Chapter 15

"How are you doing this?" Astoria asked. Harry had no sooner landed, after the second apparition(the first being to the vanishing room, since Harry didn't want to test apparition across the entire planet), than he had lifted them all up and started flying them the rest of the way to the school. They were going really fast, too!

"Magic." was Harry's non-answer.

"Could I learn to fly like this?" Astoria asked.

"Maybe in a couple of years." Harry said. "You'll need to learn a lot more about magic and finer flight control during school, before I could teach you my methods."

"Am I allowed to join your study group?" Astoria asked.

"You can form your own, and join us while we study if you want." Harry offered. "We've got a couple of friends that do that already."

"We're in third year, sis." Daphne said. "We'll be covering things that you've not learned."

"But you could still help." Astoria said. "Since you've already done what we will be learning."

"I'm thinking you can ask the group a year below ours." Harry said. "We help them and they help you. The information for your year will be fresher in their minds anyway." Ginny and Luna's study group had expanded after their grades skyrocketed with Hermione's assistance. Harry didn't doubt that there would be another expansion this year. The Library might soon not be big enough.

Harry flew them through the doors and found the other first-years standing in a row, ready to enter the hall, so Harry landed them there. "Good luck, sis." Daphne said. "I'll see you just now, okay?"

Astoria hugged her sister one last time and then hugged Harry, to his surprise. "Thank you." she whispered.

"No problem, Stori." Harry said with a wink. "Have fun. We'll see you in there." And with that, Harry turned and the doors to the Great Hall swung open for him and the Slytherin girls. Dumbledore was standing in front of the student body, likely wondering where his deputy was, and Harry ignored the old man as he walked the girls to their table and hugged them, before lifting himself over the dividing table and landed in his seat. Flight wasn't something they hadn't seen after all.

"What did we miss?" Harry asked.

"I was about to address the students, Mister Black." Dumbledore said patiently.

"Do I get to lose house points?" Harry asked back.

Dumbledore really didn't know what to say to that. His deputy wasn't at the school and she was meant to sort the children, but he knew it would be important, since Harry was no-doubt there as well. "Do you perhaps know where my deputy is?" he asked, ignoring the mutterings of the students.

"Oh, right. She's coming. We had an errand to run. I'm just faster, since I fly and she had to finish the niceties." Harry said, getting up again and walking to the front. "Let me help with the sorting."

Dumbledore didn't know what the boy was going to do, so he allowed it, thinking it would likely be entertaining.

Harry walked up to the stool and picked up the ancient hat. "First years! Get in here!" he called through the still open door. The first-years didn't know what to do, but when Astoria started walking with no hesitation, the rest followed. When they were all gathered, Harry looked down at them. "Normally we put this hat on your heads and it reads your mind to tell you where you belong.

"But today, we'll be doing it a little differently." he said.

"Mister Black, what are you doing?" Dumbledore asked.

"Watch and see." Harry said back at the old man. Then he turned to the kids in front of him. "Now, I'm going to speed things along, since I'm awesome. I can tell you're hungry, too." He took the list in one hand and put the hat on his own head.

"What? Oh, I see. I don't see why not." the hat said in his head. "Maybe we can do this until you graduate, except for seventh-year of course."

"If I'm still here." Harry replied aloud. Then he looked at the list. What followed shocked the older students as Harry read a name and the hat instantly announced the appropriate house, from Harry's memory, shocking Harry when he placed the other Creevey boy in Hufflepuff as well, to join his brother. When he was done, he placed the list and hat back on the stool and went to the podium, where Dumbledore usually made the first speech, before the old man could get up from his chair.

"Okay, fellow students, let's get this part sorted out quickly. Professor Dumbledore usually makes this part drag out as well, so let me shorten it. Mister Filch is the head of security. He doesn't like magic in the hallways, and will know when you do it, even if he's not there, so don't do it. Prank items are allowed this year, but if he finds you with them, he'll make you eat them, so keep it classy, okay? For information on classy pranks, speak to the Weasley Twins. They know the rules.

"The Forbidden Forest has giant spiders, territorial centaurs, and some nasty creatures. That's why it's forbidden, so don't go in there. If you really want to, ask Professor Hagrid to go with you. He'll be teaching care of magical creatures this year. I know he loves dangerous creatures, but if you stay behind him, they won't hurt you, so relax. He's also a big softy, so say hi to him when you see him. It'll make his day. If he tells you not to do something, though, listen to him. He knows his stuff."

Harry turned to the teachers' table to see if he could spot the new teacher. "Huh, it seems Professor Slughorn has come out of retirement. He'll be teaching Potions, so I'm assuming Professor Snape is in charge of Defence?" Harry saw a smirk on Flitwick's face and a miniscule nod. The charms master was enjoying this. Knowing Harry was from the future helped.

