Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Harry Potter was exhausted as he flopped down on the bed in room 11 of the Leakey Cauldron. His first full day away from the Dursley’s had been amazing fun, but it had been tiring. He must have walked the entire length of the alley 2 dozen times. He hadn’t bothered to really do any shopping, instead just focusing on learning where everything was, the only thing he had bought while out in the alley was some ice cream.

But that made him think he should stop by Gringotts. He didn’t understand how his stay at the Cauldron was being paid for, he didn’t think the Ministry would pay for a teenager to live out of a motel room alone for 3 weeks, but he was sure he didn’t have enough to pay for it himself in what coins he had left over from the year before.

It also wouldn’t hurt to get more information on his finances. He didn’t even know how much he had in his vault or how much the Hogwarts tuition was. For all he knew he would run out of money to even pay for his school and supplies before he finished, and then he would be stuck since he knew the Dursley’s would never pay for him to go.

Pushing worries like that aside, Harry went to sleep early.

The problem with going to sleep early was that it could cause a person to wake up early. Harry was used to getting up around 7, both from school as well as having to get up at that time to make Uncle Vernons breakfast before he left for work. With his going to sleep so early he found himself wide awake and unable to fall back asleep by 4:30.

Deciding not to bother wasting any more time Harry got up and got ready for his day. He had seen that the bank was open all day and night so he could easily go to his vaults and ask a few questions. It would actually probably be easier since there probably wouldn’t be that many people there.

As Harry had expected the bank didn’t have that many people in it, but he was surprised at how many there were. At that early in the day there were only 4 teller stations open and each one had someone at it. Staying back to wait his turn Harry looked around.

Noticing movement off to the side Harry saw Griphook make his way out of a side door. “Hello Griphook.”

Griphook froze momentarily in shock, humans generally couldn’t tell one goblin from another let alone remember their name. “Good morning Heir Potter.” Griphook greeted formally, showing respect in turn for the respect of remembering his name. “Are you here to make a withdrawal?”

“Kind of.” Harry shrugged. “I was actually wondering if there was a way I can get an accounting of what is in my vault. Once I know that I will be able to tell if I can take out any more money or not since I want to save some to make sure I can get through school.”

Griphook gave a slow blink. “Heir Potter, that information is in your monthly statement. The statements go out at the first of each month. It is only the eighth of this month, surely it isn’t too far out of date for your use.”

“Is there a way that I can get those monthly statements starting next month than?” Harry questioned.

That put Griphook on edge. “Heir Potter, I would like for you to follow me so we can go over a few things.”

Harry agreed, not noticing that the tellers in the room had been listening with half an ear as they served the humans in front of them. All had noticed that the human had been polite and had even remembered a goblins name, it had earned him a modicum of respect. It had also worried them that something was wrong as they knew every client of the bank was supposed to get monthly statements.

“Heir Potter, I need you to add three drops of your blood to this potion so we can verify you are who you say you are.” Griphook pushed forward a bowl of the pre-made basic identity potion. It would give a name, parents names, and inherited vaults and titles.

Harry just did as asked, slicing the tip of his pointer finger and adding the needed blood before using the provided healing salve to seal the cut. Griphook took the potion back and placed a quill in the bowl. Once the potion had all been taken in he balanced the quill over a sheet of parchment and they both watched as the quill started to write.

Griphook had known the basics of what to expect, but even he was surprised.

Name: Harry James Potter

Father: James Fleamont Potter

Mother: Lily Grace Potter (Evans)

Inheritance:

Potter (Heir) - Paternal - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 37,685,494 Galleons, 104,083 Sickles, 195,795 Knuts

Peverell (Heir) - Paternal - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 148,060,045 Galleons, 100,479 Sickles, 100,064 Knuts

Gryffindor (Heir) - Paternal - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 197,360,205 Galleons, 100,579 Sickles, 100,530 Knuts

Slytherin (Heir) - Conquest - Lord at 17

Estate Value: 148,057,246 Galleons, 128,293 Sickles, 137,918 Knuts

Quinn (72nd in Line) - Maternal - Squib Line - Applicable to Ireland 

Personal Vault Value: 5,000 Galleons, 100 Sickles, 100 Knuts

Harry just stared at the results for a moment. “What… What does all this mean?”

Griphook had expected the Potter title, but the rest was a surprise. There had long been rumours of the Potters being descended from both Peverell and Gryffindor, but it had been over 3 centuries since a Potter had last needed an inheritance test since they were always previously brought in by the Lord of the house. They only needed the verification for an unaccompanied Heir. Seeing how important this one client was to the bank Griphook hoped no oversights had occurred since the loss of the last Lord and Lady Potter.

“This is what you will possess once you come of age. You have your Potter trust vault that was set up for you by your parents when you were born. And then there is the Quinn vault. You are an, admittedly, very distant member of the Quinn line, it hales from Ireland and has no political standing here, however every member of the family is entitled to a personal vault, that we can have moved from the Ireland Gringotts to this one. There are no strings attached and it is yours simply by right of birth. Once it is moved here you will be able to access it without any limitations, however once the money is gone it is gone and will not be refilled unless you request it from the Lord of the family and he decides to grant it to you.

If you would like I can go over the basics of each family with you starting with the most applicable one for you, the Potter estate.”

“That would be great.” Harry beamed, pleased he had decided to speak with Griphook rather than wait.

Griphook called up the Potter family files and opened them to gather the information and hesitated at what he saw. “This is odd?”

“What’s wrong?” Harry questioned worriedly.

“It’s just…” Griphook flipped a few sheets and then flipped back. “It says here that the reading of your parents wills was scheduled for November 4th 1981, but they are listed as still pending, which means they haven’t been read. All of your families investments have been left stagnant and most charitable donations have been stopped, only the one funding scholarships and extra curricular programs at Hogwarts is still functioning. It also says you have an open marriage contract.”

“A WHAT?” Harry freaked out at that last part. “But I don’t want to get married.”

Before Griphook could respond a gruff looking goblin slammed open the door. “What is the meaning of this cart driver Griphook. Why are you calling up information on one of my clients?”

Griphook looked up at the new goblin with hard eyes. “Account Manager Rockfist, so nice of you to leave your office. Heir Potter, this is Account Manager Rockfist, he is the one who is supposed to be managing the Potter accounts. 

Account Manager Rockfist, this is Heir Potter. He came to the bank today requesting his financial information. I summoned it so I could help him go through it as per his request.”

Harry didn’t know much about goblins, but he knew a power play when he saw it. Rockfist clearly looked down on Griphook, and Griphook obviously didn’t like Rockfist.

Rockfist turned to the human in the room, completely disregarding the other goblin. “Mr. Potter, if you would follow me I will ensure you receive all pertinent information to your fathers family.”

Harry glanced at Griphook and saw that he had covered the inheritance test but gave him an encouraging nod. “Certainly.”

An hour later Harry was guided back to the main lobby of the bank in a less than impressed mood. Rockfist had an excuse for everything, but it just didn’t add up to Harry. Something was off, and he knew it, he just needed to get a chance to speak with Griphook alone again.

And Harry was in luck. “Heir Potter, are you ready to go down to your vault now?”

Harry looked up and saw Griphook waiting just before the doors that led to the lobby.

“Rockfist said Heir Potters transactions were complete.” The goblin messenger who had been guiding him said from his side.

“His transactions with Rockfist are.” Griphook kept his head high, he knew what many thought of him but wouldn’t let it stop him from honouring his word. “However, he also came here today to collect from his vault. As such, I shall take him to his vault.”

“Thank you for guiding me back, but Griphook is right, I do need to visit my vault.” Harry left the messengers side and went over to the cart area with Griphook.

Only once they were both in the cart and were a decent distance away did Griphook speak again. “You seem… unsettled Heir Potter.”

“I am Griphook.” Harry said, neither of them looked at each other as they spoke, and instead just watched the track in front of them. “Rockfist said all the right things to make it seem normal, but I can’t help feeling he was not giving me the full picture. May I ask you a few questions to clarify?”

“It is up to you Heir Potter. As you are the client you may give me private information at your leisure, but unless you sign a waver giving me permission to discuss it with another I am bound to silence.” Griphook was pleased the Potter Heir was showing such cunning. His father had been many things, but overly cunning was not one of them, his grandfather however was.

“Rockfist claims that the investments were allowed to stagnate because the Ministry sealed my parents wills so there was no one left who could direct the finances. However just a few moments later he told me that my magical guardian was the one who received my monthly statements. He said that it was normal for a guardian to receive the statements until the child came of age at 17, but you seemed confused as to why I wasn't receiving them. Then there was the marriage contract. He said my parents were the ones to make it for me, but wouldn’t let me even see it, he assured me that it was fine and that it wasn't my business to know and that my future was secure, but it felt… off.”

Griphook ground his teeth at what he was hearing, while a goblin could selectively edit what they told their clients if they so chose, although doing so was only done if the client was about to make a foolish decision, they were barred from outright lying. “Heir Potter, I share your unsettled feeling. Something does indeed seem to be off with how your account is being handled. I would request that you allow me to speak with my superior about this matter and meet me back here tomorrow evening at 8 so that we can discuss matters further.”

“What do you need from me for the permission?” Harry asked.

Griphook pressed a small button on the dash of the cart and a trey table unfolded over Harry’s lap, the magic of the trey stopped the wind from affecting the parchment or quill. “All you have to do is read that over and sign it. It is very important to always read anything before signing it. I will also warn you, that is a blood quill. It will use your own blood, when you sign your name the back of your hand will sting for a moment but will heal immediately after without any lasting affect.”

Harry got a little nauseous as they went round bend after bend while trying to read, but he eventually managed it. The contract was rather straight forward, it gave permission for Griphook to speak with his superiors about any details of his account he deemed pertinent. Harry quickly signed just as the cart started to slow, feeling the sting and seeing his name on the back of his hand, but like Griphook said it healed quickly.

“I seem to remember this ride taking less time the last times I was here.” Harry mentioned just before they came to a stop.

“I took the scenic rout.” Griphook informed him.

Both were silent as they returned to the surface, both lost in their own thoughts.

After leaving Harry Potter in the main lobby Griphook turned and went deep into the bank. He went to the office of the Branch Manager and requested an emergency meeting immediately.

Emergency meetings were only used in the most dire of circumstances. If the issue was not deemed important enough than the goblin who requested it would be put to work in the mines with no chance of advancement. Scheduling an emergency meeting allowed one to meet with the branch manager within 24 hours, but Griphook was surprised when he was immediately shown in since he had expected to wait at least some time.

After formal greetings were exchanged Griphook took his place before the managers desk, there were no seats so as to discourage wasting of time.

“Cart Driver Griphook, I am surprised to see you here.” Branch Manager Ragnock said as he critically examined him. “I received a complaint about you overstepping your bounds with a recommendation to sanction you, and then you suddenly show up at my office.”

Griphook knew it was Rockfist who was trying to get him sanctioned, which in goblin terms meant reassigned to the pits or beheaded. “I assure you Branch Manager Ragnock, I have not stepped beyond my bounds.”

Ragnock picked up the complaint he had just received. “It states here that you took private financial information without proper authorization.”

Griphook was highly insulted at that. “I did no such thing. An underage Heir came to the bank requesting access to his financial information. I took him back to one of the offices and gave him an identity test, as is standard with an unaccompanied Heir. Once verification was made that he was indeed who he claimed, he requested I assist him in going over the financial information. If he had requested a meeting with his families Account Manager I would have arranged it, he did not. If the Account Manager was doing his job properly then there would be no surprises that would need the more detailed information only an Account Manager has access too.”

“If?” Ragnocks voice was cold as ice and hard as diamond.

“The reason the Heir came into the bank for details on his account is that he, at the age of 13, has not received a single financial statement as of yet.” Griphook informed his boss. “We only had a few moments before the Account Manager in question rushed into the office, undoubtably noticing the retrieval of the basic file, and rushed the Heir out, taking the information as he went. But even in only those few moments I had with the files I noticed… discrepancies.”

“Discrepancies.” Ragnock was not liking where this was going, this was supposed to just be a cart driver getting a head of himself. “How would you be able to spot anything like that without a more thorough look?”

“Because I was apprenticed to the previous account manager prior to his disappearance.” Griphook said, he would never forget how his mentor had disappeared and he had suddenly been demoted to cart driver.

“Ah yes, you apprenticed to Account Manager Ironclaw.” Ragnock looked at the cart drivers file and saw the information. “He disappeared years ago. All that was ever found was his left shoe out near the dragon nests. It is believed he got eaten.”

“So many say.” Griphook had never believed that. “Following his meeting with his Account Manager the heir was left unsettled. As that was the first meeting he had ever had with his Account Manager he sought me out once again. I had previously been the one to take him to his trust vault for the first time so he felt more at ease with myself. During the trip down to collect some gold he decided to speak of what was bothering him, as he is perfectly within his rights to do.”

“But there is nothing you can tell me about what you saw or heard since it is bound by confidentiality, which means my actions in regards to your suspicions are limited.” Ragnock reminded the goblin.

