"You want me to do what?"

"I was quite clear with my instructions, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly.

It took effort for Snape not to raise his voice. "It is impossible to teach an eleven-year-old Occlumency," he tried to reason. "The process is too difficult on the mind."

"That is why I said to be careful," Dumbledore said. "If you can only teach the rudimentary basics now then do so and train him further later, but you will start now. Harry needs his mind protected."

"Why do you go so far for this child? Raise him, train him yourself, teach him dueling, now this-"

"You know very well Severus," Dumbledore snapped. "Or have you forgotten the prophecy you risked so much to tell me?"

"I forget nothing."

"Then you will also remember that I was the one you saved you from the Dark-"

"But not her!" Snape yelled.

Dumbledore softened his voice. "No, I didn't save her, and neither could you. But we both have a chance with her son."

"He's quite literally years ahead of his classmates. After he finishes brewing early in my class he pulls out a book and writes down notes for the rest of class."

"Yes, Minerva and Filius told me the same thing," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "The book is an introduction to spell creation."

"He's bored out of his mind in class. You've created a teenage savant with the express purpose of fighting a Dark Lord. Have you even told him?"

Dumbledore lowered his eyes slightly. For the first time, Snape saw what Dumbledore looked like ashamed. "I will. In due time."

"When?"

"When I decide to. Which had better be after he learns basic Occlumency."

"And if I refuse?" Snape shocked himself with his boldness.

Dumbledore's normally kind eyes flashed dangerously. "You won't. Leave Severus. Clear your Thursdays at six o'clock.

Line Break

Harry practically ran out the castle to meet Sirius. "I don't think I've ever seen somebody so excited to talk about paperwork," Sirius said. "I know I never am."

"I get to talk about how rich I am," Harry said. "What's not exciting about that?"

"Well it's technically not your money yet," Sirius said as he started walking towards the guest Apparition point.

"But it basically is," Harry argued.

Sirius let the matter go. "How are classes? Who are your friends? Your letters leave out a lot of detail."

Harry's eager face fell and became annoyed. "Classes are easy. I learned all of this when I was seven, so I just read ahead in class. I'm trying to learn spell creation."

Sirius sighed. "I was afraid of that when we started you early. Has Dumbledore talked to you about doing your O.W.L.s early?"

Harry nodded. "Grandfather mentioned he might be able to get me in front of an examiner early."

Sirius had been shocked six years prior when Dumbledore first mentioned getting Harry a wand early. Now, he was getting used to the fact that Harry was not a normal child. He'd done the research, and if Harry did indeed take his O. the next year then he would be the third-youngest ever to do so. In his last dueling lesson, Sirius had been astounded with the spells Harry was using. Harry had set a desk behind Sirius on fire and then summoned it so the flaming desk shot towards Sirius's back. He'd been forced to Apparate out of the way to avoid exposing his back when he dealt with the desk. In two years, Harry would be dueling with people that won't be able to Apparate. He'll tear the under seventeen circuit up.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid," Sirius said. "I don't want you trying any spells you invent without a teacher in the room."

Harry pouted a little. "Fine. I promise."

At the Apparition spot Sirius took Harry side-along to one of the entrances at Gringotts for those with appointments. A goblin was behind the desk of the reception area, a wizard was sitting on a couch waiting for his appointment. A door behind the desk presumably led to the front of the bank.

"Name?" The goblin sounded bored.

"Black, Sirius."

The goblin checked his sheet. "Lodgrip is ready for you now, Lord Black." This meeting was about the Potter accounts, and since the Potters were old customers with the bank, preferential treatment was given.

"I've been waiting for twenty minutes!" The wizard on the couch said.

"Guzholm is with another customer right now," the goblin said. "Door to the left, Lord Black."

"Bloody purebloods!" the wizard said as Harry and Sirius walked away.

"Gringotts cares not for your wizarding blood," the goblin explained to little avail. "Only the age of the account."