"Awesome! I bet he'll be a much better Professor at something he's actually good at! Good on you Professor Snape. I'll look forward to your classes. Try not to die, okay? Lastly, Professor Dumbledore likes to end the speech with some silly words, so none of that from me. Enjoy the feast!" he finished and started walking to his seat.

Dumbledore stood up, as if to add something, but then shook his head and clapped his hands, making the food appear. Then he sat back down. He looked grumpy, which made the students giggle and guffaw. He had actually liked the change of pace, but could play the role of disgruntled old headmaster, to add to the mirth.

Snape had been slightly upset, but then he realised the boy had actually endorsed him, likely making the students more eager for the class. As pranks went, it wasn't bad, really. He still glared at the boy for insinuating he wasn't good at potions, since it was both expected and he wanted to.

"Did you just take over the school?" Neville asked as Harry sat down and started dishing up.

"I've been running this school since first year, Neville." Harry joked. "Dumbledore just takes care of my paperwork for me."

Neville chuckled, when he realised Harry had said it loudly, on purpose. Dumbledore was looking at him with a calculating look and the children were excitedly whispering about his latest statement. "Cool." he said. "Care to reinstate the duelling club, Professor Black?" he joked.

"Sure, why not." Harry said. "As long as you teach swordplay and get a faculty advisor. I suggest Professor Flitwick. He was a duelling champion back in the day."

"You can't seriously approve a club for the school, Harry." Hermione said. "You have to ask permission."

Harry winked at her and stood up. He looked at the staff table and asked, "Professor Flitwick?"

"Yes, Mister Black?" Flitwick asked, a smile already on his face, having heard the conversation.

"Would you mind helping Mister Longbottom here start up a proper duelling club? He's volunteered to help with fencing and swordplay." Harry asked.

"Certainly, Mister Black." Flitwick said. "I was actually hoping to discuss with you the possibility of doing something like that this year. With a bit of involvement from yourself, of course."

"As long as you don't want to duel me." Harry allowed with a smirk. "The students would miss you too much."

"I don't know. I still think I can teach you a thing or two." Flitwick said, with his usual excited smile. "We'll have to discuss it when the time comes."

"Professor Dumbledore? Please adjust the budget for a duelling club? I'll make arrangements for additional funding." Harry said. Then he sat back down and ignored the incredulous faces at him having ordered the headmaster around like he was a lackey.

"Of course, Mister Black, sir." Dumbledore said sarcastically, but with a smile. "Anything else I can do for you?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"That will be all. You may return to your meal." Harry said imperiously, with a wave of his hand, not even looking up as Professor McGonagall walked in, having finally arrived. Harry made a mental note to arrange a flight harness for her. He had meant to do it a while back, but kept on forgetting.

"I could do with a larger budget?" Snape shocked the school by calling out. He was hoping to get the students to see that things had changed, by playing along.

"Speak to Professor Dumbledore. I'm sure he can arrange it, now that he's secured funding." Harry called back.

"I have?" Dumbledore asked.

"I told you. I'll arrange it. Duelling club is already in the budget by the school charter. If I'm securing additional funding, you can spend it on making the Professors lives a little easier." Harry said.

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked as she stopped behind Harry on her way to the teacher's table.

"Harry has taken over the school, professor." Neville said. "He's going to allow us to have a proper duelling club."

"Taken over?" McGonagall asked with her strict face #4.

"It's just a joke, Professor McGonagall." Harry said, respectfully. "Though, I'm really going to help the budget. The staff deserve it."

"What happened with the sorting?" she asked.

"Harry." Neville said with a shrug.

"I see I've missed quite a bit in my absence." McGonagall said.

"Just a bit of fun, Professor McGonagall." Harry said, smiling at her. "The sorting was handled by the sorting hat and the new professors were introduced."

"I don't believe you're telling me everything." McGonagall said.

"That's a good instinct." Harry said. "I helped add flair to the proceedings. And sped them up slightly."

McGonagall stared at him for a few more seconds, but realising he wasn't going to give her more, she finally stepped away, to ask Filius what she had missed.

"Why do you always insist on doing strange things?" Hermione asked, but with a bit of humour. Harry never seemed to change. He got more daring, but he was always himself.

"I get bored." Harry admitted. "You know why, right?"

Hermione considered the revelations from the holiday and nodded. "I suppose it could get tiring." she admitted. Repeating years she had already lived really didn't appeal to her.

"Like you have no idea." Harry said. "So I have a bit of mild fun, while I plan and study." Wherever he made changes, things became new to him, so the more changes he made, the less boring things became.