Griphook pulled out the signed form. “As I had my suspicions from the moment I saw the ledgers I had this drawn up. The Heir read it thoroughly and signed it without reservations.”

Ragnock took the form and read it over before doing a verification check to ensure it was signed by who it claimed to be signed by as well as that it was done so willingly. Both came back positive. “Tell me everything you think qualifies for an emergency meeting.”

“The primary issue goes back to what brought Heir Potter here this day, the lack of financial statements. According to what Heir Potter said to me on the ride down to his vault Account Manager Rockfist informed him that his statements are being sent to his magical guardian, he also informed him that that was normal. That means he openly lied to a client.

When I saw the financial information there was clear mismanagement. All of the investments were the exact same as they were when I was working on the accounts, not a single thing had changed, which is clear evidence of mismanagement as the accounts were just left stagnant. But while the investments weren’t changed the donations and money going out was. Most of the Potters charitable donations were stopped, but not all. I also did notice a few new lines in the donations column, but only vault numbers were listed rather than the name of the organization as is required by the anti-fraud laws.

One of the last things I did prior to Ironclaws disappearance was arrange for the reading of Lord and Lady Potter’s wills to take place November 4, 1981, but the wills are still listed as pending. Heir Potter informed me that Rockfist stated the Ministry had sealed the wills, but no proof has ben provided so I can not be certain either way. But the thing that upset the Heir the most was a pending marriage contract. Again, according to Heir Potter, Account Manager Rockfist informed him that the contract was written up and signed by his parents. Another outright lie. I know for a fact that is not true as no contract was on file prior to my removal from the account and the date listed for when the contract was filed in the account information was weeks after the deaths of the late Lord and Lady Potter. When Heir Potter requested to see the contract, as is his legal right, he was denied.

Heir Potter expressed… unease with what has been going on in regards to him and his accounts. It would be very detrimental to the standing of the bank to have him close out his account with us and move his business elsewhere, not just for the amount of profit we would lose, but also for our public image. I felt it necessary to bring all this to your attention before it was too late and we alienated one of our largest account holders.”

Ragnock steepled his fingers and thought for a moment. “While there is no denying the Potters are wealthy, I would hardly refer to them as one of our largest account holders.”

Griphook placed the identity test on the desk. Ragnock took the sheet and looked it over. 

“I see.” Ragnock knew they would need to address the issues with the Potter vaults immediately. “You are more aware of both the accounts and the Heir than I am. What would your recommendation be in moving forward?”

“I would suggest a general overview audit.” Griphook said. “Given just what I saw the evidence of mismanagement will be obvious almost immediately.  Once the mismanagement is proven it will be easy to remove and replace the Account Manager. As is, Account Manager Rockfist is only a temporary appointment as only a Potter by blood can select their manager and Rockfist was appointed by Heir Potters magical guardian after the loss of Ironclaw.

I requested that Heir Potter return here tomorrow evening at 8. Given my prior interactions with him I feel he will keep his vaults with us so long as we can show we are working to address the situation.”

“But what would you use to trigger the audit? Your quick glance at the ledgers is not enough.” Ragnock questioned.

“According to Gringotts code 1474.713-m, the bank is required to send financial updates monthly to all Heirs starting at the age of 10 so they may begin to familiarize themselves with the family finances. Failure to send these updates to the Heir and instead directing them to a magical guardian is a clear violation and automatically triggers an audit.” Griphook said, although he didn’t understand why he was being asked. The Branch Manager got his position because he had worked his way up, he should know all the rules and regulations.

“Correct.” Ragnock was pleased to see the cart driver remembered what he had been taught. “As you are already familiar with the Potter accounts as well as the Heir I am placing you in charge of the audit. You will report to the auditors office and select a 5 goblin team to assist you. I want a report on my desk no later than noon tomorrow so we may discuss strategies prior to your meeting with Heir Potter.”

Griphook saluted his superior and took off to get to work. It was perfect for him, he was going to get to do a job he had trained for as well as get some revenge.

Harry made his way back into the bank at 7:55 so that he wouldn’t be too early, but also wouldn’t risk being late. As soon as he walked in he spotted Griphook standing by the door he had lead him through the day before.

Going over Harry greeted Griphook formally. He had spoken with Florean Fortescue about the goblins and had been directed to a book on proper etiquette to use while working with them. He hadn’t managed to get through the entire thing yet, but he had the basics at least he thought.

Griphook greeted Harry formally in return before guiding him further into the bank. But this time they didn’t go to the little office they had before, they didn’t even go to his Account Managers office. Instead he was guided into a large and lavishly appointed office with a clearly elderly goblin behind the grand desk.

After greetings were exchanged they sat to get down to business. Ragnock had had comfortable chairs added to his office specifically for that meeting. Griphook had done what he could to explain what information he had managed to glean about how to handle the Potter Heir.

“Heir Potter, we are grateful you agreed to this meeting.” Ragnock was still furious over what had been found.

“Am I to assume that there are a few issues we need to address?” Harry had known that something weird was going to happen. It was him, something weird always happened.

“There are a few issues that we will need to go over with you.” Griphook said. “First of all, the Ministry did indeed seal your parents wills and assigned you your magical guardian.”

“And who is that magical guardian?” Harry questioned in confusion since he had only heard that term for the first time the day before and hadn’t gotten a straight answer on who it was from Rockfist.

Ragnock leaned slightly forward in shock. “You do not know? Who taught you about the magical world?”

“I’ve never met anyone claiming to be my magical guardian.” Harry said. “As for who taught me about the magical world, it was Hagrid, Hogwarts groundskeeper. My aunt and uncle, who I live with are muggles, and don’t really… like magic. So they never told me anything and when my Hogwarts letter arrived they tried to keep me from getting it by taking my cousin and I and running away from them. Hagrid found me just after midnight on my 11th birthday and made them let me go to school.”

The goblins shared a look before Griphook spoke. “It is a magical guardians responsibility to teach a young witch or wizard about the magical world. In the case of the child being an Heir like yourself they are also required to teach about the government as well as how to manage their estate. Are you saying no one ever taught you any of that?”

“Up until you showed me the identity test I thought the vault you took me to was all I had.” Harry shrugged. “I’ve asked a few people questions, but no one has ever really given me a straight answer. So who is my magical guardian?”

“The Ministry appointed Albus Dumbledore.” Griphook told him sombrely.

“The Headmaster?” Harry questioned in shock. “But why him?”

“Mr. Dumbledore was known to be closely associated with both your mother and father. He also holds multiple powerful positions, not just his title as Headmaster. He is very deeply involved with the wizards government so we can only assume they trusted him.” Griphook said.

“What else?” Harry questioned in a pained voice, he had seen that there was more the goblins wished to discuss. “Theres more to this than just my magical guardian, so what is it?”

“Your now former Account Manager Rockfist gained the position after the Manager selected by your grandfather and reaffirmed by your father disappeared. During the course of the audit Rockfist was questioned and he confessed to killing Account Manager Ironclaw and feeding him to a dragon. He has since been sentenced to the pits as punishment for his crimes. But prior to being selected as your account manager by your magical guardian, Rockfist managed the personal accounts of Albus Dumbledore.” Griphook said. “We have no evidence that Mr. Dumbledore was involved in the murder of the former manager, but he did use it to his advantage.

Once taking over the accounts Rockfist failed to manage your accounts properly. Now, as the Potters are such an old and wealthy family there has only been minor damage done to the accounts, and adding in the other accounts you are in line for you will never need to worry about your finances unless you do something particularly foolish.”

Griphook said, nothing Albus Dumbledore had done was illegal that they found, and they had looked. “Despite not properly managing your accounts he did still meet with your Account Manager every few months. Despite not training you about this world he did serve as your proxy.”

“Wait.” Harry held up a hand. “Proxy, proxy of what?”

Ragnock really didn’t like how clueless such a powerful and important Heir was. “The Potter family is an ancient and noble family. As such they have hereditary seats in the Wizengamot, which is the magical worlds equivalent to the Muggle House of Lords. They also have a seat on the Council of Magic and the Hogwarts Board. Mr. Dumbledore has been voting in your name on each one.”

“But he can’t do that, I didn’t give him permission to do anything in my name.” Harry said horrified, even though he still didn’t really understand.

“The Ministry did when they named him your magical guardian.” Griphook informed him.

“What about that whole marriage contract thing my parents made for me?” Harry questioned fearfully.

“Your parents did no such thing.” Griphook said. “I was apprenticed to Account Manager Ironclaw up until his death. Your parents refused to make a contract for you. The contract that was listed was created by your magical guardian 2 weeks after the death of your parents.”

“So we can just get rid of it?” Harry said hopefully.

“Unfortunately no young Heir.” Griphook sighed. “As your magical guardian Albus Dumbledore was well within his legal rights to create a contract for you. It is a binding contract.”

“And if I break it?” Harry questioned fearfully.

“Then the Potter family will lose all political standing, half of your estate will be seized as punishment by the Ministry, and you will be required to pay restitution to the family of your betrothed, restitution which will most likely consume the remaining half of your estate. And that is before you get to the social impacts. The Potter family will be named oath breakers and shunned. You personally would be barred from most forms of gainful employment, effectively forcing you to leave the magical world. Any children you may have will also be punished. 

Only your grandchildren and on will have any form of standing in the magical world, and that is only what society chooses to give them. They, unlike any children you might have would be able to attend Hogwarts or gain employment in the Ministry, but they would still carry the stigma. The last family to violate a marriage contract was the Weasley family over 300 years ago. They only managed to regain their seat on the Wizengamot 20 years ago, and they are still looked down on by many in the wizarding world.”

Harry blinked. He knew how people were always looking down on Ron since he had seen how those like Malfoy treated him, but he had never fully understood why. Knowing that it was because of a broken contract 300 years before was horrifying. He knew there was no way he could do that to any children or grandchildren he had. There was no option for him, he would have to see the contract through, he just hoped the Headmaster hadn’t made it too bad. Surely the man wouldn’t do anything too horrible since it would get out that he was the one who made it.

“So who do I have to marry?” Harry asked in a dejected voice.

“A few things you should know about marriage contracts.” Griphook said. “When most are created they just state that one person from one family will marry someone in another family. No names can be added until the child reaches the age of 13. Also, the contract is valid if signed by one guardian for each child, but is only sealed once both parents sign if the child has any. What this means for you is that Albus Dumbledore can, and did, sign a marriage contract for you.

However, the contract is only signed by one individual in the other family. As there are two parents in that family the contract is binding, but not sealed. This means that there is still time to renegotiate terms. A problem arises in that as you are under age Albus Dumbledore speaks for you and has already signed on your behalf on your birthday. Only the other family can change terms now.”

“But who is that family?” Harry questioned, he was really starting to hate Albus Dumbledore.

“The Weasley family.” Griphook said.

“WHAT?” Harry was stunned. How was that possible? He knew Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they had never seemed like the kind of people to force him into something like marriage, let alone the children they adored.

“The base contract states that the Heir of House Potter will marry a Child of House Weasley within 6 months of the younger party reaching the age of majority and graduating from Hogwarts. It was signed on your behalf by Albus Dumbledore and the as of yet named Weasley child by Molly Weasley.

As stated, your name was formally added to the contract on your 13th birthday by Albus Dumbledore. But again, no Weasley child has been named as of yet. And since Arthur Weasley has not signed alterations can still be made to any clauses. As your side has already been signed only the Weasley’s can add, remove or alter the clauses that already exist. If they do so prior to signing then it will be as they state, as you can no longer add, remove, or alter anything.” Griphook really hoped he could protect the young Heir from the clauses Albus Dumbledore had created.

“You said no names can be added until the child is 13. But all the Weasley’s are… Except…” Harry’s face went ghostly pale. “Oh Merlin, they want me to marry Ginny. I can’t. I just can’t. She’s….”

“Please take a few deep breaths young Heir, it will do us no good for you to pass out.” Ragnock stated as the dark haired boy before him started to sway.

Harry gasped in a breath but his world kept spinning. “Is there anything we can do?”

“There are a few things, but we are hampered by your magical guardian.” Ragnock said. “Anything we do on your side of things will need to be addressed with him, but he seems to be your primary problem at the moment. The only way to remove him would be if your parents named another magical guardian for you and we had the wills unsealed or you came of age.”

“Then we unseal the wills.” Harry tried.

“As you are underage you can not do that. Only an approved petition to the Ministry will unseal your parents wills. You would need to be of age to do so yourself, which would be mostly pointless by then as you would no longer have a magical guardian by that point. The only other one who can make the petition is Albus Dumbledore and it is very unlikely he would do so. And even if the wills were opened there is a good chance that he was named as a potential magical guardian for you by your parents given their close relationship so you would be right back where you started.” Griphook said.

“Since I clearly have no clue about any of this, do either of you have any recommendations?” Harry sighed in exasperation as he felt the walls closing in around him.

