Chapter 2: Just Do It
Author's Note: In HP canon most adult ages aren't given, so for the sake of my story I'm going to establish the following characters' ages:
Harry and all 6th-year students: 16 years old
Luna and all 5th-year students: 15 years old
The Marauders, Lily, and Snape: 37 years old
Bill Weasley: 28 years old
Charlie Weasley: 26 years old
Peter Tyson: 27 years old
Molly and Arthur Weasley: 47 years old
Minerva McGonagall: A gentleman never asks
Albus Dumbledore: unknown, likely over 100 years old Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange: 40 years old
Chapter 2 Just Do It
"Hello, Harry Potter!" "Dobby is so happy to see you!" Indeed Harry had never seen the house elf so happy, and that was saying something. Harry was relieved to note that Dobby did at least keep his voice down.
"I'm glad you came Dobby, I take it you got my letter?"
"Yes Harry Potter, I got your letter a few minutes ago, I was so happy to get a letter from the most bestest wizard ever."
"Well let's not go that far Dobby, but I'm glad Hedwig got there ok. She's flying back now?"
"Oh yes Harry Potter, she took a drink of water and flew off right away."
"So what do you think about my offer Dobby? Are you interested in working for me?"
"Of course Harry Potter, all you ever had to do was ask me. You would like me to be your house-elf at Hogwarts Harry Potter?"
" Please if you will not call me Harry use Sir. I dislike the word master as it makes me feel like Voldemort. I am in the process of setting things in motion that I want no one to find out about. So I need assurances that I can trust you and that you will not reveal anything you see or hear."
"Dobby will call Harry Potter sir Sir if that is what he wishes. though Dobby hopes Sir isn't planning anything nefarious." the little elf said face white, as if he had seen a ghost.
"Nothing of that sort Dobby. So you are hired then, I'll pay you 50 galleons a month, with time off to be decided later. You won't have much to do in all reality, it will be two years before I have a house of my own, so you will just be helping me here, and at school."
"Dobby is pleased that Harry Potter is thinking about his future, and is proud to be his house elf. I accept the position."
"Great, now here's the thing... I... err, I mean we, might not be returning to Hogwarts. In fact, we most likely will be leaving Great Britain altogether." Here it was, his private plan out in the open for the first time... and confided in first to a house-elf of all things. Harry loved irony as much as the next young man, but this stretched even his limits. Still, he knew that Dobby was safe, even if any advice he gave wouldn't be worth much. Dobby was stunned and speechless, but he rallied and asked Harry if he was serious. "I am very serious. I'm not entirely sure I can bring it off this quickly, so it might not happen until next year. It is something I've been thinking a lot about, and at the very least I want to put the pieces in place. What I would like from you in the next few weeks is to be a sounding board for me, even if you're not sure what I'm talking about it will do me good to get my thoughts out in the open."
It was just then that Harry realized that the Order might have listening charms on the house. His stomach went queasy, but there was nothing he could do now if the cat was out of the bag. He went to the window and looked outside, but saw nothing unusual. He collected his thoughts and turned back to Dobby."Well, Dobby, what do you say? Are you with me?"
"Sir does not even need to ask, of course, Dobby is with you... but there is one thing Sir, Dobby is not quite sure how to say it."
"Go on, you can tell me anything," Harry said, thinking it had to do with Dumbledore.
"Well Harry, you see... ummm... well this is very embarrassing, but Dobby and Winky have become very close..." he trailed off, blushing furiously. Harry was exploding with laughter on the inside, but he kept his face to a smile.
"I take it then Dobby that you do not want to be parted from Winky if possible?"
"Yes Harry Potter... err, sorry... I mean yes Sir."
"Do you think that she would want to join you here with me?"
"Oh yes, I showed her your letter and already asked her, she would most like to leave Hogwarts to be a proper house-elf again. She would not need paying, just work is enough for her."
"Well of course Winky would be welcome to join us, but as I said, there won't be much work for even one house-elf, let alone two. I cannot have my Aunt and Uncle know that you are here if possible, at least not living."
"It is ok Sir Dobby and Winky will do what is necessary to protect and serve you."
"Thank you Dobby, I will rely on you for that. Now, all we have to do is find a place for you to sleep at night."
"Oh that is easy Sir Dobby and Winky can use the clothes closet, we can make 'changes' to it so it will not be too small. Sir's Aunt and Uncle will not notice us being here if Sir does not want them to. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, this was going much easier than he'd had any right to expect.
"Ok Dobby, come back tomorrow with Winky, and please make sure that Dumbledore does not know where you are going. Just tell him that you found a wizard family to look after and that you and Winky are going. I'm sure two house elves won't be missed at such as big place as Hogwarts."
"Ok Sir, we will be seeing you tomorrow."
"Thank you, I'm glad that you are going to be joining me."
Dobby grinned happily and looked like he was about to leave. "Oh yeah Dobby, one more thing. I know you can read since you answered my letter, but can you write as well?"
"Oh yes Sir, Dobby can write, and Winky can as well."
"Great, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodbye, Sir."
Well, that went well Harry thought... except for the possibility of listening charms, Harry wanted to scream when he thought of how Order members might be ratting him out to that old control freak even now. He decided to hold off writing to Peter Tyson (the solicitor) until tomorrow, by then Hedwig should be back and rested, and the listening charm issue settled one way or another.
