Stephen Corner smiled at Anna, his partner Horace Ogden's secretary, as she waved him into his partner's office for their weekly informational meeting.
Davies, Corner, and Odgen had been founded at the beginning of the last war. The three had been roommates in Ravenclaw the three had worked together to become a truly top notch legal firm. Perseus Davies specialized in tax and international business law. Stephen Corner specialized in family law and trust structuring, with both overlapped in general business law and Horace Ogden handled the barrister side of the firm.
Six months ago they had expanded the services they offered into estate planning and management. What had driven that decision was that Stephen's wife Felicia was sending the last of their four children to Hogwarts that year. Felicia was muggleborn and her parents had a similar business in the muggle world. The three solicitors had actually found themselves needing to hire several more witches and wizards to keep up with the demand on their new services. Which oddly enough seemed to stem from tension with the goblins, yet the firm itself was on extremely good terms with the goblins. Getting the Potter Estate under their guidance was a coup achieved with the help of the goblins that could and hopefully would raise them high in the magical world. The use of the Potter name for promotion had been done for years throughout the magical community but the apparent lack of legal permission or reimbursement for doing so, was giving their firm grounds to go after large scale recompense. The Potter estate was quite large to begin with and just in the four months they had been working with the goblins and the guardian of Lord Potter it had grown forty percent and the firms income had doubled.
Felicia entered, followed by Perseus.
Horace's bass rumble started the meeting. "Good we're all here. I'll start. The Wizengamot is still dragging it's feet in the matter of the Potter will however all the maneuvering of the Chief Warlock and his allies has come to naught, I got a judges' triad to bring the Writ Lord Potter and his Aunt filed before the Wizengamot. Dumbledore was fooling himself if he honestly believed the Wizengamot would overrule that Writ which due to the Treaty of 1679 has to be honored or another Goblin war begins. The goblins want to schedule it the morning of the 20th. Lord Potter will have to be present at 10 a.m. In the Gringott's Will Reading Room."
Perseus' light baritone said "That's excellent. We are presently unable to progress with any of the legal issues due to a battle of injunctions with Marchbanks, Doge, Diggle, and Trent. The usual he said, she said, sort of thing which by forcing the wills into the open we'll be able to put a halt to. Felicia has been good enough to look up tax records to get an evaluation of the Godric's Hollow property a few more bits and pieces and we'll be able to choke a few of those old warhorses who thought nothing of stealing from orphans. We'll have to have clear rights to pursue suits with the Ministry, Dubledore, Marchbanks, Doge, Diggle and Trent, and the various publishers, though we are mostly certain Dumbledore had no rights to do what he did, we have to have proof which can only come from the will. Other than that, the import export contracts that the Benchleys had us work up with the firm in India are done. And I can believe how ensnared in chaos the Hopkins files were. I can't believe that whole family didn't step in and help old Fustus when his mind started to drift- fifteen years, insanity. The Ministry is costing them a pretty penny in bribes not to toss them all in jail for failure to pay their taxes but another week and it should be sorted. I've done my best to suggest they should keep us on and utilize Felicia's services."
"Why thank you for that sterling recommendation, Perseus. My department is humming along quite nicely. Gerard and Bethany have finally finished their training, so our workday should cease running to overtime. But now it sounds like I'll need to hire a few more or I'll be back to working twelve hour days. I hope to meet Lord Potter and his Aunt at the party or sooner so we can coordinate exactly what he wishes to have happen with his properties but that will have to wait until after the 19th. I know things slow down in my part of the office until the new year and I plan to take full advantage. Michael and Adrianna will be back from Hogwarts and Charity and Rich are coming from Germany. It's a shame that Steve and Kelly aren't able to get away from their dig in Peru."
"Yes, Felicia, we all realize how you dote on our family and are looking forward to them being here for the holidays."
"Well if you're going to be like that Stephen I won't tell you what I learned just today."she said. An unspoken sing song of I know something you don't know was in her voice. All three men knew that Felicia's uncanny ability to pluck bits of gossip from random conversation and put it together with other information usually from legal and financial sources was one of the reasons for their firms success even before she officially became part of the firm.
Horace wanted to snicker. Felicia had been leading Stephen a merry dance since their first year at Hogwarts. When they were younger all three of the men had competed for her up until fifth year when she got sick of it and put all of them in their place pointing out they were boys and she would only ever be interested in a man. Stephen had been the first one to figure out what she meant and the two got married just out of Hogwarts. Horace and Perseus had both figured out they were better off with the witches their families wanted them to marry if only because their wives were content to be homemakers. Felicia had always worked at least part time in their office. Having her in the office now meant things were going better than the three men had ever dreamed. "So what delightful piece of information have you for us."
"You know how the Malfoy Party on Boxing Day has been considered the must see and be seen event of the holiday season for the last five years?" The men nodded. "This year that role has been supplanted. The Countess of Longbottom is Holding a Yuletide ball and house party. Invitees to the ball portion include most all the Wizengamot, most the ministry, virtually all year mates of Lady Longbottom and-"
"And-"
"All the heads of families of the old and honorable sort or higher minus the Malfoys and their ilk but including Lord Potter."
"Is anyone from our firm invited?" Stephen asked.
"All the heads of families of the old and honorable sort or higher minus the Malfoys and their ilk but including Lord Potter."
"Is anyone from our firm invited?" Stephen asked.
"That's the sad part, I don't know. But if we are we should know by next week apparently the only invites that have been sent so far are the ones that are for the people invited to both the ball and the house party."
"Alice was a Davies before she married Frank Longbottom, we're likely on the guest list." Perseus said.
"Well that's very interesting." Horace looked thoughtful. "How did you know Lord Potter is on the guest list?"
"He's invited to the house party. I found out talking to the post service "
"Indeed, very interesting." Stephen was thoughtful for a moment. Then he shook himself. "Well I completed the wills and trust structures that came in but my time has been split between research for Felicia, routine family law stuff, wills and whatnot for the few walk ins and research for Horace. Nothing terribly interesting or exciting."
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