22 Chapter 22 - Lies and their necessity

"Hi Moody." Harry said, as he walked into Moody's office uninvited and quickly countered four spells that were shot at him instantly, from four different locations. "I see you've upped security already." he said, nodding. "Nice."

"Potter." the man said, trying to glare at Harry, but in the end a smirk won out. "I shouldn't be surprised that you knew to expect that. Have you been monitoring my interface?"

"No." Harry said easily, as he went to a chair. He rolled his eyes, cast a spell on the leather chair, and sat down. "Seriously, incarceration magic on a chair. Just how paranoid are you, really?"

"Just paranoid enough to still be alive." Moody countered, as he sat back.

"Fair enough." Harry said. "So, what's so urgent?" he asked.

"I've spoken to Ripclaw, the goblin village-chief." Moody said, getting straight to it. "He doesn't know exactly why, but he understands that we need a tour of Gringotts, for security purposes. That way, we'll be able to narrow the exact vault down, to find that item."

"Nice." Harry said, smiling. "And? Can he arrange it?" he asked.

"Not yet." Moody said. "We first need to have a meeting with a senior manager at the bank. They'll want an iron-clad contract for access to the Mage Isles, first."

"And of course we have our own requirements." Harry said, nodding. "Have you had the time to look through their proposal, yet?" he asked.

"I have." Moody said. "I've seen your additions and added a few of my own. Nice work on that, by the way. I see you caught all of their attempts to create leverage for actual ownership on the Isles."

"I don't mind people owning land, but only if they don't mind that I can simply take it away again, if they become problematic, which we both know nobody would like. I need to keep that leverage." Harry said. "As long as I take their investment and actually pay them back, they'll still make a pretty penny, in the interim."

"Until you take into consideration that they have to pay income taxes, too." Moody said, smirking.

"I only break even on an interest level, though." Harry said. "I'm not fleecing them, but I'm not allowing them to fleece me, either. They'll get back what they put in, but not a knut more than what they work for themselves. They'll already be making money here and they are technically buying participation in the Mage Isles with that investment as it is. From a pure business perspective, they should hope that I never pay them back because it would be more profitable for them in the end, and give them the leverage they think they need, to feel secure in doing business here."

Moody considered that, but in the end, some of the finer details he'd read in the documents went a bit over his head. He got the general scope, though. "Makes sense, I suppose." he said. "Frankly, I think they'll only respect you more if you're able to talk their language: Profit. Being a conniving little shit will probably have them actually liking you, too." he added, with a smirk.

"Well, I do try to understand people." Harry said. "So, do I need to be honest with them, or are we doing this under the table?"

"They will know that we have alternate true motives." Moody said. "As long as we don't actually rob them, they won't care. That being said, I think if we can speak securely, it would likely be for the best to tell at least the Senior Manager what we're really after. They really want in on what we're doing here, so they might be more accommodating if we ask a few concessions."

"Get them to find a loop-hole for us, or something." Harry said, nodding. Then he sighed. "Well, let me see your additions to that document and then I need to put a bit of a show on for Charlie, again."

"Doing another dragonkin, today?" Moody asked, as he pushed a folder across his table to Harry.

"I've put some work into automating things." Harry admitted. "It will speed up as I go, and I'll just tell Charlie that 'Lord Mage' likely wanted me to figure that out for myself."

"Should work." Moody said.

"Why am I seriously doing paperwork?" Harry grumbled, as he stuck the papers into his interface, to go through it more quickly.

"What was that?" Moody asked, frowning.

"One moment." Harry said, holding a finger up as he focussed on the documents and looked through Moody's additions. It took only a few seconds before he pulled the documents out again. "It looks good. Just two spelling errors, was about all." he said. "And I learned that trick from Dumbledore, actually. Apparently, the bane of his existence had become paperwork and handling them in his interface was one of his first applications. I used this to grade your student's homework, too."

Moody grumbled, as he took the folder back.

"Yeah, he didn't tell me for a long time, either." Harry said, chuckling. "Apparently, he actually has a sense of humour. His eyes were twinkling so hard, when he showed me, that I was afraid he might spontaneously combust from suppressed mirth."

"I'm using that from now on." Moody said, as he considered how to do this and finally just pushed the folder into his interface. He quickly scanned the documents, and nodded as he took them out. "That's bloody useful." he said.

"The interface is meant to be." Harry said. He got up then, getting ready to leave. "Oh, I should probably tell you Neville's figured out a more natural form of body-enhancement, rather than my precise control. If you ask him nicely, I bet he'll let you copy his."

"Load-out?" Moody asked, interestedly.

"Speed and strength, as far as I can tell." Harry said. "He did casually mention jumping over walls and he was going fast enough to shatter his kneecap when he misjudged the height. I don't know if he's done something to harden his bones yet, but I'd like him to figure this one out himself if he hasn't. He's slowly coming into the system, so I want to encourage him to think it through, himself."

"Agreed." Moody said, smiling. "That boy's got grit. I wouldn't mind having him in my department when he's ready."

"Talk to him about that." Harry said, not wanting to spoil that surprise. "Okay, I'm off. Do try to give me a bit more detail about meetings in the future, please? You could have just sent me a message, and now that you know about the documents, you can just pass them on to me, through the interface, too."

"No promises." Moody said. "But I will be running documents by you in the future. I'm in the process of setting up the laws and will likely need your input on the wording. That's important when it comes to trials and enforcing the law. The letter and the spirit of the law are difficult to balance."

