The Fourth Estate

by Sciber Dude

AU-After OOTP. A little planning and resourcefulness makes a massive difference in Harry Potter's life. He soon comes to realize who his friends are and not. HarryMany. Rating may change.

13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Negotiations

"YOU WANT TO DO WHAT??" A very livid Mrs. Augusta Longbottom screeched. Seeing her reaction, Harry was convinced of all the stories about Mrs. Longbottom and her temper. A naughty idea of pitting either Dumbledore or Voldemort against her and watching them squirm suddenly popped up in his head and Harry had a very tough time maintaining a composed exterior.

"Take it easy Mrs. Longbottom! Let me explain." Harry tried to calm her down. 'What's with witches and their tempers!' He wondered.

"You better explain yourself, Mr. Potter." She said sternly. Harry had requested the Goblins to arrange this meeting with Mrs. Longbottom. She had received a letter from Ragnok explaining to her that they would discuss the future of the Daily Prophet at the meeting. Mrs. Longbottom had always been the dissenting voice at such meetings. The paper was not doing well financially and she had many a bone to pick with the owners, Mr. Edward Trenton, Mr. Tiberius Ogden and Mr. Guiseppe Morticelli, on their views of how to run the business. As she was the minority owner, she was always over-ruled. She had expected to meet those 'incompetent buffoons', as she called them, but was surprised to meet the boy-who-lived there. She wondered if all those reports about Harry Potter being an attention seeking brat were true and this was an attempt to do so. He had no other business to call this meeting.

"Mrs. Longbottom, I am not sure if the Goblins told you this, but I am the 85% owner of the Daily Prophet." Mrs. Longbottom's raised her eyebrows in surprise on hearing the news. "I would have been a 100% owner had you not been so adament about not selling your share. Could you please tell me why you don't want to sell your share to me?"

"Let me get this right! You want me to sell you my share of the paper so that you can kill the Daily Prophet! Why would I do that when the wizarding world needs a form of dissemination of information. I agree that Daily Prophet has been biased, but that does not mean that I should entertain 'fantasies of revenge' by some attention-seeking-minor. Am I not supposed to have this discussion with your guardians?" Mrs. Longbottom sneered.

"Whoa! Such hostility! " Harry said in a calm voice."Tell me Mrs. Longbottom, are you as biased as the readers of your publication? Do you believe in all the crap spewed by reporters like Rita Skeeter? And who ever told you that I want to do it out of revenge? And is it a 'genetic trait' of all light-sided families to jump to conclusions without knowing all the facts? Is that why your ex-owners, who were all Slytherins and from traditional dark families, over-ruled every suggestion you have made till date? Are you going to be this difficult every time I bring up a new idea?"

In her more than a hundred years life, Mrs. Longbottom had never been put in place like this, and that too by a soon to be 16-year year old. She realized that she will have to do some soul-searching about her attitude while dealing with this young man. "I am sorry Mr. Potter. My reaction was uncalled for. Why not you tell me your idea and we will try to discuss this amiably."

"Thank you ma'am. Would you please call me Harry? I am as old as your grandson, who by the way, is a great friend of mine." Harry, the epitome of politeness, requested. "The Daily Prophet is currently the largest circulation in the British wizarding world but in terms of accuracy of the news they report, they are the worst. The sales and subscriptions are currently at an all time low. The name 'Daily Prophet' has become synonymous with a bunch of lies. It has become a propaganda machine for a corrupt Ministry. I wish our publication to report the truth and expose all the Ministry goof-ups and cover-ups. The public need to know the truth and our newspaper will let them know. Do you agree with MY overall goal for the newspaper?"

"Or course I do. That is what I have been fighting for all these years." Mrs. Longbottom was highly intrigued by this young man now. "I have fought with the ex-owners at every meeting that we should move away from the Ministry influence. I was shot down every time because the old crowd feared that we will lose the funding we receive from the Ministry. You do know that the Ministry bears 25% of the operating costs of the publication?" Mrs. Longbottom enquired.

"Yes Maam, I do. They fund 150,000 galleons a year and I can easily manage to fund that much each year, but I wont have to if you agree with my proposal. Tell me, Mrs. Longbottom. Are you in this venture for making a profit?"

"Definitely not! Otherwise I would have liquidated my share ages ago." Mrs. Longbottom huffed. "In fact, I have been donating 100,000 galleons a year and I hope I wont have to shell down more than that with this new plan."

"No Maam! You wont have to. In fact I assure you that you will receive a profit. Mrs. Longbottom, do you know the breakup of the operating costs?" Mrs. Longbottom nodded.

Harry continued, "The bulk of the money goes for parchment, ink and printing costs. We have 10 employees on the printing floor and 5 editors. We pay 100,000 galleons per year on an owl-delivery contract irrespective of how many subscribers we have. We own 20 house-Elves whose main job is to tie each newspaper to the leg of the owl and collect the money from their moneybags when they return. The owners thankfully do not expect a salary. So that leaves very little money to hire good journalists. So we pay exorbitantly for each article written by freelance journalists. To fill up the rest of the paper, we depend on press releases from the ministry. There is no money for a marketing/advertisement division and hence the number of advertisements in the paper are low. They are also low, because the advertisements are very expensive and hence most businesses cannot afford it. Do you agree with my summary, Mrs. Longbottom?"

"I see that you have done your homework. I am very curious about what you want to propose." Mrs. Longbottom admitted.

"First, I want to stop receiving Ministry funding. I want to change the name of the publication to 'The High Inquisitor' with a by-line 'The Truth Shall Set You Free'. I want to hire at least 25 full-time non-corrupt investigative reporters who will not hesitate to search for the truth and report it fairly. I don't not mean that they should reveal state secrets, but if a crime has been committed, it should be reported. I want to fire the printing staff and cancel the owl-delivery contract, which by the way is to Mr. McNair's company who is a known death-eater."

"If we can work out the finances that sounds very good. Who will do the printing and how will we deliver the paper to our subscribers?" Mrs. Longbottom was very intrigued.

"I knew you would ask that question." Harry grinned. "Allow me to do a demonstration. Winky?"

Winky rolled in a table with wheels. There was a white cloth covering it. Mrs. Longbottom appraised Winky with a critical eye. She had never seen a house-Elf wearing a robe and was surprised to see that she looked taller and more dignified. Winky pulled out the white cloth to reveal a cauldron. Mrs. Longbottom realized that the table resembled a muggle table usually found in their chemistry labs. All around the table were arranged ingredients, cutting knives, mortar and pestle and ladles. There were some runes etched on the table's surface.

"Mrs. Longbottom, you have masteries in Potions and Herbology and a muggle master's degree in Chemistry." Again, Mrs. Longbottom was surprised at why she was surprised that this young man had done his homework well. "Tell me, are you familiar with the steps of making the fever-reducing potion?" Harry walked to the table and tapped the main rune with his wand and said "Create 20 vials of Modified Fever-Reducing Potion and with one dose per vial".

Mrs. Longbottom blinked in surprise to see the ingredients fly onto the cutting area and the knives automatically started chopping them. She watched with her mouth open as the potion seemed to make itself and pour into 20 vials.

"HOW?? And only 15 minutes?" She walked up to the table and picked up a vial. She observed the liquid within for its color, consistency and clarity. She had never seen such a bright turquoise color of a fever reducing solution. The potion was viscous and clear. She opened the stopper and smelt it to find a minty aroma. She took a sip of the solution and tasted a sweet minty flavor instead of the pungent taste she expected.

Before Mrs. Longbottom could ask, Harry handed her a muggle file with many sheets of paper in it. "I don't claim to have done the modifications to the potion. That credit goes to two of my friends. They are potions geniuses. This file should have all the Arithmantic formulae and the final Arithmantic equivalent of the potion. Being a potions mistress, you might understand it better if you read it than listening to me trying to explain it."

Mrs. Longbottom had forgotten all about the automated potions maker and immersed herself into understanding the modifications. "This is amazing! May I meet your friends? Are they going to publish it?"

"Of course you may meet them." Harry replied. "Why not I ask Daphne Greengrass or Tracey Davis to owl you and arrange a meeting? But please do not mention this to anyone yet. As you can see, we are working on improving all healing potions to increase their efficacy and especially their taste. I have had to swallow enough number of potions over the years to know that all healing potions, without exception, taste horrible. Personally, I think Skelegrow tastes worse than Polyjuice, but than I hear that Wolfsbane is probably the worst!"

