Harry and the Magic Factory
A/N: Thank you for reading along. Hopefully you'll enjoy the upcoming chapters: there will be a lot of explanation, a lot of fun, and not a few dastardly pranks a la Roald Dahl.
Chapter 5
X-c-X-c-X-c-X
Bracus Snape was choking on his own bile. He was collecting information like crazy, but he hadn't managed to steal anything worthwhile yet. No Potions formulas, no sets of armor, nothing special. Then this Potter arsehole keeps taunting everyone with scraps of knowledge. And then this ruddy ghost is the kid's father.
Bracus was plotting. He didn't know when or how, but he would climb to the top of this heap. He would win, for his father, even for that meddling Dumbledore.
Let this Harry Potter, his ghost, his dueller, and his supposedly ex-werewolf attempt to stop Bracus Snape.
At the same time Bracus was plotting, Harry Potter was attempting to introduce his father, the ghost, to the other Chosen. "Attempting," of course, meant he was trying to revive a couple of them who had passed out. All Hogwarts students were aware of the resident ghosts there, but none had ever met a ghost so recent or one who could be claimed as family.
"…after we confiscated all these lands," Harry said, "we hid them with secrecy charms…"
"Like the Fidelius," came the question from Lisa Turpin.
"Similar in theory, but older, stronger, and impervious to breakage or betrayal…. It took us more than two years after that to recruit in enough people with necromancy talents to solve the problem of how to communicate with my father and mother. We extended invitations to ten, got five of them to come and join us, and that was the birth of Potter Necromantics. Of course, all of the products and research done here is still off the market…"
Thus Harry went back to sounding like a mad inventor. But Lisa had enough thoughts in her head to challenge him. "Hold on, you would have been about four or five when all this happened. How can you claim to have done these things?"
James Potter smiled. His teeth were an ethereal white. "Harry was too young to help with the founding of the Potter Estate, as it now exists, my friends Sirius Black and Remus Lupin did that. They put everything under the original Fidelius, then started rounding up Death Eaters and capturing their estates, then they were bored and looking for something else to do. So they raised and began training my son, they also started the businesses that made up the first offerings at the Potter Emporiums. It was my young son, however, who demanded that Remus and Sirius figure out some kind of magic so they could talk to ghosts." James waved his hand over his own incorporeal presence dramatically, indicating that the research had been successful. "He was the one who demanded that Potter Emporium products start spreading throughout the world – magical and muggle. We solved the problems there by using multiple names and businesses throughout the world, but everything belongs to the Potter Estate. He demanded that the Death Eaters be made useful, instead of leaving them caged. And he proposed our first form of governance then, but we've been through two revisions since then. Even at the age of five and six, Harry had some spectacular ideas…"
Harry just pursed his lips at this form of praise and started walking the halls of this smaller Manor house. They were getting off track.
"…so this is primarily a research facility. We have the tools to allow willing ghosts to enter the living world, and have developed tools that would banish any ghost back to the spirit realm. We've developed means for simple communication, without the need for a summoning of a ghost, with the spirit realm… All very useful things, of course…"
Harry pushed open the doors to enter one of the research areas. Susan Bones was the first to push in behind Harry. Susan wanted to know more about communicating with the spirit realm.
She began her question shyly, "Could someone demonstrate how to use this communication method?"
Harry smiled. Then he nodded at one of the ghosts working in the research lab, for there were nearly three times as many spirits here as living witches and wizards, and the ghost pulled Susan over to a desk in the corner of the room.
"…now the current focus of a lot of our new research is on spiritual possession of the living, the kind that happens to a Seer delivering a prophecy or when a wizard uses mind magics to possess and control another witch or wizard. The dead can do it and so can the living. There's a lot to study here…"
Aside from Susan Bones, whose parents had died when she was very young, the other Chosen seemed mostly cowed about the massive force of ghosts running this research laboratory. It seemed awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time.
Harry and his Chosen moved through the other rooms of the Necromantics division quickly. James Potter demonstrated how he could slip between realms using a device that Sirius and their earliest necromancers had developed. Other ghosts demonstrated devices meant for disrupting the work of evil necromancers, people who would create Inferi. It was very informative time.
When it was time to leave, Harry popped his head back into the first room and saw that Susan Bones was still communicating with the spirit realm. Harry nodded at an Oompah, who marked Susan with a small rune, and then went back to his remaining Chosen.
