Grand Exits
June 7th 1998
London, England
12 Grimmauld Place
Within a week, Harry had sorted through all the contents of the trunks, and packed away anything that was coming with them.
With Neville's help, Harry put together his investment portfolio, which Harry was leaving for Bill and Fleur, they would know better than him what to do with it. Harry was also leaving several pieces of jewelry for both Fleur, and the baby girl she had announced she was carrying.
The rest of the jewels were packed away, Harry left Luna to sort through the books, and Harry met with a real estate manager to sell 23 or the 29 properties Harry now owned.
Harry intended to sell most of the property, many peoples homes were destroyed in the war, so Harry didn't even mind if he didn't get what it was worth, its not like they would be of any use to him where he was going.
Grimmauld Place and Black Manor, once Harry stripped it of anything he wanted, he would be leaving for Malfoy. Both since he was the last surviving Black, and because Narcissa had saved Harry's life before knowing that Harry had saved Draco from being burned to death. Right or wrong, she'd saved Harry's life, knowing what Tom would have done to her if she'd been caught.
Potter Manor and the Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow, for sentimental reasons, would also go to Bill and Fleur. Between Bill's lucrative career and Fleur's wealth, they didn't need the money, but Harry knew that they would never treat the homes he would have grown up in as a tourist attraction. They would go to a loving family, who would appreciate it as a gift from a family friend, not the Man-Who-Conquered.
Gryphon's Peak and Seadragon Bay, two huge plots of land that were rich with magical forests, containing endangered species of magical creatures and plants, would go to Charlie, as the only one likely to appreciate it. Harry didn't know Charlie well, but he knew Charlie cared about neither business investments nor jewels, but he left him land to create his own reserve, and a chest full of gold to fund it.
By the second week, Luna had packed away the books they would be taking, and Neville had surfaced a handful of times from Scamander's trunk, looking lighter than Harry had seen since the War, long enough to tell them he was almost done.
As for Harry, there was 23 residents, most of them family homes that had fallen into disrepair with no one to tend them, that Harry fixed up and sold to a bunch of war victims.
(For a second, Harry thought the real estate agent he'd hired, Rose, would faint when Harry sold a 8 bedroom family manor for 5000 galleons and every book in their possession)
The news that week was full of rumors of both his generosity, and his apparent money troubles, since he was selling pretty much everything he owned.
Which was why he wasn't surprised when midway through the week, he began to get visitors from the Ministry. It would seem they had caught on that Harry was planning on leaving, though they didn't know where, or that Neville and Luna were coming with him, and everyone had an opinion about it.
12 of the residences had sold, but the Ministry was waffling on the paperwork, various politicians practically blackmailing him with miles of red tape into meeting with them.
"How much longer do you think we need?" Harry asked Luna and Neville as Harry held Teddy against his bare chest, the sleepy baby slowly eating the bottle of milk Harry was feeding him.
Teddy was four weeks old now, he'd only been a few days old at the time of the Battle, and was both impossibly small and already growing so fast, he'd claimed Harry's heart with a swiftness that he hadn't known possible. The baby had almost permanently taken on Harry's messy dark curls and green eyes, though occasionally he would take on Luna's blonde or Neville's sandy brown when they were holding them.
Harry knew that he would do anything to ensure Teddy grew up happy and healthy, which just made him more determined than ever to leave. Harry had been watching the Ministry's actions closely these past few weeks, and he wasn't impressed. They made a decent show of 'reforming' the Ministry, but a closer connection to the Hollows had made Harry a veritable lie detector, and he didn't sense a drop of sincerity in most of those 'reformed'.
(Ironically, Malfoy was one of the few who were actually regretful, though Harry wasn't sure how much of that was genuine empathy for the crimes he'd been forced to commit, and how much was the lost political capital or the dent that reparations had made in the Malfoy finances)
None to mention, the Ministry's stance on creatures hadn't changed, and Harry wasn't about to expose his half werewolf son godson to the Ministry's cruelty.
