Disclaimer: Docendo discimus
Seeds
Hermione frowned when she noticed that Harry had pulled to the side of the track and was speaking with the butler. He was acting just like her father did before he disappeared on business. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
The girl downshifted and applied the brake to slow down. "What are you doing, Harry?" she asked as she rolled her little Honda Super Cub to a stop beside him.
"The Harpies want to meet with me about hiring some of my many bodyguards," Harry replied with an amused grin.
"You have bodyguards?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"Not even one," Harry replied. "Your father has hired several wizards and witches though. The Harpies think it was me that did it for some reason."
"Oh."
"Just means that Ron's going to come over for lunch with one of the Harpy's starting beaters," Harry explained. "The butler just came to tell me that your father is wrapped up with something else and wanted me to give them a quote for him later."
"Okay, Harry," Hermione agreed.
"It's not a big deal. We have lunch with Ron, I give his friend a piece of paper covered in numbers, and we get on with our day. Easy."
"One more lap before we go in?" Hermione suggested hopefully.
"Race you," Harry laughed, pulling away from the curb.
"No fair," Hermione squealed, pushing her groovy little motorbike for all it was worth as she tried to catch up.
IIIIIIIIII
Fred rose from his work to stretch and take a chance to inspect what their employees were putting out. It was good, looked like they might beat their deadline after all.
"Everyone take five!" George yelled.
The owners of two dozen sets of hands stowed their wands and cracked their necks in unison. It had been a hard day of work and the day wasn't even close to over yet. As one they damned their friendship with the twins and themselves for agreeing to help the two out with their business over the school holiday.
"How's production going? Anyone falling behind?" Fred asked.
"By a bit," Alicia admitted. "Sorry."
"We expected that, don't worry," George assured the girl. "It's already built into the schedule so we've got a bit of room."
"If you expected us to fall behind, why'd you give us such horrid quotas?" Angelina demanded hotly. She'd never thought she'd find someone worse than bloody Wood before a game. Damn twins had turned into bloody tyrants.
"Customer wants this stuff as soon as possible," Fred explained. "So we're doing out best to get them to them as soon as we can. We don't have a reputation yet so it can go either way. We're really really hoping that it'll go the good way and we're very thankful at all the help you're giving us to help ensure that it will."
"This is all for an order?" Lee exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah-"
"-why'd you think we were doing this?" George finished. "Did you think we just felt like hanging out and making a bunch of the same prank items or something?"
"Kinda thought you were just building up stock for your shop," Lee replied.
"Already paid for-"
"-S'why we were able to pay you so well."
"We're getting paid?" Katie exclaimed in surprise, eyes lighting up in delight. Even if it wasn't much, it was still loads better than the nothing she thought she was getting.
"Yeah," George agreed with an odd look on his face. "You didn't think we expected you to do all this for free did you?"
The girl shrugged, an embarrassed look on her face. They may not have been Hufflepuffs but that didn't mean they weren't willing to give their friends a bit of help in achieving their dream. Team stuck together.
"You're all getting paid," George said firmly. "Well even and with big bonuses for things like getting it out quicker and everything. We wouldn't ask you to do all this for free."
"Let's get back to work, then," Lee said with a grin. "Wouldn't want to slack when there's money to be made."
"After our break," Fred said firmly. "We've all been working really hard and we all need to take a bit of time to relax."
"We don't want people making mistakes because they get tired," George agreed. "Better to do things right the first time than to have to go back and fix mistakes caused by overwork. Just think how many mistakes you made in last minute late night essays because you were tired. Now imagine how much worse it could be when you're working with stuff that explodes."
IIIIIIIIII
Harry raised an eyebrow when Hermione fell into step behind him. He'd assumed that she would have gone off with the other girls to do whatever they did to prepare for lunch.
"Susan, Hannah, and Luna will join us after they get a chance to change their outfits," Hermione explained. "Luna managed to get herself covered in oil and the other two are more comfortable wearing robes."
