Prodigy

Harry woke up the next morning after having dreamed about wands. It had been the strangest dream - The M-Machine O'Matic had a wand pointing out of it! Harry had dreamed strange things in the past, but this just seemed outrageous to him. The weird thing was, though he now was feeling quite strange about the experience, during the dream, he quite clearly remembered being extremely happy about it. Harry got up and cleared his mind. It was time to start a new day, and he had quite a few things planned that he needed to take care of. First was breakfast; he was starving.

After showing and dressing, Harry headed to the great hall. There were not too many students there, yet, as it was still quite early. Harry looked around to find someplace to sit. This was only his third time in the hall for a meal, and he was feeling pretty lost. Hermione wasn't around, so he needed to find someone else to sit with. For a moment, he considered heading back to his room and getting a meal from the house elves, but decided to stay after he remembered his promise to Sirius.

At the Slytherin table he saw the blond boy that was at the fateful detention. Harry didn't like what little he had seen of the boy, but decided a second chance might be in order. Putting on a mask of confidence, Harry headed over to the table. The blond boy was sitting across from two larger boys who were eating intently. For some reason, Harry got the impression that they were not too smart.

“May I sit here?” Harry asked the blond boy when he had arrived. The boy looked up from the table and screwed his face into a scowl.

“This table is for Slytherins only, Potter,” the boy sneered. Harry frowned.

“I'm not a member of any house. I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name,” Harry pointed out. He didn't like that the boy knew his name, but he didn't know the boy's.

“My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. You would do good not to forget it again,” Draco Maloy drawled. Harry tilted his head to the side in thought. Well, it was obvious that trying to talk to this boy was rather pointless.

“Very well,” Harry said before turning and leaving. Harry wasn't sure what to think, but he did know one thing. He needed to get some advice, and he knew just who to get it from. While he was looking for another place to sit, he was saved from his troubles with the arrival of Hermione. Relieved, he walked over to join her at the Gryffindor table.

“Good morning, Hermione,” Harry said pleasantly, taking a seat across from her. Hermione looked up, surprise registering on her face, followed by a frown.

“Oh, good morning, Harry. How are you?” Hermione said, trying to push the frown from her face.

“I'm fine. What's wrong, Hermione? You seem to be a little mad at me. Have I done something wrong again?”

Hermione didn't answer, but looked down at the table.

'He doesn't even remember,' she thought to herself sadly. 'I stayed in the library as late as I could last night, hoping he would come, but he forgot. How could I have been so stupid?'

Harry was beyond confused, and started considering anything he might have done wrongly. Closing his eyes, he pulled up his memories of the previous day from his well organized mind, and tried to figure out what had happened. Then he saw it, clear as day. He heard himself telling Hermione that he would come and find her later. At the time, he hadn't meant specifically that day, but obviously Hermione had taken what he said that way.

“I remember now, Hermione. I'm sorry that I didn't see you again yesterday, but you should know that it wasn't because I didn't want to. I got busy with other things. When we talked yesterday, I didn't mean that I would see you later that day, I just meant sometime soon. I think you might have misunderstood me?”

Hermione looked up, biting back a retort that naturally formed in her mind while considering what Harry had just said. She couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something about the way he said it that made her think there was a lot more behind what he was saying - like only half of the story was being told. Not specifically about what had happened, but about him in general. She was able to see how she had misunderstood what he had told her the day before, and felt ashamed for making the assumption.

“I'm the one that should be sorry, Harry. I jumped to conclusions,” Hermione answered finally. Harry smiled gently.

“Hermione, I want you to think about that. I should have been more clear, but what conclusions did you come to, and why did you come to them?” Harry said. He was beginning to understand how alone Hermione really felt, but didn't want to say anything about it specifically. Instead, she could help herself.

Hermione, on the other hand, was confused by what Harry had asked of her. She pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote down what he had said, receiving a curious look from Harry for her troubles.

“I don't want to forget what you said, Harry, but I don't really understand it either. I trust you, though, so I'll do what you asked,” Hermione explained.

Harry smiled, and they finished their breakfast. When Hermione went off to her class, Harry headed to the Headmaster's office. After passing the gargoyle, he entered the office to find the Headmaster absent. That was fine, however, because Harry hadn't come to see the Headmaster. He was there to see Ms. Hat. Before he spotted her, though, another thing caught his eye.

“Hello, Fawkes,” Harry greeted the Phoenix.

“Good morning, Harry,” Fawkes trilled back, but Harry completely understood.

“How have you been?” Harry asked politely.

“A bit under the weather, but thanks for asking. I have a burning day coming up, and they are always a pain.”

