Potter Wealth and Other Business

Tuesday 27th December 1994.

Harry had enjoyed last night immensely. Bulby had insisted on a feast, a Potter had returned after all, and the five of them had talked long into the night too full to move.

He had been happy to find out that unlike most families the Potters insisted that their house-elves ate their meals with them at the table. It turned out that house-elves ate largely the same food as humans, with some exceptions.

The couldn't eat potatoes, loved beans to a ridiculous level, and didn't drink water. Instead they drank pure lemon juice, squeezed straight from the fruit, without any additives. It's why most old families had lemon trees growing on their land, charmed to grow fruit all year round.

He was going to be taken on a tour of the Island by Marian and Helen this afternoon, and Sirius had disappeared, so the boy decided that he would once more tackle the ledger. To that end he was once more seated in the comfortable leather chair, ledger on the desk in front of him.

Opening it he flicked over to the second page and saw that it was the Lloyds account. At the top, in large numbers was the balance which seemed to be roughly the same as the day before.

Account No. 04-2996

Account Holder: Potter Retail Industries Division of England (P.R.I.D.E).

Harry laughed at the name, or more accurately the anagram, and couldn't wait to tell Hermione. She would appreciate it.

Scrolling further down the page, he saw that far more money was coming in annually than was leaving. In fact the only money leaving seemed to be tax. Both tax on the earnings as well as a property tax in London. Harry would have to find out more about that property later.

The money was coming in from several different places, which all seemed to be companies. William Grant & Sons had added a little over £50,000 in the last year. Hackett Limited was responsible for £60,000, while Crockett & Jones had deposited £20,000.

Harry didn't recognise any of the names, but guessed they were companies that the Potters had invested in at some point in the past. Obviously some of the investments worked well. There were some others, but all of them were smaller than those three.

Turning over the page he realised it was much the same, but from the previous year. Turning a whole chunk of pages he realised it was still the same account, but a much earlier year. Another chunk, and two individual pages later he was at the Cayman Islands account.

This account was under the name Potter Agricultural Regional Assets Division Investments Saint Kitts Enterprises (P.A.R.A.D.I.S.E) which Harry found brilliant once again. On top of interest only one company, Potter & Whyte Spices, had added to the account that year. It had added a whopping $120,000 USD, and as far as Harry could tell no tax was coming out.

Flipping through the ledger he came to the last account, or should he say accounts. The account that he had thought was one, was actually three accounts that were tied together.

Potter Agricultural Crop Investment Firm International Chapter (P.A.C.I.F.I.C) was the smallest of the three, with around $7,000,000 USD in it coming from numerous companies. It also appeared to have a piece of property in Sydney Australia.

The other two accounts, despite having by far the most most money, had the least variety of input. Both were only getting from one company each, but the numbers were astounding.

Potter Official Diamonds International United Merchandise (P.O.D.I.U.M) had almost 12 Billion US dollars in it, and Potter International Gems Madagascar Yard (P.I.G.M.Y) had more that 7 Billion. While the amounts had seemed impossible yesterday, he guessed that diamonds and gems made the amount possible.

If Harry had to guess the person who came up with the names was really struggling to come up with something and just settled for what fit in the end. I mean Yard? They could do better than that.

"Hey, Harry, how's it coming?" Sirius asked as he walked in the room.

Harry looked over at him and smiled. "Hey Padfoot! I've just been reading through the ledger. It seems that my ancestors have been investing in companies around the world and that's where the money comes from. Unfortunately this is all just data, I need to find something that has actual information. I wonder if somebody kept a journal?"

Sirius looked thoughtful at that. "Well I know the Blacks did so I would be surprised if the Potters haven't got some hidden somewhere. I would try the family office."

That confused Harry, but Sirius didn't seem to notice as he had walked over to the window and was looking out it. "This is the office you moron. And besides I had a look through the bookshelf and it was all Ministry and Wizengamot documents. Laws and what people voted on each proposal and stuff like that."

