Chapter 34

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Albus hated to admit it, but he was feeling a little…frazzled of late. It had started with Harry Potter rejecting the prophecy, it had worsened with Harry Potter emptying and closing the Potter and Black vaults, and it had come to an appalling conclusion with Harry Potter going to Gringotts and creating an official will.

And while Albus had no idea what exactly was written in that official will, he was fairly certain his own name wouldn’t be mentioned it in anywhere. And since Harry was an adult, this new, official will overruled James and Lily’s unofficial will Albus had clung to for so many years in the hopes of eventually inheriting the Potter and Black fortune for himself. To use for the war effort, of course.

Albus had thrown out a few careful feelers around the Ministry, to perhaps have Harry Potter officially declared incompetent so the Wizengamot could appoint a guardian, to make all decisions for him. But so far no one seemed at all interested in such an option. Bartemius Crouch had even pointed out that the Wizengamot didn’t have the authority to declare a foreign citizen incompetent or not.

That was one of the issues Albus ran into nowadays, whenever he tried to manoeuvre Harry’s life. Most people refused to help him since Harry was no longer a British citizen, at least according to Bartemius Crouch and everyone he’d managed to convince of that, even if no one could tell Albus exactly where Harry had moved to.

And then just hours before the Yule Ball was set to begin, Bill Weasley had flooed Albus to tell him that Harry Potter had successfully sold Grimmauld Place, one of the Black properties he’d inherited from Sirius Black.

And Albus had smiled at Bill while he thanked him for sharing that news, and the moment the floo connection was severed, Albus had thrown his candy dish straight across his office, sending his beloved sherbet lemons scattering around the room.

Albus had plans for Grimmauld Place. He was going to turn it into permanent headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, since the Black family properties were famous for their invincible wards. And now a squib had bought it and was going to remodel it so he could sell it to muggles.

All that magic and potential wasted, because Harry Potter refused to play the part Albus needed him to play.

And now Albus was stuck at that blasted Yule Ball while his nerves stood on edge and his mind was occupied with much more serious matters. But he was Hogwarts’ headmaster and he would play that part and play it well. So Albus talked genially with Karkaroff and Maxime while the students trickled inside the beautifully decorated Great Hall.

Minerva would guide the champions inside once they were ready. According to her, Harry Potter had vehemently declined to attend and she hadn’t heard anything to the contrary since. If Harry couldn’t be bothered to even attend a prestigious social gathering, Albus might be able to use that in his quest to seek some sort of official control over him.

Seeking a form of guardianship over Harry Potter was the only option Albus had left, save for putting the young man under the imperius curse. And while that latter option was tempting, Albus did think himself too good of a man to stoop to the use of the Unforgivable Curses.

There seemed to be some sort of small disturbance in the entrance hall, if the rumours that Albus heard spoken around him by various students were true, but it seemed to have been resolved quickly, whatever it was. Albus was sure Minerva would fill him in later, if it even needed his attention at all.

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