Harry quickly ushered the few remaining Chosen to the Potter Press, located at the very edhe of the MacNair estate. The location drew some admiring oohs and aahs. Because the Potter Press was at the distant edge of what they referred to as the Village.
The Village was more than that, of course. It was a center of business in the hidden Potter Estate. There were a half dozen different shops visible from the distance of the Potter Press and many more still hiding in the Village. It was a place where people lived, where children played. It felt real. More real than Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. Real living happened here. Houses were next to shops. Next to a massive school at the complete other end of town.
But Harry herded them all inside the Manor building that housed yet another business. "Welcome to the Potter Press. We publish books on magic, on the connection between the magic and nonmagic world, and many other things. We also publish a daily newspaper that's distributed around the world…"
At the word newspaper, Colin Creevey was almost jumping up and down in his excitement. The words that spewed out of his mouth were mostly unintelligible, but Harry did manage to reconstruct some of it.
"…camera's back at home…newspaperman just like my old man…better photographs than anyone has ever seen…"
Harry pushed through. "…yes, we do print photographs in it." The remaining Chosen seemed to find this amusing. "And we also publish a line of training devices, like pensieves I guess, that allow a master in a subject to deliver lessons to a student without it having to be in person. It's a rather convenient way to pick up history or languages or magical theory…"
Harry guided them into the room and handed each of them a book – from a massive stack – and a short newspaper.
Blaise and Bracus were each plotting on how to slip outside with these items, as proof of the other things they'd learned, when Harry told them all they were free to keep them. "However, when you leave the wards, the newspaper will go blank and the book will refuse to open until it's back inside the wards. So take them as odd souvenirs, but don't expect them to be of much use."
Harry took them all on another whirlwind tour. They walked past the desks of the reporters – mostly empty, as folks were out and about collecting news – and looked at the spectacular wall of major headlines:
"Last Confirmed Death Eater Captured" That was from the inaugural issue.
"Potter School Opens; First Class of Fourteen Children Enters School"
"All Death Eater Assets Confiscated As Reparations" Blaise and Bracus read everything in the associated article carefully. They also kept their faces tightly controlled. They didn't want to give away their extreme interest and displeasure.
"Potter Emporiums in England Top 100 Million Galleons Per Year" That was five years after the first store opened.
"Potter Trust Opens; Joint Venture with Goblins"
"Potter Family Rescinds Its Compact with British Ministry of Magic; Establishes Own Government" This one got some confused murmurs from a number of the Chosen. How could a family leave a government?
"Potter Estate Purchases 6 Large Muggle Companies; Branches Into Food, Travel, and Medical Industries"
"Elective Government and Representative Democracy, Harry Potter Says" The Chosen were again confused. How could this young guy leading them on a tour have anything to do with a form of government?
"First Group of Masteries Awarded: Defense, Potions, and Duelling" That was from 1988.
"Citizenship Laws Established: All Potter Masters Awarded Automatic Citizenship"
"80 Million Acres Purchased and Hidden in North America: Here Comes Expansion" More jaws dropped. That was a massive amount of land to afford. And even more difficult to hide. How could anyone pull that off?
"Potter Estate Worldwide Revenue Tops 780 Million Galleons" The year was 1993.
"New Masteries Established in Muggle Fields: Languages, History, Mathematics, Sciences, and Technology"
"Four Defensive Pact Treaties Announced: Centaurs, Sirens, Giants, and Werewolves as Allies" Blaise and Bracus, at the least, knew how difficult it had been for the Death Eaters to attempt any treaties like these. If these clippings were true – and these papers were likely just as honest as the Daily Prophet was, Blaise thought with a note of caution – then they really had something going on here.
"Potter Enters China and South America; More Land and Companies Acquired"
"One Thousandth Mastery Awarded Today: Maeribeth Tompkins, Warding and Runic Magic"
"100 Year Plan for the Potter Estate Unveiled Today; Referendum Vote Scheduled for One Week Hence"
And the last headline in the bunch was from a paper a few weeks earlier. "Potter Estate Revenues Top 9 Billion Galleons; Muggle Business Booming, Wizarding World Flat"
The Chosen couldn't even begin to comprehend numbers like that. But one of the Chosen, Colin Creevey, hadn't had the patience to stick around to really observe everything. He'd already snuck off toward the photography lab. Harry had watched the slight young man head off. Whatever makes a person happy, Harry decided.
Harry started trying to talk to his Chosen again about the Press, but they had other questions in mind now. And they all seemed to come at once.