Sirius laughed and looked at Harry. "This is the Lord's office. Technically speaking I shouldn't be in here, but I was never one to follow the rules. This office is for the exclusive use of the Lord Potter, and if he chooses so the Heir. This is where they write and read Laws, make plans, and instruct their Heir on what it means to be Lord Potter. If things had gone differently you would have spent hours in here from your eighth birthday onwards learning all of what you currently are searching for, and a million other things. Fleamont and Henry would drag your father in here for tutorials whenever they wanted."

"Who were Fleamont and Henry?" Harry hadn't heard those names before.

"Fleamont was your Grandfather and the previous Lord Potter. A nicer wizard I have never met. He always treated me like a son after I moved here, even though I was from a rival family, and did a lot for me. Perhaps it was because his mother was a Black that he was so nice to me. Henry was his father, who I never met. He died during our third year." By this time the dog animagus had a far away look in his eye. "It was to protect his parents and this house that made James and Lily moving to Godric's Hollow."

"Thank you." It came out as a whisper.

Sirius pulled Harry into a hug. "I know you must feel so clueless when it comes to your family, but I'm still here. I'm your family now, and I will do my best to help you learn about the Potters. Any time you want to hear about them, ask, and I will drop everything to tell you what I know. However what you want to know about now I can't tell you because I don't know, but follow me and we will see if we can't find out."

He led Harry down the hall and into a much larger room. In the middle were four desks put together, two back-to-back, and two wide. One wall had a fireplace with two arm chairs and a sofa surrounding it. Apart from the doorway and the fireplace the walls were encased by book cases.

The wall with the fireplace had two bookcases, one on each side of the fireplace with a generous gap protecting them from the heat that would be put out. Harry decided that would be the place to start.

"Sirius you start at that one, I'll start the other side and we will work our way around the room." He pointed out the relevant bookcase while walking to the other side of the fire.

"Um, Harry? You pointed at an empty wall. Do you mean this one?" Sirius walked over to the one near the right-hand corner. It was the wall next to the one containing the fireplace.

"No Sirius, the one near the fire." When Sirius looked at him confused it struck Harry. "You can't see it can you?"

He walked over and looked at the bookcase. The top two shelves had scrolls, and then after that it was books. The ones near the top were obviously older, with the ones near the bottom being much newer. The bottom shelf, and half the next one, was empty.

Picking up the last one he looked at it. It was dark blue, with no writing on either the front or its spine. "That's James' journal! I'd recognise it anywhere! We wrote so many of our notes in it and it's twin." Sirius was standing next to Harry, looking over his shoulder.

"This one?" Harry reached in and pulled out the journal that was next to it, but a crimson red colour.

"Yeah that's it! While the rest of us kept notes as well, James was the most insistent on recording everything, even our failures. The red one was from our earlier years at Hogwarts, the blue from when we were older." Sirius took the blue one out of his godsons hand and stroked it lovingly. He was obviously lost in his memories.

Putting it to the side, Harry picked up the next journal which looked identical but with a black cover. Scanning through a few pages, Harry's eyes grew wide. This was the personal journal of his father.

Starting when James was six, most of the early entries were insignificant. Skipping to the middle of the journal his eyes were instantly drawn to a name among the words. Lily.

December 12th 1974,

It was a great day for the most part, with Transfiguration being the best part. McGonagall still doesn't realise that the reason I muck around in class is so that it's not obvious I'm the best in class. Like usual Lily was the first in class to get the change, but I had it perfected last year. I asked her to Hogsmeade this weekend and she shot me down, but I think she was trying not to laugh as I charmed her book to play violin as I asked and her quills all became roses. She will fold soon, I'm sure. Remus had been fending off advances from C.B once again. It would be so funny if it wasn't for the fact that she was a snake, or Sirius' cousin. Sirius wouldn't stop teasing Remus, and the boy had to run away blushing at one point. Petter has a brilliant idea to rub it in tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Reading his dad's writing for the first time Harry couldn't help but feel a closeness to the man. "Paddy, who was C.B? She was your cousin and interested in Remus by the sounds of it."