"Any large projects this year?" Parvati asked.

"I'll be spending some time researching moon and the wolf issue. I also have to plan and apply a bunch of changes Bill will likely send my way for the Comm, as well as the new Library project." Harry recited from memory. "Then I also have a couple of theories I want to test out. One of which, for which I will need madam Pomfrey nearby, just in case." The paintball idea had slipped from his mind already, having been so busy. It would come back to him, eventually.

"Is it potentially life threatening?" Parvati asked. Knowing Harry, it wasn't unlikely.

"More likely to burn my retina." Harry said.

"Retina?" Neville asked.

"The receptors at the back of the human eye." Hermione said. "It's the biggest part of how we see. If a retina is damaged, it normally doesn't regenerate. Are you sure you want to mess with your eyes?"

"It's just a theory I want to test." Harry said. "Could be useful though, if it works. Might have a market for it, too. Madam Pomfrey can likely fix any damage, though… if it turns out to be necessary."

"You're going to need a workshop, soon." Daphne said. "Not that I'll complain about a quiet place to study, now that we have that… thing you gave us."

"That's not necessary." Harry said. "I already have a place where I work on things if I need to, but it's hidden, for my security and safety, and that of the rest of the student body. It's not ideal, but it's better than the dorm or common room." He was thinking of the Room of Requirement.

"I knew you had to have some place to work!" Fred said excitedly.

"If anyone can sneak around, it's you." George added.

"Well, I was the one who set up the new security, after all." Harry said, after finishing off his plate. "Why would I not leave a way for myself to get around unnoticed?"

"Mister Black." a voice said from behind Harry. He turned and saw Dumbledore. "I just wanted to tell you that, since you have stolen my Flying teacher, you are now the new Flying instructor at Hogwarts."

"Okay." Harry said easily, turning back to his friends. "Maybe I should work on an overhead projector for the classrooms. Give the teachers the ability to sit and demonstrate something after explaining the theory and then put text up. I bet Professor McGonagall would love to show her transfigurations in detail, so she doesn't need to walk around the classroom, having to show everyone over and over again."

"Mister Black?" Dumbledore asked, trying to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry Professor, I thought you were done." Harry lied.

"Not exactly." Dumbledore said after a sigh. "We need to discuss your class and responsibilities?"

"Teach first-years to fly, not to fall and how to land." Harry said. "That's pretty standard."

"It's not quite that simple." Dumbledore said.

"Of course it is." Harry said. "I am the expert here, Professor Dumbledore. I am the flying instructor, after all. I thought you knew." He took out his Comm and said, "Video Call Rolanda Hooch."

"I'm sure there's no need to-" Dumbledore started.

"This is Rolanda Hooch." Hooch said as she appeared on the projection. "Oh, hi there, Mister Black. How can I help you?"

"Hi. The headmaster is telling me that, since you decided to take a different job, I'm the new flying instructor." Harry said.

"Congratulations." she said.

"He's actually here." Harry said turning the Comm so that Hooch could see him.

"Good evening Madam Hooch." Dumbledore said with another sigh, while the students chuckled and giggled at his expression.

"Albus." Hooch said with a nod.

"Anyway, I told the headmaster I can handle it, but he wants to go on about responsibilities and what to teach." Harry said.

"Preposterous." Hooch said. "You know more about flight than any magical! Give the Comm to the old goat. I'll sort this out."

"Thank you Madam Hooch." Harry said with a smile for her.

"Please, call me Rolanda, or Hooch. I don't really care. You're the boss." Hooch said.

"Thank you Rolanda." Harry said. Then he handed the Comm to Dumbledore, who looked decidedly displeased to be handed the device, with the person who just called him an old goat in front of the entire, staring, student body.

"Albus, let's talk aerodynamics." Hooch started as Dumbledore walked off with the Comm, to find some privacy.

"What was that?" An older student from down the table asked. "That thing you used to speak to Madam Hooch."

"It's a Comm." Harry said.

"Where did you get it?" the same student asked.

"Made it." Harry said, looking through the dessert options.

There were more questions, but Harry ignored it and went back to his meal. Fortunately for him, there was a representative from his study group in all the houses and they soon started telling everyone about the devices, leaving Harry to enjoy his dessert.

The discussions taking place in Great Hall that evening carried on through the school for the next week. Everything from Harry arranging funding and becoming the flying instructor to him taking over the school and the new Comm device. Most of the conversations were filled with excitement. Snape's class turned out to be rather interesting, since Snape kept on sending spells at Harry, who was pretending to be asleep, for the fun of it. He was in-fact sitting up and paying attention, but the illusion he put up looked asleep.

