Harry couldn't resist it at Dumbledore's comment, he snorted, loudly. Then covered his mouth as Perenelle made a shushing motion with her hand; though Dumbledore didn't seem to have heard as he continued.
"I must admit, after all of the work we did together working with dragonblood, I'm very glad you would send your son to Hogwarts. I will send you an owl with a list of all the materials needed today or tomorrow if that's okay?" Dumbledore had continued.
"That would be perfectly acceptable. Remember not to use normal owl post. Either use Fawkes or I can send Hedwig back to pick up the list. Any other owls would just be directionless with the wards." Nicholas replied.
"I will remember, thank you, and I look forward to meeting young Ares!" Dumbledore expressed with genuine interest in his voice.
"Thank you Albus. He'll look forward to meeting you, I'm sure." Nicholas replied.
"I look forward to meeting him as well! We shall speak again soon Nicholas." Dumbledore said before the fireplace flared with the signal of a floo call closing. Nicholas had chuckled and gotten up to come back into the kitchen. "And that is how you get exactly what you want from someone like Albus Dumbledore."
"How precisely is that?" Harry asked, keeping his tone controlled.
"Well, now Albus has given you exactly what you wanted. You're not placed in an age group too young, nor are you placed in fifth or seventh year where your time would be consumed with the overabundance of homework expected of OWL and NEWT students." Nicholas replied a trifle smugly.
"You said I was your heir, and you called me Ares." Harry stated flatly, that part of the plan Nicholas hadn't mentioned. It reminded Harry of the twins making up additions to plans as they went along. Harry was honest enough with himself to admit that he had the same habit. If he came up with an "improvement" midway through the plan, he would spring it on people without telling them. However a name change hadn't been mentioned when they discussed things, and certainly nothing about claiming a familial relationship.
"Well, that part technically isn't true yet. Though a quick stop at Gringotts, and some forms filled out will make it true." Nicholas said blandly.
He sighed when he saw Harry's darkening expression and began to elaborate."Look, it's not like I'm volunteering us to actually parent you. I'm not trying to control you either. I promise that I'm not trying to set a bedtime or limit your movements. I'm not that foolish. However there are some very good reasons for your identity to be that of an heir to an important house rather than a no name." Harry raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhat mollified by the assurance of Nicholas not trying to parent or to limit his movements. "What reasons are those?"
"Sending you in as a first generation wizard wasn't going to work with even the small amount of magic we've seen you use. Based on what you've told us, you've lived for years with magic. You don't have to go in pretending not to know things. And anything you do know that seems advanced can be written off as private tutoring, that has been vouched for by a recognized friend of Dumbledore himself. Who's going to argue with it?" Nicholas asked, his eyes locked on Harry.
Harry scratched his cheek, as some of the anger drained away and he looked thoughtful. "I was never the best of students though." Nicholas looked at Harry with an expression of disbelief, clearly questioning his sanity. "You just vanished the bones in your own shoulder. Even if you were never the most academic student, simply from experience and use, you're no doubt ahead of where the current fourth years are. What happens if you absentmindedly cast a spell that everyone regards as advanced. If you were a first generation wizard, how would you explain where you learned it?"
Harry had to concede that Nicholas had a point.
"And sending you in as an anonymous student who'd been homeschooled might further make people suspicious of you. Your movements would be closely watched by students and staff alike. Because you'd have no attachments. Now anyone who watches you will do so simply because they want to keep an eye on you because you're the Heir to the Flamel name, with access to an astounding fortune and relics and treasures of bygone eras." Nicholas chuckled in amusement as he said that last bit.
"People will give you respect for that alone. And students and society alike won't be able to question it, because Dumbledore himself has heard it right from our mouths. Now there's no sticky questions from the Ministry or anybody else about where our possessions go in the event of our "deaths." It will certainly make it easier for the goblins when we merely change names on our vaults." Nicholas looked very smug about the whole thing.
Harry found himself nodding, Nicholas' had done a good job of manipulating Dumbledore. Further Harry found himself relaxing a bit more. Nicholas had outright admitted that he had taken advantage of the situation for his own ends as well. Making it easier for them to fake their deaths when they needed to. For some reason that made Harry slightly more comfortable, that the Flamels were getting something out of this too. "And my name?"
Nicholas actually looked someone somewhat embarrassed at that. "Well, as for your name… I'm sorry but 'Harry' Just isn't a name that we'd ever name a child. I'm surprised that any pureblood family, even one as irreverent as the Potters are rumored to be, would have named a child Harry. I would say Ares is remarkably fitting for someone who is determined to wage a war."
"Not to mention that when someone calls you by your name, it's so close to your name, you should have no problem responding it. I think it's a good choice." Perenelle interjected and then turned a sarcastic look at her husband.."Of course, I'm certain it has nothing to do with Nicholas penchant for giving people names."
Harry however had scowled slightly at the last comment Nicholas made. "I'm not trying to start a war. I'm trying to destroy Voldemort.."
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