Ragnock was pleased, it was rare for a human to acknowledge their limitations, rarer still for them to look to a goblin for assistance. “The first thing we need to do is get the Potter accounts a new manager so they can oversee all of this for you.”

Harry glanced around for a moment before making his decision. “Can Griphook do it. He said that he was apprenticed to the previous manager before he was killed, and since the accounts have mostly been left alone he’s more likely to be able to get up to speed with everything fastest.”

“I am in agreement.” Ragnock nodded approvingly. “Well Cart Driver Griphook, would you consent to being Potter Account Manager Griphook? I can use the emergency powers to assign you to the position as the previous manager has been removed.”

“I accept the position.” Griphook nodded his gratitude to both the Branch Manager and the Heir that had selected him for the position. Under normal circumstances Heir Potter would have no say in who managed the accounts, but since Rockfist had been arrested for murder as well as mismanagement he could be assigned the roll by the Branch Manager without the approval of the magical guardian. He would stay in the position for a minimum of 2 years to correct any and all errors before a new manager would be able to be assigned at the request of Heir Potters magical guardian.

Griphook and Ragnock quickly went through the paperwork assigning Griphook the position of Account Manager.

“Back to the marriage contract issue.” Griphook said, extra pride in his voice. “As you can not change it on your end it would be best to address it with the Weasley family. As only Molly Weasley signed there is a good chance her husband is unaware of the contracts existence. Arthur Weasley might be more amenable to making any changes you would request. We could request a meeting with him?”

“He’s not in England.” Harry announced, seeing the looks on the goblins faces he continued. “He won some prize money from a draw or something and the entire family went on vacation. And Mr. Weasley really doesn’t stand up to Mrs. Weasley. I think he would be more likely to listen to his wife, even if he didn’t agree with what she did.”

“There is also the risk of him mentioning it since he will not be bound to privacy as we are.” Ragnock added.

“You seem rather well acquainted with the Weasley family.” Griphook pointed out.

“Ron Weasley, the youngest of the boys, is my best friend, but I’m also close with the twins. Fred, George, and Ron, rescued me last summer when my aunt and uncle tried to keep me from going back to Hogwarts and I spent the last few weeks of the summer with them.” Harry explained.

The two goblins yet again exchanged looks at the implications of the Heir’s home life before Griphook spoke again. “And the parents never mentioned anything about this to you?”

“No.” Harry shook his head. “I mean… Mrs. Weasley kept acting like I was just one of her kids, but I thought it was just because she was a nice person.”

“But you don’t feel comfortable for us to discuss this matter with Mr. Weasley.” Griphook clarified.

“No.” Harry started to think and had an idea. “You mentioned about privacy.” Harry waited until the two goblins agreed. “Is there any way we could see about talking about this with Bill.”

“Bill?” Ragnock questioned.

“From what I know the eldest of the Weasley children, William, Bill, Weasley works for Gringotts. He’s a curse breaker based in Egypt, the entire family is visiting him there right now. Is there any way we could speak to him about it. From everything I have heard he is more willing to oppose his mums views than his father. But I don’t know if he would be able to help me…”

Ragnock had to admit the Heir had good instincts, he just second guessed himself too much. “It could work. Curse Breaker Weasley doesn’t just work here, he is also the Weasley family Heir when his grandfather passes. He would actually have more of an influence over the contract on their side than his parents and we would be able to trust his discretion on the issue.”

“But can we get him here?” Harry questioned. “He’s in Egypt, with his family. Can he get here without alerting anyone?”

“It would be rather easy.” Ragnock said. “He is under contract to the bank, although he works in Egypt he would be based out of this branch as he is a British citizen. We could transfer him back here for a few days to attend meetings and then send him back after. It would get him here without alerting his family that may be involved in the contract.”

Harry wanted to be happy with that, but he knew that it really wouldn’t change much for him, the contract was filed, and no matter what he was going to have to marry a Weasley regardless of what he wanted. “Can we do that then? I really don’t want to be forced to marry anyone, but if I have to then at least I can limit how bad it is.”

“I will have him brought here tomorrow.” Ragnock said. Normally they were less accommodating, but given how badly Rockfist had screwed up they needed to appease the Heir to ensure they didn’t lose his business. “If you would be able to return to the bank again tomorrow at 1 you will be able to meet with him and Account Manager Griphook in his new office.”

“It won’t be a problem.” Harry said. “I’m staying at the Leakey Cauldron for the rest of the summer. That’s actually why I came here in the first place. I wasn't sure what was going on with the bill for my room at the Cauldron.”

Griphook flipped open the account book he found the second to last line, just above the note of the withdrawal the day before. “Your Magical Guardian authorized a lump sum payment to cover your staying at the Leakey Cauldron and your meals there through to the end of summer.”

Harry gave a tight smile. “I’m so glad the Minister who arranged for me to remain at the Cauldron, going so far as to order me to stay close by, and my magical guardian who has never even bothered to tell me about his position decided I needed to know nothing, yet again.”

Harry was frustrated, but he also knew it wasn't the goblins fault. They had no control over the Ministry. And it had been the Ministry that had put Dumbledore in charge of his life. And it was Dumbledore that was messing up his life.

Rather than getting into a self pity spiral Harry instead decided to get back to the Cauldron, put the final touches on the essay he had been working on that afternoon and get some sleep, hoping the next day would bring better news.

Bill Weasley was on edge as he was led through the UK branch of Gringotts. He had worked for Gringotts for a number of years and he had never been ordered back to his base branch. He knew the order he had been given said it was so he could attend meetings, but he was still worried.

And that had been before he had to deal with his mums reaction to him leaving. She had been furious that they had come all the way to Egypt to visit him just for him to return to England. He had pointed out that he still had work to do since he hadn’t been able to take any time off since they hadn’t even told him they were coming until a few days before they arrived. Thankfully his dad had been able to calm her down, or at least get her to hold her tongue for a moment.

When he was brought not to a meeting room but the Branch Managers office Bill really started to worry. He had never even met a goblin that worked closely with the Branch Manager, he only dealt with the most important of jobs. Being brought in Bill made sure to keep to every bit of etiquette he knew as greetings were exchanged and  his escort left.

“Curse Breaker Weasley, thank you for arriving so promptly.” Ragnock said graciously, although it wasn't like he had had a choice. It was an order, even if it was worded more as a request, and they both knew it.

“Branch Manager Ragnock I must ask, why am I here?” Bill was really worried. “I was informed this was about a meeting, and now I’m here with you.”

“You are here for a meeting Curse Breaker Weasley, I just wished to impress upon you the importance of said meeting.” Ragnock needed this employee to understand the importance of him working with them. “To give you a full understanding of what you will be meeting about allow me to explain. A few days ago an Heir came in due to someone manipulating his financial updates. During the investigation that followed it was discovered that the Account Manager that had been assigned, after murdering the previous manager, after the death of the Heirs late parents, had been negligent. The manager has been appropriately reprimanded. Now is time to mitigate as much damage as possible.”

“I still don’t understand.” Bill knew that manager would be wishing he was dead for a very long time before that wish was granted. “I’m a curse breaker.”

“Indeed.” Ragnock nodded. “But during the audit of the Heirs accounts the Weasley name came up. You are here not only because you are employed by Gringotts but because you are Heir Weasley.”

Bill stood up even straighter, the fact his family name came up in a situation that had already gotten a goblin all but killed was not a good thing, it in fact had a very great potential for disaster if he was reading the Branch Managers implications correctly. “And will my grandfather be involved as Lord Weasley?”

“No. The situation is rather… Delicate.” Ragnock said in as diplomatic a tone as a goblin was capable. “As an employee of the bank you are bound to secrecy in a way your grandfather is not. This situation is to be handled with the utmost discretion. If we are able to find a way out of it then you may involve your grandfather if you deem it necessary, but this will be kept within a limited group, do you understand?”

“Yes sir.” Bill knew better than to openly speak of bank business without permission. 

After receiving what amounted to an order to assist and a warning to be discreet Bill was escorted out of the office. He was led to another office just a few tunnels away from the Branch Managers office, and Bill understood what that meant. The closer an Account Managers office was to the Branch Manager the more important the account. And the only things separating this office from the Branch Manager was the legal and auditor departments. Bill almost whined as he realized just how important this client was and that his family had most likely done something to offend him.

Going into the office Bill was introduced to Account Manager Griphook. Sitting on the other side of the desk was an obviously young boy with messy dark hair and green eyes.

“… And this is Heir Harry Potter.”

Bill blinked as his suspicions were proved correct, this was the Boy-Who-Lived. But he didn’t understand what was going on given that information. As far as he knew Harry was best friends with his younger brother and was close with his sister. He had also been told that Harry was supposed to be on vacation in Paris or someplace by Ron and that was why he hadn’t been invited to go to Egypt with the rest of his family as the twins had wanted.

“Hi.” Harry gave a shy wave at the tall red head. Bill was tall like his father and Ron, although he was more muscular. He had expected someone like Percy given what he had heard about the man, but Bill looked… Cool.

“Heir Potter.” Bill bowed in deference, recognizing an Heir of a higher house.

“Please, just call me Harry. I’m not used to this whole… Heir thing yet. Griphook just told me about it a few days ago.”

Bill was startled by that. As far as everyone knew Harry had been raised knowing everything an Heir would need to. If what he was being told was true then that was clearly a lie told to the people, and he had no doubt it was true since it was coming from the goblins in regards to a client account.

“But what does that have to do with my family?” Bill questioned in confusion.

Griphook looked to Harry to ensure he was ok with him explaining further, once Harry nodded his approval Griphook continued. “After the passing of the late Lord and Lady Potter their wills were sealed by order of the Ministry. As the wills were sealed there was no way to determine who they had selected as magical guardian, so they assigned one themselves. They selected Albus Dumbledore.

The involvement of your family occurred 2 weeks later when Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley signed a marriage contract between Heir Potter and a Child of House Weasley.”

“THEY WHAT?” Bill jumped to his feet in horror. He knew very well that it was a marriage contract that had ruined his family in the first place. His mother knew that too. “Can we just cancel it?”

“Unfortunately no.” Griphook said. “As the contract has been signed by a representative of each family, and a guardian of a child in each family, it must be fulfilled. Heir Potter is required to marry a member of your family. The reason you are here today is in the hopes that as Heir Weasley you will be able to assist us in mitigating as much damage as possible.”

“Could we just extend the time limit on the contract so a Potter and Weasley can marry in future generations?” Bill said hopefully. He was a curse breaker, not a lawyer. His grandfather, as Lord Weasley, had given him a basic rundown on marriage contracts, but they had never gone in depth because they had thought no one in the family would be stupid enough to sign one of those blasted things again.

“No.” Griphook shuffled through some of his papers and pulled out the most recent version of the contract. “A name can only be added to a contract once an individual reaches the age of 13. Heir Potter turned 13 a week and a half ago. On his birthday Mr. Dumbledore arrived and added his name. And that is what leads us to our current suspicion. We believe Mr. Dumbledore and your mother plan to force him to marry your sister as she is the only one under 13 in your family and your mother has not added the name of any of her children as of yet. Heir Potter has categorically stated that if he has to marry a member of your family it will not be Ginevra Weasley.”

“I’m not trying to be mean about it or anything… I just… Not her… I just… No. Not after what she did.” Harry couldn’t figure out what to say and just shook his head.

“I thought you and Ginny were close?” Bill was confused by the boys reaction, he had heard about how Harry had helped Ginny when she had almost been killed the year before. “And what do you mean what she did?”

Harry gave Bill a blank look for a moment. “Didn’t anyone explain what happened at school this last year?”

“Not really.” Bill had tried to get answers, but it hadn’t gone well. “I was told there were a series of attacks at the school and that Ginny got hurt and almost died, but other than that no. Any time I bring it up mum gets really over protective and yells at me for upsetting her. Ginny isn’t willing to say much of anything other than that you saved her. She’s always been a bit spoiled as she’s the only girl after so many boys, but it’s gotten more extreme now. To the point that if she even pouts mum and dad will distract her with some new trinket or toy. 

Rons acting like Ron always does. The twins have been watching everyone. And Percy, well Percy’s been off. He’s upset about something but has been avoiding pretty much everyone. Can you explain what happened?”

“It’s a long story.” Harry said nervously as he glanced at Griphook, he didn’t know how long they had for the meeting.

“It is fine for you to explain Heir Potter. I am your Account Manager, I have no other work but ensuring the protection of your families finances, and a problem marriage contract would be detrimental to that outcome.” Griphook encouraged, interested himself. Goblins generally didn’t pay much attention to what the wizards were doing unless it effected them so he had no idea anything had even happened.

“Ok.” Harry shrugged. “I guess it all started for me last summer with the arrival of a house elf named Dobby…”

Over the next half an hour Harry gave a general overview of his previous year. 

After explaining about the arrival of Dobby and the letter from the Ministry he told them how Fred, George, and Ron ‘borrowed’ their dads flying car and arrived to rescue him. He also mentioned his ending up in Knockturn Alley and how he had seen Lucius Malfoy trying to sell things and the fight between him and Bill’s father. He also mentioned how Dobby had sealed the entry to the train and how Ron insisted they take the car.