He had to leave class to go teach the first years to fly. His first class had Astoria in it. She seemed a little happier than the first time he had met her and he hugged her familiarly, and she blushed at being greeted on the nickname he had given her on a whim, not knowing it was her nickname already. When they were all gathered and ready, Harry started speaking.

"Hello class. My name is Harry Black. I'll be instructing you on how to fly on brooms. It's a completely unnecessary skill, since you are not allowed to fly around the school when you want, and also won't have access to truly good brooms. That being said, some of you may enjoy flying enough to go for a flight anyway, or to play Quiddich, so I'm going to give you a crash course. That is to say, I'll teach you how not to crash.

"First off, who here already knows how to mount and fly?" Harry asked. Some of the kids lifted hands to indicate their ability. "Good." he said. "Those of you who just told me you can, take a broom and mount."

It turned out that one of them had lied, and Harry quickly stepped in, helping to control the broom. He used those who could fly as examples, asking them questions on why they did what, and had them explain their process and, in some cases, where they had learned. When he was certain all of the children had enough information, he had them mount up as well. He had them float up and down a couple of times, then he had them follow each other in a line around the pitch.

After everyone's skill had improved enough, Harry said, "Good, good. I think you're all ready for a challenge. Try and keep up." Then he floated up and started lazily flying in zigzags and patterns, keeping an eye on all the students. The more vigorous movement and sharper turns left some of the kids to fumble and Harry quickly assigned the strongest flyers to lead, while he stayed back to give some advice to those that had lagged behind.

By the time flying class was over, all of them had the basics down, with a bit of excitement over the skills they had learned. The general consensus was that Harry was a great flying instructor. The fact that he flew seemingly unassisted wasn't even mentioned, since he tended to do that all the time.

After that, Harry went to go re-join class, which just so happened to be Charms. Flitwick was excited to call Harry forward and have him both demonstrate the cheering charm and then teach the class. Harry repeatedly hit the excitable professor with both it and a calming charm he had found, which was apparently used before the calming draught for its lingering effect, making the professor fluctuate between calm and accepting, and cheerful and fun-loving. He hadn't been able to focus on anything other than the class, making the fact that he had Harry teach it, moot, but the students enjoyed the experience and some of them actually performed well enough to start learning the calming charm as well.

Harry's day was full of such distractions, never getting to his own projects, so he decided to skip class the next day, to catch up. This became the norm, while Harry worked on an entirely new project. He'd go to class one day and skip the next. Since he knew all the material already, he was never called out on it, though. He actually found that the routine was very productive and resolved to keep doing it.

By the time the first month was over, Harry started installing a new series of devices in the classrooms. It was a simple camera disc and recording crystal system with a projector added. The system would be able to record the professor's class and also project them simultaneously overhead. This way the Professor only had to teach each class the first time and then they just had to walk around and answer questions the second time around, after showing the recording. It was useful since each professor ended up having to give each class twice for each year.

The biggest problem with this system was adding a tracking charm function that a professor could cast on themselves and at the camera disc, to keep it focussed on them and what they were doing. Harry had had to go home and make more recoding crystals too, but these were tiny and simple to make when compared to the larger ones he made for full-feature films. He gave each professor a container with a couple hundred paper-thin diamond recording crystals. They would need to mark and keep track of their own crystals, but that wasn't Harrys' problem. If they were smart about it, they would keep proper track and only ever need to give instructions one time over the next year and have an entire syllabus saved up by the next year, freeing up time for other things, or to improve classes by being clearer in their instructions.

Speaking of the films, the cinemas were doing well, as well. Harry had finally been able to incorporate both audio and video into one crystal, without losing quality and this had simplified the process considerably. Bill was also now in charge of recording the new films, a job he enjoyed tremendously and started giving him some ideas about things that they could make for the future.

One of the resorts soon had its own cinema and word spread quickly. When Bill wasn't working on production and improvements, he was being bribed by very grateful Veela to set them up with entertainment at the resorts for them and the wolves. As a result, Bill soon became very popular and was considered one of the pack. He soon became a regular at one of the bars, where he had hit it off with a rather busty and flirty Veela woman.

---

Christmas came and went. Harry and his girls, Neville and Ginny and all of their families joined them for a large Christmas celebration on the Moon. During that Christmas break, Harry finally took the time to make a proper interface for the captain's position on The Saucer and Bill was very happy to be handed the spare key, a new addition, since Harry didn't trust Sirius to not try and fly the thing, now that it was entirely possible for normal people. Hooch and Bill spent a good amount of time learning every principle and often went for flights, even though they were forbidden from taking it out into space, since that was still Harry's speciality. They'd need to learn a lot more before they could handle every backup that needed minding.

