I don't intend to look at anything dark, I just want to gain as much knowledge as I can from Hogwarts' impressive collection," he offered, to which the headmaster nodded.
"Second, I'd like a personal letter of recommendation from you for my cousin Tonks," catching the headmaster's interest at his second request.
...
"May I ask why, Harry?" the headmaster asked, using his given name for the first time in this meeting, which Harry decided to ignore.
"It's quite simple. My cousin wishes to work in law enforcement, even if I think her talents would ultimately be wasted there. However, a personal recommendation letter from you would help her greatly," Harry voiced, wanting to help his cousin as much as he could even if he'd much prefer her to work for him. "We both know the ministry is sexist, with most female Aurors ending up in support roles at best," the headmaster neither voiced his agreement nor disagreement at that.
He smiled at his idea for a final condition, one which would only benefit him if he could stay civil with the headmaster. He'd simply have to ignore the fact that the man had almost certainly stolen huge amounts of money from him and had, for over a decade, utterly mismanaged his family's assets to the point of near ruin.
This condition would greatly improve his understanding of magic and social prestige, especially if he leaked it, and would help to counter any future rumours of him being a parselmouth and thus a dark wizard. It also provided him a means to access the headmaster's office without suspicion, to possibly steal or study the orb in the future.
"The third and final condition would be two hours a week of private lessons from you until the end of the school year," the headmaster blinked a couple of times at the unusual request. "These two hours can be spent either discussing magical theory, or its practical uses, or specific topics such as duelling," he explained, once again throwing the headmaster off balance at the condition.
"That is an interesting request," the headmaster voiced with a sly smile. "But my time is both highly demanded and precious," he offered back.
"Then negotiate, you are a politician," Harry countered, as the headmaster's lips twitched in amusement.
"Alright then, one hour a week. I am a very busy man," the Headmaster offered.
"Three hours a fortnight. You can choose the hours, but you give me two days notice so I can rearrange my schedule. I am also a very busy man," Harry counter-offered, his own sly smile forming on his lips at using the headmaster's own words against him.
"One day's notice," the aged wizard shot back.
"That is acceptable," he agreed.
"Why is it you want me to teach you?" the headmaster asked, clearly trying to understand him better.
He considered just how much to say, but eventually decided to go with a borderline truth. "You're arguably the most knowledgeable wizard in Britain and the most powerful, both magically and politically.
I expect you would have a far deeper understanding of magic than I would find in most books, an understanding only gained from a lifetime of experience. You have also fought two dark lords and their respective followers, yet you are still alive, with all your limbs intact, unlike some of the very best Aurors around.
So, there must be some aspect of your duelling style that is the secret to your success. I already have enemies who wish me dead; having access to that knowledge may improve my chances of surviving these encounters and living to adulthood. I would be a fool to ignore a chance to learn such secrets."
"I'm rather flattered by your glowing assessment of my abilities," the headmaster said whilst his eyes sparkled with energy and amusement. "That is one such way to get an apprenticeship with me."
He ignored the remark about an apprenticeship, since such a rumour would only benefit him in the long run. Well, as long as the Headmaster was considered a light wizard. "So what about my access to the restricted section of the library?"
"No dark arts books or anything illegal. You can take no more than one book a week out of the library on loan," the headmaster expressed.
"Three books," Harry countered. "I'm an extremely fast reader."
"Two," the Headmaster shot back with his own amused smile.
"Then we have an agreement," Harry voiced.
"So what did the snake guardian say?" the headmaster asked.
"I'd be happy to share what was said, as soon as our agreement is written up in a magically binding contract first," Harry expressed with his own smile, knowing better than to trust the old politician who had done so much harm to him and his family.
"Drawing up a magical contract will take time, Harry, time we simply can't afford. Surely you understand that it's important to catch the heir as soon as possible, before anyone else gets hurt or even killed," the headmaster argued. "Surely you don't want someone to die," giving Harry a serious, questioning look.
"I'm sure you have the necessary contacts to quickly hire an Oathcrafter, headmaster, if not I can always contact my account manager, I'm sure he'd be willing to draw up a contract within good time," Harry pressed. "He does quite enjoy writing up a good binding agreement."
"How about a compromise then, a magical oath instead? It's more loose than even a standard magical contract, but far faster to perform," the headmaster suggested.
"That is acceptable," Harry agreed after a moment of thought.
The next ten minutes were filled with both parties hammering out the precise wording to be used in the oath, before the language of the magical vow was finally agreed upon between the two of them. It was not overly restrictive, but set up the agreed-upon terms as effectively as possible, ensuring both parties understood and kept their parts of the deal.
It included an agreed-upon penalty of ten thousand galleons to be paid to the other in compensation should either fail to uphold their obligations under the agreement, rather than risk one's magic in penalty. Putting their wands together so that their tips were connected, magical energy slowly gathered between them, as they both spoke aloud their respective parts of the magical vow. When they finished, both spoke in unison.
"So mote it be!" Thus sealing their vow as completed, a flash of golden energy rushing over them like waves crashing on the shore. "First, the heir is not an heir, she is an heiress," making the headmaster blink in surprise.
"Second, she has red hair and is shorter than I am. Only two girls meet that description and both of them are currently in Gryffindor. Ginny Weasley and Sally-Anne Perks," the headmaster visibly aged at this news.
"How accurate is this information?" the aged wizard asked.
"As accurate as any enchanted guardian's information can be," Harry voiced with amusement. "Then again, the heir could be using any number of concealment charms, or potions such as polyjuice to alter his or her form. But I doubt they would go to such lengths without a good reason to; how many people can talk to snakes after all?"
...
( Headmaster's Office )
"Severus, you can come out now," he spoke aloud, seemingly to the empty room, as soon as the young Mr. Potter left his office. At that, the potions master removed the invisibility cloak he had been hiding under throughout his meeting with Harry.
"That was certainly interesting," Severus remarked, as he took a seat opposite the headmaster's desk where Harry had just been sitting.
"Indeed. You were right, my friend, to advise me to approach the discussion like it was a transaction, like a business deal," he voiced with amusement, as he poured himself some more tea. It was kind of funny when he thought about it now, how Severus had a better understanding of the boy the man hated than he had.
"Potter is more of a Slytherin than most of my own house," the younger man voiced with a good measure of amusement and just a hint of respect, as he poured a second cup of tea. "Almost literally."
"Indeed he is," the sorting hat suddenly and unexpectedly voiced, with its own amusement clear, speaking up for the first time in many months.
"Something to add?" he asked, wondering if the hat could provide him with greater insight into Harry's mind.
"No," the sorting hat replied, before promptly falling back to sleep.
"That was as informative as ever," Severus remarked with a good measure of dry sarcasm as he took the offered cup of tea from him. "Thank you."
"Do you believe that you will be able to work within Harry's terms?" he asked, as the younger man sipped his tea.
"I'll just have to ignore the boy," the younger man countered, as he rested his cup on the table. "However, I have an idea how we can handle next year, or at least make the best of it, to handle this situation."
"Let's hear this scheme then," he requested, wondering what the younger man had in mind.
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :
p atreon.com/loveran