Then he explained about the detention with Lockhart and hearing the voice. And again hearing the voice on Halloween on their way back from the death day party only to find Mrs. Norris hung from a wall sconce with the threat painted on the wall. He mentioned that the reason they didn’t tell any of the adults about the voice he had been hearing was because both Ron and Hermione had pointed out hearing voices was bad and he had been worried.

After that it was onto the quidditch match and the cursed bludger. Harry explained about how the staff believed that Colin had been sneaking out to see him and been attacked. He told them about how when they had opened the camera the film had burned.

Things picked up in December when Lockhart decided to hold a duelling club. He explained about how Draco had summoned a snake and that was how Harry discovered he was a parselmouth and how he had used it to keep the snake from attacking one of the students but how everyone had assumed he had been egging the snake on and decided he was the one attacking people. It had been the very next day that Nearly Headless Nick and that same student from the duelling club had been attacked. 

After that things had gotten much worse for Harry. During the next weeks Fred, and George, and on occasion Percy, had to escort him to and from classes because he was repeatedly attacked by those blaming him for the attacks. He even had to be escorted to and from quidditch practice by the rest of the team after he had been followed a few times.

Bill had been impressed to learn that three second years had managed to successfully brew polyjuice potion and also manage to get into the Slytherin common room. He had laughed knowing that, although they hadn’t found the information they had wanted, they had still learned about where the Malfoy’s hid dark artifacts and told his dad. 

It had been in the first week of January that Harry had found a diary in the girls loo. He explained about how someone had tried to flush it down Moaning Myrtle’s toilet and upset her, causing her to once again flood her bathroom. 

After finding the diary everything seemed to become mostly peaceful. He had still had people targeting him, but there hadn’t been any new attacks. Both Bill and Griphook were instantly on edge, more than they had been before anyways, when Harry describe how he wrote in it and it showed him a memory of Hagrid being blamed for the attacks 50 years before. Bill thought the idea of Hagrid being in any way responsible was ridiculous, but it did explain why he had been expelled if people thought he had.

Harry went over how after witnessing the memory he and his dorm mates had returned from class the next day to find his trunk broken into, his things strewn all over and the diary missing. Harry’s voice got choked up as he explained how Hermione and Penelope were attacked in the middle of March. After that the staff finally responded in an attempt to protect the students, but Harry explained it was almost completely useless since it was dependant on the staff actually putting in the effort to look after the students, something they never really did in his opinion.

Griphook in particular was disgusted when Harry explained about how the Minister had shown up at Hogwarts with Lucius Malfoy and arrested Hagrid without any evidence or even legal authority to do so as no charges were filed. Goblins generally didn’t like the Ministry so more evidence of their corruption just solidified his views. Bill had felt himself immediately begin to worry when Harry mentioned Hagrid telling them to follow spiders, Bill knew very well the kinds of creatures Hagrid had.

Harry told them about how he and Ron eventually did as Hagrid said and found themselves in an acromantula nest. Bill had nearly passed out at that given how dangerous those particular creatures could be, he was also impressed Ron had gone there given his well known phobia of spiders. Between what they were told by Aragog and the note they had found in Hermione’s hand they knew the creature was a Basilisk. This caused both Griphook and Bill to start choking, both knowing good and well just what those creatures were capable of.

It had only been shortly after that that Ginny had been taken. Harry’s voice was almost completely monotone as he explained what had happened after that. Describing his near death was much harder than he would have thought given he had already had to do it once right after, plus give a generic outline to Hermione when she had demanded to know what had happened.

“Heir Potter, I would request that you allow me to make an appointment with our healers for you. From your description the Hogwarts staff really didn’t do anything to assure your health after what happened.” Griphook said, shocked at just what had happened around the children of the wizarding world. No goblin would ever allow something like that to happen to their young.

“Why?” Harry asked in confusion. “Fawkes healed me.”

“Basilisk venom is particularly potent and has been known to stay highly toxic even centuries after the victim has passed. Phoenix tears may have stopped your death, but that does not mean that there will be no residual damage. For all we know the tears may have just destroyed the venom, being used up in the process. It would be better to address it now than have anything bad happen later.”

“Sure, if you think it’s needed.” Harry said.

“Harry, I’m still slightly confused.” Bill said. “I can understand you being upset with Ginny about what happened, but by your own words she was being possessed. But your reaction to marrying her seems rather disproportionate even given your being forced into this contract.”

Harry sighed as he looked over to the eldest Weasley brother. “I will admit, I didn’t catch it at first. But after everything had settled Percy and I talked, and that was when I noticed it.

The diary. I found it in the loo in January. According to Tom, who I will admit isn’t exactly the most trustworthy of sources but Ginny also partially confirmed it later, Ginny had thrown the diary away because she had grown to suspect what it was doing to her. Tom mocked the things she wrote about how she had woken covered in rooster feathers only to find out Hagrid’s roosters had been killed and how she had woken with red paint on her hands and found the message about the return of the heir had been done in red paint. 

Ginny isn’t stupid, she knew she was involved, at least partially, in what had been happening. And I can empathize with her about being afraid to come forward. She saw how I was treated and attacked because people thought it was me and I can’t really blame her for not wanting that kind of treatment, but in doing so she left me to deal with it with no way of proving I was innocent. I can also understand that the professors are all but useless and, at least in my 2 years there, have never really done a damn thing to truly help or protect the students so there’s no guarantee they even would have listened to her.

But the only time I had the diary outside of my trunk was when it showed me the memory of Hagrid. I was sitting in the common room during that. So Ginny must have seen me with the diary. It was the next day she stole it back. But I want you to think about that. She had been out from its control for over a month by that point. She had gotten rid of the diary because she knew it was using her to hurt people. But when she stole it back she still didn’t try and get help.

It was the middle of February when she took the diary back. Hermione and Penelope weren’t attacked until the middle of March. That means Ginny had the diary for an entire month. And the only thing she apparently did during that time was go back to writing in it. All she had to do was take it to a professor and it all would have been over, but she didn’t. 

When she woke up in the Chamber she kept babbling about how she had been too afraid to tell anyone because she didn’t want to be expelled. But that means she decided that her not getting in trouble was more important than peoples lives. If Hermione hadn’t figured out about the Basilisk, and Penelope hadn’t had a mirror, then the two of them would have died. Ginny is incredibly lucky that she didn’t actually kill them, it was only a fluke no one did die. And her excuse was that she didn’t want to get expelled. And I can understand, I wouldn’t want to be expelled either, but there comes a point where you have to decide just what you are willing to risk to get what you want, and Ginny apparently decided that killing someone was fine. But the worst thing was what she did to your brothers.”

“None of the boys were hurt I thought?” Bills voice shook slightly as he realized just what his sister had truly done.

“Not physically.” Harry had gotten up and had been pacing as he had ranted. “Ginny saw how much the attacks were hurting people, not just the ones petrified, but their friends. The first boy attacked, Colin, wasn't just her year mate, he was her house mate. She saw how upset and scared his friends in the house were. She also saw that with Ron and I about Hermione’s attack. She even sat with us a few times as we talked about it.

And from what you’ve said Percy is withdrawing and I’m pretty sure I know exactly why. The Ravenclaw Prefect that was attacked, Penelope Clearwater, is Percy’s girlfriend. Percy was devastated by her attack. Percy, the boy who has never met a rule he didn’t love actually snuck out almost every night after that, I caught him a few times. He would sneak to the hospital wing to visit with her. He told me that even if she didn’t know, he just couldn’t leave her there alone.

What was worse was that he was blaming himself. Percy was supposed to meet Penny at the library for a study session but had gotten held up dealing with a fight between some third years. He convinced himself that if he had just been on time Penny wouldn’t have been hurt. 

And Ginny sat there. Ginny sat with Percy while he cried. While he blamed himself. And she said nothing. She knew it wasn't his fault but she said nothing. Seeing her brother suffer like that was less important to her than her not getting in trouble.

And she didn’t get in trouble. From what you’ve said your parents are even spoiling her. I can’t imagine how Percy is feeling as he tries to figure out how to deal with the fact the little sister he loves attacked his girlfriend after months of keeping the fact she had been hurting people a secret all while watching as she gets spoiled like his suffering and the suffering of others means nothing.

If she can do something like that to her own brothers I just… I can’t. The way it was explained to me marriage contracts require at least one child. And if I had to have a child with Ginny I would never be able to trust her alone with them. Maybe she will grow up, maybe someone will bother to teach her getting everything she wants isn’t more important than the lives of a few muggle-borns, but right now I have no reason to believe that’s true given everything you’ve told me about how your parents are treating her. I would never be able to trust her around a child of mine and you can’t have a relationship with someone you don’t trust not to kill your child and then lie about it.”

“Deep breaths Harry.” Bill was suddenly at Harry’s side as the younger boy started to hyperventilate as his mind spiralled under the idea of being forced to marry and have a child with Ginny.

“Heir Potter.” Griphook called for Harry’s attention. “I have arranged for an appointment with our healers to take place in an hour if that is amenable to you?”

Harry slowly let out the deep breath Bill had made him take and relaxed slightly, not that he was thrilled about having to see a healer. “That is fine Griphook. I apologize for freaking out the way I have.”

“No need. You have held yourself together remarkably well these past few days given everything you have learned and your age.” Griphook assured, he had actually been expecting the boys melt down to happen on the first day given what he had known about the boys fathers emotional control, or lack their of.

“Griphook, do you have any suggestions?” Harry asked as he and Bill retook their seats.

“Indeed I do.” Griphook was pleased with the respect the Heir was showing in asking his opinion yet again. “I took it upon myself to look into the Weasley family to determine the best possible match, although I could not incorporate your emotions in my judgment due to you being human while I am a goblin. Of the current Weasley generation there are 4 potential matches.”

“Four?” Bill said in confusion at that. “There are 7 of us.”

“Not precisely.” Griphook said. “The contract specifies a Child of House Weasley. You for instance, although a Child of House Weasley would never be referred to as such in any legal documents. As Heir Potter is referred to as Heir Potter you would be referred to as Heir Weasley.”

“That still leaves 6.” Bill said.

“No. During my search I learned something interesting. Your late Uncles, Fabian and Gideon, were the Prewett Co-Lords. With their deaths the title passed to the next in line. In the Prewett family the title always goes first to magical twins, so your younger brothers Fredrick and George were automatically named Co-Heirs upon their births. Moreover your Uncles specifically stated that Fredrick and George were their Heirs and made arrangements for them and the house. Your Great Aunt Muriel currently serves as steward of House Prewett, but when your brothers come of age it will pass to them in full.”

“How come none of us were ever told?” Bill asked in shock.

“That I can not say. All I can say is that both your mother and Great Aunt are aware of the situation as they were at the will readings.” Griphook said. “But that means the Co-Heirs of Prewett are also not viable option for the marriage contract. That leaves us with Charles, Percival, Ronald, and Ginevra. Heir Potter has already stated he will not marry Ginevra so she is out.”

“I just realized, all the others are boys.” Harry said as the thought struck him.

“And?” Bill and Griphook said at the same time.

“Marrying your own gender is illegal.” Harry said slowly. “At least, it is in the muggle world.”

“Not in the magical world.” Bill said. “Because of potions and spells both genders are capable of conception so there is nothing that precludes same-sex relationships. In fact a majority of witches and wizards go for either due to not placing any artificial limits on who they can love.”

“Boys can get pregnant?” Harry questioned in shock.

“All third years at Hogwarts have a sex education course taught on weekends. What kind of friend would I be if I denied you the right to learn all these horrifyingly embarrassing facts along with your dorm mates?” Bill grinned. “For now, all you need to know, is you can marry someone of either gender and still be able to fulfil the child clause in the contract.”

“Indeed.” Griphook said. “As for the remaining three, I would recommend Charles.”

“Charlie?” Bill questioned in slight surprise. 

“Why him?” Harry questioned.

“He is of age.” Griphook said simply.

“So is Percy.” Bill pointed out.

“But wouldn’t that mean he isn’t a ‘child’.” Harry questioned.

“A Child of House Weasley only means someone born into the house. Even now Arthur Weasley would still be referred to as a ‘Child of House Weasley’, age has nothing to do with that aspect.” Griphook chose to respond to Heir Potter first as he was his client. “As for Percival, yes he is technically of age, but he is still in school. Even once a child is of age they are still technically under the guardianship of their parent or guardian until they leave school. As an adult, out of school, with his OWLs and NEWTs, and a stable job there is no way to argue that Charles should be under anyones guardianship.”

“And why does that matter?” Harry questioned.

“Because he can sign contracts on his own behalf.” Griphook pointed out. “We have one year to get the contract signed before there is a risk of Genevra Weasley’s name being added. It would be risky to wait any more than we absolutely have to. 

