Maturity of Magic Chapter 34

Harry took his cup of tea with both hands, casually taking a sip as he took in his surroundings. The tea shop they were in was moderately busy, the midday crowd piling in from Diagon Alley for lunch. His ‘date’ sat across from him, trying and failing to stay composed as the other customers kept looking their way.

Usually he was able to visit Diagon Alley and other wizarding establishments without worrying about too many people recognizing him, but that luxury was gone now. He had been featured in various newspapers and magazines too many times now, his face printed on the cover of the Daily Prophet on an almost daily basis. It meant that going out in public was bound to get him recognized, which was why Harry typically restricted his outings to private, clandestine events.

What he was doing now wasn’t a typical date or outing in the sense of him wanting to enjoy another person’s presence, but rather a move on the chessboard in his game against Dumbledore. Across from him sat Nymphadora Tonks, the woman Dumbledore chose to spy on him.

They were at a tea place that Tonks regularly frequented, with Fleur also being a customer. It was all so people could spot them in public, and hopefully, get the word back to Dumbledore that Nymphadora was succeeding in her mission of seducing him.

“I feel like an animal on display in the zoo.” Tonks remarked as she sat across from him.

“I still can’t believe you and Fleur visit this place.” He remarked, idly eyeing the gaudy pink wallpaper that reminded him a bit too much of Umbridge. The tea parlor was clearly popular, based on the number of customers, and for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why.

“It’s not that bad. We just go here because it’s convenient.” Tonks glanced at the other customers and grimaced. “Although they usually don’t stare at us the entire time when we visit.”

While most of the place’s occupants were staring at him, a significant number were eyeing Tonks. Andromeda’s daughter had changed her appearance—not quite going full Veela mode—but still came across as an exotic beauty. Long pink hair that was straightened and polished to a gloss shine, an aristocratic face that was common for members of House Black, along with a buxom body that any man would drool over.

She was a sight to see, especially with those formal robes that leaned towards being more muggle than traditionally pureblood in style. To the people eyeing them, it would give the impression that Harry was on a date with a beautiful foreign witch, rather than a lowly-ranked auror.

“Hey, is that…” Tonks trailed off, seemingly spotting someone she knew in the crowd. “Hey Penny!”

“Tonks, it’s good to see you!” Penelope Clearwater smiled as she walked over, eyeing Nymphadora’s appearance. “You’ve really changed your look. You look great!”

“Thanks.” Tonks replied, seemingly embarrassed, before she gestured towards him. “I’m not sure you’ve met Harry before?”

“Hi Penny.” He nodded, remembering the Ravenclaw prefect from his time at Hogwarts. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Oh, um- Hi, Harry.” She awkwardly replied, seemingly noticing him for the first time. “I-I’m afraid that I have to get going, don’t want to be late!”

“Penny, wait!” Tonks called out, but it was too late as the former Ravenclaw took off, hastily leaving the tea shop and darting out the door. “Damn.”

“Guess she’s in a hurry to get to work.” He remarked.

“She’s unemployed.” Tonks frowned, before her gaze narrowed in on him. “Maybe she was worried about you asking her out. She is an older witch, after all. And you do tend to ask everyone I meet out.”

Harry grimaced, before deciding to play along with her teasing. “Still too young for my liking. She’s got to be at least twenty-five before I take interest.”

“I don’t think Fleur would like that.” Tonks said after a moment. “Nor would Greengrass.”

“Daphne is my betrothed, so it’s different.” Their relationship started as the muggle equivalent of an arranged marriage, and not a mutual attraction. “As for Fleur, I haven’t exactly done anything with her, so my point stands.”

“Ugh, men.” Tonks looked completely lost. “You know, most men would chase after younger women, and not the other way around. I don’t know whether my gender should be insulted or immensely pleased because of you.”

He shrugged, and soon the two of them left the tea place and were strolling down Diagon Alley, arm in arm. Contrary to what one might think, they hadn’t traveled to Diagon Alley just to go on their pretend date. Harry needed to make a trip to Gringotts with Amelia and Narcissa accompanying him, and it had been his lovers’ idea for him and Nymphadora to go on their fake date before heading to the bank.

