After a relaxed dinner with his grandparents, sharing stories of his father’s childhood and their lives, Harry tiredly went to his room. A trunk with edges covered in engraved lilies was waiting by the bed. This must be the books his mother had created that Mathis had mentioned.
Flipping the latch, he ignored the slight sting of the wards on the trunk, testing his blood and magic. Inside, he found dozens of leather-bound volumes and a few tubes of loose parchment. He pulled out the parchment and settled back onto his bed to read. The directions were surprisingly simple. Textbooks could be loaded into each volume, which, once activated, put the reader into a trance-like state to absorb the knowledge.
The pre-filled books varied widely in content, but there were several books labeled Hogwarts texts year 1-7 for the various subjects. Considering how infrequently Hogwarts seemed to update their courses, they should give him a good head start on the next few years. He loaded the pre-filled books onto his nightstand and moved the trunk with the blank texts to the wall. He would decide what he wanted to add to the blanks once he finished the current.
There were several books for potions, and the lesson plans that his mother included suggested starting with the reference materials before moving on to the potions textbooks themselves. He settled back into his bed and opened the first book, tapping it with the ebony wand. An hour later, he blinked his eyes open with a pounding headache. The wards were fussing at him, pushing images of the library at him, which was only making his headache worse.
“Mathis?” Harry muttered quietly, wincing.
“Yes, Master Harry?” Mathis asked, popping into the room.
“Do you know what the wards are trying to tell me? I just keep getting flashes of the library.”
“One moment, Master, let me retrieve the items.” The elf popped out only to return a moment later with four books in his arms. “I believe that the Potter Wards wish for you to study these books before you continue with your use of Mistress Lilly’s books.”
“Okay. Thank you, Mathis.” Harry muttered, sitting up with a groan.
“I will get you a headache potion, Master Harry." he popped out while Harry fuzzily looked at the books that the elf had delivered: Mind over Matter, Organizing your Thoughts for Mental Protection and Speed of Thought, and An Auror’s Guide to Occlumency. Great, he’d gotten more than enough of attempting to “clear his mind” after months of lessons with Snape.
Mathis came back and handed Harry his potion before popping away and leaving the young man alone. Harry uncorked the vial and drank it down, shivering as it burned away his headache with a wave of ice. Snape had never given Harry any directions on Occlumency beyond “Clear your mind”, reading the books could only help. Hermione had supposedly scoured the library at school for books on the subject but never found anything beyond vague references. Maybe it was time he did his own searching.
Moving to his desk, he pulled out parchment for notes and started reading the first book. He only read for a few hours since he still had to head to the bank in the morning, but in that short time, he learned more than he ever had in his lessons with Snape. He had four scrolls full of notes, but he thought he understood the basics of the process at least.
Digging out his schedule, he added meditating for an hour each night before he used his mother’s books. He could almost feel the excess knowledge cluttering his mind. Most of the information he’d absorbed seemed useful, but he had no frame of reference to apply it. He could recite the pages verbatim, but if asked to explain the passage, he would have no idea where to start.
Harry eyed the rest of the books with a sigh. He might be able to stuff his head full of knowledge using them, but he would still have to spend hours practicing the spells and potions to make sure he could actually use that knowledge. See, Hermione, he thought with a snort, book learning wasn’t everything.
Putting everything away, he started getting ready for bed. He might as well meditate for a while and see if he could put the book into practice. If he fell asleep while meditating, he would at least get a good night’s sleep, he thought with a tiny grin.
He laid himself out under the covers on his back and closed his eyes, trying to do the breathing exercises recommended in the book as he slowly relaxed. He let himself review the wards on all the properties before he pushed that information away as well. The magic from his House ring swelled in his mind, pulling him deeper into the trance.
Harry landed with a thump in a dusty room with only a small cot against one wall. He knew where this was; it was his cupboard under the stairs. He had to still be in his mind; there was no way the cupboard was actually this large. Pushing at the door, it swung open, revealing a long hallway filled with different doors. If this was his mind, then this was the representation of how he had his mind organized. Wandering forward, he reached to open the first door, noting the peeling paint and tarnished knob.
Inside was the second bedroom at the Dursley’s. The room was stacked floor to ceiling with broken toys and junk. Picking up a small broken top, Harry watched as the memory played out before him. The memory of carefully playing with the broken toy for one glorious afternoon before Dudley saw it and told his parents was at least a mostly good one. He was tempted to leave the room as it was, but if he was going to organize his mind, then he needed to start from the bottom up. Concentrating, the room slowly expanded, revealing lines of wooden shelves where the items could be stacked and labeled.