"Makes sense," Harry agreed. "Have you shown them your new engine yet?"
"We would but we can't at the moment. She's on her way to Scotland so we can work on her during the school year," Hermione replied. And the puny little internal combustion engines they had access to just weren't doing it for them.
"I see." Which explained why they'd remembered he existed again, Harry reflected.
"Don't be like that, Harry," Hermione huffed.
"What?"
"I've told you that I can read you like a book," she explained.
"I was just thinking that the fact that your train is gone explains why you and Luna remembered that I existed," Harry said with a grin.
"It's just . . . she needs a lot of work before she's whole again," Hermione said with a blush. "I'm sorry, Harry. We didn't mean to ignore you."
"I'm not annoyed that you're ignoring me. Getting obsessive about things is what you do." He patted her on the shoulder. "If you acted any differently than you wouldn't be you anymore."
"Thanks for understanding, Harry," Hermione murmured.
"It's only fair. You don't get mad at me for all the life threatening situations I drag you into," Harry replied with a shrug.
"I'll try to spend more time with you when we get back at Hogwarts," she promised. "Even if I have to fight the Professors for it."
"I wouldn't if I were you. Flitwick is an ex-champion dueler and McGonagall can be pretty nasty when she puts her mind to it," Harry advised. "Not to mention the odds are good that the new DA instructor is going to meet his end at my wand with the way things usually go."
Hermione giggled. "Only you, Harry."
IIIIIIIIII
Amelia looked up when there was a knock on her door. Her expression quickly turned to one of annoyance when a figure in billowy black robes walked in. The hood was up, cloaking the mysterious figure's face in all concealing shadows.
"I, the Director of the Department of Mysteries seeks an audience with you, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement," the figure's voice echoed through the room. "Is now a convenient time or do you wish to scheduled something for the future?"
"Cut the theatrics, Algie," Amelia ordered. "There aren't any need for them. Everyone knows that it's you under there."
"Not everyone, I trust?" the man asked, pulling down his hood to reveal an aged face.
"Worst kept secret in the Ministry," Amelia laughed. "What do you want?"
"This can't be a social call?" he asked innocently.
"No. It can't," she said flatly. "What do you want?"
"You're getting ready to bug out," he said bluntly. "Obvious to anyone with two brain cells to rub together meaning only about a third of the Ministry has any clue that anything is going on so wipe that sour look off your face." He smiled. "I want in. There are things in my Department that can't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands."
"So what do you want me to do about it?" Amelia demanded.
"Talk to Potter and tell him we want to throw our lot behind him too," Algie replied. "Please assure him that the entire Department of Mysteries is ready, willing, and able to pack up everything at a moments notice so that we can move to a more secure location."
"Alright," Amelia agreed. "What should I say is in it for him?"
"We can aid in researching the spells he accidentally creates," Algie stated. "Something that would benefit both him and the whole of the magical world."
"That benefits you," Amelia said calmly. "I asked you to tell me how it benefits him and so far I haven't heard a thing."
"You might add that in addition to access to our researchers, we could also grant him access to both our archives and to our artifacts," he said calmly. "Would that be enough to sweeten the pot, Amelia? Access to massive amounts of forbidden knowledge and lost artifacts? Things no one outside the department has seen in generations?"
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait a minute! You're not just doing this because you want a look at the new spells he's developing, you're hoping that he'll make even stranger mistakes after getting a look at your rubbish!" she accused.
The man had the good grace to blush. "That's not the only reason."
"I saw him first," Amelia growled.
"Don't be like that, Amelia," he said smoothly. "There's no need to be selfish."
IIIIIIIIII
Ron stepped through the fireplace with Mandy on his arm and nearly ran into the largest wizard he'd ever seen.
"Ron Weasley and guest?" the man asked.
"Yes," Ron agreed.
"This way please, Mr. Ron." The man motioned for them to follow. "Everyone's just sitting down for lunch."
"Relax," Ron whispered to Mandy. "I told you, Harry's just a normal guy. Treat him like a normal guy and don't stare at his scar and you'll be fine."
