Chapter 18 The Wizarding World Aftermath

And plans she did have; however, it would take months if not years to implement them. Right now, they had to worry about the aftermath of Tom's rule. So the two talked about how they were going to help the Ministry without actually going there. Well, they wanted to help Kingsley to build a new government, and Harry knew people would suffer if there was no help from the Ministry to rebuild. He knew they could use funds, but he didn't want to just give them to Kingsley, if that was who was going to be in charge, so Luna suggested a low rate loan. They were debating the terms out when Hermione came into the library.

"Okay, Harry, I'm here. What's the big surprise?" she asked when she took the chair opposite of the couple.

"Well…um… you see… it's not here right now, but I'm sure it's haunting the library somewhere," the dark-haired teen said evasively, darting his eyes from side to side and rubbing the back of his head. He and Luna had gotten so caught up with their planning that they forgot to go and find the wayward ghost.

"Actually, I am right behind you, though I am not sure how I like being referred to as an it," came the jovial voice of Merlin.

"Damn it, Merlin, don't do that," Harry scolded when he jumped. He was still on edge after the battle, and the ghost should have known that.

"Merlin, we are all a bit jumpy, so try not to scare people," Luna chastised, in a milder voice, wagging her finger at the spirit.

"My apologies, you are correct," the ghost said with a small bow, but a mischievous grin.

"Oh Merlin, you're Merlin," Hermione stated when she saw the ghost, and then looked confused at that statement. She giggled when she realized what she said. She had to wonder what the spirit thought about everyone using his name as a deity. She would ask him later, right now, she wanted to know how he got here.

"Merlin Ambrosius at your service, young lady. You must be Hermione. Harry has told me many good things about you," the shade said, giving her a flourishing bow.

"But… but… How can this be? Where is Ashliegh? Are you staying? What happened? Tell me right now, Harry Potter, or I will throttle you," she demanded in a rush, looking back and forth between Harry and Merlin, and then reaching out her hand as if to grab the living boy's throat.

"Well, if you would let me get a word in edgewise, I will," Harry smirked as Luna giggled. He wasn't worried about her actually choking him; she used that threat too many times in the past for it to be effective.

"Fine, tell me where Ashliegh is," she commanded as she thumped back into her chair and folded her arms, glancing at the new ghost. He looked just like the pictures in all the old books, right down to the white robes, large staff and flowing beard. Then she blushed and said quickly, "Sorry, it's nice to meet you too, Mr. Ambrosius."

Merlin just bowed again and gave her a salacious grin, which looked silly on such an old man.

To give Hermione credit, she only giggled a bit more and shook her head at his antic, then turned her attention to Harry and waited for him to answer.

"He went on to his next great adventure," Harry said a bit sadly. He really liked that ghost, but it was what Ashliegh wanted.

"Did you force him?"

"Of course not," the male teen snapped, completely affronted. "Merlin asked him if he wanted to go and offered to take his place." He knew that sometimes Hermione would say something like this; it was her jaded thoughts of house elves that caused her to think that everything not human was controlled somehow. He would forgive her, but it hurt that she would think something like that.

"Oh, sorry, it was just a shock. Well, I am glad he is finally at rest," the curly-haired witch said, putting her hand on Harry's to show she was truly remorseful. She berated herself for thinking something like that about Harry, he had a pure heart and he would never force anyone or thing to do something against their will. "But how did you let him go? I mean, did you use a spell or a ritual?" she asked, a bit excited.

"Ummm, no, and I can't really tell you here," Harry said, not wanting to tell her about the Resurrection Stone, at least not in the library. Maybe he'd tell her later, maybe not. He would hate to keep something like this from his friends, but she would ask too many questions that he couldn't answer. It was something he was going to have to think about.

"Alright, Harry, I'll let it go for now. Did you see Ron today?" she asked, biting her lip and worrying about the outcome if he had. Those two never made up and with Ron blaming Harry, well it couldn't have been pleasant.

"Yeah, it went better than I thought it would, but he doesn't blame me for his mum anymore," the teen said, with a sad smile. He was very sure they would never be friends again, the other boy was just too jealous.

"That's wonderful, I was worried," his best friend stated with a relieved sigh. She had hoped they could mend their friendship.

"That doesn't mean we're going to be best mates again. His attitude since we got here has put paid to that," Harry warned her, plummeting her thoughts of reconciliation. He didn't want her to think that just because they talked all was forgiven.

"I understand, Harry," she said with a sad smile. "Now, Merlin, did you really want to be here?" she asked the apparition.

