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Ed
Chapter 6. Harold "Harry" Potter.
Years passed since the cold relationship between the Crown and the Potter house, but incredibly the businesses continued as usual or sometimes better, receiving information from all over London and although the information took longer to arrive for the measures taken for the king especially from South or North London the intel was secure and accurate, also the news were coming from Scotland and Ireland in equally conditions, there was different because the businesses were smaller and modest, located mainly in the humblest neighborhoods of the big cities such as Edinburgh and Dublin.
1770 arrived with great noise in the streets of a London that was already taking the shape of the great city that it is today, despite the enormous difference in social classes among muggles and notable difference in London neighborhoods social levels especially in those that were right next to the River Thames. The differences between poor and rich were quite easy to see in those times, Nothing Hill for example, a poor neighborhood just Kensington north that was nothing so far but compared with today that it's one of the most prestigious neighborhoods for its pastry color characteristic houses and that some muggle actors have their residence there. Another example was the muggles themselves because was easy to see the necessity in them for their ropes or occupations. King George the Third was already beginning to show signs of his famous madness that I've even seen captured in modern books in detail. The reality was that the king didn't always show dementia signs as modern books make it seem, it was only a period in which his mental illness led him to have a very visible dementia period in 1788 that even caused great battles between the then Muggle Prime Minister surnamed Pitt and the Prince of Wales the future George IV. Because of this, it was prudent to inform Damocles that wizards should keep their level low and try to stay out of many Muggle situations that were occurring, for example, communication with France. Contrary to current literature says, King George the Third was a popular king in Great Britain, even though he was singled out for the American' colonies loss and for his aggravated mental illness in his reign last years, also the British muggles were imposing and had immense power over the other muggle nations, in those years Great Britain was the dominant nation in Europe thanks to its multiple conquests and battles, in addition to being a nation that despite the political situation between kings and parliament, maintained an impeccable politics system through a king, a prime minister, his cabinet, a parliamentary and judicial system. Some Europe nations like France for example had a defined system like that but doesn't have the same organization and independence from each other's like British system, the French revolution in Eighteen century end was the perfect example of what I am saying.
1774 came and I thought that my affairs in the colonies were over, but no and I returned to Charleston in that year, this time Damocles Davies accompanied me and for the first time, well I really don't know if it was so, but it was the first time that an English wizard traveled to America through a muggle transport means like a ship. The trip was very pleasant for him, I suppose, and for me, well, something that was not so strange to me.
"Is this huge mansion yours?", Damocles asked me when after a couple of hours, we arrived at the mansion on the outskirts of the city. The mansion was, well, I didn't save money when I bought it, a two-story white building rounded by big maple trees on the left, a small cotton plantation on right and a superb Ashley River view on the back.
"Of course, my friend," I replied, "did you think I lived in a hut?
"No, but the Mayfair mansion compared to this, well, its a huge house, Potter," he replied, "I assumed you were not one of those who squandered their wealth."
"And I don't", I said, "just that things are different from London my friend, here are more space and every property regularly are rounded by trees and plantations that it's the more common work to do here."
Thanks to Damocles we were able to meet a magical society that in all my visits to the colonies I never thought existed. It was not a large group like the one Damocles claimed existed in Britain, but I met several witches who lived in a community called Salem in the New York colony, far away in the north. It was a long overland journey that took months because we had to cross North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland Pennsylvania and finally New York to reach that community. It was remarkably interesting to get to know some communities that today are large American cities like Fayetteville, Richmond, Alexandria, Philadelphia, or New York for example. The colonies' magical community was much more reserved than the British, according to a witch named Agatha the muggles settlers were extremely aggressive and religious with everything that in any way represented magic or witchcraft, some real or fake witches had perished at their hands in the famous witch burning. While some were saved thanks to their magical abilities, others were not so lucky. You see, witches, in this case, have an incredible reason to fear muggles despite being superior because muggles had that determination to found answers and destroy everything, they don't understand justifying their barbaric acts in religion or God designs, motive was the reason to them to remain hidden in the shadows.
Surprisingly and after all those years it was interesting for me to learn that wizards existed in America and elsewhere, such as the Aztec shamans in the New Spain who according to Agatha remained hidden in the great archaeological sites that had previously been theirs and who, according to the writings, were great death worshippers and very skilled in a magic branch called necromancy. In reference to vampires, I could not gather much information, it turns out that bloodsuckers, vampires, or Nosferatu were nightmarish beings that had come from European stories, however, none had been sighted or if they existed, they had an incredible ability to go unnoticed. Agatha the leader insisted that vampires were a complicated entity and that the only thing they had heard from us were the Aztecs old legends who spoke of women called tlahuelpuchi and that they were a combination of bloodsuckers and witches, who regularly fed on children.
In the end, despite knowing that it was impossible that there were no records of vampires in the colonies, suddenly the concept that the British Ministry of Magic had of us came to my mind, and the Salem' witches or other wizards in America recognized the danger of our nature and decided better to leave it aside.
