CHAPTER 19

SUMMER GOALS!

Disclaimer – Harry Potter belongs solely to J.K. Rowling and I am unfortunately not earning anything from it.

May, 2006

It had been a fun week after the term. Harry had played two more games for Puddlemere and his Snitch catching streak was still going strong. The team had won the quarter-final and semis with authority and were without a doubt favourites in the finals. They had to face the most successful team in Quidditch history, Montrose Magpies. It was not going to be an easy game because Magpies had defeated Puddlemere in the first round that happened before Harry joined the team. Infact, the beaters of Magpies were supposedly the most aggressive ones in the whole league and were the reason why Harry's predecessor found himself out of League due to an injury.

What qualifying for semis had ensured was that they had qualified for the European League. Harry had thought to not participate because it would double the number of matches he would have to play next year, but then he realised that not everyone would get a chance to compete on this level and he should not miss out on the opportunity. Obviously, the increase in his bank balance as well as the chance to visit multiple countries had a lot to do with the final decision. He had exchanged letters with Andromeda, Stonegrasp and Dumbledore apart from his friends. Andromeda was working on getting another contract with Puddlemere regarding the European League season as well as working with Stonegrasp on setting up a contract with Goblins for warding and a construction company for building the Potter Manor. Things were going well as the work was supposed to begin by next week starting with the demolition of the existing structure. Harry was very excited for it. It had come as a huge relief when Andromeda told him that his existing account and earnings were enough to cover the expenses. Harry had asked Professor Dumbledore in a letter about the possibility of getting the Basilisk remains from the chamber while school was not in session. Since he was the one to defeat the creature, he had the right to claim it's remains. He also told him about the beginning of construction of Potter Manor within a week and thus had asked how much time he needed to stay with his Aunt's family. Dumbledore had replied saying he had a surprise lined up for him and would meet him directly at the site of Manor to answer any questions.

After some prodding from Andromeda, Harry had also decided to meet Minister Fudge and get some things sorted. She wanted to fastrack any and all permissions required from the ministry and felt that the Minister would grant that request to Harry for getting in his good grace. Harry's popularity had skyrocketed because of his Quidditch performances, capturing Glideroy Lockhart and recent victory over Basilisk thus solving the mystery of Chamber of Secrets once and for all. That is what had led him to the Ministry of Magic for the first time. He had sent a request for an appointment with the minister which had been accepted the same day.

The Ministry building had surprised and baffled him in equal measures. Security and communication were some things which made him realise how eighteenth century ideologies were instilled in their working yet the functioning and solutions they had come up with for what could be described as technical glitches was just a glimpse at what magic could achieve. He had used the Knight Bus to travel and as per the reputation, it was a bumpy ride. Although the entrance and atrium were a surprise, the attitude of wizards towards other magical sentient beings shown in it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Not wanting to be accosted by people, Harry had worn a cap, kept his head down and made a quick way towards the Minister's office as pointed by the witch who checked his wand. After a ride in lift, he reached the floor where the office was located. When he introduced himself to the receptionist, she looked at him in wonder. The past two years in Hogwarts had sort of prepared him for all this attention, especially after being exposed to all the publicity in professional Quidditch. Within five minutes, Harry got called inside. As he entered, he found himself in a typical politician's office showcased in movies, although magical. There were pictures of Minister Fudge standing with powerful personalities, newspaper cuttings of his achievements and a few other trinkets and paintings. It was totally uninteresting as compared to Dumbledore's office.

"Welcome Harry! Let me tell you it is an absolute pleasure to have you visit my office. How are you? I hope it wasn't too difficult to reach here." Minister Fudge said with a smile as he got up and welcomed Harry while shaking his hand jovially.

"Thank you so much for the warm welcome, Minister Fudge. I am good and the journey was interesting. This is the first time I have come to the ministry. It is full of amazing things." Harry replied with a smile.

"That is good to hear, so good! You have achieved so much Harry. I mean the only one to survive the Killing Curse, ending the war by vanquishing He-who-must-not-be-named, emerging Quidditch star at such a young age and now killer of a thousand-year old Basilisk. It is amazing Harry. In such a short life, you have achieved so much. We all are lucky to have you with us. You are arguably the most famous person in our country." Fudge gushed.

All this praise by the Minister made Harry blush a little but he knew he had to discuss a few things to make sure his plans ran smoothly. He had already finalised his agenda with Andromeda before this meeting and felt confident that he would be successful.

"Now Harry, I know you took an appointment to come and meet me, therefore it is you who should be the one putting their thoughts forward, but I would like to apologise and discuss a few things that have been pending for a long time. I hope that is alright?" Fudge asked.

This was surprising yet there was nothing he could do except to reply with a "Sure, sir."

"After you defeated You-Know-Who, Wizengamot had unanimously decided to award you the Order of Merlin, Second Class and your father, James Potter, Order of Merlin, Third class as a recognition of your families' contribution to our society. Unfortunately, since you were the only Potter remaining, we could not officially make it public since your assent is needed. So, I would like to ask you if you accept this honour." Fudge asked with a huge smile anticipating a joyous and wonder-filled reaction from Harry. Unfortunately, the reply he got was something different.

