N: Welcome to the next chapter, guys. I hope you enjoy the story so far. The next chapter will be all about the tournament and his first interaction with Fleur. Anyone else excited?
Enjoy!
Chapter 17
June 15th, 1993
Dear Mr. Potter,
Once again, I must admit that you are a surprising individual, certainly unlike anything the wizarding world might have expected from the Boy-Who-Lived.
I am well connected to some of Hogwarts's Governors and besides telling me some interesting tales about you, they also added credibility to the grades you claimed to have achieved.
As we actually do need a helping hand this summer, my Business Partner and I decided to give you a chance and invite you to a, as you called it 'Job Interview', if you may.
You shall meet us at our shop in Knockturn Alley tomorrow at 11 am.
In high hopes of a successful working relationship,
Borgin & Burke
Harry refolded the letter and stored it in his trunk. The reply came only two days after he had sent his own letter. This was a great opportunity for him.
Besides earning some small pocket money, Harry might be able to make some good connections, learn more about the wizarding world, and perhaps discover some treasures like the Parselmagic book, which he had finally been able to understand.
The other letter was from Hogwarts. The parchment described the new electives, second-years may choose, and for what career paths they might be useful for. Harry had decided a long time ago which classes he wanted to take.
Ancient Runes was a must-have:
With the rituals and his entire wand covered in Runes, the branch of magic was already a deeply embedded part of his life. It only made sense to take Runes to get an even better understanding of the magic.
The next logical choice was Arithmancy. Due to the numbers and charts, it might look complicated at first glance, however, it might just be one of the most useful branches of magic if you have potential, such as Harry.
Besides playing a large part in his rituals, Arithmancy could be used for spell creation. Something that Harry became familiar with, after reading about a spell Herpo the Foul had created and described in his book.
"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. I have encountered them on several occasions and found myself self-forced to retreat every single time. So far, the only method of defending against them is the Patronus charm.
Unfortunately, a corporeal Patronus is not something I am any longer capable of. I sacrificed being able to perform such feats of magic for certain other abilities I am much more drawn to. However, there is another charm that is not only able to repel a dementor but deals physical damage or even kills it. Fiendfyre, the Demon's Fire, has enormous destructive capabilities and destroys everything in its path. Not even my glories creation could withhold its devastating power.
However, Fiendfyre is incredibly hard to cast and even more difficult to control and tame. Only the greatest sorcerers could ever hope to achieve it. Therefore, I began thinking. Why not take the best of both worlds and combine them? The Fiendfyre's potential to destroy dementors with the efficiency of the Patronus Charm. I studied both charms for years trying to combine their properties when I finally managed it.
A spell of my creation. I call it the Inimicus. The common tongue would call it 'The Attacker'. Similar to the Patronus it takes the shape of an animal the caster may identify with. In my case, a serpent. However, unlike the Patronus, it is not a bright white light, but a dark blackish flame. Due to the inherent nature and the origins of Fiendfyre, it is also a lot more volatile. In extreme situations, it may even turn its aggressions against humans or the caster himself. That is the price, for it possesses the same destructive capabilities to a Dementor as pure Fiendfyre itself.
Whereas the Patronus requires a positive memory to replicate the feelings of joy, happiness, and love, my Inimicus requires the opposite, similar to its destructive brother spell. The caster must feel the hate flow through his entire body and must truly and utterly wish to destroy whatever is in front of him with every fiber of his being. Then and only then, one may speak the Incantation and expect a result.
After almost another year of testing, I found that 'Elicio Tenebris Inimico' works the best. The common tongue shall translate it to 'I elicit a dark attacker'. For me personally, it worked best when performed in Parseltongue. As previously described the spell will conjure an animal or magical creature that reflects the caster's spirit and soul. The first time I tested my creation against some Dementors, my Snake Inimicus bit the first one to pieces while his companion fled from the scene. A very successful test run I would say.
Harry was amazed at Herpo's story. To create one's own spell seemed like one of the utmost successes to him. Especially a spell as useful as the one Herpo created. He would have to try the spell himself as soon as he was back at Hogwarts. He didn't know much about Dementors, only that they guarded the wizarding prison, Azkaban. However, he had read that Dark Lords throughout all of history easily gained their allegiance. Even Voldemort had, during the last war. Harry needed to be prepared in case he ever met those foul creatures.
Anyways… to conclude, Harry would definitely take Arithmancy as an elective. Divination was a no-go. Harry might be a child of prophecy but that did not mean that he would sit in some classroom interpreting tea leaves.
