AN:
Alright, readers, here's the deal—if we hit 100 power stones by the end of the day, I'll drop a new chapter. Simple, right? The fate of the next update is in your hands. No pressure… but also, lots of pressure.
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(Harry POV)
A week had passed since telling Tonks, and it had proven fortunate to tell her the truth. Now Tonks seemed to spend every spare moment visiting him, so she could practise her spellwork and skills without her parents knowing. She had also taken to using the archery range he had set up, after he explained his logic behind it.
When he had asked her what her parents thought she was doing, she said she was around her boyfriend's house or hanging out with schoolmates, which was frankly amusing because 'Michael Hutt' was all but forgotten now.
He had also arranged for a private appointment with Ayra in the next couple of days. Hopefully, everything would be processing well.
But today he was visiting Padma and her family. Not that it mattered much, but he wouldn't be able to talk to Padma for over a month since she was going to visit her family in India. So they had thrown together this last-minute get-together for a chat.
Walking up the main driveway toward the manor's front doors, the manor itself was moderate in size as far as he could tell; after all, it was the first manor he had ever visited. It had a Victorian design, which was odd considering he would have thought it would have Indian features. But considering it might be an ambassador's residence provided in part by the Ministry, perhaps not so much.
He knocked on the front door before being allowed in by a house elf whose name he didn't catch.
He waited in the reception room, looking around. The room was an odd mixture of Victorian features with Indian decorations—an interesting mix. Not his personal taste, but it was nice to a point.
Eventually, Padma and her mother arrived on the scene, resulting in him almost being crushed from Padma's hug before she gestured to her mother. "Let me introduce you to my mother." It was easy to see the resemblance between the pair. Padma's mother appeared to be in her mid-twenties, but that meant little with magic since magicals aged slower depending on their magical strength. For all he knew, she could be in her late forties. He also remembered that Padma had an older brother, so it was a good chance that was the case.
Going into full charm mode—one rarely seen around Hogwarts—"Lady Patil, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I must say it's clear where your daughters receive their beauty from," he said before kissing her hand and flashing a smile, causing Padma to blush at the remark, along with a minor blush from her mother.
That was interesting, since he expected she would be used to such comments from meeting different lords. Which meant either she was young, as her appearance suggested, or she had lived a rather sheltered life and didn't get out much. Or he was just that charming, which he personally liked the sound of—but he doubted it.
"Charmed. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Padma has spoken most highly of you. It was unfortunate we were unable to meet you sooner," she replied, making a subtle reference to the platform.
"Thank you. It is unfortunate. However, due to the train being delayed leaving, it made me late for a meeting with my account manager, and as I'm sure you know, Goblins hate time wasters. The last thing I wanted to do was upset the fellow who manages my accounts," he replied respectfully, offering an explanation.
"Padma, how about you give Harry here a tour of the house? I'll go find out what your sister and Lavender are up to," she said before leaving them.
"I guess I'll give you the tour, then," Padma stated.
The next hour or so was filled with Padma showing him around. The house was turning out to be quite impressive. During it, he made small talk, but one thing he noticed was Padma's mother regularly popping up discreetly, checking up on them or eavesdropping. It didn't matter all that much; it made sense she would be interested in her daughter's friends.
Plus, it wouldn't surprise him if she was already checking to see if there was any possibility of a future marriage contract. After all, she was a pureblood, and it was common for families to start looking around for suitable matches, even if the eventual contract wasn't signed until several years later. He personally wouldn't be signing any contracts for a long time—after all, he wasn't going to "buy" a wife.
"And here's our library."
"Impressive," he said while looking over the library. Maybe sometime in the future, he would be able to look at it in depth, but it seemed rather small when thinking of Hogwarts and the number of books and tomes he had in his own two vaults.
"Hardly. This is just what we've gathered since we've been living in Britain. We have a far bigger one at our ancestral estate back in India," she replied before giving a quick tour of it.
