12 Three Days and Closing

Monday November 21 5:52pm.

It had been a long and tiring day for Harry, and he was looking forward to dinner, which usually was a fun affair. Good food, and the excitement evident in all the students as D-Day was closing in, seemed like just what the young Gryffindor needed. For the first time in a week Harry had attended all of his classes, usually he had skipped one or two to focus on independent study and practice, and if he was being honest the subject he usually skipped was Potions.

Given how he had been treated by the Slytherin students throughout the class, and Snape's failure to curtail it, even inciting it at times, reiterated to Harry just how pointless attending those classes were for him. He just hoped that knowledge about potions wouldn't be needed in any of the Task's as he had made a vow to himself during the class not to go to any more of Snape's classes that year.

What had been surprising was when an angry, if alarmingly attractive, blonde Slytherin student demanded to talk to him after class. Harry hadn't been able to get a word in either way until after she had ranted for about five minutes about how Harry had no right to order her father to turn up for a meeting, etc. All Harry told her was that she was welcome to attend the meeting and that was why he had scheduled to have it at Hogwarts, and she would have to wait to find out what it was about. Harry knew who she was and what she probably suspected the meeting was about, but didn't want his plans to be leaked which was why he didn't tell her anything in advance.

The rest of the day had been much more standard, much to Harry's happiness, but the combination of his early morning run and more classes than he was used to led to a tired student. Having planned out this week in such detail that Hermione would be proud, Harry was happy that apart from the Slytherin's rant everything had gone to schedule so far. With the exception of a run planned for Tuesday morning, he was planning on resting for the upcoming Task all week and would instead focus on theory rather than the practical side of training. He had already picked out the books that he was planning on reading curled up on a chair in front of the Gryffindor common room fire that evening.

It was as Harry went to leave the common room and go to the Great Hall for dinner that for the second time that day he was pulled aside by a girl. "Harry can we talk? We need to." It was Hermione of course who had called out to him. Nodding to his friend he led her out into the hall and down to a empty room. After closing the door behind them, Harry turned to Hermione with an expectant look on his face.

"Harry, while I understand your decision and the necessity for what you and Sirius are doing, it hurt me. Although I do not blame you for it, it is not something that I can forget easily. This is further complicated by your situation with the tournament and Ron being… Well Ron. Ideally I would need time and space as I try and heal the hurt that has been done, but that is not practical. As such I will be helping you with research and study, but for the next little while we will keep our interactions to that field. I am telling you today because of how close the First Task is, and you need to be able to focus on that not what is happening between us. Okay?" While it hurt her to say it, Hermione knew she needed time to move past the hurt she was feeling, but couldn't abandon her best friend.

Harry thought about what she said before responding. "I understand and respect your view, and always will be grateful for any help you give. How about we go down for some food, and afterwards I will give you a couple of books to read?" With that the pair went to have dinner, Harry sitting on his own amongst the hustle and bustle of the students, with Hermione sitting with Ron.

/

Tuesday November 22 10:20am.

Tuesday mornings had quickly become one of Harry's favourite times during the week, with Charms first period and a free period following it, for both him and Professor Flitwick, allowing them a training session together. Harry had always liked and respected the diminutive professor, they had gotten to know each other quite well as the month progressed. Harry had a mentor who had achieved amazing things while always being looked down upon for his ancestry and the professor had a gifted, hard-working student who was an underdog facing hatred on all sides.

Today, given Harry's plan for a light workload heading in to the first Task, Flitwick was mainly going to be explaining the theory behind many of the charms they had been working on all month. With Harry's impatient nature, the rushed situation that they were in, and how talented the boy was with the practical side of magic over the theory, for much of what Filius had taught him so far they had skipped the theory.

The Charms Professor sought to correct that today, by explaining why the spells worked as the did, the limits to the spells of which there were many, and showcasing what could go wrong if correct procedure wasn't adhered to. While Harry had impressed Filius every time that they had these training sessions with not just his ability with a wand and magical power, but also just how smart the Gryffindor actually was. He hasn't as intellectual as Miss Granger, or many of Flitwicks own Ravenclaws, he was a bright young boy who was very practical about what he learnt, rather than knowledge for knowledge sake. Its why he would never be suited for Ravenclaw, which Filius believed wholeheartedly was a shame.