"I will tell you a secret," the new ghost said as he floated through the table and took a seat next to her, "the afterlife is boring," he whispered in a stage voice.

"I would have thought that with all of your family and friends there that you would never be bored," Luna stated as she looked confusedly at the ghost. She knew she would never be lonely if she was with her mummy.

"They never talk about anything new. It is always the same old gossip and sports talk. There is only so many times one can hear the same story about battles and jousting without losing one's… how to you kids say it, oh yeah… cool," Merlin said, with a big grin at remembering the right word.

The three teens sputtered on their laughter hearing the old man use modern terms. "Ah, yeah, I guess I can see that," Harry said when he got control of his chuckles. "What about the new people who pass over? Don't they talk about new things?"

"You see everything from up there. There really is nothing new to tell," Merlin said with a wave of his hand. "Which reminds me, your parents are very proud of you, both of you," he added, pointing to both Harry and Luna, making them tear up and smile. "Your Dumbledore got quite a bollocking when he passed over," he said with a grin, which made Harry grin harder, though it caused Hermione to frown.

"That wasn't nice of you, Merlin. Hermione still very much admires the Headmaster. You should have waited," Luna scolded a little, though secretly she was glad.

"My apologies," he stated with a bob of his head.

Hermione gave her a grateful smile and then turned to the ancient spirit with a glint in her eyes that Harry knew well. He was right; she started bombarding the man with question after question. He and Luna snuck away, letting Merlin fend for himself. The ghost glared at their retreating backs, vowing he would get his revenge.

"Well, I like your plans, but we're going to have to wait to ask Merlin. It is his castle after all. So what do we do now?" Harry asked his blonde girlfriend, who was walking next to him. He was completely at a loss, now that there was no training to do and no battle to be fought; he didn't know what to do with himself.

"I believe you need to get to the bank and get your affairs in order. I know for a fact you have yet to hear Mr. Black's will, or claim the Potter vault," she suggested, tapping her finger to her chin.

Harry was a bit torn by that. On one hand, he'd have to leave Halstead, which still gave him a sense of home, and on the other they really needed all the resources they could get if they were going to go through with Luna's plan. That and he would need the goblins' help to make up the loan for the Ministry, the terms he wanted to add were going to be complicated. "Okay, I'll go. Do you want to go with me?" he asked as he continued down the hall.

"Silly boy, you never need to ask that," she said, hitting his arm with a gentle smack.

"Alright, I guess I need to change clothes and take a shower. I'll meet you at the entrance in about a half an hour," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and turning towards the stairs.

Luna left to her own house to do the same.

Harry was done in ten minutes, so he took the leftover time to talk to Dobby. "Dobby," he called as he pulled on a green t-shirt. It was one that Luna liked; she said it matched his eyes. He righted his glasses and looked to where Dobby was likely to show.

The little elf popped in, right in front of him, and beamed at the Slayer of Dark Lords. "What can Dobby be doing for the Great Harry Potter?" he asked bouncing on his spindly socked feet.

"Hello, Dobby. How many elves did you get to come here? I noticed there was quite a spread for lunch, by the way, tell whoever made the soup, it was absolutely delicious," he said sincerely to his littlest friend. He looked at the elf and noted he was wearing a butler's uniform with a few added pockets and only had on one brown knitted hat and one pair of too bright yellow socks. "And what's up with the new clothes?" he asked with a chuckle, which turned into a cough, so the little guy wouldn't be offended.

"Dobby is doing research on how hired help is being dressed in the muggle worlds. This is what they be wearing. Since, the Great Harry Potter is hopefully hiring Dobby; I is wanting to dress… professional," Dobby said in hopefulness, then his voice was laced with excitement and sadness all at the same time as he answered the other question. "Dobby, Winky and Tippy is finding many homeless elves. We is bringing over fifty heres to Halstead and all of them is being bonded." The myriad of emotions were showing in his large bulbous eyes.

"Of course I'll hire you Dobby, we'll talk terms later," making the elf jump with joy. "But, don't you want them to bond with Halstead?" Harry continued on, very much confused at the sadness.

"Oh, no, Harry Potter, sir, it is not being that. It is just they is still making fun of Dobby, because he is not wanting to be bonded," Dobby said, pulling his very large ears.

"Dobby, do you want to be free?" the human teen inquired gently as he removed the punishing hands.