As I have previously stated, as Mr. Dumbledore has signed the Potter side of the contract is sealed, only the Weasley’s can edit or remove the clauses that already exist or add new ones. It’s why contracts are normally signed by both sides at once, so the other side can’t make changes. But we have the benefit of potentially being able to work with a Weasley to design a contract you can tolerate. Charles will be able to change any and all details of the contract and there is nothing Albus Dumbledore or his mother can do about it.

If we were to use any of the other children we run a higher risk. As of this moment we have no proof that Molly Weasley is aware of what the current list of clauses state, but we also have no evidence she doesn’t. If we used any of the other children it would tip our hand and run the risk of her signing the contract that already exists or going straight to Mr. Dumbledore. If we can trust Charles Weasley then he would be the best option to ensure Heir Potter has a choice. It also has the side benefit that once the contract is signed, as Heir Potters betrothed, Charles will gain the position of magical guardian so he will be able to allow me to do my work as well as keep Mr. Dumbledore from accessing any of Heir Potters assets.”

“Charlie’s a good guy, we can trust him to help in any way he can. Although we will need to be careful about going against the Headmaster, he’s still a very powerful and influential man.” Bill said to a nervous Harry. “I actually agree with Account Manager Griphook. With how he laid it out it’s clear Charlie is the best option. I know you haven't met him Harry, but he is a genuinely good person, he would never try and take advantage of this situation.”

Harry sat and thought for a few moments. “I just don’t want to force anyone into a situation like this. Griphook, can Bill approach his brother and talk about all this with him so we can get his opinion?”

“So long as Charles agrees to privacy and secrecy spells.” Griphook nodded. “We do not want anything we are doing to get out right now.”

“Right now Charlie’s still in Romania. He’s supposed to be meeting us in Egypt in 3 days. If we can arrange a portkey for him I should be able to get him back here by this evening if I tell him its an emergency. That should give me enough time to get him caught up and we can meet back here again tomorrow.”

Griphook looked to Harry as this was about him.

“That works for me. I’m staying at the Leaky Cauldron so I can get here whenever.” Harry said.

“What does Heir Weasley have your permission to discuss?” Griphook asked for clarification.

“He can explain anything he feels is relevant. And Griphook, you have my permission to discuss anything you deem pertinent with Bill as well so he can give his brother the full picture.”

After going over a few more things a goblin healer arrived to meet with Harry and take him to the healing ward for his tests. By the time the results came back Griphook and Bill were still in talks so Griphook gave him a basic overview of Harry’s less than impressive health to pass on to his brother.

Harry woke up in a healing ward a few hours later and was released with a message informing him he would be meeting with Griphook, Bill, and Charlie at 10 the next morning.

“Bill, what is so important? Is everyone ok?” Charlie asked as soon as he arrived at the Burrow. He had been called to the Gringotts branch, told there was an emergency and given a portkey to the branch in the UK before being sent to see his brother at their childhood home.

Bill was sitting at the kitchen table with the paperwork he had brought with him spread around him. “The family’s fine, for the most part, but it's a bit of a mess.”

“What’s all this?” Charlie was worried when he saw his brother take a sip/gulp of firewhiskey.

“It would seem our dear mother, in all her infinite wisdom, decided to sign a marriage contract.” Bill sighed.

“She did what?” Charlie growled in horror. “She knows that’s what ruined the Weasley family.”

“Yup.” Bill agreed.

“So what am I doing… Oh merlin… Is it for me?”

“I’m hoping so.” Bill said to his brothers horror.

“WHAT?”

“Charlie, it’s bad. I mean really bad.” Bill ran a hand threw his hair. “Mum signed the contract with Headmaster Dumbledore.”

“I AM NOT MARRYING ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!” Charlie shouted.

“What?” Bill looked to his brother in shock before laughing. “No, mum signed for a Child of House Weasley, Dumbledore signed as magical guardian of Heir Potter.”

“Harry Potter?” Charlie questioned in shock. “This is about giving Ginny the fairytale life she wants, isn’t it?”

“We think so. A name can’t be added until the child is 13, and since mum hasn’t added a name yet we figure she’s waiting until Ginny’s old enough. Problem is, Harry absolutely refuses to marry Ginny, and I don’t blame him.”

“And what’s wrong with Ginny?” Charlie questioned. He wasn't angry, but he didn’t understand his brother’s reactions.

After making his brother agree to the privacy and secrecy spells Griphook had required Bill sat Charlie down and told him what Harry had told him about his last year at school. He made sure to mention what Harry and Percy had both figured out about Ginny’s actions. By the end of it Charlie was just as horrified and couldn’t blame Harry for not trusting his sister.

“So what does all this have to do with me marrying Harry Potter?” Charlie questioned as he sipped his own firewhiskey he had gotten half way through Bills tale.

“Dumbledore has already signed for Harry since he’s 13. That means Harry is stuck, there’s no way out for him. He is required to marry a Weasley or suffer the same fate our family did. But since only mum signed the contract, and she hasn’t added a name yet we still have a chance to save this. Since I’m Heir Weasley it can’t be me, and apparently the twins are the Prewett Co-Heirs so their out too.

As a legal adult who isn’t in school, you can sign the Weasley half of the contract without us having to tell anyone anything. Even better, you can change the contract to something both you and Harry can tolerate. If we use any of the younger kids we run the risk of mum or Dumbledore mucking this up.”

Bill held out the clauses Dumbledore had signed off on with a look of disgust on his face. “Right now, this is the life Harry is looking at. We can’t let this happen to him.”

Charlie took the contract in concern and started to read. Bill had been given a copy and had read it shortly before, hence the firewhiskey. The contract wasn't as bad as it could have been, he knew from stories passed around while he'd been at school there were some contracts that were basically slave contracts, but it still wasn't great. The contract that Harry was already bound to was strict in the sense that it required fidelity, required that he remain in the UK, and dictated certain aspects of his finances, but it could have been worse. From what he knew many marriage contracts tended to be lenient when it came to affairs since they were more about politics and as long as there weren't any illegitimate children affairs were overlooked. Charlie personally wasn't a fan about the fact that whoever Harry married would have just as much control of his vaults as he did, it was his inheritance, if he wanted to share with his spouse that was one thing, but to mandate it wasn't exactly fair since he had no real say in who he married. He loved his little sister, but he knew that if she had free access to the Potter vaults she would empty them within a matter of months on frivolous things. And he really didn't understand forcing Harry to remain, the boy deserved to be able to live wherever he wanted, but it did make sense in the way of keeping him available to be a public figure and to be used as a symbol to keep things going the way Dumbledore had been planning for decades it seemed.

“If you agree to this… You can basically rewrite the entire contract to one both you and Harry can live with.” Bill told his brother once he saw he was done reading the contract.

“And Harry, what’s his opinion on that monstrosity and marrying me?” Charlie asked.

“For the clauses, he has no idea. He’s already panicking and didn’t want to make it worse so he didn’t read it. As for you… He’s worried, about you.” Bill smiled slightly. “We met about all this today, and his major concern, other than not being forced to marry our sister, was that he didn’t want to force anyone into marrying him. He’s a really sweet kid.”

Charlie looked at the list of clauses one last time and made his decision. “If he agrees then I’m in. I never planned on marrying, but I won’t let someone do that to anyone.”

Bill let out a sigh of relief. “There’s a few more things I need to mention to you before we go to the bank tomorrow.”

For the rest of the evening Bill gave Charlie a basic outline of what had been going on in Harry’s life. After the health scan Griphook had been furious. Harry had shown signs of longterm malnutrition, over a dozen broken bones, numerous concussions, as well as muscle and joint damage. The healers had chosen to just knock him out so they could start to treat as much of the physical damage as they could, but he would be on potions for at least a year.

Both brothers swore they would help Harry in any way they could.

The next day Harry once again made his way back to the bank. This time he was worried as he was possibly meeting a man he would one day have to marry. Why oh why couldn’t Harry have a normal life?

After being shown to Griphooks office Harry got his first look at Charlie Weasley. Charlie was tall like Bill but had the bulkier frame of the twins. This surprised Harry as he was built more like a beater but Harry knew he had been a seeker. His hair wasn't as long as Bill’s, but was longer than the other Weasley boys he had met. He had a kind face that reminded him of Mr. Weasley with blue eyes and plenty of freckles. He also looked incredibly strong and even had a few shiny burn marks on his arms Harry assumed he had gotten from the dragons.

After introductions were done they sat down and got to business.

“Mr. Weasley, your brother will have explained things to you last night, but I still must ask, do you have any questions?” Griphook asked.

“No, I think I have a good understanding of the situation.” Charlie replied.

“And you’re ok… with… with marrying me?” Harry asked in both fear and embarrassment.

“I’m not going to lie, this isn’t how I planned my life going, but I think you could say the same.” Charlie gave a boyish smile. “I never planned to get married at all, but so long as you agree, so do I. I have no more intention of forcing you into this than I’ve been told you have of forcing me into it. What I can say is that I will do anything I can to help you through this.”

Harry gave a slight smile.

“So both parties are in agreement?” Griphook asked and received confirmation from both Harry and Charlie. “Then we will need to get to work on writing up the contract. There are a few things that are requirements in all contracts, but a majority of it will b up to you both.” 

Over the next three hours they negotiated a new contract. It was relatively simple given the amount of time it took to negotiate. A law goblin had been called from the legal department to write up the contract once they knew what they wanted.

Some things that were requirements in all marriage contracts was the requirement for at least one child, something neither Harry or Charlie were opposed too given their interest in family. Another requirement was that spouses were required to reside within the same house for a minimum of 6 months a year, although they were still allowed their own space and weren’t required to share a room, both had agreed they could work with that. But the biggest thing was no divorce, there was actually no such thing as divorce in the magical world, they could separate, but the living together would still stand and they could never marry again unless one of them died.

They didn’t really add much to that. They agreed that although they were required to have one child they would not add limits to how many they could have if they so wished. They also agreed that childcare would be split between the two of them.

One thing that Charlie had insisted on was that Harry would retain full control over his own vaults and titles. In return Harry insisted that Charlie retain control over his own vaults. And since Harry was still in school it was agreed that the Potter vaults would pay for everything Harry would need and Charlie would be reimbursed for anything he bought Harry that was deemed a necessity, Harry had had to bully Charlie a bit over that since Charlie felt if he was to be a guardian then he was responsible. But Charlie wasn’t mad he had been made to agree since school was expensive and although he had a good job it wasn't an expense he budgeted for.

After Griphook had suggested it Harry insisted they add a clause saying infidelity was allowed so long as it wasn't flaunted. Harry might not have any real interest in any of that stuff, but he didn’t want to deny Charlie a chance at a relationship even if he couldn’t get married. Charlie agreed, but he couldn’t help but admit to himself that the idea of cheating on his spouse, with permission or not, just wasn't appealing. 

Other than that they agreed that anything else that came up could be dealt with as it came up and didn’t need to be included in the contract. They also agreed on a dowery of 5 galleons, which was the absolute minimum as it wasn't about money for them.

They talked for a bit longer and made arrangements for another meeting the next day. Bill had explained that before they signed the contract they had just made he wanted to run it by their grandfather first so he wasn't surprised by anything once everything came out publicly. Harry didn’t see a problem with it since he trusted Bill, and now Charlie. They agreed to meet with Lord and Lady Weasley the next afternoon.

Once the meeting was done Bill and Charlie invited Harry back to The Burrow for the afternoon. Since they didn’t want anyone to know that they had been working together Harry went back to the Cauldron and grabbed his invisibility cloak. It took a bit of work to get through the mid afternoon crowds without anyone noticing his presence. Once he reached Bill and Charlie, Bill took a tight hold of his arm and Harry felt a squeezing feeling.

When they landed in the front lane of The Burrow Harry would have fallen on his face but was held up by both Bill and Charlie who had grabbed onto his arms. Both chuckled and explained what he had just experienced was side-along apparition and that it was always horrible, only once you were the one doing the apparating did it even get slightly better even though it could still be highly uncomfortable.

For the rest of the afternoon Harry got to know the two eldest Weasley’s. He found he really liked them and they proved to be helpful.

When Harry explained the elective classes he had selected they were more than happy to give him information on them, although they both warned against divination given how useless the subject was for getting a career. Bill, proving there was at least some Percy like qualities in him went and collected the notes he still had in his room so Harry could see what kind of classes ancient runes, arithmancy, and care of magical creatures were like since he had taken all three of those subjects. Charlie was more than happy to regale Harry with all kinds of extra information for care given his love of the subject.

When Bill went to visit their grandparents to arrange for them to meet them at the bank the next day Charlie and Harry took brooms out of the shed and did a bit of flying. They had plenty of fun playing seeker matches. Harry won most of the games since he was smaller and more maneuverable while Charlie had grown much bigger than he had been during his seeker days. 

After spending a few hours together just relaxing and getting to know each other Charlie apparated Harry back to Diagon under his invisibility cloak for the evening.

The next day Bill and Charlie arrived shortly before they were scheduled to meet with Harry and Griphook and instead join their grandparents in the Weasley Account Managers office. 