Our return to Charlestown was very eventful and terrible, Damocles experienced firsthand some pitched battles between muggles who were already beginning to mutiny against the Great Britain' King, cities like Philadelphia, totally full of patriotic individuals, was chaotic and stress to people who they considered loyal to the king, or cities like Richmond who remain loyal to the King but was difficult to travel despite the immense security measures for every people who cross their city. As I said above, the difference between the settlers who supported the king and those who longed for his freedom was so minimal that at any moment it would explode and so it was, for example we suffer a shameless assault outside Jamestown, Virginia and for the first time I used my vampire abilities to murder someone without my blood need or Damocles who put a impressive fight using his magic abilities to disable the aggressive muggles, that assault was not the only one we suffer, in every city there were revolts and actions that incited a greater conflict than discontents, for example, a year earlier, in 1773, some settlers had gathered in Boston and, angered by excessive taxes, had thrown into the sea a considerable tea cargo coming from England in protest. After overcoming another assault in Bath, North Carolina, more aggressive and difficult like others because our abilities were proved to the maximum and once, we claim the victory we can continue our trip, it was calmer, but we arrived in Charlestown exhausted and surprised.
"I never thought I would use so much magic to evade many problems, not even in the goblins' wars did I have to use so many spells to get out of it", Damocles said, looking overwhelmed and tired, "the muggles are fearsome individuals."
"Muggles are very organized when they set their minds to it, but our assaults were different to a fight for liberty, maybe that muggles were possible rebels derailed to their leaders or not", I told him, "their intention was to strip us of our belongings and money, I very stressed and I can't theorize about it right now, but I think that assaulters are something called militia and they are gathering resources for a possible and inevitable war with Great Britain"
"The Ministry of Magic is right to keep us isolated from muggles, they're barbaric and savages like...," he fell silent, and his cheeks flushed.
"We all, Damocles, we all are when our emotions are at their peak and I dont blame they, they are looking for better conditions, freedom and respect from their leaders, something no to different to me for example, I'm a vampire but I need be free to do what am I want and be respected by everyone for who I am as person not my condition", I interrupted him, that wizard was embarrassed because if anyone was the least prejudiced it was precisely him.
A day later we were sailing back to London, and it was during our voyage we were able to learn how the settlers finally had organized a writing claim or declaration to their independence from Great Britain through a congress created in Philadelphia precisely and just as we were disembarking in Portsmouth, and without even waiting for a refusal from the King to their request Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts experienced the Independence War beginning. Again, after its last war with France ended years earlier, Britain was once again at war, this time, with its compatriots on the other side of the ocean.
As Peter had foreseen at the time, the first places to be affected by the war were the plantations and the mansions in the open countryside and look at the irony of fate, of my businesses only the Potter's inn in Charlestown Town Center survived, results Charlestown was a city still under the British control, however the beautiful mansion called Isobel months ago had been burned down to the ground and most of the surviving slaves joined the battle against the English or with them. In Beaufort things had been just as unfavorable, the "English Hangman" in the North and a masked brothel was the first to fall, according to my last intel, an old Oliver Donovan acquaintance had undertaken a crusade in revenge for what happened many years ago and after raping the brothel's prostitutes and murdering the men who took care of the place, he had reduced the pub to ashes. Perhaps that action was not worthy of great American feats, but the war brought out the worst in everyone involved. The Potter' Inn on Greenville was lucky to be left standing, but it was taken from me by the city council because for my status like English Lord I had to cover my debts to the next free state of South Carolina. With only the Inn in Charlestown I could say that my influence and power there was totally diminished, and the information network was crumbling, the British side didn't have the upper hand and that only meant that Johan, if he was still alive, had to be brutally cunning and save the interests of the family in America.
For the first time in years, my life as an English muggle lord and as a vampire was at a terrible crossroads, although in London everything was as good as ever, the losses in America weighed my disinterest in affairs there caused a kind of disappointment in me, perhaps I should have been smarter and prevailed, I had years in this world and I hadn't been able to prepare myself better, I knew muggles very close, I knew how they acted and what they were capable of, maybe my situation with Donovan, with Dalia, blinded my instinct not to neglect my affairs in America, never in all the life of the Potter' family, it had been as vulnerable as Beaufort and as powerless as Greenville. At that precise moment Harold Potter, I, was a prisoner of a new emotion that I had forgotten for years, frustration. I remember clearly that night and the days that followed, for they will remain, like the night with Carmilla in Hyde Park, the London infamy book. Out of control, full of revenge and resentment, I let myself be carried away by that instinct that the Ministry for so many years identified in me, and I filled the streets of London with death and fear. They were merciless attacks at night, the muggle authorities couldn't find any explanation for the women, children and men who appeared dead in the alleys or city parks, my bloodthirst and murderous instinct combined with frustration, anger and revenge was a deadly formula, it seemed that from one moment to the next not only what happened in America had caused everything, my parents, Isobel, Dalia, the humiliation by the crown years ago appeared acclaiming a revenge that they had not obtained at the time and for the second time in my history in this world, Death and Life spat in my face again in a more twisted and cruel way different to the others.
One cold night, Damocles Davies looked at me furiously from an alley, entrance in the Kensington streets, at my feet lay a dead young man whose lifeless eyes still reflected surprise and terror, and his skin took the characteristic color of a dead body, "It's not convenient for you to approach me Damocles, not right now...", I looked at him with an enormous sense of hatred and rage.
"You're a stupid vampire!" he said defiantly and pointing his wand at me, I instantly became motionless and couldn't move, "do you know the amount of favors I've had to ask for to avoid having a fate like Carmilla's?", his chest rose and fell rapidly like was running a race.