“That's understandable. I think bursting into flames would be a pain for anyone,” Harry observed.

“Indeed. You're looking for Ms. Hat, correct?”

“That's right Fawkes.”

“Behind you, at the top of the shelf.”

Harry looked after thanking Fawkes and spotted the old hat right where the phoenix had said she would be. Levitating the hat down, he stuck it on his head.

“Oh my! Is it time for the sorting already! I've not even finished my song!” The hat exclaimed out loud. “No matter, I'm already on someone's head. Now to sort you. Oh, another one! You'll have to take down your mental shields if you expect me to sort you!”

Harry groaned inwardly. He was always forgetting that. He dropped his mental shields and once again felt Ms. Hat's presence in his mind.

“Oh, it's you again, eh, Mr. Potter?” Ms. Hat asked.

“Yes, ma'am.”

“No need to be so formal. You can just call me Gidget.”

“Gidget? That's a strange name.”

“Well of course it is. That's why I chose it. Actually, I sort of stole it from a girl name Gidget Garnaby who came through here nearly a thousand years ago. A very nice girl, and she was Ok with me taking her name.”

“I see. Ok, Gidget.”

“So, what can I do for you today? Are your studies working out well?”

“Yes, I'm very happy.”

“I can see that. I'm glad things are turning out. I see you have started to make some friends. Hermione is a good person. You did well. I see you've also met Nymphadora Tonks.”

“Nymphadora?”

“Oh, she didn't tell you her first name. That's not surprising. She doesn't really like it. She's a good person, though. She has a few special talents as well.”

“I see. Actually, this is sort of why I came to see you. I was wondering if you would be able to recommend some others for me to get to know. You're in a good position to do so, since you know what every student is like.”

“I see. It's a good question. Now I see why you asked it, as well, after your meeting this morning with Mr. Malfoy. A bad apple that, even without the influence of his father. His mother would have tried so hard to raise him right, but has been completely unable to get through to him. I wonder if there is more going on there that meets the eye. Oh my, I'm babbling now. I'm afraid I can't really help you. Although, I know you didn't mean it, anything I tell you about another student would be a breach in their privacy. You wouldn't want me to tell someone else about this mysterious old lady that keeps talking to you , would you?”

Harry felt bad suddenly. He hadn't thought of it like that before. “No, I see you're correct. I didn't even think of that.”

“You'll just have to do what you can on your own. The amount of information I have about each student is enormous, and it must be protected. I only shared what I did about Hermione and Tonks because you already knew it - even about Tonks' gift, though you might not yet be aware of it.”

“I understand.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“No, that is all. I have to go meet with the goblins now.”

“Ok. Come back to see me soon!” Ms. Gidget Hat said. Harry took off the hat after opening his eyes. He was surprised to see the Headmaster now behind his desk, looking back at him.

“Good morning, Harry,” Dumbledore said when he saw Harry pulling the hat off. He had been surprised to find the prodigy in his office, especially when he saw what Harry was doing.

“Hello, Headmaster,” Harry said. “I hope you don't mind, but I came up to have a chat with Ms. Hat...er Gidget.”

“Gidget?”

“Ms. Hat's first name. I was surprised to, but it's a nice name.”

“Indeed. What did you want to talk to her about?”

“I was just going to see if she could provide some hints about who might make good friends. Unfortunately, she was unable to help. It was a pleasant conversation, though.”

“I see. It was a good idea, but I know the Hat is very secretive about the knowledge she contains.”

“As it should be,” Harry pointed out.

“Yes, that is true. How are your studies coming along? I know most professors are still trying to figure out exactly how to go about teaching you.”

“Yes, I've had a few lessons, though, and they have been pretty good,” Harry answered.

“I'm glad to hear it,” Dumbledore said. “I hope to have our first lesson soon.”

“I'm looking forward to it, sir. I need to go see the goblins now. I'll see you later.” Harry moved to leave, but was stopped by Dumbledore.

“Harry, are you sure that's wise?”

Harry frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, now that we know that Voldemort is still lurking around, don't you think you should take more precautions about your safety?”

“I see what you mean, sir, but I think I've proven that I am able to take care of myself. It goes back to the old predicament. What ever security you want, you must trade freedom for it, and vica versa. I'm not willing to trade my freedom for more security.”

Dumbledore's eye's quit twinkling. This was not what he wanted to hear.

“Are you sure it's a good idea to be reckless now that you know what your destiny is?”

“I don't think I'm being reckless, sir. I'm just being me. I have things I need to do beyond Voldemort. He's just a bump in the road known as my life.”