The Weasley account wasn't anywhere on the level of the Potter account, the office was pretty much as far from the Branch Managers office as possible, but it had been growing slowly in the past few decades. The only real reason they had an account manager was because they were an ancient and noble family.

“Bill, Charlie.” Cedrella Weasley smiled as she hugged her two eldest grandsons.

“Boys, what is it that was so important we needed to meet here?” Septimus Weasley asked after hugging the boys too.

Bill and Charlie exchanged looks before Bill spoke. “We learned something problematic. We think we’ve mitigated as much damage as possible, but figured you should still know what is happening so if this falls apart you can be ready.”

“And just what did you learn?” Septimus asked with slight fear in his voice.

“Mum signed a marriage contract.” Charlie said quickly.

“She what?” Septimus growled in shock. This could destroy everything he had spent his life building.

“Mum signed a basic marriage contract stating that a Child of House Weasley would marry the Heir of another Ancient and Noble family. The contract was counter signed by the Heirs magical guardian. The Heir just turned 13 this summer so his name has been added, but mum hasn’t added a name yet. Because mum hasn’t added a name and dad didn’t sign we still had a chance to save the situation.” Bill explained.

“Which family did she bind us to?” Septimus asked as he dropped his head into his hands.

“The Potter’s.” Charlie said.

“What?” Cedrella asked in a stunned voice. “If Lord and Lady Potter had contracted their son to a Weasley that would have been huge news within the family. We would have been able to take him in after their deaths.”

“James and Lily Potter didn’t sign.” Bill said. “After their deaths the Ministry sealed their wills and assigned Headmaster Dumbledore as his guardian. Mum and the Headmaster signed a contract only a few weeks later but left Harry completely isolated with his mothers muggle relatives. He only found out about all of this a few days ago when he went to the bank because he hadn’t been receiving his financial updates.”

“All Heirs are to receive those.” Account Manager Sharpstaff said instantly.

“Harry’s situation is complicated.” Bill said with a slight wince. “The Account Manager his family selected was murdered just after his parents. As his guardian Headmaster Dumbledore selected his replacement, who just so happened to be the same goblin that had killed the manager. Harry also seems to be under some kind of mail ward so all mail for him goes to the Headmaster and he only sends on what he thinks Harry needs to know. 

Harry started asking questions about what was going on and all of this came out. His former Account Manager was convicted of murder and neglect of duty as he hadn’t been properly maintaining the Potter accounts along with not sending the updates to Harry but instead directly to Headmaster Dumbledore knowingly. Harry now has a new account manager who is going over everything for him and that’s how the contract was found.”

“That poor boy.” Cedrella shook her head. “How could Albus do something so despicable to a child?”

Bill handed over a copy of the original contract for his grandparents to read.

“You suspect she’s planning on using Ginny for this, don’t you?” Septimus questioned.

“We think that was the plan, but Harry has said not a chance.” Charlie said. “He said he didn’t care what happened, if Ginny’s name was added to the contract he wouldn’t follow through.”

“That would destroy both our families.” Septimus pointed out.

“And what’s so wrong with Ginny?” Cedrella was confused by that reaction to her only granddaughter. “I know she can be childish and a little spoiled, but she’s still young.”

Bill and Charlie once again exchanged looks before Bill explained what had happened the year before and Ginny’s roll in everything. Including what Harry had figured out about Ginny’s culpability in what she had done.

“That stupid girl.” Septimus was horrified. “If that information got out we wouldn’t need to worry about this contract destroying us, that alone would do it.”

“Yeah, we are going to be having a chat with mum and dad about it when we get to Egypt.” Charlie said.

“But you said you had found a way to mitigate as much damage as possible.” Cedrella pointed out to give her despairing husband hope of saving the family name.

“After talking about it with Harry and his Account Manager we found the least objectionable path.” Bill said. “Charlie.”

“Charlie?” Septimus looked to his second eldest grandson.

“Since I’m a legal adult I don’t need mum or dad to be involved in the contract signing. I can edit, remove, or add any clauses I want since no Weasley has signed approving the ones Dumbledore already made.” Charlie pointed out. “I met with Harry yesterday. We talked it out and agreed to the two of us marrying once he’s of age using this contract.”

Septimus and Cedrella took the new contract and looked it over, they were relieved to see it was basic and wouldn’t harm them in any way.

“Are you really ok with this though sweetheart?” Cedrella asked.

Charlie sighed and thought for a moment. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Harry when he asked since he didn’t want to force me into this either. This isn’t what I had planned, I never really planned on marrying, but I can live with it. Harry’s a really sweet kid, and none of this is his fault. If marrying him protects him from people hurting him or trying to use him like that other contract implies then I’m all for it. Yes, it’s not a love match like you guys and mum and dad, but I think we could make it work. Signing this contract protects both him and our family.”

“So what do you need us here for?” Septimus questioned.

“Given just how badly this could go we thought you would need to be informed in case of any fallout.” Bill explained. “We are meeting with Harry and his account manager in about 5 minutes to go over everything and we thought you should be involved.”

Septimus was pleased with the answer. He couldn’t believe his idiot daughter-in-law had signed a marriage contract without telling them, she knew what had happened to the family last time.

Meeting in a conference room Griphook had arranged Harry and the Weasley’s present made quick work of going over the contract once again to ensure none had thought of anything new to add.

“There is one thing I thought of.” Harry said after going over the final clause in the contract.

“And what is that?” Septimus asked.

“The thing that worries me is that the Headmaster doesn’t seem the kind to give up control like that. If we sign this he will know rather quickly and we can’t guarantee he won’t target Charlie.” Harry pointed out.

“That’s true.” Charlie sighed. “I have a dangerous job and don’t live in the country. Could he use that against me?”

“Or maybe we can remove him from the position because he’s taught me nothing he was supposed to.” Harry added.

“The option I had considered was using Lord Quinn.” Griphook said.

“I am not aware of any Lord Quinn.” Septimus said.

“When we confirmed Heir Potters identity we learned he is in line for a few more titles that were previously unknown.” Griphook said after getting a nod from Harry. “Along with that we found that his mother, Lady Lily Potter, was actually a squib-line descendant of an ancient and noble family in Ireland, the Quinn Family. I looked into the family and found they are a rather large, wealthy, and powerful family in their country.

What I had been considering was seeing if Heir Potter would give permission to reach out to Lord Quinn and request he serve as a decoy magical guardian to hide Charles position. Any attempt by Albus Dumbledore to go after him would cause an international incident and it would take years to work its way through international courts.”

“Or we could use Lord Quinn as a decoy of last resort. I think getting Albus’s ability to control Harry limited would be best.” Cedrella said thoughtfully. 

“And just what are you thinking my dear?” Septimus smiled at his wife. She may have been disowned from the Black Family for marrying him, but it didn’t stop her using what she had learned as a girl.

“If we could restrict Albus’s control over Harry there would be no need to inform him of his removal as magical guardian. As far as I am aware he would only be informed if he tried to do something he wasn't able to.  Charlie could take over without him even knowing so long as Charlie and Harry give Account Manager Griphook permission to speak with him even if he doesn’t have to do anything he says.” Cedrella said.

“But how would we do that?” Harry questioned. “Can we use his not actually looking after me to strip him of the position.

“In a way.” Cedrella smiled at the boy who would one day be married to her grandson. “To remove him from the position at the moment we would require the involvement of the ministry, and we simply can’t trust Fudge given how deep he is in the pockets of those like Dumbledore and Malfoy. But we could go a different way.

Septimus, you mentioned to me a few months ago about Lord Carter. From what you said Lord Carter was actually in a similar situation as Harry is. His father, as the previous Lord, was killed when he was a baby. He was raised by his mother and step-father. They took over the house since they were his guardians and didn’t teach him anything. They nearly ran the family into the ground until he learned the truth and took control, but that left him woefully unprepared for his new roll.”

“I don’t see where you are going with this my dear.” Septimus pointed out.

“We use him and what happened to him to bring back the Heir Tests.” Cedrella smiled.

“Heir Tests?” Harry, Bill, and Charlie asked.

“Yes, up until about 80 years ago all Heirs who came from a family without an active Lord or Lady were required to take what was referred to as an Heir Test to prove that their guardians were properly teaching them.” Septimus smiled as he saw where his wife was going. “The Heir was required to receive 80% or higher to take their position as Lord or Lady. But, until the Heir received that grade, or came of age, they were monitored. It was used to force the guardians to properly educate the child on history and procedures in the Wizengamot and Council of Magic, as all Lords and Ladies either serve on one, or for older families, both. Until the Heir took the test and passed it the guardians were barred from being proxy or accessing or altering their finances.”

“Given Albus has taught you nothing he will want to keep you from taking the test as long as possible.” Cedrella smiled. “But by not letting you take the test he will be legally barred from sitting as proxy in any of your seats. He also won’t be able to get the monthly payments as he would not be seen as caring for you properly. Your Account Manager would be named as a neutral arbiter and allowed to manage your vaults as he saw fit.”

“But what about paying for school and my supplies?” Harry questioned worriedly.

“In that kind of situation it would be up to me to dispense money.” Griphook was thrilled with the idea and slightly ashamed he hadn’t thought of it. “You would still maintain full access to your trust vault, as that is yours. Your tuition comes from the family vault and would require my signature. Any and all expenses from the family vault in regards to you would need my approval, and I can easily deny Mr. Dumbledore. 

As far as he would be concerned he would still be in control while actually having none. Charles would be able to become your guardian and no one would know. If you needed anything more than what was in your trust vault all it would require would be for Charles to petition me. With your permission I could meet with Mr. Dumbledore following his old schedule but that would be as much as he could do… Depending on whether or not the Heir tests could be brought back.”

“It most likely wouldn’t be to hard.” Septimus shrugged. “The dark faction would all vote for it given their devotion to tradition. A majority of the neutrals may also vote in favour so long as it is presented properly. Our only issue is the light, which is currently the largest. Most follow Dumbledore and he wouldn’t want it returned.” 

“Then we don’t involve Albus.” Cedrella smiled. “Albus alway spends the middle two weeks of August attending the ICW conference. That means he always misses the August session of both the Wizengamot and Council of Magic, both of which are scheduled for next week. If you can get Lord Carter on side within the next few days he can present it at the meetings for you. Albus won’t be there to cause an issue, and if it is done properly it can be approved and implemented before he even gets back. It will protect both Harry and Charlie.”

“Yes dear.” Septimus smiled at his wife, knowing better than to disagree with her, not that he would have.

“It would also help Fred and George.” Harry smiled.

“What do you mean?” Cedrella was instantly at attention.

“Oh yeah, something else we learned. Fred and George are actually the Prewett Co-Heirs. Uncles Fabian and Gideon named them so in their Wills, but mum and Great Aunt Muriel seem to have forgotten to mention that.” Bill said sarcastically.

Septimus sighed in frustration. He knew he was going to have to get much more involved in any decision Molly made from then on given everything she had apparently been up to.

Finally, Harry didn’t need to go back to the bank on a daily basis. 

For the first time since forever he got to enjoy his summer like so many other kids did only without constant adult supervision. Although Septimus and Cedrella did meet him for lunch pretty much every day, Septimus only missing on the days of the Wizengamot and Council of Magic meetings.

Harry did end up taking Bill and Charlies advice and wrote to the school requesting to drop divination and take up arithmancy and runes. He received a letter back the next day with the approval and the updated book list from Professor Flitwick.

And Harry had been proud to get that letter. It had taken a bit of thinking, but he had eventually found a way around the mail ward. One day he had had Cidrella take him to the Post Office in Hogsmeade and he got a two-way box there. He did have to lie a bit, but it was worth it. He told the post master that he was under a mail ward for his protection, but that it made things like writing to his friends and getting mail orders difficult.

The way the post boxes worked was that anything he put in his would appear in the box at the post office and they would send it out for him, and anything they placed in his would end up in his box. It would bypass the mail ward as any letters sent to him by those who knew about it would be addressed to his post box number rather than him, and the post box couldn’t be redirected to anyone but him. He told Cedrella and Septimus the post box number and had them test it out and it worked. Hedwig took the letter from Cedrella to the post office and they sent it through to him. 

Although he did introduce the post master to Hedwig. He explained about what a diligent worker she was and requested that unless specified on the letter he let her carry the letters for him. He said he would send Hedwig over whenever he sent a letter through so she could still do her job. The post master found it entertaining, but he understood how temperamental owls could be so agreed with the odd situation.

Cedrella had been pleased when her plan had worked. Lord Carter had worked perfectly in pointing out that some guardians simply weren’t proving competent enough to ensure the Heirs were properly prepared and the Heir tests were immediately reimplemented, but they took it a step further and required all Heirs to take the test, not just those from houses without a formal Lord or Lady. After some discussion it was agreed the test would be conducted by the goblins as they were seen as neutral arbiters that wouldn’t broadcast any information the heirs might not want getting out. The goblins agreed on the understanding that along with conducting the tests they would be checking the health and lineage of the Heirs to ensure that they were being properly taken care of and were indeed the rightful Heirs.

