A New Home

Sirius fought back a grin as Harry moved forward and started to read the titles. Following him he said, "The best books out there huh? Don't look so worried, Harry goes through books the way most boys-OOf. Harry" Sirius said reproachfully as he rubbed his stomach where Harry elbowed him.

"I don't think you were thinking when you started that sentence Sirius. And where I suspect that was going I was just trying to save you from inserting your foot in your mouth up to your, oh I don't know, hip? Mr. Reynolds, thank you for the books. I'm sure they're great and I look forward to reading them. Sirius give me a hand so we can get these out of Mr. Reynolds way so he can work." Harry carefully took the top eight books from the stack and moved towards the door.

Sirius grinned tapped the remaining piles of books with his wand and put the now minuscule books into the hand he didn't use his cane with. "Harry's right sometimes I engage my mouth and by pass my brain, more often at his expense than others, but if I ever say something you don't like don't feel like you can't say or do something to remind me to think first."

"Mai says the same thing about me and I grew up around beast masters, I don't take offense easily."

"I get these out to the tent so Harry can dive into them then I'll come back in and we can start talking the nuts and bolts of your operation and your needs. By the way Harry is quite likely to join us frequently in our discussions about finances. He's quite sharp and I've trained him the last four years so he developed an eye for things. Sometimes he sees stuff I don't, and I trust his insight.

I saw today this is more than a business to you it's your whole family's living. I won't take that lightly, by the same token DuSable Potter Industries is just that, an industry in the business of making money. So if you want my advice and my investment know that some changes will need to be made and I can just about guarantee not all of them will be popular with your entire family. How much do I owe you for the books?"

"One hundred thirty six galleons, ten sickles," came the very apologetic reply.

"Harry almost spends that semiannually on pleasure books, music, and photography stuff anyway, don't worry about it. His education is worth more than that."

The next morning Mai's family got a shock Harry, Rachel, Sirius and two of the WIS wizards joined in the morning Tai chi. After Tai chi all of them except Sirius went for a run. When they got back they were just in time for breakfast.

Malcom and Mai Reynolds explained, "Everyone eats with their family in the morning and at dinner but lunch is always at the mess hall. It keeps the community close and is more convenient." Sirius sat down with Malcom to make sure he understood the basics of the business.

Two hours later he made the suggestion, "Malcom the first thing you need is to get a more organized method of doing your bookkeeping and paperwork. Your files are mixed up between orders that have been filled, bills, and files about the animals and what not. If being organized isn't your strong suit I'm sure someone here is be willing to share the load."

Harry meanwhile was with Mai. She was taking him to see some of the animals further out from the main compound. "We'll ride double on Brandy she doesn't get frightened by some of the larger creature unlike most of the horses."

Harry was awed by the gryffins, enthralled by the pegasi, enamored by the unicorns and their cousins the ki-lin, blown away by the seven dragons, and completely amazed by the pair of phoenixes.

They came back for lunch and after lunch he dived into the books.

The next four weeks followed that pattern. Sirius just smiled and did what he could to learn the whole operation and keep an eye on Harry. Harry would spend the first part of everyday with the various green house keepers and the beast keepers asking tons of questions usually he had done his research on whatever plant or animal he was asking about.

He also asked how the various people used their magical gifts and what their education had been. He interacted with just about every person on the property. He found out about not just the magical plants and animals but the non-magical ones on the property as well. Sirius got most the information he wanted just by listening while Harry asked questions.

Malcom Reynolds was a very happy man at this point. When Sirius Black had first approached him he had been afraid of the very idea of formally teaching a kid, and he had been struggling against an almost overwhelming fear that in five to seven years the reserve would have to close and his family disperse because the business would fail. But in just the three weeks since he'd started implementing Sirius' business suggestions he'd already noticed a bit of a turnaround.

May began and Sirius noticed a sudden change in Harry's activities and it wasn't just that he had started the schoolwork for Stuart-Cavanaugh in this jump. Harry seemed to spend hours going over the plant and animal books that Mal had gotten him. Sirius was sure Harry had some brilliant idea for the company but was trying to work out the details. So he gave Mal a heads up. "Harry came up with something I don't know what but he's working on something."

"What do you mean? He's a kid what could he come up with that hasn't been tried already?"

....

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