AN/ here we are finally. I know, it was a long time comeing, this chapter was hard to finish, which is odd. I have so much mapped out after this one, I just could not fill in this gap for some reason. Anyway, shorter then normal, but oh well, I hope it is up to standard. The confrontation with the minister was interesting to write. Anyway, hope you enjoy, on with the next chapter (Finally).

Disclaimer: not mine, never was, only thing that is mine is the storyline (mostly).

Chapter 9: Headmaster Vs Minister

All in all it was ridiculously easy to set up the meeting between the headmaster and the Gringotts Goblins. Once Harry had sent off his letter explaining to Grapel, the goblin in charge of his accounts, what he wanted, he had drafted a brief note to the headmaster along the lines of what he had dictated to Remus.

Sending both letters off with Hedwig, he had set about planning how he was going to handle the meeting itself. He was going to have to be careful around Dumbledore, the old man was too observant by half and both of Harry's souls agreed that it was too early for the old man to find out anything significant. As it was, they'd had an interesting time convincing Remus that they needed to keep quiet for now. The werewolf was all for going directly to the Headmaster until Harry had outlined what he had in mind. Their main focus was getting Sirius out of prison; they would work out where to go from there.

It didn't take long for Harry to receive a reply from either of his letter's recipients. In fact, an owl from the headmaster and another from the goblin almost collided with each other as they swooped down through his window.

Reading through both pieces of parchment, Harry felt his lips spreading into a smirk;

"Well, well, well, this should be interesting." The older souls comment brought a snort from his younger counterpart,

"It was no wonder the hat wanted to place you in Slytherin." The younger snickered, "The more sneaky anything is, the more you enjoy it." his older self echoed his earlier snort,

"You can't tell me that you don't as well." he answered haughtily, "After all, you are me."

Harry actually snickered aloud at his own internal debate, all in all it was interesting having two minds, that was for sure.

The letter from the Goblins stated that they agreed to his request. He had outlined to Grapel that he was attempting to straighten out some of the problems that he had found in some of the records he had retrieved from his vault and he had hinted to the wily old Goblin that he was about to meddle in some high stakes politics; something he knew the old creature would find immensely entertaining.

He'd also mentioned that he wanted a discrete investigation put into effect about his guardianship, knowing that once the Goblins came across the holes in his godfather's case, they would be sure to investigate further. Not only that, but by their own vindictive nature they would be sure to help him rectify the situation, by virtue of the fact that he was considered one of their valued customers; a status that was almost as important as being a member of the clan.

As he had expected, the Goblins didn't waist any time in carrying out his request and the official note form the bank outlined an interview date a weeks hence, along with a personal note from Grapel letting him know that his 'request' was being seen to, letting him know that the investigations had been put into motion.

All in all, Harry was rather pleased; the date was set for three days after his birthday, meaning that they would have enough time for the full investigations to go into effect, if his plan worked, before he headed off to school. He didn't expect anything to be resolved before September first but he hoped that things would start rolling, and hopefully he would get the chance to visit the old mutt.

Turning to the other letter, Harry chuckled to himself;

"How long do you think it will take the headmaster to figure out that something is off with us?" his younger half mused .

The older soul gave the impression of a shrug and Harry leaned back on his bed, "I have no idea." He answered absently, frowning as he shifted uncomfortably on the thin mattress. "As long as we are careful, we should be alright. I do plan on telling the old man eventually, after all, there is no way we are going to be of much use if they keep seeing us as a child. But I need to look into a few things first."

That being said, he sat back up with a frown and pulled out his wand. Muttering a quick charm under his breath, he sighed in relief as he lay back on a much more comfortable mattress, while his younger half laughed in their shared skull.

His birthday, a few days later, was spent in a quiet party at the manor. The house elves were overjoyed at the chance to help their 'Master Harry' celebrate and Harry was hard pressed to keep control of his emotions. In his past lifetime, even after everything they had been through, he had never really celebrated his birthday, even with his friends, it was rather a novel experience.