"Oh, yes, Harry Potter, sir. It is only that Dobby wishes that more elves wanted to be free. Dobby really does not understand why they is wanting to be bonded when they can do whatever they is wanting if they is free. Dobby does understand the needs to work, but I is doing very much work and I is free. Dobby had tried and tried to get other elves to see his way, but they is not listening," the tiny guy shook his head despondently.

"I thought you told Hermione that you understood what Winky was going through?" the thoroughly muddled boy asked as he tried to wrap his head around what his new butler was saying.

"Dobby was doing that for Winky's sake. Winky was needing to be bonded, she would not be talked out of it. Dobby gets confused sometimes too," he commiserated at the look on his new boss's face.

Harry could understand that. Dobby was overcoming years of slavery and habits. He wished the little guy the best in his quest to free more elves and told him so. Then he looked at his watch and bid his friend goodbye. He hurried down the stairs and saw Luna waiting for him. She looked very pretty in her jeans and light blue flowing top. She was carrying her outer cloak on her arm. Her hair was neatly pulled into a high ponytail and she was staring dreamily at the sky. Her radish earrings stood out with her hair pulled back, and her cork necklace didn't look out of place on her. She was radiant, in Harry's opinion.

"You look wonderful," he complimented as he kissed her cheek and pulled on his own cloak.

"You don't look bad yourself. I like the shirt," she said as she put her cloak on, took his hand and made her way out the door.

The two walked until they got to the gates. Even though the wards were down, it was only common courtesy to go outside, not to mention a good habit to have. They popped away to the entrance of Diagon Alley. From behind them the noise of the Leaky Cauldron was showing that it at least was open for business. The wall was still there so they both took a deep breath and Harry tapped the bricks with his holly wand. They really didn't want to see the devastation that they knew was behind this wall. The portal opened and the once bustling alley was just like they had pictured.

It was dark and gloomy. The stores were all closed and in great disrepair. The windows were boarded and some shops were missing walls. Merchandise was scattered everywhere, all ripped to pieces or burned beyond recognition. It looked like the Death Eaters came to the Alley and just destroyed everything in sight. Even the outside of Gringotts sported scorch marks. There were no people shopping in the Alley, but there were storekeepers trying to repair their shops, or gathering up anything they could salvage, which wasn't much.

Harry didn't understand what could have possibly gone through Tom's head. Didn't his minions need supplies, and food? Why would he destroy the only place they could restock? It made him wonder about where they got their resources.

The couple walked hand in hand down the trash covered street, making sure to skirt the worst places and step over the debris. The sounds of hammering and construction spells followed them. They were both crying silently at the damage. Harry only hoped that it would once again be the thriving market it once was.

They passed Knockturn Alley and it was open. That answered Harry's question about resources. There were many witches and wizards that had never been down that alley doing business.

The teens made their way to the bank and went up the marble steps. There were two guards at the bronze doors. They didn't nod or open the door. They just looked on warily, hands gripped tightly on their spears. Harry nodded to them and gave them a friendly toothless smile. The goblins relaxed their hold on their weapons and nodded back. Harry opened the doors, hoping the bank survived Riddle's rule. His hopes were dashed as he looked around the bank.

Inside, where there were once a high counter that had hundreds of goblins happily sorting jewels and counting gold there was now a low counter, which looked like it had been thrown together quickly, that had five very tense goblins staring at them. Scorch marks lined the walls, and the gold and jewels that used to be there was missing. Though there was no mess, unlike the Alley, it was still depressing to see. Gringotts was supposed to be neutral ground. They catered to everyone. Then again, so was St. Mungo's, so Harry felt he really shouldn't have been surprised.

There were no customers at the moment and Harry didn't even know if the bank was closed or not—though if it was they would not have been let in— but he asked anyway, just to make sure. "Are you open?" he inquired tentatively, not wanting to offend them. They all looked like they would attack at the slightest provocation. He had to wonder what happened, but felt it was impolite to ask.

"Gringotts is always open," one of the goblins snarled a bit of hatred in his eyes.

"Good and thanks. I need to speak to someone about my accounts," the male teen stated calmly as he approached the counter of a friendlier looking goblin, Luna still quietly by his side.

"Do you have your key?" came the standard question, though it was without the usual snarl.

"Oh, yeah, give me a second," Harry said as he rummaged through his Mokeskin bag. "Here it is," he stated as he handed over the key.

"Seems to be in order," the still unnamed goblin said as he examined it. "If you would follow me, Mr. Potter, I will take you to your new account manager." He then hopped off his low stool and made his way to one of the many doors. The two teens followed.

"What happened to my old account manager?" the dark-haired teen asked gently, not that he knew who that had been, but he was curious.