Meanwhile, at Grimmaud Place
Remus Lupin paced around the living room, re-reading Harry's letter over and over in his mind. The letter bothered him on many levels, not the least of which was an easily detectable veneer of hostility toward him. His first instinct was to go to Privet Drive immediately, even though the letter had expressly told him not to. He was stopped, however, by the realization that it would only drive Harry further away from him since so many of the adults in his life seemed not to care about Harry's wishes. Remus had never been sure of how to talk with Harry, every time he looked at Harry he was reminded of James and Lily. Sirius got past that by basically talking to Harry as he would have talked to James, being more Harry's friend than his mentor. Remus couldn't help but think of Harry as his student and tried for more of an uncle role... a role that he wished Sirius had taken on. Then again, he had had many more years to deal with James and Lily being dead than Sirius had, and it had undoubtedly altered the way he looked at it... Sirius had been somewhat different after all those years in Azkaban, and had even once (at least to Remus' knowledge) accidentally referred to Harry as 'James'.
Remus was aware of Harry's distaste for his relatives and had argued with Dumbledore privately until he was blue in the face, but the Headmaster had been adamant that Harry go back there for at least a month, to renew the blood protections. Remus was one of the few Order members who had known about why exactly Harry needed to go back to Privet Drive, and while he accepted Dumbledore's assurance that Harry would be safe, he thought that the old man was just being lazy in not trying to find a more comfortable spot for Harry.
He still had a rough time accepting that Sirius was gone, every morning he expected to come down the stairs and see Sirius at breakfast, only to be shaken slightly at the emptiness. Remus had led a hard life up until now, but all his Marauder friends were dead... and Remus quite considered Peter Pettigrew to be dead in all but body... and he was alone. Remus had often thought of leaving Britain to try for a new life elsewhere, but he remained, bent on bringing down Voldemort, to avenge his friends. Remus did not know the exact contents of the Prophecy, but like so many others he could imagine what it said. He knew that Dumbledore had finally told Harry what the Prophecy entailed, but not of Harry's reaction to it... though he could easily surmise it.
After thinking about it for a bit, Remus decided to leave Harry alone for now, if that's what he wanted. Sometimes teenagers just needed some time to deal with their issues, and while Harry often time looked and was forced to act much older than his years, he was still just a kid, not quite 16 years old. He only hoped that Harry wouldn't try to kill Snape next week when he arrived for his Occlumency lessons, as much as Remus hated Snape (and he had a long, long history with the man), he knew that Harry hated him more... in point of fact, he assumed that Harry probably put Snape on a level with Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy, right below Voldemort.
Thursday, July 19th, 1996
Dear Mr. Tyson,
Hello, good day to you. My name is Harry Potter and I require your services as a solicitor and would like to schedule an appointment so we can discuss some things. Augusta Longbottom recommended you to me and spoke very highly of your work. Travel is a bit dodgy for me at the moment, but I will make my way to Diagon Alley to speak with you whenever you can spare the time. The Sooner the better though, as some of the problems I have are somewhat time sensitive. I look forward to hearing back from you sir.
Harry Potter
Hedwig had come back late the previous afternoon and Harry reluctantly told her of his new house-elf arrangement. She accepted it without much hooting however and seemed resigned to the loss of her quiet time. Harry assured her that she would have more letters to deliver than she had lately, so she didn't have to spend so much time at Privet Drive. She went off to Peter Tyson's office, with instructions to wait for his reply.
Thus far there had been no sign that the Order knew what he was up to. Harry figured if they hadn't stormed the place by now, they never would. He was a bit puzzled at the lack of foresight, perhaps they thought he was no threat to disobey them. He found this rich, he was supposed to kill the most powerful wizard in recent memory, yet the rest of the time he had to be a good little boy and do what he was told. Sometimes the dichotomy of his life made him laugh. If only Ron and his latent jealousy realized what Harry would do for a normal wizarding life.
Harry had known for over a year now that it would come down to he and Voldemort in some sort of final combat, though not why this would be. Hearing the Prophecy had explained quite a bit to Harry, such as why Voldemort had targeted his parents of all people. Harry understood that whether or not he believed the Prophecy, and he wasn't sure yet if he did, Voldemort and Dumbledore believed it, and this belief drove many of their actions toward him.
By early afternoon Dobby and Winky had come by, with their few belongings and begun to settle in. Harry had warned Dobby that there wasn't much to do yet, but when they came right before lunch Dobby assured Harry that both he and Winky each had a hobby that they used to divert themselves on their days off. Dobby's hobby was making clothes, Winky's was art, a talent she never knew she had while working for the Crouch's. As Harry had expected, Winky had refused to take money, though she did agree after some persuading that Harry could pay her with art supplies. Actually persuading wasn't the word, Harry had to order her to accept the supplies. Winky had opened her mouth to object... but realized she couldn't object to an order and still be a proper house elf. Dobby watched this by-play with no small amount of amusement and joined in to insist that Winky wear some sort of clothes, or at least clean the ones she. She agreed eventually and everyone was happy with how things had turned out. Harry stressed that his relatives were not to know that the elves were there until Harry was ready, Dobby immediately snapped his fingers at the door and said that the Dursleys wouldn't hear any noise short of a banshee cry from this room anymore. Hedwig returned around 3 pm with a short note from Peter Tyson.
