Chapter 037

"Yes, back then the newspaper media was much smaller than it was today and did not have much control over the population as it does now. Of course," Andromeda added after a moment's inflection, "back then the newspaper was used for keeping people updated on current events, not entertainment like it is today. At the time there had been an article written about a scandal that involved the pureblood scion of a Noble House. The pureblood was outraged and had managed to gather like-minded individuals who believed in pureblood superiority by claiming 'if it could happen to him, what's to stop the newspaper from running other pureblood names through the mud as well.' Needless to say, the newspaper was hit hard, and the pureblood media protection act was put in place shortly after."

"Yes, I am well aware of that act," Harry told her. "That's why I came to you, because unlike a muggleborn or half-blood who does not belong to a family of any esteem, I happen to be the heir to the Potter fortune, one of the Five Founding Families who had a hand in creating the Ministry of Magic. Even though I am technically a half-blood, the laws behind the pure-blood protection act apply to me because I belong to a powerful pureblood house. And not only am I the heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, I am also the boy-who-lived. My fame combined with my title would make it political suicide for anyone to go against me."

"That is very true," Andromeda said as she studied the boy with a curious gleam in her eyes. "Even without an airtight case, you would still likely win due to the political minefield simply from being the boy-who-lived, and that's not even going into the public outrage those companies would face when it is learned they have been wrongfully using your name. This case is easily going to be the biggest one I've ever seen, and the only question I need to ask now is what you want to get out of it."

"What do I want?" Harry closed his eyes as he parroted the question. "Personally, what I want is for those companies who have used my name to be sued for every single knut they are worth, publicly disgraced, and cast out on the street in rags." He told the woman with complete, brutal honesty, getting Andromeda to raise both eyebrows in surprise, most likely at the harsh punishment he wanted for those using his name. "But we both know that such a thing isn't possible, even with my fame and fortune. And doing that would not only put the people up top out on the streets, but also those working under the people who used my name and image without consent."

Harry would not let innocent people who were only doing there job get caught up in his desire for revenge. Doing so would put him on a level lower than the Dursleys, and he would never again allow himself to stoop so low.

"Instead, what I am thinking is that we sue them for sixty-five percent of the profit they have made off my name and image. I doubt we'll get the full sixty-five, but if we start off big we can probably end up with somewhere around forty percent of the profit. I also want thirty percent of the revenue any company makes for selling anything that has been making money off my name, which we will not negotiate with them on. Also, all the companies who wrote those books about me will write a public apology that will be put on the front page of the Daily Prophet, stating that the stories are not true and were merely written for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, I want the companies that have published these books to sign a magical contract stating they will no longer make any new stories about me, unless I give them my consent."

As Harry began listing all of the things he wanted to accomplish with this lawsuit, Andromeda's eyebrows had been steadily raising higher and higher, until they completely disappeared behind the bangs of her dark hair. It seemed she had not been prepared for just how much thought Harry had put into his plans for suing the people who had used his name.

She recovered quickly, however, before he had gotten halfway through his list, and had since been dutifully jotting down everything he said on a muggle notepad. When Harry finished, she went over everything written down, carefully clarifying certain points with Harry before she was satisfied.

"I believe that everything you have asked me to accomplish is doable," Andromeda told him, much to Harry's secret delight. "Were it anybody else I would say this lawsuit didn't stand a chance, but since it's you, it is not only very possible, but very likely that we will win. Especially if we threaten to take this all the way up to the Wizengamot."

Harry leaned forward eagerly. "How long do you think it will take for the lawsuit to go through?"

"That would depend," Andromeda said slowly, leaning back in her chair. "The first thing I will need to do is research to find out which companies have been using your name and image. You may not know it, but Britain is not the only country in which your name is famous. While You-Know-Who did not do much terrorizing outside of our country, he was still feared in every country that holds a seat on the I.C.W.. There has to be at least a hundred companies that have used your name to turn a profit in some way."

"Another problem is that you are a minor. You may be the heir to an Ancient and Most Noble House, and you may be the boy-who-lived, but that does not change the fact that you are a minor who has no Magical Guardian. It won't change the outcome of our case," she assured Harry when he began to frown. "But it will take a little longer before I can present the case before the court. There are legalities that I have to go through in order to get permission from the Ministry, which will take even longer if you want to keep yourself anonymous until our case is presented."

"I can see how that would cause a delay." Harry grimaced. He'd not thought of the legalities involved. "How long do you suspect it will take?"

"I would hazard a guess that it will take about a year all things told," she informed him. "I should have all of the information regarding the companies we plan on suing within six months, and then another six months to turn that into an airtight case they have no chance of escaping from without agreeing to your demands."

Thinking over what she had told him, he nodded, "that's fine. I can wait." It was slightly annoying, but he didn't want his lawsuit to gain any hitches down the road because he was impatient and overzealous.

And it wasn't like Harry couldn't wait, wasn't there an old saying 'good things come to those who wait?' All it would take was a little patience, something he had an abundance of.

"Excellent." Andromeda smiled at him. "Now all we need to talk about is your payment. I will need a deposit of one-thousand galleons. This is simply for the time I'm going to be putting into your case. Consider it a down payment for services rendered. If the case itself is successful, which I have no doubt it will be, the required payment will be fifteen percent of what we get off the lawsuit. This does not include the money you would make after our successful campaign; just the percentage of what they pay up front. Also, I will need you to sign a magical contract stating your agreement for our deal."

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