So, if that meant Harry was forced to temporarily play nice with infuriating politicians, even if only to buy them time to finish their preparations, then that's what Harry would do.
That didn't mean he had to be happy about it.
"The greenhouses are coming along nicely, all the cuttings have taken nicely and we should have our first harvest in about 2 weeks. There's nothing I can do here that I cant do wherever we go" Neville reported, a cup of potion-laced tea cradled in his hands. Luna carefully rubbed Scar Paste, the revised recipe had been an invention of Hermione's and was one of the only things that lightened curse scars, onto the scars around Neville's eye. There was no hope for repairing the eye, but careful application of the paste would eventually free Neville from the constant chronic pain that came with curse scars.
"The library should be complete by the end of the week, there's a couple shipments I'd still waiting on, but we have the basics" Luna told him, and Harry merely raised an eyebrow at that.
Harry had been in the library, and refused to believe that over 10,000 books counted only as 'basics', but he wasn't about to tell Luna that. She might be less obvious about her bookishness than Hermione was, but she was just as devoted to learned as the brunette had been.
"So we're just waiting on the last of the liquidation" Harry sighed, and made an effort to banish the tension from his shoulders as Teddy began to fuss, sensing his guardians frustration.
The gold had been checked for curses, unlikely it might be that the goblins had cursed it, and packed away, what jewelry they were taking had also been stored, the others either sold or bequeathed to Fleur or Hogwarts. Many of the historical artefacts had been gifted to Hogwarts, under the strict supervision of McGonagall, who was overseeing the renovations. Harry had renovated and furnished all of the properties he was selling, and as of last night, 12 had been sold, but Harry was still waiting for the paperwork to go through on 3 of them.
Harry could just cut his losses and leave with what he had, he certainly had more money than he could ever spend in 1000 lifetimes, but so many people had lost their homes in the War. If Harry wasn't going to use them, he wanted them to go to people who needed them. Even if it was just to sell them to a higher price for having belonged, even briefly, to the 'Man-Who-Conquered'.
"When are you heading to the Ministry?" Luna asked, closing the little container of Scar Paste with a soft snap, some of the tension had eased from Neville's face as the pain faded to a dull throb, and Harry sighed.
"I have a meeting with the Wizengmont at noon" Harry grumbled, and Luna gave him a sympathetic squeeze to his shoulder.
"I'll prepare for an emergency exit, just in case, I'm sure Rose, Bill and Fleur could sell the others without us" Luna said, and Harry's lips pressed together.
True, but Harry hated the thought of being chased out by the Ministry...
Here's hoping this meeting with the Wizengmont wouldn't be a total clusterfuck...
He spoke too soon.
Harry had barely sat down across from the panel of 12 Wizengmont members and Kingsley, as the interim Minister of Magic, before they were serving him a slave brand, thinly disguised as an employment contract.
Said contract thinly laid out that Harry was swearing on his magic to work in some capacity for the Ministry of Magic, who could transfer him to any position Harry was 'qualified for', according to the Ministry's standards, but Harry couldn't quit. He also couldn't leave the country without approach from his 'supervisors' and would be required to swear an Unbreakable Vow to uphold the terms of the contract, and keep all findings during his employment confidential from everyone, even a lawyer or therapist.
And all the while they were laying out their generous offer, Kingsley simply sat across from him, grim faced.
Kingsley didn't need to be a mind mage to read the expression of mounting anger on Harry's face, he knew as well as Harry that there was not a chance in hell that Harry was signing that contract. He'd likely told his cohorts this as well, which meant they had some sort of mystery leverage that they were confident enough in to risk pissing him off after he'd just saved all their lives.
"What makes you think I would ever accept this?" Harry asked, his tone ice cold, and the panel shifted slightly before their figurehead leaned forwards.
"Harry-" he started, and Harry's jaw tightened at the over familiarity "no one here wants to discount the service you've provided for our world, but the public need to be reassured that the Ministry can be trusted-" the nameless stooge started, and Harry couldn't hold it back anymore.
"Then perhaps the Ministry should focus on being trustworthy, I understand it would be a first, but, new beginnings and all" Harry gave a sardonic smile, and Kingsley's face tightened in disapproval.
