DISCLAIMER! This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. This story is just a castle built in the clouds for some enjoyment of readers.
The Triwizard Tournament brings loneliness and isolation for an angry and disillusioned Harry Potter. When the financially astute goblins use a loophole to help a Vault-holder Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived begins to break free of Magical Britain.
This story concentrates on Harry, his interactions with Dobby, goblins, the students at Hogwarts. Bashing Magical Britain, DD and Weasleys. The Dark Lord ignores some important knowledge from his muggle upbringing.
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Hogsmeade WeekendWandering around Hogsmeade that next Saturday, Harry avoided all the students, and jinxed three reporters who were stalking him. His thoughts were varied but centred around comparison of his second year to this fourth year.
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students kept commenting about Potter being the Heir of Slytherin and a liar who cheated to enter the tournament. The Slytherin students sneered but refused to call the Boy-Who-Lived the heir of their house's founder and the Gryffindors ran away from Potter, fearful the powerful wizard would cast spells in their direction.
Harry decided, 'This year is worse than second year when everyone accused me of being the Heir of Slytherin and the bloody basilisk was loose in the castle at night. The grownups – Dumbledore – are useless!'
'I wonder if I can hide in the Chamber of Secrets from these wankers?'
Late in the morning, Harry was surprised to be approached by Susan Bones. The pretty witch from Hufflepuff invited him to join her for bottle of butterbeer. Turning toward the establishment in the centre of the small village, the young witch explained, "My aunt wishes to speak to you."
"Sure," he replied and saw Susan cringe. Miss Bones was a stickler for proper manners and Harry refused to kowtow to the demands of the snobby purebloods – even in Hufflepuff. He hid the smile on his face as Heiress Bones muttered about 'stupid mudbloods' under her breath and led Harry to a table in the back of the Three Broomsticks.
There Harry found a formidable witch sitting as if in a courtroom with two wizards and two witches standing guard. Even more unusual, there was a goblin seated at the table as well.
Motioning toward the seated witch, Susan said, "This is my Aunt Amelia Bones. She asked me to bring you here."
Then Susan turned and walked away. The witch frowned at her niece's rude behaviour, but she ploughed ahead, introducing herself, "Mr Potter, I am Madam Amelia Bones, aunt of Miss Susan Bones, and Regent of House Bones."
Harry bowed his head and replied, "Greetings, Madam Amelia Bones, Aunt and Regent. I am Harry James Potter. Please forgive me if I give offense with my greetings and addresses – I have had only two lessons in the proper forms to address other witches and wizards in Magical Britain."
The witch studied him for a moment, and observed his worn and oversized clothing, before she asked, "Only two lessons, Heir Potter?"
She didn't believe the claim but continued, saying, "Forgive me for interrupting your day in Hogsmeade with other business."
Harry waited and Madam Bones grimaced. The goblin whispered, "Ask to sit down."
Nodding to the goblin, Harry asked, "Might I join you at your table for a moment of business then?"
"Please do, Mr Potter."
Harry realized the witch had not provided any place for the Boy-Who-Lived to sit except beside the goblin and he knew that the other students who witnessed the seating arrangement would spread the news around Hogwarts faster than a house elf could clean and mend a dirty and torn Quidditch uniform.
"How can I be of assistance for House Bones this afternoon?"
"I need to speak to you as the Director of the DMLE."
Harry didn't have to fake the confused look before he asked, "Forgive me, what is the DMLE?"
The witch huffed and asked, "How do you not know about the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"
"There are no classes about the magical world and the library doesn't have any texts about the ministry," Harry replied, waving his hand.
"Didn't you read the orientation materials that Professor McGonagall gave you? Didn't your magical guardian provide you with any information about House Potter? The Wizengamot? Your place in the Magical World?"
Harry shook his head and kept hold of his temper, "I was escorted through Diagon Alley by Groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid and never received any orientation materials. I never met Professor Minerva McGonagall until the sorting ceremony when I was eleven years old."
He frowned and asked, "What is a magical guardian? Do I have one?"
