Chapter 21

Busted (pt 2)

Disclaimer: Yada, yada, yada!

A/N: So now that Deathly Hallows has been released, I want to remind you folks that this is still an AU fic and as such will not be anywhere close to canon. I had originally said that there would be no Horcruxes, I may change that to a single horcrux simply to explain the reason that Voldemort didn't die the first time. Or maybe not. I might keep you guessing until the end. Or not. (I can be such a bastard sometimes

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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom

"Aarrrgghh!!"

Harry Potter Black was frustrated and Professor Kiro Tashimoto was not doing anything to help his frustration, sitting cross-legged on his desk smiling beatifically down onto Harry like some skinny Buddha. The lesson had been on silent spellcasting, something that Harry needed to know for a number of reasons, but he was having absolutely no success. He was not the only one but he was used to being number one in DADA whenever it was taught by a competent instructor. Harry couldn't blame Tashimoto for his lack of success, after all, Hermione, Neville, Daphne and Draco had all managed to do the exercise. Goyle even had some limited success, for Merlin's sake! Now Harry was getting a bit of one-on-one help from the Professor.

"What the bloody hell am I doing wrong? This is giving me more problems than Occlumency ever did!"

Tashimoto looked at him sharply. "If you can perform Occlumency, then you should have no problems with silent spellcasting."

"Really. Well, that may just be the problem then. I am lousy at Occlumency. The Legimens I know can read my bloody mind easier than child's first reader book. When Snape gave me Occlumency lessons, he would tell me to clear my mind, and then drive through my brain like it was the M 4 motorway."

"That's all he said? Never told you how to clear your mind or how to build your shields and other defenses?"

"Nope. I honestly think that he had instructions from Dumbledore to make my mind more open to Voldemort. It was after those 'lessons' that I had my visions from Voldemort that ended up getting Sirius killed."

"Really… and he is supposed to be on your side? Just how does that work?"

Harry laughed. "Severus Snape is a Slytherin through and through. I have something that he wants, he has something that I want, and so we work together. I believe that the muggles refer to it as 'enlightened self interest.' I made him take an oath to never betray me as part of his employment contract. In return, he is no longer required to risk his neck as a spy or front line fighter."

"It also helps," Harry continued, "That Severus no longer owes a life debt to me that was passed down when my father died. Dad had saved his life after Sirius pulled a stupid prank on Severus that would have gotten Snape killed. Severus already hated my father, this made it even worse. Then to pass that responsibility to care for my life, me, the kid who is almost a carbon copy of the guy Snape hated, had to be really hard on him. The thing about Severus though is that even though he is a brilliant Potions Master and is very talented in the Dark Arts, he is lousy at math. Can you believe that after saving my life numerous times, he still thought he owed a life debt? He was furious when McGonagall and I told him that not only was his debt more than discharged, but that I owed him no less than 7 life debts! But of course, being Slytherin, he did not absolve me of those debts. Probably is hanging on to them like cosmic 'get out of jail free' cards."

Kiro snickered. "Alright Potter-san, I am going to do something, give you an exercise that will not only help you with your silent spellcasting, but will also help you with Occlumency. First, sit down in a meditative position like I am in." Tashimoto waited while Harry got into position. "Now turn your wand so that you are pointing it at yourself." Once Harry had done this, Kiro pointed his wand at Harry. Suddenly Harry found himself petrified, unable to move or speak.

"Now what you need to do is to find your centre. The way that you will do this is to imagine a peaceful place, somewhere that you feel safe. You will then need to quit allowing all of your worries and fears to dominate your thinking. Explore your body in your thoughts, how everything fits together and works. Follow your magic into yourself; go to your centre, your magical core. Explore your core; see what the magic looks like. Once you have done this, think of the spell that you want to use, that which will release you from my bindings. Think of what you want the spell to do. When you have that fixed in your mind, take hold of some of your magic with your mind and bring it out of your core, through your body and down your arm and through your wand." He checked his watch. "Dinner is in two and a half hours. I hope to see you there. Do not forget to relock the door." Tashimoto got up, walked to the door, and waved his hand, extinguishing the lights. Harry heard the door close and lock in the darkness as his instructor left the room.

"I can't believe that bastard did that!" Harry raged mentally. "When I get out, I am going to frigging kill him!"