Harry had taken the time, before Bill joined the company, to teach Hooch both the runes and the wind-shielding wards he had designed for the brooms and she was finally able to start producing the brooms, even if the wind-shielding ward wasn't part of this model and it was limited to the power that Hooch could add, but that still allowed the broom to fly faster and turn more quickly than any other broom out there.

Demand was very high and the fact that the company only released one broom a week at this point only drove the price up as every major Quiddich team was desperate to get their hands on them. Harry still needed to add the security charms on each broom too, which meant he spent some time every weekend at the resort, where Hooch worked from, and at home, doing just that. She even volunteered to referee the Quiddich matches back at Hogwarts. Quiddich was still a passion of hers, after all.

The next couple of months of the school year passed reasonably quietly, until Harry was told that Remus had finally arranged a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister to have a discussion about the prisoners in their care. All of the prisoners were magical, since Marauders Inc. had been focussing on them, but they wouldn't dare speak to Fudge about it, since he would have the whole lot released immediately.

It had been a huge problem for Harry that they had been holding onto them without proper trials, but the Prime Minister had taken the time to discuss some of what the prisoners had done and, after a month of meetings to bring the man up to date on the real happenings in the magical world, ended up setting up a tribunal of Judges that were in the know and/or related to magicals, to sit and pass judgement.

With the recorded confessions under Veritaserum, the prisoners were mostly all given life sentences, since the tribunal hadn't been given the power to sentence the prisoners to death. Those that didn't commit the vilest of crimes, were given the option to be turned over to Azkaban. Nobody went for that option, preferring the new prison, the Lupin Penitentiary.

The wolves had been commissioned to make a new prison, paid for by Marauders Inc., to house all the prisoners and arrange for meetings for the prisoners to see their families and loved ones. It had been a big deal, as Amelia had to be let in on the location of the prison and told what the Prime Minister had arranged, with the blessing from the Queen. As a result, the wizarding world found out what Marauders Inc. had been up to.

Daphne had been in tears when she found out, certain her mother would be withdrawing her support of the relationship. Strangely, that never ended up happening. Ladies Greengrass and Parkinson seemed to simply put more faith in Harry and his people. Since they had been able to carry the operation out under the nose of the Ministry without ever being found, they seemed to think Harry was just providing a safer future for their daughters, which he technically was.

The ICW had grumbled about it, but couldn't interfere with a sovereign nation that hadn't broken the statute, and with Dumbledore still at the top and supporting the crown's decision, people could only accept the new track they were on and complain to the ministry, who had no say in the matter.

There were a couple of meetings between the Muggle Prime Minister, who now had a couple of wolves on his security detail, courtesy of Marauders Inc., and the Minister of Magic, but Fudge was raked over the coals for keeping the real happenings of the magical world from him. Fudge, seeing the magical bodyguards, wands drawn, couldn't even attempt to obliviate the Prime Minister, like he had done before in similar circumstances.

The Prime Minister was given a Comm and asked to call Daniels the moment it seemed like anything was going on. He had accepted the magical device with a bit of awe. He had never been given access to anything magical before. This led to a couple of other questions and soon, young Harry Black was set to meet with the Prime Minister to discuss his space program.

---

The day of the meeting was arranged for a Saturday afternoon, when he would not be in any classes. When he arrived, he was searched by both normal bodyguards and then the wolves, who gave him apologetic looks for needing to do it, but Harry nodded at them in understanding. It was their jobs, and they were only called in for magical meetings. They were unavailable during full-moons, Harry was still working on a cure to the change, and had some information to work on, but he had yet to achieve success. In the meanwhile, a couple of muggleborn employees were trained and given the jobs of protecting the Prime Minister during the full moon.

He was soon seen in and he took a seat at the offered seat, before the Prime Minister's desk.

"Good afternoon, Mister Black. Thank you for meeting with me." the man said formally. He had been told that Harry was a bit of a prodigy and that he had a difficult past, which drove him to achieve the successes he had.

"Good afternoon, Mister Minister. It is a pleasure to be here." Harry said politely.

"Please, let's not be too formal." the man said. "For the duration of this visit, I'll be John, and you'll be Harry, if that is okay with you?"

"Of course, John." Harry said. "Though, I do feel strange calling the Prime Minister by his first name. I feel like I should be calling you Sir, at least."

"Like I said, it's just for the duration of this visit." John assured him. He really needed the boy to like him. If he really had space capabilities, the boy was a national treasure. "Can I offer you something to drink?" he asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." Harry declined politely.

"Very well." John said. Then he sat back in his chair. "I believe I have you to thank for the extra security I have around here?" he started.

