Disclaimer: I still don't own any of this or make anything off it…Dammit!
Chapter 12
Back to School (Pt 1)
12 Grimmauld Place
It was two days after the dinner at Potter Redoubt with the Weasley family. The meeting between Percy and his family had started out with attitudes on the slightly homicidal and gradually mellowed to the point of grudging acceptance. The final healing between the family members came after Percy had apologised to Harry. Harry then pulled out a battered leather bound book and opened it to read a story to the Weasleys.
"When I lived with the Dursleys as a young child, they would drag me off to their church. I think that they believed that if I accepted their religion, that when I found out about magic, I would reject it. What the did not expect was that the pastor would tell these great stories of love, then I would see what hypocrites they were. They actually quit going to their church because there was not enough 'hellfire and damnation' rhetoric that would condemn me rather than them."
"There is a great story about family love in this book though. It is called the Prodigal Son. It is a story about a son who made all of the wrong choices while his brother made all of the right ones." Harry then began to read the story. At the end of his recitation, there was not a dry eye in the house. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley saw the situation through the eyes of the father of the prodigal and the brothers compared their attitudes against the unforgiving attitude of the older brother. This brought more than a little shame. Percy was the most affected though. He told Harry later that he had often felt like the repentant son, but was never brave enough to return and beg forgiveness. In the end, the family kissed and made up, then spent the next few hours exploring the Potter ancestral home before heading back to the Burrow. He then floo-ed back to Walburga's House to check on his Slytherin classmates, told them that he would see them in the morning, then went back to Grimmauld Place.
As he stepped out of the fireplace, Harry was greeted by Walburga and Orion's portrait. The two had become very pleasant conversation companions with valuable advice. The added bonus with the Grimmauld Place Blacks was that Walburga could access memories of her older self, one much more versed in the customs of the purebloods than her younger counterpart and her husband. Since he had not visited Grimmauld Place in a while, he brought them up to date on the situation of his classmates.
"It is obvious what the next step is, My Lord. You need to take them to the Wizengamot and have them seated. I believe that you should call your solicitor in the morning and call for a meeting for tomorrow afternoon. They should be seated before you return to Hogwarts. If they are not, you will have to do without their political support until such time as they can be seated. You will probably need to contact the goblins at Gringotts to make sure that they have their house rings. With them seated, you should have those seven plus the new Lord Dumbledore as allies. A bloc of their votes plus your two gives you 10 votes in the Wizengamot for anything that you want to do. The Malfoy money that is now being kept away from the Minister should also make him more pliable to other persuasions that your bloc may wish to dangle. I did not know Fudge for very long before I passed on, but I do remember that he was an obnoxious, money grubbing little cretin, and he was very afraid that he would lose his post. That is why Lucius kept him on a short tether. I would suggest that you do the same."
"The only problem that I see is that we are supposed to leave for school tomorrow morning. I can't see getting everything done in time."
"Posh. That is what the goblins are for. Tell them what you want to do and have them arrange a portkey to Hogsmead. You can arrive there in the afternoon and enjoy a day in the village until the train pulls in. You can then join your classmates for the carriage ride to the school. It really is not a good idea to ride the Express anyway. Having 8 members of the Wizengamot on a train that is susceptible to attack is just asking for trouble. While you are at it, you should also arrange for some private security for your group. You and your friends are a politically powerful group and the world is a dangerous place. It is only fitting that you should have the best."
"But I don't want to lord it over the other students. I have had a hard enough time fitting in as it is."
"Nonsense. What you have is a large target painted on your back. The wizarding world wants you to be their savior, you must insist on the security and training to live through it. Hire tutors in the subjects where you are weak. You also need your own Potions Master to make sure that someone does not try to 'accidentally' poison you when you are incapacitated. Also have trusted house elves see to your personal needs. There are provisions in the Hogwarts charter for Heads of Houses to have appropriate quarters and staff. Use the rules for your benefit. This House just got a worthy Lord, we don't want to lose you."
"Okay, okay! I will take your advice. I think for now though, I had better get to bed." With that, Harry bade the Blacks good-night and headed up to bed.