Sirius looked up at the question, before breaking out laughing. "She's… My cousin… Narcissa… Cissy…"

The gaps were caused by the man's insistent laughing. "Narcissa… Malfoy?"

That sobered the dog up. "Narcissa Black. We annulled the marriage remember, and she is most happy about it I assure you."

"Really? I thought she would hate us for it." Harry knew that if someone tore him away from his wife against his wishes he would hate them.

"It was a marriage contract, and not one that Cissa ever wanted. I discovered in the family archives that her father had a gambling problem and when he was cut off from the Black fortune to pay for his addiction he used his available resources. His daughters. Why do you think a girl a year younger than me married a man nine years my senior?" Sirius seemed disgusted just mentioning the relationship. "Cissa is my plus one to the Ball this weekend and I'm sure she will thank you in person."

They settled into a comfortable companionship, Harry pulling journals off the shelf and skimming through them while Sirius went around the other shelves looking for any books that might help Harry in the tournament. The pile of books on the desks was slowly growing.

From what Harry could gather from the journals, the Lord Potter would support any second or third sons or grandsons he had with any business ventures they wanted, for a small percentage of the profits. That included if they wanted to move to the New World, or any other British colonies, which is where the money around the world was coming from.

/

Harry walked into the house with a smile beaming. He loved Potter Island. The only thing that could have improved it in Harry's opinion was some animals that weren't of the farm variety. Maybe he could get some moved into the small forest.

He would have to ask Sirius for his opinion on the matter, but first he could do with a snack. It was a bit of a walk after all touring the island. Where was that kitchen again?

"Sirius I'm back! I'm going to the kitchen!" He yelled out to his godfather as he walked down the main hallway on the ground floor.

Halfway down the hallway he felt something new and different. It felt like something was calling out to his magic and soul, and it stopped him in his tracks. He turned to face the wall next to him, perplexed at the feeling.

Reaching out he touched the wall, and a metre wide panel flashed blue. The whole panel, from floor to ceiling, moved forward before swinging open on unseen hinges. Hunger forgotten in the face of the unknown, Harry stepped down the top two steps of the hidden staircase ahead of him.

As his foot hit the second step a wall sconce lit up, revealing more steps cut into the stone. Steeling up his courage he continued down the stairs, with a new sconce lighting up every half dozen steps. It was hard to judge the distance but he guessed it was about 20 meters of stairs before he hit the bottom.

As his foot hit the bottom sconces around the cavern lit up. The space was at least 3 meters wide and 5 meters deep. At around eye level were niches surrounding the wall. It was to these that Harry was drawn.

On the right hand side of the hollow the first two rock shelves were empty but the third had two wooden boxes. Each box had a plaque on the top. Harry reached in and pulled one out, hearing something fall to the ground and rattled around.

Harry picked it up off the ground and realised it was a a wand. Looking from it to the box, he tilted the lid to allow him to read the plaque in the limited light.

Lady Euphemia Potter

February Second 1905 - September Third 1980.

Loving Wife, Mother and Grandmother.

Victoriae Glorim.

His knees hit the stone floor as he dropped the wand once more. Tears were streaming down his face as he clutched the box to his chest. Here were his grandmother's ashes.

The boy couldn't stop his sobbing as the full weight of the room hit him; this was where his ancestors were laid to rest. He was in the Potter crypt.

He felt strong arms wrap around him in a hug as Sirius knelt beside him. There was nothing for the man to say, so he just held the crying teen. All he could do was be there to comfort his godson.

The pair stayed there, kneeling on the cold, hard ground, for quite some time. With his tears cried out, Harry turned and embraced Padfoot, thanking him for his presence.

Picking up the wand once more, he placed it on top of the box and placed it back on the shelf. Being more careful he picked out the other box, this one with two wands on top. Moving them to the side he was able to read the plaque.

Lord Fleamont Ares Potter

June Fifteenth 1904 - September First 1980.