"And you tasted Skelegrow and Polyjuice because?" Mrs. Longbottom enquired amusedly.

Harry was in no mood to tell her his escapades. "Long story Mrs. Longbottom! Anyway, with my invention of an automated potions maker, we plan to start a potions company that would supply all potions to St. Mungos and other wizarding hospitals in the world. The competent potions masters at these hospitals may join our company to create newer and better potions. The incompetent ones will just have to find other jobs. Also, just like in the muggle world, we plan to start a chain of pharmacies that sell pre-made potions."

Harry continued, "I trust you Mrs. Longbottom to not give out my business secrets. I do not plan on making it known that I have any association with the potions business or even the High Inquisitor. The death eaters plan to kill me, the ministry wants to use me for their political reasons and Dumbledore and his order want to control me. I want you to be the public-face of the newspaper and manage the overall operations. I would appreciate it if you would help me keep my involvement a secret as outing of my involvement in these ventures would draw unnecessary negative attention. I do not want or wish to make the newspaper 'the boy-who-lived's' propaganda machine."

"You want me to run the newspaper?" Mrs. Longbottom blinked.

"Yes, Mrs. Longbottom and I want you to take a fat paycheck for your effort." Harry grinned.

"In that case, as a majority owner, you will be my boss. So please call me Augusta." Mrs. Longbottom smiled when she saw the look of surprise on Harry's face.

"Yes, Mrs. Longbottom, I mean, Augusta. I have a few more things to tell you. But here is how we are going to manage the distribution without the owls." Harry brought three mats and placed one in front of Mrs. Longbottom, another in front of him and another below the table. He took a copy of the Daily Prophet and placed it on his mat. He tapped it with his wand and said, "Send To Mrs. Longbottom". The paper disappeared and appeared on the mat in front of Mrs. Longbottom. She picked up the newspaper with a gob-smacked expression.

"Put the paper back on the mat, tap the mat with your wand and say 'Recycle Parchment'." Mrs. Longbottom did as instructed and the newspaper disappeared and reappeared on the mat below the table.

"I have bought the patents to leach the inks from the parchments and also to recycle the parchments. Mrs. Lovegood was the amazing inventor of these very nifty charms. Imagine the costs we would save with using automated printing presses, automated newspaper delivery, recycled parchment and ink."

Mrs. Longbottom could not believe what she had witnessed. This method of transport would revolutionalize the mailing industry. This would mean that the wizarding world will have a means of instant communication. Also, with the reduction in dependence on owls, there are less chances of muggles noticing birds carrying letters.

"Yes, Augusta. I plan to encroach onto the mailing industry too." Mrs. Longbottom looked at Harry in awe and said, "You wish to ruin the industries owned by death eaters." It was a statement more than a question. This young man was going to be the force who would upset the balance of power in the wizarding financial world. Harry simply smiled and nodded.

"Pretty soon, it will be obvious as to what I plan to do. I would really appreciate your input. Our world needs to be rid of the death eaters and their crappy pureblood ideology. The bigotry and bias runs deep in our society. Lord Voldemort is the result of such a situation. If we do not want any more dark lords, we need to change our society's perceptions and culture. I plan on achieving it through financial and political means. I do not have any grandiose plans to rule the world. I just wish that the people rule themselves politically. In fact, I hate being in the spotlight and so I do not wish to be a Lord Voldemort or even an Albus Dumbledore."

Mrs. Longbottom pulled out her wand and gave Harry a witches oath to never betray Harry Potter's secrets. Harry then explained about his life before Hogwarts, his years at Hogwarts and the events of this summer. Mrs. Longbottom confessed that she was one of the customers of 'A New Company'. She thought that the name of the company was hilarious and they both shared a laugh. Harry then told her his vision of what the new newspaper should achieve and Mrs. Longbottom whole heartedly agreed that it was a good plan. Harry handed over a vault key with a million galleons that Mrs. Longbottom may used as start up cost. Mrs. Longbottom's eyes bugged out at the amount. "Just how rich are you Harry?"

"Pretty rich, Augusta! Pretty rich!" Harry grinned. "May I interest you in an offer to buy potions ingredients from your greenhouses?" The Longbottom family fortune was made from the profits from their greenhouses. Every alternate, if not every generation had a potions and Herbology master in the Longbottom family. It wasn't a wonder that Neville got his green thumb from his grandmother.

"That will be wonderful. What do you want to buy?" She enquired casually.

"Anything you are selling a death eater at 1.5 times the price." Mrs. Longbottom was not very surprised at what she heard. "I will give it you at par provided you let me invest 10-20% of your potions company. My friends and fellow potions mistresses Griselda Marchbanks, Andromeda Tonks and I are very interested in your 'automated potions maker'. We have been leading a research project for many years to find the cure for my son and daughter-in-law's condition. Have you thought about adding an Arithmantic probe to your cauldron? It might help in our research if we know the Arithmantic equivalent of the potion as we are brewing it."

"A friend of mine suggested the Arithmantic probe and I will incorporate it. Until last week, I had no idea about the relationship between Arithmancy and potions." Harry confessed. "Here is what I am willing to do. I will buy your potions supplies at par. I will give you and your friends enough number of automated potions makers for your research provided you take on a few student interns who will be paid from my funds. Any new potion you produce, the potions company will have first dibs to buy the patent. In exchange, I will offer 5% stake for each of you in the potions company. I will also give you Augusta, a 10% stake in the 'green universe' I wish to create in Ottery St. Catchpole near the Lovegood's property. Imagine a green house the size of a forest. I am planning to employ the centaurs as caretakers there."

"CENTAURS! There is no way they will talk to you, let alone work for you." Mrs. Longbottom exclaimed.

Harry grinned. "Why not we bet on it Mrs. Longbottom? If I win, you will help me manage this 'green universe' and if you win, I will give you an additional 10% of my potions company to you. I haven't met with the Centaurs, so I assure you the bet has even odds."

"It's Augusta, Harry. I am willing to shake on the bet." Mrs. Longbottom grinned. "You are a very intriguing young man. I am glad that you consider Neville a friend."

"Neville is a great friend Augusta. He is going to be a great wizard."

"Thank you Harry. I never thought that I would see the day when I will come out of retirement to work for a 15-year old boy."

"How did it go?" Hermione asked excitedly. "Did she agree?"

"Of course she did Mia! I gave her a deal she could not refuse. Augusta will be a force to recon with. I can't wait to see the headlines everyday." Harry said excitedly. "How is it going with the Wizion? I haven't seen you around in ages. You have buried yourself in the library."

"Guess what?" Hermione asked almost bouncing.

"Don't tell me you were able to broadcast muggle channels to the Wizion." Harry joked.

Hermione stopped her excited jig and considered his idea. "That's not a bad idea Harry. However, I was able to add up to 10 channels to the Wizion. So the audience will have a choice of program to watch." Harry smiled and congratulated her on her achievement.

"But, you know what? I love your idea. I am going to create two modes and call it Wizion and Television. We will also have remote controls that let you turn on and off the Wizion, change the mode, change the channels, increase and decrease the volume etc. The buttons on the remotes will be rune based and will power off the wizards magic when he handles it. I will also try to make the box look exactly like a flat-screen televisions that Sony said it was going to bring out. Oh! This is exciting!!" Hermione was almost dancing with excitement.

Harry smiled and was happy for his friend. "That is excellent Mia! Why not add one more mode for shopping and we will have our own shopping network? We would use Susan's invention to work with this network. We will need to set up the necessary equipment at the stores end."

"Aren't we full of ideas today, Mr. Potter?" Hermione commented with a saucy wink.

"Have you thought about how the network would work? Will you need to use muggle electromagnetic frequency technology or can this be done using magic?" Harry enquired.

Hermione beamed at Harry's intelligent question. She loved the new Harry who was as smart as she was. "Harry, of course we are going to use magic. We are going to use the ley-lines of magic to disperse the signal. We may have to find a place to broadcast our signals. Hogwarts is a good contender because it is situated on 3 intersecting ley-lines. And no place in the world is so far away from a ley-line that we cannot broadcast our signal."

Before Harry could respond, she squealed and said, "This really is very exciting! I have a lot of research to do." Hermione gave him a hug and ran towards the library excitedly. The rest of the Potter family laughed seeing their favorite bookworm's antics.