As to the matter of his moving into the manor, he spent his time alternating between the Dursley's and his new home in order not to alert the Headmaster and he had made sure to inform Mrs Figg that he was getting a few things in order and he would appreciate it if she would keep his absences silent for now. When asked what to do if the Headmaster inquired straight out, Harry impishly told her to inform him that he was staying at a friends house before heading off to school. She had looked at him questioningly at that comment and he had contrived to look totally innocent when in truth he was impressed that the woman was observant enough that she realised he had no friends to speak of. At her arched eyebrow, he had merely given her a cheeky grin and she relented with an exasperated shake of her head.

After that it was simply a matter of waiting.

The day of the meeting, Harry met up with Remus at Diagon Alley before the two of them headed towards the bank. Harry had chosen to wear one of his new sets of robes that day, the gold trimmed green ones, and he had Tabitha coiled around his wrist beneath the wide sleeves. Realistically he didn't expect any trouble but he had gotten into the habit of being prepared anyway.

Entering the bank, they were immediately led back into Gapel's office, to find that the Headmaster had already arrived. The old man came forward as they entered and greeted them with a smile and a shake of Remus' hand.

Before the headmaster could ask anything however, Grapel had entered the room and taken a seat behind his desk, waving at the wizards in the room to take the ones across from him.

"Now," he started, getting straight to business, "The reason that we have called you all here is to clear up a few discrepancies that have arisen in regards to Mr Potters inheritance." Looking at each of the wizards in turn the goblin gave a nod of satisfaction, "Now, in view of the fact that Mr Potter is not legally under the care of the muggles he was placed with it is imperative that we remedy this situation to ensure the best possible service to our client."

Harry watched the Headmaster with interest as the goblin spoke; he had known that Sirius's status as his godfather was never revoked but he'd had no idea that the old man hadn't legally signed him over to the Dursley's. In a way, he was pleased, after all it made things much easier on his end, however he couldn't help the slight resentment that simmered at the old mans high handed management of his life.

Dumbledore stared at the goblin a moment then blinked, "With the imprisonment of Harry's godfather, it was passed to me as executer of the Potter estate to place Harry in a suitable home." He declared softly.

Harry had to seriously restrain himself from rolling his eyes, suitable home his arse. He didn't have the chance to comment however as Grapel continued.

"Normally that would be the case." He stated blandly, "However, as Mr Black was never revoked as godfather, the placement of Mr Potter rest solely in his hands. As does the distribution of the Potter estates."

Slipping a form out of the pile on his desk, seemingly without even looking, the goblin held it out to the Headmaster. "As executor, you Professor Dumbledore, have the power to declare Mr Black an unfit guardian if given due cause. If you could provide the official transcripts of the trial in which Mr Black was convicted, we can revoke his godfather status and can resign Mr Potter to a new guardian until his age of majority."

Looking over at Harry, the headmaster bowed his head slightly, "I apologise for all this my boy." He said softly, "It looks as though I was remiss when I arranged for the Dursleys to take you in."

The goblin tapped a gnarled finger on his desktop, his ugly face clearly showing his irritation. "If you would, headmaster" He prompted, gesturing towards the fireplace that lined the back of his office, "Please, would you firecall the ministry for those transcripts, so we can wrap this matter up."

Bowing his head again, the aged wizard swept over to the large fireplace, absently catching the box of floo powder that flouted down to his hand.

Kneeling on the hearth, he threw a handful into the flames then once they turned green thrust his head and shoulders in calling, "Ministry of Magic, Department of magical law enforcement."

Harry all but held his breath as he watched the crouched form for any sign of what the headmaster was thinking. Their whole plan hinged on how Dumbledore reacted to the news of the trial. As far as his older memories provided, the aged wizard had been none too pleased when he had found out but at that stage, the uproar over Sirius's escape and subsequent entering of Hogwarts grounds and the whole situation of Pettigrew getting free, it had all been lost in the general confusion. This time, however, Harry was determined to bring the oversight to the headmasters attention when there was nothing to distract him.