"As you can see despite it's many practical uses, one needs to be careful when using the summoning charm. If you are not precise all manner of similar objects can be summoned, even several items at the same time. That can be a risk to your health, the health of others around you, and the objects you are summoning. Distance and size are harder and more magically draining, obviously. Almost all living things are not effected by the charm. It is also possible to protect an object from summoning by enchantment, for example all goblin smiths weave anti-summoning enchantments into their work. Any questions?" There were other details that Flitwick could bring up, but they were not necessary at this point for either of them. The professor also had to maximise the time they had available to them.

After he had allowed young Harry to write down all that he had shared, and reflect on the wisdom of the words, Flitwick changed the direction of the conversation. It was a decision he had made when Harry told him that he wanted to rest up before the tournament started in the hope that it would allow the boy to loosen up and relax. "How many children would you like to have Mr. Potter?" By alternating between study and more casual topics would allow the student to focus on more than just the upcoming Task.

"I have never really thought about it Sir, but I know I want a full family. Maybe 4?" Harry always knew he wanted kids but was honest when he said he had never though about how many.

"That is most interesting. You are aware that most magical families only have one or two children, especially the Most-Nobel houses in an effort to stop infighting between children for the heredity seat, are you not?" While Filius was aware just how much Harry had been learning about his family and the politics he would be thrust into when he came of age, he still had a lot to learn about the intricacies and why certain things were done as they were.

This was one aspect of Pureblood culture that Harry hadn't heard and he took some time to think it over. "So that's why the families are so small, I didn't know. However given that I will have three seats to pass on, and we are looking into the possibility of splitting the Potter and Peverell seats, so as long as I don't have more that three sons it should be fine."

The pair continued on in this vain, alternating between magical theory and Harry as the topic of conversation, until Harry decided to find out some more about his professor. "Sir do you mind if I ask you the questions instead, so I can learn more about you?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Ask away!" Harry was surprised about his professors enthusiasm and figured that most students didn't care enough to ask their professors about their history.

"Why did you want to be a duellist and charm master?" Harry though it was a good place to start. It would give Harry insight into Professor Flitwick, but not pry too far until they were more comfortable with each other.

"I figured you would ask me that, it is the one of the only questions students have ever asked me. I was, as you can guess, always quite small and this led to much teasing from the other students. As did my ancestry. Goblins live a lot longer than humans, even magical humans, as such their connection to magic solidifies when they are older. In humans it is around 9 or 10 years old, 11 at the latest, which is why acceptance into Hogwarts is when it is, for goblins it is in the early 20s. I was always fascinated by the theory and excelled at it from my first year, but was weak magically until the end of my fourth-start of my 5th year when my magic stabilised. This also led to more hazing by the other students, because I was weak. That meant that from first year I had to study more complex magic than my contemporaries to overcome the lack of power, and so when I finally came into my own I so considerably more advanced than others, and slightly more powerful, so decided to make the most of it. That lead to duelling and further study which included my Mastery." He went on to explain the risk when chaining high-impact spells together, such as the blasting curse, and why most people avoided to do so, even charm masters.

"This is slightly different, but you talked about how students made fun of you because of your ancestry, and I'm sure to this day you still receive disrespect from many of the more… Bigoted families, but what about with the goblins? How are you treated at Gringotts?" Harry hadn't been planning on asking that question but thought it was a good follow-up.

"The Nation treat part-humans much better than they treat humans. All individuals of split ancestry are afforded the title Goblin-Friend unless they do something to insult the Nation, in which case they will be treated like any human. Part goblins such as myself, and a few others throughout history, are given all the rights of the Nation and treated accordingly. They are allowed the luxury of working in the human world, many choose not to though, unlike most goblins who work for one of the Nation's branches such as Gringotts. My clan paid my Master to take me in as his apprentice and sponsored me through my first few years as a duelist before I earned enough to support myself. In the summers I live in my clan hall with my extended family and enjoy it greatly, and then I get to spend the rest of the year here with my students and love it so I get the the best of both worlds. Given the hostility humans give part-humans, the Nation refuses to add to that unless the individual chooses it through their attitude and actions."

The pair continued on as they were, getting to know each other better while insuring Harry understood the risks behind charms and the theory side that he was lacking. A knock on the door interrupted their flow. A first year Gryffindor girl entered. "The Headmaster wants to see Harry Potter in his office now." She rushed out with the energy that all first years seemed to posses.

Harry thanks his professor for his time, and went to meet Dumbledore. "See you at lunch Professor Flitwick.

/

Tuesday November 22 11:19am.

Harry sat in a comfortable chair across the desk from the Headmaster of Hogwarts, waiting to be told why he had been summoned.