It turned out Harry wasn't the only one with an incompetent guardian. Harry had seen a slightly excited and fearful Neville on his way to get his own wand. He had stopped to explain what had happened.

His gran had taken him to do his test since she had suddenly found herself unable to access his seats or vaults. Turns out she hadn’t taught Neville much of anything so he had failed the test spectacularly. When she had started to berate him the goblins had stepped in and taken her to task about her own failures as a guardian. They informed her rather bluntly that if she didn’t shape up and treat him better they would contact the DMLE to file charges against her since forcing a child to use a wand that didn’t match them could actually be seen as endangerment.

The Longbottom Account Manager, who had never liked Augusta’s attitude, had immediately cut her off while approving funds for Neville to go and get a wand. Neville had found it amazing to see his gran being taken down a peg or two by the manager as he started instructing her on what she was going to have to do next and how she wouldn’t be taking her own failures as a guardian out on Neville.

Cedrella had been thrilled one afternoon shortly after the Tests were passed when she saw an irate woman storm through the alley. She was happy to identify her as Muriel Prewett to Harry.

It had been a few days before the end of summer that Harry had overheard a few people gossiping about Sirius Black that Harry had asked Septimus and Cedrella about the man. They had been uncomfortable with telling him, but they knew they couldn’t let him go back to school unprepared. They explained, as gently as possible, that the man had been friends with his parents, and his godfather, but had betrayed them to Voldemort before killing a wizard and a bunch  of muggles. 

Harry had been devastated. But he had also been curious. Harry had requested that Septimus get him a copy of Blacks trial transcript. He hoped the man may have explained his reasoning at his trial and wanted to know just what would cause the man to have turned against him and his family like that.

Other than that the rest of Harry’s summer was peaceful and he found himself actually wishing the summer was longer, something he had never thought would happen.

Chapter Text

Bill and Charlie arrived at the camp in Egypt the evening after their meeting at the bank with Harry and their grandparents.

“Why were you in England Charlie?” Arthur asked. He was confused as to why Charlie would travel from Romania to England and then to Egypt rather than just coming straight to Egypt.

“The portkey was cheaper that way.” Charlie shrugged it off. “I was able to get off a few days earlier and it was just cheaper to go to England first. Since Bill had told me he was there I could hitch a ride on his portkey so I didn’t have to pay the extra way.”

It made sense to Arthur so he just glossed over it. “How was England? And how long were you there Charlie?”

“England was fine, bit of a mess with that whole break out thing, but same as usual.” Bill shrugged.

“And I mostly just hung around while I waited for Bill to finish his meetings.” Charlie glanced around knowing what he said next would catch everyones attention. “Oh and Ron, I got to meet your friend Harry Potter. He wanted me to let you know he’s changed his mind about electives and dropped divination. He’s going to be taking up runes and arithmancy instead.”

“What?” Ron was confused as he stuffed a sandwich his mum had made for lunch into his mouth.

“Ron said Harry was on vacation in Paris or something.” Fred said as he gave his younger brother a sidelong glance.

After what had happened the year before neither of the twins had wanted their little friend to be subjected to those muggles and had been trying to get him away from them. At first Ron had been helping, but then he had stopped. When they had argued for Harry to join them on their trip to Egypt Ron had said there was no need since he had gotten a letter saying he was going to be vacationing in France.

“Yeah, no.” Bill said. “You seem to have had a bit of a mix up there Ron. I asked Harry about it since I had been surprised to see him too. It is your friend Hermione that is on vacation in Paris.”

Fred and George shared a dark look that promised retribution for their little brothers mistake. They knew he knew Harry’s home life wasn't great and just because he hadn’t paid attention to who’s letter he was reeding Harry was stuck with the Dursley’s all summer. 

“We told you we should have invited him.” George glared at his younger brother and parents. “Now Harry’s stuck with those people all summer.”

Bill chuckled at the twins reaction although he understood their anger and wasn't going to do a thing to stop their pranking of Ron. “Not so much.”

“What do you mean?” The twins asked as one.

“Well…” Charlie smiled. “The way Harry tells it his uncles sister came to visit for a few weeks, and she apparently is a piece of work. A couple days ago during dinner she was drinking and started saying some pretty nasty things about Harry. And he just ignored it since apparently those things he’s forced to live with are just plain nasty. But then she started bringing up his parents.”

“Harry may have lost his temper, and with his temper went his control. He had a bit of a burst of accidental magic.” Bill was grinning.

“And… What happened?” Fred and George questioned in excitement, they knew Harry was rather powerful for a kid his age.

“She sort of… Inflated.” Charlie said.

“Inflated?” Molly questioned with a raised eyebrow. She knew the nonsense the twins and Ron spewed about how Harry was in a bad home, but she had talked with the Headmaster about it the year before and he had assured her it was all just being blown out of proportion.

“Yup.” Bill said, popping the ‘p’. “Like a giant ugly balloon, and then she sort of… floated away. From what I could find out it took the accidental magical reversal squad a few hours to track her down since she had floated pretty far. Then they had to lasso her and reel her back down to the ground since she was up pretty high. After that they punctured her to deflate her and modified her memory so she would just think she got drunk and had a weird dream.”

Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were all laughing hysterically. Even Arthur and Percy were chuckling at that.

“It isn’t funny.” Molly scolded her children, and annoyingly enough her husband. “That muggle could have really been hurt. And Harry could have gotten in a great deal of trouble for that.”

“Serves her right.” Fred grinned.

“Everyone knows you do not insult Harry’s parents, that’s just asking for it.” George pointed out.

“Besides, the woman was fine.” Ron added.

“But what does that have to do with Harry not staying with his relatives?” Arthur asked in slight confusion. “Sure, it might be a bit of an inconvenience, but accidental magic happens. I’m sure Harry didn’t mean anything by it, he just got upset. It happens to the best of us. Although it’s rare it gets to the point we loose control of our magic by that age.”

“Sure, but from what Harry implied more than said his relatives aren’t that great.” Bill gave his parents a penetrating look. “Between what Harry mentioned and what the twins wrote to me last year I really question leaving that poor kid with people like that.”

“Oh pish.” Molly waved her son off. “I spoke with the Headmaster and it’s fine. Sure, his relatives aren’t the most loving, but they would never hurt him.”

“Sure, if you count starving as not hurting.” George muttered.

“Well, seems the Minister isn’t exactly in agreement with you on that.” Charlie said in a cold voice, he hated how his mum always used the Headmaster like him saying something automatically made it right, especially after everything he had just learned.

“What do you mean?” Arthur questioned, slight worry in his voice. He really hoped Molly was right, because if not that meant they had abandoned the poor boy to a bad home all summer by not inviting him.

“When Harry realized what had happened he panicked.” Bill sighed. “Apparently he got in trouble with the Ministry last year because a house elf had come to see him and had levitated a cake. Kid thought he was going to be expelled, plus his uncle had threatened him if he didn’t bring that woman back. Since he didn’t know how and didn’t want to get hurt or expelled he took off. From what he said he decided to go to the bank and take out some money figuring he was going to have to live his life on the run, bit dramatic, but he’s a kid who’s own family had just threatened him.

He ended up meeting Minister Fudge at the Leaky Cauldron since they figured that was the most likely place for him to go. Fudge assured him he wasn't expelled since he hadn’t meant for it to happen, but after the reports he got about the Dursley’s reaction he also didn’t seem to feel comfortable sending him back until they calmed down. And he didn’t think that was going to be for a while.”

“So WHERE is HARRY?” Fred and George demanded as one.

“He’s still at the Leaky Cauldron.” Charlie told them. “They arranged for him to live there for the rest of the summer, and he’s having a lot of fun with it.”

“Fun, at The Leaky Cauldron?” Ron was confused by that, he’d been there often and it really wasn't much fun.

“Ron, other than Tom the bartender Harry has next to no adult supervision all summer.” Charlie pointed out with a huge grin. “No one telling him what to do. No one telling him to make his bed or clean his room. Just doing what he wants.”

“They can’t just leave a child alone like that.” Molly gasped in horror.

“Well, they did.” Bill pointed out. “Calm down mum, I talked with gran and grandpa. They agreed they would check in on him every day. It isn’t the same as having an adult around all the time, but it’s the best any of us can do. The Minister himself was the one to arrange Harry’s staying there.”

Arthur was slightly uncomfortable at the mentioning of his parents. He didn’t have a good relationship with them, hadn’t since he was a kid himself. His parents had always just been so focused on the Weasley family name that they seemed to forget about the Weasley children. 

Then with the war… Over the years Arthur wished he was closer to his family, but he didn’t want his children to have to deal with his parents obsession with rules and social standing the way he had. His eldest brother had followed in their fathers footsteps and it had gotten him killed. Billius had been publicly outspoken against You-Know-Who and made himself a public target. He had been killed only a few months before Ron was born, hence why Ron had the middle name Billius. His second brother had cracked under the pressure of the family and the war and moved to Palau, lived in a hut and provided guided reef tours.

“I still don’t like it.” Molly muttered but no one paid any attention.

For the next few days Bill and Charlie made it their mission to corner their siblings and question them about all kinds of things. They knew what had happened the year before from Harry, but they didn’t want to make things difficult for him by drawing attention to him any more than they had to. They used what Harry had told them to design questions that would get their siblings to tell them the story from their perspectives. And they were finally ready to address it with their parents.

“Boys, what’s wrong?” Arthur asked as he and Molly took seats at the little table in Bill’s tent. They had brought their own tent, but Bill and Charlie had been sharing Bill’s tent. They had sent the kids to bed and then gone over to meet with them. Arthur was concerned by the serious look and tone the two had been using when they requested they meet.

“We need to talk about the kids and what happened last year and so far this summer.” Charlie said as he gave each of his parents a small glass of wine for their discussion.

“What about them?” Their mum asked defensively.

“Why has Ginny faced absolutely no consequences for her actions?” Bill asked.

“William Weasley don’t talk about things you don’t understand. Your sister was hurt, she didn’t do anything wrong.” Molly was on her feet glaring at her eldest as her hands fluttered as she tried to soothe herself.

“See, I might listen to you, but I seem to have done something you haven’t bothered, I talked to the kids who were actually there and got their view, including Ginny.” Bill wasn't impressed anymore by his mums temper, hadn’t been since he was a kid himself.

“You made your sister talk about that? How could you be so cruel?” Molly was furious on behalf of her poor baby girl.

“Mum, enough.” Charlie rolled his eyes, just as unimpressed as his brother. “Bill and I talked with Ginny days ago, and nothing changed. You didn’t even notice. We aren’t idiots, we learned a long time ago how to deal with overly dramatic females.”

Arthur felt his lip twitch at that little dig, but he was also worried, both about what his boys wanted to discuss as well as his daughter. “And just what is it you think you know that we don’t? Why do you think Ginny needs to be punished? She was possessed, she had absolutely no control over what happened.”

“And that’s where you’re wrong.” Bill looked to his father as his mum paced off her nervous energy. “I know about possession, it’s actually a part of my job to do so. Every now and then we come across artifacts that can possess those around them. Full time possession is nearly impossible because it takes such a massive amount of magic, it can only be achieved by a disembodied soul, and even then only lasts for a week or so at most, the rest of the time is passive possession where the person being possessed is in control of themselves and the other soul is just like a parasite. In the case of an artifact induced possession it takes dozens of them for a full possession and that is if they are arranged in a matrix with the victim remaining in the middle at all times.

Ginny was not fully possessed full time. What she herself described to me was a partial possession that lasted a few hours at most each time. It’s what caused her blackouts. If she had been fully possessed then she would have no memory of the entire last year, the fact she remembers proves it wasn't full possession. What that means is Ginny had a certain level of autonomy. She had some control, she just chose not to exercise it until too late.”

“Too late?” Arthur questioned in worry, he didn’t like how this was sounding.

“Dad, she hurt people. She might not have meant too, but she did. Ginny isn’t a helpless idiot, no matter how much she pretends on some occasions. She talked about waking up after blacking out covered in chicken feathers only to learn Hagrids roosters had been killed. She woke up with paint on her hands and robes after another blackout and was told someone had painted a threatening message on the wall. No one is so dumb as to not connect those dots.” Charlie said. 

“When I talked with Ron he told me an interesting little detail.” Bill spoke up. “He and Harry found the diary. By the beginning of January Ginny had become afraid. But she didn’t try to get help. She didn’t say anything to anyone even though 2 people, a cat, and a ghost had already been attacked. 

No, you see, Ginny didn’t want to get in trouble, so she tried to cover it up by just getting rid of the diary. It was Harry and Ron who found it on a bathroom floor after she tried, and failed, to flush it down. The boys had the diary for over a month. Possession requires a constant link, so from the time she got rid of the diary on Ginny was in complete control of herself. And she still didn’t try to get help.”