"Do you think this is going to work?" he finally whispered to himself, even though he could feel his counterparts nervousness,

"I am not entirely sure." His older soul answered back, fidgeting with the robes they were wearing, "If not, we are going to have to go to more extreme measures to get Padfoot free, and I would really rather avoid that if possible. We have enough to explain as it is without adding breaking a convicted criminal out of prison, even is he is innocent."

Glancing around the room, Harry caught Remus' eye and the werewolf gave him an encouraging wink, nodding his head towards the figure crouched before the fire. Looking over at the headmaster, Harry could see the shoulders beneath the dark purple robes tensing and he would swear he could feel the old wizards' aura pulsing slightly.

After a few more agonising minutes, Dumbledore withdrew his head from the fire and stood up. Without turning, he took a half a dozen steps back and Harry shivered as he caught a glimpse of the old mans face. Dumbledore was furious.

The fire flared green once again and a rather harassed looking Minister stumbled out, his bowler hat clutched nervously in his hands.

As soon as the man saw Harry, he flinched rather violently; an action he repeated with even more force as his eyes locked onto the intense gaze of Remus. From his reaction, Harry had to muse if the man knew of Remus being werewolf. He certainly looked nervous enough.

"Minister Fudge." Dumbledore greeted softly and Harry snapped his gaze back to the old man in shock. Under the gentle tone, the Headmasters voice called almost be called menacing.

"Er.. I think telling him about what is going on would be a better idea then keeping hi in the dark." Harry stuttered to his older half, and he could feel the agreement along with a trace awe that wasn't coming from only half his soul.

The minister, on the other hand, seemed to completely miss the threat as he straightened his robes and lifted his chin pompously, "What can I do for you Headmaster?" he asked importantly.

Harry had to hold back a snort as he watched in interest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the expression on Moony's face and he almost laughed aloud. This was far more entertaining then they thought it would be, no matter how serious the situation was.

Dumbledore slowly started to circle the minister; his blue eyes hard as he eyed the smaller wizard. "Tell me, minister." He finally spoke, "Why is it that there seems to be so much difficulty in your office to find the transcripts of a trial?"

A bit of the bluster left the politician as he watched the powerful man circle him, much like one would watch a circling shark, "Ah.." he stuttered, "What trial would that be? Perhaps it is in the restricted files, then none of the office staff would have access without direct permission from me."

Harry shivered at the small smile that spread across the bearded face, "Maybe that is it." Dumbledore answered softly, "But, there is one problem."

By now, the minister was all but trembling. He twisted his bowler hat in his hands and stuttered, "P..problem?"

Dumbledore hummed in acknowledgment, "Yes, a problem." He echoed, "You see, as chief Warlock, I have the authority to view any and all files on request, as you should well know. But this one particular set of files seems to be reluctant to be found." His voice was light and almost slightly confused, but beneath was a layer of steal so cold that Harry did shiver this time. Damn, Dumbledore was even angrier then he thought he would be.

Again, Fudge seemed to completely miss the threat as he visibly gathered himself and straightened his spine, "Now see h..here Dumbledore." He declared, his whole act spoiled by the tremor in his voice, "This is clearly a m..minstry matter. Not a Hogwarts one. Nothing you should be concerning yourself abo…."

Dumbledore's soft voice cut him off, "In fact," he continued, as if the man had not spoken at all, "It seems to be the general consensus within you office that these particular files do not exist in the first place."

Finally, the minister seemed to realise just how tense a situation he was in. his gaze snapped around the room once again and he gulped, not once did he try to deny knowledge of what the Headmaster was talking about.

His shoulder seemed to droop as he gave in and Harry saw him visibly brace himself as if expected to be hexed into oblivion. "There are no transcripts." He finally muttered. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and the man hurried to continue, "There are no transcripts, because there was no trial." He blurted out, his face pale.

Harry could feel Remus tense beside him and he turned his gaze to find the werewolf barely keeping himself from physically launching himself at the self important politician.

"Can you perhaps tell me why?" the headmaster asked in a voice so cold that Harry wouldn't have been surprised to see ice forming in the man's beard.

