Doug's indiscretion will be ignored as he was drunk at the time and the Grangers provided the alcohol.
Sorry if anyone has any problems with the way I have constructed the organisation they are running. All I can say is that I try to stay as close to reality as I can by basing it on my friends' experiences when they started their own IT companies when they were teenagers. Businesses need to be constantly expanding doing new things to grow or it will stagnant.
The estate was actually a one hectare not one acre. (Sorry for the error. I am not familiar with the non-decimal system).
Corruption in the upper levels of society is quiet common in every society. Any one who disagrees has their heads in the clouds. Dumbledore as a extremely high level official will have collected a lot of favours over the years that he could draw upon. Especially within the Slytherin Alumni where he turned a blind eye to all their misbehaviour.
Stealing from estates is quite common. Especially using hard to detect ways such as undervaluing items or manipulating share prices for personal gain through third parties is extremely common. The authorities do not have the resources or the political willpower to actual change it.
The focus of this story is the business and the politics behind money. Relationship development is not my forte. You can ask my ex-girlfriends. I am a numbers and concepts man.
Chapter 24
Four months went by quickly. Harry was copying books from library's restricted section when he heard some steps coming towards him. He stopped his copying and put the book back. Hoping that the disillusionment spell he had cast would hide his presence from the invisible. As he stood their as silently as possible he notice that several books on famous people was removed from the shelves and a quick search through of the book was done before the book was returned to the shelves. Harry could hear Ron whisper something and knew it had to be Ron and Neville. As soon as they left, Harry finished copying the book he was working on and went back to the table he shared with Hermione. He leaned close to Hermione before whispering to her.
"I think Ron and Neville are looking for books about Nicholas Flamel."
"They have been working on it for months now. Have you not wondered why they have not been bothering us recently?"
"I don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"Padma has been keeping informed of the rumours floating around the Griffindor dorms. Neville got an invisible coat for Christmas and he and Ron has been getting special lessons from Dumbledore ever since he got the coat."
"I am surprised that Ron has not boasted about getting trained by Dumbledore to everyone."
"Dumbledore probably put a spell on Ron and Neville to prevent them talking about the lessons. The only reason people know is that Percy noticed that they were disappearing at unusual times. So he followed them to the Headmaster's office when he tried to confront them about it. They could not say a thing and the points he removed as a prefect was returned later that day."
"Why did he not train me?"
"You won't pureblood and he was looking for a sacrificial lamb. Now that you have shown to be a strong willed person he has decided to change his plans since his needs a new weapon to use against Voldemort. Just be thankful he has moved on from you to Neville and Ron."
"So he is still using the philosopher's stone as a test again but this time the test subject is Neville and Ron. I can live with that. Should we give them hints to help them on the way?"
"No. The longer it takes the less trouble they give us."
"Talking about trouble have you decided whether I such obliviate Michael Corner of your Occlumency training or not. We have already done the same to everyone we think is not aligned to our cause. I say we do him as well. It is better to be safe than sorry."
"It would be suspicious if he suddenly loses the abilities he had already gained. At least he has only been taught the basics and nothing more advanced. Can he develop his abilities further?"
"I don't think so. No Hogwart's teacher is willing to give instructions in this area. While the Hogwarts library has no books on the subject, we stole all books Snape has access to and I don't think Dumbledore will let any one touch his books on the topic."
"Did we pass on all the books on the topic to the Granger Institute?"
"I don't think we ask Alice to do so."
"Why don't we ask her to do so when we drop off the books we want her to copy from the Hogwart's library?"
"It is taking us forever to copy the Hogwart's Library even with help from Alice. We need more help. Are you and Emily finished with your experiments in mining? As we need Emily to help with the copying of books if we are going to be finished before we leave Hogwarts. At the rate we are going, not even half the library would be done by the time we leave." Harry asked.
"Why don't you get Doug or Ashley to help you?" Hermione suggested as she enjoyed working with Emily.
"Doug is busy renovating your new home which is almost complete and Ashley is as busy as ever even after she hired those Squibs to help her with the potion making preparation."
"That business is going extremely well in all three countries. We really should start looking for a dedicated site for that business in the US."
"I agree. We really should have a permanent consolidated site in the US for most of our operations. The number of administrative staff we have both in the magical side of things and the non-magical is getting ridiculous."
"But at least it freed up Alice to help you with the library. Why don't you train some of the hunters to help you copy books?"
"The hunters are now working in the import/export business and they are doing a roaring trade so they will not have the time to help us."
"Are we not hiring more staff to cope with the high demand for that business?"
"It takes time to find more quality staff and we are using our existing employees to cope with the workload while we look for more."
"Why don't we pull workers from my parents' house renovation to help out?"
"We can not do that since keeping our operational secrets will be impossible if we use people who have not signed any confidentiality agreements like the construction workers."
"Okay. We will start experimenting in the Chamber of secrets tonight if you will take us. After that I will try to work on a solution to your copying needs."
"It is more like your copying needs as you are more likely to use the library than me."
"Fine. Whatever." Hermione says as continues her research.
The next morning at breakfast. Harry casts some discrete privacy spells before asking Hermione.
"I forgot to ask last night. How did your experiment go?"
"Quiet well actually. We discovered a number of gems and metals that we can sell in America."
"That is good. What did you do with the waste?"
"We put into a trunk to be disposed of. As soon as Voldemort distracts Dumbledore to get the stone, we will move the Vanishing Cabinet I have temporarily stored at the Shrieking Shack to the Chamber of Secrets. It will make things a lot easier to gain access the Chamber of Secrets and to get rid of the trash we generate."
"How can the Vanishing Cabinet fit at the Shrieking Shack? There are now twenty hunters working for us staying at the Shrieking Shack last time I checked."
"They are not all staying at the Shrieking Shack. Most of them are staying in the US as it is a lot more tolerate of people who are different."
"So how do they travel to and from your house?" Harry asks as he realises there is no Floo connection at the Shrieking Shack and frequent portkey use will attract attention.
"They are apparating to and from my home."
"Where are the weapons and armour stored?"
"At the Shrieking Shack in a locked trunk."
"It should be moved to your place. If someone takes the trunk from the Shrieking Shack we will have recourse for reclaiming the lost trunk but if its is at your place then we do."
"Okay. I ask them to move it this weekend."
"Do you think Hagrid has got Norbet yet?"
"I think next week. Why do you ask?"
"I was think that Norbet will be a great gift for the Grangers institute's new farm."
"I feel wrong about stealing Norbet from Hagrid."
"I feel no sympathy for all those people who enable Dumbledore to do what he has done. Hagrid is a prawn to be used by Dumbledore to show how tolerate he is of other magical races which is just one big lie. Remus was a token werewolf and Filch was the token Squib. The worse is Professor McGonagall, she covers up Dumbledore's shortcomings by just doing what he asks without thinking it through. First year first time through, she just dismisses us after we tell her that someone is trying to steal the Philosopher's stone. Second year, she turns a blind eye to fact I am being criticised for being the heir of Slytherin when I was not. Fourth year she does not help me with the Triwizard tournament even though I am younger than all the other contestants and she was my head of house. She also did not punish Draco for those awful badges. Do even get my started on Snape." Harry said with passion as he realised he hated everyone who had lead him astray.
