— Meet Harry, this influential and respected businessman, member of the Hogwarts Board of Trustees and head of his own family is Henry Oliver Greengrass.
— Pleased to meet you, sir. — Harry Potter shook the outstretched hand politely.
— And this mighty wizard, you should have recognized him yourself, but I'll introduce you anyway. Richard Bulstrode, head of the Bulstrode family. A worthy man, I commend him. — Harry did not hide his surprise at the size of this man, not much smaller than Hagrid, and he was no half giant.
— Hello, sir. — The boy gingerly shook Richard's hand, who grinned openly.
— Millicent mentioned you in her letters, young man. I'm glad you two have become friends. — Harry just nodded at the words, not knowing how to act, so he just remained silent.
I encouraged the boy's new skills, for he really began to look better, not only physically, but his behavior changed dramatically for the better. Instead of babbling incoherently as he had done before, the guy just kept quiet and nodded to let me know that he heard everything. In theory, you could have a polite conversation — acquaintance was not only "acceptable," it was the way people in high society got to know each other.
And all sorts of neutral topics, like the weather, are actually important, because speech itself is already a source of information, personal, like facial expressions, motor skills, the work of the voice in expressing various emotions, as well as concealing them.
Communication is a science. Harry Potter never learned rhetoric (I'm not very good at it either, by the way), but he was taught a few rules to avoid looking like a wild monkey.
This meeting is being held at Greengrass Manor, and there are only four people present. I was going to invite Lucius Malfoy, but then I remembered the mutual relationship between Malfoy and Potter, so I decided to leave those present.
— Now Henry spoke. — Mr. Hoshino didn't tell you everything, Mr. Potter, about the purpose of this meeting at our request. — Harry was very nervous, by the way. — Not to worry, we wish you no harm, and that is why we have arranged this meeting in a restricted circle of initiates. However, I would like to ask you a question first, if I may? — The boy gently shook his head. — When you were interviewed in Paris a few days ago, did you already know that you would be testifying at the trial in a few days?
And yes, I was surprised to hear about the article in the French newspaper that interviewed Harry Potter. At first glance, there was nothing special about it, no politics or "dangerous" topics were touched upon, just a nice woman talking to the teenager about life, asking his opinion about the tournament he was participating in, being surprised at the inaction of the authorities and the one who loudly declared about the safety of both Hogwarts and the national hero.
In general, Potter without a backward thought, extremely honest and openly told that the application was not thrown, and someone framed him, told that he lived with Muggles all his life, and learned about magic only after the arrival of a half-giant — gamekeeper without a diploma ... and in general told a lot of things "unimportant". But when this newspaper got into the hands of knowledgeable and understanding people, and ordinary people, for whom the authors of the article all beautifully and understandably "chewed up", then in the magical world raised an unprecedented hail.
People openly resented the order and "security" of Hogwarts, and Fudge was so fed up that he issued an unofficial order: "No foreign journalists allowed!", albeit temporarily, but it really became extremely difficult for journalists to besiege the "Man in the Green Bowler Hat".
Surprisingly, during the selection of participants in Hogwarts was a lot of people, including foreigners, but all somehow missed the fact of participation of a fourteen-year-old kid in a deadly tournament.
But as soon as it was written in the newspaper, I mean written with the right accents and explanations, everyone immediately squealed. Anyway, Dumbledore went looking for Harry, rudely pushed aside all current events, and even ambushed him at The Burrow, but the hell with that, I'm not going to give him the initiative — I want to save the Potter family, get the credit for it, and get my bounty, so let Grandfather fail.
— No, sir. I heard about the trial from Sora, yesterday. — The boy frowned slightly.
— That's strange, Mr. Potter. — Henry spoke in a steady, slightly sympathetic tone. — It's strange because your official guardian, Albus Dumbledore, was obliged to inform you of it and explain the rules of the upcoming event. From what you say, he didn't?
— No. It is already news to me that Headmaster Dumbledore is my official guardian. I always thought my guardians were the Dursley family, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.
— Legally, a wizard's guardian cannot be a Muggle, so orphans of wizarding families, as well as Muggle-born children, are automatically taken under the guardianship of the Headmaster of the wizarding school they will attend. This is in the event that the Muggle child does not have an official guardian at the time of enrolment. In your case, Albus Dumbledore organized his own guardianship over you, simply by hiding your whereabouts from everyone else for many ten years, using his positions in the Wizengamot and the ICW. — The look on the boy's face didn't seem to make him happy, but he didn't protest loudly, waiting for the continuation. — You must realize that...
And then followed a half-hour lecture, and it was still quite abbreviated, on the subject of the duties of an official guardian of a magical child in Britain. No one talked about real wizarding guardians, because Henry and Richard don't know everything, and I decided not to overload this meeting with unnecessary information.
In general, Harry heard the textbook version of "who, what, how and why," and it should be noted that even this information was a revelation to the boy. Despite all the talk and chest beating, the "enlightened world" somehow does not like it very much when "democracy" and "freedom of speech" affect them specifically, i.e. when "he" can declare how bad everyone around them is, how wrong they live.
So what's my point? And to the fact that along with the privilege of declaring how well he, Dumbledore, has taken care of the orphan all these years, protecting him from the mean "eaters," the headmaster had to teach the boy, to socialize him, to explain to him the simple truths and local peculiarities of life.
For example, Harry Potter, the heir of a pure-blooded family, very wealthy with profitable businesses, the last in his family, does not know what the "duty of life" is. Trite, isn't it?
Moving on. Henry asked in passing: And how did the Weasleys thank you, Mr. Potter, for saving their daughter? — and the boy's eyes widened and he replied, — So we're friends! Even though it was a bit inappropriate here and now, and he didn't want to burden this conversation too much himself, he couldn't help himself and told it. Even Henry and Richard listened.
I don't know what they were hoping for, probably another revelation, but with the "Debt of Life" everything is simple and logical.
The "debtor" or his family can save the life of the "savior" in return, but you can't intentionally create the situation, and then the "debt" is cancelled. The "debtor" can also serve the "savior" as an associate, not as a servant, until they get a chance to repay the debt. If the family is rich, they can pay it off, or, as another option, they can give the "debtor" to the "savior's" family in any way they wish.
The "debt" does not impose slave obligations, and in case of non-repayment there will be no cruel measures and withdrawal, but all these movements with the debt are themselves part of the system of magical laws of the world, and therefore do not go unnoticed. Therefore, the actions of both the "savior" and the "saved" are "counted".
When he returns, this act is "counted" as a good deed, and for a "blood traitor" even such an act is important for the removal of the seal. In general, it's not surprising that the movie ends with Ginny and Harry getting married and having a bunch of kids, even though the redhead was dating someone and then "suddenly" developed tender feelings for the guy. My guess is that Molly just scolded her daughter, explained what was going on, the girl went along with it, and we got what we got in the finale.
Here I'm afraid I've put the Weasleys in a difficult position with the return of "The Debt," and if they don't save Harry's life before he comes of age, Ginny will have to enter the Potter family through a ritual, becoming either a junior branch, or an official third wife, or a mistress — it's up to the head of the family, i.e., Harry himself. That sort of thing. When that part was finished, we decided to take a short break for tea, and at the same time let the boy get his thoughts in order, calm down a bit.