"While I am deeply grateful to you and the Ministry for this recognition, I would not be able to accept this award." Harry said.

"But why Harry? I mean, it is a huge deal. I cannot think of a single reason because of which you are refusing it." Fudge replied with a gasp and unbelieving face.

"I know the decision is taken by the Wizengamot which is almost totally made of old families. But, that does not mean that my mother's role will be ignored. I will only accept this reward if my mother, Lily Potter will be awarded alongside my father. She had as much to do if not more in the war against evil. Just like my father sacrificed his life to save us, she did for me." Harry said resolutely.

Fudge was caught off-handed after that. He couldn't fathom how a child of almost thirteen years could catch him unaware like this. He had imagined that after the boy was told about the award, he would be grateful to him. Maybe he would be able to use the goodwill earned now in future elections. Harry's support might ensure that he comes back for more terms as Minister of Magic. Now he was in a tough situation but after weighing the pros and cons, he decided that the support of the most famous wizard of Britain was way more important.

"I understand your perspective Harry. Don't worry at all. I will put forward your thoughts regarding this. In fact, after your recent accomplishment and service to our wizarding community by saving us from the monster of Slytherin, I will try my best to make sure that you get Order of Merlin, First class. After the defeat of Grindelwald and You-know-who, I think this has been the most iconic and impactful deed done by a wizard." Fudge replied emphatically.

Harry was surprised after hearing that. Order of Merlin, First class was given to only a handful of people throughout history. It was the greatest honour in Britain for a reason. He expressed the same to the Minister.

"Now that we have talked about what I wanted to discuss with you, I think we should focus on your reason for coming here." Fudge asked.

"Yes sir. In the last war, you know how Potters fared. I lost my grandparents as well as parents. But that was not the only thing I lost. It included the history and legacy of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. I lost the Potter manor in an attack by Voldemort himself which resulted in my grandparents loss. Later, when Voldemort attacked us in Godric's Hollow, we lost our ancestral home." Harry said with a sad face.

Fudge was reacting just the way Harry wanted. He had a look of sadness for an orphan who had lost so much in the war.

"I totally understand what you are talking about Harry. Your family has suffered a lot. Everyone in the Wizarding world is aware of it and is eternally thankful to you and your family. Your grandparents and parents worked for the Ministry and served it as well as Britain admirably." said Fudge remorsefully.

"I lived in the muggle world, away from the wizarding world, my world for my protection. But since coming back, I want to restore the legacy of my family. For that I will need your help sir. Is that okay with you?" Harry asked, trying to play an innocent and vulnerable orphan card.

Fudge was quick to pounce on that and said,

"Whatever help you want from the ministry or me is yours Harry. I am very happy to know that even though you have spent the majority of your time in the Muggle world, you consider our world your own. It is a great example you are setting up. What help would you like?"

"I have decided to rebuild Potter Manor, so I will need all the permissions regarding ward placement as well as constructing a manor. Also, if possible, the permission to hire a few house elves as the Potter elves gave their lives during the attack. Another thing I would like to ask is for you to allow me to practise magic outside school as I will need to use it in order to install wards that need to be put up for a typical family manor and require the owner's involvement as well. I hope that is not too much trouble." Harry asked, putting forward all his demands gently.

"I think all of them are valid enough. I won't have any problem with any of that. As far as giving you permission to use magic, I think you proved yourself responsible enough that it shouldn't be a problem. Especially if we consider the fact that you will be playing in the European Cup now and will be going out of the country frequently. You will have all these permissions by the end of the day." Fudge said while mulling over the demands.

"Thank you so much sir. You have no idea how happy I am. I will never forget your contributions in letting me build up House Potter again." Harry said, trying to please the minister who was looking even more giddy each and every second.

"It was an absolute delight to be able to help you in any way. I am sure in future, when you take up your family seat in Wizengamot, we will have a great time working together. Let me pen down a couple of instructions so that you won't have much problem while getting permissions." With that he wrote a couple of sentences and after a goodbye and promise of meeting again, Harry got out of the office. Obviously, all this included a photographer coming into the office and clicking a picture while Harry shook the Minister's hand. Harry didn't mind since he was able to accomplish all he wanted and more. He reached the Atrium and searched for the fountain near which Andromeda said she would find him. As he looked around a bit more, he found her waving at him from across the atrium. He headed towards her while dodging the crowd of ministry workers.

"So how was the meeting?" Andromeda asked with a little bit of excitement.

"Good morning to you too cousin. It all went well, just as we discussed. Here are your written letters from the minister himself which should smooth over all the ministry paperwork you were dreading." Harry said while giving her a hug.

What followed was an afternoon filled with going to all the departments getting permissions while thanking all the well-wishers and being calm whenever someone freaked out after getting to know his identity. Eventually, he achieved everything he needed to start his summer plans including being able to legally do magic even outside Hogwarts. After their visit to ministry, Andromeda took him to a nice muggle restaurant for lunch and then dropped him near his aunt's house.