"I can see your point." Hermione said sadly as she use to idolise Professor McGonagall until she realised how misguided the Professor was.
"So everyone who supports Dumbledore is fair game?"
"Okay." Hermione said as she knew that she could not change Harry's mind when he was focused like this.
"So I will create a fake egg to replace the real one. Do you want to come with me on my nightly checks of Hagrid's hut?"
"We don't need to check regularly as the windows will be shut when he does get the dragon egg. But I will go with you when you go to replace the egg. The only reason I agree to this is because I think Hagrid should never have brought the egg into the school when it does not have the facilities or the trained personnel to cope with such a creature. It would safer if I help you move the egg out of the school to the Granger Institute which has both from what we have been told."
At that moment, the owls began delivering the regular morning mail. Harry enjoy watching Dumbledore's face in the morning as more hate mail arrived generated by Rita's series of articles about him. There was nothing he could do to stop it as the ministry backed Rita and any legal action he tried to launch would failed due to the truth behind the articles. It was getting worse as European newspapers and the US newspaper partly owned by the Grangers were beginning to run the same articles.
That morning an owl fly to Hermione and gave her a letter. She rewarded the owl with some bacon. Harry and Hermione both got up and headed to an empty classroom. Harry and Hermione both did not get mail on a regular basis for them to get an owl something important must have happened. The letter looked like normal communication between Hermione and her parents. This way if it was intercepted they would discover nothing important. Hermione said the password which was the Grangers' Institute which revealed the real letter. The letter said.
Dear Hermione and Harry,
Come to our house as soon as you are free. Harry's adoption has hit a snag which we need to discuss as soon as you can.
Love
Dan and Emma Granger.
"We will go your place during the free period after lunch. I will write a letter to Sirius to get him to join us at your place." Harry said hurriedly.
"Okay. It is going to be alright. We will sort it out. There is no way you are going back to the Dursley if I can help it." Hermione reassured Harry. Harry hugged Hermione before rushing off to write the letter to Sirius.
The class before the free period was hell for Harry with him constantly looking at the clock. Hermione seeing Harry's impatience was prepared to leave as soon as the bell rang for the end of class. They raced to the Grangers place right after class. Sirius was already in the lounge waiting for them with a smug look on his face. As soon as he saw them, he hugged them both.
"Where are Mr and Mrs Grangers?" Harry asked anxiously.
"They took the day off and just went out to do some shopping but will be back soon."
"I hope my request did not interrupt your schedule too much."
"Not at all. I was here anyway talking to the girls. They are very nice when they are not too busy. What is this meeting all about?" Sirius states off hand.
"Why don't we wait for the my parents to arrive?" Hermione suggests.
"Okay. So what do you want to talk about in the mean time?" Sirius asks.
"Why the smug look on your face when we arrived?" Harry asks as he tries to distract himself while he impatiently waits for Dan and Emma to come hom.
"I just happy ripping off the purebloods by buying antiques from them at junk prices before selling it to muggles for a fortune. I am glad you suggested I do this. It is fun getting one over all those purebloods."
"Is that what you are doing now?"
"Among other things. I tried dripping my toes into British Magical Politics Arena on your behalf but it did not go down so well since I am considered a blood traitor."
"So the discrimination is not improving even though Amelia has being cleaning up some of the more corrupt members of the Wizengamot." Harry asks even though he was not surprised.
"It is getting worse as the light side fraction has split which makes it easier for the pureblood supremacists to get what they want."
"What are the chances that we can influence them through the media?"
"Doubtful. The British ministry has a lot of control over the British media Outlets. While I am still trying to buy media outlets in Europe to influence the ICW but it is slow going and expensive."
"I still don't understand the purpose of influencing the ICW." Harry said in confusion.
"The ICW can do a number of things to get member countries to change such as curb imports to the UK, ban exports from the UK, make it very difficult for us to travel, prevent British citizens/companies from investing international and a lot of others things that I can not think of at the moment. Why do you think Professor Dumbledore wanted to be the head of such an organisation if it has no power."
"I think we should change tack then. Why don't we try to discover their main sources of income and try to destroy it through competition or making the market obsolete? When their main sources of income is gone. Then if they wish to continue bribing officials then they will start to drawing money from their vaults which rich people are very reluctant to do."
"I see what I can do." Sirius says just as Dan and Emma come walking into the lounge room with bags of shopping. Dobby quickly puts away all the shopping as they greet everyone.
"What happened to my adoption and don't tell me I have to go back to the Dursleys?" Harry asks anxiously.
"We got a rejection letter from the department saying that our accommodation was not suitable for caring for Harry even though we already cleared that hurdle months ago." Dan informed Harry.
"Could it be a surprise inspection?"
"Our lawyers say that they will not do that until our adoption is finalised to check up on us."
"Do you think Dumbledore has made his move?" Harry asks.
"Could be possible. Sirius, do you mind trying to get full custody of Harry?"
"I don't think that is the right course of action. Instead I will begin the process to gain magical guardianship over Harry and Hermione. But I think you, Dan and Emma will make better parents for Harry than I will. So I will investigate the rejection and if it turns out to be the result of magical interference, I will try my best to undo the damage." Sirius says as he begins planning his investigation in his mind.
"So you finally agree to be our magical guardian. What made you change your mind?" Harry asks
"I recently visited the Dursleys to investigate your treatment at their hands and was appalled by what I found. For Dumb as Door to leave you with those animals is criminal and no one should be left in his guardianship if he finds nothing wrong with their behaviour."
"You should work with Lucius Malfoy to ensure that you get our guardianship. Maybe you can work with the reporter, Rita Skeeter, to begin a campaign to remove Dumbledore as the magical guardian of all muggle-born students." Hermione suggests.
"Who should be the magical guardian if not Dumbledore as you need a viable alternative or the purebloods will use it to their advantage?" Sirius asks.
"Maybe the head of their Hogwarts' House or someone the student trusts."
"I think that is possible especially in this climate where Dumbledore is not trusted and Malfoy and Fudge are trying make Dumbledore as powerless as possible."
"Why don't I get Doug to introduce you to Rita tomorrow? So that you can start working with her get that done."
"That sounds great." Sirius says sarcastically.
"Speaking of Doug. How is the renovation going?" Hermione asks her parents.
"All the major work is completed but not the plastering and the decoration of the fireplaces. Doug has banned us from the site since he wants to surprise us with what he is doing. Alice is inspecting it on our behalf to ensure that work is good quality and within the budget we set at the beginning of the project. Do you believe that it is actually on time and budget? Everyone at the surgery said that it was going way over budget and take longer that what was predicted but so far it has not. In fact it has come in under budget. Don't you love magic?" Dan replies quiet happily.
"Do you want one of us to also inspect the renovation site?" Hermione asks.
"No. I trust Alice to keep Doug in line. Anyway all the major work such as the layout of the rooms, the new underground cellar, the underfloor heating, central heating, chandeliers and bathroom fixtures have either been brought or have already been installed." Dan replies.
"That reminds me. Have you connected the house to the power grid and waterworks?" Harry asks.
"No. We wanted all the magical building work to be done first before installing any electronic equipment. The cabling and things in the walls and the floors have been installed but the actual electronics is still missing. Why do you ask?"