"Free me from this magic!", I tried to move, but I couldn't, Damocles looked firm and kept pointing his wand at me.
"No, I'm not going to do it, not until you promise that you're going to stop this disaster", he insisted, "the muggles are baffled and the wizards extremely furious and nervous Potter, the crown has revived that crusade against wizards because they consider them guilty of what happens and the Ministry has insisted on bringing legislation to the Wizengamot to eliminate you and control the entire vampires species in Britain to avoid another situation like this"
"I've been in this world for years, wizard", my tone was cruel, "I have experience years on things you wouldn't even understand, I told Gilligan, I told Umbridge, don't assess me. "
"I don't know what's going on with you, but you must stop all this, you many years living in this world, years converted on experience and you can't allow that animal and violent instinct send them to shit," his face was red with anger, "are you going to allow that your killer instinct throw away so many years of prestige, power, influence, and respect that have characterized the Potter family since 1400?"
I stared at Damocles, who was furious and pointing his wand at me and suddenly something inside my head made me come to my senses. I was a vampire and that was my nature, but for many years, almost two centuries now, I had kept everything at bay, I had raised the Potter family for years to become a noble and renowned family in the wizarding and muggle world, I had maintained a perfect balance between my muggle and vampire life. Damocles was right, blinded by frustration and rage I had not realized that I was putting on the precipice everything I had built for years. I could see Damocles relax when he saw my countenance change and after that, he lowered his wand and I regained movement, giving him a simple gesture with my head and after a long silence I slipped into the shadows and left him in that alley.
During the following two years I had no contact with Damocles or the magic world again, I decided to lock myself in my mansion and let time pass, again spacing out my attacks and varying my menu as I usually did, prostitutes at my service and citizens who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time. 1778 came with unexpected news for me, Damocles Davies was in agony and on his deathbed, he had asked his son, Archibald, to be able to speak to me. I have forgotten something that I must say before continuing, Damocles was already a retired wizard from the Ministry when minister Gore retired, he decided to do the same, he spent a few years advising the department he headed for years, but he spent most of it in retirement. That he returned in 1776 to stop the bloody path I caused was undoubtedly a relief, another in its place, wouldn't have bothered to even make me come to my senses.
"I see that you have decided to leave that cave called mansion", there was that magician who was still a great friend to me.
"I came because a dear friend of mine is around your mansion, Lord Davies," I said trying to soften the atmosphere, he smiled and coughed a little.
"Stop calling me that, but yes, that friend of yours has been following my footsteps for a few months," he replied, "and after a while feeling her company around my house I think, my good friend, that it is time to accept her invitation to go."
"Would you like to continue living?" I asked him as a joke.
"Like you, not, I'm not that crazy, I pass and Merlin free me of something like that", he replied, "but I wanted to ask you a couple of favors..."
That night Damocles died, and that day was, along with all those I have already mentioned, one of the most difficult for me and honestly, I don't want to talk about that, unbelievably, hurts like a sunshine ray touching my skin. The favors were three and they are simple to explain, the first is precisely the fact that you can be reading in these lines my life or part of it; the second was to find me a companion to live with me for the rest of the time I decided to be in this world; and the third to stop helping his successor, a wizard named Humphrey, to keep the communication channel open and it turns out that something had happened, both Damocles and I concentrated on sharing information without worrying about who received it in a Ministry that without realizing it was full of corruption. It turns out that Minister Crowdy was beginning to have problems with a group of pure-blood wizards who, with the large amount of information about the customs and way of life of the Muggles, began to plan a direct attack to dominate them. Unfortunately, we care about creating a positive information exchange that we don't try to create in a secure way, with Damocles as leader of that channel it was not difficult for him to trust that Charles Humphrey had the same capacity.
Daphne stopped her reading with some mixed feelings, she had decided to continue reading the diary and not cheat by reading Harry's files. She honestly found Harry's way of describing the events that happened in his life fascinating, and for the first time, contrary to what you might think when reading the London murders episode, it showed her once again how misunderstood vampires were in the wizarding world. She could assure to the magic world that vampires were not creatures, they were human beings, muggles if you called in other words, that they were that, only muggles who led a normal life and that they only had one condition that made them murderers for survive.
Another point that she found interesting was that last part about the Minister Crowdy period, as she remembered in the Greengrass library books there were a couple of passages that spoke of a pureblood group led by an old Pansy Parkinson relative called Caronte who sought to destabilize the muggle world by attacking them and since then and to date there was an aversion to muggles for some wizards, perhaps the situation with Grindelwald and Voldemort had stifled that supremacy sense, but even in the shadows there were societies that sought what since 1778 began: eliminated the muggles.
Oblivious to Daphne, in her office at the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Umbridge was looking carefully at the folder in front of her, her mind trying to read the contents, but something didn't leave her alone, it was a terrible feeling that something had happened, and she could not understand what is. She had been feeling that for several days now, as if something was missing in his head, but she couldn't find that, she remembered going one afternoon with Sissi to the Magic Records department and then nothing, it wasn't hard for her to suppose that someone had cast a spell on her from memory, after all that was one of her specialties and it should be, erasing the memory of the wizards in order to fulfill her plans was and should be her greatest focus.