Something must be seriously wrong with a student that comes to Hogwarts and is invited into the greatness of the magical world, only to choose to study Divination.
He did not need Muggle Studies either. He himself grew up with muggles and had no desire to pick a career someday that had anything to do with them. The class was just laughable compared to something useful like Runes and Arithmancy.
Finally, there was Care of Magical Creatures, which did sound promising. Learning more about the ingredients he uses in his wand or even for his rituals might be beneficial. He could always take the class and just drop it after a semester if he decided he didn't like it. So, Harry put a tiny cross next to that box as well and send the letter back to Hogwarts.
He was excited to try the new electives next year. If only he could drop History of Magic and Astronomy a bit earlier. Those classes were useless to him as well.
June 15th, 1993
Today was Harry's very first job interview. After waking up, he showered, tamed his hair, and dressed in his best robes. He called for Dobby, who dropped him off at the Leaky Cauldron so he could enjoy some light breakfast. He also needed to talk to Tom.
The Summer Solstice was around the corner on June 21st. That means another opportunity for a ritual. Luckily the next ritual on the list was not too complicated. The Physical Appearance / Puberty- Ritual only required the blood of a female virgin and the kidneys of a goat, as well as a bit of his own blood as a sacrifice.
The virgin blood, Harry bought at a somewhat darkish apothecary in Kockturn Alley. Harry could swear that the owner was a vampire himself. The kidneys of a goat were even for sale at the main Apothecary in Diagon Alley.
Since Harry still did not want to perform the Ritual at Privet Drive, he would book a room at the Leaky Cauldron and carve the runes there. He already collected all the necessary ingredients and practiced drawing the runic scheme with Salazar several times back at Hogwarts.
Tom had no issues providing a room for the day and did not even ask questions as to what Harry would be doing. The Interview would start at 11:00 am. Since it was 10:30 already, Harry slowly made his way over to Knockturn Alley, doing some light window shopping to pass the time.
Finally, he stood in front of Borgin & Burke's. He took a deep breath and entered. Everything looked the same just like last time he had been here. Borgin stood behind the counter and looked up briefly as the bell rang, signaling that a client entered the store:
"Ah, Mr. Potter. A pleasure to see you could make it. Let me put the sign up at the door and then you can follow me to the back of the store. I have prepared a room for us."
Harry nodded and waited as Borgin put up a 'closed' sign before turning around and gesturing for Harry to follow him. They arrived in something like an office, similar to what the goblins used at Gringotts. Borgin sat down behind his expensive-looking mahogany desk and motioned for Harry to take a seat as well.
"Very well, Mr. Potter let us begin. I am afraid my Business Partner will not be joining us today. He is on a house visit at one of our most esteemed clients, due to a very urgent call. I would like you to start by telling me about your motivation behind applying here in the first place." Borgin says with a calculating look.
"I love magic." Harry simply explained. "All branches off it. When I first came to Hogwarts people started talking about light and dark magic… Some even called me a Dark Wizard simply for being better than them. It was all rubbish in the end, anyway. There is no light or dark magic, only intent."
Borgin nodded at this, seemingly agreeing with Harry. Harry continued:
"I want to learn about all aspects of magic, not just those the ministry approves of and the rest of the magical community finds agreeable. I also want to learn more about the wizarding world outside of classrooms, homework, and the familiar environment at Hogwarts.
What better place to encounter many branches of magic, knowledge, and practices long forgotten and rare magic items, than by working at a shop such as yours and gaining hands-on experience?" Harry finished his explanation.
Borgin watched him for almost a minute:
"I don't believe for a second that this is your true motivation, Mr. Potter…"
Harry's eyes narrowed and he got ready to flick his wand into his palm.
Borgin, however, continued as calmly as ever:
"No worries, Mr. Potter. I am only intrigued by you. Let me tell you about a recent business transaction. It was a very profitable venture for us…
A couple of months ago, a letter arrived, asking for me to facilitate the exchange of two very rare magical ingredients. One of them, so rare, it has not been seen in Britain for almost 50 years."
Harry's face remained motionless, listening to Borgin's story seemingly interested.
"Now, this is where it gets interesting… only a couple of weeks prior to that letter, some of the governors I know, told me a ridiculous story about how you and Albus Dumbledore slew a Basilisk in the Chamber of secrets at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He also told me that you claim to be a Parselmouth and used it to your advantage to fight the Basilisk, Mr. Potter."
Harry still did not show any visible reaction, but he was curious as to where Borgin was going with this.
"I of course knew that the anonymous owner of Basilisk Venom must have been you… Quite a treasure you managed to secure there. Did you not say it was what? 50 feet in length?