"He died," was the blunt answer.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Can I ask how?" Harry asked not really wanting to know the answer, but felt it was only polite to ask.

"You Know Who," came another curt answer.

The teen nodded to himself and kept quiet. He figured something like that happened.

They made their way down a marble hall to a door in the middle of said hall. The goblin knocked twice and opened the door. "Spearhead, Mr. Potter is here to see you," the goblin said as he entered the office. He handed over the key and left the room.

"Mr. Potter, I am Spearhead, your new manager. I have been going over all of your accounts today and I am impressed at all the gold you have acquired since last night. May I ask how you achieved this?" Spearhead asked as he pulled out a very large folder and set it on the desk. He turned his attention to his client and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not really sure what you're asking," Harry said as he sat in one of the chairs in front of the large wooden desk. He looked around the office and noted it was a bit bare. There were only some bookshelves, the desk and three chairs; however, you could see where decorations once adorned the walls. It was like the office had been quickly packed up of all it valuables. The bookshelves behind the desk were the only thing that was crammed full of parchment and folders.

Luna took the other chair and folded her hands in her lap and let Harry handle his affairs.

"Explain to me, please, how you obtained the Riddle, the Lestrange and the Malfoy accounts all in one night, and perhaps that will answer my question," the old goblin said as he folded his gangly hands in front of him on top of the folder. "I know how you came about the Black vaults; your godfather left most of it to you in his will. However, these other three have me confused."

"Ummm, didn't you hear? We won the war," Harry asked, glancing at Luna, who shrugged. They didn't know that no one had told the goblins.

"Truly, it is all over?" the goblin questioned, though that made him perk up. While they only had one incident with Voldemort, they had been grossly unprepared for the battle. They had gotten soft in the years between rebellions. Ragnot was not happy, and demanded that all men start training. Too many lives were lost for them not to. As it was they were going to have to marry outside the clans. It was only their wards and protections that saved the vaults from being looted. The Dark Lord was angry that something in the Lestrange vault was now not operational, or something to that effect.

"Yeah, Luna and I killed him yesterday, well this morning, or something. It was really late at night. It was an all-out battle, I can't tell where, but Riddle's army was destroyed. Anyway, that might explain the Riddle vaults, but it doesn't explain the Lestranges' and Malfoys'. I didn't kill them. I mean, maybe it is because they are related to Sirius, I mean, Mr. Black. I mean, they're all dead," he rambled, not sure how to explain. He felt bad for not asking the goblins to come to Halstead, but at the time, he thought they could handle themselves. Years of Binns' teaching made them seem like a proud warrior race. He thought it would offend them to offer sanctuary.

"Yes, that would explain it," the goblin said as he looked through the papers in the folder. "Now, about your accounts, you, of course, had the Potter and Black accounts, barring a few monetary bequests, and now you have the other accounts I mentioned. This makes you a very rich young man," he said as thin fingers flew and he typed some numbers on a very old style calculator. "According to my figures you have well over fifteen million galleons," he quoted when he finished his calculations.

"That…that is a lot of money," Harry stuttered, dumbstruck, quickly putting it in terms of pounds. It came to 75 million pounds. He sat there in a daze. He never dreamed of having so much money. Even his new clothes were second-hand because he thought his trust vault was his only vault. Now everything they were planning could come to pass. He just sat there in a daze, figures going around his head as he made plans.

"Spearhead, Harry needs to draw up a loan agreement for Kingsley Shacklebolt, or whoever the new Minster is. He wants to make it for a low cost loan, with stipulations," Luna said, speaking for the first time. "Can you help him with that?" she inquired with a tilt of her head, making the radish earrings sway and bringing Harry out of his shock.

"Yeah, thanks, Luna. Let's make it for one million galleons, to be paid back in the next twenty years, having the first five years free of interest and ballooning the last year. However, I need to make the prerequisite that it will not be used to line anyone's pockets; pay or loans only. Everything is to be accounted for," Harry stated with a nod of his head. "I also need to make up an employer's contract for my friend Dobby."

"Dobby sounds like a house elf's name," Spearhead said in a questioning tone as he gathered up loan papers.

"Well, that's because he is a house elf," Harry said with a big smile.

"That will be problematic," the goblin stated, pulling out a contract. "He cannot sign for himself, the law prevents it, so it will be more of an indentured servant's contract, but I think we can move some words around to appease you both."