Gringotts Bank
Flickaxe's office
Flickaxe turned off the screen and sat back in his chair. Things were moving quickly, but in the right direction. He summoned his new assistant, a small goblin named Warcry, and sent him off in search of the various house rings that Lord Potter-Black would be needing for his new allies. He then put in a request to the Ministry for a password activated portkey to take the new Lords and Ladies to Hogsmeade. Flickaxe was nothing if not efficient. He then turned the screen back on so he could see what was happening with the students staying at Walburga's House. It had been quite a feat getting in a crew to plant the monitoring devices at that manor. The tech-goblins had been discovered by a house elf who had raised an alarm, and the crew had to do memory charms on every elf in the house. Although goblin magic was not completely effective on house elves, they had still planted the devices and gotten away. Every so often though, one of the elves would look directly at the invisible devices and scowl as if trying to remember something, then turn away in puzzlement. He made a note to send in more memory experts in the event that any of them appeared to remember things that they shouldn't. He surely did not want things to get out of hand with house elves, they could be as fierce as goblins when it came to protecting their masters, and they had some magics that goblins couldn't defend against. It was a good thing that the goblins had come up with the spell over a thousand years ago that literally changed the DNA of the elves to make them totally dependant on their wizards or they would probably be running the bank and he would be in a tunnel somewhere mining gold. It was then that Warcry returned.
"Sir, I have all of the house rings in this box. Will there be anything else?" The little goblin was nervous, he had just been transferred in from a greeter's position the other day and was still trying to get a handle on the moods and habits of his new supervisor.
"Not now. By the way, did you hear what happened to my last assistant?" Flickaxe gave an ear splitting grin, showing multiple rows of teeth.
"N-no sir." Warcry was really nervous now. He figured that the last assistant had become a snack for the more powerful goblin, that was the normal result of a 'transfer'. As in transfer from a desk to a platter.
"He did a great job and I recommended a promotion. He is now an important account manager. If you serve me as faithfully as he did, that could also happen to you."
Warcry was stunned. This was not the way he had expected an important account manager to behave. It was a goblin-eat-goblin world! Underlings were supposed to undercut their superiors and the superiors would watch and wait for the underlings to screw up so that they could step on their well-roasted carcasses on their way up the corporate ladder. He decided at this point that whatever Flickaxe wanted, he would provide. All while watching him closely in the event that when and if Flickaxe did screw up, he, Warcry would make sure that his tail was covered."
"Sir, I look forward to serving you for a long time."
Life was good
Gringotts Bank
Flickaxe's Office
The next morning
"So, let's see if I have it all. You are going to call a special session of the Wizengamot to have the new Lords and Ladies inducted, then you will need transportation to Hogsmead?" Flickaxe looked at the group in his office. Along with Lord Potter-Black, there was his solicitor, George Steinman, and the 7 new Heads of House. "I believe that can be managed easily. Is there anything else that we can help you with?"
Steinman leaned forward. "I believe that since the group will be at Hogsmead for several hours prior to joining the other students, that there should be some sort of security arrangements."
Flickaxe nodded. "That seems like a good idea. Eight members of the Wizengamot traveling together would be quite a tempting target for someone with bad intentions. Especially new members whose fathers were not exactly in the good graces of the public. It would also be possible that a certain Dark Lord might want to make good on his intention to mark these young people. I know for a fact that he is hurting for money right now. With the loss of seven affluent families, his funding has pretty much dried up. I would think that 4 Auror trained security wizards should do the trick. We will set them up with portkeys in the event that you need to clear out of the area quickly. The portkeys will be set for my office, and I will ask the Headmistress for permission to allow floo connections to her office in the event that they are needed. Should we charge this to your vault Lord Black, or spread the cost among the 8 of you?"
Draco stood up. "I am willing to carry my share, how about you guys?" He looked at the others, who nodded their assent.
Warcry took that moment to pop in the door with the house rings recovered from the various vaults. He quickly passed them out to the waiting students. As they each put the rings on, they were automatically sized for their fingers, showing that the rings accepted their claims of Headship.
Flickaxe was writing on a parchment. "Lord Potter-Black, I have taken the liberty of writing a message to the Keeper of the Door for the Wizengamot calling for a meeting. You will need to impress your ring into the wax seal, then I will send it over. Will 11am be alright? That will give you 2 hours to prepare."
"That will be perfect. Does anyone want to do any shopping or anything?" The girls brightened. "I'll take that as a yes. Will it be alright to use the bank's floo connection to get us to the ministry?"
"Of course, Lord Potter-Black." Flickaxe gave Harry a small business card. "Just show this to the greeter goblin and he will see that you get on your way. Would anyone like to go to their vaults?" All of the students other than Harry raised their hands. "In that case, I will have Warcry here take you. Lord Potter-Black, could I speak with you a moment? And Mr. Steinman, you should also be here."
