89

CHAPTER EIGHTY NINE:

It turned out that Harry had, in fact, claimed the Greengrass business by right of conquest. Apparently right of conquest gave you absolutely everything the defeated owned that could in any way be considered material wealth, and private-owned businesses, investments, and in some cases even the wizard's wife were counted. In fact, due to the type of marriage contract the Malfoys had signed, Narcissa was technically Harry's wife.

He was not pleased when he figured that out.

However, the fact that he did indeed own the Greengrass business simplified things. Perusing the details of the business with an unusually helpful goblin, Harry soon decided which parts he would not be keeping and arranged for Gringotts to hire competent people to take care of the other branches of the business, naming a goodly sum for the goblins' service. After that he made his way to the offices of the Daily Prophet to inform them that he was now the owner of the Greengrass business and would continue to supply valuable things like wand wood and fabric, but would most definitely not be supplying any illegal goods. He also gave a small statement about the trials of that day, saying with full honesty that Daphne had been a close friend of his in the future and that the Parkinsons had seemed quite pleasant, and that he hoped that they would stand up for themselves in the future.

Upon his return to Hogwarts he sat down and wrote Daphne a letter, thinking that this was perhaps better put into writing. It was slightly odd addressing a letter to "Lady Greengrass", but the gist of the letter was that control of the business was hers to assume when she wished, and that she and her sister would be spending the summer at Black Manor but were welcome to choose one of the Greengrass properties for themselves. He informed her on their monthly "allowance" during their school years and the increased sum they would each receive after graduation, as well as giving her a bit of advice on her new status as Lady Greengrass. He finished the letter by saying that she was welcome to come to him with any questions or issues, and signed it "Lord Harry Potter-Black".

That done, he fell into bed and curled up to Severus, seeking the warmth and comfort of his lover's embrace before falling asleep. He supposed it was fitting that the day marking a month since his arrival in his past was one that turned so many of his previous misconceptions upside down.

OoOoO

The next day he headed back to Gringotts, the visit of the previous day having reminded him of something: He was not the only one who could claim right of conquest. So he headed back to the bank before the day's trials began, and had the goblins move sums of money and deeds to properties to a few people's vaults. He wondered how Remus and Tonks, Bill and the twins, Alastor and Minerva would feel when they saw that they had large sums of money from the Death Eaters they had gone after what felt like years ago.

In fact, Harry's next stop was Grimmauld Place to have a quick talk with Remus, who he realized he hadn't bonded Fiona to yet. Sirius was still asleep when he arrived, so he took Remus with him to a Potter property he planned on giving him.

"What's all this about, Harry?" the older man asked, looking around curiously. "Not that I'm not happy to see you; it's just unexpected…"

Harry laughed slightly. "Well, first things first, then. I just was at Gringotts to transfer half of Jugson and Avery's vaults to yours, since they're yours by right of conquest. Considering how rich they were, I expect you to at least get yourself some high-quality clothing – and don't you dare protest that you don't deserve the money," he gave his father figure a warning look. "I didn't think any of their properties were ones you'd like, though, so I wanted to give you this one," Harry continued, gesturing at the rather nondescript house on the outskirts of a small town. "This is a Muggle town, so you'll have to be discreet with your magic, but now you have the funds to get the Wolfbane Potion each month, and this house is supposed to have a big cellar." He grinned at Remus's overwhelmed expression. "One more thing: I'd like to introduce you to Fiona."

As if on cue, the house elf popped into being next to Harry, looking curiously and a tiny bit apprehensively up at Remus.

"Remus, this is Fiona," Harry said, crouching down next to the diminutive being. "I'd like you to bond with her; she needs a family, and I thought you two would be good together."

Remus crouched down as well, looking at Fiona kindly but giving Harry a slightly puzzled look. "I'm not sure I need a house elf, though – won't she be terribly bored bonded to me?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't think so, but I also think it should be up to her to decide." He smiled at Fiona. "If she doesn't like being bonded to you, I've told her to let me know and we'll find something more suitable for her." He could tell that his words swept away the last of her apprehensions, and they both looked at Remus expectantly.

Remus looked back at them unsurely, but quickly crumbled. "Oh, alright," he conceded. "But if you're not happy with me you'll go right to Harry, okay? He did tell you that I'm a werewolf, right?"

Fiona nodded, visibly suppressing a shudder. "Master Harry was mentioning it, Master Remus," she replied earnestly, and Remus nodded.

"Doesn't that bother you, though?" he asked, clearly having noticed her reaction.

Fiona hesitated. "Master Harry was saying that you is very gentle and like a father to Master Harry," she said finally. "Fiona is thinking that she would be liking to help Master Remus."

Remus was clearly choked up by the thought that Harry considered him like a father, but managed to give Fiona a smile. "Then I would be happy to bond with you, Fiona," he said honestly.

The bonding itself was short, and Harry told Fiona to make sure the Potter elves taking care of this property were told that it would soon be a Lupin property instead before he reluctantly parted from Remus, who gave him a fierce hug before letting him apparate away. He had some business at the Ministry before the trials started.

OoOoO

"Kingsley," Harry greeted as he was showed into the Head of the DMLE's office. "I need to know about the man that attacked Luna Lovegood."

"Right," Kingsley replied gravely, standing to remove a file from a cabinet along the wall. "I thought you'd be by yesterday for this, but with the trials I can understand why you had other things on your mind."

Harry knew Kingsley didn't mean it that way, but it sounded rather like the man was accusing him of thinking the Greengrass business more important than Luna's life. Shaking his head slightly, he said, "Yesterday's trials ended up running pretty late and you'd been there the entire time, so I wasn't sure you'd gotten around to questioning the man. I thought it might be better if I came this morning instead."

Kingsley hummed, finding the file he was looking for and bringing it over to the desk. "Right you were, too – I had some Aurors question him, but didn't get a chance to look at the results until late last evening. Seems the man was hired to find out your fighting style in a provoked fight, preferably injuring or killing some of your friends in the process. I hear Miss Lovegood recovered without problem?"

"Only because Severus was right there to stabilize her," Harry said grimly, aware that without Severus there she would have walked away with a scar at the very least. "Do we know why he targeted Luna?"

"It seems he read up on the people known to be close to you and chose Miss Lovegood to attack because she was the most vulnerable when he walked up. The man had no orders to attack her specifically, nor did he seem to care about her – it was simply to provoke you into attacking."

Harry scowled; he hated those close to him being targeted simply in order to hurt or provoke him. "Any lead on who hired him?"

"No," Kingsley sighed, handing Harry a sheet of parchment. "Apparently this man was hired through a letter instead of in person, so not even he has any clue who he was hired by, only that he was paid good money."

Harry pulled a face as he read how much the man had been paid to "injure or kill" one of his friends. "Lovely."

"I'm sorry that I can't be of more help," Kingsley said, accepting the parchment back. "I heard that the castle grounds were warded the same day, so hopefully your friends will be safer now."

"Yeah," Harry exhaled, standing after a look at his watch. "The first trial is about to start; you're coming?"

"Of course," Kingsley said, falling into step next to Harry as they left his office. "Hopefully today won't have any other unpleasant surprises."

Harry silently agreed with that, but knew he'd have to be even more on his guard than before. If there were people being hired to simply provoke him and test his fighting capabilities, the next step would be a serious attack: either an attack by a group or assassins. And assassins meant double-checking absolutely anything he ate, drank, even touched, as well as watching out for magical and physical attacks.

He hadn't thought sitting in a courtroom all day could get any more draining, but he knew he was about to be proven wrong.