"The wolves of Marauders Inc. were all brought together by Remus Lupin, who I'm told you know." Harry said. "I may have funded the organization, but he was responsible for staffing it."

"Still, I'm told that without you, the monsters in Lupin Penitentiary would still be on the loose in both the magical and non-magical worlds." John said. "That is no small feat for someone at the age of thirteen. Quite the achievement."

"Once again, Remus Lupin arranged the security forces to start on that action. I was unaware of the fact for months. I don't disagree with the action, though I do wish we had been able to make their incarceration legal before recently." Harry said. "Thank you for putting that together. I have a couple of friends who knew, but couldn't tell their mothers what happened to their fathers and it was breaking my heart to see them torn so."

"Ah, yes, the Greengrass and Parkinson girls." John said. He had been thorough in his questioning of mister Lupin. "As I understand it, they are both vying for your attention, hoping to snag you in marriage?"

"Actually, I intend to marry them both." Harry corrected again. "Them and a few other girls, who I have under my protection.

"That is quite the number of wives." John said. "I struggle with just the one at times. Are you sure you're capable of keeping all that going?"

"I have my doubts, but I also care for them all deeply and I'm hoping the facts that they already know my intentions, and that they are all friends, will help in the long run." Harry said. "It is not my intent to turn them into some sort of baby factory either. This is first and foremost, a method set up to protect them from magicals without the control to keep themselves in line."

"I had heard about the happenings at that school of yours." John said with a nod. "Well done, in putting a stop to that. I don't want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in."

"And what had been happening for years, before I did." Harry said, nodding along. "I couldn't stand the idea, so I set about sharing some of the family magics with the people in charge of protecting them."

"Ah, yes, your family magics." John said. Finally they were getting on subject. The boy was far too modest. It was difficult to compliment him into talking about his own achievements. "I hear I have you to thank for the Comm device. Most ingenious of you. I can only imagine the impact such a device would have in the mundane world. Of course, I also know that that would break your Statute of Secrecy, so you can't bring it to our world, but I can only marvel and hope that the magical world one day decides to come out of hiding."

"You and me both, John." Harry said. "Better than waiting for the mundane world to discover us and then thinking we've been withholding support we may otherwise offer you."

John was shocked by the statement. So far, all he had been hearing was that it was impossible. "So, you don't support the Statute?" he asked.

"No. I do support it, to a degree." Harry corrected. "Back when it was put in place, it protected the magical world. Even now, the magical populace are so far behind the mundane world, they wouldn't know how to switch on a television if you asked them to."

"But you're different." John stated. "You know about science and technology. Your uncle Remus has been singing your praises for your achievements."

"He's a softy when it comes to me." Harry said with a fond smile. "He should know better, but I know he can't help himself." Then Harry sat upright. "I believe you have steered the conversation nicely to the point you were trying to get to, namely my magical technology. Correct?"

"I was told you're sharp." John admitted, also sitting upright. "Very well, then. Let's talk business. What will it take for you to place a few pieces of technology in orbit for us?"

"It will take very little effort for me to do that, but we'd need to protect the Statute still. I'm not ready yet to bring the magical world into the mundane." Harry said. "If the ICW find out I'm doing things that might jeopardise the secret, everyone I care for will be in danger. That will also stop the good Marauders Inc. is attempting to do in the magical and mundane worlds."

"I can understand that and I wouldn't ask you to place yourself in danger." John agreed. "Marauders Inc. is too valuable to myself and the Crown to loose now. Your people have been forthright and vigilant and we've noted many less unexplained phenomena in the last year or so. We'd very much like for that trend to continue. But you have capabilities that we would love to have access to."

"I'll say it right now; I'm not sending people who are not allowed to know about the magical, into space. At best I can suggest that you hire people in the know and have them trained up, if that's what you want. If it's to deploy unmanned satellites, that is more achievable, but you must take into consideration the effect of magic on sensitive equipment. Anything I take will have to be properly insulated and set to deploy on a timer or lever of some sort that is not connected to circuitry."

"You've already considered this?" John asked. "Why?"

"I never planned to stay in the magical world, originally. My first plan was to leave it behind." Harry said. "But then I realised with how powerful I am, magically, and the fact that my girls fully intend on keeping me after graduating, that any chance to leave the magical world behind will become very small if I want to keep them happy. So I started thinking of ways I can be part of both.

"I could invent similar technology in the magical world and try to integrate the two that way. I could forge paperwork and sell my services as a courier for things to be delivered into space, as well. People wouldn't have to find out that their equipment wasn't sent into space on a foreign rocket, since the equipment would end up there anyway. There would be more things to take into consideration, I know, but that was still a few years off, until you called me in."

"So you want the best of both and need to reinvent the wheel every time you see an advancement you want in the magical world?" John asked. "That must become tedious quickly."

