Chapter 11

-oOoOo-

Harry Potter was glad that overusing Robot and Antony did not qualify as abuse of labour. Unlike humans, machines worked 24-7. No, they worked 24-14, 24-21, or even more, thanks to Time Tuners. Harry and Dudley had devised a synchronisation system, with an internal clock within each A.I. to take into account time travelling. Without the synchronisation, when Harry wanted Robot to make him a cup of hot chocolate, he might get two or three, the extra cups produced by Robot's future selves.

With time travelling, work was much faster.

Antony had stealthily scanned all the book pages in Dumbledore's private library, including Dumbledore's rather-cryptic diaries (the Headmaster preferred Pensieves, but diaries were handier when he wanted to check quick little facts). Well, Harry didn't ask Antony to scan the Headmaster's diaries since this would be an invasion of privacy. But according to Antony's programming logic, diaries were books, and he was ordered to scan all books, so he scanned all Dumbledore's diaries.

What Harry learnt from the diaries almost shocked him: Voldemort didn't die the night Harry got his scar. Dumbledore wrote 'V escaped' on the date Quirrell died, and it didn't take Harry long to connect this with the fact that Dumbledore told him Quirrell was possessed by an evil spirit but refused to explain further. Harry also checked what Dumbledore wrote on the date he got his scar. The Headmaster wrote, 'RIP JP & LP. V died but will return. V alive as long as HP alive. The scar.'

This led to Harry's utter paranoia. So he asked Antony to install hidden video cameras everywhere in Hogwarts, including the Headmaster's Office, staff offices, staff headquarters, and houses' Common Rooms and bedrooms. Harry wrote programming codes so that his A.I.s could learn each person's behaviour and detect if their behaviour unexpectedly changed, especially alone behind the doors, just in case they were possessed by Voldemort. Anyone could be possessed by Voldemort, so Harry needed to be on guard.

And he thought it would be a good idea for everyone else to be on guard too.

Harry believed Dumbledore didn't want the knowledge that Voldemort was alive to go public lest it would cause panic and harm the stock markets (um, was there a Wizard equivalent? – Harry gotta check that). If they could eliminate the Voldemort threat without alarming the public, there was no need to alarm the public.

But still, Harry wanted people to be on guard before Voldemort made his first move.

One important thing he learnt from Dumbledore's private library was a dark magic called Legilimency. This subject did not appear in any School Library books, but it was something that, according to the Order of Phoenix reports, Voldemort used often to get information out of his foes.

So why the hell wasn't Occlumency part of Hogwarts's curriculum? The goblins seemed to see the importance of learning this art, but witches and wizards in general remained ignorant!

Harry sworn to himself, I must not rely on Dumbledore, regardless of his heart. Dumbledore himself often said that he trusted Hagrid with his life, but trusting someone's heart and trusting someone's competence were equally important! You could not trust a good-hearted feeble girl to go to Gringotts and make a deposit of a thousand galleons for you – should she be attacked in transit, she couldn't defend herself!

And this Dumbledore trusted Hagrid to deliver one-year-old Harry Potter to the Dursleys, right after the fall of Voldemort, when the Death Easters were seeking blood as a revenge for their fallen master!

According to the Order of Phoenix's file, Hagrid's profile got the following marks:

Combat magical knowledge: 6/10
Magical strength: 6/10
Physical strength: 9/10
Endurance: 9/10
Agility: 4/10

Harry big-sweated. Hagrid would be a tank character in a role-playing game, someone he would not trust to use against swift or dirty opponents. The fact that Harry himself survived Hagrid's delivery was probably due to the fact that Hagrid was not attacked while transporting him to the Dursleys.

Harry's mind was set to do a couple of things quickly. One, learn Occlumency and make it compulsory for all students and find a way to teach anyone who already graduated (oooh, such a big task). Two, Harry grinned devilishly, improve the Defence Against Dark Arts classes, starting with the teacher.

-oOoOo-

Remus Lupin was not sure he ought to be happy or sad. He wanted to kick himself and make a heartfelt apology to Sirius for losing faith in him. He heard that Harry and Sirius organised a chaotic welcome back party, and without inviting him... but that was to be expected. Remus had never even tried to see Sirius in prison, or fought for a fair trial. He totally failed as a friend. And he didn't have the courage to see or Floo-call Sirius. He was so ashamed and overwhelmed by guilt.

When Dumbledore offered Remus a job as a Defence Against Dark Arts teacher, Remus knew he would see Sirius again anytime soon. Dumbledore told him that Harry spent most of his time in his secret quarters somewhere in Hogwarts, and Sirius was granted a privilege to visit Harry at Hogwarts from time to time. Well, the man deserved quite a bit of privileges after spending years in Azkaban. But Remus didn't know what to do when seeing Sirius again. Remus was also worried about what Harry thought of him. From what he heard, Sirius and Harry got along very well. If Sirius hated him, so would Harry.