"Of course, you have one!" Madam Bones insisted. "He took you Gringotts on your tenth birthday to introduce you to your vault manager and present you with your heir ring. Though you don't seem to be wearing it!"
"Lady, forgive me for being brusque, but I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Nonsense!" Bones replied. "Dumbledore assured me you were properly instructed but were rebellious and rejected our traditions!"
"Dumbledore? Are you saying that Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is my magical guardian?"
"Yes, of course! Foolish mud…boy. How you can be heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, I'll never understand," Madam Bones swore. "I'll definite push the line continuation contract to Longbottom or McMillian rather than to Potter for Heiress Bones."
Picking up on verbal hints and the defensive body language this witch was sharing, Harry dipped his head slightly and replied, "I am certain you know best, Regent Bones."
Taken aback by the boy's statement – a perfect pureblood response used when a political ally miscalculated and made a mistake that benefited you. Disturbed and not understanding this interaction with the Boy-Who-Lived, Director Bones rose and hurried from the Three Broomsticks, followed by her guard. When she returned to the ministry, she cursed because she'd not spoken about the memory of the confrontation in the Great Hall with Severus Snape.
Later, she pulled the memory of today's entire conversation from her mind and reviewed it carefully in her Pensieve.
'The boy knows almost nothing about manners – he's not rebelling! He's ignorant! Dumbledore, what have you done?' she wondered. Then she remembered that she'd left Ironriver, the Bones vault manager sitting at the table with the Boy-Who-Lived.
'The goblins will charge me a penalty for deserting Ironriver in Hogsmeade!'
She signalled for two Senior Aurors to come to her office. They'd floo to the three Broomsticks and assure that the goblin left without too many hexes or jinxes thrown its way.
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Venture to GringottsWhen Director Bones and her guards practically ran from the Three Broomsticks to apparate back to the Ministry in London, Ironriver whispered to the Potter boy, "I have a cousin who would gift me with the largest boulder in his nest to converse with you Vault-holder Potter. But your magical guardian continues to deny that you have any interest in your estate, properties, or income."
"Estate? Properties? Do I have an income?"
Harry managed to control his voice when he stopped for a moment and then continued, "Until this second, I had no idea I had a something called an estate, properties or income. How can I meet your cousin without this magical guardian interfering?"
"Well, that's a problem the Triwizard Tournament has resolved."
"What do you mean?"
The goblin grinned, "The tournament is for adults – witches and wizards who are at least seventeen years old. Now, while you still need almost three years' time to reach seventeen, there were multiple heads of departments from the Ministry for Magic, the Grand Mugwump of the International Wizards Congress, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who declared you to be an adult and forced your participation in the tournament."
Harry thought and asked, "Did Albus Dumbledore count for three votes?"
"Most certainly," Ironriver replied. "Add in the headmistress of Beauxbatons and the headmaster of Durmstrang and that's eight senior government officials who declared you of age."
Slipping a small roll of parchment to Harry, Ironriver said, "Here's the Ministry for Magic's declaration that Harry James Potter has attained his majority. The parchment bears the stamps from Gringotts and that means the document has been processed, finalized and cannot be revoked. You're an adult!"
Harry thought the declaration was useless for a moment but then he turned to the goblin and asked, "Can you advise me of the appropriate steps I should take at this time, Ironriver?"
"Once a student is emancipated, they are free to leave Hogwarts every weekend – 7PM Friday until 7PM Sunday," the goblin immediately replied. "You're an adult! I advise you to spend three sickles to purchase floo powder and use the floo here at the Three Broomsticks to travel to Gringotts in the next minute. Again, my cousin will owe me greatly for bringing you to him today."
Grabbing hold of his Gryffindor courage, Harry rose, ignored his classmates who jeered at him for talking with a goblin, and followed Ironriver through the floo to the lobby at Gringotts Bank. Within another thirty seconds, the goblin hustled the Boy-Who-Finally-Made-It-To-Gringotts down a hallway and away from curious eyes.
In Hogsmeade, the rumours spread that the goblins kidnapped Harry Potter or that the DMLE arrested him and carried him off to the Ministry for Magic for questioning and execution.
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