"I was thinking of converting one of the outbuildings to provide all your watering needs using magical means. Having it located in an outbuilding will prevent magic from effecting the electronic equipment. While for your power needs I want to recreate a green solution I have a seen before that combines thermal, solar and wind power in one unit." Hermione knew that Harry was talking about something he saw in the future. Since Sirius was there he was reluctant to talk about. So she told the lead by saying.
"I think I know what you talking about. That is a great idea especially since these big houses are known for being expensive to run and maintain. In fact if you add water heated by magical means we could provide enough power for the entire neighbour if we wanted to."
"Why don't you talk to Doug or Alice with your ideas?" Emma suggested.
"I think we should go immediately since it might require an additional tunnel from the underground cellar to these outbuildings so that repairs can be done without having to go outside plus it would provide an escape root in these trouble times." Hermione suggested as she lead Harry out the door in search of Alice.
"I should go as well to begin my investigation. Do you mind if I make a copy of this letter?" Sirius asks the remainder Grangers.
"Not at all." Emma replies as offers the letter for Sirius to copy. After that is done Sirius says his farewells to Dan and Emma Granger before heading to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to talk to Amelia Bones. Sirius is stopped by Amelia's secretary, Ms Lemon.
"Mr Black, you can not go rushing into Ms Bones' office like that without first making an appointment."
"How many times do I have to tell you? Someone as pretty as you should always call me, Sirius."
"Flattery will not get you anywhere with me, Mr Black." Ms Lemon said in a hard tone.
"A man has to try with someone as beautiful as you. Ms Lemon." Sirius says as he leans in close to Ms Lemon.
"Stop before I call security to forcefully remove you from the building." Ms Lemon says as she stands up and points Sirius to the door.
"You don't need to play hard to get. I am already interested." Sirius then strokes her cheek. Amelia then comes out of her office and sees what is happening.
"I will deal with this, Ms Lemon."
"Alright. Are you sure you don't want me to call security?"
"No. Sirius, you old dog. Stop harassing my secretary and get into my office. Have you not heard of floo or owls? If you need to see me please make an appointment with Ms Lemon next time."
"Something suddenly came up which I hope you could help me with." Sirius says as he enters Amelia's office. When he is in the office he turns around to Ms Lemon and says "See you later, beautiful."
"Not if I can help it." Ms Lemon says under her breath.
In Amelia's office, Sirius sits in one of the chairs facing Amelia and gets down to business as he knows she does not like to waste time especially since he is asking for a favour.
"A snag appeared in Harry's muggle adoption that I suspect is due to magical interference."
"What do you want me to do about it?" Amelia asks.
"Help me investigate it using your authority as the head of the DLE."
"You are not going accept no as an answer are you?" Amelia asks as she could see how determined Sirius was.
"No."
"Okay why don't I tell Ms Lemon that I going out before we go pay a visit to this person at the Child services department?"
As soon as they find the author of the letter, Amelia stuns her before scanning her for magical interference.
"This Kyle's magical signature from the Obliviator's department. He is a known supporter of Dumbledore. I think that Fudge will more than willing to allow us to give him truth serum if he thinks we are removing one of Dumbledore's supporters."
"Why don't we remove her memory of this meeting and suggest that she made a mistake with Harry's adoption."
Amelia quickly alters the memory of the child services bureaucrat before she leaves to get the authorisation to dose Kyle with truth serum. While Sirius stays under a disillusionment charm until the official had finished correcting Harry's adoption file. Once it is done he apparates back to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the results of the interrogation of Kyle. He wish he was allowed to attend the actual interrogation but since he is not a law enforcement officer, he is not permitted to be there. Amelia comes into her office where Sirius had been waiting for her arrival.
"How did the interview go?" Sirius asks as soon as he sees her.
"Kyle was Dumbledore's clean up man. He had being obliviating police officers and teachers who have investigated Harry's claim of child abuse on the request from Dumbledore. He also makes sure that Snape is never identified as a death eater."
"What was the reasoning he got from Dumbledore for doing this?"
"He said that Harry was being trained to fight the Dark Lord and Snape was an essential spy for him."
"He believed that rubbish."
"Yes. Some people are just gullible"
"Why did he take so long to act on Harry's case?"
"He was trying to keep his head down but he knew that if he did not act soon it would be too late so he took his chance and it backfired."
"So he is going to jail?"
"No. He is just a misguided fool. So I gave him the option of leaving country immediately without ever communicating with Dumbledore or going to prison for 10 years if he stayed."
"He left the country."
"I believe he is packing his things right now to leave the country as he was scared shitless. Pardon my french."
"Fudge went along with this offer?"
"I am the head of the DMLE. It is my decision, not his but I think he is willing to go along with it."
"Thank you for doing this investigation."
"No problem. I prefer to correcting these instances of injustices whenever I come along it. It makes me think I am doing my part."
"I have to go and tell Harry that his adoption problem has been corrected."
"Good bye. Remember to make an appointment next time."
"I will try. I can not promise that but I will promise to try to remember to make an appointment first next time." Sirius says as he leaves.
Like tying Ron and Neville's robes together when they are spying on Harry and Hermione near a staircase. Then hooking it on the staircase so when it moves the two are left hanging from the staircase scared shitless.
Or the Weasley twins charming Draco's robes with different slogans like "I am Dumbledor's back door buddy", "Snape is my idol.", "Next Generation of Snape". The embarrassment of the slogans who force Draco to go back to his dorms to get it removed.
Chapter 25
The fortnight before the final exams were hectic for the pair. Participation in Hermione's study group final exam preparation sessions was considered the sign of popularity among the First year Hogwarts students. Draco was only included after his father wrote a plea on his behalf to Harry which they reluctantly agree to after they decided that it is better not to burn any bridges. Ron was banned no matter what he tried to do to get in. Including trying to get the twins to vouch for him which they refuse to do as they know how much Harry and Hermione despised him and his antics. Ron then tried to get Percy to try to crack down on them saying it was an illegal club but Professor Flitwick put a stop to that line of reasoning by giving his approval for the continuation of the study sessions.
Cashing in on the popularity of the exam preparation sessions, Hermione created a competition where the student who provide her the most samples of magical plants for her new "garden" she would allow them entry into these sessions. The competition was run for three weeks and was extremely popular amongst the first year students. It was so popular that some of the current members of their study group also joined in on the competition. To reward the participation by these members Hermione offered the additional prize of an extra hour of one on one theoretical training with her and the same with Harry but focused on the practical aspects of their education. They collected so many different samples of rare and exotic plants that Harry did not even have to raid the glasshouses because they had received a specimen of every single species of plant found at Hogwarts. The Herbology professors at the Granger Institute was ecstatic with the specimens and the books that Hermione had copied on how to nurture the plants. They sent Harry and Hermione a thank you card, flowers and a big bowl of fresh fruit. The competition was won by Neville in the general classification while Padma won the members only category by providing plants specimens native to India. Padma made use of those private sessions by bombarding the pair with a deluge of questions. At the end of the private sessions, Harry and Hermione both vowed never to offer something like that ever again to Ravenclaw students. As they both got migraines from the questions that Padma had asked.