It had been a very normal summer as far as life at Privet Drive was concerned. He had told his aunt that he would only come to sleep and otherwise would be spending his days outside. His only interaction with the Dursleys was on the dinner table which was usually silent bar some conversation regarding how Dudley was doing in school and how they were so proud of his intelligence as he passed in all the subjects, of course the part that he barely passed was ignored. Harry had become accustomed to all this. He was happy enough to have a few genuine moments with Aunt Petunia when he helped her out in washing dishes. Apart from that, he had holed himself up in his room for the duration of his stay. In the evenings, he would go out to the park or play football with his old friends. Mornings were spent honing his skills in Martial arts. He had been invited to a movie by his old teammates and he had accepted. It was not that he was close to anyone of them, yet it felt good to live a life of a normal kid away from all the complications that came up with being the Boy-who-lived or Heir to a prominent house or even generally just being a wizard. He had grown up in a world where going out to movies or playing football was considered a normal thing to do. He himself had thought that he would be doing these things once he grew up. But now, he had new things coming his way and he had to keep making sure that he was prepared for all the challenges that might pop up. There had been a lot of instances where he felt he was giving too much stress on education and learning new things, as if it was not needed. His friends in Hogwarts who had grown up in the Wizarding World were not able to understand why he pushed himself so hard at studies. What he could not make them understand was that for him it was not just education. Charms, Transfiguration, DADA etc. were not mere subjects to him that he had to read and learn. They were mysteries which had been revealed to him. For a person like him and quite possibly Hermione, it was not a syllabus, it was a hobby. If you go to school and get to learn about such fascinating stuff, why wouldn't you push yourself and try to learn as much as possible as quickly as you can. His teachers as well as Penelope and Nymphadora also worried that he was not spending a lot of time doing teenage stuff, but according to Harry that was not true. He was always there with all his friends helping them complete the assignments or just enjoying the common room or ground or their leisure room which had evolved so beautifully. They had added their favourite books, games like gobstones, chess etc. and a few other items of interest. Harry had also made sure that McGonagall knew about it. She had happily given her blessings saying that it had been a long while since a group involving all four houses had a good camaraderie. As a safety measure, she had made the room password protected to avoid any stealing and also installed a portrait so that they were not unchaperoned. Everyone was fine with it and they had planned to further develop the space so that they could take up things that interested them. Neville wanted to have a corner where he could keep plants and study their behaviour while Padma wanted a Potions desk. Susan was more interested in a Dueling ring and said she would talk to her aunt about getting a few trinkets to help with their accuracy. Hermione and Daphne wanted more bookshelves and a way to access more books. Harry felt a bit guilty thinking that they didn't need to do all this if he shared the existence of Room of Requirements with them but he was a bit possessive and thus far had kept it a secret. Only Nymphadora knew about it and she had yet to divulge the knowledge to anyone else. That reminded him of the fact that Nymphadora had already started her training in the Auror academy. Harry was happy that she was successful in achieving her goal. He had received one letter from her saying that she was going through hell but was happy, guess that's the best one can hope for.

Finally the day had arrived when the construction of Potter Manor would begin. Harry had not slept well the previous night due to anticipation and excitement.. He had received a portkey from Andromeda the day before. It could be used by him once a day to travel back and forth between Privet Drive and Potter Manor. It was one of the things Harry had got done while he was in ministry. He already had a similar one to travel to the Puddlemere United office. He had informed Dumbledore about the same and received a letter saying that Harry could stay and look after the construction as well as play Quidditch as long as he spent at least half-a day every day till his birthday in Privet Drive. Harry had agreed and informed Aunt Petunia of the same.

So after freshening up and having a light breakfast, Harry took the portkey and landed at the gate of Potter Manor an hour before he was supposed to. As expected, he found no one else apart from him. He wanted to roam around the grounds one last time before it got crowded with construction workers and the warding team. As he walked around, he took in all the desolation and destruction done to the Manor. He vowed that this will not happen again at least in his own lifetime. He had seen a few plans of the old Manor and was quite surprised to know that the extent of the manor included a huge forest. Hopefully, one day he would be able to explore it. Eventually he sat down near the destroyed fountain at the foyer waiting for people to arrive. At half-past eight, Andromeda and Ted Tonks appeared near the entrance. Harry got up and waved to them with a smile. He shook Ted's hand while giving Andromeda a hug.

"So Harry, excited for today?" asked Ted.

"Excited as well as nervous. Months of hard work done by you and everyone involved has finally led us to this moment. I had not expected that everything would work out so smoothly. I guess it's your efficiency and management that has made it possible. I owe you guys big for all this." Harry told the Tonks who had invested days and nights working tirelessly to meet the timeline.

The couple beamed although the reaction from Andromeda was a bit more calm.

"We were working for family, so that gave us quite a bit of motivation. Add to that, you are our biggest client by a huge margin. These ventures we are doing with you will help us a lot professionally. So no need to thank us yet Harry. Hopefully everything will run smoothly. It's almost time for the crew to reach here." Andromeda replied.

"Alright. So what are we doing today?" Harry asked.

"Today the construction crew will start salvaging the stuff that can be reused and basically start with the clearing of the debris. You will meet Pete Morgan, the project manager. Goblins will be making their own beginning. They have to check the older runestones, and see if anything is still working. After that, they will map the whole area and find locations where they need to install runestones for warding. They will also install some temporary wards that will stay until construction is done. Once the Manor is complete, they will place permanent wards." Ted answered.