The other students left to go retrieve money from their vaults, and Flickaxe turned to Harry and his solicitor. "Lord Black, no one knows more that we here at the bank just how much you mean to this war. Not only are you going to need the best defense and offense training available, you should also be trained in the workings of the magical government. I would like to suggest that you get tutors for the subjects that will round out your training. I realize that Hogwarts is a good school that turns out very competent wizards and witches, but they were never designed to train warriors or leaders of government. Normally the heads of house are raised in an environment where the lessons of leadership are drilled into them in such a way that when they do have to pick up the reins of leadership, it comes naturally. You have been deprived of that, but it is something that you need in order to get anything done in the Wizengamot. If you don't get this training, there will be people who will use you to their own ends. You have already experienced that with Dumbledore, you need to know how to prevent it from happening with other, more experienced members."
"What would you suggest?"
"Give me the authority to hire tutors for you. You can take whatever classes you think would be beneficial to you at Hogwarts, but do not take many classes. Leave the rest of your schedule open for advanced tutoring. As a Head of House, you have the absolute right to set the classes that you need. I would also suggest that you get together with your fellow new Lords and Ladies to take some of the tutoring together. You never know when you will need to watch each other's backs."
"It all sounds good, but what do you think, George?"
"I suggest that you take Flickaxe's advice. Let him evaluate what you need by what you have already learned. Flickaxe, can you arrange for Harry to be tested once he is at Hogwarts?"
"Certainly. I will contact the Headmistress and set up a time for tomorrow. Lord Black, I will need your permission to access your O.W.L. records." Flickaxe took a prepared parchment and handed it to Harry to sign and emboss with his ring. "Now, I believe that your friends are back from their vaults. I will speak with you tomorrow at Hogwarts. The security detail will meet you at the Wizengamot after the meeting."
Ministry of Magic
Chambers of the Wizengamot
"Oyez, Oyez! This special meeting of the Wizengamot is now in session! Chief Warlock Zabini presiding! All who have business before this body may now speak!" The Keeper of the Door finished his introduction and Harry stood up.
"Chief Warlock, I called this meeting in order for prospective new members to claim their rights. I yield the floor to the Solicitor George Steinman"
"Well spoken, Lord Potter-Black. Mr. Steinman, you have the floor." Mr. Zabini looked down at Steinman. Zabini had grown into the job well, being unanimously elected as Chief Warlock following the Dumbledore trial. His reputation for fairness served him well.
"Thank you Grand Warlock, members of the Wizengamot. I represent seven news Heads of Most Noble and Ancient Houses. They are Lord Draco Malfoy, Lady Pansy Parkinson, Lady Daphne Greengrass, Lord Theodore Nott, Lord Vincent Crabbe, Lord Gregory Goyle, and Lord Robert Avery. They are the lawful Heads of the Most Noble and Ancient Houses that bear their names. They are here to claim their rights, their seats, and their votes in this Most Honorable and August Body. As they are, at this time, minors, they are sponsored by Lord Potter-Black, whose emancipation is on file and recognized. Lord Potter-Black, in loco parentis, also sponsors the emancipation of these Heads of House. For this, we petition this Body."
"Well spoken, Sir Steinman. Does any member wish to co-sponsor the emancipation declarations of these Heads of House?"
"I, Lord Dumbledore, will also sponsor these Heads of House in their bids for emancipation." There was a stunned silence in the room. Harry had expected one of the Dark families to co-sponsor, he never expected a Light Lord, especially Dumbledore, to do so. This broke the ice. One by one, wizards and witches, both Light and Dark, stood to co-sponsor the seven.
"Well, it seems that everyone want to co-sponsor. I suppose that we should have a vote to satisfy rules though. All in favor?" There was a chorus of 'ayes'. "Opposed?" Silence. "In that case, the Ayes have it. Lords and Ladies, you are now, in the eyes of this government, adults, with all of the rights and responsibilities under law. Please raise your wands." As the seven raised their wands, all of the other members raised theirs.
"Do you, Lord Malfoy, Lord Goyle, Lord Crabbe, Lord Avery, Lord Nott, Lady Greengrass, and Lady Parkinson, vow to uphold the honor of this august body, protect and defend the wizarding world against all enemies, from within or without? If so, say 'I do'"
"I do," the seven new Lords and Ladies vowed.
"So mote it be! Welcome to this body. You may claim your seats."
The seven took their wands and, pointing them at empty chairs once held by their fathers, moved the seats on the Dark side of the assembly to the far right side, just as Dumbledore had previously moved his to the light side closest to Harry. The new generation of Members then left the floor and made their way up the stairway to their seats, accepting handshakes all around. A few other small items of business that would have normally waited for a regularly scheduled meeting were quickly taken care of, then the meeting was adjourned.