"I can't believe that after so many years, James Umbridge lives on through his offspring", suddenly all color went from Dolores' face, "I thought that a wizard as dastardly and nefarious as him didn't have the ability to reproduce before dying at the hands of werewolves", the malice in his voice caused Dolores to swear.
"So, the rumors were true, and you didn't die in that 'accident' in Mayfair, disgusting creature", she said, his face still pale and afraid, but firmly.
"When you wizards played hide and seek from muggles, muggles gave better battles than a group of wizards with wands in hand", the silhouette of Harry Potter appeared from the shadows, "we see each other again, Dolores."
"Disgusting beast", she said, spitting at the ground and quickly taking his wand, "Lucius..."
"Lucius Malfoy was nothing compared to Abraxas his father or his grandfather Phillipe, or his great-grandfather Antonín", he said mockingly, inviting himself to sit in front of her, "the Malfoy generations have been diminishing their ability to be great villains hiding behind a child resentful because their dad didn't want him ", the subtle reference to Tom Riddle was present and for Umbridge' face she know that fact too.
"No one is able to survive the Fiendfyre spell, no one, not even filthy beasts like you vampires," she told him poisonously.
"That's right, Dolores, no one can, like nobody can survive the aggressive werewolf slash or a vampire bite in the throat ", Harry replied sarcastically but with meaning, "but wizards tend to forget that I'm not only a vampire who lives as a Muggle, I've also been part of the wizarding world for years, does the word portkey ring a bell to you?"
"Impossible...", her face lost all color finally.
"As always wizards consider that no one can be superior to them, not even someone like me", he showed her fangs and the woman stand up abruptly, "but thanks to Miss Daphne Greengrass I was able to realize who I must thank for the oblivion to which I have been imprisoned for years, and not Dolores, I don't do it because I feel forgotten, I do it for your inexcusable insult to the the memory of great wizards who existed before you and the stupid cockroach named Cornelius Fudge, they was extraordinary wizards who gave their lives to make the wizarding world as great as it is now... ", Dolores Umbridge immediately was trying to shoot something from her wand, but nothing happen, she was trembling.
"I'm an important official in the Ministry, Potter," she said, now leaning back terribly scared, "besides, the members of…, they'll know you was the responsible…no! Avada…", but it was too late. Without giving her more time to react, the vampire attacked her fiercely and although the witch was desperately trying to get away from him, it was impossible, Harry attacked her mercilessly and destroyed her throat, he had not even been kind enough to bite her on the neck, no, a witch like Dolores Umbridge didn't deserve even the slightest act of mercy in her death, none, finally after a couple of minutes Umbridge's lifeless body fell to the ground and Harry Potter spit some of her blood in the floor like protest, then took the wand that fall from her horrible and tiny hands and broke it.
"This is for all the werewolves, muggleborns, muggles and beings who died when you were an undersecretary, disgusting bitch", throwing her wand remains towards the body, Harry Potter slipped back into the shadows just in time to avoid being discovered by the female auror who quickly entered the door of that office and scream horrified by the scene.
The next day, Daphne Greengrass was walking through the St. Mungo's corridors ready to start her round, the night before she had broken her promise a little and had rummaged through Harry's file resolving some doubts about what she had read so far, for example, in the records there was a file that recounted the results of the investigation that Damocles carried out and how she described Harry in it, or also how Harry had supported the Aurors of the Gore period to recognize the Muggle weapons of the time and confront them. Or how Harry aiding Damocles resolved a large misunderstanding between a muggle and a wizard for a land using just diplomacy and French language.
"Daphne, I'm glad I see you," Tracey Davies came out of breath.
"What's wrong, why are you in hurry?" she asked, putting aside her thoughts.
"Haven't you heard?", she said as they sat on one of the double benches in that corridor, "Dolores Umbridge has been found dead in her office at the Ministry."
"What do you say?" she asked, shocked.
"Someone attacked her last night, according to the media the blaming was on the werewolves, and no one doubts it, after all with the Anti-Beast Commission formed by Umbridge during the war...", she told her, "But the most curious thing is that she didn't have a single drop of blood as if she had been attacked by a..."
"Vampire?", she interrupted Tracey, his heart pumping fast and her face turning paler and paler.
"Yes, that was Skeeter was saying in the article…", she replied, "is something wrong with you? you've turned pale..."
"Tracey", she said with extreme seriousness, "do you think your father will allow me to speak to Damocles one more time?"
"Again?" she asked strangely, but she nodded.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at Davies Manor and after a few minutes Daphne was again looking at the painting of Damocles that was looking at her apprehensively from her painting.
"Mr. Davies, I have some questions to ask you," she finally said, "again."
"It took you a while, but I was already expecting it," he replied smiling.
"Is Harry alive?", she asked directly, she could see Damocles wipe away his smile and move nervously.
"And how could I know?", he returned the question, but his voice was trembling a little, "I'm only a simple impression of the real Damocles no..."
"Dolores Umbridge was murdered last night in her office at the Ministry of Magic", she replied with no haste, "Just a couple of days after that..."
"After what...?", he looks at her raising an eyebrow but not alarmed by Dolores Umbridge fate.