"Daphne, I have some good news for you! I might have got you, Tracey and another student of your choosing a summer internship with three potions mistresses: Mrs. Augusta Longbottom, Mrs. Griselda Marchbanks and Mrs. Andromeda Tonks. They are currently working on creating a cure for prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus curse. What do you say? Are you interested?"

"Are you kidding Harry?" Daphne jumped out of her seat and hugged Harry. "They are one of the best research teams to work with. They usually never have time for student interns. How did you manage it?"

Harry laughed. "I did nothing. I showed Mrs. Longbottom your Arithmantic equations for the modified fever-reducing potion. She was very excited about it and wanted to meet you and Tracey. So you both got it on your own merit."

"Wait till you see what we did to the Polyjuice potion." Daphne grinned. At Harry's impatient expression she said, "We modified Polyjuice potion to give the drinker a temporary potions induced Metamorphomagic capability. Every time you ingest the solution, you can change into who ever you want with in the next 15 minutes. We have it worked out in Arithmantic terms and we will translate it into a potions equivalent soon. Human transfiguration through potions! We are geniuses." She proudly exclaimed.

"That is awesome Daphne! I have always believed that you both are a geniuses. I mean, in the short time I have known you and Tracey." Harry winked. "May I offer you a suggestion?" Daphne nodded. "Don't give out this formula or potion to ANYONE till we have a method to screen for such Potion-Induced-Metamorphomagus-Persons. We don't want death eater PIMPs masquerading as students at Hogwarts, do we?" Harry laughed at his crude joke.

"Of course not Harry! I see the need for secrecy." Daphne solemnly agreed. "I have modified almost all of the common healing potions. The potions are much more stronger and their effects last longer. We have not worked on any modifications to reduce the addiction potential of any of these potions. We will do so in the near future. What is important is that we have the instructions to be able to mass produce these modified potions. The modifications have cut the cost of producing the potion by a significant percentage. If we can get the ingredients cheaper, and mass produce these potions, our manufacturing costs will be even less."

Daphne continued with excitement, "Our next projects are modifying Skelegrow and Wolfsbane and we need help with these complex potions. This is where the summer internship will help. I have already created the process flow for mass producing Wolfsbane in case we need to do that during this lunar cycle." She then developed a pensive look on her face. "I think Tracey and I should first start with studying the Arithmantic interactions between ingredients. I have never read those documented in a textbook before. Time to fix that Arithmantic probe Mister!" Daphne said with a glint in her eye.

"That is awesome Daphne! Maybe you both could write a book on Arithmancy and Potions and describe these interactions in Arithmantic terms." Harry was in awe of the resident potions genius as she seriously considered that suggestion and nodded. "When are you going to tell Tracey about the internship?"

"She will be so excited! She tried to get a summer job, but hadn't had any luck till now. And it will be great to work with her in person, rather than through our mind-speak technique. You know what? We should invite Neville as the other intern! Wink! Wink!" Harry laughed at her excitement.

"Of course! You are inviting him for his knowledge of Herbology and not because of any hidden agenda, right?" Harry laughed.

"Susan, could you meet with your auntie, Mrs. Marchbanks and Mrs. Longbottom and discuss the political implications of the articles that will appear in the High Inquisitor? By the way, Mrs. Longbottom was amused at the new name for the newspaper." Susan had come up with the name and everyone thought that it would be fitting. "I am sure you already guessed that I plan to push your aunt to become the Minister when Fudge gets the sack." Harry winked.

"She is going to hate you for that Harry." Susan exclaimed. "She was offered that post many times and she has never accepted it. She always claims that she is not a politician."

"Of course Susan! We really don't want a politician for our Minister, do we?" Harry laughed. "Who knows? In a few years time, it will be time for you to accept that post!" Harry laughed harder at Susan's shocked expression.

"You really mean that Harry? You think I have it in me to become the Minister? I have never taken a major decision in life before." Susan asked sincerely.

"Susan, I believe in you. Behind the jovial personality, you really are a gem of a person. You think of all possibilities before taking a decision. Your magical contracts are testimony to that. All you need is a little Slytherin cunning and Gryffindor bravado, which you will imbibe from me."

"Thank you Harry! That is the best compliment I have ever received." She hugged Harry and kissed him on his lips. "Get used to it Susan. You will represent me in that meeting. Interact with them appropriately. Do not let them walk over you. Mrs. Longbottom and your aunt know my agenda, so they should support you. If you have any questions, you can always mind-speak with me."

There was a faint pop in the room announcing the arrival of Dobby. "DOBBY! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in many days now! Is everything okay? Do you need anything?"

"Harry Potter Sir! It is good to see you too. Dobby was busy working on the Elf Life Foundation. Dobby also had to spend many nights at Hogwarts diverting some of her magic."

"I heard about that from Ragnok. How is the Elf Life Foundation going?" Harry enquired.

"I have visited the Elf Alleys in most wizarding cities of the world. I have had to tell my story innumerable number of times. All the free Elves want to bond with you as servants. The others wish to bond with you as soon as their masters free them. I have a list of 612 Elves who are ready. Some of them are about to die. I promised them free magic use and free work and they were very excited. Will you bond with them Harry Potter Sir?"

"Of course I will Dobby. I haven't really felt weak the last few days. I am not sure how the warding projects have been going on. They were supposed to start construction of a whole magical village at Godric's Hollow. I have not felt any drain of my magic."

"Harry Potter Sir has not felt a drain as Harry Potter Sir's magic is growing stronger. With these new house-Elves, we can start more construction. We now have 10 teams doing the warding every day and each team is averaging 10 properties per day. Some time is lost because the same wizard is managing two teams."

"That is wonderful Dobby! What about construction?" Harry enquired.

"We have demolished both the Greeny Manor, Bonesy Residence and Lovey Shack. We have started reconstruction of the Greeny Manor and the Bonesy Residence based on the plans that Mrs. Greeny-Potter, -Potter and have give us. They want Winky to be their interior decorator. They love the interior decor of the Den."

Harry laughed at Dobby's mispronunciation of their names. "Winky is amazing! She would be the best choice. What about Godric's Hollow?"

"The plans for the wizarding village have been drawn up. There will be a shopping area similar to Diagon Alley called 'Magic Alley'. Each shop will have a 3 bedroom house attached to it, so that the shop keepers may live there. There will be at least 4 restaurants in the Alley and 3 pubs. We are also building 3 night clubs where youngsters may congregate. There will be a Gringotts building that will be linked to the Gringotts Diagon Alley through an Elven portal. Mrs. Potters have identified that we need shops that sell potion supplies, wands, broomsticks, trunks, books, pets, and ice cream. They are working on a plan to invite shopkeepers from various alleys to relocate there. They expect at least 200 new students to shop there before school starts. So we plan to have Magic Alley complete by July 31st before constructing the houses."

"That is wonderful Dobby. With these new Elves, I am sure it will be much faster. Make sure there are no security loopholes. We should have the rune-transport system ready soon. There will be no floo anywhere in Godric Hollow except for the single floo terminal. There will be state of the art wards to prevent anyone with wrongful intent. No one with the dark mark will be allowed in. "

"Harry Potter Sir! Ragnok has called his best team of Goblin curse-breakers to design the wards. The Goblins might not be able to weave wards, but they sure know how to design them to make it difficult to break in. The house-Elves will be able to weave wards. With the new 612 house-Elves, we will be able to cast strong wards over the whole village at once. we will also use blood wards to make it safe."

The process of how these Elves were going to cast the wards flashed in Harry's mind. 'Probably from Dobby's mind through the bond', thought Harry. "When do I meet these new Elves to bind them?"

"Harry Potter Sir need not meet them. I can bind them as servants on your behalf. The Elves be very excited to work for you."

"That is awesome Dobby. In that case, you don't have to wait for my permission to bind them. I give you permission to bind any free Elf on my behalf in my absence." Dobby was very excited to have this permission. "Also, I want to tell you that a team of witches are working to break the bindings on the house-Elves. They should have something for us very soon."

"Thank you Harry Potter Sir! You really are the greatest wizard of all."

Harry walked into the library to find Hermione and Luna sitting on a comfortable couch with their heads buried in books. Harry jumped into the space between the two witches startling them. "HARRY!" Harry kept laughing at their annoyance as if he had been hit by a tickling hex.

"Harry! Are you not supposed to meet those broomstick twins at Gringotts?" Hermione demanded, still annoyed at being interrupted.

"Yes! I am meeting them in an hour. I need to come up with a new glamour."