Leaving the Wizengamot, the group met up with the security detail hired by the goblins. Harry took one look at them and whistled under his breath. These guys looked dangerous! Any Death Eater who would take on these guys would have to be crazy to start with. He made a note to himself to keep an eye out for Bellatrix Lestrange. She qualified. Taking hold of the portkey supplied by Flickaxe, the group transported to Hogsmead.
Arriving at the edge of the village, the security men took a diamond pattern, wands out, to check out the area. Seeing nothing, they slid their wands into holsters, then spread out in a loose pattern, constantly looking, as alert as even Mad-eye Moody could hope for. The group had already packed their belongings and Harry's elves had taken the trunks to Hogwarts that morning. They had also had their purchases from that morning sent ahead to the school, where they would collect them with the morning mail. As they walked along toward the Three Broomsticks, Daphne Greengrass came up to Harry's side.
"Lord Black, I want to thank you for what you have done for us this past week. I was not expecting how gracious you would be."
Harry blushed. "Lady Greengrass, I was honored to be able to help. But since we are all either Lords or Ladies in this group, can we get past the formalities? My name is Harry. May I call you Daphne?"
"Of course. I am still a bit uncomfortable with this whole title bit. Originally my brother was supposed to take the title and the Head of House, but the idiot threw in with the Dark Lord and got himself arrested and sentenced to life in Azkaban. He was legally barred from ever holding the title or seat. My father was quite upset, but my mother was not phased at all. She was terrified that my father's actions would ruin us. She was actually relieved when my father died. He had killed off her love many years before, it seems that people who join the Dark Lord end up losing their ability to love over a period of time."
"I've noticed that. By the way, I tend to call him the False Lord. He is not a noble, he's not even a pureblood. His name is Tom Riddle, he is the product of a love potion that an inbred, insane witch fed to a muggle. He is a fraud from the start and uses terror to make himself important. Right now, he is having trouble with funding since seven families who previously 'donated' to his cause suddenly left the fold. This, along with the expose about his background, is hurting his recruiting abilities."
"I read that in the Prophet, but I didn't know how much to believe. They are not the best source of information in Britain. Sometimes I think that the Quibbler puts out more truthful reporting than they do. And that is not saying much."
Harry laughed. "Actually, the Quibbler was right on target last year when they did the interview with me. I do have a plan in store for the Prophet though. I would like to talk to everyone here and see if they are interested in joining me."
"And what would that be?" By this time they had reached the pub and sat down at a large round table. It was Draco who had posed the question.
"The plan is to buy controlling interest in the Daily Prophet. I found out that the Black Estate holds 18 percent interest and the Potter Estate holds 10 percent. There is a possibility that some of you already own shares in the paper, but if we can get 51 percent interest, we can do what we want. We can make them print the truth for a start. I also see some housecleaning in their future." Harry had a mental image of a giant foot giving Rita Skeeter the boot out of the paper's front door.
Draco laughed. "Let me guess, Rita Skeeter?"
"Got it in one. I really dislike that bi-er-witch." The rest of the table laughed.
"You had it right the first time," Pansy said. "That woman is as bad as Lockhart when it comes to self-promotion. If you are serious, put me in for 10 percent. But I get to be there when you fire Skeeter."
"I'll go for 10 also," Draco said. "We can use it to help keep a leash on the Ministry. Anyone else?"
The rest of the students offered to try to buy between 5 and 10 percent each after looking in their estates for existing shares. Harry told them that they could send a letter to Gringotts asking for an audit of their accounts. That would let them know their holdings and give them a better idea of what they could afford. They spent the next few hours until the train pulled in talking about the new dorm system, the classes they would take, and the tutoring that Harry would be getting. Several of them decided that they would share tutoring costs and time in different subjects that would not be covered in the basic curriculum. All too soon they heard the whistle of the Hogwarts Express as the train approached the station. They picked up their belongings and went to join the rest of the students. Harry thanked the security detail and sent them home.
A/N: I originally had a lot more to put in this chapter, but I already have almost 4,000 words. I will cover the sorting and feast in the next chapter.
CRaZY TeDDy, I would rather tame the Dragon than kill it. Don't worry, Draco is still going to be somewhat snarky, but he owes his butt to Harry. And in his own twisted way, Draco is honorable in certain things, even if he IS a inbred prat.
Akugin Ashura: He will be getting special training, but he is not going to become some sort of avatar.
I would also like to thank everyone for the great reviews. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling..
Hamilton