"Normal guys don't live in houses like this," Mandy whispered back. Her head was swiveling left and right as she took in the luxurious surroundings. "I've been to several of the owners' residences and none of them compare to this place."
"It's not his house. He's staying with our friend Hermione over the holidays," Ron assured her. He broke off when they walked into the dining room and he caught sight of his best friends. "Harry, Hermione."
"Ron," Hermione replied.
"Hey, mate," Harry waved. "Have a seat."
"This is Mandy," Ron introduced her. "Starting beater with the Harpies. Mandy, this is my friend Harry."
"Pleasure." Harry nodded.
"Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Potter," Mandy squeaked.
"Please, Mandy, call me Harry." He pasted a smile on his face in hopes that it would help to put her at ease.
"And my other friend, Hermione." Ron waved at the girl.
"Nice to meet you, Hermione," Mandy said with a grin.
"Nice to meet you too, Mandy," Hermione replied.
"Ron tells me your team wants to set up some security?" Harry began.
"The owners do, yes. Because of the Death Eater attack the other day," Mandy agreed. "We can't always rely on Ron to be there all the time." Unfortunately he still had to graduate from Hogwarts or she'd have suggested it. She knew she felt safer when her savior was around to protect her from the horrors of the world and she had no doubt that her teammates would feel the same.
"It was just a small group," Ron waved it off. "Less trouble than we usually deal with back at Hogwarts."
"I think that might be possible," Harry agreed. "Are you able to make agreements on behalf of the Harpies?"
"No," she said. "I was only sent because I know Ron and Ron knows you."
"Makes this lunch easier," Harry laughed. He pulled a pen and pad of paper out of his pocket and jotted down a quick note which he then handed to the Quidditch star. "Here's some price estimates and a floo address. They can either contact me at Hogwarts after the term starts in a couple days or they can call the floo address right now."
"Thank you, Mr . . . ah, Harry." She tucked the note into her pocket. "I'm also supposed to give you some tickets." She thrust the envelope at him.
The door opened to admit the other three girls. Two blondes and a redhead with a rather impressive figure.
"Mandy, meet: Susan, Hannah, and Luna," Harry said, pointing to each girl. "Three very good friends of mine."
"Nice to meet you; Susan, Hannah, Luna," Mandy said automatically.
"You're Mandy Maxwell!" Susan blurted.
"We saw you play the Wasps last year," Hannah added. "You were amazing."
"Thanks," Mandy said, pleased to be back on familiar ground. "I think that must have been the game that got me moved off the bench and onto the first string. Always happy to meet fans." Her eyes shifted between the boy and the four girls as her mind tried to work out the relationships knowing that her coach would want to know to better suck up in the future.
IIIIIIIIII
The first thing that Phil did after he and his wife got home that day was search out Harry for what was potentially a very difficult conversation. He was not surprised to find the boy in the library, sharing a seat with the four girls.
"Hi, daddy," Hermione said brightly.
"Hello, darling, do you mind if I borrow Harry for a bit?" he asked. The way his little girl's eyes narrowed at him revealed the answer. It was good to see that his little girl was starting to grow up, he thought as he suppressed the smile that accompanied the thought.
"What do you need?" Harry asked, rising to his feet.
"Quick conversation and then you can get back to your reading," Phil replied.
"Alright," Harry agreed. "Be right back," he told the girls.
Harry followed Phil down the hall to the older man's office and took a seat.
"How'd the meeting go?" Phil asked, starting things off.
"It didn't, woman who came didn't have the power to make agreements. I gave her a list of estimates plus ten percent and a floo address they can contact. Also told her they could contact me once I got back to Hogwarts."
"Alright," Phil agreed. He took a deep breath. "You may have been wondering why I've given you so much help and why I had you work out that deal with the sports team for me," Phil began. The man's right hand toyed with he platinum cufflinks on his left wrist nervously.