"Now that's everything. So, what do you fancy doing?" Padma questioned.
"How about we head outside and have a good chat, at the same time as playing a game of chess?" he offered. After all, no point sitting inside on a nice sunny day.
After getting a chess set and heading out into the garden, they had a quiet game on the patio, overlooking a swimming pool where both Pav and Lavender were sunning themselves. They didn't even notice him or Padma.
So they spent the afternoon talking, chatting, and just enjoying the sun for a change. "So, you looking forward to visiting your family in India?" he asked.
"Yeah, it'll be nice to see my brother and my aunts and uncles. It's been several years since we all had a collective get-together."
"Yeah, must be nice. Plus, you get to see another culture and all," he replied.
"Hardly. Most of the time I'll be forced to stay within the estate and play nice with my cousins," she explained, while looking out over the grounds.
"Oh, that's a shame. I was going to ask if you could pick up any spell books on runes and wards—and any DADA ones," he asked, thinking over the advantages of using foreign spells.
"Why is that?" Lady Patil asked, surprising him with her sudden appearance before casually draping herself across one of the chairs.
"Simple really. A man cannot defend himself if he does not know the spell. By using spells and wards that are non-native to Europe, it will give me an advantage in any fight, giving me a better chance of surviving to old age," he said seriously, while thinking over the additional areas of magical knowledge he could gain access to, since rituals and blood magic were still in practice in India.
"Boys, always thinking of fighting, duels, and glory," she said in a disapproving manner.
"Maybe, Madam, but being the last Potter, I need every advantage I can get. Besides, there's no guarantee I would even use the knowledge, but it's better to be prepared than lacking when you need it," he answered politely, getting the impression that Padma's mother was very much an idealist.
"Indeed. Well spoken. It's better to be prepared and ready for the future than not. It shows that you have the makings of a fine head of family," came a smooth voice with a heavy Indian accent—what could only be Padma's father.
"Lord Patil, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said while shaking the man's hand, forgoing any charm and deciding to get down to business.
"Indeed. Both my daughters speak very highly of you. Are you staying for dinner?" he asked.
"Only if I'm not a burden. I understand you are busy with preparations for your travels, and I don't want to intrude," he responded, giving the lord an easy way out of the invite.
"Of course. I'll just have the house elves set another plate," he replied.
"Thank you. I was wondering if I could talk to you about some possible business both our houses can profit from?" he asked, wondering if he would be taken seriously at all.
"Perhaps, but your guardian should handle this on your behalf," Lord Patil said in a disapproving tone.
"Well, my guardian at times does not have my best interests at heart, and this is just an idea on the drawing board. I'm just trying to see if there would be any interest in the idea," he answered seriously.
"Then let's retire to my office and discuss business. Follow me," he ordered before leading Harry to his office. Neither Padma nor Lady Patil made any attempts to follow. The office itself was very unique—similar in many ways to Bloodmoon's, but far more homely with Hindu themes.
"What is it you wanted to discuss? I hope you're not wasting my time," Lord Patil stated in a no-nonsense tone, causing him to decide to cut the sweet talk and just give his pitch.
"I'll keep it short then. I understand that you run one of the biggest shipping companies coming from the Far East and are responsible for the majority of shipping from India.
I myself own a series of independent dockyards outside the Ministry's taxation and control. In the near future, I hope to reopen these docks, if I can find enough interest. I am sure you can see the potential to lower your running costs and get higher profit—and undercut your rivals further, ensuring your continued control of the market." He took a break to catch his breath before continuing his sales pitch.
"So at the moment, I am currently asking around to find out if individuals such as you would be interested. After all, if there is another dock opened, it means other owners will be forced to lower their own prices to compete. Either way, you gain," he answered, hoping his pitch was good enough, since it was the first time he had spoken aloud of this idea.
Sure, Bloodmoon loved the idea on paper, but reading something was different from doing something.
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