And that was where they were headed now, having received enough public attention before deciding enough time had elapsed. Harry had vaults to manage and documents to sign, especially with so many big Ministerial events coming up, including Narcissa’s run for Minister and the first Wizengamot meeting of the year.

“Hey, is that Malfoy?” Nymphadora suddenly asked, getting Harry’s attention as he looked over to see Narcissa’s son.

Malfoy wore all black, and a severe yet troubled expression on his face. He looked rougher than Harry had ever seen before, and was clearly struggling in the aftermath of losing his parents. Not that he had any sympathy for Draco, seeing as he had done nothing but try and make Harry’s life a living hell ever since arriving at Hogwarts.

Draco looked around for any potential onlookers as he stood at the entrance to Knockturn Alley, before ducking his head and making his way in.

“Clearly up to no good.” Harry remarked, pushing down the urge to tail him. He had been caught up in enough of Malfoy’s plots and schemes over the years, and didn’t want to indulge whatever game he was playing.

“I’d say you’re wrong, but I’ve seen a hundred wizards arrested just like him since I became an auror.” Tonks scowled. “Too bad my aunt didn’t have a daughter.”

Tonks’ appearence morphed then, growing taller as her hair shifted to become light blonde in color. Her face became a bit narrower, her eyes turning gray as was typical of the Malfoy family. She looked like an older, feminized version of Draco Malfoy, as if she was the older sister he never had. If Narcissa and I had a daughter, would she look similar to this?

She did look very beautiful, but the snobbish sneer on her face ruined that beauty. It didn’t help that Tonks tried very hard to imitate what a female version of Draco would sound like in that moment. “What are you looking at, Pottah?”

“A dumb bitch who belongs on her knees.” He scowled.

It was too bad in his mind that Narcissa didn’t have a daughter, and Draco an older sister. She would’ve been the perfect addition to his growing relationship circle. Maybe I’ll just have Tonks stay in this form.

“W-What?!” Draco’s fake older sister blushed.

“Kneel before your Lord, Ms. Malfoy.” He sniffed like a snotty pureblood, acting the part. “And that’s Lord Potter to you.”

Nymphadora’s appearance changed back to what it originally was, as she glared at him. “Not funny.”

“I think the correct response would be ‘my father will hear about this!’.”

They soon entered Gringotts through a private side entrance, preferring not to have onlookers inside notice that Harry was visiting the bank. It was a luxury afforded to only the most important of clientele, and with Harry’s newfound status and wealth, it was something he took advantage of.

From there a goblin guided the two of them to a private conference room, opening the door to reveal that Narcissa and Amelia were seated inside. The former of which had done most of the heavy lifting for Harry’s accounts, legally being his courtesan which meant she was responsible for his House’s finances.

“Good, you’ve arrived.” Narcissa smiled at the two of them. “We are almost done preparing everything.”

Arkjaw, the same goblin he had dealt with at the bank last time, sat on the opposite side of the table from Narcissa and Amelia. Various stacks of parchment filled the table’s surface, each having a different purpose varying from account deeds to Mistress and betrothal contracts that he needed to validate.

“First will be the contract between Lord Harry Potter and Lady Amelia Bones.” The goblin grunted out, placing a formal-looking parchment in front of him to sign.

“We’re having our courting agreement notarized so it’s more official.” Amelia explained at his questioning glance. “Polite society likes these things to at least look proper, as to not give the impression that we’re fooling around. It’s the most lax contract I could come up with, and can be broken off anytime one of us wants to do so.”

He nodded and signed it without question, trusting Amelia completely. While they hadn’t discussed specifics, the two of them were practically destined to get married in the future, and signing a simple courting agreement rather than a betrothal contract was the least he could do.

“Next will be your request to combine the Black, Malfoy, and Lestrange vaults into the Potter vault.” Arkjaw spoke. “I’m afraid that Gringotts cannot acquiesce to this request.”

Part of their plan was to annex the vaults from the Malfoy and Lestrange Houses via Narcissa and Bellatrix. Since Lucius was dead and Draco still hadn’t taken up his Lordship, it ended up with Narcissa having complete control over the Malfoy fortune. She could still access Lucius’ vault and transfer the wealth over to Harry’s own vault, and had agreed to do so in the aftermath of hers and Draco’s confrontation right before Yule break.