"Days ago using the surname Greengrass I was able to locate the Harold Potter vampire files, protected by enchantments and guarded by the same witch I mentioned above", she replied sincerely, "I can assume that Umbridge covered up an operation to keep Harry Potter hidden from the wizarding world and considering that she was a member of the Ministry's forgetfulness department in her youth she may have been in charge of..."
"I could never prove it", Damocles finally said with defeat, "but since the Wilfred contempt and the James death, their descendants took on the task of hindering most of the communications between the vampire Potter and the Ministry, I even went so far as to bet Gore that many of the information sabotage and false news spreading about vampires was through them."
"Do you think there are more wizards involved?" he asked.
"I don't doubt it," he said, "oblivious to the contact with Harry and my friendship with him, I carried out a couple of investigations and stopped many attempts at legislation in the Wizengamot that sought to affect vampires primarily, however, the purist group was always one step ahead of me, you see, not only vampires were the enemy of some wizards in those years, but Muggles and unfortunately..."
"Harry represented both of them", she admitted in surprise.
"Precisely", he replied nodding, "I heard from my son, Archibald, that some pureblood wizards led by Caronte Parkinson had formed a large group that using their faction in the Wizengamot sought to legislate against muggles and through secret meetings sought to undertake campaigns against them to eliminate them or simply have fun, even some evil tongues claimed that the mysterious Minister Crowdy death was organized by them"
"My father confirmed to me that Wizengamot representatives can use their power to do that and more," she admitted, "I didn't doubt Parkinson and maybe a Malfoy or Nott lead those raids."
"Harry doesn't know, and I think was cowardice for my part not to say him that, but I think I was poisoned in the end for they", Damocles admitted sad, "I remember a heaty discussion with Caronte one day about an absurd legislation that suppress the werewolves rights to visit Diagon and another to obliviate muggleborns after their Hogwarts graduation, I opposed and take the job to form a big group that say not to that decrees, a week after that I…"
"I read the part where before you died and had to face Harry," Daphne interrupted him, Damocles was incredibly sad saying that she decided to change the subject.
"Stopping Harold Potter in his horror campaign was the hardest thing I've had to do since I met him, treat with werewolves was nothing compared to stop a friend knowing that if he dont stop the ultimate goal is killed him and his decisions were leading him to throw away so many work years to prove that vampires were not bloodthirsty creatures but normal beings, just like us", he sadly admitted, "but the situation was not for less, you will see Miss. Greengrass, for a muggle vampire boasting of being part of the most influential family of the time and with the most sophisticated intelligence service since the 1600s, lacked something curious, weighed his nature."
"Oh, yes?", she asked interestedly.
"His experiences with the cruelty and his nature attacking muggles, especially the women who work in his brothels", Daphne blushed, "Harry had never experienced in his own flesh the war or battle cruelty that the muggles provoked, if you read that part in his diary, well, during our trip to America back in 1774 things got ugly and for the first time in all the time I had known him and although he never accept it, I could see in his expression, in his countenance, that for the first time he found that he was not invincible for being a vampire or a powerful muggle lord and the muggles were not as weak and docile as he thought deep down."
"I read everything of what happened, from your assaults in Virginia and North Carolina to the big stress that muggles caused you using your powers," she told her.
"Yes, the muggles are so savages, but in the end and for the first time in their history the Potter' family suffered more than at any other time, the American independence war was undoubtedly a part of his life that left a mark on him. It showed him that, despite having wealth, power and influence being a muggle and immortality, powerful abilities and murderous nature being a vampire, nothing of that guaranteed him a clean and safe win, he found for the first time an emotion forgotten by him called frustration something that he never thought would happen to him, in other and simply word, he lost Miss Greengrass, he totally lost and that for him was enough reason to explode", he said, "I won't justify everything he did because of that, but I can understand it"
"What an impressive point of view, Mr. Davies, thank you, it helps me understand a better that I read about him", she said smiling weakly, Damocles smiled at her, "but you still don't answer my question, is he alive?", Damocles stared at her and decided that a stain on the floor of her painting was more important.
After a couple of years with a cold relationship between the Ministry of Magic and me due to the Damocles death and my distrust in his successor, in the bottom of my dead heart I think some of those fucking bastards called Wizengamot representatives has something to do with the Damocles premature death, but I don't have proofs, well the year 1780 arrived and the harassment towards me began again, I understood then that the peaceful truce between the two established by Damocles was left behind and the relationship with that wizard named Humphrey would be anything but friendly, however, despite everything, I could tell that the Ministry was moving erratically in my surveillance, as if they were not doing it officially and that set off my alarms, it was as if the wizards who were watching me were not the typical Aurors who regularly harassed me in Boot's time.
In 1781 many things happened at once for me particularly and I decided to start using new strategies in my relationship with both Muggles and wizards. First, I hired two people, who became, like Damocles and Peter, great allies, advisors, and friends. Arriving from France at the 7 Years' War end I met a beautiful woman disguised in rags who was begging for money outside one of the Potter pubs near Kensington, when I saw her some curious sensation began to tingle in my gut, I recognized perfectly that tingle was not love and much less drink her blood, No, it was a strange sensation that I still can't explain and that for the first time manifested itself. Following her one day in the shadows I realize the misery in which she lived and according to the little she can visualize in her mind. It's true, I haven't mentioned that part, it turns out that with a couple of years and after an interesting training, vampirism gave me a small advantage over others, I had some ability that allowed me to read thoughts fleetingly or in very weak minds practically read minds, I never used it, honestly it caused a lot of headaches to do so, but sometimes I did it, as in that one. Well, I could visualize in her mind how difficult her life in Paris had been, how she was stripped of her family heritage, brutally raped by a close relative, and left for dead in a complicated neighborhood north Paris. Even so, Madeline Dubois arrived in Dover in 1763 and in 1764 to London where after several years working as a maid and prostitute she was finally overcome by misery. Her story, for some reason, was attractive to me and I decided to help her, so I decided to use my power and the Potter wealth to turn her into Lady Madeline, a family protégé.