"I actually enjoy the challenge." Harry countered. "It keeps me busy. Hogwarts is hardly a challenge for me, so I keep busy by making security systems and recording devices. I use science to update magical theory and make things possible that weren't before. The knowledge of the mundane world keeps on expanding. I can usually take the ideas and make something more advanced than both worlds, by using concepts from them."

"So you're a magical scientist?" John asked. That made sense. What he'd heard so far was always something the mundane world could already do, just better, more efficient. If only the magical world learned to think like this boy.

"I wish I could call myself a scientist, but I haven't earned that." Harry said. "I still want to go to college and university after my magical education is finished, so that I can learn proper science. Not just the things I can learn from books and the scraps of information I can make work. At this point I've only finished my high school education and I've started on some college level science, but progress has been slow. I need a proper education, with lecturers that can correct my understanding."

"What about this?" John asked, after some thought. "What if I put you in contact with people who could help you advance your studies, on my dime, so that you can continue your advancements? You help us with a few contracts, which you are paid for handsomely, and you get to continue your education, with the benefit of educated minds backing you?"

"You could arrange that, without breaking the statute?" Harry asked.

"I am the Prime Minister, Harry." John said with a bit of a smile. "If I saw the need, I could have you declared an adult and placed in a secure facility, where you can spend the rest of your life tinkering to your heart's content. I won't do that, knowing you have other priorities and loved ones, but I could open many doors for you, just to keep your services available to us."

"And all you'd want is a couple of satellites delivered discreetly?" Harry asked.

"Not at all. I'll definitely do as you suggested and start having people in the know trained up to take advantage of your capabilities. I might even encourage some people who know about magic to start spending time with already trained individuals. If we get lucky, they get married down the line and will be eligible to be let in. Who knows, there might already be some people around that fit the bill?

"I'll put out feelers and see what I can come up with. We may even be able to pull off your idea and help you make a profit delivering satellites for communications companies who can't afford it on their own. The profits for that might not be large in the beginning, but they'd be sustainable, and only grow. There are many options and ways for us to profit from a working relationship, all while never overstepping or breaking your laws." John said.

"I can see you are taking this seriously." Harry said. "I wouldn't want to encourage this arrangement if you couldn't protect me and my family, current or future."

"Wouldn't dream of it." John said, seriously. "What do you say, can we work together?"

"Would you be terribly offended if I said that I have to consider it?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't want you to rush your decision." John allowed. "In the meanwhile, I'll set up a proposal and find out how we can best help each other, while keeping your time limitations in mind, of course. Can't have you working so hard that you don't find time to pursue your passions, now can we?"

"I will need time to tackle the werewolf problem first, either way. I want them capable of resisting the change, during full moon." Harry said.

"I won't argue with that. As it is, I feel vulnerable during the full moon without them being a call away, even with the normal magical security. The wolves have advantages they don't." John said. "That Minister of Magic doesn't seem like a trustworthy sort."

"He really isn't." Harry confirmed. "Just act like you hang on his every word, though, and he'll likely leave you alone, or offer to sponsor him in an upcoming election. He would forgive the devil to stay in power and money apparently keeps him in power."

"I'll keep that in mind." John said. Mister Lupin had given him much the same advice. "Okay, then. I think we've covered everything I wanted. Is there anything I can do for you, while you tackle the wolf issue?"

"Actually, if you can get me contact info for someone that is an expert on the Earth and Moon's ionosphere and magnetic fields, that would be amazing." Harry said. "Last full moon, I detected something strange happening on the moon, while I was there looking into it, and I suspect that that's the cause."

"I'll be in contact with that info." John promised. The sooner the kid either succeeded or failed, the sooner they'd be one step closer to securing his support. From the sounds of it, he habitually spent time on the moon already!

Harry was soon seen out of the office and led to a car that was waiting to take him back.

When Harry arrived home, Sirius and Remus were both waiting for him. "Well?" Remus asked.

"John seems like a nice guy." Harry said nonchalantly. "Offered to help me with some information I needed."

"That's it?" Sirius asked. "He didn't want anything else from you?"

"Of course he wanted more." Harry scoffed. "He wants access to me and my inventions. Apparently 'someone' has been going on about what I've been up to."

"You wanted me to give him a Comm." Remus countered. "Of course he was going to ask questions. What does he want specifically?"

"Space." Harry said. "He wants access to space."

"But, you use magic. He can't-" Sirius started.

"He already knows about the limitations." Harry said. "He'll be setting up a proposal, which can profit us and the government. Of course, he isn't going to tell me if it's spy satellites I'll be putting up, or for whom, or how it will be benefiting him in the political arena, but that was what I read between the lines."