Study group sessions for the final exam was extended to 2 and a half hours per day at the request of the study group members. Discussions on previous sessions were banned as Harry and Hermione wanted to prevent the knowledge that they knew the mind arts from being discovered by the temporary members. Draco without his posse was quiet well behavioured and Neville without Ron was bearable. The sessions were broken down into one hour of Theoretical work lead by Hermione followed by one hour of practical taught by Harry (except Potions which Hermione also lead) and half an hour of question time where anyone could answer. At the end of the first week of final exam preparations Hermione had given a list of fifty questions that they had to answer as homework that included all the exam questions from last time but rephrased. Harry had taught most of the spells required for the final exams based on what they had last time.
When the final exams arrived, Harry and Hermione was not concerned about the performance of any of their friends. In fact after the first exam, a lot of the study group members thanked them for their preparation. Even Draco and Neville thanked them halfway through the exams for the fact that they were so well prepared. They asked if they can become permanent members of their study group. Harry and Hermione politely decline the request saying that it could lead to tensions that they rather avoid. Neville became down cast but accepted their decision. Draco however did not like it one bit. He hated not having the edge over the other students that the study group provided calling Hermione a mudblood and Harry a Blood Traitor as he stormed off.
On the night of the final exams, Harry and Hermione with the help of Doug and Emily moved the Vanishing Cabinet from the Shrieking Shack to the Chamber of Secrets at the same time as Professor Quirrell tried to steal the Philosopher's stone. The next morning their was no mention of the successful relocation of the Vanishing Cabinet by any of the students meaning that it was totally over looked. All talk was centred on the fact that Professor Quirrell died after battling Professor Dumbledore. While Ron and Neville were in the infirmary from being attacked by flying keys and falling from their brooms too many times trying to catch the correct key. Dumbledore announced at dinner that night that Ron and Neville each received 200 points for their house for trying to prevent a thief.
That Saturday was the big reveal of the new Granger residence. Harry and Hermione arrived early with Dan and Emma already awake and ready when they arrived. They were quickly joined by Alice, Emily and Ashley where they talked about the exams that Harry and Hermione just completed while they waited for Doug. At 10 am, Doug finally arrived to show them the fully renovated house. Alice had hired a van to take everyone at the same time to see the property. The first thing they noticed was the electronic gates with intercom for security. As soon as they went through the gates, the perfectly trimmed trees lined either side of the driveway obscuring the magnificent garden that the property had. Upon seeing the garden, Emma grasped and asked.
"Did you expand the grounds? It seems a lot more spacious than when I last came here."
"Yes we brought one hectare of land from the neighbouring farms to restore the estate to something closer to its original size before the previous owners sold parts of it off to pay the land tax."
"How could you afford to pay for such a purchase?" Dan asked.
"Do you know the savings we made from doing things using the magical way?"
"Yes."
"We used that to fund the purchase of the additional land."
"You agreed to this Alice?" Dan asked.
"Yes. You were worried that they were going to sell off the lands destroying the views you had from the house. So we thought this was a good solution to that concern. Did we overstepped the authority you gave us?"
"No. I loved that you two were so thoughtful." Emma said as she hugged Alice and Doug.
Doug then said. "You have not seen anything yet." At that moment, everyone in the van looked in awe at the house that just came into view. It was restored to its former glory. The exterior of the house was predominately Georgian in style with some of the earlier Gothic period features still on display such as stained windows for some of the rooms.
"The house looks great." Hermione exclaims.
"You don't know how many reparo spells were used to achieve repair those walls but it was way cheaper than doing it by the normal way." Dan said.
"Do you like the magical way of renovating, Dad?" Hermione asked.
"By God, yes. It is a lot faster and easier than doing it the normal way. The reparo spell is a godsend and the feather-light spell was invaluable. When the electricians and plumbers came to install the modern features they were amazed at the speed of the renovation."
"You allowed them to see magic. We are in so much trouble." Hermione asked concerned that the secret of magic was inadvertently revealed by her father.
"Do not worry. They did not see anyone do magic. The tradesmen thought it was a brilliantly organised renovation. Doug timed their visits so that nothing magical was done while they were here. He was watching them and cracking the whip when they were slacked off to give them the impression that he was a task master. He was like a conductor of an orchestra." Dan stated from the front passenger seat.
"It was a lot of fun telling those tradesmen to get on with it." Doug added from the seat directly behind Dan. He wanted to sit in the front seat to act as the tour guide (since he could not drive) but Dan refused to let him. So he was stuck in a normal passenger seat explaining features in the garden and the house. Alice was driving them past a newly installed fountain straight to the main doors of the house. She was driving since she had a drivers licence and had previously visited the site so was aware of all of the changes that had been made unlike Dan and Emma.
Everyone got out of the van to admire the house. Dan turned to Doug and asked as they got out of the van.
"Where did you get the stained windows and this glorious fountain?"
"Here and there."
"Tell me you did not steal them."
"I won't."
"You got to take it down now and return them to their rightful owners." Emma said in outrage.
"Just kidding. I did not steal a single thing. You can ask Alice, she checked every item to make sure I did not steal anything. Ashley, Emily, Alice and myself spent most of our free time looking through all the magical books we have collected searching for pictures that show period features like carved marble fireplaces, decorative staircases, ornate ceilings, antique furniture, paintings, architraves, etc.
I would then try to locate the original with help from Sirius. Once I locate it I would either convince the owners to let us buy the originals for galleons, allow us to copy the feature or we have it recreated from the pictures in the books." Doug explained after he finished laughing at Emma, Dan, Hermione and Harry's outrage expressions after his initial comments.
"Who did the recreations?" Emma asked with interest as she admired the fountain.
"It was a variety of artists connected to the Outcast Organisation. They wanted to help make this house was special as they know that it is going to be used to help further their cause. So I recommend you don't show it to any historians or they will have the house heritage listed faster than you can blink an eye. The architraves in the rooms are from different James Stuart design magical houses so Grade 1 listing will practical be guaranteed." Doug further elaborated.
"Wouldn't the experts tell the difference between the new recreations and the originals?" Hermione asked.
"We are talking about magical done recreations that are as close to the originals as it is humanly possible. They would be hard press to find any differences and even if they do it can be put down to restoration work. You are going to see the work of some of the greatest artists in all its original glory including many designs created by James Stuart."
Emma and Hermione practically dragged everyone into the house when Doug said that. As they were being dragged to the ornate doors which Dobby had conveniently opened. Dan asked.
"Who is James Stuart and why is he so important?"
"Dad, he is a famous British Architect and artist. He was a pioneer in the neoclassicism movement that swept England in the 18th century. His house designs are supposedly very grand." Hermione explained.
As soon as they walked into the entrance hall, they could see the beauty was carried through to the interiors of the manor. The house was a perfect union of historical features, period furniture and decorations (such as paintings on the walls) with subtle modern touches such as double glazing, underfloor heating/cooling, electric lights, phones etc.
The central feature of the room was a beautifully decorated marbled framed fireplace with a newly painted non-magical portrait of the four of them just above. Potter family crest could be seen proudly displayed next to the Granger Family Crest periodically through the room. As soon as Harry saw all this he started to cry.
"Harry, we wanted you to feel part of this family which is why you are included in the family painting and your family crest is displayed next to ours. I hope you don't mind." Emma explained.