"That is good. We have already agreed not to do much of a change in the layout, so I think the blueprints that were kept in my vault will suffice. I have an idea or two about a couple of changes that I want done in the plan but that should be manageable. Also, in our last meeting, you said I have to choose the wards I want on the property. So I guess I will start reading about it so that I make better choices." Harry said.

"You are correct Harry. And here comes the goblins." Ted said while pointing at a group of goblins who had portkeyed at the entrance gate.

"Greetings, Clan Leader Bloodfang! May your axe be the end of all your enemies!" Ted greeted the Goblin leader as per custom.

"Good morning Master Ted. May your coffers overflow with gold! It's a good day to start the work. My team will set up at the north corner and work on the existing runestones." Bloodfang replied.

"That is alright. I would like to introduce you to our client. This is Harry Potter." Ted said while motioning towards Harry.

"It's good to meet you Master Bloodfang!" Harry said with a small bow.

"It's good to meet you Heir Potter. We will start with our work now. I don't have any more time to indulge in pleasantries. Good day!" With that abrupt response he walked towards the part of property where his people were setting up a tent as their base. Andromeda meanwhile was talking to a wizard in his mid-fifties who was followed by a crew of eight people. She called Harry and introduced him. These people were the construction guys and their leader was Paul Morgan. He sounded very professional and welcoming. Rest of the day, Harry just observed the working of these two groups who were getting all the things set up in order to work efficiently.

It had been a week and things were going well at the site. Goblins had been able to survey all the lands including the forest. Harry was surprised to find that it was big, quite big. Almost a quarter of the Forbidden forest at Hogwarts. It was inhabited by creatures both magical and mundane. A big lake as well as a stream was also flowing through his land. Harry was happy to know about it as in future he wanted it to become a sanctuary for any creatures who wanted protection though he didn't think that much about it for now.

Goblins had been able to procure all the previously installed runestones on the properties. Unfortunately, only a couple of them were in working condition. They had come up with basic wards needed during construction and were going to begin warding from today. Harry had gone to the site thrice in the last week as he had Quidditch practice in between. The last match which was the semi-final had been quite close as the chasers of the opposition were way better. Fortunately he was able to catch the Snitch just before the lead got too much. The final scoreline read 350-330 but the management were happy that they were on the winning side. Coach was training them hard for the final which was supposed to happen next weekend.. Harry was also happy about the fact that his fame as a Quidditch star had almost overshadowed the 'Boy-who-lived' thing.

After attending his martial art class and having breakfast, Harry took the portkey to the site. Next hour was spent talking to the goblins and the construction crew. Harry was spending all his time on site with the crew going over the plans that had been procured from the family vault. He had not suggested too many changes yet it was fun envisioning the manor just by looking at the drawings. Obviously, he had made sure to expand the Ballroom to the size of what Malfoy Manor had. Thankfully, it was to be positioned in such a way that it does not hamper the daily living and only become the centre of the Manor when an event was hosted. Magic allowed distances to be either shortened or elongated thus bypassing logic regarding distance and space. Harry also wanted a bigger Training room.

Rest of the hours were spent learning basic spells from the crew. Harry was helping them in clearing the rubble. He learnt an advanced version of Levitation spell as well as an advanced air cleaning charm. It had taken a bit longer than anticipated in clearing the rubble as a lot of stones were quite saturated with magic and thus were resisting magic to move them. Harry was quite surprised when he saw machines that were magic based and were being used so creatively by the crew to lift heavy loads. Construction was an exhilarating process and Harry could see how someone could spend their whole life envisioning something and making that into a reality. At lunch, Harry sat down with the workers in their tent and shared lunch. The tent was not at all cluttered. It was a clean area with enough space to comfortably sit and eat or take some time off work. It was a unique experience where he found out that not all people in Britain went to Hogwarts. Families with particular trade used to homeschool their kids. Obviously an OWL or a NEWT was a mandatory requirement for the majority of jobs, but there were quite a few jobs that only required knowledge of that particular trade. Harry had severely underestimated the value of money in the wizarding world. He had come to realise that the amount of money he was earning as a Quidditch player in one month was ridiculous and an average person earned just a fraction of it, in A YEAR.

After only three days since their arrival, Harry had asked Andromeda to negotiate further with the goblins on his behalf as he wanted to learn more about the warding process. He felt that he needed to know what protections were being provided and goblins were hesitant in sharing the information as they took their secrecy to another level of seriousness. It had cost him a good amount of money but Goblins had agreed to share knowledge with regards to wards with the Potter heir. So a lot of time had been spent with the Goblins going through all the suggestions and ward schemes that they were proposing for the manor. Although in some cases, Harry opted for much less violent schemes, but when it came to any kind of harm being done to the occupants including any magical beings, Harry went all out, of course within the guidelines set by the Ministry which were not quite restricting when it came to protection of family as the older families were quite vocal about the importance of pure blood. Harry had not studied runes or Arithmancy too much but when the Goblins explained the application of both the subjects in warding as well as curse-breaking, Harry knew what he had to focus on next.