Madeline was a huge success, prepared by her father for years before he died she was a woman with knowledge in finances that at that time was not as developed as now and although women regularly didn't have that level of privilege, Phillipe Dubois had educated his daughter in all possible and necessary aspects for when she had to assume control of the Dubois fortune as her only daughter. Madeline quickly became my right-hand woman in all Potter house affairs and the wealth quickly strengthened and in a certain way shielded itself from the incessant cost generated by the excessive taxes that the English crown put on the nobles to cover the expenses of the wars.
With Madeline arrival things were more bearable for me in reference to Potter accounts and businesses and just as that woman came into my life, two years later, in 1783, William Murray arrived, a Scottish wizard who became Madeline equivalent, but in the wizarding world. William was a wizard born from the relationship between two muggles who had awakened the magic gene at eleven and had graduated from the 1780 Hufflepuff Hogwarts Class, however, as I have already been mentioned in this diary the wizards vision in relation to the rest of us was not the friendliest of all, Will, being a Muggle child or in the simply words a muggleborn wizard, had little chance of excelling in the wizarding world due to the constant harassment, racism and discrimination that was not only encouraged by the Ministry of Magic, but by the great pureblood families. With Maddy in charge of all my Muggle affairs and with Will in charge of all wizards, for the first time in a hundred years I was able to give myself the privilege of fully enjoying my wealth, both of them knew who I was, and they knew my condition, Maddy respected it and Will, although at first he looked fearful, eventually accepted it. The freedom they both granted me gave me the opportunity to explore my vampire status and discover all my abilities and capacities, such as perfecting mind-reading, stealth ability, and my extrasensory senses. My hunting was still deadly to the brothel women or English ladies who appeared on my radar some night.
My life had taken a new turn and thanks to Will, the harassment of the ministry diminished, and the hitherto unprotected Mayfair mansion became a muggle property with magical protections. In addition, Will had begun to shape the Potter business, which although it was solid and prosperous, was not fully developed at all and he took care of it, now, Apothecary Potter had an office in the famous Diagon Alley that attended most of the business with the wizarding society, for first time I had staff in my charge on administrative things and finally the prestige and power in the magical ingredients market had been reaffirmed that Henry Potter had begun in 1400 centuries earlier in Yorkshire was a success. With Will also came innovative ideas to exploit the business and a new twist appeared, now, I not only supplied ingredients to the wizarding world, but also sold and distributed basic potions for the daily life of wizards at affordable costs especially muggleborns or werewolves. Lord Harold Potter, vampire to the wizarding world, was one of Gringotts' most influential clients and one of the most mysterious characters Diagon ever set foot in.
On the Muggle side, Maddy did her thing, cementing the organization that is still in force today, in 1782 Potterness was born and formalized all Potter businesses into a single organization. Maddy began to put aside the style of medieval pubs and brothels to give them a style adapted to each point where they were located. For example, in the area surrounding where the British parliament is located today, one of the pubs acquired a new twist and prestige and suddenly became a English gentlemen club called "The Parliamentary Fool" visited exclusively for English parliamentarians or aristocrats who could, without the need to mix with the rabble or poor class, drink alcohol and enjoy the feminine service that the now "ladies-in-waiting" provided in total privacy, secrecy and discretion. In addition, it began with the creation of advanced offices, which were business points to deal directly with the affairs of all businesses. This is how the four strategic points of Potterness emerged, one in York, another in London, one more in Edinburgh and finally Plymouth. Now Lord Harold Potter was not called a nobleman, which was already out of fashion according to Madeline, now he was an English aristocrat, heir to one of the oldest families in England and whose wealth was enviable.
And there is something else that I have not told you, Johan, Peter's son and in charge of my America, affairs finally sent me news and by the end of the year 1786, Will, Maddy and I were taking one of the Potter ships heading for the new independent nation that was called the United States that in 1784 had formally declared its independence from Great Britain.
Dear Lord Potter
I deeply regret having to wait a long time to be able to contact you through this letter, the independence war as predicted by my father was fierce and aggressive; despite having kept the Inn in downtown Charlestown, I had to keep a low profile and maintain with great discretion all the businesses that survived the settlers now free citizens expropriation. I know that it has been two years since the war ended and again, I apologize for sending you news so late, but these two years have not been in vain. Today, you, my dear Lord, own a huge cotton plantation outside of Greenville and another further south of Savannah in the neighboring state of Georgia, also during my escape and run trips I was able to buy two properties that are now converted into Inns, one of them is located in the north of Richmond, Virginia and another in Norfolk in the same state. To make an inventory, my lord, you have two cotton plantations; Greenville and Savannah, three inns; the one in Charlestown, the one in Richmond and the other in Norfolk, in addition to two that you are the two new pubs owner, one established in Philadelphia that is regularly visited by the now new American society, mainly settlers who today are part of the congress or politics and another pub established in Boston that, like the rest of the pubs in London, it has the usual amenities.