Cherished Lord, Husband, Father and Grandfather.

Victoriae Glorim.

He kissed the plaque before putting it back where it had been resting. He held the pair of wands up and raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was illegal to have two wands?

"You don't know? Of course you don't know what was I thinking. The ten families with hereditary seats are allowed to have two wands, but we keep it quiet. It's an advantage in case you ever get disarmed; you pop out your other wand and they don't know what's hit them." He demonstrated his point by taking one of the wands off Harry and then pretending he was hexed with the other one. He really was a drama queen, Harry couldn't help observing.

"Really? Maybe I should get a second." He was instantly thinking about the advantage it could bring to the tournament.

"Yes, seriously." The giant man-child had to stop there as he burst out laughing, ignoring Harry's eye-roll. "It's a good idea though, and I should probably go get some wands made for myself. I'm still using the one that I got from the stash bag after I escaped Azkaban. We can probably make it before closing if you want to go now?"

"Let's go tomorrow after the Basilisk harvest, I think I need to stay down here a little bit longer." Harry turned his attention back to the room, and felt the dog squeeze his shoulder as he walked out.

/

Wednesday 28th December 1994, 3:45pm.

Harry was clutching is godfather's arm as they appeared in a side alleyway off the Alley. Side-along apparition was far from Harry's favourite feeling, and he was looking forward to getting his licence and being able to travelling on his own. If he was being honest, the flame-travel that he could do as a Phoenix was both smoother and quicker.

"That's horrible." Sirius just laughed at his outburst, and led the way back to the main part of the Alley.

The pair were soon at Ollivanders Wands, and entering the store. The old man appeared, from whether he hid when the shop was empty, and nodded at the two as he walked over and closed the door. He locked the door, and turned over the shop sign so it read "CLOSED" to any people in the Alley.

He indicated for them to follow him and led them into a back room. There were several desks around the large open space, each with different materials. One had little jars, each had a label with eligible scrawl on it. Another desk had a dozen different pieces of wood on it, surrounded by a confusing array of tools. The last desk was covered in scrolls and scraps of paper.

"I assume you are here for a second wand, Lord Potter, and I guess you finally have decided that you need a wand or two that will be more in tune with yourself Black." He turned an appraising eye on the godfather and godson.

"Yes I would like a second wand, Sirius?" At his words the Marauder pulled a miniature box out of his pocket and returned it to regular size. "Sirius said that you craft the wands specially given the unlikeliness of finding a second wand that resonates with my magic, so I brought a few ingredients that I may feel connected with."

The old man took the box and started rummaging through what was in it. "Basilisk venom? Another vial of venom… A Phoenix feather? But not the same Phoenix as your current wand that's for sure… A fang? A Basilisk fang is it? And what is this?"

He held up a little glass jar which had a clear liquid in it, which Harry recognised instantly. "Phoenix tears. A note about that, the feather and the smaller vial of venom, I will need back any of them that isn't used, with the other ingredients you can keep any leftovers. I don't know how you find what is right for us?"

Ollivander carried the box over to the desk with all the jars on it, and put all the items in the box on the desk. "I need to prepare all the ingredients, don't worry I will put those you mentioned to the side. Come back in an hour."

Not having a choice in the matter, the pair left the shop and went to get ice cream. It wasn't the right weather for ice cream, being the middle of winter, but they had to do something while waiting for the wand-maker.

While he enjoyed a spoonful of cherry flavoured ice cream, the boy found his mind wandering back to earlier that day.

(FLASHBACK)

Harry, Sirius and a contingent of goblins all walked up the path to Hogwarts Castle, having been let through the gates by Filius. The Charms professor was walking among the goblins talking to them in their native tongue. At least a couple of the goblins seemed to know Flitwick personally.

The entire group followed Harry as he led them to Myrtle's bathroom and opened the entranceway to the Chamber. After directing the stone ladder to appear he gave the group an explanation of what to be expect below.