And that would break his heart.

Remus sighed before leaving his house (more like a rat's hole) and making a trip to Hogwarts. He couldn't afford a connection with Floo Network, so he needed to travel the old fashion – Apparating to Hogsmeade. Dumbledore had requested an urgent meeting before the term started.

-oOoOo-

"Hello, Remus 1," Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. The Headmaster was having fun. "Allow let me offer Lemon Drops and introduce to you Remus 2."

Remus's eye caught a copy of himself sitting in front of the Headmaster.

"Hello Remus 1," a copy of himself offered him a hand with a serious-looking face, "it is a pleasure to meet you."

Remus shook hand with his copy, and gave Dumbledore a very, very questioning look.

"How would you explain this confusing phenomenon, Remus?"

Remus considered the question. "He is either an imposter or my future self."

Dumbledore looked pleased. "Go on."

"To identify him, I -"

Dumbledore corrected Remus, "him or her."

Remus nodded, "To identify him or her, I shall ask him or her a question which only I know. If he knows the answer, he is me. If he doesn't, he is not."

Dumbledore grinned, "What if he is an impostor who has mind-raped your future self, impersonated you and went back in time to set up a plan to mind-rape you?"

Remus took quite some time to recover from shock. "I shall ask him or her a few questions that are not important but only I know."

The other Remus looked at him sadly, "I.. I have been Obliviated. I mean complete Obliviation. I couldn't even remember my name. So Dumbledore from my timeline suggested that I go back to the past to learn a bit more about myself and he said that recovery of feelings toward people I loved was as important as recovery of memory."

Remus, who had been standing, sank into a chair. "How did that happen?" he whispered.

Dumbledore looked at him disapprovingly. "You are a Defence Professor. Have you already believed his story?"

That made Remus very suspicious of Dumbledore. Dumbledore had never made witty comments in a sharp manner like that. Dumbledore had always used a gentle, flowery tone to everyone, even during wartime.

But maybe things changed.

Remus made a resolution. It was not the most convenient, but it was the most reliable method. "I shall either use Thief's Downfall on him or wait until the time I expect the Polyjuice to wear off."

"Behind you, Remus!" Dumbledore said in an alerting tone, combat-ready.

Remus quickly spun back... as Dumbledore shot him in the back with a stun pen.

-oOoOo-

Remus opened his eyes drowsily, horrified and relived to see the smiling faces of Sirius Black and Harry Potter. It was not difficult to identify Harry. The boy had got James's face and Lily's eyes.

"Sirius..." Remus said weakly, getting up from the floor in the Headmaster's Office.

"If you wonder what have just happened, it was me who stunned you, mate," Sirius winked, "and with a Muggle weapon."

Harry addressed Dumbledore, "Albie, please tell me again, why do we have to have such an incompetent person as a Defence Teacher?"

Dumbledore sighed and smiled! He looked relented and pleased at the same time. "Harry," he said wearily, "I have no option but to agree with your proposal of having two Defence Teachers this year."

"WHAT?" Remus blurted out.

Sirius grinned. "You didn't check. It was me who impersonated Dumbledore while the real Dumbledore was invisible the whole time, witnessing the special interview."

"Yeah," said a chubby boy Remus hadn't met before, "you really are incompetent. I pretended to be your future self, and you would have fallen for it if Sirius wasn't there asking questions! By the way, my name is Dudley. I'm Harry's favourite cousin."

"So," Harry smirked, "we decided that Dudley will be the second DADA teacher. He will be impersonating you all year round. Students will need to distinguish the real one from the impersonator, or their homework doubles."

Remus sighed, "Ok. Fair enough, but this is not wartime. I don't see the need to-"

Harry singsonged, "Be prepared!"

Sirius responded, "Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

Dudley added with a chuckle, "Don't worry, Remus. I'm a good actor."

Remus nodded grimly, "Point taken." Suddenly the werewolf brightened, "Hey.. does this mean you are not mad at me, Sirius.. I want.. I want to say I'm so sorry.."

Remus gave Sirius a tight, friendly hug, with tears gathering in his eyes.

"It's alright, my friend," Sirius said in a forgiving tone, "we have plenty of time to catch up."

That made Remus feel even more guilty. Sirius was such a great friend. How could he have neglected Sirius all these years? – Remus couldn't forgive himself.

-oOoOo-

Harry complained loudly, "Why do I have to go to King's Cross and then come back to Hogwarts? This is STUPID."

Sirius chuckled. "Even pureblood families don't complain for travelling from the Wizard World to Muggle World via a Muggle-friendly means when they can just Apparate to Hogsmeade. Who are you to complain?"

"I hate traditions," commented Harry, "unless they are optimal."