"Holy fuck, is that Albus Dumbledore?"

Everyone including Harry turned in the direction he was looking at to find Dumbledore strolling through the site while whistling merrily. He was wearing one of the most bright blue coloured robes stitched with twinkling stars. Harry just shook his head, having come to terms with the dressing sense of his Headmaster. There were mutterings among the crew about the sudden appearance of the most famous and powerful wizard of Britain. Harry got up and walked towards the older wizard.

"It's so good to see you Professor. Your robes look spectacular." Harry said with a small bow while smiling.

"Ahh the youth will never understand the choices the older people make. It includes my brother as well." Dumble said with a wink and chuckle.

"Congratulations are in order Harry. You have been successful in starting the construction of your family manor so quickly. Your parents would have been proud." Dumbledore said while patting his head.

Harry gave a big smile. He himself was very pleased with the way things were progressing. He felt as if somehow he was proving to be worthy of holding the title of Heir of House Potter. It was a good feeling and one he cherished. He had done a lot of stuff that might be considered good for his age, yet it was the first time he was doing something for his family, contributing something towards what he hoped would be a legacy to the Potter family.

"It was all because of the huge amount of effort put in by Ted and Andromeda. They have been a wonderful team. I wouldn't have known how to even start without them." Harry replied.

"You always underestimate your worth Harry. Fortunately it is a good quality to have so I won't argue much with you. Anyways, I had told you in the letter that I have a surprise for you. So, allow me to apparate you to Hog's Head." Dumbledore said while offering his hand.

Harry nodded and took hold of the offered hand and found himself compressed from all sides as if he was in a tube, a typical sensation of apparition. It lasted for a few seconds and as he opened his eyes, he found himself in front of an inn named Hog's Head. Harry looked around and a sudden smile came on his face as he saw Hogwarts castle looming over their heads. He was in Hogsmeade. Dumbledore motioned him towards the entrance of the inn. It looked quite shabby and unclean from outside and unfortunately that impression didn't change once the inner view was revealed. The inn was a perfect example of what 'shady' might be. People were sitting in dark corners murmuring and shooting furtive glances all around. Furniture was strewn around in a haphazard manner and looked centuries old. Dumbledore waved at the bartender who looked quite older than Tom the barkeep from Leakey Cauldron. The bartender just gave a nod which Dumbledore took as a positive sign as he made his way towards him.

"Hello Abe, I hope you are having a good day!" Dumbledore said jovially while patting the shoulder of the bartender who tried to shrug it off.

"It was normal till you decided to enter my inn. How many times have I told you not to treat me like a child. I have a reputation to uphold or did you forget?" The bartender whispered furiously although Harry felt that most of the emotions were mere facade and Dumbledore knew it because the smile on his face further increased if possible.

"Let me finally introduce you to this young lad here. Abe, meet Harry Potter. Harry, meet Aberforth, my brother." Dumbledore said.

Harry was shocked to know the identity of the bartender. Never in his life would he have guessed that the owner of such a shoddy inn would be a brother to Albus Dumbledore. He was gaping like a stupid and only stopped once Elder Dumbledore coughed to get his attention. He flushed bright red with embarrassment at getting caught in such a situation and babbled an apology.

"I am so sorry for my reaction Mr Dumbledore. I was just not expecting to meet Headmaster Dumbledore's family. I was caught off-guard. It's nice to meet you." Harry stuttered while trying to apologise.

"It's not the first time this has happened nor will it be the last. Still, well met Harry Potter. Albus adores you so you must be pretty talented. Try not to disclose my identity and don't bring your young friends here and we will be alright, got it?" Aberforth replied gruffly to which Harry could only nod.

"So Abe, have the guests arrived?" Headmaster asked while leaning forward with excitement clearly visible in his eyes.

"Yes, they arrived about ten minutes ago. They haven't changed one bit. He still calls me 'Little Abe' for God's sake. You know how weird it feels when someone calls you a boy at the age of more than a century. Both of them are completely mental. They are in the room you have always used." Aberforth said with exasperation.

That led to Harry and the elder brother taking the staircase to the first floor and to one of the rooms in the corridor. Just before entering the room, Dumbledore turned to him and said,

"Be ready for a surprise Harry. I have brought you here to meet very special people who hold a lot of admiration and respect in my heart. They have been a major reason in me being who I am. Everytime I meet them, I learn something new. Now, let's go in there without further delay."

Harry was getting nervous at such an introduction and straightened his shirt and ran fingers through his hair trying to get them in a semblance of order but knew it was a lost fight. Dumbledore knocked on the door and a soft "Come in, Albus" came as a response. Harry felt as if he had heard the voice earlier but before he could think more on that, he entered the room behind Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon Albus. You kept us waiting for some time. Coming on time too much to ask from the Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump and Headmaster now, is it?" The man spoke while shaking hands with Dumbledore.