Once they were all down at the bottom, thanks to a conjured mattress for dampening the landing, he led them to the main room, where the goblins set about their gruesome task. Harry watched as they disassembled the carcass, all wearing thick gloves for protection, putting all the different materials in different chests. It was horrifying.

"Hackblade, Findore, I just decided something." An idea had popped into Harry's head. "Sirius here needs a wand, and I understand that creature parts are often used as cores, so could you put aside a little of all the ingredients that could be used in a wand? The Nation's profit that the parts would generate will come out of my portion of the profits of course."

The goblins were full of understanding and sealed up a small amount of venom, the smallest fang, a small rib, and a small slice of venom gland for Harry. At the boy's request they also gave him two empty jars and a small vial.

"Sirius, I have a favour. Can you follow me? And can we borrow a pair of those gloves, Hackblade?" Harry left the space with a box of basilisk parts, a few empty containers, a pair of gloves on top of it all, and a godfather following him.

~close- With a hiss the inner set of doors closed and Harry was alone with Sirius. He looked at the man for a minute, trying to decide whether or not he should tell him this secret.

In the end the benefits outweighed the costs. "What I am about to show you is a secret; you cannot tell anyone! Not even Remus! I am an animagus."

"That's my pup! A fourth year animagus! The Marauders were fifth years when we managed it." Despite the man wiping away a fake tear, Harry could tell that the clown was actually proud of him.

That the last (pseudo)parent he had was proud of him filled his heart with love. "When I change I need you to pluck out a feather, and put it in a jar, and then hold the other jar out for me. Please don't make any comments until I change back."

At the man's nod he forced his magic to do the change. Sirius let out a gasp at the Phoenix that was flying in front of him, where his godson had just been. The bird turned in the air but before he could pluck a feather one started falling to the ground.

Thanks to his already outstretched hand he was able to catch it before it hit the ground and sealed it in a jar. As instructed he held out the other container and let the Phoenix cry into it, sealing it as well when the bird stopped crying and turned back into a boy.

"A Phoenix Harry? That's unheard of! Now I know why you wanted it kept secret." He put the tears into the box before picking out the vial and arching an eyebrow.

Harry got the unspoken question and responded. "There is one more secret, wait a second." He pulled out his wand and coping McGonagall conjured a sponged with a simple wave. "I need you to put the gloves on and hold this. I will change again, and when I do put this between my teeth and I will bite down. Whatever you do, don't get bitten."

When the box was up against the wall, along with the glove-wearing Sirius, Harry changed into his larger form. Once more stunned the man was thankfully aware enough to follow out the instructions.

Human once more, Harry gave more instructions. "Squeeze the venom into the vial for me, then put the sponge on the floor."

After that had happened Harry burnt the sponge to ashes, destroying any venom remaining in it as well. Task done, and with Sirius still too stunned to talk, the pair joined the rest of the team in the Chamber.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

Having wasted the appropriate amount of time at the ice cream parlour the family of two returned to the crazy old mans store. Read eccentric if you would prefer, but Harry was sure that he was starting to check out.

The pair found him in the front room, obviously waiting for them, and after he had once more locked the door he spoke up. "Put this blindfold on Mr. Potter, and you as well Black."

Accepting the material that was held out to him, Harry looked at his godfather for guidance. The Marauder just shrugged and put the black strip of material on. Knowing he had no choice now the boy followed Sirius' example.

"Black give me your hand." A second later Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hold on and follow him Black. Potter hold a hand out."

Harry did, and a wrinkled, weathered hand grasped his hand and started leading him out of the main room. Harry really did not like being led somewhere, completely blind, and kept fiddling with his wand nervously. He doubted he would need it, but it was better safe than sorry.

"Stop. There is a bench with a wide variety of cores in front of you. Move your hand side to side, and if one feels right tell me. If nothing calls to your magic that is fine, I have plenty of others that we can move on to." As the wand-maker spoke he released Harry's hand.