The hardest part of working through the items was that he relived each abuse and punishment as he moved the junk to the shelves. He forced himself to keep moving, picking up the next object and watching the next memory. He was emotionally drained and exhausted when he finally moved away from the now-clean room and to the next door.
The next room was a massive library with papers and books strewn over every surface. It would take days to clean up. Harry left this room as it was for now; he would have to come back tomorrow night when he was meditating. There was a door for his memories of his childhood when he was not at the Dursleys and another for his memories outside of book knowledge from Hogwarts. The other rooms were for major players in his life; Harry thought it was rather ironic that both Voldemort and Dumbledore had their own doors.
Rubbing at the tear streaks covering his face, Harry stumbled out of bed and into the washroom. He washed his face and used the bathroom before heading back to bed. He felt utterly wrung out and beaten.
The next morning, he stumbled from bed when his alarm went off and went to take a long shower. His dreams had been full of bad memories and incidents that he’d previously forgotten. It made for a bad night’s sleep, but Harry had managed on less. He got dressed quickly and gathered his notes and papers needed for his appointment before making his way down to breakfast.
“Good morning, Harry. Did you not sleep well, child? You look pale.” Dorea asked as he took his seat, watching him from the large landscape across from his seat.
“Good morning, Grandmother and Grandfather. I spent several hours last night clearing my mind, and I’m afraid it affected my sleep.”
“Occlumency practice?” Charlus asked, looking Harry over with a sharp eye.
“Yes, Grandfather. Mathis found several books to go with my mother’s learning books.”
“It will clear up in a week or so once you get everything sorted. You might want to take a few pepper-ups with you, however, to get you through your meetings today.”
“Thank you, Grandfather. I’ll make sure to pack some.” Harry said with a tired nod.
“You are rather young to be practicing Occlumency, Harry,” Dorea said, glancing over the young man as he started to eat.
“I started practicing last year under Dumbledore’s order. I thought it time that I study the art in truth now that I have secrets to keep.”
“And how exactly were you being trained?” Charlus asked, his face closing off into a stern mask.
“Our potions professor, Snape, gave me lessons however, most of the lesson consisted of him shouting at me to clear my mind and casting Legilimens at me over and over again.”
“What?!” Dorea gasped, “He could have done you permanent damage!”
“I didn’t expect much better from him, Grandmother. He and James were schoolyard enemies while they attended Hogwarts, and he extended that hate to me when I arrived at Hogwarts.” Harry said with a shrug; he’d resigned himself to the childish behavior of the other adults around him. Did no one ever try to better themselves once they left school?
“Has your Head of House done nothing about his attitude?”
“McGonagall is very hands-off, but considering that Dumbledore is the one who pardoned Snape in the deatheater trials, I doubt she would get her complaints even acknowledged unless she went over his head.”
“That man has his hand in more dirty deals than the devil himself,” Charles said with a snort.
“Sadly, I have to agree with you, dear. Even when we were alive, Dumbledore thought he knew best for everyone, forcing the Light to shun family magics and rituals that we had practiced for centuries." she said, sharing a dark look with Charlus, “He made our history into a thing of darkness in his attempts to purge the pureblood extremists and the wizards and witches went tripping after him gladly shedding their traditions and knowledge if it meant they never had to see such madness as the war again. It didn’t stop the next war from coming, did it? And now they’re placing all their hopes on a prophecy that Dumbledore says he heard. Has anyone else heard this prophecy, Harry?”
“Only the witch who supposedly gave it. The copy in the Ministry was destroyed in the fight at the end of the year. I asked that the goblins search their records as well. I’ll check with Gold Kris today and see if Ragnok will allow it.”
“It’s good to know Dumbledore’s intentions, but until we have proof, there’s not much we can do beyond prepare. How are your plans for your studies going?” Charlus asked, moving behind Dorea and hugging her tightly.
“I believe I have everything covered. I will need your help in the afternoons to go over the House business.”
“Of course.” Charlus said with a nod, “You might want to consider starting to reach out to the families of some of our business partners. It wouldn’t hurt to be in good standing with their children when you’re announced as the Head of House Potter.”
“Who would you recommend I approach first?”