"Who are these twins and why do you need a new glamour?" Luna asked.

"The broomstick twins are Alan and John Campbell. They are geniuses at designing broomsticks, but they work for different companies, Nimbus and Firebolt. They are muggleborn yet work in companies owned by death eaters. I am going to try and lure them away. I need a new glamor coz I don't want anyone to recognize Harry Potter."

Luna and Hermione burst out laughing. "You really don't know?" They asked. Harry shook his head.

"Harry have you been keeping up with downloading the knowledge base from our minds?" Hermione enquired. Harry shook his head again. "Drat! I knew I was forgetting something. So what is it that I don't know?"

"You Harry are a Metamorphomagus!" Both Luna and Hermione beamed.

"I am? How come I didn't know! And how do you both know?" Harry was genuinely surprised.

"Remember the panels in the meeting room in your mind? Do you remember the one that had multiple colors? Have you even explored those windows?" Harry shook his head dumbly.

"Do you remember Petunia giving you hair cuts when you were a child? Did they not grow back the next morning? Have you ever had a hair cut after that? Don't you think that is strange?"

"Wow! So what are the other windows?" He vowed to look at the other panels as soon as he had some downtime. "That is for us to know and for you to explore. Seriously Harry, how did you think that Daphne got those Arithmantic values of a metamorphomagus to find the modifications that are necessary to Polyjuice potion?"

"Wow! You people are genuises. Thank you wise ones!" Harry bowed to them. Hermione and Luna giggled. "So how do I go about making the change?"

"Simple, go to the meeting room, put your hand on the window and will yourself to change into who you want." Harry followed the instructions and willed himself to change into this new person called Max Rutherford. When Harry opened his eyes, Luna conjured a mirror and Harry saw his reflection. He had grown a little taller, older and had blue eyes and a few wrinkles on his face. Overall, he looked like a fairly attractive middle aged man.

A sudden flash of inspiration occurred to Harry. "Does that mean all of you will be Metamorphomagi, the way Daphne, and I suppose all of you are Parseltongue speakers?"

Both Hermione and Luna looked at each other and winked. They then changed their faces into each others. "Harry, we have had to work really hard to make these changes. We are still working on changing our bodies. I think one of your panels is a proficiency in transfiguration. That explains how easily you were able to change your whole body. Or maybe you are just in tune with your magic better than any of us." Harry looked at each of them with his jaw open. He was too shocked to speak. He pulled both of them into a hug. "That's amazing! I am speechless. Damn! Now I wont know which wife I am kissing!" Harry commented.

Luna and Hermione burst out laughing. "We have to try that! I am going to speak to my other sisters", Hermione grinned with a naughty smile.

"Say Hermione, whats up with the Hogwarts letters?" Harry enquired. "We got the out-going list from a house-Elf at Hogwarts and I set my mom on contacting them. She has a network of parents of muggleborn students who are helping. They were outraged when I told them about the magical core binding. They want to see a pensieve memory of the shock on everyone's faces when more than 200 students enter Hogwarts this year." Hermione grinned maliciously.

"They are going to shop at Magic Alley during the second and third weeks of August. Daphne and I are creating the knowledge-potion for the firsties with knowledge of the first year magic and the wizarding world. If your plan goes right, there will be drastic changes at Hogwarts, so these children will be better prepared. We are going to screen these students for neglect and abuse. Did you know that the professors only visit the houses of the most powerful muggleborn students to explain about Hogwarts?"

Harry really did not want to lose control of his temper and magic. Harry sighed sadly. "Good luck Hermione. I hope everything works out right and we make a difference in everyone's lives." He pulled Hermione into a hug and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

Harry turned to Luna and asked her, "Luna, how is the Lycan antibody project going?"

"Amazing Harry. I have asked daddy to get in touch with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, USA. They have a wizarding division in the sixth floor below ground level in their main campus. They were very excited to collaborate with WOLF and are eagerly waiting for werewolf saliva, blood, tears and semen. I have no idea how we are going to get the last specimen, but we have constructed a special cage wherein a werewolf who has been given the Wolfsbane potion may bite a horizontal steel rod. The researchers will be able to get near to collect the saliva samples."

"Luna, make sure you take every precaution while doing that. We don't want any mistakes. That would be a tragedy." Luna nodded.

"Now I have to go am meet the famous broomstick twins. Thank you both of you." Harry hugged them and left.

Harry had morphed into his Max Rutherford persona and took the Goblin portkey to Gringotts. Griphook had worked with Goblins from all over the world in order to find appropriate identities for Harry. Max Rutherford was a wizard living on the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. He was married and had a 5 year old son. A few months ago, his wife and child were killed in a werewolf attack. In his grieving state, he had gone to Gringotts to withdraw his fortune to disappear and while he was there, he did something rather foolish. He raised his wand against a Goblin. The Goblin soldiers immediate executed him. Wanting to avert a major public relations disaster where the Goblins executed a grieving man, the Goblins hushed it up. Thus, Max Rutherford was a perfect identity for Harry ready to be taken advantage of.

"This is a standard secrecy oath gentlemen! Please read it over and sign it with this blood quill." Max told the two geniuses. The twins read through the contract, and signed it with flourish after giving each other a look that twins usually use to communicate with each other.

Harry took the secrecy oaths from them. Pulled out his shunken trunk and place it beside the papers, whipped out his wand, tapped the top of the trunk and said "File these documents please!" What followed was like a series of events that could only be compared to a musical symphony. The trunk expanded and opened up at the 3rd level. An empty file folder flew out onto the table and automatically tagged itself with the meeting particulars. The secrecy oaths flew into the folder. The folder flew into the trunk and the trunk locked itself, before shrinking to the size of a matchbox. The twins watched the whole process in abject fascination.

"BLOODY HELL! You own the Evans patent..."

"Magical Construct, was it?"

"That brings us to..."

"Why we are here..."

"You want to create a broom..."

"Using this construct..."

"And you want to hire us both..."

"To design such broom or brooms..."

"You will try to convince us..."

"And work for you..."

"You will probably know..."

"Enough about us..."

"Like how we are Ravenclaws..."

"And even how much salary we make..."

"You will tempt us..."

"With new knowledge..."

"Frontiers of magic, blah blah blah..."

"Or even a big fat salary..."

"And get us to work for you..."

"Are we right in our assumptions...."

"Mr. Potter??"

Now it was Harry's turn to be shocked! He had not said anything other than the very first sentence. He had assumed that his identity was rock solid. He started laughing and wouldn't stop. After a minute, Harry composed himself and smiled at the twins. "You both are just like the Weasley twins. Amazing!"

"Hear that twin?"

"He compares us with..."

"The Notorious twins..."

"When we thought we were..."

"The Famous twins."

Harry laughed again. He could not help but like these two gentlemen in front of him. "Well, you are wrong about one thing. I am not going to tempt you with new knowledge or increased pay, though those two are a given if you accept to be part of this venture. Tell me gentlemen, why are you working for Death Eaters and putting Galleons in their coffers?"

The twins blinked. This was the last thing they thought they would hear. They were very surprised at this new knowledge. "It looks like you do not know this information. Here is a list of shareholders of the Firebolt, Nimbus and Cleansweep companies. The ones highlighted on these documents are death eaters. The ones on top of each list is the official figure head for the company. I think they are the ones who always dealt with you both, thus keeping the knowledge of the real owners under wrap." Harry handed each twin a set of papers. "Here is another document signed in blood by Ragnok, the chief of the Goblin clan that the documents I just showed you are genuine." Harry pulled out another document and placed it on the table between them.

"With this new knowledge, the question now is, will you still continue working for these companies and make profits for them?"

The twins looked at each other and did their silent communication thing and said, "No Mr. Potter! We would rather retire than work for them."

Harry clapped his hands in excitement. "Now, please hear my offer out." The twins nodded. "Your assumptions are very true. I will give you new knowledge and definitely a much fatter pay. In fact, I will give you each 15% of the company's share."

"The broom you will create will be the last broom ever created in our wizarding world. They will be so superior that, I regret to say this, but all your earlier creations will have to be sold as junk. I do and did own the Firebolt and the Nimbus 2000. Excellent brooms, but I have something else in mind. I want a broom that will not degrade over time. The Magical Construct will let us refresh the charms remotely. The charms will adjust dynamically depending on which position the person is playing. We will use Goblin magic, Elven magic and runes to do things that have never been done. The brooms will come with self-shrinking features, aerodynamic readings such as height, velocity etc, wards against assault etc. Though we wont advertise it, the broom shall have an Elven tracking charm, Goblin portkey feature, the dark mark detection charm and rider's magical signature detection charms. There will also be a modified Protean Charm that will let us add, remove and modify existing charms on the broom remotely."