As for the Lestrange vaults, Bellatrix was the only person with access to them, with her former husband and his brother being dead. Luckily the eldest Black sister was slowly coming over to their side, with much persuasion from Narcissa, and had given them written permission to manage her vault a few days ago.

“What?” Narcissa looked furious. “They legally belong to Lord Potter!”

The goblin scowled. “Indeed they do. However, it is the Lestrange vaults that is the issue. The previous holders of the Lestrange vaults had certain… defenses put in place in order to protect their valuables. And while we can access their vaults, we cannot simply relocate all of their valuables to another location. It would take too much time, and time is money.”

“But you can move the other vaults to my own?” Harry asked, referring to the Black and Malfoy vaults, and eliciting a nod from the goblin. He then turned to Narcissa, “Then we can still access whatever the Lestrange vault holds. It just means we have to visit it in person to see whatever weird stuff Bellatrix’s family put in there.”

“It’s very likely a Dark family like the Lestranges would fill their vault with cursed objects.” Amelia added. “We should be careful, as I wouldn’t enter their vault without a team of cursebreakers looking everything over first.”

“Exactly my point.” Arkjaw nodded. “To conclude this meeting, I will go over the current contracts that Lord Harry Potter is under. First, there is a courtesan contract that Lady Narcissa Black signed, along with an official betrothal contract with Miss Daphne Greengrass. There are also several Mistress contracts, the first being Lady Julia Zabini, and two recent ones submitted by your betrothed, one for Miss Cho Chang, and another for her mother, Lady Ko Chang. There is also the courting agreement signed earlier. As for the next item on the agenda—”

Gringotts was boring, but he needed to resolve this before the Chang Ball. Narcissa was going to announce her candidacy for Minister there, with his endorsement to boot. As such, Harry desperately needed to get House Potter’s affairs in order, as his public image was about to become bigger than before. If that’s even possible.

/////

Squeezed between Amelia and Narcissa’s buxom forms, the cart ride into the depths of Gringotts was more enjoyable than ever. Their thick thighs pressed against his legs, wide hips pressing tight at his sides, while large breasts brushed against his arms. But it was still a nauseating roller coaster of a ride, otherwise Harry would’ve been sporting a boner while surrounded by such beautiful older witches.

They took the cart deeper than he’d ever been before, past the regular vaults that lined the walls in ordered caves, down into the depths where the true wizarding wealth lay.

Eventually, they came to a stop at where the Lestrange vault was supposed to be. A familiar roar of a large animal greeted his ears as they exited, as their group soon turned a corner to see just what made such a noise. “A dragon?”

“One of the vaults many protections.” The goblin leading them answered, using a noisemaker that caused the dragon to shrink away from them. He led them across the dragon’s lair to where the actual vault door was sitting, before placing his hand on it.

The door melted away to reveal a cave that was stacked floor-to-ceiling with golden coins and goblets, suits of armor, and even the remains of dead magical creatures. It was the might of an ancient family on full display, centuries-worth of Lestrange wealth all amassed together for them to bear witness.

For a long moment, their group simply took in the sight, basking in its magnificence. For Harry, he couldn’t get his mind around the fact that all of this was his, signed over to him by Bellatrix through her sister, Narcissa’s urging.

He had to wonder if this was why most purebloods were so arrogant and pompous, having become used to the idea of inheriting wealth akin to what laid before him. He took it all in, until his eyes settled on one area of the vault, causing a sharp pain to jab at his scar as he held a hand to it.

“Harry? Are you alright?” Narcissa asked him worriedly.

He looked back into the vault, and saw what he had been looking at before. A small golden cup with two handles, not looking too out of place among the horde of other goblets, yet instantly he knew that it was different.

“It’s that-” He pointed at the cup and took a step forward into the vault, only for a hand to grab him and pull him back.

Amelia had stopped him, and gave him a measuring look. “The goblins said the vault is cursed, so it’s best if we don’t enter it for now.”

“Good idea.” Harry grimaced. “Either way, I’d like to get a closer look at that cup.”

“I’m sure we can pay Gringotts to fetch it for us then.” Amelia replied. “If that’s all, I’d rather do something other than look at cursed treasure before the day comes to an end.”

Disclaimer: All Characters are over the Age of 18