Now Mr. Potter… So, there I was, thinking about hidden Chambers, secrets, and snakes and all of a sudden, I remember you buying a book here at my store, but not just any book.
My great-grandfather managed to collect that book from an old Greek wizard. The wizard claimed it were the personal notes of Herpo the Fool, one of the most notorious dark Lords that ever existed in Europe.
I never believed the story. To me, it was just an incredibly old book someone scribbled random signs in. But my grandfather told me to always keep it in the store and never underestimate its value.
And then you came… and you bought the book for a couple of hundred galleons.
The book must have been written in Parseltongue, is it not?"
At this Harry nodded.
"Well, that explains of course, why you were so interested in it. Back then I was more than happy to get a couple of galleons for it…but now that I know it's actual worth…
The book was priceless, Mr. Potter. And I practically gave it away for free. Now, I do not hold a grudge against you for getting the better of me back there. I believe the compensation I revived for facilitating your trade was more than generous to me. I only have a request for you…"
"And what would that be?"
"Many years ago, my father employed a student… A brilliant boy, straight out of Hogwarts. Just like you, he was the best in his year, Headboy as well. He rented a small flat that my father owned and started working for him for a couple of months.
Some… let's say unpleasant things happened to a regular customer of ours during his employment and my father and I believe they were connected.
Now bear with me, because this is where it gets interesting.
All of a sudden that boy left. No one knew where he went. But after 20 years we found some of his notes hidden in the small office we provided for him back then.
The notes are not written in any language I myself am familiar with. There are pages upon pages on them. And I think they might be in the same language as that precious book you bought two years ago.
I will employ you here for a month Mr. Potter and you will receive very generous compensation for your work. However, besides the tasks you had managed yourself in your previous letters, I also want you to spend a couple of hours each day translating those notes into English. What do you say?"
Harry's hands started sweating slightly at some point during Borgin's story. He had a feeling of who this student might have been, but he needed to confirm it:
"The student, Mr. Borgin, what was his name?"
"His name was Tom, Mr. Potter. Tom Marvolo Riddle."
Harry barely kept himself from frowning:
"How many people know about those notes, Mr. Borgin?"
"Why, only me, my Business Partner, and two specialists for magical languages know about them," Borgin replied, confused at the urgency in Harry's voice.
Harry briefly thought about telling Borgin about who those notes truly belong to. But to what point? It would only scare Borgin and he might change his decision to hire Harry… No, he would keep quiet and not reveal the information. Like a true Slytherin.
"I thank you for your offer, Mr. Borgin. As you know, I could start immediately. What kind of compensation did you have in mind?"
Borgin grinned:
"I would like you to work four days a week, of your choosing. Each day you will work for five to six hours. You will receive an hourly compensation of one Galleon. Meaning during a full week you might be able to earn up to 24 Galleons. A very fair compensation for a student, if I may say so."
Harry nodded his agreement. He could not complain about that. At the current exchange rate of 50 Pounds per Galleon, this was equal to 1200 Pounds a week. He was not sure if even Uncle Vernon earned that much on a weekly basis.
Borgin prepared the necessary documents and Harry signed them with a blood quill. It was necessary to protect any confidential business information he might learn about, during the time of his employment. He would be starting on Monday next week.
Harry left the shop thinking about what he had learned. Tom Riddle started working at Borgin & Burke's straight out of school and was somehow linked to some nasty business with a long-time client. What actually happened there? And what could be the content of the notes? He was very interested in finding out.
July 1st, 1993
Harry woke up around 6 am, just like he had for the past week. He slipped into his workout clothes and made his way downstairs. The Dursleys were still sleeping. Harry quietly exited the house and did some light stretches on the single stair in front of Number 4. Then he started his morning workout.
25 minutes later he was back at the house and went into the garden. Dudley had found a love for the sport of boxing and had assembled a small home gym to complement his training.
Harry occasionally used the dumbbells and weights for a small workout, which he finished up with some pushups, sit-ups, and pull-ups on Dudley's pull-up bar. He wondered if the ROR could assemble a full gym if Harry asked for it…
Sweating profusely, he made his way back into the house for a shower. Getting dressed in some plain robes, he prepared some breakfast from downstairs, before heading back up to call Dobby to his room. Time to get to work.
The past two weeks since his Interview had been very interesting for Harry. The ritual happened just as planned without any further complications. Harry noticed a few of its effects already.
The broken voice he was occasionally experiencing for a couple of months, had vanished together with some of the other less pleasant effects of puberty, just as Salazar had described.