Their walking slowed into a halt. Harry looked at the space between Platforms 9 and 10. There was nothing but an unpromising brick wall.

Harry frowned. "Hogwarts: A History doesn't say anything about how to identify Platform 9 ¾. It is a bad book."

And right there, at the train station, Harry Potter burnt a copy of Hogwarts: A History with a lighter. The fire, the smoke and the crazy-looking angry boy together made quite a scene.

Security officers of the King's Cross took no time to approach the Boy-Who-Lived and contain the fire. One of them gave Harry a reprimanding look. This tough-looking guy seemed to be the one in charge. "What were you doing!?"

Harry looked at him sheepishly, pretending to be an idiotic child.

The man turned to Sirius with a disdained, disapproving face. "Are you his parent?"

Sirius nodded overly happily and enthusiastically.

"Why didn't you do anything to stop him?"

Sirius pointed at Harry and spoke in a childish, idiotic manner, "He's my daddy. Why should I stop him, sir?"

Some of the security staff exchanged worried glances, some giggles.

The guy in charge said calmly, "Both of you, sir, please follow me. There are procedures we have to follow in case of fire."

Harry acted like an idiot who didn't see a brick wall in front of him and kicked the wall. He wanted to pretend to hurt his foot and have these Muggles to carry him to their office or wherever (so that he didn't have to walk).

To Harry's great surprise, he was teleported to another place upon contacting the wall.

"Bow chicka wow wow!" yelled the Boy-Who-Teleported, who almost lost his balance. "Ain't nobody got time for that!"

A man caught Harry's arm with a strong grip. "Got you, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked up to see the face of the man who rescued him from falling. "Thank you," said Harry with his eyes wide, remembering his face from Gringotts's male grooming course brochure, "Lord Malfoy." The boy gave a slight bow and reserved smile.

Standing beside Lord Malfoy was a smiling Draco and a posh lady whom Harry assumed to be Draco's mother. Harry could tell, even from a distance and without Jarvis, that the Malfoys wore the high-end line of M&P clothes, each tailor-made to perfection – the texture, the colours, the fitting, and Harry suspected, bits of illusion charms to hide fat and unwanted bodily parts were all customised to make them look elegant and wizardly. Harry himself wore similar clothes, but didn't pay attention to details or make custom requests to the insane level that the Malfoys did.

"I hope we meet under better circumstances, Mr. Potter." Lord Malfoy's Received Pronunciation accent seemed to have been acquired at ancient British establishments, like Eton and Sandhurst. The man looked amused. "Perhaps in a business meeting room, or our residence's living room laced with the finest furniture and served with the finest refreshments."

Harry smiled warmly, offering each of them a handshake, "Pleased to meet you, Lord Malfoy, Madam Malfoy. And pleased to see you again," Harry shook hands with Draco, "Mr. Malfoy."

The Boy-Who-Lived addressed Lucius again. "Lord Malfoy, may I express that I enjoy luxury as much as convenience? It is unfortunate that time may be a luxury to you but is a constraint to me. As such, I suggest our secretaries keep in touch to make an efficient and fruitful meeting possible. Here is my business card."

Lucius placed both hands on his cane, as if posing for a photograph, nodding slightly before accepting the card. "I am certain you are a busy businessman, Mr. Potter. You have an interesting, if not unconventional, way of conducting business that we may wish to experiment and replicate."

"Please excuse my ignorance, Lord Malfoy." Harry bowed slightly. "Having been raised in a non-magical environment, I am not accustomed to the general business practices of managerial witches and wizards. It is I, who is in a serious need to learn from successful business-wizards, like yourself. By the way, did I mention that I had heard so much about you, Lord Malfoy?"

Lucius's lips grew into a slight grin. "In a good way, I hope?"

"That... was a vast understatement, Lord Malfoy." Harry returned the grin.

"Very well," Lucius looked amused, "Who would have guessed that within such a short time after you were introduced to the Magical World, you could achieve tremendous entrepreneurial success by which even I am impressed?"

Harry chuckled. "I have recently been aware of my fame in the Magical World, yet it is comical that my childhood had been enshrouded in mystery. Speaking of fame, although it is not my choice to be famous, it is my choice to capitalise on this golden opportunity, hence the commercial possibilities."

"Your choice of brand logo is ingenious, Mr. Potter." Narcissa said with a soft, gentle, classy voice, pointing to the lightning logo of her shiny M&P handbag, of which colour and style perfectly matched that of her dress. "It is simple, yet carries the power of dedication, trust and hope. I have to say that your monetisation strategy has been expertly done so far."

Draco drawled, "It is not often that the Executive and Marketing Directors of the Malfoy Empire offer someone a compliment, Mr. Potter."

"BASTARD SCARHEAD – WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Harry's eyes twitched at Sirius's barbaric call for him, a vein popping up on his temple.

-oOoOo-

To be continued.