Harry continued with his silent rant for about another five minutes before he realized that it was not going to help. He then relaxed and began to review what he had been told. He wracked his brain for about fifteen minutes before he came to the inescapable conclusion that he had never know a safe place, at least not one that he could remember. The closest he came was Walburga's house and Potter Manor. Unfortunately they were both too distracting with the multitude of servants and animated portraits.

"Safe place, safe place, safe, safe," he thought. All at once he got a vision of the Potter vault at Gringotts. He remembered the numerous safety features and protections on the vault. "That's it! That vault has to be the safest place on earth!" Harry fixed his thoughts on the vault, then mentally closed the door and sealed it. He walked over to a comfortable couch, and then systematically began to vanish the other contents of the vault so that they would not distract him. He ended up with the couch in the centre of an empty room buried miles beneath the surface with the best protections known to man and goblinkind. He then lay back and began the next part of the exercise.

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The Great Hall

Later that evening

Kiro Tashimoto, sitting at the teacher's table, gave a silent cheer as Harry entered the hall and made his way toward the sixth year's table while giving his professor a small scowl. Just before Harry sat down, Kiro raised his cup toward him in a wordless toast. Harry smirked and gave a small bow before sitting down and engaging Ron Weasley in conversation. He kept a close watch on Harry in the event that the lad might attempt to silently hex him. From what he could see, both of Harry's hands were on the table in plain sight with no wand in sight. Just as he was beginning to relax, he began to smell smoke. The next second, he was jumping out of his chair, dancing while attempting to put out the small flame that was scorching his right toes.

After shooting water out of his wand to put out the fire, something which brought great amusement to the students and his fellow teacher's alike, Kiro stalked down to Harry's table, planted himself in front of it and demanded, "Explain!"

Harry stood up, gave a bow, then said, "Tashimoto-san, the exercise that you assigned was very helpful. It took just 30 minutes after finding my centre to perform the counter spell successfully. I then realized that if I was focusing my spell down my arm and into my wand, I should also be able to do the same thing while sending it out through my fingers instead of my wand."

Kiro was shocked. He had never really considered that aspect of the exercise, using a different method for wandless magic. "It seems to have worked, how do you feel?"

"Tired. It seems that the wand not only focuses the magic, it also amplifies it. Had I performed that spell with my wand, I probably could have torched the entire table. I spent the rest of the time that I had before dinner practicing. It is a good thing that I have finished my homework, I am going to have to rest."

"Very well. Beginning Monday, I will work with you to increase your stamina. See me after classes then. I suggest that you eat some high energy foods tonight. Pasta, bread, and chocolates would be good choices. Good night, Potter-san."

Ron turned to Harry after the professor had returned to the high table. "That was wicked! Any chance that you could teach me that?"

Harry got an evil look on his face, something like the twins when they were anticipating watching one of their pranks catching a victim unaware. "Sure thing, Ron. How about Sunday morning. Make sure that your homework is all done and I will show you the same way that the Professor taught me." Harry was mentally calculating the time. "Let's see, breakfast is over at eight o'clock, lunch is at noon, knowing Ron's appetite, he won't let a little thing like being petrified stop him from eating. Hell, with food as the reward, he could become a full mage by lunchtime." Ron completely missed Harry's look, so excited was he to learn this new magic.

"Awesome! Think of the possibilities. When I am working on strategies, I will be sure to include that into the equation." Harry nodded, his mouth too full of bread at that moment to even think of speaking. He needed to finish eating and get to bed since he needed to prepare for Jonathon Dumbledore's dinner visit to Potter Manor the next evening.

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Potter Manor

The dinner had been quite the success and the two Lord's were preparing to retire to Harry's study for some friendly conversation. Dumbledore was silently wondering what Harry wanted, he knew what he hoped Harry wanted, but did not want to get his hopes up too high.

"Lord Dumbledore", Harry said formally. By using his title in a casual setting, Harry was showing that he was initiating negotiations either at a political or head of family level. "I invited you over tonight on a personal matter. I find that I am very attracted to your sister and I would like to ask your permission to begin courting her."