Fudge visibly flinched, "Er.. we didn't s..see the need." He defended, "There were over thirty witnesses to the attack on the muggles and Pettigrew. It was a cut and dry case."

Remus actually growled and Harry couldn't hold back a snort of disgust, both reaction gaining them an unreadable look from the headmaster.

Dumbledore shook his head and sighed. "I am sorry, my good Goblin." He said, turning to Grapel who had been watching the whole situation with interest, "It seems as though we cannot finalise those papers at this time. Would it be possible to appoint Mr Lupin here as a temporary guardian until all of this can be sorted?"

Harry almost fell off his chair, "What the heck?" his older soul yelped in his head.

The Headmaster glanced at him, his blues eyes sparkling with something that Harry could not fathom, "I take it there was good reason to look into these matters." He continued, this time watching Harry, "So I think it would be prudent to remove Harry from the Dursleys for the time being."

Harry tried to pull together a coherent response but the gravely voice of Grapel answered for him, "It can be done, financially." the creature declared, "But in regards to Mr Potters custody, that is a ministry matter."

Dumbledore didn't even have to turn to look at the minister, Fudge immediately was stammering out a response, "O..of course, Headmaster. If you deem it necessary to review Mr Potter's living arrangements, that can be organised. B..but I am afraid that Mr Lupin does not qualify…" here Dumbledore whirled to face him and the man actually took a step back as he amended what ever he was going to say, "I mean, Mr Lupin would be suitable as a temporary guardian until this is all sorted out." His voice almost squeaked, not that Harry could blame him. Merlins beard, Dumbledore could do intimidation when he needed to.

The minister was summarily dismissed and he all but tripped getting to the fireplace to floo back to his office. Dumbledore stepped into the dying flames after him, turning to face Harry before he threw down the handful of powder. "I apologise, Harry, Remus." He said softly, his eyes going to both of them, "It seems as though I have neglected more then I realised ten years ago. It is passed time those mistakes were rectified." He tossed down the floo powder and spun away in a flash of green flames.

Turning back to Grapel, Harry raised an eyebrow at the goblin as if to ask, so what now? The creature grinned at him and tapped his finger on the papers on his desk. There was a brief flash and Grapel nodded in satisfaction. "I have appointed Mr Lupin as your temporary guardian, Mr Potter." He said gravely then grinned at the smile Harry gave him. "If that is all today Mr Potter." He announced, turning his attention to the papers on his desk.

Harry gave a short bow, still smiling, and left without a word. He knew that the Goblin was doing him a high honour going onto other business, as if Harry had more important things to do then be there. It was a sign of respect that he didn't linger on formalities.

Once outside the bank, Harry turned to Remus and grinned up at the man, "So, as my new guardian, are you going to allow me to look around Diagon Alley before we go home?" he asked cheekily.

Remus snorted and gently slapped the back of his head, "Like I could dictate what you do." He commented dryly, then his face became hopeful, "Do you think that the Headmaster will be able to get a trail for Sirius?"

Harry shrugged and his grin got wider, "As angry as he was, I think that we might be seeing the mangy mutt even earlier then we thought."

The smile that spread across Remus's face more then matched his own and he gave a short bow, "Well then," he said jovially and Harry felt his heart warm at the lightness in the others tone, "How about we go have a ice cream to celebrate. After all," here Remus winked at him and Harry snorted in laughter, "Sirius would never forgive me if I did not get you disgustingly sick on sweets the instant we managed to outdo that idiot Fudge."

So the two of them ended up spending the rest of the day on Diagon Alley, not doing anything in particular and sure as hell not thinking about the war that was coming. Instead they discussed all they were going to do once the last true member of the Marauders was once again with them. Harry all but glowed with happiness at Remus mentioning that the gang would all be complete once more. A Potter, Sirius and himself running together once more, as they were always meant to do.

…………………………..

AN/ Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter, my proofreading is really off at the moment, but I don't think there is any real big errors. Anyway, coming up we have another confrontation with the Dursleys and some more insight into what old Snake face is doing, so I hope you are all still reading, as it gets more interesting from here on out.

See Ya

Sil'vinya