"I don't mind at all. I love it. Thank you." Harry said as he sobbed uncontrollably.
"There is another reason. In the magical world, the Potter family has a lot of authority and respect by displaying your crest it implies your support. I hope that does it change your opinion." Dan explained. Harry could only shake his head as he was still over taken with emotion. He was part of this family now. Something he always wanted and this was his new home.
While Harry was recovering and the Grangers were examining the entrance hall, Doug commented to Harry.
"You should have been here at the beginning of the renovations. There was a great big debate as to whether to turn this room into a library or not as it is the biggest room in the entire house." Hermione and Emma both gave Doug evil stares. Harry also got the same stares when he laughed at Doug's comment.
Dan then asked Doug to show them around the new house. They started on the ground floor where Doug explained the origins of the different features of the room such as the architraves (at the insistence of Hermione and Emma), the paintings, furniture and etc. Hermione and Emma both had a tendency inspect the various carvings and furniture by softly caressing the various surfaces. This dragged out the tour tremendously at the detriment of Harry and Dan. It reminded Dan of shopping trips he you to have with his wife and daughter.
When they reached the dedicated library which was currently empty. Hermione and Emma both looked at the space with plans already beginning to form on how they will fill this room. It took so long inspecting the ground floor that Dobby had to serve lunch before they start looking at the upper floors, the cellar or the grounds. As Dobby was serving lunch, Hermione said.
"We should hire some more house elves as we don't want to wear poor Dobby out trying to maintain this massive property."
"Dobby don't mind. Dobby loves the work." Dobby said excitedly as he appeared just as Hermione mentioned his name.
"We want you to be happy but we don't want you to work too hard and hurt yourself."
"Dobby is young and strong." Dobby stated proudly.
"Don't you want house elves friends working with you and maybe a family of your own someday?" Hermione said as she continued her campaign to try to change house elves.
"Yes." Dobby said uncertainly.
"You need house elves friends to help you so that you can have time to have a family without leaving Harry. You know how much trouble he can get into when he is left to his own devices" Hermione said as she smiled at Harry. She then continued. "We have a lot of extra work that needs to be done but we have not got you to do it because we did not want to overwork you."
"How many extra house elves do you need?" Dobby said still unsure.
"A lot, you seen the size of this new property, we are keeping the old one and additional work from our businesss we need help with. Do you know of any unbonded house elves or house elves that are being mistreated?"
"A few."
"Why don't you start looking for unbonded house elves to help us?" Hermione said. Dobby immediately popped away and return with 5 house elves. Two in dreadful condition. As soon as Doug saw the house elves he said.
"I can bond with the house elves if you like."
"I don't trust you to treat them properly. Alice, Emily Ashley do you mind bonding with one each while Harry and I will take the sick ones." They all agree straight away. So they started the bonding immediately. Once they were bonded, Dan said.
"Why don't we take them down to the cellar. We have specially designed house elves quarters?"
Hermione looked at her father with surprise.
"How did you know I wanted more house elves?" Hermione asked her father.
"I have heard you talk to Dobby about helping the other house elves and the look in your eyes when you talk to him. Emma has the same look when she gets outraged about something. We want to help and this way you can help them and still live here."
"Thank you, Dad, Mum." Hermione said as she hugged both her parents. The coughing of one of the sick house elves ended the touching moment.
Hermione quickly picked up one of the injured elves while Harry carried the other. They all went down into the cellar past all the wine shelves until they reached the back wall. The back wall was in fact a hidden door to a secret passage way that lead to a second massive kitchen, the house elves quarters, a bomb shelter/panic room, a vault for storing valuables, a library and a large storage room. The passage way also lead to the power generating units and all the outbuildings including the one that provided all the water via magical means.
During this excursion, no one paid any attention to the surroundings they were all focused on the sick elves. Doug apparate away and returned with the magical healer that the Outcast Organisation always use. Who quickly examined all the new house elves. His prognosis for the two sick house elves was good and the other house elves were in great condition. The sick house elves were prescribed a lot of rest and a lot of good food to recover. He left them with the names of potions that will aid their recovery. Hermione ordered the house elves to care for their sick colleagues and to get settled in to their new quarters. This allowed the inspection to recommence.
As soon as Hermione went up the stairs she noticed that the ceilings felt higher than last time. So she asked.
"Did you raise the ceiling?"
"We raised the ceiling of every floor except the ground floor by half a foot to keep the rooms consistent in height. It was a nightmare trying to find stones that match the existing stonework. We ended up replacing one side of the house with all new stones. Then we used the old stones we recovered from that side of the house to add height to the other areas. We had enough old stone to add an extra floor." Doug explained.
The house had a lot bedrooms upstairs even after they converted some of the bedrooms into ensuites or walk in wardrobes. Every bedroom in the house had its own ensuite. Some of these ensuites were ultra modern while others had carried some of the period charm to the fixtures and fittings in the bathroom. When they reach the bedrooms closest to the master bedroom. Dan tapped Doug on the shoulder and whispered.
"I will take over from here if that is alright?" Doug acknowledge it by swiping his arm in front of him.
"Harry, this room is your new permanent bedroom in the house. You are a part of this family now and we want you to feel like it." Harry broke down again as he hugged the Grangers. The bedroom was not the largest but it had its own modern ensuite and walk in wardrobe.
"Hermione has the same size room except we put up a lot of extra book shelves for her."
"We don't want sibling rivalry." Emma added in jest.
At the end of the tour of the upper levels was the master bedroom. It was the grandest of all the bedrooms with its own marble fireplace, walk-in wardrobe and ensuite with a jacuzzi, two person shower and double vanity. After they inspected the master bedroom in minutiae detail Emma announced.
"We expect all of you to come around often to visit and stay."
"You could not keep me away if you wanted to." Doug said partly in jest.
"Since we are expecting you to stay, we are hoping for your help in refining the decorations in the spare bedrooms that you like to use. Except Doug. He can stay in the house elf quarters." Emma said with a straight face until Dan laughed and she could not hold it. Emma continued after she got control over her laugh.
"Just kidding. Doug great work with the house. Why don't we head to the dining room for dinner? We can order in since I don't want to disturb Dobby." At the mention of his name, Dobby appeared.
"Dobby can cook." Dobby stated.
"We don't want to take you away from your sick colleagues." Emma explained.
"Dobby can cook and there are more than enough house elves to look after the sick."
"Okay you can cook dinner for us but only if you have dinner with us."
"Dobby cook dinner now." Dobby then disappeared.
"Why don't we wait in one of the sitting rooms for dinner to be prepared and we can continue with the tour of the grounds and outbuildings tomorrow or after dinner?" Emma suggested.
"Shouldn't we help Dobby with dinner?" Hermione asked.
"NO!" Everyone but Harry responded.
"You don't want to be in the same room as he is when he is cooking. He is very possessive." Emma explained.
Once they were settled in the sitting room. Hermione asked.
"How did the second Auction go?"
"It went great. We made well over 10 million pounds from the auction which is more than cover any tax bill we get plus allow us to buy a lot of media."
Emily, Alice and Ashley were all astonished with the amount of money they made. Doug however could not let such a golden opportunity go. So he said.
"Does that mean we all get raises?"
"No but you will get a smack on the head if you continue. What are going to do with you." Emma said in fake display of frustration.