"I'd assumed that it was because I was Hermione's friend," Harry said.
"It is, but there's more to it than that," he sighed. "I love my daughter, Harry. I've loved her more than life itself since the moment I first held her in my hands. I knew the moment I saw her that I would do anything for her and that from that moment on it would always be my duty to see that she was safe and taken care of." He waited a few moments to continue. "You look after her when you're at school, don't you?"
"I do," Harry agreed.
"I'm sure she's a very capable girl, but I still worry," Phil continued. "I can't help you become a better fighter. I understand the staff has been giving you a few pointers on that subject, I trust that they've been helpful?"
"I believe they will be in the future," Harry stated.
"I shall make it a point to thank them for that," Phil stated. "I know nothing of magic spells. What I do know is business. That is why I've been teaching it to you, it is the one thing I can personally do for you that will make you better able to look after my baby girl."
"I think I understand," Harry said. "The more you help me now, the better able I am to help Hermione in the future."
"Yes," he agreed.
"You told me that the best business deals were ones that made a profit for everyone," Harry said. "I profit because I get new skills and more resources, you profit because I might use those skills and resources to help Hermione. We both win here, don't we?"
"I hope so," Phil agreed.
"So what's the problem?"
"Anne told me that my plan sounded like I was using you when I told it to her," Phil replied. "I was concerned that she was correct."
"You can assure her that I am not being used, that I am comfortable with what happened, and that I will continue to look after Hermione for the near and foreseeable future," Harry said. "You may add that it is a pleasure to do so since she is one of my very best friends and she also looks after me. No one is using anyone."
"Thank you, Harry."
"Happy to be of service, Phil."
A few minutes later, Harry and Phil were just wrapping up their meeting when one of their security people appeared to report the arrival of a rather odd guest.
"What do you mean by odd?" Phil asked.
The security person was gently moved out of the way to allow the butler to enter.
"Representative from the goblin nation here to meet with you, sir," the butler explained.
"Thank you, show our guest to our office, please," Phil ordered.
"Yes, sir," the butler agreed.
"Care to sit in, Harry?" Phil asked.
"I would," Harry hedged reluctantly.
"But?"
"But the girls are feeling a bit neglected now that Hermione's engine is gone and they've remembered I exist," Harry explained. "I don't think they'd take it well if I were to stay and leaving that aside, I'd like to spend some time with my friends."
"Best go back to them then," Phil agreed. "I did promise to give you back after a couple minutes." And he did not wish to annoy his little girl more than he already had.
"Glad you understand," Harry said, rising from his chair.
"Personal matters before business," Phil advised. "Never forget that."
"I won't," Harry agreed as he stepped out the door. He passed the butler who was on the way in and an unfamiliar goblin waiting in the antechamber on his way out.
"Sub-Chief Chainmake, Representative of the Goblin Nation here to see you, sir," the butler announced formally.
"Send him in," Phil ordered. He rose from his chair and held out his hand as the goblin entered into the room. "What can I do for you Sub-Chief Chainmake?" Phil asked.
"It is what I can do for you," Chainmake replied, giving Phil's hand a single firm shake while careful to keep his nails from breaking the fragile human skin.
"Oh?" Phil's eyebrows rose. "Please, have a seat. Would you care for something to drink or perhaps a cigar?"
"Later," the goblin replied. "I would prefer that we conclude our business before enjoying your hospitality."
"Of course," Phil agreed.
"The goblin nation has decided to offer access to goblin-work maille and goblin-work wards to protect yourself, your family, your staff, and your allies," Chainmake said.
"I accept," Phil said with a grin. "Thank you. May I ask why your people have extended such a generous offer?"
"Your aid has netted us a considerable amount of profit in the past. It would be a shame for your life to be cut short when you could potentially aid us in achieving even greater profit in the future," the goblin explained. "Aiding you in protecting your offspring benefits us in two ways: firstly, it makes you predisposed to view us in a positive manner. Secondly, it ensures that there is the possibility that our people can enjoy good relations with your family line in the future." Thirdly it might annoy the more stuffy elements of the Ministry of Magic which was always a nice bonus.