Mr. Potter,
I was pleasantly surprised to receive your communication, and I would be happy to talk with you. Augusta Longbottom sent me a missive yesterday saying that I should expect to hear from you, but even still... She had nothing but nice things to say about you, which is quite rare you should know. I can promise you that I am not a member of the Order of the Phoenix, though I know of its existence, so my loyalties are not entwined there. I was one year behind Bill Weasley at Hogwarts and succeeded him as Head Boy, we have remained friends over the years and I'm aware of his membership. Attorney-client privilege is the same in the wizarding world as in the muggle world Mr. Potter, so anything you tell me is automatically private.
I know something about your living situation in Surrey. Don't be alarmed, most of the wizarding world knows that you live with your muggle relatives during the summer, they simply don't know where, and I realize that Headmaster Dumbledore must have you on a rather short leash, especially with Voldemort back... yes Mr. Potter, I can write his name without having a heart attack. If you like, I can pop around your house around lunchtime, I can bring some sandwiches and we can have our chat. Don't worry, I often wear muggle clothes, so I won't look out of place in your neighborhood and cause any concern. If this is acceptable to you, simply do nothing and we will meet tomorrow, if it isn't, send your owl back to me with an alternative plan.
I look forward to meeting you,
Peter Tyson
Harry couldn't have asked for more than this and was highly pleased. Things were falling into place for him, he just had to stay lucky a bit longer and he would be free.
Friday, July 20, 1996
At promptly 9:00 am Harry woke up from yet another dream-less sleep, feeling very rested. Harry had been wondering why Voldemort wasn't toying with him lately, he figured that his nemesis would be after him full tilt, taunting about the loss of his godfather. Harry pondered about what turned Tom Riddle into what he had become, he remembered the teenage Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets telling him how closely their lives seemed to parallel. Of all the things Riddle had said to him, that rocked him the most and gave him the most pause. Harry didn't think he would turn dark, after all, when Voldemort had offered to help him resurrect his parents during his first year, he hadn't been tempted... and if that wouldn't do it, nothing would. Harry felt he didn't need any of the supposed benefits of being dark; The idea of power didn't do much for him, and he had little desire to make people fear him or do his bidding; Money? He had enough of that, judging by what was in his vault... his vault! Uh oh. Harry went over to his desk and whipped out some parchment and wrote a quick letter to Gringotts:
Dear Gringotts manager,
I was wondering if it would be possible to get a balance statement of my account. I may need to make some large purchases over the next month or so and I would like an idea of how much I have to spend. If possible as well, I would like you to include 1,000 galleons spread over several bank drafts. I'm sorry to put you through any trouble, but I am unable to get to Diagon Alley in the immediate future and must conduct my business this way. I have enclosed my key, as proof that I am who I say I am.
Thank you for your attention,
Harry James Potter
He folded the letter up, the key inside, and taped it shut. Hedwig grabbed it and went on her way, looking happy about the exercise.
Harry literally had no idea what he was worth, money-wise, and decided that if he was going to hire a solicitor that this might be useful information to have at his disposal. Once again Harry was appalled at how little he knew about his own affairs. Harry hadn't even been to his vault in 3 years, since his short time living over at The Leaky Cauldron. He had no clue what a solicitors cost to hire but figured the 1,000 galleons would suffice, plus if Gringotts didn't do that sort of thing, there might as well be some benefit to being the "famous Harry Potter" and he assumed that Tyson would think him good for it. Plus, he knew there was a possibility that he might have to disappear for a while and live like a muggle, and it would be nice to know if he could afford to do so.
Dobby and Winky came out and apparated away to get breakfast. Harry had enough galleons on hand to feed the three of them for the next few weeks, particularly with two house elves who didn't seem to eat much. Harry had had a firm talk with Winky the previous night before bed about her butterbeer problem, she promised that she wouldn't drink any as long as Harry said not to. Harry himself liked butterbeer well enough, but he would rather have a Coke than anything... the things Harry missed most about the muggle world when he was away at the Burrow or Hogwarts were Coke and pizza.
Harry debated on whether to warn Aunt Petunia about his forthcoming visitor, he wasn't sure what to do about that. On the one hand, if he didn't warn her she might slam the door in Mr. Tyson's face and not let him inside... then again she might do so if he did warn her. Petunia tended to be much quieter and less hostile when Vernon wasn't around, so that was a plus and he could exploit it. Harry knew that a doorbell ringing was coming because if the Order had any wards on the house they would have anti-apparition ones on it, negating Tyson just popping into his bedroom... unless of course he was a house-elf like Dobby and Winky, who seemingly could go wherever they wished, wards or not. Harry smiled at this thought and figured that a person could do pretty well as a burglar with two house elves as his accomplices.
One more concern was the Order members outside watching the house, what would they do? Harry had noted Tyson's comment about owning muggle clothes and knew that it would not attract too much attention from the outside if Tyson were dressed in a suit, after all, muggle salesmen wore suits and called on houses all the time. The worry was if someone recognized him and reported it, after all, if Tyson was a former Head Boy at Hogwarts, then everyone there, when he was, would have known him. Harry thought about all of the Order members he had met, and only Tonks and Bill Weasley fit this criterion, Bill the more so since he and Tyson were friends. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about this, yet another small risk to take.
The one thing that kept Harry going in all of this planning, was knowing that there really was no downside to trying it... after all, could his imprisonment get worse than this? He didn't think it could, thus no more harm could be done to him. An added benefit was how he was going about it, Harry knew that if he just went off half-cocked and ran away that he would be caught, and likely kept out of things as long as possible. Harry had decided to keep things nice and legal-like just in case he was found out, for the sake of his credibility... credibility that had already been cashed in with Madam Longbottom and Peter Tyson. Harry had always been more results-oriented than a thinker and planner, but he was becoming more and more enamored of what happened when one combined the two.