He made his way to Borgin & Burke's to start his shift. He had been helping out in the shop for a little over a week now. The work was interesting, especially the notes of Tom Riddle. The pack of notes was almost like a Diary, with entries about his life, work-related aspects, goals, and dreams.
It seems he was working on a long-term project. Multiple times Harry read the word Horcrux. According to Tom, it was the name for an item that stored a piece of a soul and bound it to earth. Therefore, should the body receive a lethal attack, one still won't die.
Was this the solution to how Voldemort had survived the night of Halloween 1981? The killing course rebound and struck him, but due to his Horcrux, he survived the encounter?
The notes held plenty of knowledge about them. Apparently, the Diary had been his first one. Created by the murder of Myrtle. Next, he also mentions some Ring, which he hid at the place where his ancestors once lived.
Where could that be? Was he referring to the Chamber of Secrets? Harry still had no idea about Voldemort's mother's family and their origins. Maybe he was referring to their house?
According to the notes, he also made plans for further Horcruxes. One of Borgin's clients is mentioned multiple times. Apparently, she had something valuable in her possession. He also mentions a Diadem that had once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw.
Tom believes it to be hidden in some forest in Albania and plans on looking for it next. Another section of notes described a spell he was planning on creating.
A Parseltongue spell by the looks of it. Unfortunately, Harry's knowledge about Arithmancy wasn't nearly deep enough to understand the graphs and calculations that were spread over multiple feet of parchment.
It must have been a very complicated spell. From what Harry figured out, the origins of the design were supposed to be similar to the Protean Spell.
Harry did some research on the spell and found that it was supposed to mirror an action over a multitude of different items, that could be placed at different locations.
There were also some calculations concerning Portkeys, broken down into their magical properties. What exactly was Tom trying to achieve? Whatever it was, it had not been finished on these notes.
Luckily Borgin was not interested in any of the formulas and experiments of Tom Riddle. The old client and items Tom described, however, caught his interest.
Harry held back all the information about Horcruxes and Voldemort's plan concerning the items. He only shared enough with his employer, so as to not raise his suspicion.
July 15th, 1993
Another two weeks had passed, and Harry enjoyed a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron after finishing work. He was while reading a letter from Flitwick.
Dear Harry,
I hope you are enjoying your holidays and using your spare time to prepare yourself for your upcoming matches.
I will pick you at your relatives' House on Wednesday, August first. Together we will apparate to the Ministry where we will be taking a Portkey to France. As you know the Tournament is held in Paris, so the two of us will be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, courtesy of the French Ministry to all the competitors.
The tournament is spread out over three days. Thursday, the first day, will be the qualifications in the group stage. On the second day, you will have your first elimination matches. The quarter, semi, and final will be held on Saturday.
Finally, in case you win the Under-14 Championship, you will be allowed to challenge the Under-16 Winner on Sunday around noon.
Make sure you are well prepared and take everything you need. I also advise wearing a dueling uniform.
See you in two weeks and enjoy the rest of your break,
Filius Flitwick.
Harry frowned. He did not own any dueling robes and he also did not know about any store that sold them. He knew of one store that sold wizarding robes for athletic activities. That might be his best bet.
Harry made his way over to Chapman's Athletic Robes and entered the store.
"Hello, Mr. Chapman." Harry greeted the owner. "I am participating in a dueling tournament in two weeks and was hoping you might be selling something suitable for me to wear?"
"I might just have what you are looking for. If you would follow me, please."
Harry followed the owner to the men's section.
"This is my latest creation. It is made of Acromantula silk, combined with what the muggles call synthetic microfiber. All the big athletic wear companies produce their clothing from that material. My wife is a muggle-born and introduced me to the clothing. I fell in love with it and tried my best to combine it with wizarding materials. This is the finished product."
Harry felt the material. Indeed, it felt just like some of his athletic wear that he uses for his workouts.
"I like it. Would you be able to tailor one specifically to my measurements?"
"Of course, young man. Let's get you over here and sized up."
A measuring tape flew towards Harry out of nowhere and started taking measurements on his leg and arm length, chest width, and height.
"Would you like me to include an emblem on your chest? Perhaps your Hogwarts house, or the Crest of the School?"
"I would like an emblem, however none of the ones you mentioned. Could I return in about an hour with a design for an emblem? "
"Yes, of course, young man. What about the colors of your robes?"
Harry thought for a couple of seconds:
"Could you make them black, but throw some dark emerald green at a couple of spots? Nothing too fancy, just a slight touch?"
"Very well. Would you like more than one set?"
"Yes please, I require a spare, so I will take two."