Harry took a deep breath and said, "Are there any questions?"

John Campbell looked at Harry. "Wow! We were never able to enchant a broom with so many charms. I guess with the Magical Construct, it is possible."

Alan Campbell said, "Nimbus and Cleansweep make profits by pricing their brooms low and bringing out better versions of the brooms every a few years. Firebolt on the other hand, does not plan on successive upgrades and hence keep their price exorbitantly high. What are you plans on pricing?"

Harry grinned his evil grin. "Like Firebolt, we will not bring out upgrades. Our broom will have a much better performance than a Firebolt yetpriced less than a Cleansweep." Harry declared.

The twins blinked and looked at each other. "Tell me Mr. Potter, how are we going to make a profit? If I hear you correctly, we are only going to release one model of the broom EVER and it will last forever."

Harry laughed. "Valid point gentlemen. However, you did say that you would gladly retire than work for those death eaters. So how about I give each of you half a million galleons so that you work in this company more as a hobby than actual work? So why are you so worried about making a profit?" Harry asked cheekily.

"But you are right! A company should make profit and believe me, we are going to make a lot of it." Seeing the confused expressions on the twins faces he asked, "Are you both familiar with the pricing strategy of Thomas Edison when he sold the light bulb?" The twins shook their heads. "He sold the first million lightbulbs at a loss. But as the world caught onto lightbulbs, the demand increased and his manufacturing costs came down. He made minimal profit on each bulb, but when you multiply minimal profit with billions of bulbs sold everyday, you can imagine the profits. The wizarding world does not understand such a simple strategy."

Harry continued, "Nobody will be able to meet our price. We kill all the other broom companies with a superior broom at rock bottom prices. We will be a monopoly. We will also have 'the boy-who-lived' advertising for us. Imagine every broom in the world being replaced with a Lightning. Oh by the way, did I tell you that the lightning will be made of magical wood and have a metal core that conducts magic from the flyer to the various charms?"

"Half-a-million galleons, retirement..."

"Broom made of magical wood..."

"Amazing! We are in!" The twins chorused.

"'The Lightning', perfect symbolism for the scar you are famous for." Alan Campbell commented.

"Where are you going to get that much magical wood? You do know that most broom companies found magical wood brooms to be financially non-viable. They never found enough supply of magical wood." John Campbell queried.

"Oh! I am going to get it from the Centaurs!" Harry commented off handedly.

"Goblin magic, Elven Magic, Centaurs! You are full of surprises Mr. Potter."

"Here you go gentlemen! These are your half-a-million-Galleon retirement funds", Harry handed each twin a vault key. He handed them another key, "This vault should cover all operating costs of the company. Here are the documents describing the Magical Construct and other charms I want to have on the broom. The House-Elf Peppy and the Goblin Glochant are available at your disposal. Peppy should be able to get you samples of magical wood with the metal core by today evening. I wish to start distribution during the first week of August. That means you have about 2 weeks time to come up with the final prototype. Is that a good enough timeline?"

"Not to worry Mr. Potter. We have had designs for this broom since we were in Hogwarts 16 years ago." Harry raised his eyebrow at the timeline. "Yes, Mr. Potter, your parents were 2 years our senior and we have many fond memories of them. Your mother was an absolute genius and your father, once he corrected his attitude, was a gem of a person. But then we gave the Marauders as good as we got" John grinned.

"Excellent! If that is all, I have another meeting I need to go to before meeting the Centaurs. Thank you gentlemen. Good day. Oh! I forgot! How did you discover my identity? I thought I covered my bases well."

"Not your mistake, Mr. Potter. My daughter is Katie Bell. I wanted her to have an anonymous childhood, so I changed her last name. She made me sign a similar contract for the wards around our home. She blushed when she talked about her boss, who she would not name. The only person she used to blush when talking about was you, Mr. Potter. As Mr. Holmes would say, Elementary, my dear Watson."

Harry groaned while the twins laughed. "Thank you and have a good day!"

Harry walked into the other conference room where he met a sea of red haired folks waiting for him. "Ah here he is. Max, let me introduce you to the Weasleys. Mr. Arthur Weasley, Mrs. Molly Weasley, Mr. William Weasley, Mr. Charles Weasley, Mr. Frederick Weasley, and Mr. George Weasley. Mr. Percival Weasley was unable to join us. Everyone, please meet my boss Mr. Max Rutherford. I am Sasha Fielding and this is my assistant Dormier Potter, no relation to your famous 'boy-who-lived'." Luna who had morphed into the beautiful Sasha persona spoke. Dobby had glamoured himself as Dormier Potter and it was hilarious that he would choose that last name.

"Hello everyone." Harry greeted eagerly. "Things will get too confusing if we are formal at this meeting. Too many Mr. Weasleys here. How about we all call each other by our first name? I am Max, my assistant is Sasha, and her assistant wants to go by 'David'. He seems to hate the name 'Dormier'." Harry chuckled.

Mr. Weasley greeted him warmly and introduced his sons with the name they would prefer to be called. "No offence meant. But why are we here?" He enquired gently.

Max chuckled. "I always loved the direct approach. So I will be direct too. I can't tell you anything before you sign this secrecy oath with this blood quill. Please read it carefully as signing this document will restrict you from disclosing what we discussed today and breaking the contract can have disastrous results."

"Why would you include Albus Dumbledore in that list with you-know-who? And how do you know about the Order of the Phoenix?" Mrs. Weasley demanded in a raised voice.

"My! My! I have heard legends about the famous Weasley temper. But to see it right in front of me! Please, Mrs. Weasley, I am a business man. The basic tenets of good business dictates that you should avoid negative attention. I know I DON'T want to be noticed by this Dark Lord of yours, Lord Voldemort." The Weasleys shuddered. Harry laughed. "I heard about how people in England hate to speak his name, but I did not know that you did not want to hear it either. I always thought it was funny! I am sorry if I disrespected you by laughing, but I guess you have your reasons to fear his name. How about I call him Tom? I hear that it is what Albus Dumbledore calls him." The Weasleys nodded dumbly.

"As I said, I don't want any negative attention. I don't want to be known by Tom for sure, nor do I want to be known by the Ministry which is riddled with spies, sycophants and scheming politicians. I also don't want to be known by manipulative old men like your dear friend Albus Dumbledore. He might be a God here, but he does not have a similar reputation in other parts of the world." The Weasleys were all getting red in their face with fury.

"Calm down Weasleys. I am only explaining my point of view. Why not we agree to disagree on this issue? As I said I am a businessman and I have a business proposal for you that you will only hear if you sign the secrecy oath. So do you want to sign it?"

"It is anything illegal?" Mr. Weasley enquired.

"Heavens NO! If I were into anything illegal at all, I would have consulted the Malfoys and not Madam Bones and the Weasleys. Geez, will you sign it already? I am bursting with excitement here." The Weasleys quickly signed the documents and handed it over to Luna.

"Thank you for signing the secrecy oaths. Here is the business proposal. Please hear me out before you interrupt me." The Weasleys nodded.

"I am starting a construction company and I need your help. I need to create a few model homes that I can show it to my prospective buyers and I hope you will let me build them on your land in Ottery St. Catchpole. To give you a visual representation of what it will look like when it is built, here is an invention of a friend of mine called the architectural pensieve. If you could all touch one of the runes on the border, we will start the tour."

The Weasleys entered the pensieve one by one and were shocked at what they saw. They were currently in the center of a beautifully manicured Quidditch pitch. In front of them was a huge manor and behind them there were three houses, which Harry explained were guest quarters. To the right of them, they saw a 2-storey building, that Harry explained was a 6-car garage on the ground floor and a workshop on the upper level. To the left side, was a glass structure that Harry explained was a 'Herbarium' or a 'greenhouse' and a temperature regulated swimming pool.

They entered the Manor and Luna explained that it contained 8 bedroom suites each with an attached bathroom, walk in closet, a bedroom, a study and an antechamber. There were four more bedrooms on the top floor. The manor also included a spacious kitchen, informal and formal dining rooms, and a living room on the ground floor. The first floor consisted of a huge library, a potions lab and dueling chamber. The Manor was decorated in a tasteful manner.

