While Harry was recovering from his time inside a cell, a group of people met on the other side of the country. Most of them were very unhappy with the current situation.
"How dare they throw my son from his job!" boomed Marc Dawlish.
"Shut up Dawlish, your imbecile son had it coming for years. It was only a matter of time until it happened, as he was too involved with the Dark Lord for them to forgive him," replied Robert Abercrombie.
"Robert is right. The only waste here is the loss of a potential source of information. And even in this matter, he was not useful for us," added Edwin Jones. Their trio were leaders of the Traditionalist faction in Wizengamot and were trying to come up with a solution to take care of Harry Potter and his plans.
"I still think that we should hire someone to get rid of him permanently. Otherwise, he will finally find out about us, and I don't know if we will be able to survive it then," Dawlish declared.
"He will never find out that we are the ones who have Shacklebolt in our pockets," Abercrombie declared confidently. But then his confidence was broken with one single sentence.
"But he already knows about you," said Jones with an evil smile. "Auror Dawlish had decided to reveal during his questioning that you were the one who entered that area." He found that situation quite amusing. He didn't consider Harry Potter as any big threat, more like an annoying nuisance that potentially can turn into something more.
"He did what!" boomed Abercrombie. "You better tell your son to leave this country, otherwise he can meet an unpleasant fate." He said after turning to look Dawlish in the eyes.
"Gentlemen, it is not a time to fight. We need to figure out how to destroy this pest," said Eustachy Slughorn. He asked the trio for help when Potter had sued him for his debts.
The three men then started to toss ideas, but they could not decide on anything. Their brainstorm lasted for a moment until Jones decided to stop it and turned to the last member of their group, who stayed silent till that moment.
"So Nott, what do you think about this situation?"
Theo Nott knew why he was "invited" there. All of them wanted to influence him, as they knew he was a young and inexperienced lord. But he was not a Slytherin for nothing. He decided to show them that he was not a dumb kid they would be able to milk from his money. He was hoping that by "allying them" he would be able to find out what they are up to and to exploit their greed.
"That you are idiots," Theo replied simply. "Right now, Potter is aware that he is target number one. And he will do everything to protect himself and his family."
"You dare whelp!" shouted Abercrombie, but he was cut off by Jones, who was intrigued by Nott's behavior. He was expecting him to be a weak, pathetic little boy, but found a calm, collected, and intelligent man.
"And what do you think we should do in that situation?" asked curious Jones.
"You should lay low for some time. Lull him into a false sense of security, then strike him once and for all," Nott replied. He wanted to get into the good graces of these men since the information he could gather here was priceless. He was hoping to buy time for Harry as well so he could fully recover and prepare himself.
"It looks like Nott was right, and you are idiots," replied amused Jones. He agreed with Nott's assessment and had to convince the rest of them to lay low and not do anything stupid.
"What! You think we should do nothing?" asked Slughrorn incredulously.
"Of course, we need to do something. But now it's not the time to attack. Let him think that he is safe, and after some time, we will make him disappear."
"But what am I going to do with the lawsuit?" Slugorn panicked.
"Calm down, it will take months before it will be brought before the Wizengamot. So be silent and do not do anything against Potter," Jones concluded and escorted them out to the exit.
Theo was pleased with the outcome of the meeting, as he had a lot of information to share with Harry. However, he decided not to inform Harry yet. He chose to focus on gathering more information and finding out who was involved in the conspiracy.
The next day, Harry returned to work with even more motivation. He was determined to show that he wouldn't give up and that his projects were the right way to go.
His team was also working hard, helping people find jobs and providing shelter for those in need. They were still accepting applications, and Harry's release had caused a surge of people seeking their help. During lunchtime, Bill and Fleur unexpectedly visited Harry.
"Hi guys, what brings you here?" greeted Harry warmly.
"Hello Harry, we want to talk to you. Can we go somewhere private?" asked Bill.
"Sure, come to my office," replied Harry and led them inside. After showing them to their seats, he allowed them to begin the conversation.
"If I understand correctly, Harry, you're looking for potential business partners now, right?" asked Fleur.
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" replied Harry.
"Because I have an idea for a business, but I don't have enough resources to do it by myself. So I came here to find out if you're interested in partnering with me," explained Fleur confidently.
"I'm all ears then," replied Harry curiously.
"You see, even before the war, it was hard to find a good hairdresser, makeup stylist, or even get the cosmetics to do it by yourself. So I was thinking of opening my beauty salon here in Diagon Alley."
Harry was not surprised by Fleur's idea. Even though she was a Veela, she was naturally very beautiful, but she always had flawless makeup and elegant hair. He did not doubt that she knew how to help other women.
"Sounds like a good idea. Do you have a written plan, or did you just come here with the idea?" asked Harry.