Harry was visibly uncomfortable and looking at Sirius for support as they walked through the door to find a goblin waiting on the other side. "This way."

"Dumbledore can pass all the legislation he wants and it won't change this," Sirius said as they followed the goblin down a hallway. "Gringotts has a certain level of autonomy from the Wizengamot, and this isn't directly about blood. The oldest families just have the oldest accounts."

"In here," the goblin gestured. The plaque on the door read 'Lodgrip.'

Paintings depicting goblin greatness hung on the walls. Hung on the far wall were a crossed sword and spear of goblin metal. The desk was made of the calming wood from the magical choro tree and the chairs had seats of red velvet. Gringotts was one of the richest institutions in the world.

Sirius sat down in one of the seats and motioned for Harry to take the other. "I'm here for the annual update on the Potter account."

"Authentication?" asked the goblin behind the desk.

Dumbledore was the Regent of House Potter. Sirius may have helped raise Harry but he had no legal authority to see the accounts without permission. He passed the signet ring of House Potter over to the goblin. Two griffins, the symbol of House Potter, faced each other on the ring.

Lodgrip pulled a plain-looking lacquered box out of his desk drawer and dropped the ring into it. The box started to glow faintly. Giving the ring back and putting away the box, the goblin grabbed a stack of papers.

"The Potter accounts continue to grow, as ever," Lodgrip reported. "With very little withdrawn in the last twelve years, the year-over-year interest is significant. The percentage of revenue from Potter luxury potion supplies is especially worth noting."

Two hundred years prior, Lord George Potter had started a company importing rare and exotic potions supplies. The Potters no longer directly ran the company, but maintained a majority of shares in the company and received one percent of all profits. "Jordan DeVries was appointed CEO two years ago and has done a great job," Sirius told Harry. "You want to keep him there."

Harry was ogling the total profits from the company circled at the bottom of the page. Two hundred thirteen galleons had gone into the accounts from that alone.

Lodgrip pushed several more papers towards Harry and Sirius. "These are the reports from the properties House Potter leases. It is my recommendation to increase the rent on the vacation home in Dover to keep pace with inflation."

"Who currently rents the place?" Sirius asked.

"Leslie and Sue Johnson."

"I don't know them," Sirius said thoughtfully.

"Both are muggleborns," Lodgrip supplied.

"Do you think you really need a few more galleons?" Sirius asked Harry. The young Heir was a little wide-eyed from all the large numbers as he shook his head. "I agree. Leave the rent as it is for now."

"Interest from the accounts year-over-year was five million seventy-six thousand galleons, sixteen sickles, and five knuts," Lodgrip said.

Harry was definitely floored now. "How much is there total?" he asked. He knew that his family was rich, but he'd never known how rich.

"Six hundred eighty-six hundred million four hundred thirteen thousand ninety two galleons, twelve sickles, and ten knuts."

That was an unbelievable sum of money. Sirius at least seemed unfazed. "Your grandfather was clever with his money. Dumbledore told me he'd invest in new ideas and then spend the money to make those businesses so profitable he'd make all his money back. He doubled the family wealth in fifty years." Lodgrip nodded in confirmation. "The Potters reached the same stage as the Blacks, Selwyns, Flints and a few others where money just doesn't matter anymore."

"So Grandfather Charlus was just able to make what he wanted successful, successful," Harry said.

Sirius nodded. "Yes."

"And that means I could too when I turn eighteen."

Sirius nodded again. "Yes."

Harry had to suppress a foolish grin. This was a pre-teen's greatest dream.

Because the accounts were essentially self-sustaining there was very little to discuss so Sirius took Harry back to Grimmauld Place for a talk about what it meant to be a pureblood Heir and eventually Lord.

The Blacks had one of the smallest ancestral homes of the British pureblood elite and certainly smaller than their coffers deserved. But the Blacks had decided to stay in the heart of London, close by to the workings of the magical government. Since his parents had died, Sirius had spent years redecorating the place, removing any traces of his family. One of the most prominent features of the house now was the excessive amount of red and gold used in the decoration. The only room that had been preserved was Regulus's.