"Speaking of that. What is Doug going to do now that the renovation has been completed?" Hermione asked.
"Doug has finished with the renovations for a few weeks now. Alice was the one dealing with the final touches and getting the power units Harry designed up and running. He has been helping Emily with the mining techniques ever since you have been busy with school. We were planning to have him start training the new mining employees we getting."
"You brought a gold mine?" Hermione asked excitedly.
"Yes. After the successful auction we decided to buy a mining company using money from both the Auction and the joint venture with the Outcast Organisation. The outcast organisation helped us hire a new management team to let go staff and try to retain personnel that have useful skills at the gold mining company we acquired. The latest forecast suggest that the mine operating should be up and fully operational by your birthday, Harry."
"That is great."
Dobby then arrived announcing that dinner was ready. Dinner was served in the formal dining room where conservations turned to different people's past. At the end of dinner it was decided that they would retire for the evening and continue the tour of the beautiful gardens and out buildings some other day. After checking on the house elves one last time, Alice drove them all back to the Grangers old home where they all went their separate ways.
On arriving back at the dorms Harry and Hermione were swarmed by their Ravenclaw year mates.
"Did you hear? " Lisa started excitedly.
Isobel continued it by saying. "There is going to be an official investigation into the death of Professor Quirrell."
Lisa then added. "Professor Dumbledore is mad as hell and has been on the war path ever since. He tried to stop the investigation but failed so he has been looking for the two of you all day. We covered for you as much as possible even though it was not easy."
"Thank you for doing that. Do you know why is he looking for us? Since we had nothing to do with the death or the attempted thief." Hermione said.
"Everyone knows that the two of you do not trust the headmaster. This has lead to the current trend of people not blindly listening to him which he is desperately trying to dis-encourage. It is generally believed that he was going to make an example of the two of you. So keep a low profile you two. I don't want to lose my best teachers." Lisa joked.
"Thank you for the warning and the advise. We will try to keep out of the way and out of sight tomorrow." Harry stated.
"Do you think we should stay around tomorrow in case they need to interview us?" Hermione asked.
"No need. The investigation will begin on Monday. Once the investigation begins then you should be alright because I doubt Professor Dim as a Door would do anything while an official investigation is going on within Hogwarts." Lisa said.
"I like your nickname for him. We are rubbing off on you." Harry said as he wrapped Lisa in a hig.
"We can see why you don't trust him. But we are no where near as bad as the two of you. Calling him, Professor Drumstick up the back door when you are really angry."
"We better get to bed so that we can get up early and avoid the headmaster." Hermione said.
Harry and Hermione said their farewells and retired to bed.
Chapter 26
Harry and Hermione got up early to try to avoid Dumbledore and his cronies. They were surprised to see the Weasley twins waiting outside the door of the Ravenclaw common room. Hermione went ahead so that the twins could talk to Harry in private
"Where were you yesterday?" George asked as soon as Hermione left.
"We were looking all over the place for you" Fred stated.
"We almost regret giving you the Marauders' Map."
"I was trying to hide from the headmaster and his cronies. Why were you looking for me?" Harry said.
Fred starts by saying "We have been inundated"
Before George continues and says "with orders. Almost every student wants something"
Fred finishes by saying. "before the school ends. Especially the muggleborn or raised students wanting wizard candy for their muggle siblings or parents as gifts."
George then takes the lead this time and says, "The number of orders more"
"than triple overnight at the completion of exams"
"which was expected. We were already struggling to"
"cope with the influx of orders when late last night you"
"more than triple the list of products you have available"
"at prices better than we can get at the stores."
"Can one of you talk rather than both of you? I am getting neck strain from trying to follow the conservation." Harry complained.
"Sorry." George said.
"Do you mind getting to the point as I want to go into hiding as quickly as possible?"
"Do you mind if we did not release the updated product list until next term?" Fred asked.
"Sure. The product list is just a guide."
"Do you mind if the orders are filled on the hourly basis for the rest of the school year? Especially the items on your old product list like wizard chess sets."
"We will let you know via the magical trunk I gave you."
"For the period you are filling orders on an hourly basis we are willing to give you a bigger share of the profits."
"Why are you so desperate to increase the turn around?"
"We don't want to have a massive amount of unfilled orders when we leave for the holidays. Anyway the greater the turnover, the more profit we make."
"Why don't we discuss how much extra you are willing to pay for this upgrade in service?" Harry said as he led the twins away. They negotiated for a while before reaching an agreement of an extra 7 percent if the hourly order service could be arranged. Harry arrived at the Room of Lost Things with an impatient Hermione waiting for him. She had waited for Harry in case he got caught by Dumbledore and his allies.
"Let's go already. I want to see how the house elves are doing."
"More like you want to see how effective my three in one power generation unit is performing."
"That too." Hermione admitted. She was interested in how effectively/successfully Alice had executed the designs that Harry had made based on what he had remembered from the future.
"You know that Doug is going to be late as usual."
"We don't need him. Alice can show us around since she had a lot of input as well and she was responsible for the finishing touches."
"He and the others worked very hard to complete the renovation. The least you can do is to allow them to show it off."
"I know you are right but I am concerned about the sick house elves."
"You can always ask Dobby how they are doing."
"It is not the same as seeing someone in person."
"You can get Emily to side apparate you over since I need to talk to Alice."
"Enough talking, move faster." Hermione said.
As soon as they arrived at the current home of the Grangers, they went their separate ways. Harry went in search of Alice while Hermione went to see Ashley about the potions for the house elves.
Harry found Alice reading in the tent she and Emily shared.
"Good Morning Alice. Where is Emily?"
"Hi Harry. It is her turn to cook breakfast today."
"I thought that the house elves cook breakfast now."
"Hermione wanted the house elves to settle in and to care for their sick colleagues for the next few days. So we are on our own until they get better as Hermione is scary when she is angry."
"Tell me about." Harry said as he remembered what happened in the hospital room after she found out about the potions and charms.
"So you better go find Emily before Doug arrives looking for food."
"Actually I came to see you, Alice"
"What do you need to see me about?"
"The Weasley twins were wondering if you can spend more time this week to filling orders."
"How much extra time?"
"They were hoping you could fill orders on an hourly basis." Harry then quickly adds. "It is just until the end of the school term which is in a few weeks' time."
"I will do it as much as I can, but my other work comes first."
"Perfectly understandable. Here is a note to be included in the next order you send. By the way, you will be getting an extra 7 percent of the profits."
"That's great; I can always do with the extra money."
"Do you mind me asking what you do with the extra money? You don't have any expensive tastes and you don't pay us rent. Emily is trying to save for a house without borrowing from anyone, Ashley is reinvesting her money into the potion business so that she can have a greater portion of the business going forward and Doug is trying to pay off the loan we gave him."
"I don't mind at all. We are friends as well as work colleagues. Actually I think of you as my little brother half the time and my annoying boss the rest of the time. I hope you are not insulted."
"Not at all, our operation is like a strange family with Doug as Uncle Fester."
"Doug is not all that bad. Getting back to your question, I send my parents as much spare cash I can. They find it hard to find work due to discrimination in the Magical society against Muggle-born and Werewolves, discrimination that you guys are working to eliminate. That is why everyone works really hard even Doug when his sense of humour or greediness is not getting him into trouble. He is behaving that way is because he is scared that it will be all over soon so he wants to make the most of it why it lasts."