"Can do." Harry said, as he apparated away.

III-III

Harry appeared on the Dragon Isle with a pop, and Charlie, who was in the process of brushing down a smaller Swedish Short-snout with a large hard brush looked up at the sound.

"Oh, hi!" he called over. "Here for another upgrade?" he asked, as he turned back to the job. He wasn't surprised that Harry could use apparition, and he wouldn't even question it.

"Maybe two." Harry said, with an exasperated sigh. "I think I've figured out how to speed up the process, but need to test it, first."

"Nice!" Charlie congratulated. "Any chance I'll eventually get in on that action?"

"Not my place to say." Harry said. "Did you ask the old man?"

"I've not seen him, since he left me here." Charlie said. "If you see him, can you ask him to pop by? I need more manpower and need permission to bring some people through. There's a bit more work, here, than I can handle on my own."

"Will do." Harry said, as he watched Reina descend down to him. "I'll finish my work here and ask Hedwig to give him a quick message. How's the male doing?"

"He decided to go show off back in Romania, with another female and a few others who wanted to go back for the moment." Charlie said. "Not going to lie, the handlers that side were real happy to see a few come back, already. I think Cragril did that to help keep the peace though. He seems to understand the need to keep a rotation going."

"That's what you named him?" Harry asked, internally kicking himself for forgetting to enforce that the forms needed to revert before they went back. Oh well.

"He chose the name." Charlie said. "I sounded things out, until he found something he liked."

"Nice." Harry said, even as Reina greeted him in her normal way, with a hand on his shoulder, and a tap of her chin on his head. "Hedwig named her, but I suspect she discussed it with her, too."

"I had help, too." Charlie admitted, nodding his head at a perch, where his owl was sitting in a curtained wooden box, with a perch. The dragons steered clear of that box because the owl was a valuable servant to them. They understood that it was very useful creature to have around.

"Hi Reina." Harry said, when the dragon tapped his head with her chin again, but more firmly. Apparently, she was waiting for a greeting. "Sorry. I wasn't ignoring you."

The dragon nodded once, and stepped back, tilting her head, again.

"Yes, I'm here to do another." he said. "Got someone ready for me?" he asked.

Reina, instead of answering, lifted her head and roared, still the same sound as a normal dragon, and then she looked off to the side, to where a small female Welsh Green had looked up. Said dragon quickly stood up and started trotting to them, seemingly excited.

"Oh, it's another female." Harry said, smiling. "Should I expect another bodacious babe?" he asked, jokingly.

Reina cocked her head, again, in question.

Harry indicated her impressive curves.

Reina grinned and nodded, twice.

"You know, if she's young we should leave some space for growth, or she may grow even more curvy than you." Harry pointed out.

Reina actually frowned at that, as Harry made the effort to let her understand.

In short order Harry had scanned the new dragon, and was going through design options again, after Reina had taken a moment to relate some idea to the dragon. This time, he had an easier time because, instead of showing the forms on the interface he was showing it to the new dragon in her own head.

As Harry watched, hundreds of images flashed by, and when they were done, they cycled again, as the dragon inspected everything and made selections. When that was done, Harry started collating her choices into a single image before presenting it to the dragon again. There was an immediate response from the dragon as she made to select the whole image, apparently wanting that one, likely confirming that she liked it.

"Nice." Harry said, as he congratulated himself for speeding things up, again. "Give me a minute, please?" he asked, as he started working on the interface-based transformation program, which he would implant in the dragon along with her new model, and a copy of her current form. That was how this worked, after all. No interface, just a function along with a mental control-mechanism for the new body.

He had an idea about putting together a naming design program too but would need to ask Charlie how he'd gone about naming Cragril. He wanted to know how he'd sounded things out, since apparently that had helped. For now he just finished the program and double-checked everything.

"Okay, so are you ready?" he asked the dragon.

The dragon almost jumped up in excitement, as she stood up again. Harry reached forward and the dragon, having watched as Cragril got his new form, lowered her head so that Harry could touch her there. Harry noted that other dragons were watching too.

Harry concentrated, having spotted as Charlie turned to watch, but continuing anyway. The program was soon in the dragon's head and connected to her own magic. That was a bit of a relief to Harry. The dragons were magical creatures, but they also had magical reserves, which he could tap for this magic.

When he was done, Harry took a step back. "Okay Reina, if you would?" he asked.

Reina, having helped Cragril with his first transformation, stepped to the dragon and made eye-contact, before sounding a few grunts and making subtle movements of her body. It wasn't speech perse, but apparently it got the idea through because the dragon took a deep breath before sighing out, almost like she intended to breathe fire, and slowly shrank into the form of a less curvy but more athletically built, and still attractive, mostly humanoid younger woman, with a light-green tint to her dark skin, green scales that emulated dressing her and markings on her face which extended to her prominent curvy green horns. She had pitch-black hair, much like Reina, but hers had soft curls instead of being straight. Her large green wings unfurled, for a moment, before curling back up behind her back, as she rolled her shoulders.

"Nice!" Harry said. "Well done!"

The dark-greenish woman seemed to bare her teeth at Harry, but he understood that she was trying to smile, like Reina did sometimes. She had sharper teeth, too, much like Reina and Cragril. Harry suspected that that would be universal. They were still dragons, after all.

"Okay then." Harry said, smiling. "I think I can do a few more, today. Reina, could you please get me the next one, so long?"