“You should look to who we previously had contracts with first. Many of them may have died out during the war, however, if things were as bad as you’ve said. We can go over the list once you get back from your appointments today.”
“That would be great. Thank you, Grandfather.”
They chatted a bit more, but soon Harry was straightening his robes and gathering his papers for Gold Kris and the lawyers. Activating his portkey, he strode away from the entry room with a small grin. The house rings had ensured that he knew the tricks for using floo and portkeys, and he no longer landed in a heap on arrival.
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“Greetings, Mister Potter.” Gold Kris said, moving several papers off his desk and pulling out the ledger he used for House Potter business.
“Greetings, Account Manager Gold Kris. I hope you have been having a profitable week?” Harry asked, taking a seat in front of the account manager’s desk.
“Most profitable now that your accounts are unfrozen.” The goblin said with a toothy grin, “Your new lawyers are set to arrive in an hour. Are you still certain you wish to continue to retain the old family lawyers?”
“Yes, I want as little as possible left out in the open for Dumbledore to stumble upon. They will be kept on retainer until the reveal of my emancipation. At that point, they’ll be released and sued for their corruption and negligence.”
“Here are the files on the three lawyers you wished us to investigate. I would recommend Master Blacktooth for your dealings with the Boy Who Lived merchandise. He is well versed in such cases and often works as a consultant for our dealings with the Ministry. The other two, Master Forsyth and Master Hastings, are both competent and willing to take on a full-time caseload for a large family.”
“Are they aware which family is asking?”
“They are not. They are all currently bound to silence about anything that occurs during the meeting.”
“Do you think that Hastings and Forsyth would be willing to work together? The more I look into the Black and Potter finances, the larger the project becomes. The Black estates have suffered generations of corruption and misuse, while the Potters have been utterly stagnant and in decline since my Grandparents’ death. I want people utterly dedicated to this project. If they already have a heavy workload, this isn’t going to work. I thought we might split the families with one lawyer working on one House, the other assisting as needed but mostly focusing on the other House.”
“The decision will be up to them, but it’s a sound strategy. I shall arrange the meeting directly after we finish. Were there any other pressing matters before we start?”
“I need to know if you think one of the lawyers would be a fitting representative for my Houses. If not, I need a way of introducing business contracts without exposing my position to the Ministry. I also need to find a tutor for dueling and sword work.”
“I cannot help with finding a representative however, I can point you to a small loophole that many Houses ignore. The main house representing a contract does not have to be named in the contract as long as the smaller House is part of the larger.”
“And many of the Houses that combined with House Potter are not well known,” Harry said with a grin.
“Exactly, Lord Potter. As for the tutors, you are welcome to employ one of Gringotts curse breakers, many of them take on part-time jobs as Dueling instructors, or you can pick up a listing of tutors from a local bookstore.”
“Thank you, Gold Kris. I will keep both options in mind. Have you heard back about the prophecy search?”
“I have. Your request has been granted, and I have one of my assistants combing the records now. After having reviewed your memories and requests, Ragnarok wishes to meet with you. He will see you at one this afternoon.”
“Of course, I would be honored to meet with him.”
“Good, the rest of our discussion can be postponed until after you speak with him. The guard will show you to the room where the lawyers are waiting.”
“Thank you, Gold Kris. I won’t keep you longer then. Time is gold.”
“Exactly, Mister Potter," he said, snapping his fingers and summoning a goblin to show the cloaked young man from his office.
Harry followed the young goblin into a small meeting room, taking in the three lawyers waiting on him. Two appeared to have been chatting together before their entrance while the other stood alone near the fireplace.
“The vows of silence have been made and witnessed. A guard will be outside, knock if you require anything.” the goblin said, gesturing for everyone to take a seat.
“Thank you. May the rest of your day be profitable, Griphook,” Harry said with a small grin, happy at having placed the familiar face.
“May your enemies tremble and your coffers overflow, Mister Potter,” Griphook replied, giving a tiny bow and a feral grin before he left the room.
“Shall we be learning the identity of our new employer?” Lawyer Hastings asked as he took a seat next to Forsyth. Blacktooth stayed where he was watching with a faint look of disdain.
“Before I do, I need to know if you are willing to take on two large House accounts. The work to repair the damages done since the war will mean a large commitment of time as well as oaths of loyalty to the Houses. If you do not wish to commit to such a large task, then you may leave now.”
“I believe I speak for all of us when I say we are willing to commit ourselves to such a large account.” Lawyer Forsyth said after several moments when no one moved.