Dumbledore nodded, but his mind was running. He needed Harry to understand exactly what Voldemort was, and what he was capable of. Obviously Harry had been able to win the first encounter, but later encounters had the possibility for a very different outcome. Dumbledore momentarily considered trying to forcefully hold Harry at Hogwarts, but knew he would be unable to do so. Instead, he nodded his acceptance.

“Very well, Harry. In the future, though, I think we need to talk about exactly how dangerous Voldemort can really be. In the future he might now be a simple spirit you can cast out of another body.”

“I understand, professor. For now, though, I have business I need to conduct,” Harry said. He was relieved that Dumbledore finally let him go. He was worried that he was going to get into a fight about leaving, and that was not something he wanted to do. A moment later, Harry was gone, headed towards Gringotts.

Once Harry left, Dumbledore pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He knew he had walked the line between keeping a trusting and valued relationship with Harry and alienating him. It left Dumbledore feeling sick. He wasn't used to such a feeling.

Harry arrived in the main lobby of Gringotts and looked around until he spotted Griphook. Walking over, he greeted his friend.

“Good Morning, Griphook!” Harry said kindly.

“Good Morning, Mr. Potter. You have business to conduct?” Griphook asked. Harry nodded. “Then follow me, please.”

Griphook led Harry out of the large room and back towards his office, but not before the exchange had been witnessed by a half a dozen wizards. They had all been surprised at what they had saw, having themselves only worked with the goblins in a more impersonal way. Suddenly, they felt like they were missing out on something. Soon, word of the encounter would spread to other magical families as well.

In Griphook's office, the two settled down on opposite sides of the desk in the middle of the room. Harry always enjoyed Griphook's office. Though it was not particularly fancy by any means, the room had an aura of competence. It was almost like you could tell as soon as you walked in that important things happened in that room. It was comforting to Harry.

“What can I do for you this morning, Mr. Potter?” Griphook asked eagerly. Griphook loved working with the young man in front of him. Harry Potter was someone who would get the job done, and get it done right.

“Well, there are a couple things. First, I wanted to check in with you and see how work with the M-Machine is coming along,” Harry started.

“It's been great. I've looked at the number personally, and there has been a three hundred percent increase in efficiency around Gringotts. We've been able to spend our time working on other projects, and expanding our service offerings,” Griphook explained. “We even have one group dedicated to building another one.”

“Really? Trying to infringe on my future business market?” Harry asked jokingly. He was pleased the machine was working out so well for Gringotts. Griphook took Harry's question seriously, however.

“No, not at all. Any M-Machine's we make are going to be for internal use only,” Griphook explained. “If you are worried about someone stealing your ideas, though, I can put in for a patent in your name.”

Harry was prepared for this question. “That will not be necessary, Griphook. My intellectual work will always be free for anyone to use. If my machine's are at the top of the market, that is my fault, not someone else's.”

Griphook frowned. “Free? What do you mean by that?”

Harry smiled. “I mean free as in freedom. People should be free to take my ideas and use them however they want to, even if that means creating a competing product. I really wouldn't mind if Gringotts put out a line of M-Machines, because, and I do not mean this offensively, I am absolutely positive that I can put out a higher quality M-Machine than you. Now if you took the time to come up with your own design to build a M-Machine, you would probably be better at building it. In the end, though, it is our minds that are competing, and I like that.”

“I see, Mr. Potter. That certainly is a... new way of looking at things. I'm not sure if I agree, but I will honor your wishes,” Griphook said honestly.

“That's all I can ask of you, Griphook. My other concern is that I am going to be extremely busy with everything I am working on, and I think I am going to need help keeping track of everything. As such, I would like to procure the services of a Goblin to keep track of my business as I need it. Sort of like a personal secretary. I will gladly match whatever Salary Gringotts is currently paying, and even offer a twenty percent raise.”

Griphook had to blink a couple times. This business was completely unexpected, and he said as much. “This is certainly a surprising request, but I will see what I can do. Is it alright to contact you within a few days with possible candidates, and you can set up a time to interview them then?”

“That would be very acceptable, Griphook. I think that is all for now. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.”

“That you, Mr. Potter. The pleasure was mine.”

Harry bowed his head slightly before disappearing from the small office.

End Chapter.

A/N: Sorry for the long delay getting this out, but I've been extremely busy. I'm working on getting my business going on top of my regular job, purchasing my first home, and everything else, so time is a precious commodity right now. I had today off, however, because of weather conditions, so I was able to sit down and pound this out.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and also thanks to those that have commented on my blog. I've had great conversations with a few of you over email, and that has been nice.

Unfortunately, because of my new time constraints, this chapter is shorter as well. I hope to keep frequent updates, though.

Until next time, so long, do well, win awards, and thanks for all the fish. See you in the funny papers!

Josh