One of the more archaic rules Hogwarts still possessed was the right of any major House to pull a family member out for a day if they could prove it was for House business. The only stipulation was a requirement that any and all missed school work would be made up, which of course barely affected Harry.

Sirius poured two cups of butterbeer and sat down at the table next to Harry. "You have hundreds of millions of galleons to throw around when you become of age," he said. "And an ancient and respected last name, not to mention a vote in the Wizengamot. And after I die, all of that will double. Some purebloods use all that to control as much of the government as possible. House Black essentially ran the government in the late eighteen hundreds. Or you can use it to further your society."

"Like create charities," Harry said.

"That's one way. I started the Black Fund two years ago to sponsor any muggleborns who wish to attend Hogwarts. Amelia Bones covers the training cost for many prospective Aurors. You can also pour money into smaller businesses like your grandfather did. Money can give you the power to create or destroy."

Harry nodded. "I understand."

"You don't really yet, but you will by the time you come of age."

"Hey!" Harry protested.

Sirius put a hand on his godson's shoulder. "That's no insult. You just haven't lived enough yet."

Harry crossed his arms. "I'm eleven now."

"That's proving my point," Sirius said. "Another thing. You may be approached at some point by certain Houses with the intention of a marriage contract. Most Houses would consider themselves blessed to be tied to House Potter."

Harry made a face. "Ew. I don't want to get married right now. Girls are annoying."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, well like I said wait a few years, you might change your mind on that last part. But hopefully that won't come up for years. Right now, I want to focus on politics. I know it's boring but if you're going to vote on legislation you need to know what you're talking about. I won't let another uneducated moron throwing his vote around. You have a responsibility."

"I'll pay attention," Harry promised.

"Good. We'll start with a quick overview of the parties. There's the Legacy Party, led by Lucius Malfoy."

"Draco Malfoy is in my year," Harry said. "We don't get along."

Sirius scowled. "You'd be Heir Black years ago if it wasn't for Lucius. It won't matter in the end, I'll get a vote past him. He leads the open supremacists, and thankfully their numbers are slowly shrinking…

Line Break

Harry scribbled a line out and started again. Arthimancy was tricky sometimes but it was necessary in spell creation. It was a simple concept at first. He just wanted a lumos that could be made brighter or dimmer at will. The issue was that it was in practice very difficult. The amplification aspect meant that he had to essentially reverse engineer a charm like sonorous and integrate it into lumos, and then had a controllability aspect to the charm. All in all, quite complex.

Unfortunately for Harry, he wasn't one to give up on a challenging concept and so had dragged himself into tens of hours of tedious mathematical calculations. To Harry's surprise, changing the swirl from a semi swirl to two-hundred seventy degrees made the math all work out correctly. Harry checked the clock and was surprised to see that curfew was in only twenty-five minutes. He'd been working for three hours and hadn't even realized it.

Sirius had made him promise not to test any spells without an adult in the room, but Sirius wasn't going to know. He could always pretend to try it for the first time in front of Dumbledore. Besides, Madam Pince was in the library somewhere.

Being careful and deliberate to use the correct motions, Harry attempted his new spell. "Lumoisa." His wand glowed like a normal lumos. Everything seemed to be in order so far. When he jabbed his wand, the light dimmed to almost nothing. He grinned. It was working. He flicked the wand upwards to increase its luminescence…

And was blinded by an explosion of light. He quickly canceled the charm and rubbed black spots out of his eyes. The entire library should have been able to see the light bomb. Still blinking spots out of his eyes, Harry quickly grabbed his stuff and left the library. Despite the partial failure, he couldn't help but grin. Just a little more tweaking.

Line Break

Looking at the chessboard, Harry was stumped. He was used to being head and shoulders above his classmates in just about everything, but his magical abilities did him no good here. Ron was a far superior chess player than Harry, which meant that Harry needed to beat his only real friend. The only issue with trying to beat a better player, is that Ron kept beating him. This would be Harry's third loss of the afternoon.