Harry had stopped walking as soon as he saw the people in the room. It was a surprise Harry was not at all expecting because sitting in the room waiting for them were none other than Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. Harry had not thought much about the meeting he had with them in his dreams during the first year but what he accepted wholeheartedly was that the meeting had a major impact on his actions after that. Whether it be reaching out for allies or trying to revive the relevance and importance of the Potter name in the Wizarding world, it was all a manifestation of thoughts that was provoked within him when he first met them and he did not regret it one bit. He had not told anyone about the meeting and so decided to stay quiet and not react too much. Once Dumbledore was done greeting the couple, he turned towards him and motioned him to come closer.

"Let me introduce you to this wonderful and exciting individual, Harry Potter!"

Harry went through basic greetings bowing to them. The legendary couple nodded at him with gentle eyes not giving away the fact that they had already met although the twinkle in Nicholas's eyes was a dead give-away which thankfully Dumbledore did not notice.

"And now for the surprise I told you about Harry. Please meet the most famous couple for at least the last five centuries, Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel." Dumbledore continued.

"They have been my teachers, mentors and friends for a larger part of my life. I hope you benefit from their company as much as I did." Dumbledore said.

Harry stepped forward and gave a deep bow to the couple and said,

"It is an honour to meet you Lord and Lady Flamel. I don't think you will want to hear anymore pleasantries since you must be too bored with that after so many years."

This led to all the elders laughing. They all sat and had tea while Dumbledore started talking to them and getting to know what they were up to since he last met them. The Flamels did not forget to congratulate Harry on his success in professional Quidditch. He was a little surprised to know that while Nicholas was not that big of a fan, Perenelle was a big Quidditch fanatic and could quote the score lines of games that happened centuries ago. Harry was correct in not revealing that he had already met them even though it was in his dream because not once did they give any hint that might lead Dumbledore to believe otherwise. Harry didn't know why he decided to keep it from Dumbledore yet he felt it was something he wanted to keep to himself for now.

Once the refreshment was done, Dumbledore turned to Harry and said,

"Although I would love to spend some more time catching up with you, I know that all of you have a lot of other things to do. So I will come straight to the point. Since our visit to Godric's Hollow, I was thinking of how I could assist you while keeping you safe. The amount of dedication and natural talent you have showcased is rare and if nurtured properly, would help you achieve great things. I was mulling over a few ideas when Nicholas here contacted me and asked about you. I don't think you know it but Nicholas and Perenelle personally knew your parents as well as grandparents. In fact, Lily completed her Charms Mastery under Perenelle. Since you have started the construction of your family Manor and are almost staying the whole day away from your relatives' house, I was thinking that maybe you would like to have the company of my friends here. Both of them have agreed to it although Nicholas has said he will be quite busy with some research and would be leaving the country for quite a while. Perenelle on the other hand will be free and ready to assist you and teach you and guide you in any way possible. I cannot stress on how lucky you are to be offered this opportunity and hope you will take full advantage of it. Obviously this summer, classes will just be on weekends and will commence once you are done with the Quidditch League final. But if you impress Perenelle enough, you might get an opportunity to stay with them for at least half the summer next year, if you are agreeable that is. So, would you be interested?" Dumbledore explained.

Harry was shocked at the prospect of spending time with arguably the most knowledgeable couple in the wizarding world. This was an opportunity people would kill for. Add to that, these people were close to his parents too, so it would be a great chance for him to find out more about them. After Harry responded wit an enthusiastic nod, Dumbledore asked him to fetch the preplaced order from Aberforth which Harry assumed meant he wanted to discuss some things will the couple in private Harry made himself scarce and headed downstairs towards the bartender. He must have some interesting things to share.

While Harry was planning to engage the surly bartender and get some interesting stories out of him, the adults were having a serious discussion in the room he just left.

"So Albus, care to tell me what you expect from us regarding young Mr Potter? Your letter was quite vague with regards to it. Had it not been for the closeness Perenelle shared with Lily and her curiosity to get to know about the boy, I would not have even considered your request." Nicholas said while sipping his tea.

Dumbledore mulled over how to frame his response knowing that even though Nicholas had lived so long or maybe because of that, he despised wasting time over things that were none of his concern.

"I have a lot of hopes and motives when it comes to Harry. I will not lie to you, when he entered our world, I had a well thought plan which I assumed would teach him and in a way mould him for what he might face in the future. Fate has played a huge hand in his future taking away a lot of choices from him. I mistakenly was getting too swayed with regards to the information I had that I failed to understand that in hindsight, it might just be a part of his life. I then considered my life, and now that I look back, I realise that Gellert was just a phase of my life. Yes, his presence did affect my personality as well as perspective, but in the end it was still just a phase. Fortunately I was caught off-guard in Harry's first year itself. I was foolishly hoping for a mini-James who would be a stereotypical Gryffindor, ready to fight for what he believed in and for his loved ones. What I saw was completely different. He has more of Lily in him than James. Lily was without a doubt, one of the brightest minds and most compassionate souls to have walked in the school in the past hundred years. He is passionate and willing to work for whatever he wants to achieve. I feel with the right guidance he will surpass me very quickly and both of you are the best teachers one could ask for. I don't know when I started considering him someone almost like family rather than a means to make sure that our world survives Voldemort. But now, I want him to succeed in life and reach his full potential and do things his way. I will still try to make things as easy for him as possible but in the end I feel it will be him who will have to fulfil his destiny."