The elves came back, and the three of them shared their breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. Harry told them that there would be a visitor at around noon, and asked them to conjure up a couple of chairs (there was only one in the room) for them to sit on. He told them that he would like them to stay for the meeting, as it would directly affect them as well as he, and he wanted them to hear about it firsthand. Dobby looked shocked that Harry would include them, but realized that Harry wanted them there as much to be bodyguards as witnesses. He asked Harry if that was the case, surprising Harry with his insight. Harry allowed that it might come to that, he had never met Tyson and didn't know him from Adam, just from a recommendation from a woman he had never met. It didn't hurt to be careful, Harry told them, it was as much for their safety as his.
Meanwhile, at The Burrow
Ron Weasley poked around the house, doing his chores, more tired than in any summer in recent memory. Fred and George had opened their joke shop, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, the previous week and had hired Ron and Ginny as part-time help. Ron and Ginny each worked every other day for about six hours a pop, and received enough galleons that they weren't going to need to worry about pocket money for the coming school year. The downside was that the twins turned out to be taskmasters at work, making Ron run around like a whirling dervish. There were usually four of them in the shop at any given time: Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and either Ron or Ginny, and they were all kept hopping the first week. This was Ron's first real taste of work that didn't involve de-gnoming, cleaning his room, or Hogwarts' detentions, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.
Like Harry, Ron wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life after Hogwarts. His career counseling session with Professor McGonagall had been much quieter than Harry's, though Ron had enjoyed Harry's recounting of it, he loved the idea of McGonagall screaming at Umbridge and making her back down. During his session, Ron had broached the idea of becoming an Auror, because it looked like it would be interesting work and a chance to be more involved in the war, which Ron privately believed was going to last a long time. However, while McGonagall had been as diplomatic as possible (for her), she had told Ron that his grades did not bode well for achieving the OWL and NEWT scores necessary to qualify for Auror training.
Ron was crushed when he learned this, thinking he would be the only one of his mates not to get into the program. Ron knew that Hermione would get the grades to enter whatever profession she choose, and he figured that his famous friend Harry would be greased into the Auror program if its what he wanted. Ron was, surprisingly enough for a 16-year-old, reasonably self-aware, and knew enough of his own limitations to be worried about his future. He knew that he didn't have Hermione's brains or Harry's raw wizard power. Case in point, Ron thought that he was a meld of the two, with better-than-average smarts and more power than Hermione had thus far shown. When Ron did his own playback of the DOM, he felt that he had fought pretty well, though not as well as Harry. What was holding him back was his being a bit lazy, something Hermione was constantly hectoring him about. The hectoring though was finally starting to penetrate, and he was resolved to do much better in school during his last two years. He had always been devoted to Hermione, even though he had long been one of her constant critics, and he had finally worked up the nerve to tell her how he really felt about her, telling her the week before that he was in love with her... and although it took her totally by surprise, one look at the expression on his face had told her was deadly serious. She had grabbed him in a fierce embrace and whispered to him that she had always loved him too. They had been a couple now for an entire week, and the smile had never left Ron's mind, though they had not officially told anyone (Ginny knew though, the twins had placed some Listening Charms for her).
Hermione had for so long been the major female presence in Ron's Hogwarts life that every other girl he compared to her just didn't measure up on most levels. He had always figured, pretty accurately, that the field was pretty clear if he wanted to date Hermione, none of his roommates would go for her (Harry was mistaken when he thought that Ron hadn't picked up on his irritation with Hermione) and Ron was aware that Hermione was not terribly popular with the rest of the House, though that did not particularly bother him. The fact was, he felt he was now mature enough to deserve her, and maybe tonight was the right time to bring everything out into the open (Hermione was doing a summer study program at a university in her hometown, but came over most nights to The Burrow on The Knight Bus). There was Harry to consider of course, even though Ron knew Harry didn't want Hermione for himself... indeed he thought that if they ever became a couple one of them would be dead inside of a week... Harry might feel shut out, like the two of them didn't need him anymore, which might be why he had requested no letters, maybe he had figured it out or something.
Girl problems aside, Ron still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Fred and George, while having no problem giving Ron a part-time job, had made it clear that his future wasn't in WWW unless the business expanded greatly. He supposed he could always get a job in his dad's office, the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, but the idea of spending decades fussing over enchanted teapots and flying carpets left him cold. Quidditch wasn't a consideration unless he got much better over the next 2 years... which was possible of course. Ron decided to leave this train of thought until after he had looked at his OWL scores and seen what his options might be. Meanwhile, if he was going to get better as a Keeper, he had better go do some flying.
Privet Drive, Noon
A tall man in a dark blue Saville Row suit strode up Privet Drive with a briefcase in hand. He checked the numbers on the houses as he went past, looking for a particular one, Number 4. Having found it, he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.
"Hello there, you are Mrs. Dursley I presume?"
"Yes I am, may I help you?"
"Yes, my name is Peter Tyson and I am a solicitor. I am here to see your nephew Harry Potter."
This stunned Petunia, she had assumed him to be normal, but he must be one of 'them' if he was inquiring to see Harry. She was about to close the door when Harry rushed up to stop her.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Tyson, I'm Harry Potter. Won't you come in?" With a subtle movement of his body, he made it so that Tyson had room to enter the house, which he did.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Potter, where would you like to have our discussion?"