"Yes!" Dumbledore thought. "Little sister may have finally done something right and figured out how to slip the potions to him. So now to cut the best possible deal. I will probably have to allow him to court other girls for the Dark family heir, but I need to make sure that Jennifer is the only Light witch." "Lord Potter, I was not really expecting this, but if my sister is agreeable, we can begin negotiations. Now that your ancestry has been affirmed to be Pureblood," Dumbledore did not mention the reason that he knew Harry to be Pureblood, that of his great-uncle's crime against Lily and Petunia. "We now need to work out details. I assume that you will be planning multiple marriages at a future date to fulfill your inheritance obligations?"

"Yes, although I would agree to Jennifer being the only Light witch unless she proved to be infertile. I do have a responsibility, of course." Harry had gotten details on the fine art of matrimonial negotiations from Daphne and Draco, however this did not make him feel any better about the whole thing. It seemed more like bargaining for some sort of breeder animal, a dog or racehorse perhaps. Certainly not a human being with feelings and rights of her own. He thought that he was going to feel somewhat soiled when this was done.

"Yes, of course, I would expect no less. In the event of multiple matrimonies, can you provide for the large, extended families that I can foresee you having? I would not like Jennifer's heir's inheritance going to children other than her own."

Harry picked up a folder and passed it to Jonathon. "My Potter portfolio. I am not showing you the Black portfolio because it does not concern these negotiations other than to say that it is quite large enough to cover several generations without any additional income. That said, I am actively making investments in both portfolios that are yielding better than acceptable returns."

Jonathon took a look at the portfolio and, although he kept his face impassive, was shocked. The statement of net worth in front of him was enough to bring joy to his flinty little heart. Potter was worth over double what he was! And that did not include the Black fortune. He carefully modulated his voice so that he wouldn't squeak in surprise. "This appears to be well in order, Lord Potter. I do have one more question. If necessary, would you be willing to provide an heir to the Dumbledore family?"

Now it was Harry's turn to be shocked. This he did not expect. Did Dumbledore have some sort of health problem? Or was he just wary that he might not survive the war to marry and provide an heir. "I assume that the Dumbledore line is patriarchal?"

"Yes it is. I just want to make sure that all of the possibilities are covered." "Like the possibility that someone would actually want to breed with a woman… and that I might need to kill Potter off someday. After he brings down the Dark Lord, of course."

"That would be acceptable. In the event that I have one son, should something happen to you, he would become Potter-Dumbledore and be your heir. Should I have two sons from Jennifer, the second could be your heir and become Dumbledore. He would have the option of using the name Potter in informal settings."

"I would agree to that. In that case, Lord Potter, I give permission for you to court my sister Jennifer."

They touched wands together, sealing the deal. Harry, sticking to the formula, asked Jonathon to have a drink to celebrate the possible joining of their two families. When Jonathon agreed, Harry sent Dobby down to the cellar for a bottle of aged cognac. Dobby brought the cognac and two glasses, poured the drinks and served them. They toasted and downed their drinks. Harry then poured a second.

"I know the first drink was a toast, but this should be savored."

"I agree. Marvelous stuff." Harry waited for the effects of the Veritaserum that Dobby had put in Jonathon's glass to show, then cast a mild cheering charm and a nice little charm that made the recipient trust the caster. He did these wandlessly and silently. He then held up his glass in a small mock salute.

"Jonathon, those potions that you gave your sister were brilliant. Did you brew them yourself?"

"Oh, no", Jonathon replied happily. "My mother brews all of our potions, I am abysmal at the subject. Mum does it just right though, even puts in flavoring so that they go down well."

"I am surprised that you thought that Jennifer needed a potion. She is rather beautiful, you know. Why were you so eager to have me in the family, anyway?"

"Three reasons, really. The first is, of course, that you are filthy rich. Couldn't have little sister falling for some Weasley after all. Then there is the fact that I need an heir. It is not as if I will be supplying one. And last of all, of course, is revenge. Now I know that you did not frame Uncle Albus, but Mum and Granddad don't see it that way. I am under a lot of pressure to undermine you and finish off the job that Uncle started. Once you provide an heir, then it doesn't matter if You-know-Who kills you off. In fact, that would probably be preferable." Jonathon leaned in, as if to share a secret. "With our fortunes tied together, I, then my nephew would be the wealthiest wizards out there. And that does not even count the Hufflepuff fortune, although no one knows how much that is worth."