"I don't get it," Harry said as he made an ineffectual move with his one remaining knight. "How do you keep doing it?"

Ron moved his bishop into position. "Check." Harry was forced to move his king, knowing he'd be checkmated soon. "I don't know mate. Bill said once that chess is the game of knowing what pieces to sacrifice. That might be it."

Harry and Ron had several onlookers as they played. While nobody in Gryffindor harbored any hate for Harry as far as he knew, they still enjoyed seeing him lose in something.

"I always try to keep as many pieces as possible," Harry said.

"That might be it. You need to know when to throw a piece away." Several turns later, Harry was indeed checkmated. "Want to try again?"

Frustrated, Harry stood up. "No. Professor Snape said he needs to talk to me about something."

Ron looked worried. "You don't think he's moving you up a year is he? I need you as my brewing partner."

Harry snorted. "Not likely. I don't know what he wants."

"Well tell me what the git says afterwards." Snape heavily favoritized his Slytherins and picked on the other houses as much as possible, Gryffindor above all others. He wasn't very popular.

Harry tried to think of why Snape would ask to see him on a Thursday evening. The potions teacher wasn't known for making conversations private to save embarrassment. If he had problems with Harry reading in class, he'd make that known in front of other students.

The classroom was empty when Harry walked in. "In here Potter," Snape called from the office.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Harry said as he popped his head in. His confusion grew as he sighted Dumbledore's Pensieve in the office. Harry thought it never left Dumbledore's office.

"Come in Potter, close the door," Snape snapped. He seemed unusually peevish, even for Snape. Harry did as he was bid and stayed silent. The potions teacher made him uncomfortable. "The Headmaster has informed me you are to be instructed in Occlumency. This is your first lesson."

Harry considered himself well versed in knowledge on different types of magic, but this was unknown to him. "What's Occlmancy?"

"Occlumency," Snape corrected, "is the art of protecting one's mind from Legilimency."

"It's like protection against mind reading?" Harry said, very intrigued now. He knew next to nothing about the mind arts.

"There is no mind reading," Snape said, visibly irritated now. "The mind is not so simple as an open book. But a legilimancer can achieve awareness of another's emotions, and if skilled enough, piece together memories. It is a highly difficult art."

"Are you a legilimancer?"

"Yes Potter, that is why Dumbledore instructed me to teach you this."

"Are you reading my mind right now?" Harry asked curiously.

"I told you there is no such thing as mind reading!" Snape snapped. "And no, I am not using legilimency on you right now."

"Sorry sir."

"First lesson," Snape said with his typical lack of formalities, "clearing your mind. Surface thoughts are the easiest to catch a glimpse of. The calmer you are, the harder it is for a legilimens to discern any useful information. Many people find taking deep breaths helps. Think of one single thought. Memories are too complex, think of an object."

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on a single object. After a minute he said "ok."

"I should warn you Potter, that Legilimency is rough on the mind. I do not believe somebody of your youth should be training in this, but the Headmaster insisted."

"If Grandfather thinks I'm ready then I'll be ok," Harry said.

Internally Snape sighed. "Very well. Focus again." After perhaps thirty seconds he whispered "legilimens." A few bare seconds later he pulled out again. "You were thinking of an orange Potter."

Harry frowned. "What did I do wrong? I was focused like you said."

"Your mind was split between the orange and when I would start," Snape said.

"Oh. This is tough."

"Yes Potter, the mind arts are known for being 'tough' as you put it. Again."

Well there you go, another chapter. A bit more worldbuilding on the contrast between purebloods and everybody else. I decided to make the Potters wealthy because I figured why not give Harry everything? Besides, Dumbledore has been managing his accounts for eleven years so I figured they're in good shape.

I've also decided to go with the fanon canon that Jame's parents were Charlus Potter and Dorea Black. Gives him a better claim to House Black.

Tell me if you have any ideas you want to see. Until next time.