"Upstairs in my room sir, right this way." Petunia looked as if she might object, but Harry and his guest just smiled pleasantly at her and went on their way upstairs, leaving her with a confused expression on her face.
Once in Harry's room, an appallingly small one Tyson noticed, Harry introduced him to Dobby and Winky and they all sat down.
"So what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting, Mr. Potter?"
"Please sir, call me Harry."
"As long as you call me Peter, I'm not yet a sir, as the muggle queen doesn't know I exist."Both of them smiled at the joke, and some of the tension in the room was lifted.
"Peter, before we talk about that I would like to formally hire you as my solicitor so that all we talk about today will be kept legally private."
Oh, this was going to be good, Peter thought. This kid certainly plans ahead, doesn't he? " Me being here means that I have already accepted the position of your solicitor, therefore this entire conversation is between the two of us... sorry, the four of us." he smiled indicating the two house elves standing quietly by. "We can discuss my fee after we decide what I'm going to be doing for you."
"Terrific. The first thing I would like you to do is do a scan of this house, and find out what wards and spells are in place. I know there must be at least a couple, and I would be interested to know what they are."
"A suspicious one aren't you? Not that I blame you of course. Let's give it a go." Peter took out his wand and mumbled some incantations that Harry couldn't make out clearly and did some wands motions that looked like a muggle radar screen. "Interesting, very interesting. There are probably more spells on this house than any muggle house in Britain. There is an anti-apparition ward on the house, which I fully expected to be here, hence my ringing the doorbell, by the way, in case you were wondering, I would not have forced my way inside had she slammed the door in my face...I could tell that's what she was about to do. I have no interest in letting your minders outside, there are three of them by the way, in two different locations, know that you have a wizard visiting you, as they would not likely let that visit go uninterrupted. There is one listening charm focused on the living room and an anti-portkey charm on the whole house itself. There are no less than four tracking charms on you, as well as one on your trunk and two on your owl's cage. There is also a silencing charm on your door here, and an enlarging charm on the closet, which I assume you know about."
Harry nodded, "Yes, Dobby is the one who did those spells, so that my Aunt and Uncle wouldn't know that the elves are here... so the listening charm would only pick up things said in the living room? Nothing else in here?"
"Correct, given that the silencing charm in here will totally muffle anything said in here, even at a yell. Good move though, hiring House Elves, keeps you nice and clean."
"Right, I would prefer to stay on the right side of the law, whatever I might think of it."
" Well, there are no other spells currently on the house... I'm guessing you're worried about potential listening charms?"
"You would be correct in that assumption, I don't want Dumbledore's people to know what I'm planning, they would be in here in a minute to try and stop me."
" Stop you from doing what? What is it you have in mind to do? I have a good idea, but I'd like to hear it from you."
"Put simply, I want to gain legal emancipation in both the wizarding world and the muggle world, so that I can begin to make my own decisions, without any interference."
"Well, that's what I thought you would say, based on your letter yesterday. I did a bit of research into you and learned more than a little about what we would need to get that freedom. Am I right in assuming that you have not discussed this with your relatives?"
"Yes, the only ones I have mentioned it to are in this room."
"Ok, easy things first. Emancipating you in the muggle world will be pretty simple, as long as your Aunt and Uncle sign off on it. The wizarding world will be a bit harder, but it's still workable since there is only one more year until you are an adult anyway. Yesterday afternoon after I received your owl, I sent a message to my wife, who happens to work in the Records Department at the Ministry of Magic, requesting that she make a copy of your file on the sly. Would you like to peruse it?"
Harry looked shocked, "I have a file? For what?"
"Oh we all have files Harry, there aren't that many wizards in Great Britain and the Ministry likes to keep tabs on us."
"Sure, I'd be very interested in seeing it."
Peter opened his briefcase, and after tossing sandwiches to Harry and his elves, took out a folder and handed it to Harry
Harry James Potter
Date of birth: July 31, 1980
Place of birth: Godric's Hollow, Wales
Current Place of Residence: Little Whinging, Surrey
Blood: Mixed
Criminal Record: One count of Underage Magic, 1992
Hogwarts House: Gryffindor Class Rank: 7th out of 39 OWL results: TBA
NEWT results: TBA
Father: James William Potter
DOB: April 12, 1959
DOD: October 31, 1981
Occupation: Chaser, Puddlemere United
Mother: Lily Marie Evans Potter
DOB: May 13, 1959
DOD: October 31, 1981
Occupation: Ancient Runes Professor, Hogwarts
Guardians: Petunia Evans Dursley and Vernon Dursley, muggles Relationship: maternal Aunt and husband
The rest of the file had newspaper clippings of his various exploits, copies of his year-end grades during his five years at school, and an anonymous report listing his various spell-casting strengths.
Harry sat there quietly for a minute, "You know before this I never even knew what my parents did for a living."
"You must be kidding."
Harry shook his head, "No one would tell me anything, they always changed the subject."
Peter didn't know what to say to this, this kid's entire family history had been denied him. Peter Tyson was no lover of Dumbledore, but he had until this time at least respected him, but this was beyond the pale. Peter knew that only Dumbledore could have imposed that level of silence on his staff and associates."Well, if I was unsure before, I'm not now. I'll do what I can to help you get your freedom. I would, however, like to know what you hope to accomplish with it. You do, for all intents and purposes, have only three more months left outside of Hogwarts and the underage magic rules before your 17th birthday. Are you intending to leave Hogwarts early? I know Fred and George Weasley made a big splash by doing it, but they had a clearly defined plan of what to do once they did."