Reina apparently hadn't considered that, as she looked around, apparently in thought, before she looked at Charlie. Then, she lifted up her hand, and made a very familiar motion with her hand.

"She wants to go to Romania, doesn't she?" Charlie asked, having recognized the motion, as the one he made to open the portal.

"Apparently." Harry said, nodding. "I think she's got an order figured out, but the one she wants to be next, isn't here, right now."

Charlie had had that same thought. "Okay, then." he agreed, as he patted the Short-snout, having finished with it. "Come on, Reina." he called. "I'll go with you."

Reina walked directly to the correct location, and through the portal, as Charlie called it up. He then followed her through, and the door vanished.

Harry took a moment, then, to speak to the hat.

When Reina returned, through a bigger door, with two other dragons and Cragril, he realised that she'd decided to bring more, just in case there was time for it. Cragril went directly to the new dragonkin, to inspect her. The door closed, though, and Charlie had not come through. He realised that the man might just need to speak to someone, or had decided to go pick some items up, or maybe speak to a colleague.

Still, he needed to be sure. He sent a quick message to Moody, informing him of the situation, and asking him to go check up on him, just in case, with a programmed exit to the Romanian interface, and went back to his job. He would not put it past the ministry, or someone, to kidnap Charlie.

It was only two minutes later, when Moody sent an all-clear. Charlie was just speaking to his boss about planning for a few handlers to come through, soon. Harry sent the man a thank you and continued.

By the time Harry was done with three more dragons and had decided that he was done for the day, he conjured a comfy chair, and closed his eyes, to read for a bit, while he waited. The hat had already confirmed that he would be stopping by, and that he'd 'get into character', so long.

Charlie was gone for another hour, before he finally returned. "Hi, sorry for the wait. The boss wanted some details about what's going on here. He was very interested in Cragril, and how the change affected the dragons. You know, eating and sleeping habits, and what I know about the transformation. He's apparently putting together an information packet, and a list of questions, so that we can update this new dragon lore."

"Cool." Harry said.

"How did you come up with the idea?" Charlie asked. "I hope you don't mind, but I did tell him that you apparently handled the first transformation, under orders from Lord Mage."

"It's pretty accurate." Harry said, shrugging. "And I got the idea from a muggle game, actually. In the game, ancient dragons could turn into humans at will, and sometimes they slept with humans or other races, which got half-dragon offspring, who looked pretty much like what I make the dragonkin look like. Thus, dragonkin."

"Muggle game?" Charlie asked, slightly shocked.

"Oh, you will not believe how much fun that game is." Harry enthused. "I play it with a few friends, on weekends. There's books with very nice pictures and all sorts of fantasy creatures, and you fight monsters and all sorts of fun things, with missions and day-to-day things, and levelling up and using strange magics."

Charlie needed a moment to internalise that. "Could you show me, sometime?" he asked. "I mean, if you're basing your dragonkin off of it, I think it might be useful to see the books."

"Sure thing." Harry said. "I'll get you a copy of a full set. They're not that expensive."

"Thanks." Charlie said, smiling, before he looked the new converts over. "So, you got to four, already?" he asked. He realised that he recognized them, too. Something about their horns and tails made it easier for him to know who which dragon was.

"The new process worked." Harry said, nodding. "I'll work on getting it to go even faster, next time. There's still a bit I could do to get faster results."

Charlie smiled at that, even as he shook his head. "Pretty soon, you'll just click your fingers, and things will happen." he said, with a smirk.

"I'm not the old man." Harry said, realising to what he was referring. "My process will always require some back and forth of dialogue."

"You do realise that for the process to take the dragon's wants and needs into consideration, that that will always be a requirement, yes?" a voice said, as Lord Mage, himself, seemed to just slip into being, an application of Harry's invisibility having made it look like the fabric of reality had just bent to allow him to just be there.

"Hey." Harry said, casually, almost dismissively, apparently poking the bear.

The man just narrowed his eyes at Harry for a moment, before he turned to Charlie. "Mister Weasley. I hear you have a few requests for me." he said.

"Lord Mage." Charlie said, more respectfully. "I do have a request or two, yes." he agreed.

"Proceed then." the dark man said, simply.

"Thank you for your time." Charlie said, first. "Firstly, I have a matter of actual need to address. I am really grateful and flattered that you trust me with the upkeep of the dragons of the Dragon Isle, but I'm sorry to say, I don't have enough time, nor enough hands, to be able to do everything that needs doing. Some of these dragons need more specialised treatment, for one, and for that, I'll need more experienced hands.

"Then, there's the fact that I'm the only human on the island, that actually does things, like feed them and monitor their health and moods. Those are vital, to ensure that they don't start acting out and becoming overly aggressive. Dragons don't normally live in such close proximity, to other groups, so we need to ensure they don't become territorial, and for that, I need more people."

The man seemed to consider that, before nodding. "I can accept that. How many do you require?" he asked. "And please do note, that the more converts there are, the less issues you are likely to have, and the more hands you have to help, too. These creatures are not stupid and know that you are here to help them. Chances are, with time, you could get them to help each-other, too, since part of the boy's transformation magic does impart a grain of human understanding."

"It… does?" Charlie asked, looking at Harry.

Harry shrugged. "It's part of how they use their bodies." he said. "They aren't in their natural forms, after all. I just added a little something to the process that handles that, which imparts some extra things to them. It's not really their minds that are altered, but a magical form of understanding."