Feeling stupid, Harry moved his hand to the left, and feeling nothing he moved it to the right. Feeling a pull he pushed his hand further right until he felt a warmth under his hand that pulsed in his chest at the same time. Reaching down he picked up a jar, and weighed it in his hand. "This one."

"Interesting. Most interesting." Ollivander mused as he took the jar out of Harry's hand and went and put it down on one of the desks.

He walked over and took Sirius' hand off the boy's shoulder. Guiding the boy to the side and the man forward he repeated the instructions, watching with curiosity as the man picked out two of the jars that were arranged along the bench. The wands that he would be making for the two were most interesting

After he had placed Sirius' cores alongside Harry's on a desk, he led the two away once more to an identical bench just a few meters away. "Same process, hand out and see if anything calls out to you."

He watched as the boy hesitated over one block of wood before continuing on. Eventually his hand came back to the block of wood, but Garrick could tell that Harry wasn't completely comfortable with it. "Can you feel something Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, but it is nowhere near as strong as with the core… What does that mean?" The confusion was all over the boy's face.

It was exactly what Garrick thought was the problem. "Nothing to worry about Mr. Potter. All that means is that it is the right type of wood, but not the right piece of wood for you. If you step to the side I can arrange my complete selection of…" He stepped closer to see what it was. "Chestnut, for you to choose from soon."

Pulling the blindfold off the boy, he moved him to the side and had Sirius choose his materials. When that was done, thankfully the man connected with the wood that was on display, he took the second customers blindfold away and led them over to the desk with the cores waiting.

He placed the two blocks of wood that Sirius had chosen next to his cores. "Black pick up a core and a wood, and rotate the combination around until you find what feels right."

The man did and when he was happy separated the two wands apart. "Interesting, a Phoenix Feather and Maple wand of twelve and one quarter inches, and a Basilisk Venom with Pheasantwood with a length of eleven inches. Now give me a minute."

The pair watched as he rushed around the room, clearing off the bench that had 20 odd blocks of wood he put them away before producing a couple blocks of similar looking wood. It seemed that he had stored them in a hundred different locations and when more than a dozen blocks of Chestnut had been laid out on the bench gestured for them to join him.

"I have American Chestnut, Sweet Chestnut, Wormy Chestnut, Gryphon Chestnut… Every imaginable type of Chestnut. Which one is right for you?" He stepped back and waited for Harry.

The boy closed his eyes and extended his hand. They all called to him, in varying degrees but one was by far the biggest pull. He instantly reached for it, and warmth exploded through him as he picked it up.

"Good, good." Ollivander muttered to himself as he took the wood off the boy and walked over to the bench. "Basilisk Venom-Gland and Gryphon Chestnut, ten and three quarter inches. I can make your wands tonight, but it will cost a little extra for overnight work, or you can come back this weekend."

"Tonight." Harry and Sirius both said at the same time.

"115 galleons each wand, 100 for the custom made wands and 15 for the overnight work. Let's check what of your ingredients are left for me to work out what I owe you for them." He walked over to the ingredients bench with them in tow.

He took a quick inventory of what was there. "There is still enough gland for one wand, two rib wands, three venom wands, the smaller vial only had enough for one wand which Sirius picked out, 5 fang wands and you wanted this back."

He handed harry two jars with Phoenix tears in them. "I owe you about 300 galleons, or you owe me 45 galleons for overnight crafting."

"So the Phoenix Feather was the one I provided?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and if you can persuade the Phoenix to give up a few more that would me much appreciated, they rarely give them up and are always powerful wands." He obviously was envisioning the wands that could be made with a slew of Phoenix Feathers.

"Sorry, it was a once off donation. However you can keep the rest of the ingredients for free. Actually that touches on a question I have if you don't mind?" Harry turned to the old man.

"Of course Mr. Potter." He seemed amused.

Taking a minute to work out what was the best way to word it, Harry spoke up, "my first wand was 7 galleons, and I assume that's similar to everyone else, but how can you afford to live off that let alone the price of ingredients?"