“Very well,” Harry said, removing his cloak and stepping up to the table. “Houses Potter and Black require your services.” Forsyth and Hastings sat there gapping, but Blacktooth finally stepped forward and took a seat at the table.
“I would be interested in helping you rebuild the House of Black, Lord Potter,” Blacktooth said with a grim smile.
“While you may be assisting Hastings and Forsyth at some point, Master Blacktooth. I have a more pressing matter for your attention, namely the ‘Boy Who Lived.’” This earned him a rather ghastly smile.
“The unauthorized merchandise?” Blacktooth demanded.
“The merchandise, the books, the slander and libel against House Potter, the sky’s the limit, Master Blacktooth. Once my emancipation and posting as Lord Potter are announced publicly, we will be demanding reparations from everyone who sought to use an orphaned child for profit.”
“I accept,” Blacktooth said with a fierce grin, these were the kind of court battles he lived for.
“Wonderful. Masters Hastings and Forsyth, I will need your assistance with helping rebuild the lands and buildings left in disrepair since the war. I will also be reworking the contracts that are currently open on every business venture both families still have active.”
“Most eager for it, Lord Potter.” Forsyth agreed with a ready smile.
“We are going to have years’ worth of work ahead of us, gentlemen. I hope you are ready for it.” Harry pointed out.
“It’s been quite a while since things were changing in magical society, Lord Potter. I look forward to the coming years.” Hastings said with a nod.
Calling the guard back in, they quickly arranged for the binding ritual and bound each of the lawyers into secrecy and loyalty to Houses Potter and Black. That completed, Harry laid out the breadth and scope of his plans. He held back only the contents of the prophecy; everything else was put out in the open.
“You do realize, Lord Potter, that this will take years, dozens if not longer...” Hastings asked hesitantly, even as he made notes.
“I’m aware that much of what I have planned will not show a profit for years to come. House Potter is known for playing the long game, Master Hastings. A game I intend to win. I will see House Potter and Black regain their former status, and those that have worked to hurt my House will be punished for their crimes.”
Harry parted with his new lawyers after agreeing to meet once a week to continue the planning needed to get things in motion before the end of summer. For now, the contracts that needed to be sorted would be analyzed and new contracts drawn up. He spent the remaining hours before he met with Ragnok in Gold Kris’ office working. His family owned controlling stock in several companies, but the companies had either declined since the war or moved away from the products that had driven the family’s interest, the businesses either needed to be sold or restructured.
House Potter produced potion ingredients for the magical community until the war forced them to stop production. Their lands housed magical animals and plants whose parts were some of the most needed and sought-after ingredients in the world. The house elves continued to harvest and store these ingredients from the animals that died but left the herds alone over the years. Many of the magical species thrived in this isolation, meaning that he had solid breeding stock if he wished to expand.
There were eleven years or more of ingredients stockpiled in his warehouses that could be sold immediately. Instead of flooding the market, Harry arranged for several small sales to occur in the next few months under two of the lesser-known Potter family names. These profits would be used to seed his new business investments and ventures.
Harry arranged for the goblins to make mailboxes for his lawyers as well and to have them connected to his own. The sleek wood and metal box was small and light, barely the size of a large book, yet Gold Kris warned him that most of his mail was stored in a side vault for now. Harry called one of his house elves to move it into an empty room at the manor so that it could be sorted. The goblins had already removed the items that were cursed, and howlers were disenchanted by the wards on both the box and the manor.
Once it was time for his next meeting, Harry pulled his cloak on to traverse the halls. He was escorted by Gold Kris into a massive meeting room, chiseled roughly from the stone under London. Ragnok sat on a stone throne, waiting for their approach.
“Thadin Gold Kris and Lord Potter.” the guard at the door announced before stepping back and letting the heavy door close behind them.
“Come forward, Mister Potter, Gold Kris. We have much to discuss.” Ragnok said, gesturing them both forward.
“Thank you for seeing us, Director Ragnok.” Gold Kris said, dropping to one knee a few feet away from the throne.
“Your story interested me, Mister Potter. A human child who finds he is hounded and stolen from by the ones closest to him, yet instead of panicking, decides to work with goblins to increase both their wealth and power.”
“I find myself with few allies, Director Ragnok. I came into the wizarding world ignorant of its culture and my place in society. Account Manager Gold Kris was the first to offer me the truth.”