"What do you mean, the Hufflepuff fortune? Are you related to Hufflepuff?"

"No silly, you are. Uncle Albus was sure that you were an heir to Gryffindor, but that turned out to be Weasley. He was able to hide that long before Arthur Weasley even went to school. Or at least not reveal it. Gryffindor was the youngest son in his line, so he set up his inheritance to go to the youngest son of his line. Said that the oldest sons always got the gravy while the youngest lost out. Arthur Weasley is the current heir, then Ron will be the heir after him. Hufflepuff on the other hand, can be inherited by either sex. The reason that Albus sent your mother away was so she would not be recognized as the heir. When the Sorting Hat put her in Gryffindor it just confirmed his decision. He did do a heritage test on you once while you were in the hospital wing, I believe in your first year."

"How did you find out all of these things? I didn't see anything like that in his journals."

"Oh, that's because the really secret parts of the journals can only be read by a Dumbledore. What you saw, as bad as they were, were only the parts that would not cause too much damage if they were discovered. Smart, don't you think?"

"Certainly was smart. Why did you say that you would not be providing an heir?"

"Why, because I am a poofter, of course. As gay as the 1890s. I couldn't begin to imagine actually having to sleep with a woman! EEWW!" Dumbledore shivered. "Of course, Granddad doesn't know. Mum does, but she told Granddad that I had a broom accident. Or was it a potions accident… never mind, not important."

"I am curious though. If Weasley is heir to Gryffindor, why was I able to use his sword back in my second year? I was told it was because I was a true Gryffindor."

"Posh. It has nothing to do with blood or house affiliation. It's all attitude. You have Gryffindor attitude. A Slytherin could have used the sword if he went mental and did something stupidly brave. A true heir, however, can wield it as a master. That is why no Weasley was ever allowed to touch it after Albus got his hands on it. It would have been obvious who it belonged to had that happened."

Harry could see that the Veritaserum was wearing off, so he canceled the charms. Jonathon shook his head, then gave Harry a glare. "Oops, looks like I might have said a bit much. Not nice, Lord Potter."

Harry grinned. "Lord Dumbledore, or may I call you Jonathon? This is called 'laying all your cards on the table'. Now as I see it, you have some things that you do not want to be made public. I already knew about the potions, by the way. You won't even need to give your sister any, she already fancies me. Pretty smart, but also pretty clumsy. Of course, the things that I learned under the Veritaserum I would not be able to really use, other than for informational purposes, since I didn't have any witnesses. But both of us know what kind of nasty people work in the press, and they can ruin a person with rumours. I would hate for something like that to happen to a possible relative. As far as your heir, Should your sister and I get married, I will be happy to attempt to provide one for you. On the other items, especially the revenge part, I believe that it is time for some new negotiations. And when we finish, I will want an Unbreakable Vow from you. Understood?" Harry looked absolutely feral.

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When Jonathon Dumbledore left Potter Manor, he had a whole new outlook regarding Harry Potter-Black. After he shook hands and left, he carefully counted his fingers to make sure that Harry had returned all of them. For better or for worse, it looked like the Dumbledore fortune and name were once again dependant on Potter's good graces.

Harry relaxed, lit up a Cuban cigar and poured another snifter of cognac. He then called for Dobby. When Dobby appeared, he brought him close and whispered in his ear. "Are the goblin monitoring charms still disabled in this room?"

"Oh yes, Master Harry! Dobby made sure of it."

"Good, here is what I want you to do for me now…….."

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Gringotts Bank

Flickaxe's Office

Warcry entered the office to begin his monitoring shift, trying to track down Harry. He first tried the dorm room, but the charms were still not working. He snickered and reached over to grab a bite of jerky 'donated' by the unfortunate installer who had cast the faulty monitoring charms. As he turned the dial looking for Harry in different places, his snicker died in his throat and all of a sudden the jerky got very dry and hard to swallow. All of the monitoring charms were coming up blank. That is until he got to the study at Walburga's House. There was a house elf sitting on Harry's desk holding up his finger in the universal one-fingered salute. The elf then waved and popped out, leaving a sign that read:

Flickaxe

You Are Busted!

Owl me