They all walked out of the Manor very impressed. Harry explained that the houses on the other side of the pitch were 3 bedroom, 5 bedroom and 7 bedroom houses. All these houses come with a standard large kitchen, formal dining room, a potions lab, a library, en-suite bedrooms and a basement. The 5 and 7 bedroom houses come with a dueling chamber and a recreation room.

They were hugely impressed with the greenhouse and the swimming pool. Dobby explained that the swimming pool was directly accessible from the bedroom corridor of each house through a portal.

"Don't these houses look a lot like muggle homes?" Mr. Weasley enquired.

"Yes Arthur. They do. In fact, it is our specialty. Many of our clients are in the middle income bracket and most of them have had some experience with living in muggle homes. We are contracting with a company that is trying to find a LEGAL way to get muggle devices work in magical homes." Mr. Weasley seemed very interested in this and Harry grinned knowingly.

"What about the wards around this place?" Bill enquired.

"Why don't we go to the ward boundary and check this out?" Harry suggested with a grin.

Bill reached the ward boundary and started chanting in latin. A few minutes later, there was a holographic image in front of him which appeared as though the wards had split into its various components. Bill studied each component and exclaimed, "That is impossible. I have seen such powerful wards!"

"Correction Bill! The wards of Hogwarts and Gringotts are much stronger than this. The wards around this house are much stronger than those around the ministry though." Harry chuckled. "So you approve? May we quote you in our advertisement campaign?"

"I will have to take a detailed look at the real wards before I certify them." Bill said hesitantly.

"Now that we are all done, let us go out and we can discuss further." With that, the Weasleys, Harry, Luna and Dobby were ejected from the pensieve.

"So what is your proposal?" Mr. Weasley enquired.

"Well, you let me demolish your existing home. I know, I know, the memories associated with a home you love. But the plan consists of demolition of the burrow, building the manor, which will be your primary home. The other three buildings are display homes which will be unoccupied. We will build the quiditch pitch, the garage and the greehouse-swimming pool. Everything you have seen. We will ward it the way it was shown."

"We plan to sell homes similar to the display homes at 15000, 20000 and 25000 galleons for the 3, 5 and 7 bedroom homes. We have made a deal with Gringotts to give housing-loans for those amounts at 5-10% interest per annum, to be paid off between 15-25 years. There are thousands of wizards who do not live in the magical world as there are no wizarding homes available. The last magical house to be built was almost 30 years ago."

"I don't understand how you are able to build and sell these homes so cheap. Last I gathered was that a decent 5 bedroom house cost at least 100,000 galleons." Mr. Weasley wondered.

"We all have our secrets, Mr. Weasley. I don't enquire about all the muggle things you tinker with. How we are able to build and sell the houses at such a low cost is one of our business secrets that I cannot divulge." Harry grinned. "That brings us to your involvement in this deal. Normally, we would quote the Manor around 60,000 galleons. But this is the deal I have for you." Harry paused dramatically.

"We will build all that we showed you for you and you will be the owner of all the property. You will let us bring in clients to show the three model homes. We promise to never bring in any death eater or anyone who intends to do harm to you or your family. In fact, we will also put up similar wards just around your Manor to ensure your safety. We will inform you in advance when you can expect us to come bye. We only ask that you maintain the model homes in the same pristine condition and not let it out or inhabit it for 1 year. We also expect you not to hide your manor or the model homes under fidelius. If in case the death eaters attack your property in the next 10 years, it will be a testimony as to how strong the wards are. In case of any damage to your buildings, I will guarantee to rebuild your homes to the same condition as new. Other than these, we expect nothing else from you, except for a maybe an occasional invitation for some tea and scones from Mrs. Weasley. I hear Molly's cooking is legendary." Harry grinned cheekily.

"Now, the big question as to how much it is going to cost you. Well, the whole deal is going to cost you only 60,000 galleons. This includes the Quidditch pitch, the greenhouse, the swimming pool, the garages, the three model homes, the beautiful manor and the wards. In short, everything you have seen in the pensieve. I have arranged with Gringotts to get you a 5% interest loan over 30 years to pay for the property. Which means that you have to pay ONLY for the first year which is a sum of 5,000 galleons. From the next year onwards, you can rent out the model homes and these should pay for themselves."

"You may discuss this amongst yourselves for the next 24 hours. But I really need to know your answer by tomorrow evening. Otherwise, I will have to give this offer to someone else. My team should be in the next conference room for a couple of hours. Feel free to enjoy the snacks that the Goblins have kindly provided us."

"Fred and George, Viperblade has asked me to pass this to you." Harry handed the twins a box with a memory orb and Harry, Luna and Dobby walked out of the conference hall.

"Well, What do you think?" Arthur Weasley.

"I don't like the fact that we can't talk about it to Dumbledore. But otherwise, it is a wonderful opportunity. I am not sure we will be able to afford it though." Mrs. Weasley commented.

"I will be able to pay at least 1000 to 1250 galleons for the first year." Bill offered.

"Oh no Bill! We couldn't really take money from our sons." Mrs. Weasley declared. "You will need to save money for yourselves." The twins snorted and muttered, "And act as selfish gits like Percy and Ron?"

"Fred and George!" Mr. Weasley warned them. "Your mother is right Bill. Who knows you might meet a girl and might need the money."

"I have already met a girl and I don't need the money dad." Molly's eyebrow raised registering that information. She would tackle Bill about it at a later date. "I know you wont be able to pay 5,000 galleons out of your salary. So let us sons contribute." Bill insisted.

"Bill is right dad! I can contribute a similar amount too." Charlie agreed.

"Since our Big brother the Perfect Percy is not here, we the wastrals, good-for-nothing pranksters will contribute the remaining 3,000 galleons." The twins declared.

"FRED AND GEORGE! Now is not the time to joke! You haven't even opened your shop yet. How can you promise so much money!" Mrs. Weasley almost screeched.

"You see that George..."

"Yes I do, Fred..."

"Our own mother..."

"Does not believe us..."

Fred and George walked up to the corner of the room and rang a bell summoning a Goblin. When the Goblin arrived, Fred said, "Good afternoon Viperblade. Could you please transfer 3,000 galleons from the Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes vault to the Weasley family vault please?"

"Right away Mr. Weasley." The Goblin pulled out a panel from the wall near the bell and started punching some buttons. A minute later he said, "It is done, Mr. Weasley." "Thank you Viperblade. May your gold always flow." The Goblin bowed and exited.

"How.. How did you get the Goblin to behave like that?" Bill spluttered.

"Trade secret bro! Can't reveal that." Fred winked.

"Any comments dear mother?" George asked.

"HOW DID YOU GET SO MUCH MONEY? I DEMAND TO KNOW!" Mrs. Weasley was about to explode. This was the first time any of her children had so blatantly proved that she was wrong and she did not like it.

"Our owl-order business is doing pretty well. Our business will only be better once we open the shop. We changed the date of our shop opening to August 7th, not because we are not ready, but we are currently involved in a much more important project. Be assured mother, that we do not deal with death eaters or indulge in any illegal activities. We are sorry mother, but we cannot tell you more about our business." Fred explained.

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley put his hand on her shoulder and calmed her down. "It looks like Fred and George have tipped our decision. But I only wish I had atleast a week to be comfortable with the idea. It is kind of harsh to make decisions in such a short span of time."

"Actually we knew about this offer at least 1 week ago. We were told not to talk about this. We have worked with Max on other projects and he is a very honorable guy. His secrecy oaths are amazing though."

"So we decided then?" Mr. Weasley asked receiving a nod from everyone. "Let me call Max and his team in." George volunteered.

++++++ Meeting With Centaurs ++++++

"HOW DARE YOU STEP INTO THIS FOREST HUMAN?" Harry, Luna and Dobby froze at the voice. After their meeting with the Weasleys, they had reverted back to their natural forms and Goblin-portkeyed to the Forbidden forest to meet the centaurs.

Harry looked around him and spotted a group of centaurs armed with bows and arrows and led by a centaur known as Bane. "Bane! It is good to meet you." Harry drawled in a sarcastic voice. "Whatever happened to 'Athithi Devo Bhava?' which means that a guest is equal to a God? Or are we not following age-old Centaurian traditions these days?"

"How dare you quote me Centaurian scriptures back to me, you lowly human?" Bane growled.