"Okay." Charlie said, thinking that that made sense, actually.

"Numbers, Mister Weasley." the man reminded him.

"Oh, right." Charlie said. "I'm thinking, twelve, for now?" he asked, hopefully. That was half of the normal active staff for one shift.

"Granted." the man said, waving his hand at Charlie. "Choose your fellows carefully, though." he added.

Charlie nodded, understanding.

"There was something else?" the man asked, then.

"Ah. Erm…" Charlie trailed off. "It's more of a personal request, or two."

The man said nothing, just blinking and waiting.

"Harry, erm, Mister Potter suggested that it may eventually be possible for me to turn into a dragon, if I somehow earned it?" he said.

"Would this allow you to perform your duties more efficiently?" the man asked. "How will I gain, from allowing him to give you such a power, even if it will be an imperfect form?"

Charlie frowned. "Imperfect?" he asked.

The man sighed. "Human to beast transformation that is not natural, does not convey the instincts and natural control such a beast has." he said. "You would be a baby, in adult form, learning to walk, and eat, and, if you are dedicated, to fly. It is possible, but there is no way around learning that yourself."

"Oh." Harry said, frowning. "I didn't think of that." he lied.

"Obviously." the man said. "Perhaps you should refrain from making such suggestions, before speaking to me in the future?"

Harry nodded, in acceptance.

"But, what about the way the dragons function?" Charlie tried, truly disappointed that it seems that that would not be happening.

The man sighed, before looking at Harry, expectantly.

"I can give the magic the understanding of how to use a human body, because I am a human." Harry said. "I don't have wings, so I don't know how they work, so I can't put that in the magic. I can give you the body and the function, but there is no shortcut for you to learn the use of said body."

Charlie nodded again. It seems Harry really was a genius, as he'd heard. He wouldn't even know how to start on something as complicated as what Harry had done already. Even if he had access to this man's magic, as Harry seemed to, there was obviously also a reason why he was given that opportunity. "Thank you for explaining it, to me." he said, dejectedly.

"I did not say that he is not allowed to try." the man said. "But I would require something from you, in return."

Charlie's eyes shot up, and he looked at the man. "What do you want?" he asked, instantly.

"When you learn the control that you will need to, you will allow Mister Potter, or myself, to learn from your skills, so that we may enhance Mister Potter's education, through use and application of what you've learned, for future projects and applications." the man said. "That would mean that we'd have to take many readings on how your mind interacts with the body and learns control."

"I'll do it." Charlie said, instantly, again.

The man looked at him, for a moment, before nodding. "Very well. Was there anything else?" he asked.

Charlie seemed to have completely forgotten what he wanted to ask, though. His heart was racing, and he couldn't keep the excitement from making him breathe more quickly.

"He wants to be able to help the dragons transform." Harry said.

"Hmm." the man said. "No. That would require a more intimate connection to a grant from me, and I'm afraid that he does not possess the qualities that I require."

Charlie wasn't disappointed about that one, nodding and accepting it.

"I will likely set all this up on an enchantment, at some point." Harry said. "I say let him use that. When more dragons come here, I'll need the help."

"Wait." Charlie said. "Is that even possible?" he asked.

"I was not aware that your studies had progressed that far." the man said, looking at Harry, in genuine curiosity, as Gryff wondered when Harry had planned on telling him about that.

"I told you that I'm a quick study." Harry said. "Didn't you say that that's why you wanted me in the first place?"

"Hmm." the man hummed. "Perhaps. Still, I feel you can do better, before enchanting such an artifact. And even if you did, I'd require that you bring it to me first, so that I can inspect it, and confirm the functionality."

Harry rolled his eyes at the man. "I know what I'm doing, old man." he said.

"Harry." Charlie said, in a warning tone.

"You try my patience, again, boy." the man said, sternly.

"Oh, you love it when I challenge you, and you know it." Harry said, stubbornly. "About as much as you love to summon me, before I've been able to finish breakfast, without so much as a word. I was talking to my professor this morning, in the great hall, when you yanked me into that bloody door again."

The man actually smirked, for a moment, before he simply turned, and reality bent around him again, making him vanish without a sound.

Charlie looked at the spot, for a moment, before he looked back at Harry. "Do you think it's a good idea to do that?" he asked. He'd seen the smirk, but he was just worried that Harry would go too far, one day.

"Yes." Harry said, simply. "He likes fairness, and he likes to mess with me. Turn around is fair play."

The next moment, a door appeared, and Harry was pulled towards it, but apparently he was prepared this time, as he pointed his wand away from the door and suddenly stopped, falling to his feet. "Hah! Told you that I'd-" he started, just before a new door opened under him, and he fell through it, the door disappearing instantly.

Charlie could not help the smile on his face, just then. It really seemed that Harry understood the old man.

Then, the smile grew, as he remembered that he may one day become an actual dragon. He was suddenly so excited that he thought that he might just burst. Balling his fists, his arms shook, as he stopped himself from yelling his joy into the sky. The dragons didn't like sudden noises like that, so he needed to keep himself in check. Still, he was suddenly very motivated.

Turning, he looked for Reina and Cragril, who were apparently still watching him. There was something strange in how they sometimes just stood and watched people like that. It was like they were studying him.