Garrick nodded at that question. "I discount wands heavily for students. In total it is about 400 galleons all up for the incoming Hogwarts students. A few students every year damage or break their wands which I replace for 25 galleons, so maybe 100 galleons more. For adults new wands are 50 galleons each, or 100 for a custom wand, of which there can be 20 orders a year."

"Still seems a little on the short side to me, especially given the cost of material." Sirius spoke up.

"Well you always were a fool Black. There are the 70 odd students a year who start at Athena Magic Institute, but many of who go to Landfords. Plus I do work for the ministry, and take on an apprentice every couple of years, who pay for the tutorship." He was glaring at the Lord Black.

"Wait a minute. What's Athena Magic Institute? Or Landford's?" Harry was thoroughly confused.

"Your education is very lacking. A.M.I is the other school of magic in the U.K. It's a day only school, for those who can't afford Hogwarts. It only offers up to O.W.L.s but there are tutors out there who offer N.E.W.T.s instructions for those who want to continue their education. And Landford's is the other major wand-makers in England." The old man took his time to explain it to the teen.

"Okay. We will see you tomorrow." Saying goodbye the pair left the craftsman to his work.

/

Saturday 31st December 1994, 7:15pm.

Harry entered the Atrium to the Ministry of Magic building with Daphne on his arm. She was wearing a dark blue Valentino dress that they had purchased on Thursday when the pair had gone shopping in London. Harry was wearing an Armani Suit, with a tie that matched her dress.

Despite the stories that he had heard about how terrible it was shopping with women, he had actually had a very pleasant couple of hours shopping with her in muggle London. Neither of them had spend a lot of time shopping in the muggle world, even though he grew up there, and had enjoyed discovering Mayfair together.

They had laughed, talked, flirted and had an all around great time, and for the first time Harry had been happy for their engagement. He knew it was unfair to think that, but it had been a curveball and had taken a lot of time to be comfortable with how it was going to be. Now that he had accepted it he found it easier to not feel on edge around her.

"Lord Potter, Miss Greengrass!" A man stepped forward to greet them. "Welcome to the Wizengamot New Year's Ball! The Atrium is playing host to the Ball tonight so feel free to mix and mingle to your hearts content. Dancing begins at 9pm. Have a pleasant evening."

Finished with the introduction he turned to the next pair who had arrived, as Harry and Daphne waded into the busy space ahead. Spotting Arthur Weasley he led his fiancée over.

"Arthur! I must introduce you to my lovely soon-to-be bride. Arthur Weasley, Daphne Greengrass. Daphne, Arthur." Harry introduced the pair.

Shaking hands the group set down to small talk. The Ball was for all the Members of the Wizengamot as well as the heads of Ministry departments, which was why Arthur was there with Molly, who was off talking to her cousin.

"Arthur I have been meaning to give you this for awhile, but haven't seen you. I hope it brings a lot of joy to your family." Harry handed over a small slip of paper.

The man opened it, and eyes hit the ceiling at what it read. "Harry, I can't accept this!"

He tried to hand back the bank draft, but Harry wouldn't take it off his hands. "This isn't charity, Mr. Weasley. It's payment for mine and Hermione's tickets to the Quidditch World Cup. I asked around and tickets to that box would have earned you a nice nest egg if you had sold them instead of giving them to me and her. This is compensation for that decision, which I am very grateful for."

Arthur was still shaking his head, trying to hand it back. "We wanted you there Harry, you don't have to pay for the experience!"

"Arthur, I know you are proud and you get by, but I want to pay for it. I have a lot of family money, and this is a small amount, but you and Molly can use this to visit your sons overseas, or get some work done on the Burrow. That's why I'm giving it to you now, while you are alone, so please take it Arthur. And cash it in, I will be checking to make sure you do." He smiled at the man before leading Daphne off to meet some other people.

Harry and Daphne met and held down small conversation with several department heads and members before Harry caught sight of Sirius in the distance. Leading his fiancée over to the Marauder, he jabbed the man in the side, scaring the old dog.

