reason they are asking you to get an inheritance test is to help figure out who your ancestors are. This will help show the stuck-up purebloods that all magical people are equal, that no matter who are parents are, we are one." Arthur explains.
"Thank you, headmaster." Kendall says as she turns to walk out of the office.
"Your welcome Ms. Sunweather, you have a good day and take care of yourself." Arthur replies. Once Kendall has left the office, Arthur goes back to filing the paperwork until the staff meeting later tonight.
End Authors Note: Sorry about the shortish chapter, still having a bit of writer's block. I will hopefully post more in the near future. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review.