"I'm going back to Romania, for a bit." Charlie said, making the hand motion, but not focussing on producing the door. Reina seemed to understand, though, and nodded, once. Then she elbowed Cragril and indicated with her head at where the door normally appeared, which apparently was enough, for him to understand.

He looked at Charlie, and copied Reina, in nodding at him once. Then, he opened his mouth, and a low rumble came out. The two others that had come with him, now in dragonkin form, instantly moved to come to him, and when Charlie went to open the door, they followed.

Reina, on the other hand, stayed behind. She was still caring for her young, and they were in a fun part of growing up, as they explored and discovered the world. They were still dragons, but Harry and Hedwig had explained that they were too young to be dragonkin. Her servant's owl had not explained why, but she understood that it was dangerous, so she had accepted it. She'd had opportunity to see infant humans, so she knew they'd be quite helpless if they were forced into such bodies. She flew back up to her cave and went back to watching the little ones play and learn.

III-III

Harry made it look like he was dropped unceremoniously in the great hall, back where he had been taken from. As it should so happen, it was lunch, now, and all the students looked up, as the door vanished, and Harry picked himself up off the floor, before dusting himself off.

"Bloody ungrateful." Harry mumbled, as he looked up, and ignored all the staring people, as he returned to his seat, which apparently was his again, because there was a spot open next to Hermione.

"Did they have a lot for you to do, today?" Hermione asked, seemingly un-shocked at the abrupt appearance. She was acting like she'd seen it before, at least.

"Not too much, really." Harry said. "Did a bit of the same thing as last time."

"Right." Hermione said. "Did you get a chance to ask the questions I had?" she asked. She'd adlibbed that part, because she wanted to, and knew Harry would appreciate her acting stealthily tricky.

"I didn't really get time." Harry said. "He just dropped me there and disappeared. He did come back, to have a chat with Charlie, though." Harry said, before he looked over at Ron. "Your brother is making work for me, just so you know. Next time you see him, don't be shocked if he refuses to talk about what he's learned at the job, recently."

"Charlie?" Ron asked, with a mouth full of food, but actually putting his hand before said mouth, so that he didn't bother people with what was in there. That had taken some time to teach him, but it was at least slightly better than it used to be.

"He's sort of in contact with my teacher, these days." Harry said, as he took a couple of slices of bread, and built himself a large sandwich. "Apparently they remembered me mentioning him, and decided to use him for something."

"What?" Ron asked, frowning.

Harry just shrugged, and bit into his now completed sandwich.

That was when the questions started, from the other students. Obviously they were curious. A few looked disgruntled, when he refused to answer more than the basics. He was learning from a very knowledgeable person, about secret things, connected to a grant. That would be the story, at the end of the day.

"Why you?" an unhappy seventh-year Ravenclaw boy asked.

"I don't know." Harry said. "Something to do with rare potential, or some such. I personally think they just wanted me to take responsibility of chores that they didn't want to do themselves."

"That's all he's been doing, since being contacted." Hermione decided to say. "Harry doesn't so much learn from them, as do work for them."

"It's so frustrating!" Harry exclaimed. "I don't even get time to study, anymore!"

That was apparently the right thing to say, because the Ravenclaw seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Can you do that door portal, thing?" Ginny asked, from a few seats over.

"Not completely." Harry admitted. "I'm learning, though." he added, as he made it look like he was concentrating hard, before using his wand to produce the same door. There was no destination, though. It was just an interface that looked like a normal teleportation portal.

There were stunned faces on some faces at that.

"Mister Potter." Dumbledore said, sternly. "I'd prefer if you didn't do that here." he added.

"It doesn't matter." Harry said, as he got up, and walked through the door, coming out the other end of the interface. "It doesn't work yet. I'm trying to figure out how the destination works, but I keep on being interrupted in my studies."

Dumbledore seemed to contemplate that, before finally nodding. "Please do let me know when you have it working? I might find something like that useful, myself."

"Can't." Harry said. "Grant." he added, with a shrug, as the door fizzled out and disappeared.

"Very well." Dumbledore said, sighing. Internally, he was quite enjoying the subterfuge. It was to protect Harry, after all. He saw it as necessary, and would have encouraged Harry to do this anyway, had it been his idea. "As you were, students. Allow Mister Potter to have his lunch. He wasn't allowed to finish his breakfast this morning, after all."

The students fortunately settled down, after that, and Harry actually appreciated Dumbledore stepping in. Fortunately, they'd now put the idea that Harry couldn't talk about what he did for his mysterious teacher, in their heads. This way, he could just start ignoring questions, because people would just assume that whatever he did was protected information.

"So, how's your day going?" Harry asked Hermione and Neville.

"I've been working on my own projects, during class, considering I'm basically done with everything taught in class." Hermione said.

"I'm just finished with this year, but I'm enjoying helping others with what I know, so I still go to class." Neville said. "When I have free time, I'm putting some thought into that project I told you about." he added.

"Just be careful." Harry said. "And remember to go visit Aunty Poppy. She'll want to give you a bit of advice on what you're doing."

"What are you working on?" Ginny asked Neville. She'd finally given up on Harry, considering everyone knew he fancied Hermione, and that she liked him back. Neville was looking much better to her these days. He'd lost some weight, but then started getting bigger, again, but in a very attractive way. He actually had a few girls' attention, these days.

"I've been…" Neville started but trailed off. He didn't know what he should be saying.

"I've been teaching them some things, with my teacher's permission." Harry said. "Apparently it helps me learn, when I teach."