"I have a detailed plan with me," said Fleur as she handed him a parchment with more details about her idea. Harry began reading it and started asking questions about her business plan.
"What's your main goal in business? Will you be happy with a salon and shop, or do you want to do more?" asked Harry.
"If the business goes well, then I would like to open a spa one day. My mother took me to a muggle spa a few times, and I loved it every time. So if I succeed, it will be my next goal," explained Fleur.
"Glad to see that you think ahead. Now, for more technical questions. Do you want to buy ready-made cosmetics, or hire a professional to make them for you?" asked Harry.
"I want to hire someone, as I would like to experiment with them a bit. Currently, all cosmetics in the wizarding world are very basic compared to Muggles, and I think there is a lot of room for improvement in that area. So if we have someone competent hired, we could think about creating our products."
"Have you thought about how many people you would like to hire?"
"In the beginning, I was thinking about a team of four - me and three other people."
"Alright, and one last question - do you want to use non-magical products as well?"
"I want to allow clients to choose which products we will use, so yes."
"Very well, in that case, please leave your business plan here. I will look at it more thoroughly and let you know, but I think you have a great idea."
"Sounds good to me."
"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Harry asked after a moment of small talk.
"I have a favor to ask from you, Harry," replied Bill.
"What do you need?" Harry simply asked. He trusted Bill and was sure it was nothing too bad.
"You see, in the coming weeks, we will be breaking a lot of wards here in Britain - wards on properties that belong to Death Eaters. As I don't have much experience in that area, I would like to take a look at the wardstone on one of Black's properties to prepare myself a bit."
"I don't see a problem with that. I think you can even help me. I have no idea in what state Grimmauld Place is, as Death Eaters got there, and I'm sure they planted some traps there. So let's make a deal - you check the house, and then I will give you access to a wardstone."
"Deal," Bill simply replied, very happy with the outcome. He had always planned to repay for that access, so doing that was not a problem for him.
"You know the secret, so let me know when you're done, and then I will give you access. How long do you think it will take you?"
"If I find the same traps as always, then I should be done by supper."
"Splendid. I will come there in the evening."
After a few more moments, Bill and Fleur left the building in a great mood and went straight to Grimmauld Place. Upon their leaving, Harry went back to his work. Like always, his team worked until 6:30 pm and then went back to Potter Manor for the meal. When they were done, Harry left his home once again and went to Grimmauld Place.
"Oh, hi Harry. You came at the perfect moment," greeted Bill.
"Hi Bill, are you done?"
"I am right now," he said after casting one more charm. Then they sat at the table to talk.
"I am Lord Black, so I am here to claim the office for me," calmly replied Harry as he stood before Walburga Black's portrait, hoping not to get into a fight with Sirius's mother.
"How does this happen? How is the filthy son of a mudblood a Lord Black?" Walburga wailed, and many of the other portraits agreed with her.
"Because he is my son," a familiar voice from his left answered. Harry looked at the portrait, and to his delight, he saw Sirius smiling at him.
"Padfoot, you old dog! If I had known you had a portrait, I would have come here long ago!"
"Harry, you are so grown up now," Sirius said with tears in his eyes. "Sit down and tell me everything that has happened since I died."
Harry sat at the desk and began his tale. He told Sirius about the war, its aftermath, his plans for the future, and of course, about Daphne. The last topic was the one that interested Sirius more than the others.
"I am proud of you. Ophelia Greengrass was a hottie during our school years, so if her daughter looks like her, then you are a lucky bloke."
"Thanks, Padfoot. By the way, I am very surprised that you are awake. At Potter Manor, I had to awaken all the portraits there. Why are you different?"
"To be honest, I don't know. I think you will find the answer in the Black Grimoire, but I am not certain. The Black portraits were always weird in that matter."
"I will take a look when I find the time."
"Do that. There is a lot of useful knowledge there. But coming back to good topics, should I be worried about becoming a grandfather soon?"
"Calm down, you dog. We've only been dating for a few weeks, so let's not run so far into the future."
"Bah, the future will come faster than you think. I can already imagine how cute your little ones together will be."
"Certainly, no more cute than me. There is no way to be prettier than me," Harry said pompously. Sirius, of course, caught his joke and laughed his butt off.
"Don't want to worry you too much, but even now, I can tell that I saw cuter newborns than you," Sirius said a bit sadly.
"Impossible," Harry replied, not catching the change in Sirius's mood. "Who could be cuter than me?"
"Charlie and Rosie," Padfoot replied even sadder than a second before. This time, Harry caught it.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but who are Charlie and Rosie?" Harry asked softly.
Sirius looked at Harry incredulously, but when he realized that his godson didn't know, his face changed into pure horror.