" If I am able to gain my freedom I would like to explore continuing my education outside of Great Britain and Hogwarts, possibly in America or Canada" Silence dominated the room as Harry's words sunk into his audience. Dobby and Winky knew the plan of course, but it still hadn't seemed real until Harry had spoken it to someone else.
"Well... I must say that I pride myself on rarely being surprised, but I have to admit that you just qualified for the 'rarely'. I had assumed that you simply wanted to do some spell practice... or to get out of living with your relatives."
"Why did you think I wanted to get out of living here? I thought this place and my life here were supposed to be secret."
"Harry, most of the wizarding world knows that you live with muggles who don't like magic. There have been a few articles in the Daily Prophet, and your schoolmates haven't been terribly close-mouthed about your home life as they know it. Now, how many know you live here in Little Whinging? Probably not many, other than Dumbledore and his people. I found out, as I mentioned, through my wife and her records access. What I don't know is why you haven't been attacked here, Voldemort's people aren't the brightest lot in the country, but at least one of them must know how to do some muggle information research to find your mother's relations and where they might be."
"The Ministry knows, Umbridge sent those Dementors after me last summer, and she knew right where to direct them," Harry said face pale and hands lax in his lap.
"So that's how the Dementors got here, I'd always wondered about that. She admitted this to you?"
"Yes she did, in front of about a dozen witnesses... though half of them want me dead, so I doubt they would vouch for me. Speaking of which, she hasn't been arrested or anything? I would hope that Remus or Dumbledore would have mentioned it to me."
"Remus, as in Remus Lupin?"
"Right, do you know him?"
"I know of him... famous Marauder, werewolf, former instructor of yours if I recall correctly." Sees Harry's reaction to the Marauder comment, "Oh yes Harry, the Marauders were famous, even though I didn't get a chance to go to school with any of them I hear many a story about their pranks... particularly when Snape showed up my 4th year to teach Potions, when that happened a lot of stories were recycled."
In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Harry couldn't help but smile. Anytime Snape was held up to ridicule was fine with him. "As to why the Death Eaters haven't attacked me? I guess it must be because of the blood protection that my aunt gives me, no one is supposed to be able to harm me in the house, magically anyway."
"Hmmmm... interesting, that tells me something... so let me ask you this Harry, how much news have you gotten since you came back here for summer break?"
"Nothing, I don't get the Daily Prophet anymore since all they do is print lies and half-truths about me, and The Quibbler isn't what one could call a News-type paper."
Peter laughed at that one, he remember that there was a Lovegood daughter at Hogwarts now and Harry must know her to have given The Quibbler that kind of access, access he had never in fact granted to a newspaper before. "Well Harry, your close personal friend Umbridge has not been seen, rumor has it she's either in seclusion somewhere or in St. Mungos under a false name. Whatever you kids did to her at the end of the year must have been something. Bill told me about the swamp that the twins used in the hallway, I haven't had such a good laugh in a long time... and I understand you had something to do with their joke shop?"
"Yes I did, though that's not common knowledge. I gave them my Tri-Wizard winnings."
"That's what I thought... not about the Tri-Wizard winnings, but most people who know Fred and George are assuming that you are their backer, given that the Weasley family is not a rich one... how could it be, with seven kids... I don't think Molly has deduced it yet, or maybe she has and just doesn't want to admit it, Bill says that she dotes on you. When you come to Diagon Alley next we'll make a point to stop there. Anyway, back to what I was saying, about the news... Fudge is hanging on so far, he came clean in the press about his inactions and the public seems to be buying it as simply an overworked man's errors in judgment."
Harry started laughing when he heard that, then stopped when he thought about it, did he want Fudge still in office? He voiced this concern to Peter.
"I think for the moves you have in mind Harry, that you do want Fudge still as Minister, given that Dumbledore is certainly going to oppose us. I'm going to assume that you don't know much about the wizarding political system, given that you're not a Ravenclaw, and thus don't pay any attention in History of Magic." He smiled when he said this, so Harry didn't take what was in fact a true statement as an insult. "Harry, the Minister of Magic is elected by a public vote every five years, the next scheduled election being in April 1998. This is Fudge's third term in office, and he has given no indication that he wants to retire. A Minister, or any department head for that matter, can be removed by a 34 vote of the Wizengamot, a body with which you are now familiar after last August I imagine. The Wizengamot is made up of forty witches and wizards, who serve ten-year terms. Members generally are re-appointed for life unless they are hit by a major scandal and choose to resign, or of course if they die. So thirty members of the Wizengamot must agree to remove Fudge, and you should know that after the Lestranges were broken out of Azkaban that Fudge did survive a no-confidence vote, only seventeen members voted to kick him out. Most of the rest said that it either wasn't Fudge's fault or just wasn't enough to impeach the head of our government. Another factor is that there isn't really a bonafide person to replace Fudge, since everyone knows that Dumbledore won't take on the job, though there isn't the demand for that that there once was. The usual names mentioned are Amelia Bones, Amos Diggory, and Manuel Zabini, I believe you know, or knew their children?"
"Yes, I do, though Susan Bones is Amelia's niece, not daughter. Blaise Zabini is a 6th-year Slytherin and Cedric..." Harry went quiet at that point, and Peter gave him a minute to collect himself.