“Most of your kind do not accept the truth even when we present it.” Ragnok rumbled, watching Harry sternly.
“The truth is often not what we want to hear, Director Ragnok. It cuts more than it heals, but wounds must be lanced before they can heal completely. I needed the truth and have been grateful to share what I know to see my House returned to its former glory.”
“Your request was not one granted lightly, Mister Potter. We have found a prophecy that our elders have passed down for generations. Before I reveal it, I must ask that you tell Thadin Gold Kris and me the prophecy from Dumbledore.”
“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...”
“And Mister Potter fits this prophecy?” Gold Kris asked softly, glancing between his director and his client.
“Two boys fit the prophecy, myself or Neville Longbottom. It’s why both of our families were attacked.” Harry said softly.
“For having acknowledged that you are the prophesied child, Dumbledore has done precious little to prepare you for battle,” Ragnok said, watching Harry with hard eyes.
“I’m starting to think he does not expect me to survive the final battle, Director. From the lack of training and the potions and spells used on me, Dumbledore wants me angry, ignorant, and underpowered. He wants me to fail.” Harry said grimly.
“Then we can only hope that he is surprised at the end.” Ragnok said with a feral gnash of his teeth, “Our prophecy is much different, Mister Potter. I believe that Dumbledore has either changed his prophecy or is manipulating events to fit his version of the tale.” Ragnok gestured to a large tome on a table to one side, and Gold Kris hurried to fetch it. “Read, Thadin Gold Kris.”
“Yes, Director Ragnok." he nodded, opening the book to its marked page. He froze for a long moment, glancing from the book to Harry before he finally started to read.
“The child comes, the breaker of bonds. The child of lightning comes the one who sows chaos and reaps peace. The child comes the one who will forge our future with hands scarred with lies. The child comes, the Change Bringer.”
“It is one of our oldest prophecies and one that I thought would never come in my lifetime, Mister Potter.”
“And you believe that I’m this child?”
“I do. This is only the first section. The prophecy is part of a larger legend, one that says the final battle between the Goblins and the humans is approaching; the final battle between all species. Those who assist the Change Bringer will rise and take their place in the light above ground while those who defy him are destroyed. There is a test we can perform if you wish to prove if you are the prophesied one?”
“Very well,” Harry said, glad to at least have a way to prove the prophecy one way or the other. “What is the test?”
“Bring in the elf!” Ragnok boomed. A moment later, the doors opened, and a small, dirty house elf was shoved in. It scampered its way to the throne, all but crawling on its knees.
“This is Toff, a house elf that was turned over as collateral from its House. The bonds to its former house were not broken, and it wished to be free. You have already freed the elf called Dobby. I am asking you to free this elf.”
“But that was a trick. I tricked Dobby’s master into giving him clothes.” Harry protested, watching the cringing elf with pity.
“Handing an elf clothes is not enough to break its bond. An elf’s master must intend to disown the elf, and often, a ritual phrase is employed. You freed an elf without either of those factors present.”
“Do you wish to be free, Toff?” Harry asked, dropping down to sit next to the groveling creature.
“Yes, sir. I want to be away from them. I wants to work for a proper House.”
“Ok, I’ll try Toff,” Harry said with a sigh.
He reached forward and took the timid elf’s hand. Closing his eyes, Harry reached for his magic, trying to see what was holding the elf to his former House. The goblins watched as the young man’s head of house rings began to glow softly with golden light before a soft grey mist rose from the ground and began curling around the young man’s body.
Harry gasped softly as the lines of magic wrapping the frail elf slowly laid themselves out before his mind’s eye. Dark lines of red cut painfully into the elf, draining his life and magic. The bonds were tangled among a dozen other crisscrossing threads.
Harry touched each thread gently with his magic, trying to see what each bond led to. The thin, brighter colors gave off feelings of contentment or even happiness, so Harry left those as they were. It was the darker strands that pulsed with remembered pain, hate, and other dark emotions that he began working at untangling.
Once the threads separated, Harry grasped the thick strands of black and red. Concentrating, he began unraveling them from Toff, pushing and chipping away at the strands until the bonds dissolved in a soft wash of magic. He blinked himself back to the throne room with a ragged sigh. Ragnok and Gold Kris watched him with measuring looks while Toff curled against his lap, crying hysterically as he gasped out his thanks.
“Welcome, Change Bringer and Grey Lord. We have much to do.” Ragnok rumbled, giving Harry a deep bow from his throne.