Lisa Turpin asked, "How did you withdraw from the British government? We're still in Britain, aren't we?"
Bracus Snape shouted, "How dare you claim assets that don't belong to you…" Of course, he'd forgotten the earlier explanation of how and why the Death Eaters had come into the ranks of the Potter Estate.
Luna said something about, "Pacts with Werewolves only support the Rotfang Conspiracy…" but then she remembered she was supposed to be shouting a pointless, unanswerable question. So she also said, "What do you spend all the money on?"
There were other questions, but Harry didn't get a chance to hear them. At that moment, the massive printing presses turned on and then a shrill scream echoed through the building. Harry pushed his way further into the press room and saw a red-skinned Colin Creevey who was otherwise devoid of clothing.
His explanation ran something like this, "…leaning over it to get a better view with this borrowed camera, you see… when it started up, it just ripped my shirt and tie off… then somehow all my other clothes, including my socks, disappeared straight inside, too… never been so embarrassed in the last hour…"
Of course, the printing press was running perfectly fine, with no sign of clothing anywhere, and Colin's private anatomy seemed more than a little excited about what had happened to him. So it most likely wasn't a true story.
Harry shook his head, conjured some clothing without the use of a wand (which no one seemed to notice), and had his Oompahs help the lad to dress. Privately, Harry thought that the poor young man rather enjoyed standing naked in front of a group of people. But who was Harry to speak against such a harmless form of sexual relief.
Harry gathered up the few remaining Chosen and began pulling and tugging them out of the room. It appeared that Blaise and Bracus, at the least, enjoyed watching Colin as much as the other man enjoyed being watched.
Harry got them all out of the Potter Press and started pushing them toward their next destination: Potter Technologica. He knew that his father and another guest would be joining them there.
Harry was beginning to feel tired by this point of the day. Aside from a few early on, like the tricksy Weasleys, Harry wasn't much impressed with the raw material he saw in front of him. But he'd proposed his program of Potter Apprentices, to help begin tying the outside world together with the Potter Estate, so he had to follow through. This first round just might not be very successful.
But Harry pressed on. "…our research center for all things Muggle and for the combination of Muggle and magical. Like a television that runs on magic…" Here Harry got blank stares. There were only purebloods remaining. "…or an enchanted icebox even a muggle can use." Here Harry just got scowls from Bracus and Blaise.
Harry kept himself from rolling his eyes. Instead, he turned around and gestures to his father and their new guest.
"May I introduce everyone to my mother, Lily Potter." The pair of ghosts floated out and smiled at the small gathering.
Bracus looked positively murderous now, like he wanted to hex both of the ghosts.
Lily Potter turned toward the ill-favored boy as if she'd read his mind. "I'm sure you know this, but you can't hex a ghost, Bracus Snape. Not sure if they teach that in Hogwarts, but it should be obvious…"
This set Bracus off into a terrifying rant about wickedness and unnaturalness. Then about the great education he'd received at Hogwarts where his dad – "he's still alive, thank you very much" – taught Potions and Duelling. Then Bracus started talking about what a strong Headmaster they had at Hogwarts.
That was enough to make Lily stop the young man.
"Listen now, young Snape. Let me tell you something about your father and your headmaster," she said. "Snape was a classmate of mine in school and I've known Albus Dumbledore longer than you have been alive. In the late 1970s, your father overheard part of a prophecy delivered to Albus, then he couldn't wait to deliver it off to your precious Dark Lord. Because it pointed to my son, Harry, here, Voldemort finally convinced one of James' and my friends to join his ranks, to betray us. Then Albus, having guessed at our friend's situation, convinced us to make it easier for that rat of a human being to betray us. Albus did all the research on our protections, the secrecy wards we used, they should have been perfect, aside from Albus picking the most easily destroyed variety. So, your precious Dark Lord, your father, and your headmaster all conspired to kill my son… but in his place, James and I perished and Harry lived. What I wouldn't do to stick your head, Snape's and Albus' all in a row…"
Lily Potter was obviously building up to an extraordinary argument. But James the ghost got her calmed down—and just in time.
Not many people knew it, but ghosts could still perform some kinds of magic. Lily had retained much of her offensive capabilities…and she had been a tremendous dueller when young.
Snape bit his own lip until it bled and just decided to bide his time. He'd find something worth doing. Some information to steal, something to sabotage. He'd find a way to avenge all these doped up Death Eaters, to avenge the smear on his father's name.