"So anyway, none of those three has the widespread support to galvanize an impeachment movement, though I would expect at least two of them to run against Fudge in the next election. The muggles have a saying 'you have to knock the champ out, it's not enough to beat him on points', that's the attitude here."
"What about you, are you interested in someday becoming Minister?"
Peter smiled, he got this question a lot from muggle-borns who always saw people in his profession go for Parliament.
"No Harry, I have no interest in what is a thankless job. I do, however, intend to stand for the Wizengamot when I reach the proper age, you must be 35 to be a member, so I have eight years to go. That's the extent of my desire to participate in government, and even that is because I believe it will help solidify my legal practice."
Harry digested all of this, he found this fascinating and a bit odd, finally, an adult wizard was talking to him person-to-person and not evading his questions. Another occurred to him to ask: "How many wizards are there in Britain Peter?"
"Roughly 20,000 or so, with somewhere around 1 million around the world. That gives the muggles a 6,000 to 1 population advantage on us Harry, you must remember that whenever the Pureblood brigade mocks and insults Muggles, it's that ratio that's in the back of their mind, if not the front. They know that if the muggles ever found out about us and came after us in force, we wouldn't stand a chance... our shields don't stop bullets."
Harry ruminated on that for a minute, it certainly explained a lot about muggle/wizard relations, and why there had to be the kind of secrecy that there was."How much does the muggle government know about us?"
"Not much, the Prime Minister... John Major, for the time being, is briefed when he takes office, though a charm is placed on him so that he can't talk about us to just anyone. The Royal family knows, some of them over the years have been our kind, though none have ever been King or Queen."
Harry had heard about the very interesting Windsor family, they were always being talked about in the muggle newspapers, and he was amused at the idea of one or more of them being wizards. "Back to what we were talking about... though what you're telling me is very interesting... why would it be better for me for Fudge to be in power? He's not my biggest fan you know, he's never believed anything I've said, about Voldemort being back, or Sirius being innocent."
"Hang on a minute, you're telling me that Quibbler stuff was true about Sirius Black? That wasn't one of Joe Lovegood's 'inventions'?"
"It was true, Sirius Black was innocent of my parents' murder, it was their other friend, Peter Pettigrew... yes, another Marauder... that set them up and betrayed them to Voldemort." Harry paused for a minute, understanding how incomplete his stories must be to Peter. "Would you like me to tell you what my Hogwarts life has been like? I know you must have heard some of it, but if you have the time perhaps you'd like to hear all of it, the truth this time, rather than rumor. I mean, I don't want to keep you from other appointments..."
Dang, this was a polite kid, how on earth did he wind up like this with that woman raising him? "This is my last appointment for the day Harry, I was going to spend the rest of my afternoon doing paperwork, but its nothing that can't wait. Fire away."
Harry spent the next two hours telling his story, telling Peter how he found out about being a wizard, to meeting Ron on the train, the search for the Philosopher's Stone, which Peter had actually heard of, he had met Nicholas Flamel before. Harry took the man sitting before him, figuratively anyway, down into the Chamber of Secrets with him and told about how most of the school had believed he was the Heir of Slytherin... something Peter found hilarious in its absurdity, he assured Harry that the Sorting Hat didn't have quite so large a sense of humor to put the Heir of Slytherin into Gryffindor House. People will believe anything. Harry described his Dementor experiences, and how Remus had taught him the Patronus, a spell that Peter admitted that he had never tried to cast... and hoped never to need to. Sirius Black was talked about, and the revelations in the Shrieking Shack about who actually had betrayed his parents. The Tri-Wizard Tournament was more public knowledge, but Barty Crouch Jr. was not, The older man had had no idea that Crouch had been teaching students at Hogwarts for an entire school year right under Dumbledore's nose. He knew all about Umbridge and her insanities, though not about the blood quill and the threat of Cruciatus. Harry described in detail what happened at the Department of Mysteries, and how he had not only watched Sirius fall through the Veil, and that he had used an Unforgivable on Bellatrix Lestrange, his godfather's murderer. Harry reflected on his friends, his enemies particularly Draco Malfoy and Snape, and how truly lonely he was, in spite of being the most famous 16-year-old wizard in the world. Finally, Harry shared the full text of the Prophecy with Peter, something he had not done with Ron or Hermione. He felt that as his solicitor Peter should know the whole truth, if only for his own safety.
After he was done, Harry looked exhausted, and Peter could tell that this was a story that Harry had never told in its entirety. Dobby and Winky ran over to him when it was over and hugged him tightly, as the boy struggled to keep control of his emotions. He too was visibly moved, he wasn't quite sure what to say to Harry at this moment.
Here was the oldest 15-year-old kid that he had ever met. Peter had known that Harry had been through some hard times over the last few years, but nothing like what he had just heard. Just looking at Harry's face when it was done told him that every word was true.
"Harry, why don't you go to the loo and splash some water on your face, I need a few minutes to think."Harry blanched, as he thought that Peter might be leaving, but Peter anticipated this: "No Harry, I'm not going back on our deal, you've just hit me with quite the recollection and I need to let it sink in. Dobby, and Winky can stay and make sure I don't do anything rash," he smiled weakly.