"Why don't they work here? That is if you don't mind them working so close with you."
"I would love to work with them, but I was too scared and embarrassed to asked Dan and Emma. Since I already think of you as my little brother, I feel I could talk to you about it."
"Alice, you know that I am available if you need someone to talk to about anything? All you have to do is use the protean coin Hermione gave you to call me."
"Thank you, Harry. About my parents." Alice said hopefully.
"I tell the others that I have provisionally hired your parents. They will all be glad for the extra help. You will still have to organise an interview for them with either Dan or Emma. If everything works out then they can use Doug's old tent until the Grangers move to their new place. It will save on rent and give them some time together."
"Thank You Harry, you won't regret it." Alice said excitedly as she hugged Harry.
"Before you go to owl your parents, could you please tell me what you added to the product list for the Weasley's to sell and why was I not informed of the change?"
"The list now includes everything small and legal that we import from Europe and the US. Plus all the essential supplies required for a Hogwarts' student including books, potion supplies and stationary equipment. Hermione suggested we provide the materials to the students from our international suppliers. Bypassing the Diagon Alley stores we can make it cheaper for the students and increase our profits at the same time. An added bonus is that Diagon Alley stores will really suffer due to the reduced business."
"That is great, especially since Hermione failed to inform me about this suggestion. She won't be able to complain about me making a decision without her. She can be a control freak sometimes. I think we should take the idea further. If we encourage payments in muggle money we can make the British Magical Ministry lose the conversion fee from muggle money to Galleons."
"You need to get the Weasley twins to come aboard with the idea first."
"Why don't you add the British Sterling equivalent for each item in your updated list while I put the suggestion on the note to the Weasley Twins?"
"If we going to screw with the ministry then we should do it probably. To avoid the ministry from tracing these orders back to us, I will get Doug to open an owl box at the magical post office using one of the identification papers that we found among the Riddle stashes. That way people can place the orders and be notified when the ordered had been filled before school starts next school year. Then once school starts, the Weasley twins could fill the orders on the train to Hogwarts."
"That sounds great. As soon as I get back to school I will tell the Weasley twins to give out the new updated product list before school ends."
"Just add it to the note." Alice said as she composed a letter to her parents.
"Great idea." Harry said as he added more information to the note that was to be attached to the next order.
Just as Harry was about to leave Alice said, "I will not be going today for the second viewing of your new home. Harry do you mind telling the others?"
"Why aren't you going?"
"I want to stay here in case my parents come over to discuss the possible job offer. Anyway, I had better get started on the back orders from Weasley Twins."
"Okay. I let the others know. Don't you want to have breakfast before you get started?"
"I'm not hungry. I will probably pick over the leftovers after you all leave."
"I doubt there will be any leftovers after Doug arrives. He can eat a mountain and still keep going."
"Don't worry about me. I can always make something up later."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. See you later, Harry."
Harry found Dan, Emma and Ashley in the kitchen having breakfast, which he happily joined. As soon as Hermione and Emily arrived back from visiting the House elves, Harry told everyone about his conservation with Alice. Just as the dishes were being put away, Sirius arrived with two bodyguards. He greeted everyone and asked Harry and Hermione about their exams.
"You finally got some bodyguards" Hermione stated.
"Yes. Your parents convinced me to start employing some bodyguards. They said they are starting a new venture that requires quite a few security guards. So I am trying these ones out for them." Sirius responded.
"Did you hire them personally or did our new joint venture with the Outcast Organisation?"
"They were hired by the new joint venture. Don't worry about your secrets they have signed those cursed employment contracts that you showed Emily and Alice how to do. By the way, how the hell are you making so much money? I originally had a budget of half million galleons to buy media outlets now it is up to 70 million galleons. How the hell are you making money so quickly?"
"We are making money from a number different areas. You know about the auction already as well as the potion making business. Plus, we smartly invest the money that we made. But our biggest money maker is the Basilisk parts."
"Are Basilisk parts that valuable? I have no idea."
"The whole of the Basilisk is very valuable. We are only selling renewable parts of the beast. Like Basilisk's venom or blood. The blood is a highly sort after substance as is a key ingredient in high end cleaners due to its highly corrosive nature. The venom can put down large magical animals such as dragons and griffins, and it also has a host of other purposes that I don't even know about. Basilisk shite is the most sought after fertiliser for magical plants. Basilisk fangs make great weapons, tools to be used in highly corrosive environments, wand cores, high end clothing accessories such as canes, buttons and the list goes on. Finally we come to Basilisk skin, it makes the best armour, but we are not selling it at the moment. If we need money later, we could sell one or two suits of armour for well over 50 thousand galleons each."
"You know the price will go down as you flood the market with the stuff you are getting."
"It has not as of now, and we have been doing this for months now. Our contacts tell us that our merchandise is the highest quality. It is so rare that the companies in Europe are stockpiling it. Every week we have more of it to sell and we are recently netting up to half a million galleons from the sales."
"That is a lot of money. But I suggest that since you are dealing with Europe, you are talking about companies with very deep pockets since they have old family money, like Britain. What are you investing in?"
"We are investing in the derivative markets."
"What are derivative markets?"
"Do you know about stock markets?"
"No not really."
"Okay, the simplest way to describe derivative markets is a market where you can do deals regarding the value of a stake in a company."
"That's way over my head. What sort of returns are you getting?"
"In four months we have made at least 10 times what we initially invested."
"How are you are able to make that kind of money? Goblins can only achieve 10% a year."
"We have sources of information unavailable to Goblins."
"What contracts did you do to make that much money? I want to see if the goblins can match it."
"I will tell you what we did, but not what we are going to do."
"That is fair."
"We had two types of short contracts. The first type of short contract said that the share price of Microsoft, the IT Company, was going to go from US$2.65 to US$2.25. The other type was for Nike, a sports apparel company, and we predicted that the price will also fall from US$9.50 to US$7.10. They are well on the way of actually happening. We predict it will occur within days."
"If your information is that good why don't you sell it to the goblins for a fortune?" Sirius asked.
"I will answer this dad." Hermione said. "We hope to begin negotiating with the goblins soon to get their assistance. Even if they make a mint from the information, they will still not trust us. So we hope to have them over a barrel using our new venture." Hermione explained.
"What is this new venture?"
"We brought a gold mine which should enable us to flood the US magical economy with gold. By doing this we hope to control a significant portion of their economy. This way we could threaten to cease working with the goblins, which will mean they lose a lot business if they do not agree to our terms."
"It seems you don't really trust goblins." Sirius stated. "I thought you were promoting equality for all."
"Equality is our long term goal. Trust need to be established first, and then you can begin understanding what makes you different and what you have in common. For example, we had a verbal agreement with a goblin named, Griphook who reneged on the deal as soon as he got what he wanted. We later found out that goblins only respect written agreements. The fault was ours and we learned from the mistake."
"So what did you learn from that experience?"
"When negotiating with Goblins always put things in writing, show respect, bargain from a position of strength, and never give them free stuff as they despise weakness."