"Tsk, Tsk. Your attitude needs a lot of readjusting before you could start your Yatra to attain Nirvana. Now, why don't you be a good centaur and take me to your chief. He has invited me and it is your duty to take me to him." Harry thanked his lucky stars that he had met Firenze and asked him for a boon of knowledge of Centaurian customs. Thanks to the Goblin knowledge potion, Harry was well versed in it within a couple of hours.

Harry realized that Centaurs migrated from the plains of the river Ganga (in India) during the Vedic period (5000 years ago). Nobody really knew the origin of the centaurs, but during the time they were a cultured civilized society, the rest of the western world were barbarians. Thus started the hatred of all things with two legs. They became protective of their herds and moved from one forest to another. The centaurs were very philosophical beings and believed in the traditions of the old. Much like the old Japanese culture, social interactions consisted of subtle nuances and any gesture that is out of place might be considered as an insult to the host. For example, sitting down before your host invites you to would be considered a hostile action declaring your superiority over the host. Reminding a centaur of his duty as per his tradition was the ultimate insult to a centaur.

Bane looked at the three trespassers and ordered, "Follow me!" Soon the centaurs and the trio were escorted into the depths of the forest. An hour passed during which time, Harry mind-spoke to both Dobby and Luna and asked them to review the knowledge of centaurian culture he had received from Firenze. He did not want any of them committing a faux-pas in front of the Centaurian chief.

As they went into the depths of the forest, they heard a lot of clicking and some whining and whimpering coming from one direction. The centaurs were alert at once and readied their bows and arrows to attack whatever animal came out of there. Harry and Luna, not waiting for the centaurs, ran towards the sound to find a female unicorn being surrounded a group of Acromantula. Harry whipped out his wand and cast Aranea Exumae, effectively throwing the four Acromantula on one side of the unicorn about 100 feet into the air. They landed with a sickening crunch. The other 3 Acromantula now charged Harry and Luna, but were no match for the stunning curses they sent at the giant spiders. Harry knew that they would not awaken for a very long time. He banished all the Acromantula into the Chamber of Secrets.

In the meantime, Luna moved to unicorn and healed her wounds. She whispered soothing words into the unicorns ears and calmed her. The female unicorn moved to Harry surprising him. In all the books Hermione read about them, they always mentioned that Unicorns only approach young virgin women. The Unicorn walked up Harry and gazed into his eyes as if she was gazing into his soul.

A minute later, Harry was startled to hear a voice in head. "You are a worthy one, young one and hence I have approached you. Thank you for saving my life and the life of my unborn foal." Harry did not realize that the Unicorn was pregnant. "For this I owe you at least one life debt. I see that you have a bond with your familiar. Why not you create a bond with me using my life debt so that we may communicate mentally?"

Harry went into a deep trance and entered his meeting room. He concentrated hard and willed his magic to create a connection with the female unicorn. He opened his eyes in the meeting room to see a 1 foot high unicorn on his table. "Thank you young one!" the unicorn spoke in English with a slight accent.

"What do you I call you, O glorious one?" Harry asked politely. He was still in awe that the Unicorn had approached him. He now understood why girls were so crazy about Unicorns.

"You will not be able to speak my Unicorn name young one. But you may call me 'Silver'." The Unicorn replied.

"That is a beautiful name. May I offer sanctuary to your Unicorn herd on my lands at Godrics Hollow? I promise you that there are no Acromantula there."

The Unicorn chuckled. "The big man was the one who introduced Acromantula in this forest. They are usually not native to these parts of the world. Ever since the dark one imprisoned the basilisk and corrupted his brain, the Acromantula have had no natural enemies. They have multiplied at an enormous rate have killed many members of my herd and the centaurs. If this continues, both our species in this forest will be extinct. We may choose to move our herd under your protection temporarily, but we would love to come back to this forest again. I will talk to my herd and let you know."

"I was the one who killed the basilisk as its mind had been tampered with. I feel bad that I have further worsened the situation, by killing their natural enemy. I promise that I will do everything I can to improve your living conditions." Harry replied solemnly.

"Take care young one! Now I need to find my herd." The Unicorn trotted away happily.

As Harry came out of the trance, he realized that he was surrounded by even more centaurs than before. A regal looking centaur walked up to him and bowed before him and said, "Anybody who has a Unicorn as a familiar is worthy of my respect."

Harry bowed even lower and said, "I am but a young wizard with much to learn. I do not deserve such respect from you, O Great Chief of the Centaur Clan." Modesty in the face of praise was a much lauded Centaurian trait and Harry did not really need to pretend to feel it.

"Welcome to the home of the Centaurian herd, Mr. Potter. You may call me Chief Magorian," the regal looking Centaur said.

"Thank you Chief Magorian. Please call me Harry. This is one of my soul-bonded wives, Luna Lovegood-Potter. She prefers to be called Luna. And this is Dormier David Potter formerly known by his house-Elf name Dobby." Harry introduced his companions.

"Very interesting! I thought your kind were either forever enslaved or killed." Chief Magorian commented.

Dobby bowed to the Centaur and said, "Harry Potter, though he may not acknowledge it, is a great wizard. I is the soul-bonded brother of the great Harry Potter. He is working towards breaking the bindings of the enslaved house-Elves."

"Tell me Harry! Do you know why you have been summoned by the Centaurs?" Harry shook his head. "You have been summoned because you have destroyed the natural enemy of the Acromantula who are terrorizing the forest and may lead the death of my herd. So the Centaur elders have met and found you guilty of the crime and you have to pay reparations."

Harry looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Pardon me Chief Magorian. Did I hear that the Centaur Elders have found me guilty of killing the Basilisk and I have to pay reparations?" Harry enquired. The Chief centaur nodded.

"Under what law was I found guilty?" Harry enquired.

"Under the Centaurian laws, the oldest laws in the forest." The Chief explained.

"I would like to talk to Centaur Elders to discuss my case." Harry said firmly.

"How dare you speak to the chief in that tone, you lowly two-legged creature?" Harry realized that comment was from Bane. Harry turned to him and said, "Bane, must I remind you that under Centaurian laws and customs, the accused has every right to argue his crime with the herd elders?" The centaur bristled at the insult. "He really must have fallen on his head when he was born!" muttered Harry. Seeing the looks of confusion on the centaurs, Harry realized that it was normal for Centaurs to fall on their heads when they were born. "Or maybe he did not land on his head!" Harry muttered again.

"No need to insult anyone Harry, the elders are here now." Chief Magorian said.

"May I ask honored elders as to your jurisdiction on the cases you pass judgment on?" Harry enquired.

A pompous centaurian elder came forward and said, "Any crime committed within the forest comes under our jurisdiction young wizard. That includes trespassing for which you have already been given a warning."

"Yes! And you kicked out Firenze from the herd for helping me." Harry muttered. "Tell me honored elder, did my crime of killing the Basilisk occur within the confines of the forbidden forest?"

There was an immediate whispering through out the assembled herd. The centaur elder sputtered, "No, the crime occurred within the castle. But you have to pay for your actions." He said indignantly.

Harry laughed! He knew he was committing a faux-pas, but this attitude of Centaurs was ridiculous. "When the castle is not under your jurisdiction, how can you feel morally superior to try me?"

"Four years ago, My friends and I entered the forest to investigate and protect the unicorns. We received word that a Unicorn had been slayed for its blood. We came into the forest as protectors and the great centaurs in their almighty moral superiority accused us of trespassing. Tell me honored elder, did you get rid of the dark wraith that was feeding on the Unicorn's blood? You elder council had the gall to banish the centaur who attacked that dark wraith and banished him just because he interacted with a lowly two-legged creature."

"The banished centaur became a teacher in our school. What greater Punya could a centaur gain than by becoming a teacher? Isn't Aacharya Devo Bhava sacred these days? Are teachers not considered as Gods these days in your culture? Have you become barbarians too?" Harry was on a roll.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Bane shouted. "I dare because I am correct. Let any elder centaur swear to me on his honor that I am wrong, and I will forfeit my life." Harry declared quietly.

"There is no difference between the Centaurs and the pureblooded ministry. They live within isolated areas of their own world with their own prejudices. The ministry calls the centaurs creatures and the centaurs call all men lowly two-legged creatures. Tell me what is the difference and why are centaurs morally superior?" Harry asked the entire centaur herd.