Harry left and the room descended back into silence. Hedwig tapped at the window, which Harry had closed earlier, Peter looked at Dobby who nodded and proceeded to open the window. Hedwig flew in with a thick envelope and went to her water bowl. Harry came back, looking better than he had when he left. He and Peter watched each other for a minute, and Peter pointed out to him that his owl had returned. Harry went over and stroked Hedwig for a minute, thanking her for all the great work she had done for him. The snowy owl did the owl version of a cat's purr, and this seemed to give Harry some strength back, as he opened the envelope, it was from Gringott's.
Dear Mr. Potter
We received your note this morning and are happy to comply with your requests, as they are perfectly normal for someone with your background. We have enclosed a total of 5 bank drafts that spread evenly the 1,000 galleons you requested, if you require any more don't hesitate to send your owl to come to get them.
Here is a list of your total assets:
665,308 galleons currently are in your vault at the Diagon Alley branch of Gringotts
30,239 galleons are currently in your vault at the Orion Alley branch of Gringotts in Toronto, Canada
You have no spending limits Mr. Potter, the 1,200 galleons that you have removed over the previous 5 years have not made a dent, nor is the 4,000 galleons a year that Hogwarts removes a burden on you. We remind you that the will of Sirius Black still needs to be read, you are a beneficiary along with Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin, and your assets will no doubt increase significantly, as the Black estate is a large one. If you have any further inquiries or transactions, don't hesitate to send us an owl.
Fortrap
Senior Account Manager
Gringotts Bank
Diagon Alley, London
Harry handed over the letter to Peter without a word, Peter read it also without comment, though he was internally relieved that this wouldn't be a pro-bono client. He knew that if this matter went as far as he thought it possible, his career would either make a giant leap or a large drop... taking on Albus Dumbledore was not to be done lightly. "Alright... where do I start... I'm glad you shared that with me Harry, both your story and your financial statement. The story explains quite a bit, and the money means that you have the resources to walk away, or at the very least to convincingly threaten it. You appear to be bothered most about your lack of say in your life, coupled with the fact that each year you've been at Hogwarts someone has either tried to kill you or suck your soul out." Harry nodded his agreement with both statements."Harry, who else knows about the Prophecy?"
"Dumbledore, and the four of us. Voldemort knows the first part of it, but not the last. That's what he was trying to bribe me into giving him at the Department of Mysteries. His lackeys likely know that there is a prophecy, but know little or nothing about what it contains."
"You haven't told any of your friends? Not that I would want to either, but they did wind up risking their lives to protect its secret."
"I haven't told them... well to protect them I guess. Dumbledore said that no one should know so that Voldemort couldn't torture the information out of them."
"Are you sure that Dumbledore hasn't told anyone else? Such as Snape, or your friend Lupin?"
"He claims that he hasn't, although I won't speak for what he might have said since the holidays started."
"Harry, speak plainly to me now, your gut feeling... do you believe this Prophecy?"
"I don't know, I just don't know. I mean it certainly explains why Voldemort came after me when I was just a baby. I had thought that he just hated my parents since they were members of the Order and were on the light side... but I just can't get past the fact that it was Trelawney who was the one who gave it, I just have a hard time believing that anything she says is reliable enough to take action on."
"Well I don't blame you there, Ravenclaws don't usually take Divinination Harry, so I never had the pleasure of her classes, or of even meeting her, she never came down from her blessed tower... though now I'm wondering if Dumbledore keeps her hidden up there, to prevent anyone from using Occlumency to break into that fragile mind of hers."
"Dumbledore believes every word of it, of that I am sure, that's why he keeps me locked up here just like he has pretty much locked up Trelawney."
"True, very true... which makes his Hogwarts' decisions that much more puzzling. How on earth could he not have suspected something from Quirrel or Crouch/Moody? A known Death Eater not only teaching an important course but being a head of House? Snape didn't take over Slytherin until I had left, but I couldn't believe it when I heard of it. Do you honestly believe that your friend Hermione is passing information to Dumbledore about you?"
"I don't want to believe it, and I know that if she is doing it she thinks she's protecting me... but the facts seem to bear it out. Hermione worships authority, I think if Dumbledore or McGonagall said it was for my own good, she'd tell them what I was doing, or what I'm planning. Add to that Ron and Ginny, she spends a lot more time with them than I do, and Hermione can ferret out information from Ron without him probably knowing about it."
"It's safe to say then, that you have no intention of sharing with her information about your 'relocation plans'?"
"Absolutely not, I'll write her a nice long letter when I'm on the plane if that is in fact what I wind up doing."
"But why leave Harry? Why walk away from Great Britain? I'm not saying I blame you, but what's your reasoning."
" I'm tired. I don't just mean right this minute, but I mean overall. I'm tired. I'm sick of fighting a war where I'm not entirely sure who I'm fighting, I just know I'm not winning. I'm tired of the chore of being the 'Boy Who Lived', either worshipped or hated no matter what I do. People point at my scar like I'm some museum piece, they talk about me in loud tones as if I can't hear them, or they don't care if I do. Most of all I'm tired of people being horrible to me for something that I have no control over, I can't take it anymore, it's like pieces of glass in my head, all the time. I've had no life, not here at the Dursleys', not at Hogwarts, not anywhere. I might live to graduate from Hogwarts, I might not... but why should I bother when my life isn't mine?" Harry finally broke down, and his cries of anguish filled the room.
Author's Note
That last speech is my nod to The Green Mile (book by Stephen King, screenplay by Frank Darabont), the scene when Michael Clarke Duncan and Tom Hanks are talking is one of my favorite ever movie moments, and this is my homage to it (the pieces of glass line of course, I ripped right from it).