"If you are trying to strengthen your position then you should consider investing for other people. Offering them a guaranteed 15% per return on their money will attract a lot business away from the goblins."
"That's actually a great idea. We can offer the service to Outcast members and our staff for now. The magical business could accept the deposits and provide the withdrawals while the aggregated amount could be considered as a loan to the non-magical business. This way we don't have to let anyone know what we are investing in and the profit we make from investing the funds will be used to help us takeover magical society. Dad, can you organise it?"
"I will talk to the leader of the Outcast movement tomorrow."
"Thanks dad." Hermione said as she kissed her dad on the cheek.
"By the way, where was everyone yesterday?" Sirius asked.
"We went to check out our new home and we are just waiting for Doug to arrive before we continue our tour." Hermione said.
"Is the house that big?"
"It is quite large. Why don't you come with us today? Alice is not coming so we have room in the van."
"I would love to check out your new digs, especially with such pretty company." Sirius says as he takes Hermione's hand and kisses it.
"Why were you looking for us yesterday?" Harry asked.
"Can't I visit my godson?"
"Sirius..." Hermione said threateningly.
"The real reason I was here yesterday was to sort out our holiday plans."
"We were thinking of moving into our new home then going on a new holiday to the US including a visit to the new outcast school. You welcome to come with us to the States." Emma said.
"I wish I could but Dumbledore is putting every type of bureaucratic stumbling block to prevent me gaining magical guardianship of these two. If I am not around, he could stall it for god knows how long." Sirius explains.
"I thought with all the negative press and the various investigations, he will be in the political wilderness."
"He lost a lot of political clout which is why he is not fighting the magical guardianship issue before the Wizengamot. Instead, he is using his knowledge of the inner workings of the Ministry to delay the application as long as possible. His contacts within the ministry cannot stop the process completely as they would then face wrath of the Wizengamot if they do."
"I don't understand how he is still free and holding so many positions of power."
"He has over fifty years to accumulate favours plus he has drained the Potter Accounts dry bribing officials for the last 10 years."
"How did you find out about the Potter Accounts? You are not Harry and you are not his magical guardian."
"One of the requests I made when I applied for magical guardianship of Harry was for his current financial state. When I was getting the run around I decided to use non legal means to obtain the information. It turns out that the Potter family went from being multi-millionaires to being broke in the space of ten years. You can understand why everyone wants to keep the information a secret especially Dumbledore and the officials he had bribed with the Potter fortune."
"We should leak it to the press. They will have a field day with it."
"The British Magical Ministry will definitely act if they do try to publish that type of story in any British publication as it involves too many high up people."
"Why not try the European media?"
"Most will not publish the story since they cannot confirm the facts and the small newspaper I recently purchased on your behalf in France does not have the circulation size to get it traction within the wider community."
"Why buy a small newspaper if it does not have the impact we want?" Hermione concerned that Sirius was wasting money.
"I brought it so we that we can have some experience at running a newspaper and to get the right contacts to be in a position to purchase a bigger newspaper when it comes on the market."
"How is it going finding out about the pureblood sources of income? If we can stop their sources of income they might be forced to sell their interests in the media outlets."
"Not good. They like to hide that sort of information since they know it could become a political target. I think if you can get the goblins to work with us, then we are more likely to be able to find that information out."
"Let's put it on the back burner for now and get back to holiday plans." Hermione suggested much to the relief of Sirius.
"I was hoping to spend some quality time with my godson, teaching him what it means to be a Marauder."
"More like teaching him how to get him in trouble."
"I don't mind." Harry said.
"Are you sure?" Dan asked.
"Yes. He is my last link to my parents and this would be a good chance to find out more about them."
"Okay if you are sure."
"It's settled then, Harry and Sirius will stay in the UK during holidays, while we take a trip to the US."
Everyone nodded their head in agreement.
"Could someone fetch Doug so that we can be on our way?"
Emily retrieved Doug and they quickly arrived at the Grangers new home. As soon as the electronic gates opened to reveal the magnificent gardens, Sirius exclaimed "This is beautiful, A lot better than the Black Manor house I grew up in."
"How does it compare against the pureblood families you seen?" Dan asked.
Sirius responded by saying. "The Malfoys, Notts, Longbottoms, Parkinsons and Rosier family properties which I have personally been to, have bigger and grander homes. But they have the house for generations and they have house elves to help maintain it all. Homes are one of the ways they show off their wealth." Dan was slightly disappointed by the response.
"It is still a great house." Sirius said to try to comfort the disappointment of Dan who wanted a house to impress everyone.
"Dan, why don't you and Doug show Sirius the house, while the girls and I visit the house elves?" Emma said to Dan. Then she turned to Harry. "Harry, are you to going to come with us to visit the house elves or follow the boys?"
"I think I make a quick visit to the house elves before catching up with Sirius and the others."
"Suit yourself."
Harry checked on his sick new house elves before joining the short tour of the house by the guys. Sirius asked on numerous occasions during the tour whether he could move in as well which was knocked back by Dan every time. Well before lunch the boys ended the tour and spent the rest of the time introducing Doug and Sirius to the joys of watching football on TV.
Emma and Hermione were not happy when they went looking for them to tell them that lunch was ready. Lunch was an uncomfortable affair with Emma and Hermione both angry that the boys did not tell them that they completed the tour of the house. They were waiting for them so that everyone could see the outbuildings and grounds together. The tour from yesterday continued with a proper inspection of the cellar and underground chambers quickly followed by the magical sewage system and waterworks. This magical area was located in a secret room of the outbuilding that had been turned into a heated indoor pool.
Using the secret underground passageways again, they went to inspect the power generation unit based on the designs that Harry had created. The power units had oval shaped panels made of special crystal that would heat up the centre cylinder that was the actual solar cell. When the crystals rotate in the wind, it would help spin the generators. All the panels were on a stand because water boils at lower temperature at higher altitudes and there are fewer obstacles to air currents at higher attitudes.
The stands also act as part of the geothermal powering system. Geothermal power is achieved by heating water deep underground. As the water heats up it would rise up in insulated pipes until it reaches the top of the stand where it gets exposed to the elements and begins falling. This movement spins the turbines. The greater the temperature differential between deep underground and the outside environment, meant more power generation. They were all looking at the generators and the batteries that store the electricity that were situated in one of the outbuilding's cellar as Harry explained how it works. Harry then asked Doug how effective the power unit had being operating.
"It has been working extremely well. When we asked the manufacturers of the units about maintenance they told us the purer the water the better. Since we using magically created water which is ultrapure we don't need another maintenance check for 5 years."
"How much power are we generating?"
"We are generating enough power to supply the entire neighbourhood if we wanted to. At the moment, we are charging up the batteries so that we can have emergency supply if the power units fail for some reason."
"That is great; we should create similar units at our new gold mine to provide power to the operation and the local community. It should help offset some of the resentment from the green groups and the mining communities if we do so. In the future we could sell it on a commercial level but I think we have enough on our plate." Everyone agreed with Harry's statement. Hermione and Dan were impressed that Harry had actually thought through already.
The tour continued with a stride through the gardens. It was beautifully kept and you could not tell it was newly put in. Exotic plants from all over the world and amazing statues were sprinkled throughout the garden. The tour ended with the beautifully restored gazebo which was the centre piece of the garden.