Harry Potter and the Heart of Power

Chapter 19

-Quirrell-

Nervously he walked through the dense and overgrown foliage towards the house his Master had told him to go to. Tucked under his arm he held a small trunk which contained the journal from the wizard who created the Shinigami as well as his translation notes. His master had ordered him to take it what he was told was the old home of the Gaunt family and to hide it inside for his Master to reclaim when they gained the stone and his Master was returned to the living Flesh.

"Are you sure that you have everything in there?" his Master hissed, sending a flash of pain throughout his body as a warning as he cried out, dropping to his knees in front of the house.

"Yes master!" He cried out "I'm sure!", his Lord scoffed but cut the pain as he panted before climbing to his feet and entering the house, following his Master's instructions to avoid the various curses and traps the Dark Lord had left here and placing the chest where he had been told to. Quickly he made his way back out and returned to the School, desperate to gain the stone for his Master both to bring the Dark Lord back into the power and to have his body back to himself.

"I heard that thought you imbecile!" Voldemort hissed and he dropped once more, thrashing on the ground in agony.

-Harry-

Sighing he sat in a small study room off to the side of the Hufflepuff common room that he had turned into a makeshift office for the day as he had a massive amount of paperwork to go over for his businesses and investments. "Everything okay Harry?" a familiar voice asked as he turned around to see Susan leaning against he doorframe, his girlfriend for the past week giving him a small smile.

"Just all this paperwork." He said with a sigh, tossing his pen onto the desk before his head followed a moment later.

"Oh," Susan cooed as she moved behind him and began rubbing his temples, a happy moan escaping his lips at her ministrations "poor baby. Is that mean paperwork bullying you?"

"I'd give a scathing retort if this didn't feel so good." He said, practically purring as Susan's fingers turned him into putty.

"What's that paperwork for anyway?" Susan asked, never stopping what she was doing.

"The building of the new village, the formation of a new Quiditch team, the applicants to work for my private security forces, and the updates from my research divisions." He groaned "Each and every one of them is going through problems that I have to find solutions for!"

"What kind of problems?" Susan asked as she turned his chair around and sat in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she got settled.

"For the building of the new village we ran out of raw materials but the Malfoys as well as that bumbling oaf Fudge had been interfering to try and prevent us from getting anything we need. The applicants are just a massive number and several that I've rejected were less than pleased with me and have decided to complain thoroughly. My hired coach for the team is having a hard time narrowing down the candidates. And the research people are running into Ministry problems as Fudge and the Department of Mysteries are trying to prohibit their work."

"How are you going to solve it?" Susan asked with a concerned frown as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'm planning on starting with the applicants," he explained "I figured a few people in secretarial positions for Anastasia, myself, and the Coach could help keep up with the paperwork." He said as he pecked Susan's cheek "If we can get the materials through the muggle world that would solve the Ministry's attempts to block us from buying the raw building materials. If Anastasia had some extra Attorneys and secretaries she could help block the Ministry's attempts to stop our research, your Aunt could probably help with that as well. Same thing for the Quiditch team."

"Basically it's just the act of going through all the paperwork that's a pain?" Susan asked concerned as he gave a tired nod. "Then I'll help you find the secretaries in the applicants." Susan said with a firm nod as she pulled up a seat next to him, sorting through the unorganized stacks to try and find every applicant for a secretarial position.

"Su," he said reverently "you're a life saver."

"I know." She said smugly as they continued to work, a few other Hufflepuffs joining them after a while.

"Why are all of these so disorganized?" Cedric asked in shock when their fourth year friend joined them, staring in shock as the mismatched stacks of files.

"They were 'organized' by House Elves." He said blandly as he opened a folder to check what was inside it.

"That…would actually explain it." Cedric chuckled before they all resumed their work. It took two hours for twelve Hufflepuffs to simply find the Secretary resumes.

"Alright," he said as he clapped his hands together "I'm going to go get dinner and then go through these…by Merlin I hate paperwork."

-Lucius-

"You are failing!" he yelled angrily, glaring down at the cowering Minister of magic. First the worthless buffoon had failed to make Amelia Bones contract the little brat to marrying Draco and had even gotten the worthless bint to go to the papers. Now the waste of air couldn't even stonewall one eleven year old brat with a Casino.

"I am doing what I can!" Fudge insists wide eyed, the man blubbering and whimpering before him, "But I can't regulate their purchases if they buy from the muggle world and your sister is one of the premiere Attorneys in Magical Britain. She and her Firm are doing everything that they can to block my attempts to stop his researchers and the fact that Amelia Bones works for him isn't helping matters."

"What about that damned village the brat is supposedly making?" he demanded, seething at how his pawn couldn't do anything right.

"There's no laws against building villages and if we wanted one we'd need a massive amount of support in the Wizenagamot. Right now Harry Potter has the Public's Favor due to his status as the Boy-Who-Lived, his new businesses, and his slaying of a Shinigami." Fudge listed off instantly and he sighed, dropping into a chair. Despite how stupid the man was in most fields Fudge was able to understand the Court of Public Opinion better than just about anyone.

"If you want to shut him down you need to take back that support of the People." Fudge told him, the man entering into lecture mode for the one field that he was actually skilled at "But more than that you need to undermine his own popularity. Find ways to take away people's love for his stupid muggle items he's selling. Discredit his newspaper would be helpful as well as that's a renewing source of public support. Perhaps find a way to shut down your sister's firm, you are the head of your family so there may be some sort of familial by-law that would be in our favor here."

Pausing he hummed thoughtfully as he took in what Fudge said as it, for once, made sense. "I can start with discrediting his paper by buying out the Daily Prophet to revamp it, fight fire with fire as it were." He said thoughtfully "And I can have my house elves retrieve the book of family laws to go through tonight."

"Exactly." Fudge said with a nod, "There's also the fact that Potter has gone against an important tradition. According to the reports from various students throughout the school Potter and the Bones heiress went through what matches with the old Soul Bonds but they haven't gone through the proper channels to be declared married and are only referring to each other as a simple couple. Use that to start the chain of Potter's downfall."

Nodding, as for once the idiot was helpful, he made his way back to the floo stations, planning on returning to his home and sending a letter to the owner of the prophet as well as go over his family laws. "Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully as he got in line for the floo "'Merlin's Message Board' has a nice ring to it."