Destinies Collide

The Work Never Ends

"I see," Mrs Tonks' expression gave little away as to what she might be thinking, though her husband was openly frowning down at the table.

"I have Ms Chang from Slaughter and May looking into a way to execute their wills, but our efforts will refocus on Harry's guardianship if we find someone with any claim as his magical guardian, since one will be necessary for any sort of healing procedure and I don't want him walking around without any immunity to magical diseases," Michael explained.

"So you'll just sign him over to a magical guardian?" She raised one brow, but her tone didn't change from mildly curious.

"Of course not," Michael shook his head, "Harry is under my care, I'll be vetting any possible guardians and working with them," and he can hardly be signed over to someone that doesn't exist to the muggle government, he muses, not that he would do it either way.

"What if I were to obliviate you of this conversation and claim custody?" Mrs Tonks posed but made no movement to reach for any wand that Michael could see.

"If you believe it to be the right course of action, and that you could get away with it, then go right ahead," he refuses to falter in his answer, knowing he has notes of the meeting in at least three different places and Ms Chang was entirely aware of the date and time, awaiting any news from him as soon as it was done.

Michael had no illusions that wixes were any more trustworthy than the average person he dealt with, which is not much at all, and was entirely aware of the dangers of dealing in this brand new world that opened up before him, so faltering at the first idle threat was not in his plans.

The witch traded a look with her husband before turning back to him with a small smile, shoulders falling slightly from the tense stance they'd settled into from the moment he told them he had Harry in his custody.

He passed her test, then.

"Good, Mr Wright. You'll need that spine if you plan to continue meddling into wizarding affairs, especially regarding Mr Potter," Mrs Tonks offered with what Michael identified as reluctant approval, "do you have any other candidates for his magical guardianship?"

"There are other options," Michael informed, not seeing any harm in being open about it, "The Black family have the strongest claim, but I would prefer if it did not go to Narcissa, as helpful as she's been so far. Cassiopeia Black would be another option but I have been unable to get in contact with her and Arcturus Black."

"You may as well discard the last two. Grand aunt Cassie is never in the country and Arcturus locked himself in the Black castle and hasn't come out in years," Mrs Tonks explained, leaning back slightly on her chair, "Narcissa would be a decent option, but you're smart to keep her husband's hands far away from any influence on Mr Potter. Malfoy will use anything as a piece in his political games."

"I take it this is you volunteering?" He can't help but ask once she's done shooting down every other option he had been able to come up with, and only after convincing the goblins that Harry's status as Sirius Black's godson and his own status as his guardian entitled him to information on the Black family. They wouldn't part with monetary information, of course, but it wasn't too hard to get a couple of names of extant members of the family.

"We would need some time to discuss it," Mrs Tonks pointed out, "even if we don't end up housing him, it's still a big responsibility," she added with a knowing look.

"Dora would probably enjoy someone to play with during holidays," Mr Tonks added, seemingly more at ease with the possibility than his wife.

"Of course, we can keep in touch until you're able to come to a decision, and this will also hinge on Harry's opinion. I won't put responsibility over my ward in the hands of anyone he doesn't agree with," he agreed, "so I suppose this meeting is adjourned."