"Could you teach more people?" Ginny asked.

"Sorry." Harry said. "I only have permission for these two."

"What about me?" a new voice asked, as Malfoy showed up. "Can't leave your ex-lab partner out of all the fun, can you?" he asked, smirking.

"I actually think that you'd be a good candidate, but I'd have to ask, first." Harry said. "Sorry." he added.

Draco sighed, disappointedly. He'd had fun during Moody's classes. Well, after he got used to it. He'd also gotten closer to this group. He also realised that Harry was likely lying, to some degree. He'd seen enough to know that Harry had some secrets of his own. He suspected that he had his own claim, not that he'd shared that theory with anyone, especially his father. He just knew his father would start scheming, but he could still use Harry, and a small part of himself admitted that he actually liked him and respected his combat and leadership skills.

He'd hoped that he could join them more often. Fortunately, it was not an outright refusal. "Please do ask?" he requested. "I think you've taught me a lot over the last four years, and I'd like to continue our partnership."

"Likewise." Harry said. He chuckled then. "Who'd have guessed it, right? A slimy Slytherin and a brainless Gryffindor can actually find common ground."

"You're hardly brainless." Draco said. "You also have quite the tactful mind. Personally, I think you'd have done well in Slytherin."

"The Sorting Hat told me that that was an option for me. That and Ravenclaw." Harry said, nodding. "In the end, I think it put me in Gryffindor, because my parents both went there, and I was a rather lonely first-year. I think Slytherin would have eaten me up, and spit me out, back then."

Draco didn't seem completely convinced, but he finally nodded. "I can accept that. Probably protection for you, too, with so many of the Dark Lord's followers' children being in Slytherin. It would just be safer for you, away from such influences."

"I hadn't even considered that." Harry said, smirking at the boy.

Draco rolled his eyes, and turned. "Well, I'm off to class. I actually have to attend those, if you'll recall."

"How unfortunate." Harry said, sarcastically.

When he was gone, Hermione leaned closer and whispered. "You're not actually considering giving him access, are you?" she asked.

"I've got an idea for limitations, for him." Harry said. "It just makes sense, and since he'd need to know where it comes from, if he got it like you did, it would give too much away, otherwise."

Hermione considered that. Draco wasn't necessarily the nicest boy, but he had obviously put some effort into not looking down on half-bloods and muggleborns. At least, in public. He also seemed to really respect Harry, especially after their time training with Moody, and he'd started learning to work well in a team, with them. He did sometimes come up with interesting and imaginative ways to overcome obstacles, too.

"Fine." Hermione said. It was Harry's magic to grant to people.

After that, Harry returned to 'his studies', which basically meant that he left to the Isles, again. If anyone needed him, they'd be able to get in contact. He was still working on expanding the Dragon Isle, so that there would not only be places for them to stay, but also some activities for them. Currently, he was setting up a dragon arena, with a few of his first real automatons. They were large golem-like constructs, which were primarily made of volcanic rock.

The golems would be a vent for the dragons to focus their ferocity on. Any anger or built-up stresses could be expelled on the arena floor. A big part of that project was that Harry was making them in a special way. They weren't so much magical themselves, as they were constructs that were made by the arena itself, with a program running the whole thing, and taking power from a central location. A dragon who wished to fight a stronger opponent, could use their magical fire-breath, to charge a certain amount of magic into a new construct, which would then become more durable, and strong, depending on how much power was used.

There was also an obstacle-course, with a magically created flying item, which would fly randomly through large, tall outcroppings, and a dragon could chase said item, which looked like a large snitch. This would be useful in flight, for the dragons to play a game in the air as well. The fact that they could only play it in their dragonkin form, meant that they'd learn more control, in their humanoid bodies, too.

He was still working on a way to make it so that multiple dragons could be having fun on this, without getting in each-other's way. He didn't doubt that if he didn't take that into consideration, that some dragons would end up hurting each-other. He'd likely be at it for a week longer, before that was actually done.

III-III

Only two days later, Harry needed to be somewhere again, because Moody had arranged a meeting between the Goblin King, rather than just a bank manager, and Lord Mage of the Mage Isles, on the Mage Isles. The goblins had tried to arrange the meeting in Goblin territory, but Moody insisted that they do it on the Mage Isles, for security purposes.

He was waiting, in disguise, as the man that would publicly be the Lord of the Isles. So, he looked like the hat had, obviously. Fawkes had even offered to join, in his female black Phoenix guise.

To ensure the man gave the right impression, Harry had raised a small island, and built a fortress on top of it. He'd scoured sources, and included everything he could find, and everything he could think of, from tall towers to dungeons in the depths of the fortress. The place had two separate ball rooms, a large dining hall, a library, kitchens, places for servants and royal guards to live, the equivalent of arrow towers, which for a magical basically meant crenelations and narrow openings from which to cast spells, with a few magical twists and extra protections, and even a throne room.

His favourite addition, however, was a large hidden workshop. He'd intended to put more effort into that than he'd put into the throne room, just because he intended to actually spend time there. Dumbledore had told him that there was a Potter Mansion, and that he had a library of books too, which Harry intended to move to the Mage Isles, at some point, as well.

The place was simple to make, once he'd designed a system to transfigure what he'd imagined, over time, with an interface board that stayed in place, with its own power-source. It was just an extension of what he'd done to form the isles of the Mage Isles. A great thing about that addition, was that if anyone ever did damage the fortress, he could simply activate the interface again, and it would restore what the building should look like. The best thing, however, was that he could access the interface remotely, and simply remodel things, as necessary. He didn't even need to be there.