There was no one in the world apart from the Flamels in front of whom Albus could be carefree and could afford to unburden himself. So he laid out the truth in front of them without hiding anything. After a long time, he felt nice doing something so simple and natural like being truthful without any motives.

"We appreciate you being so honest and truthful to us. Although I am not happy about your revelation of plans regarding Harry, I am happy you decided not to go through with them. You only have one life, so living it as a pawn for someone else's game is demeaning to the gift of life we receive from the almighty. Rest assured, Harry will always have our help and guidance whenever he requires it. I owe that much to Lily." Perenelle replied.

"Thank you so much for accepting all this, I am grateful. I think it's time I call Harry back because I feel Abe is very close to throwing a spell at him if Harry pesters him again. At least that is what he is transmitting very loudly in order to catch my passive Leglimency." Dumbledore said with twinkling eyes while sending the phoenix patronus with the message to his young charge. A minute later Harry entered the room after the knock and took his seat.

What followed was a much more relaxed and informal conversation. Harry told them all about what was going on in his life. They were all impressed when he revealed the progress Harry had made in Transfiguration, Charms and DADA. Wandless magic even elicited a raised eyebrow from Nicholas as well as Dumbledore while Perenelle smiled at the display. Although, when he told them about the Chamber of Secrets, Perenelle requested him to later provide a copy of his memory as she was much more interested in history. According to her, it was one of the mysteries of the magical world with regards to Hogwarts and thus a deed easily considered among top historical events of the past century at the least. Although Harry knew that Chamber of Secrets was a sort of big issue, he didn't know it was that important. Seeing how interested Perenelle was in the Chamber, Dumbledore offered to show her the same.

"I did not realise you would be interested. Coincidently, Goblins are going to procure the ingredients today in a couple of hours on Harry's behalf." This got the attention of Nicholas who until now was busy in a book once Perenelle took over.

"What state did you leave the Basilisk in if I may ask?" Nicholas asked with a gleam in his eyes.

"I inserted the sword through its mouth and pierced it's brain. Apart from that, there will only be some bruises because it was thrashing all around." Harry said.

"Wait, so it's eyes were not damaged in any way?" Perenelle asked with the same gleam in her eyes as her husband. When Harry shook his head, they asked how he was not affected by the creature's eyes.

"That's because I am a parselmouth. As per Dumbledore, when Voldemort attacked me, he transferred some of his powers. And as I found out by accident, parselmouth are not affected by Basilisk's stare." Harry replied while looking at the headmaster before revealing anything, to which he just gave a nod.

"This changes a lot of things. We can't let them get a hold of Basilisk's eyes. It is one of the rarest ingredients to exist in the magical world and thus quite dangerous. It's uses are unexplored yet I believe it's impact in potions or rituals could be extranomical." Nicholas replied.

"I would like to ask you to accompany Harry and myself to the Chamber of Secrets. I wanted to visit the place for a long while to which Harry has graciously agreed. I feel we should procure the eyes before the Goblins arrive to avoid any issues." Dumbledore replied.

"I wanted to ask you though, what made you come out of isolation? I mean if I remember correctly, it has been a while since anyone last saw you." Harry asked, curious about their presence.

"Basically it was Penny's wish to spend time with you. I also had some unfinished research I wanted to do here. Add to that, Dumbledore insisted that you are quite a talented magic user and would be interested in learning with us. So, here we are hoping you will be as talented as your mother. It has been a long time since I have taught anyone. Perenelle obviously has already decided to teach you but I will take some time to see your skills and only then take a decision regarding training you." Nicholas replied.

"Although I would like nothing more than to continue our conversation, I feel it would be better if we proceed to the Chamber and procure the Basilisk eyes before the Goblins arrive." Dumble interjected before Harry could give a response. This was the cue as all four of them went downstairs and took floo to the Headmasters' office. Nothing much had changed since the last time Harry visited. Although Harry found a funny interaction between Fawkes and Perenelle, where the human was sort of reprimanding the immortal bird who looked cowed as if a mother caught her child in the middle of causing mischief. It was enough to get a laugh out of all the males until the bird and lady stared at them causing them to shut up abruptly. They all made their way with Fawkes using Harry's right shoulder as his perch. It was a quiet journey till the entrance of the infamous Chamber of Secrets in a bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle. Harry spoke the password in Parseltongue while Dumbledore created a makeshift escalator so that they could avoid jumping blindly as said by Perenelle.