"The best deals are those that make a profit for everyone," Phil agreed. "My first deal with you made me several million pounds and, I hope, considerably more for you. May our future dealings be even more profitable. Thank you for helping me protect those I love the most."
"Could we expect a similar amount of help in our relations with the human government?" the goblin asked delicately.
"Against the magical, in a heartbeat. Against the legitimate government, no. I would be happy to serve as a go between but I will not, under any circumstances, do anything which could harm Her Majesty's government."
"More than we had hoped," the goblin said with a toothy grin. "Many of your race seem to be loyal only to your race."
"I am loyal to my family first, my nation second, my friends and business partners third, and the magicals not at all." He pursed his lips. "Not as a group anyway, several of them also fall into the three categories as individuals."
"Clan first," the goblin agreed approvingly. "May your enemies suffer, may your coffers fill, may your family prosper."
"May your foes die penniless, may your clan grow, may you be forced to dig a thousand more miles of tunnel for a place to keep your gold," Phil replied, getting into the spirit of things.
"Now that business is out of the way, I believe you said something about cigars?" the goblin asked hopefully, licking its lips.
"Of course," Phil said, opening his desk top humidor. "Please, help yourself."
The goblin selected a cigar and ran it under its nose. "Exquisite scent." It licked the tip and then took a tentative bite. "Cuban?"
"Nicaraguan with Cuban seed," he replied. "Quality control was a bit off in the Cubans since Castro took over, I'm afraid." Of the many crimes commuted against the world by world by communism, lessening the quality of cigars had to rank among the most petty and insignificant Phil reflected to himself. Also, fortunately, one of the ones that most affected him personally.
Phil smiled as he remembered watching the wall fall on live television, it had been one of the greatest moments of his life. An unexpected surprise which had filled his heart with hope that the future he was leaving to his child and future grandchildren would be brighter than the world he'd inherited from his parents and grown up in. He exerted a bit of will to drag himself back to the meeting he was presently in. There'd be time to relive pleasant memories later, at present he needed to focus on the present and his work to ensure his daughter would be as protected as he could make her.
"Real quality matters more than perceptions of quality," the goblin agreed, taking another bite. "Wonderful."
"Would you like a case or two to take back to your clan?" Phil asked, thinking that it might be a good way to improve relations.
"Please," the goblin agreed. "I hate to impose, but such a delicacy is rare in the tunnels."
Phil rang a bell, summoning his butler.
"You rang, sir?"
"Set aside a few cases of cigars for our guest to take back to Gringotts," Phil ordered while making a mental note to give Harry the suggestion that he might find profit importing luxury goods to the Goblin Nation. It'd also be a good way to help the boy get his feet wet with starting and running a business. He was just helping the boy reclaim a bit of his heritage, Phil told himself. Their trip to the bank had revealed that the Potter family had apparently made a mint as smugglers of luxury goods in the past. Nothing too different from what he was going to suggest.
IIIIIIIIII
Harry marveled at the way Hermione and Luna automatically made a spot for him on the crowded couch upon his return to the library. It was so nice to have friends. He sat and Hermione shifted her legs onto his lap while Luna shifted to be closer to Hermione.
"Here's your book back, Harry." Hermione thrust the object into his hands. "What did daddy want to speak about?"
"Just wanted to make sure that I'd keep an eye on you for him," Harry replied.
"He thinks I need a minder?" Hermione asked, unsure if she should be outraged at the idea or delighted that he'd choose her best friend for the job.
"Do go easy on him," Luna giggled. "He's a father so of course he'd worry about you."
"Aunty Amelia had half the seventh year Hufflepuffs watching out for us our first year," Susan offered with a snort.
"Every other year too," Hannah added.
"Just accept that he wants you to be safe," Harry suggested, hoping to avoid angering his friend. "Less stressful for everyone that way."
"Okay, Harry," Hermione agreed.