When Moody arrived with the Goblin King, and an entourage of armed and armoured goblin guard, Harry, as Lord Mage, was in his throne room, but standing by a balcony, which he'd set up to show all the islands from above, through large, stationary, visible interfaces.

"Lord Mage." Moody's voice got his attention, as they trooped in.

Harry looked around, and saw that Reina and Cragril had joined them, for whatever reason.

The goblin king was a large male, in finely crafted armour, with golden runes and decorations. He had scars and weapons, and he looked like a warrior, more than a monarch. That got Harry's attention, though, because it didn't make sense. No king would make himself such a blatant target, even if they were a warrior race. Well, he supposed that Goblin culture could be like that, but he also knew that they valued intelligence, and this goblin looked like he lacked something ineffable. He looked the goblins over, and his interface identified both the large male, and a smaller one of the guard, as lying.

He'd smirk, if he wasn't keeping his image of cool and calm. He walked up to the gilded warrior and held out a hand. "Good day, I am the Lord of these lands. My name, as you know, is not something I intend to mention, because it has long since been forgotten, and holds no weight in this world, anymore." he greeted, in the voice of Lord Mage.

"Lord Mage." the 'king' said. "It is good to meet you." he said in a monotone voice. "I am King of the goblins. Ragnok." he returned.

"Pleasure." Harry said. Then he turned to Reina and nodded. "Reina, it is good to see you again. Alastor, Cragril. Thank you for joining us today."

The dragonkin woman seemed to cock her head slightly to the side, but besides that she didn't approach, in her customary greeting. No doubt she could smell that it was Harry, but Hedwig had probably already relayed the events that would follow to her, and she knew not to greet him familiarly.

"Lord Mage." Moody said, again, nodding. "I see you've finally gotten to building your castle." he noted.

"It's a little bare, at the moment, I admit." Harry said. "I just wanted a bit of familiarity, after all the work I've done here. I dare say, if I wanted this fortress to resemble the home I once had, I'd need to spend years on the enchantments, and would likely need to recruit many people to run this place."

"You made this fortress… recently?" the goblin 'king' asked.

"Raised the island yesterday and built the fortress, today." Harry said. "You can therefore understand why I have not had time to construct my diamond warriors, nor bind a few spirits to start maintenance."

"Understandable." Moody said, like that made sense.

"Diamond warriors?" the goblin asked.

"I believe the term for them would be automaton, today." Harry said. "I do bind them differently than the magicals and goblins used to, but they were once my most powerful guards. Loyal to a fault, and incapable of being deceived."

"Golems and automatons have been outlawed." the goblin said.

"Oh?" Harry asked. "Even here, on the Mage Isles?" he asked.

The goblin seemed to consider that. They knew that the Mage Isles were meant to be a hidden cluster of islands, which nobody could enter without the Lord Mage's permission. He had apparently established them, specifically for the establishment of a free nation for sentient beings, where all would be considered as equals. Deciding to answer, the real king used his legilimency to send his words to his cousin, the one standing in for him.

"I don't think I understand." the goblin said. "Are you claiming that no laws of the wizarding world are upheld, here?"

"Some." Harry allowed. "The fair ones, at least. Don't kill, don't steal, don't inconvenience others, for your own gain. Basically, don't be selfish and don't do what you instinctively know is wrong."

"Different peoples have different instincts." the goblin said, after a pause.

"Oh?" Harry asked. "So, you would do to another, as you wouldn't want done to you?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

The goblin seemed to like that response. "Life is equal." he said, then.

"To a degree." Harry said. "I'm not going to cry over the cow, when I eat a steak."

The goblin grinned at that. "Indeed." he said.

"Shall we start our discussion in the conference room?" Harry asked, then, as he indicated to the side.

The goblin nodded, and the guard started readying to lead the way.

"I would request that it's only me and you, Lord Ragnok." Harry said. "What I wish to discuss, cannot be shared with anyone, besides you."

"My guard goes with me." the goblin said.

"Do you not trust that I've supplied enough security?" Harry asked.

"Your fortress is hardly secure, without guards or defences." the goblin replied.

Harry chuckled. "You do realise that you were brought here by a Master Auror, and two dragons, yes?" he asked.

The goblin looked at the strange woman and man. "Dragons?" he asked.

"If you would, Reina?" Harry asked, hoping she understood.

Reina, without needing more encouragement, stepped back a few feet, before she took a deep breath, and growled out, as her form shifted, quickly, into that of a large Hungarian Horntail.

The goblins seemed to panic, as they pointed their weapons at the dragon, the 'king' pulling his own weapon, and the one who Harry suspected of being the real king being pulled behind the line subtly.

Harry walked up to the large dragon, and her head came down, so that Harry could put a hand on her neck, quite calmly. "She is not a threat, I assure you. She's just a little protective of me, since I gave her the ability to take a dragonkin form."

The goblins looked between the Lord Mage and the dragon, and then at the other strange man, before turning to Moody. "Did you lie to us?" the goblin asked. "This is an ambush?"

Moody snorted, amused. "No." he said. "The offer is genuine, but you lot have been trying to make this difficult for us. We're done begging to help you. Start dealing openly, or we will withdraw the offer, and you can go on your way." His face hardened. "As it is, you haven't been inducted into the forbiddance, so the reason we have Reina and Cragril here, is because you are technically a threat to the people of the Mage Isles."