The three hashed out the contract and the loan agreement and Harry signed his part and put the two parchments in his bag. Then they did something that would go a long way in doing what Luna wanted. He was going to keep it secret for now, only Luna knew and she was beaming at him, but he felt that people would agree in the end. He would have to go to the Ministry to file two and present the other, which he had been hoping to avoid.

They took the cart ride to his school vault and gutted it, making sure it closed when they were done. This money would be used to replace what they took from the cache, and then some. Then the two teens made their way back out of Diagon Alley and to the muggle London. They called the Knight Bus and went to the out of order phone booth to get to the Ministry. Dialing the word 'magic' they were soon in the building.

The entrance hall was in ruins. The big golden fountain was gone, which in Harry's mind was a good thing. He always hated it. All adornment was torn or just in pieces. Fragments of parchment littered the floors. There were many people running to and fro. All of them looked busy, so the two teens asked someone where Kingsley was.

"Oh you mean the new Minister? He's over there," the harassed man said, pointing a finger down the hall. "Last office on the left," he added and then continued what he had been doing.

The couple went down the hall and went to the office pointed at. Harry knocked on the door and waited until bid enter. Then he pushed the door open and they went inside.

It was a small office with many filing cabinets and one bookshelf. There were chairs along the wall and the teens pulled up two to sit in. Kingsley sat behind a metal desk, like the kind you'd find in a police station. He was scribbling on a piece of paper and there were deep shadows under his eyes. There was a picture of Dick and, who Harry assumed were the Aurors' parents.

This must be his old office, the male teen thought. "Hello, Kingsley. How are you coping?" he asked the frazzled looking man.

"Hello, Harry, Luna," the new Minister said, nodding to both when he finished signing the paper in front of him. "It's a mess, I have to tell you," the bald man said, running a hand down his face and giving a big sigh. "I have no idea where I'm going to get the funds to rebuild."

"Well, I'm here to relieve some of your worries," Harry said, pulling out the loan agreement and handing it over.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Kingsley stated as he read. "This is going to be loads of help. I even agree to the terms. I like where you added that it wasn't to be used for any type of bribes, not that I would, but it wasn't guaranteed that I would be Minister. The full accounting is a good idea. Where did you get this kind of money? I know Black was rich, but I don't think he had this kind of wealth." He looked at Harry, relief showing on his face, though he did quirk an eyebrow. "You're not going to be broke with this loan?" he asked, not wanting the teen to give up all of his money.

"No," Harry chuckled and told him about the vaults he acquired.

"Good, that's good. Well, this does take a load off my mind. Now, as much as I'd like to chat I have a ton of work to do. The entire Wizengamot is gone. They must have fled, or were killed, or were part of Tom's lot and now sit in holding cells. So we have to start completely over. However, now is the time to get fresh blood, so to speak, on the lawmaking forum." He smiled at that, imagining someone like Hermione being part of a new government.

"Hermione will be thrilled to hear that, though I think she's going back to finish schooling first," Harry said, thinking the same.

Kingsley sighed. "You're probably right. But, I'll get her next year, and there are plenty more young people, thanks to you and Halstead," he said, perking up at the thought of all the people saved by this young man. He then reached for a quill and signed the paper. "Here, take that back to the goblins and I'll go there when I have time. Thanks for doing this, Harry. You're a great man," he stated to the young adult, who he no longer viewed as some bumbling kid.

Harry took the paper and put it back into his pouch. "I only want to help," he said as he got up. "I'll let you get back to business. See ya, Kingsley." He waved as he moved towards the door.

Luna followed and said goodbye to the Minister.

"That's more than others want to do," Harry heard Kingsley grumble as he went back to his never-ending paperwork.

Harry and Luna went to file Dobby's contract. The clerk gave Harry a funny look, but stamped it official. Who was he to deny the Slayers of the Dark Lord? He gave the two heroes a big smile and filed the contract. He thanked them over and over again, until they hurried out of the office.

"That's going to get tiring," Harry complained.

"Don't fret so, Harry. It will blow over soon," Luna said, giving him a hug.

They then went to another office and the clerk gave them the same reception, which caused Harry to groan, but their paperwork was filed. That put the two heroes in a better mood. This would move the plans along. Harry only hoped Merlin would approve. He was pretty sure he would, the boy knew that it was a dream of Ashliegh's and could only feel the now passed on spirit smiling at them.

Then the couple went back to Gringotts with the loan agreement and set up the vault for it. They then went home to go over more of Luna's plans. Harry gave a start when he thought of Halstead as home, but it felt right, which made him smile.

Yeah, home, he thought when they got to the gates. He looked at Luna and could see she was thinking the same.