If Harry was going to do this, why not go nuts?
Goran picked up his new mug... it was almost perfectly the size of his hand. His smile almost seemed permanent right now. "Th... thanks Da. I love it."
With a soft Pop there were sandwiches, plates, cups with pumpkin juice, and a small cup of tea in front of Harry. The boy grinned as well as he saw tea begin to fill Goran's huge mug. "I may drink more cups than you son, but I have a feeling you will STILL drink more tea."
Minerva just... it felt... the whole room, it felt like a family. Some of it had to be Harry's Aura, but it just felt like home. She relaxed and enjoyed a cup of tea while listening to a half giant and a troll talk about strange beasts they had encountered (And in most cases, eaten) over the years, while the children talked about assignments and whether or not they could convince Harry to make THEM some cool stone mugs.
In an abandoned classroom, a slightly twitchy man with a turban was being yelled at... by said turban. And losing, apparently.
"But I got SO MANY TROLLS! How was I to know it would be handled so quickly?"
Oh, that did NOT help his case.
Sometimes selling your body to evil spirits of dark lords of destruction and torture just didn't seem worth it.
Harry stared absently at the table covered in notes. Income might become a bigger issue than he had originally thought. Taking care of himself would have not made a dent in the Potter family finances.
But with a troll son, the numbers changed. Harry couldn't bare the thought of leaving Goran here all summer, alone. He had lost his clan after all, and basically lost his species. And if Harry had learned anything from working with the ministry through Nagnok, it was that corruption was everywhere.
Considering how their hero was abandoned by the magical world, Harry didn't want to think about what they would do to a 'Dark Creature' near their kids without supervision. And constant bribes would REALLY start hurting his future plans.
He idly spun his wand through his fingers as he looked over some random research notes. He knew that he was going to make a home someday... apparently that someday was by the end of the year. Goran needed a safe place to go home to when Harry was not at school. Leaning back in his chair, he watched his friends, all working on their own projects. Hermione was working with Daphne trying to adapt Harry's Stasis charm to be easier for others to cast. Apparently all the extra movements and words created a series of stages for learning the final spell. Since Harry could actually SEE his mistakes, he hadn't bothered on making a longer, louder version for younger students... he would have to keep it in mind in the future.
He had heard that Tracey and Padma were still working on beauty and makeup charms. He would probably invest in what they create, since the beauty industry was so popular in the non-magical world. Harry suspected a good amount of the charms could be adapted for disguise work as well. Susan and Neville had taken up another project of Harry's, finding better non-lethal attack options. Harry glanced at his hand. In a way, he still felt they were covered in blood. The trolls were not human, but they had intelligence. If he had some better methods of restraining them, maybe he could have given Goran friends instead of graves. Neville had surprisingly volunteered, helped by Susan of course, and together they were gathering information about hexes and charms to restrain a person, by magic, mind, or body.
Harry gave a small grin. Compared to everyone else, Terry was working on learning how to make his own Quidditch equipment, even floating rings so that pickup games of Quidditch would be possible. Harry had helped out a little, just so he could stop thinking some of the darker thoughts. Sometimes working on a silly project could really relax a person.
He sighed, looking back at sheets of notes. Harry had sent paperwork to Nagnok to begin searching for the largest amount of cheap land for sale he could find, preferably a dump or spell-cursed area. Sure it would take time to cleanse, but Harry felt the free materials and cheap land would balance that nicely.
The real problem was the wards. Harry had looked at the goblin's offerings, and had felt annoyed. They didn't seem as covering as the red network in his own home, and he wanted any new home to be AT LEAST as safe as his old place. Not to mention that the goblins charged a LOT for those wards of theirs, and Harry needed funds as it was.
He wasn't worried about the break in that Hagrid had mentioned, although the large man seemed shocked that he had mentioned it at all... Great guy, but not great at being subtle, really. Harry assumed that the thief had employed social engineering to get in, not ward breakers.
Security is worthless if you open the door FOR them, after all. And the bank is DESIGNED to let lots of people in all the time. Slip-ups will occur.
Of course, the only other wards Harry had seen was the series around Hogwarts. They weren't perfect, but they were bloody complex... layers of domes, spinning threads that crossed and twisted, alerts and charms woven like vines throughout it. It was almost an organic defense, grown as generation after generation of Headmaster increased and complicated each ward.
Not really practical for a home though.
Harry glanced at his arm, watching the green ropes where his threads used to be. After the strange shifting he had done during the troll attack, his power seemed to flow much smoother, thicker. It was almost worth the pain he had gone through, in a way.
He guessed that shifting hurt so much because of all the odd wards around Hogwarts, although it may have been due to the amount of power he had used to move like that. Either way he had decided to hold off on shifting until he could have Wisdom do some research on wizard transportation spells.
Once again, he moved his personal fears and worries to the back of his mind. Still, he had been researching wards for hours now, and maybe he should take a break.
Standing, Harry stretched. Seeing Daphne's raised eyebrow, he grinned. "Been staring at wards too much, taking a break. Either of you two want to go on a walk?"
Hermione barely raised a hand, still buried in a book about spell creation. "I'm good Harry, I think I am close to a breakthrough really." Her other hand was writing notes with a pen into a notebook. Daphne stretched, causing Harry to blush and look away. She smirked. "Sure, down to the lake?"
He grinned and they headed up the stairs of Merp 2. Goran was out in the woods with Hagrid being introduced to the local delicacies... uh, creatures. Harry sighed. At least the boy would be easy to feed.
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