The goblins looked uncertain, until the dragon apparently felt she'd made her point, and sighed, turning back into her humanoid form.

"Can we discuss things in private, peacefully, now that you know that I have ensured your safety, and my own?" Harry asked.

The goblin finally stashed his weapon, before he considered the dark man. Frankly, he was impressed. It was a show of force, but it wasn't one that had cost either of them. "I'll need one of my guards, at least." he finally said.

Harry cocked his head to the side. "Does this have to do with the subterfuge you are attempting?" he asked. "Because I assure you, I will be blocking any form of the mind arts in the conference room, and we'll both be swearing binding oaths, to protect our shared secrets."

There was silence, for a moment. "What are you talking about?" the goblin asked.

"I'm talking about the fact that you are a figurehead." Harry said. Then he looked at the other goblin. "And that you are the real king."

Moody's face sported a grin. He'd noticed it, too, but had wondered if Harry would.

The guards suddenly moved to surround their properly identified king, and pointed their weapons, again.

Then, they waited.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Moody said. "Should I just knock the rest out, so that we can get this over with? I've got to get back to the island. I've got leprechauns waiting for contact, who want to make the move."

"Oh." Harry said, smiling. "That's good to hear."

"I've got that exploratory contingent of dwarves, next week." Moody said, easily. "The fairies want to meet, by the way. Apparently, there's more who want to come join, especially after they heard that you gave them their own forest on the main island."

Harry just nodded his head, having suspected that there would be more of them. A hundred, on the dot, didn't make sense to him.

"Enough." a deep voice said, then, as the real goblin king pushed his way through his guards, cancelling the items that made him look insignificant. Suddenly, he looked much like his body-double. It was their form of a muggle-repelling charm, but just for use on wizards. "How did you know?" he asked.

"I just did." Harry said. "Are you willing to talk, then?" he asked.

"If I didn't have magic to tell me that you two weren't lying, I'd be taking the offer to leave, immediately." the goblin king admitted. "For that reason, I now address you as an equal, without guile. Let us speak, so that you can show me what you really look like."

Harry smiled at the goblin. "It seems we both have the measure of the other." he said, nodding, in respect. "Thank you for not demanding that I reveal myself, in front of others."

The goblin only grunted, before he turned, and walked to the conference room, with his guard seemingly understanding that they were to remain behind with the Auror and Dragons. Harry followed, and entered, before closing the door. When he looked back at the goblin, he was scowling at him.

"Could we please first promise to keep what I am about to show you, between the two of us?" Harry asked. "More than my own life and secrets are at risk." he added.

The goblin seemed to understand that, and drew a dagger, which he used to make a small cut on his hand, and let the blood drip on the floor. "I swear to abide by whatever binding you are willing to put on yourself, as long as it is in both our interests, and without deceit."

"Blood magic?" Harry asked, as he walked forward, and made his hand bleed, through his system, allowing the blood to fall on the goblin's. "I bind myself in friendship, and secrecy, to protect the goblin nation, as they protect me, and mine." he said, as Gryff fed him the words, as he often did.

There was a dark red flash of magic, and Harry could feel something settle on him.

The goblin seemed satisfied with that and put his dagger away. "Now, tell me child, what secrets are you hiding?" he asked, grinning a sharp-toothed smile, as he went to take a seat at the table.

Harry didn't know how he knew that, but suspected it was goblin magic, or perhaps something to do with the blood magic. Shrugging, he allowed himself to revert, as he took a seat.

"Harry Potter?" the goblin asked.

"Hi." Harry said.

"You're the Lord Mage of the Mage Isles?" he asked. "Huh." he said.

"There is a reason for the subterfuge." Harry assured the king.

"Claimed magic." the goblin said, nodding. "I've heard of similar strategies in the past. It is a good step to take, to protect your interests, much like I did, earlier." he allowed, thinking he now understood how the boy had jumped to that conclusion, before sitting back. "So, am I to believe that you really have created this place, as a refuge and home for magical creatures?" he asked.

"I did." Harry said, nodding.

"And you can raise lands as you see fit?" Ragnok asked.

"I can." Harry said. "It only takes time and power."

"How much warded space do you have?" he asked.

"About forty-thousand square kilometres of ocean." Harry said. "And I've scouted more places where I can easily make and ward more. I just need to hide the ocean I use, first. We're not limited in expansion possibilities." he assured him.

The goblin's eyes widened at that. "How can you protect such vast spaces?" he asked.

"The self-same claimed magic." Harry said. "I use the magic, to do things slowly, lowering the cost and allowing me to do many things, that were before unachievable."

The goblin considered that for a moment. "So, you really are king, here?" he asked. "You made the land, protected it, and set it up so that people can come and go using your magic, and only with your approval, and then you can assure security and secrecy. I'm assuming you've been applying the Fidelius?" he asked.

"Yes, and yes, though I should say, I never asked to be a king." Harry said. "That was just what the magical creatures started calling me. I realised that they were basically asking for my protection, in doing so though, so I accepted it."

The goblin nodded. "That makes sense. It also makes you a true king. You set the law, enforce it, protect your people, and offer them opportunities to have fuller lives."

"About." Harry said, nodding.

The goblin grinned then. "I believe we can do business, then, Lord Mage of the Mage Isles." he said, getting up, and offering his hand, to shake.