Mr. Chapman nodded and began his work on Harry's robes while Harry made his way to Gringotts.
As per usual he was let to his account manager. After exchanging the goblin greetings, harry asked for the state of his investments.
"As you have requested Mr. Potter, we diversified 50% of Mr. Malfoy's donation over four muggle companies that met your criteria. Their names are as follows: Microsoft, Yahoo, eBay, and Apple. No worries, the last one does not actually sell apples. According to our report, they develop something the muggles call a smartphone, whatever that may be."
"Thank you, Ragnok. I am sure these investments will see both our vaults flow with gold. I have one further request. I was wondering if there was a Potter-Family-Crest. According to what you have told me, my grandfather must have been a proud man. Did he perhaps ever provide any documents to you that carried the Potter-Crest?"
"Of course, Mr. Potter. Would you like to see it?"
"Yes, please!"
The goblin opened his top drawer and took out a stack of parchments and documents. After looking for the correct one for a couple of minutes, he finally pulled one out and showed it to Harry.
It was a letter by his grandfather sent to Gringotts asking about the state of some investments. On the top righten corner sat the Potter-Crest. It showed a Griffin in front of two crossed swords, surrounded by intertwined roses. At the top of it, it says 'Natus Vincere' (born to conquer).
It was quite beautiful.
"Would it be possible to get a copy of this? I only intend to wear my family's crest on my chest when competing in the dueling tournament in Paris."
"As a warrior race, we goblins value your pride to represent your family and legacy in a fight. I will have somewhat prepared a copy for you. It should be ready in about ten minutes."
"Thank you very much. I will not waste your time any further and shall be waiting at the entrance." Harry bowed respectfully and left the goblin's office.
He waited in the lobby for a couple of minutes until a younger goblin came and handed him the crest in a detailed drawing on some parchment. With the crest in his pockets, Harry made his way back to Chapman's for his dueling robes.
"There you are again, that was indeed very quick." Mr. Chapman greeted him as he entered the store.
"I found what I was looking for. I would like you to put this over my chest and an even larger copy of it over my middle to upper back."
"My, my quite an impression you are planning on leaving there. It shall be done in two days' time. You can pick both your robes up by then."
Harry bid the owner farewell and exited the shop. He would pick up some light snacks and call Dobby to take him home afterward.
July 31st, 1993
Today was Harry's Birthday. Well not really, he celebrated his magical birthday a couple of weeks ago. But today was his birthday according to the date on the calendar. Today was not important, however. Tomorrow was.
Two more weeks have been gone by. Each morning Harry had increased the intensity of his workouts. He would be in top physical condition for the Tournament in Paris. The time of his employment at Borgin and Burke's had come to an end.
Borgin was very happy with how Harry had performed and even gave him a 20 Galleons voucher for his store and the option to continue working next year. Harry had little desire to work at the shop again. He had translated the notes from Tom and went through most of the dark books on the magic the store had to offer. There was very little more that excited him in the store.
He had picked up his dueling robes two days after dripping of the crest and immediately fell in love with them. The black material was smooth and had a stretch to it that would allow it to perfectly fit his body. Stripes of emerald green were placed at different positions. The highlight, however, was the beautiful Potter crest at the top right front and over the entirety of the back. This would definitely leave an impression on anyone that saw him in them.
Harry had tried on both sets and they fit him perfectly. He would top off the outfit with some white Nike running shoes and matching white socks. He also decided to cut his hair a bit shorter, so that there was no chance it might block his vision.
He felt prepared for whatever might come his way.
The next morning Flitwick picked him at his house, just as planned and together they apparated to the ministry. Harry still hated side-along apparition and couldn't wait to start learning the skill for himself. Maybe next year Salazar would finally teach him.
From the Department of International Magic Cooperation, they took a Portkey that dropped them off at the French ministry.
It looked very different from the British one. For one, it was not underground, so the light that shone through the windows was natural. The French also used a lot brighter materials for building and seem to favor Marble for almost anything.
From the French Ministry, Harry and Flitwick apparated to the Five Seasons in Paris. After some fancy French dinner, Harry checked into his room, which provided a level of luxury he had never seen before.
He lay awake for almost an hour before falling asleep thinking about tomorrow. Tomorrow was his chance to show the world that the Potters would not be forgotten. No matter who he faced on that platform. He would show no mercy tomorrow and finish the duels quickly and efficiently.
This was not Hogwarts, where he could play with his opponents. These people were skilled, and Harry had to outmatch them without making any mistakes himself. But he was ready. This is what he had prepared for over the last two years. It was time to show the wizarding world his powers.