When they reached the outer chamber and found the shedded skin of the Basilisk, Nicholas stopped and gave a sharp look to Albus and Perenelle but then asked Harry to go ahead. Harry led them to the door which had metal snakes engraved all over. Another 'Open' in Parseltongue and they all entered the central Chamber of Secrets. There was a sharp intake of breath from Albus & Nicholas and an exclamation of 'Oh Morgana!' from Perenelle. Harry did not turn and look at them as he made his way towards the Basilisk corpse lying in the middle of the chamber. The corpse had not started deteriorating at all and Harry felt they would be able to procure maximum ingredients from it. Meanwhile after getting over the shock of seeing the king of Serpent and it's huge size, Dumbledore and Nicholas took out their wands and moved towards the head and started trying to take the eyes out without removing the lid or harming them. Perenelle on the other hand started walking around the tunnels and corners of the Chamber as if trying to observe and instill in her memories all she could from the place. Harry didn't feel like walking around, remembering the tragic events that had taken place the last time he was here. Harry knew he was running away from all the things he needed to face. He had convinced himself for a long time to just skip things that affected him and get busy in new stuff. Whether it be the initial rejection and apathy from the Dursleys, finding out about the Wizarding world and his family or all other tragic events that somehow seem to happen around him, he had never sat down and seriously given a thought about how sometimes Harry thought too less about his well-being. From an outsider's perspective, it might even be considered as a suicidal tendency if one were to take aside the fact that almost all the time it was not because Harry wants to get involved but rather the circumstances that force him. One major reason he focused so much on studying and getting better as quickly as possible.

While Harry lazed around,Dumbledore and Nicholas had finished with retrieving the eyes and placed them carefully in a container. Fawkes took the container and disappeared with it. After that Dumbledore left to get the Goblins while Perenelle motioned for him to come near the Basilisk. She asked him to call the Sword of Gryffindor. When Harry looked at her questioningly, she just shrugged. Considering it another one of those habits people develop in old age, Harry silently willed the Sword to appear in his hand. The moment Harry finished the thought, the legendary sword materialised in his hand. It was still light weight and extremely sharp. As Harry stood there with the sword in his hand and the carcass of the Basilisk around him, she stepped away and at that moment the Goblins entered the Chamber along with Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. All of them were looking around in total awe of the place when suddenly their eyes landed on the boy of thirteen years of age, holding a legendary sword with the carcass of a mighty beast around him. Minerva let out a gasp at the sight while the Goblins grinned ferally and started muttering among themselves. Harry quickly stumbled away from the center and made his way over to Perenelle who was standing on the side with mirth in her eyes trying to hold her laughter and look as innocent as possible.

"You tricked me. You know this is going to become a photograph very quickly and with my luck, it will be on the first page of the Daily Prophet tomorrow." Harry exclaimed, feeling pranked.

"It had been a long time since I pranked anyone. I couldn't resist. Especially after seeing the mighty beast. I don't know if you realised but this Basilisk here is the biggest ever in the recorded history. I felt the world should know of it's existence at the very least. Maybe people will admire the beast the way it was supposed to be if it had not been hidden for it's whole life." Perenelle replied with a hint of humour as well as respect. Before Harry could reply, Minerva interrupted them.

"I would not have expected you to be here Lady Flamel. It is always a pleasure to be in your presence." Minerva side while bowing. She was acting like how Hermione acted around her. Admiration for the older witch was very evident in the eyes of the Transfiguration professor of Hogwarts.

"Miss McGonagall, congratulations are in order. You are now the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. It has been close to fifteen years since I saw you. You have aged well." Perenelle complimented while sounding formal yet friendly. Harry felt he might be intruding so he excused himself and took his leave.

It took close to two hours for the Goblins to transform the once mighty creature into dozens of small glass-containers. It had been decided between the Goblins and Ted Tonks that all Basilisk meat would be payment enough for the services rendered by the Goblins. Half of the remaining ingredients would be Harry's, while 20% will be donated to Hogwarts. Remaining 30% was to be sold in the open market by Goblins to the highest bidder. Harry had been adamant to provide some sort of monetary compensation to all those affected by the Basilisk and hence it was decided that all those who were petrified would receive five thousand galleons each to be released once they are seventeen years old. This benefited Colin, Hermione, Penelope and of course Ginny. Harry also made sure to give ten thousand galleons to Hagrid and told Ted to make sure to get his name cleared and a new wand provided. Filch and Sir Nicholas's current family would also receive a thousand galleons each. Even after all this, Harry was going to make a few hundred thousand galleons because of the rarity of ingredients. Harry could clearly see Nicholas haggling for prices with the Goblins on one corner. When Harry told them about how he had decided to split the money, Dumbledore bowed to show his acceptance and said nothing but a proud smile could easily be seen on his face. Minerva on the other hand gave him a big hug telling him how noble and gallant his deed was.

Harry was already quite famished with all the happenings of the day and thus did not participate much in whatever was going around after a certain point. He didn't forget to thank the Goblins although he was surprised when the leader loudly told him that he was holding a goblin-made weapon which was not his by right ponting at the Sword of Gryffindor tied on his waist. Fortunately Perenelle Flamel educated the goblin on the treaties between the two races which made him amend that since possession was taken before the treaty was signed between Wizards and Goblins, Harry could continue to be it's worthy wielder as he had shown by slaying a mighty beast. Nothing remarkable happened after that although he did tell Dumbledore to meet Andromeda at his convenience as she wanted to get the 'Fan-vault' and go through it properly to devise investment strategy for the future. Without further ado, he bade goodbye to the Flamels and accepted a portkey to their home for the weekends and promised to be at their place on time. Correctly interpreting his tiredness, Fawkes took it upon himself and directly flashed Harry to his room in Privet drive. Harry was only able to thank the phoenix and take off the scabbard holding the sword before he fell on the bed and was fast asleep.

To be continued . . .