I'm very sorry that I have taken the courage to do so much business in your name my lord, but Peter, my father, explained to me perfectly all that I know and I would not be a good manager if I didn't adapt myself to the situation, the distance between England and Carolina is great my lord, and decisions have to be made quickly. If this letter reaches you in the best condition, let me invite you to visit Charlestown to update you on all developments.
Sincerely, your humble servant, Johan Peterson
When that letter arrived in my office months before embarking on my journey, I couldn't help but let out a triumph cry, the situation had become incredible for me and Johan had fulfilled all the expectations that his father had of him and that I had in him. My arrival in Charlestown was different from all the ones I had done years ago, the city was still trying to recover from the battle that had been fought between English and Americans, but there was a different air, the port looked impeccable and the road to Johan's house was full of nostalgia on my part.
"Lord Potter, welcome", Johan said when he saw me get out of my car with Madeline and William, Johan's house was close to where Isobel Place previously been, "when that strange bird came to me with a letter tied to its leg I was very surprised and when I read in the letter that say you would arrive in Charlestown around this time I prepared its arrival," communication through birds had been a Will's great success copying the communication of the wizards.
It turns out the old Isobel Place had been restored in its entirety and including some improvements it was imposing on the banks of the Ashley River like its prime. It should be said that after that I firmly assured myself that Johan will stop being a slave and become a man free of all the prejudices that still existed, the muggles say that a monkey can learn new tricks, but it would always remain as a monkey and so it was with American society, although now they were free from Great Britain, they were still the same and the difference in social classes and roles were the same, prejudice and discrimination were still in the air, it had only changed its name.
With Madeline's knack for business and combined with my vision, Johan, and Will's, Potterness developed its first continental expansion and was now headquartered on property attached to the downtown Charleston Potter Inn. In addition, following Will's advice, Magical Potterness emerged for the first time, and Potter businesses spread to the United States wizarding world, which little by little began to organize itself as Great Britain did at the time.
By 1790, Potterness and Magical Potterness had become the consummation of all Potter businesses that had sprung up in both the wizarding and muggle worlds since 1400 when Henry Potter settled in York, now the Potter family was one of the oldest, most influential, and admirable houses in Britain and the United States. Me? one of the lords most envied by the English aristocracy, a vampire classified as highly dangerous by the British Ministry of Magic and a man who had one hundred and ninety-two years of life in the world.
Even though my life had taken a huge turn in all aspects, it was the magical world that, despite all of Will's advice and support, caused me the greatest problems, first, Will couldn't move freely because of the enormous number of prejudices and impediments that his blood status represented and second, my vampire nature didn't keep me in a good position either. Gone had been the harmony fostered by Damocles and Gore, now, pureblood dominance was more exacerbated and surprising, the factions of them in the Wizengamot began to threaten the others with absurd and complicated legislations. People like Madeline, muggle, William, muggleborn, and me, vampire, were outcasts in the wizarding world, although the consolidation of Magical Potterness was impeccable, the bureaucracy and the same society full of prejudices were a terrible headache.
"New legislation has been passed today", Will told me sadly, "but in a nutshell it determines that no muggleborn can hold bureaucratic positions in the Ministry of Magic."
"Caronte Parkinson has become a terrible pain in my fang," I replied, "and that James Umbridge's cockroach even from the grave continues to fill the corridors of a Ministry that, while prejudiced, was not as vile as it is today."
"Also, now muggleborns who come to Hogwarts cannot make decisions for themselves without being approved by their magical tutor", he continued, "the Ministry has taken it upon themselves to undermine the decision-making and positioning of my class in..."
"You don't need them Will", I interrupted, "you are my right hand in everything related to the wizarding world, you have a power position and had a growing wealth with Magical Potterness, that should be enough", seeing him want to respond I raised my hand to silence him, "I know it's frustrating to have so much prejudice, but I'm telling you that I've been dealing with it for years, there's no point in getting carried away by situations beyond our reach, muggles have modified much of it through wars and coups, wizards just haven't found their time, and I can bet it will come to them in the worst way."
"I thank you again for the level of trust you have placed in me, Lord Potter", he told me, touched by that advice, "thanks to you and your support is that William Murray is no longer a simple librarian in Diagon."
Daphne looked with some nervousness at the building sign in front of her, Potterness Continental was a muggle building located in central London, after reading the exceptional story of Harry, Madeline, William, and Johan she had found that something as big as Potterness and Magical Potterness could not be so easily vanished from history as it currently was. Finding answers was one of her many abilities and now she had a mission, so before contrasting Harry's story about Murray in the wizarding world she considered, due to the event with Umbridge, to stop her search among the wizards to explain what had happened and focus on that world that she knew, the wizards, even over the years, It was still so alien to them, the muggle one.