"Harry! Don't ever do that again! Good to see you again Daphne, you look lovely." He smiled at the girl before glaring at his godson.

Harry tries to respond, but was laughing too hard to get words out. Daphne spoke up instead. "Good evening Sirius, I must apologise for his behaviour. Who is your date I must ask?"

"Narcissa Black, pleased to meet you." The bark haired lady spoke up, introducing herself.

"Daphne Greengrass, how are you tonight Miss Black?" The two women started talking, while Harry turned to his godfather.

He arched an eyebrow before speaking up. "Your cousin Sirius? Black Family tradition aye?"

"Oi! It's nothing like that! I don't know anyone anymore, whereas she has spent the last decade on Malfoy's arm at events like this and knows everybody worth knowing. It's a tactical decision." He tapped his nose as he responded.

"Narcissa! What are you doing here? You dare come here!" Harry spun at the exclamation to see a livid Lucius Malfoy storming towards them.

Instantly on alert Harry subtly drew his wand and watched the approaching man. When Lucius reached her he drew his hand back and Harry could tell he was going to slap her with the back of his hand. Quickly, before anybody realised what was happening, Harry raised his wand and banished the man back several meters.

"You dare hex me boy!" He roared out before drawing his own wand and pointing it at Harry.

Before it could escalate any further Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared. "What's going on here? Wands aren't to be drawn during the Ball!"

"This child dared to cast a banishing charm at me!" Lucius snarled out.

"He was going to hit Miss Black here, so I did what needed to be done. And besides as a Wizengamot member I'm entitled to be here, he isn't, so please escort him out Auror." Harry went to turn away, obviously showing the entire audience he was done talking to the man.

"The Minister himself invited me." Lucius drawled out, speaking like it entitled him to whatever he wanted while he was here.

Harry turned and looked at the man curiously. "Is that so? The Minister? That's interesting because I could have sworn that I saw his wife with him."

Lucius was confused at that. "Well yes she is, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well the last I checked members and department heads are invited, including the Minister, but are only allowed one date each. Should we ask the Minister who his date is? Because if he doesn't pick you I will make sure the Aurors throw you out bodily." Harry responded looking thoughtful, before allowing a smirk as he finished.

Lucius snarled and spun around, marching off. He ignored the Auror who was a step behind him the whole time.

Harry turned to Kingsley who was still standing there, making sure he wasn't needed for anything else. "Thank you, Auror Shacklebolt."

The Auror smiled at Harry. "Of course, Lord Potter."

Knowing that the excitement was over the guests turned away and returned to their conversations, some still glancing back at Harry occasionally. Kingsley went to walk passed but stopped to whisper to the boy. "Something is wrong with Moody. I don't know what, he wouldn't let me in to see him, but something is wrong. Be careful around him."

Harry nodded his thanks, and the man was gone once more, blending in with the guests as he patrolled, looking for anything out of place. Harry knew that there probably were a handful of Aurors sprinkled around the room, there to make sure nothing happened, but they were good at the job and he couldn't pick them out.

Somebody had made an executive decision that the best way to distract everyone from the unpleasantness was by starting the music early as the band started up. Extending his hand out to Daphne with a smile, he was grateful when she took it and they started dancing. Harry was determined to make this a pleasant evening despite the earlier interruption.

A/N: Hope you all like this chapter, back at Hogwarts in the next chapter so that is something to look forward to. I had to cut shopping with Daphne in this chapter, as well as the full rendering of the Basilisk, because of the size of the chapter with them, but I hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless. Yes the joke about the naming of the companies was a dig at myself. The first few anagrams were easy to come up with, however the later ones were much harder to think of. Harry's second wand is based off my Pottermore one, except I have a Phoenix Feather not Basilisk Venom Gland. In case you didn't pick up on it, Sirius' two cores are from Harry's animagus forms which I believe shows his connection with Harry brilliantly, but I want to know your opinion on it so please let me know in the reviews. Until next time