A brief flare of pain, as the expression held an echo of the way Dumbledore had looked at him, remembered shame licked at him like flames, before the feeling was smothered under the oppressive blanket of rage and resentment. Harry had to stifle the urge to snarl at Kingsley and demand if he'd known.
Harry knew he probably hadn't, Dumbledore never did like divulging secrets unless forced to...
"Harry-" Kingsley started, and turned his disdainful gaze onto the former auror, "that sort of hostility isn't helpful, and its not what Dumbledore would have wanted" Kingsley said, and Harry couldn't contain the caustic laugh that slipped from him.
"Frankly, I don't care for the opinions of a dead man, and I neither do I intend to shackle myself to the same administration that spent the last year hunting me like an animal" Harry said dismissively, and the politicians bristled with indignation.
"No one here was involved in your persecution" Faceless Politician Number 5 said, the amount of false indignity coated the back of Harry's throat like oil.
"Maybe not actively, but you were all complacent in genocide, so what in Merlin's name made you think that I would ever sign this trash?" Harry sneered, and the Politician figurehead pressed his fingers together contemplatively, and observed Harry with a degree of smugness that Harry severely disliked.
"You say that you don't care for dead men, but you took in a dead man's orphan. The werewolf's child, correct? Funny, I haven't seen any paperwork naming you the child's guardian" the look of smugness and confidence quickly vanished as the level of Harry's attention focused on the bug in front of him, and the worm felt the weight of Harry's magic settle over him.
"Is that a threat?" Harry asked, and the parchment on the table began to curl as the temperature in the room slowly increased.
"No!" Kingsley said firmly, holding his hands out in a calming gesture, as if Harry were a beast that needed taming.
"I think we're done here" Harry said firmly, standing up, and the figurehead stood as well, prideful stubbornness in his eyes.
"Laws are laws, even for war heroes, and I'm afraid that until we see some guardianship paperwork, we will need to take the child" the worm said, and Harry's expression closed off into a look of indifference and vague pity as he looked at the tool.
"No, you won't," Harry said, and took great satisfaction in knowing he was about to crush that brief look of satisfaction in their eyes, "not unless you want me enforce a little law of my own" Harry smiled with vicious satisfaction, and enjoyed watching the blood drain from every one of their faces.
The Law of Succession, which states that Harry, as the one to overthrow the previous dictator, had become his successor under Right of Conquest, and would remain such until he released the Realm from his Authority.
Which Harry hadn't done.
"Good day, gentlemen" Harry said, and turned on his heel and strode out of the room with his head held high, aware that Kingsley was following hot on his heels.
"Harry... Harry!" Kingsley finally caught up to him in the atrium, and gripped his arm before he could make it to the disapertaion point, "what the hell was that?! Do you have any idea what you just did?!" Kingsley hissed, and Harry turned to face Kingsley with glowing green eyes.
"Yes, Kingsley, I know exactly what I did, and I wasn't bluffing either" Harry said, and despite Kingsley's much larger side and years of experience, in that moment they both knew that Harry could flatten the older man if he so wished.
"Potter, you just threatened to take over the government, Dumbledore would-" Kingsley started, and Harry narrowed his eyes as he glared up at the older man.
"You think I want to rule this cesspit? I would like nothing more than to leave those maggots to their power games and vendettas, but I did not lose nearly everyone I care about fighting one dictator to turn around and serve another! If the Ministry comes after my family, I will take what matters most to those fossils: their power" Harry said, and regardless of where they were, Harry let his aura fill the atrium, and watched as Kingsley's face turned grey.
"You can't blackmail the Ministry" Kingsley said, his forehead beginning to sweat as he realized that Harry very much could blackmail the Ministry.
"Why not? Its what they tried to do to me" Harry said, and then, for dramatic effect, he exited like a Boss.
Harry apperated away, tearing through the flimsy layer of anti-apparation wards like they weren't even there, and sent the Ministry into a tsunami of chaos in his wake.