"Is this the way you seek to attain 'moksha' or 'nirvana' by being prejudiced and proud? Aren't those cardinal sins according to your own culture?" Harry asked.

Luna and Dobby looked on as Harry antagonized the centaurs further. "Come here young wizard." Harry moved towards the old wizened female centaur who had spoken. She went down on all her knees, bent her body and hands forward and touched Harry's feet. "I seek forgiveness on behalf of my entire herd young wizard. We have been biased for too long. We lost track of what our ancestors taught us."

Harry realized that this was the worst way of saluting the centaurs did, only to be used when genuinely pleading for leniency. Harry jumped back, lifted the old centaur by her shoulders and hugged her. "You are the wise ones, o elder. I am but a lowly young wizard. I have the bad habit of rushing into trouble and complicating things. I apologize for any insult I may have made which under the influence of my young age, hormones and temper. My teacher Firenze taught me well and would be angry at my behavior. Please forgive me." Harry bowed to her.

"You young wizard have a very good heart. Let me introduce myself. I am Ananda, the eldest centaur of this herd. You and your friends are welcome to visit our herd anytime you want."

"Thank you kind lady. Though my 'crime' does not fall under your jurisdiction, I would still want to do something to improve your living conditions here. I am familiar with how the Acromantula came into living in this forest. I am also aware of the young giant living here. The Basilisk's mind was corrupted by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort many years ago and caged him to live in the castle, thus living the Acromantula free reign to reproduce and wreak havoc. When it started petrifying the students in the castle and threatened to kill them, I had to go into the hidden chamber of secrets and kill the Basilisk." Harry explained.

"Here is what I would like to offer. I will offer a safe-sanctuary to the women, children and young couples in a forest in Ottery St. Catchpole. I have recently acquired the land and the forest and plan to grow medicinal plants there as a business. My team is currently working on creating a cure for many illnesses and conditions such as Lycanthropy. To fund this research, I have also started a house-construction business and a broomstick company for which I need to acquire a lot of wood that is both magical and non-magical. If the centaurs will take it in the spirit of brotherhood, I will propose a deal." The centaur elders nodded.

"If you can help with your centaur magic with the growing of these medicinal plants and the trees required for my companies, I will rid you of the Acromantula menace here. I will also create you Elven-portals to various forests in the world so that the centaur elders may start on their Yatra whenever they wish. The non-magical humans outnumber magical humans by 1000 to one and are there everywhere. These portals will ensure that you are not seen by these people. I could also buy anything else the centaurs might need from the outside world. Believe me, I am rich enough and I really don't need all that money. Is that something that would interest the Centaurs?"

The elder centaurs had a blank expression on their face which led to Harry believing that they were discussing the matter with all the other centaurs. "Very well Harry! We will take your deal. However a few centaur warriors would like to stay back to fight the Acromantula."

"Whoever said anything about fighting the Acromantula? There must be thousands of them." Harry quipped while Bane bristled. "I said I would get rid of them from this forest. I will try to do that peacefully."

"Good luck Harry!" Ananda said. "We would prefer not to come into contact with many humans at our new abode."

"Of course, My lady. My 'green-universe' as I am going to call my land and the forest, will be protected from other humans. The only ones who will work there are my friends who have much respect for an old race such as the centaurs. I have also offered refuge to the Unicorns to move to my lands in Godrics Hollow. I can create portals between the forbidden forest and these two forests so that you may move around freely."

"Tell me young wizard. How did you learn so much about centaur cultures. It takes our young ones years to learn it." Another elder enquired.

"What can I say, Kind sir? Firenze is a great teacher and I learnt it quickly because I am privy to a Goblin secret, which unfortunately I cannot reveal."

Harry, Luna and Dobby after leaving the Centaurian herd, decided that their last meeting for the day would be with the Acromantulae. They started walking towards the giant spiders hole. An hour later, they found themselves surrounded by spiders on all sides. The clicking of their pincers and legs will a continuous white noise now.

"We come in peace and as a friend of Hagrid, I have come to talk to Aragog." Harry declared.

"Aragog does not have time to talk to food that has wandered voluntarily into our den." A spider said and all the other spiders started converging onto the trio. Harry drew his wand and shouted incendio. Harry was surprised to see a huge 10-foot high circle of fire radiate outwards with them as the epicenter.

Dobby had put up a strong shield to ensure that the trio would not get fried by the fire. When the fire died down, all the Acromantulae in a 100 feet radius were dead. Luna hastily cast Aguamenti to douse the trees that had caught fire. There was no point in starting a forest fire.

"Who are you, O powerful wizard?" Harry heard a female voice enquire. "We have never met a wizard who could conjure this kind of fire before. My name is Mosag and I am Aragog's bonded."

"Good evening Mosag! I am very sorry to meet under these circumstances. I told them that we are here in peace and wished to talk to Aragog. We are Hagrid's friends."

"Ah! I remember you young one! You had come into our lair 3 years ago. I am glad you could get out of here safely. You are also the slayer of the great snake!" Mosag's eyes widened if that was possible. "As the destroyer of the great snake, we Acromantula consider you our leader now. Alas, Aragog is too old to talk to a Human, But I can talk for him. Any friend of Hagrid is a friend of mine. But Aragog and I could never control our children." Mosag explained.

"That is exactly what I have come to discuss Mosag. Why is it that you are not able to control your children?"

Mosag sighed and said, "There is no food in the forest. It is difficult to control someone who is hungry."

"Mosag! Here is the problem. Acromantula are supposed to be found only in Borneo. This forest is not a natural habitat for Acromantulae. There is not enough traditional food for you and your children. There are no natural enemies now that the Basilisk," Mosag hissed at the name of the snake. "I mean, the great snake is dead. The Acromantulae have reproduced out of limits dictated by nature's laws. So they are killing other animals who are not usually their natural food."

"Mosag, did you know that seven of your grown children tried to attack a pregnant female unicorn today?" Harry enquired.

Mosag gasped. "NO! I taught them better. They would not attack a unicorn of all animals and that too a pregnant one."

"Well, they did. I had to intervene and save the unicorn who is now my familiar." Mosag looked at Harry in awe.

"I cannot let this mayhem continue. As the slayer of the Basilisk", Mosag hissed, "It is my duty to bring out some sort of a balance in this forest. Here is what I propose Mosag! I am going to create 5 Elven portals from here. One portal leads to the base of a mountain in Scandinavia where I hear there are at least a thousand trolls living." Trolls were the traditional food of the Acromantula.

"Another portal will lead to the caves in the Alps where the giants live. The Acromantula are no match for the giants, but they could feed on dead and dying giants. From what I read, the giants fight amongst themselves often."

"The third portal will lead to a forest in South America which is rich in animals. The drawback here is that there are anacondas there. Though they are not your traditional enemies, it is still a snake."

"The fourth portal will lead to an island that is guarded under heavy charms. Acromantulae are free to roam around on this island. I will ensure that enough food is available there. In return for food, I will expect these Acromantula to produce your silk and venom which will be harvested on a regular basis."

"The fifth portal leads to death. The bodies and venom of the Acromantulae will be used in potions and for other defense purposes."

"All five portals will have a charm on them that will ensure that the Acromantula do not breed indiscriminately and will only breed when the balance has been achieved."

"The other option of course is that I hunt down every Acromantula in this forbidden forest and exterminate them. I really hate to exercise this option. Hence I ask you Mosag and Aragog to please make that decision. The portals will be anonymous and once they cross, they cannot come back. Dobby and I will create these portals and then try to portkey a couple of trolls for your feast. You may then talk to your children and make a decision. Are you okay with this arrangement, Mosag and Aragog?"

"Yes, we are, Young wizard. Thank you for not destroying all of us. Aragog is dying and I am too old to move. Would it be alright if only we both stay behind? This forest has many good memories for both of us. We promise that we wont hunt."

"Yes, of course Mosag. If Hagrid comes into the forest, please do not tell him about my involvement and the portals. Just tell him that the Acromantula have gone away in search of food."

Harry was so tired that he was about to drop where he stood. He quickly took a Goblin portkey to the Den, stripped to his boxers on the way to his bathroom and got into the warm bath that Winky had already set for him. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep. Harry never noticed the four witches joining him in the bathtub and keeping him company. He did not wake up when Winky came in a hour later, changed him into a fresh set of boxers and tucked him into the bed. The witches quickly dried themselves, changed and crept into bed with him. Harry let out a contented sigh in his sleep as soon as the warm bodies touched him.