"How are you preparing for the First Task, Harry? Are you going to be ready?" Albus was responsible for the health and safety of all the Hogwarts students, and as the host of the Triwizard Tournament all the competitors, and was worried about the youngest of the four Champions.

"I've been training hard, as I'm sure you are aware. I also have a few tricks up my sleeve and am sure I will catch everybody off guard." Harry didn't want to say more than that, thinking that the less who knew about his plans the better.

"Of course, my boy, just make sure not to get hurt. It's a dangerous tournament after all, and I want you to stay as safe as possible. The tournament however is not why I called you here, I just though given how close we are to the start I would take the chance to check up on you. I believe you probably have many questions for my regarding what you have learnt of the Potters in recent weeks. I have not meant to keep you ignorant, but as you are probably aware I have a lot of items competing for my time and did not see it as necessary to start with teaching you yet." Dumbledore though to start from the obvious place, why he hadn't told Harry about the Potter's.

"Findore said you were scheduled to take me into have a talk with him this summer to start teaching me about my families finances, is that true?" Remembering what he had been told when he first met the Account Manager, Harry started there.

"Yes. With the Family vault sealed there is nothing you can do with the money until you come of age, so I saw no point starting to teach you until you turned 15 which would give us 2 years to teach you about the financial world, and starting then the political world as well. I'm sure you can understand why I thought it was not necessary as you can not use it until you are 17, so had more relevant things to learn." Dumbledore had never meant to keep it from Harry, but it should never have been Albus' duty to teach Harry about his ancestry as it would have been his father and grandfather if things had gone differently, and without children of his own Albus had never taught a teen about all this before.

"I understand not teaching me about politics and finances until I'm older, but you could have taught me about my family. I know next to nothing about my parents, and until recently even less about my ancestors, and only what books can tell me now. Its not the same." As an orphan who didn't remember his parents it hurt Harry not knowing the family history that he would otherwise know.

"I am sorry, Harry. I guess that not being an orphan myself I never thought about how that all could matter to you. It is an oversight on my behalf, and while there is much about the Potter history that I so not know please know that I will always be available for any questions you have." It was unfortunately all Albus could do, he wasn't a historian and even if he was he did not have access to the Potter family records because he wasn't a Potter.

"I read that member of the Wizengamot can not hold other positions outside of the Chief Warlock, how is it that you are Headmaster, Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW? Should that not be allowed?" It was a question nagging at Harry ever since he wound out he wouldn't be allowed a proper career with his heredity seats.

"Ah yes, it is unusual but the Wizengamot is set out slightly differently set out then you are aware. The heredity members and 10 lifetime members are not allowed to have other jobs because they have more responsibility than the 30 5 year members. They head up positions in the other minor courts and positions the Wizengamot hold, however the other 30 fill up any other available positions but it is not full time so they are allowed to work part time in any of their previous fields. It also insures their position after they finish in the Wizengamot as many only serve one or two terms and never get a lifetime membership. I however am only the Chief Warlock and not a member of the Wizengamot, which is very rare, so can still be Supreme Mugwump and Headmaster." The inner working of the Wizengamot were very complicated given how it has been adjusted and expanded over the years, so Albus wasn't surprised by Harry's confusion.

"Professor, I read that two Potters have been Headmaster and Headmistress here at Hogwarts, I was wondering if either of the two are amongst the portraits you have hanging up here?" The young Gryffindor pointed at the paintings as he asked.

"While it is true that two ancestors of yours with the last name Potter have held the position, my understanding of it is that there are actually more than just two Potters to have sat in my place. Neither of those two are up on the wall unfortunately, but Headmistress Ollivander here was born a Potter I believe." The woman he pointed to nodded and waved at Harry. "And Headmaster Longbottom's mother was a Potter. Headmistress Brown was the second wife of one of the heads of the Potter family, so knew many of your ancestors closely, but kept her maiden name because that is what students knew her as. Many others would have had close ties to the Potter's or had a Potter in their ancestors but those three are the ones I know had very close kinship to your family." Longbottom and Brown had both also waved and smiled at Harry as they were mentioned.

The two talked for another couple of minutes, with the Professor answering the students questions as well as he could before Harry left to prepare for lunch. Albus however had paperwork with a side of paperwork to finish before he enjoyed the delicious food that the house elves always provided, so stuck into it after he had popped a lemon drop into his mouth.

A/N: Here is another chapter and please comment