"So he intends to use you?" Remus asked with a frown.

"We intend to use each other." Harry corrected. "And I hold the leverage, so he'll be willing to make all kinds of concessions if it comes down to a negotiation. He's already offered to help me with my studies and setting up a couple of jobs to help secure alternate income using the saucer. The first thing he'll likely push for, once he's assembled people who may know about magic and are trained for spaceflight, will be a ship of their own. That will be a hard sell and he'll have to offer us something huge for that."

"Do you intend to give him what he wants?" Remus asked.

"We just have to come up with a way to power and depower the ship and he'll need to rely on us to keep his people in the air. That way he can't ever become independent or try and sneak the ship away. We need to always stay in control of our products, especially with politicians. He doesn't seem like the type, but he also answers to other people." Harry said.

"Good thinking." Remus said, with a thoughtful look. "Maybe some sort of magical fuel? They need to purchase from us, since we make it?"

"That would work. Better than holding a threat over their heads and saying we'll switch the ship off if they displease us." Harry nodded. "Politicians don't react well to threats."

"How are things at school?" Sirius asked, changing the subject. "Have the kids stopped looking at you strangely?"

"Some still do, but my claiming that it wasn't my idea to start the prison seems to have helped." Harry said. "They still wonder why I didn't just stop it, since they believe I'm basically in charge of the company."

"Probably the way you keep on saying, 'my people'." Remus said. "That sort of says that you're in charge. The problem is that magical people don't like the idea that they are being ruled by muggles."

"But they are." Harry said. "Children should know that they live in a monarchy. Fair enough, it's a constitutional monarchy, but still. The majority of the British people are muggles and those muggles elected the man in charge. The Queen is also still the head of state, so one way or another the muggles rule Britain."

"It's not something we can do anything about." Remus said. "They just need time. Once the Comm comes out for the general public, this will soon blow over."

"How is visitation going?" Harry asked, then.

"People have been flocking to Amelia, asking for time with the people in lockup, but we're sticking with visitation limitations." Remus said. "Our negotiations with the goblins, to provide guards have been going well, though, so our security forces will soon become available to continue their work."

"And we're sure that they won't try and deal with the prisoners?" Harry asked.

"The goblins are not a race of thieves. They'd sooner die than turn on a contract." Sirius said. "From their perspective, the prisoners are our possessions. Breaking anyone out would be like stealing from us."

"The fact that we offered to supply them another shipment of security discs and recording crystals helped." Remus said. "They love the recording crystals. They treat them like treasures."

"They are diamonds." Sirius pointed out.

"No, it has something to do with the fact that they are used to store information. Something about the whole idea appeals to the goblins on a cultural level I think." Remus said. "To them, it's like the diamonds are alive because they have a memory."

"Works for us." Harry shrugged. "We'll be informing the DMLE from now on about anyone we capture?" he asked.

"It was what was agreed on." Remus said. "But anyone we capture gets tried by the tribunal. There is no defence, since the men are all dosed and the proceedings are recorded and placed in records in duplicate and a third copy is sent to the DMLE."

"The magical people will realise, at some point, that we are giving them peaceful lives on a silver platter." Sirius said. "That's when they will stop complaining."

"Are we still offering transfers to Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"We're offering them to everyone now." Remus nodded. "We had to do a bit of damage control, after all. But with the confessions and the judgement of the tribunal being declared as final by the Crown, nobody wants to leave, since they know they'll not be receiving another trial and go straight to a prison where they are guarded by Dementors."

"Fudge wanted to send Dementors to our prison, but I suspect that was a ploy to try and get its location from us, or to force us to shut down." Sirius said. "We refused, of course, and Fudge is currently still steaming about that."

"That's because you refused, by transfiguring the proposal document into a steaming pile of shit on the boardroom table." Remus said.

"It was a steaming pile of shit before any magic was applied." Sirius countered. "The document clearly stated that any prisoner kissed would be considered our misconduct. He was likely going to send them with orders to start kissing everyone, starting with the guards."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Harry said. "On the bright side, Madam Bones informs me that crime is down and when they capture anyone they immediately confess to crimes. Apparently the Aurors have gotten it in their heads that they can transfer prisoners to us for trial and they like telling the prisoners that that's what they are planning. A few-year sentence on a confessed crime is better than a lifetime sentence on confessing all your crimes, apparently."

"Oh, Amelia is a woman after my own heart. She probably told the Aurors to do that." Sirius said with a fond smile. "If only she was twenty years younger."

"She's only forty-five, Sirius." Remus reminded him.

"I know." Sirius lamented.

The conversation didn't get any classier after that and Harry soon returned to Hogwarts.