When Leo was growing up in Louisa’s home, he absorbed her attitudes towards life without thinking too much about them. Louisa spoke out against injustice and the daily parade of unfair penalties that Louisa and Leo had to struggle against. He grew up expecting that somehow every loss could be restored, and every injustice overcome.
Daphne’s story revealed that in the wizarding world a much older set of values held sway. The wizarding government wasn’t a welfare state. Poverty was a problem for the poor. If you were hit by hard times, you had to find your own way out. You could get help from family and friends, but if your family cast you out and friends were not there then hard times could stay forever. There was no escape from debt, you and your children had to pay debts off, with interest, for however many generations it took.
Leo had a mission. Daphne’s story of her family’s decline left him with questions of his own. Harry obviously trusted Daphne. Louisa always told Leo to get both sides of an argument before getting involved. Leo wrote a letter to Roger Kenworthy. He sent it by his owl who had been waiting for a job in her palatial owlery at the rear of his suite for many days. The first response came within hours. Roger Kenworthy knew about the Greengrass family business. They were one of the few old wizard families who could be trusted. The Greengrass family business was genuinely broke. Olivia Greengrass was doing what she could but with no money, no credit and a mountain of debt, there was no progress.
Leo wrote back asking if there was a way that he could help Olivia Greengrass without revealing who he was. Kenworthy responded quickly. Leo could buy the company’s debt. Then he could set the interest rate as low as he liked making it possible for the debt to be repaid. Kenworthy could set up a company to do this anonymously. Then he could offer to buy half of Greengrass Potions as a silent partner. This would give Olivia Greengrass enough money to start trading again and earn some proper income. If all went well Olivia Greengrass could eventually pay off the debt and then buy Leo out giving her the family business back and her self-respect. Leo asked Kenworthy to set the rescue plan in motion. Hours later, Leo received a schedule of costs and a payment approval form. The money Leo had to pay was about one tenth of the galleons that his Gringotts account earned in a month.
Daphne arrived for the usual training session on the next afternoon. She was never very talkative but this time she was silent.
“What’s up, Daphne. You could be accused of being surly today.”
Daphne studied Leo’s face, “Leo, have you been doing good deeds behind my back? I can’t stand people who just give out help without being asked. I’m always expecting some kind of moral obligation to come out of it.”
Leo wasn’t ready for this, “Oh! well, yes, I’ve been talking to some people about your mother’s business.”
“Not just talking. I knew it was you as soon as mum told me. She doesn’t know about your lessons and I didn’t need Legilimens to add up one and one. She’ll find out eventually. She’s very good at getting the facts behind any business deal.”
“Is this a problem? You don’t owe me anything. In fact, I owe you a lot. If you didn’t get me trained up, I would have been in trouble at Swanfleet. You saved me there, don’t deny it.”
Daphne glared at Leo, then softened, “Ok Leo, that might have something in it. The fact is though, that was a lot of money, more than I could earn in lifetime worked for The Daily Prophet.”
Leo smiled, “They must pay you peanuts. That was a fraction of what my Gringotts account earns me each month.”
Daphne showed her business face, “We’re here to improve your Occlumency, get to work!”
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