"Good morning", said the blonde looking at the woman in front of her once she entered the building, "I have made an appointment with Jessica Wilhem,"
"Wait a minute," replied the Muggle woman and began to key in some weird box with letter, "A yes, Miss Daphne Greengrass, eleven o clock, please follow me", she invited her to follow her to some metal doors. Daphne watched cautiously as those doors opened and after a brief indication from the woman who said, "please touch the button with the number four, then the elevator will do the rest, when you reach the fourth floor a bell announces your arrival, ask for Miss Mandy and wait", the Daphne looked at herself confounded, "is something wrong darling?" the muggle woman asked when she didn't see her move.
Making use of a hitherto unknown Gryffindorian quality, she entered and after pressing a round button with the number 4 the doors closed, after a minute and a strange sensation in her stomach a bell was heard and the doors opened. Following intuition, she left there and walk straight until she reached some small sofas.
"You must be Miss Greengrass," a white-haired, bespectacled woman looked at her intently, "take a seat, Ms. Greengrass, Miss Wilhelm is in an emergency meeting, but she will attend you as soon as she finishes, coffee or tea?", she asked.
"Water please," she said nervously, the woman smiled at him and go, she sat down.
Despite having interacted a couple of times with muggles, she was surprised by the organization with which they performed, and that place was so sophisticated and elegant that it had nothing to envy to the great pureblood mansions in the wizarding world. In front of her was a glass table with a plant in the middle and a couple of magazines arranged perfectly, one of them, the one that was at the top caught her attention. In it you could see the photo of a brown-haired woman with a face very similar to that muggle actress named Rachel Weisz that she had seen in that muggle film that Tracey forced her to see, dressed in what she understood was the fashion for muggle women who had management positions, there, with arms crossed under the legend "Potterness opens its doors on the United States West Coast", Jessica Wilhem smiled at her
"Not since the Potterness United States division in the was founded back in 1786 in a simple building in downtown Charleston, South Carolina by Lady Madeline Dubois and Lord Harold Potter, has an expansion as great as the one established a couple of months ago in the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco in California, the company's spokeswoman, the prominent English businesswoman Jessica Wilhem, current director of Potterness Continental, has announced the opening of a chain of bars and hotels throughout the large Californian cities...", after reading for a while she was able to realize the importance that the Potterness company had in the muggle world and how coincidentally everything agreed with what Harry exquisitely wrote in his diary.
With all that information and while she was sitting on that comfortable and luxurious sofa she could realize that Harold Potter had been someone extremely important and alive or not, his legacy and that of the Potter family, at least in the muggle world was so great that she was surprised again that someone so important had vanished from the wizarding world and even, although it didn't resonate in the magic world the fact that he was a vampire and had so much power in the muggle world was reason enough to attract attention, considering that even today the Ministry of Magic had a control and surveillance of all magical entities and that through departments such as Hermione Granger's they will strictly take care that the wizard secret was not revealed. Harry, if he continued with the same murder method to feed himself, must be a constant focus of alert for the wizarding world, something undoubtedly didn't fit.
"Miss Greengrass", if Jessica Wilhem were an attractive and imposing woman on a magazine cover, in person she was just more, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I've had a couple of important meetings that couldn't wait", smiling she invited her to follow her to some huge wooden doors at the back of that waiting room.
That woman's office was superb, the view was impressive in the huge windows behind a curious old desk, "Although it seems very hard to believe," she said when noticing Daphne's interest in the desk, "this desk was a gift from Mr. Johan Peterson to Lord Harold Potter in the year 1788 and was brought directly from Savannah, Georgia to this building," invited her to sit down. Daphne could see that in one of the paintings hanging above a modern fireplace was a portrait of a red-haired woman with beautiful features, "Madeline Dubois, founder and along with Lord Potter one of the greatest minds that have ever lived," she told her.
"She doesn't look like an English woman?", she asked, trying to break the silence that followed.
"No, Madeline was French, born in Paris and emigrated to London almost at the end of the 1700s", she replied, "but tell me Miss. Greengrass, what we can do at Potterness Continental for you?"
"For now, to be an information source," and with formidable speed and a stupefy spell later, Jessica fell unconscious in her own chair.
Making a couple more quick movements, she momentarily sealed the office door and proceeded to check everything she could. What was she looking for? the answer was simple, since Umbridge' murder a terrible desire to find out if Harry was alive are bugging her and appearing in Potterness would not only help her to check what she read about Harry and his muggle life was true, but some proof that would tell her if the vampire was still alive. The bookshelves in that office, despite the elegance of the place, contained books ranging from well-kept to old. Her eyes widened as wide as she could see the age of each volume that quickly passed through his gaze. A purple book with golden edges caught his attention, when she took it, she felt a strange sensation in his stomach and from one of the pages fell a small portrait painting by hand in which a beautiful woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, fine and detailed features and white skin could be seen sketching a sincere smile and her cheeks seemed somewhat pink perhaps from some embarrassment, she was undoubtedly a beautiful woman, but that portrait contained a particularly strange fact, and that is that the woman painted was none other than herself. Nervous to find her photo in that place and afraid of being watched, she took that portrait and when she turned it over, her heart stopped when she read what it said there and her senses were disconnected, she heard a distant and hurried "Miss. Greengrass" but it was late, her eyes closed and she felt a terrible blow to the head before she gave in to unconsciousness. The photo was not really a photo, but a portrait whose caption on the back read: "Lady Isobel Potter, beloved wife."