“Instead, after spotting the boys with the diary, Ginny waited until they had gone to class, snuck into the boys dorm, broke into Harry’s trunk, threw all of his things out and around the room, and stole the diary back. Not because she was trying to protect them, but because she wanted to cover up her own secrets. 

And even then, Ginny still didn’t try and get help. She kept the diary. After being separated for that length of time it would take another week or so to reform the link between them so it was fully her decision to keep the diary and not turn it in.” Charlie was impressed by how he and Bill seemed to have sinked up enough to pass the story back and fourth the way they were.

“Ginny stole the diary back in the middle of February, and it was another month before the next attack. All that time, and Ginny just kept her secret.” Bill said. “And then another blackout and another attack. And still, Ginny did nothing. She wasn't taken into the Chamber until the end of May. That was almost 2 months from the time of the last attack. All she had to do was get help, but she didn’t because she didn’t want to get in trouble.”

“When Harry got her out and to Ron she specifically said she hadn’t tried to get help because she didn’t want to get expelled.” Bill pointed out.

“Well of course not.” Molly huffed, although she did admit Ginny knowing what had been happening was a bit of an issue, but she couldn’t blame her baby girl for not wanting to get expelled. “No one wants to get expelled.”

“Yeah, but at what cost?” Bill asked. “Apparently your daughter has made the decision that nearly killing 6 people, including herself, is better than expulsion. What does that say about her morals?”

“Ginny isn’t a bad person.” Molly instantly jumped to the defence. “She just made a… mistake.”

“Mum, enough.” Charlie sighed. “We aren’t doing this to be mean to Ginny, we are telling you this because you need to hear it. Your daughter almost killed people. You know if it gets out there are going to be questions about why she got away without punishment. There are going to be people that say she got away with it because she is a pureblood and the majority of her victims were muggle-borns.”

“Your mother and I don’t hold to such bigoted ideas and you know that.” Arthur said in shock.

“Really, because you seem to be defending Ginny to the point of denying her guilt a fair amount despite her own actions.” Charlie said. “How would you feel if it had been a Slytherin? If it had been the child of a Death Eater who nearly killed four muggle-borns and a half-blood? If rather than receiving any punishment for their actions they were instead taken on vacation where they were spoiled rotten? Let’s be honest mum, you would be sending howlers to the school and Ministry daily demanding justice for those children and for punishing the pureblooded Slytherin that thinks they are more important than others. But because it’s your daughter you want to bury your head in the sand and act like almost killing people is ok. It isn’t.”

“Yes, Ginny is a kid. Yes, Ginny made mistakes, plenty of them. But that doesn’t mean that it should just be forgotten. I have been watching, and do you know what, Ginny has not shown a moment of remorse.” Bill pointed out. “When I questioned her about it the only thing that upset her was that her favourite pair of shoes were ruined while in the Chamber. At no point has she expressed any remorse or guilt over what she had done, which I remind you was nearly killing a bunch of kids. It’s like to Ginny everything is just fine so long as Ginny gets what she wants.”

“Ginny needs to learn that life has value. That getting what she wants isn’t more important than someone else’s life.” Charlie said in a dejected voice. “Even if you don’t care about the 5 people she almost killed, then teach her better for her own life. She was so focused on not getting in trouble it almost got her killed. If Harry hadn’t been able to get to her she would have died, that is not ok and you need to stop teaching her that it is.”

“She’s just a child.” Molly whined.

“Yes, she is. But it is time for her to grow up. She is a child, but she is not 2. You are her parents, you need to step up and teach her that actions have consequences.” Bill said. “You never had a problem with teaching me that. Or Charlie. And certainly not the twins. So why doesn’t Ginny have to face the consequences too?”

“She didn’t mean it.” Molly tried.

“Mum, do you remember when I was 10?” Charlie asked. “I snuck out one evening and took one of the brooms from the shed and tried to fly. I ended up crashing into the chicken coop and taking out half the back wall. Do you remember what you did? You held me and cuddled me while I healed, but then you made me face the consequences. Once I was healed you made me go out and fix and clean the entire coop. You kept reminding me every time I complained that just because I didn’t mean to didn’t mean I didn’t. I had done something reckless and foolish and could have broken my fool neck as you said, and I needed to learn I couldn’t do things like that.

Ginny needs to learn that lesson now. She did something monumentally stupid by refusing to get help and almost got herself, and many others, killed. If you don’t teach her it’s wrong what is to stop her from doing something like that again? Do you think Ginny is going to come forward about some kind of danger if she thinks she might get in trouble because she found it by doing something wrong? Or is she just going to ignore it because it worked out the last time and she got away with it? I can tell you, my bet is on Ginny just ignoring the danger because she will have been taught that what she wants is more important than peoples lives.”

“And it’s not just for Ginny.” Bill pointed out. “After what she did to the boys, Percy in particular, you need to act.”

“The boys?” Arthur was confused. “None of the boys were hurt.” 

“And what’s wrong with Percy?” Molly questioned in confusion.

“You two have been so caught up in giving Ginny everything that even so much as interest her you seem to have missed how much Percy is withdrawing from you both and her. You’ve been so focused on making sure Ginny thinks what she did was ok you seem to have missed just how much agony he is in.” Charlie really was worried about Percy after talking with him.

“Percy wasn't hurt.” Arthur reiterated, his worry growing more as he tried to think of how Percy had been acting and couldn’t really pin point a time Percy was around them for more than a few minutes. “What could be so wrong?”

“Dad, the last two people that were attacked were one of Ron’s best friends, Hermione Granger, and a Ravenclaw Prefect, Penelope Clearwater.” Bill pointed out. “Penelope is Percy’s girlfriend. And Percy has put it all together. He knew about Ron and Harry finding the diary as he had bumped into them just after. He also knew about Harry’s trunk getting broken into and the diary getting stolen back. He got permission to go into the restricted section in the last few days and looked up possession so he would know how to help Ginny, but instead he found the same information that I gave you about how possession works.

He realized Ginny wasn't just an innocent victim, but that she had known of at least some of her own actions and actively chose not to get help. That means Ginny could have stopped the attack on the girl he likes if she had just owned up to what had been going on, but she didn’t.”

“Percy has been trying to work through the fact that the sister he loves nearly killed the girlfriend that he adores.” Charlie said. “And things are just made worse by what Ginny did, or I guess, didn’t do.

Percy blamed himself after the attack. He had been supposed to meet Penelope at the library to study for a bit before they walked down to the quidditch match together, but he had been late because of prefect duties. He sat in the common room with the kids, including Harry and Ginny, and cried as he explained to them it was his fault. He convinced himself that if he had just been on time he could have done something to help. Ginny sat there. Ginny watched as her brother suffered and blamed himself for someone he cares about almost dying, all the while knowing it was her fault and not his. And she said nothing. Because to Ginny, getting what she wanted was more important than easing her brothers pain.”

By this point Molly had tears on her cheeks as she realized she had missed how much her son was struggling. She hadn’t meant to miss it, she had just been so worried about Ginny.

“If you aren’t careful, you just might lose him.” Bill said softly. “Percy has been watching how you’ve been treating Ginny, how you’ve let her get away with what she did. She hasn’t even apologized to him for choosing to let him suffer like that. Each day his respect for the both of you diminishes, and each day the bond between him and Ginny breaks a little more. Dad, we’ve seen the relationship you have with gran and grandpa, and if you guys continue the way you have then that is the same kind of relationship you are going to have with Percy.”

“And he’s not the only one she did that too.” Charlie quickly added. “I think the one she hurt the worst with her silence was Hagrid. Hagrid got blamed for the attacks and spent months in Azkaban. If Ginny had of just come forward he would have been spared all that suffering. But she didn't.

And then there’s Harry. A large number of students decided that Harry was the one doing the attacks. Ginny knew he was innocent, but she did nothing to help him and just pretended like nothing was going on. The bullying got so bad that Fred, George, and Percy had to escort Harry to and from classes as well as quidditch practices because he had been repeatedly attacked and threatened. Ginny could have stopped it if she had just gotten help, but she didn’t want to get in trouble, so she let both of them take the blame for what she had been doing. 

I can only imagine how he’s going to feel once he figures out the same thing Percy has. I mean, Ron probably isn’t going to put it together, he prefers to live in the moment and doesn’t worry about thinking about things that have already happened. But just from the little while I had with Harry he seemed rather thoughtful. And even if he doesn’t… Everything I’ve heard about Hermione Granger paints her as a highly intelligent girl. She will most likely put it together rather quickly, if she hasn’t already. And then she is going to tell her friends.

Dad, Percy has your temper, which is why he’s just pulling away to avoid the confrontation. But mum, Ron got your temper. When Ron finds out he is going to blow up on Ginny.”

“Which is just going to make things worse.” Bill said. “So far no one outside a select group even knows about Ginnys involvement thanks to Headmaster Dumbledore covering everything up since he also shares blame in what happened. But if Ron blows up on Ginny… 

They will most likely be at school when it happens. And that means others are going to find out. And while you may excuse her actions the students won’t. The first human victim wasn't just a year mate of hers, he was also a housemate. That means not only will a majority of the first years be turned against her, her own house will be too. And then there are the other students that were hurt, as well as their family and friends. They will target her the same way they did Harry, and that means Ginny is going to have a rough few years at school. And given the pain she caused both Percy and Ron the chances of them defending her are slim. With Ron’s temper… More than likely he will choose to stand by his friends and start distancing himself from Ginny just like Percy has.”

“We aren’t saying you need to be cruel, but Ginny needs to know that what she did is wrong. She at the very least needs to apologize to Percy. And I know, she isn’t going to like it, but she needs to.” Charlie said with emphasis on getting Ginny to apologize.

“Ginny just…” Molly tried to defend her daughter again, but was at a loss for words. She didn’t want to upset her daughter anymore, but she also knew they needed to fix things with Percy.

“Mum…” Bill sighed. “I plan on having kids one day. And to be perfectly honest, if you guys can’t teach Ginny that getting what she wants isn’t more important than the lives of others… I don’t think I will ever feel comfortable leaving her alone with them. Or you guys for that matter since I don’t want any children of mine to learn that lesson.

I figure if Ron and the others figure things out they will be the same way. And if Rons friendship with Harry and Hermione survives I doubt either of them will let Ginny anywhere near their kids after what she did to them. And Percy. Merlin, Percy. If you guys keep going the way you are I don’t think he will allow any of you to even meet any kids he has even if he’s there at all times.”

“Like we said, we aren’t asking you to be mean, we just want our little sister to learn right from wrong before she does something else. If she had been older she could have faced Azkaban for what happened. And if something happens when she’s older she still could.” Charlie pointed out.

“And what do you two think might be an appropriate punishment.” Arthur asked softly. He didn’t want to upset Ginny anymore than his wife did, but he agreed with his boys that Ginny couldn’t be taught what she had done was ok.

“Arthur…?” Molly gasped in shock.

“Mollywobbles, the boys are right. Ginny almost killed a bunch of people, including herself. She can’t be allowed to think that’s ok.” Arthur reminded his wife.

“Mum, from what I was told Ron did something stupid at the beginning of the school year. He and Harry got blocked from getting to the train and in their panic they took the car to get to school.” Charlie reminded her. “They were punished, put on probation at school for their behaviour, served detention and you didn’t hesitate to write them a howler berating them for their stupidity. And it wasn't just because they had done something stupid, it was because they could have gotten themselves killed. Well Ginny did something stupid and actually almost got herself and many others killed in the process. But Ginny didn’t get detention. Ginny didn’t get put on probation. Ginny didn’t get a howler telling her off. Instead, Ginny got hot coco. She got to go on vacation. And she has been given anything and everything that caught her eye, you can’t do that and expect her to learn anything other than that what she did is ok if you keep this up.”

“As for punishment…” Bill looked to his parents. “We don’t really know what is a good enough lesson. But we don’t think you should be constantly buying her treats. She shouldn’t be the one setting the schedule the rest of you follow. She shouldn’t be getting to do whatever she wants.

She should be sent to bed at a decent time, and she should have to apologize to Percy. As for school, that might be a bit more difficult since the Headmaster is to busy trying to cover up his own failings to deal with the situation properly. But she should be required to have a stricter curfew and we don’t think she should be able to be involved in extracurricular activities like trying out for the quidditch team since she obviously isn’t mature enough to handle the responsibility, at least for a few years. But we don’t know how you would be able to handle enforcement of the rules since Professor McGonagall rarely pays any attention to her students since she is so overworked with her other responsibilities.”

“Also, while we’re on the subject, things are going to need to change for everyone.” Charlie told his parents.

“And just why would things need to change?” Molly questioned her son imperiously. “Just because you have both graduated and may have a point with Ginny needing to learn a lesson doesn’t mean you are in charge. We are still your parents. We taught you to respect your elders.”

“Yes, and we do, when they deserve it.” Bill countered.

“Things have just gone too far out of balance with you and the kids for us to ignore it anymore. What happened with Ginny just hi-lighted it for us, but things have been off for a while.” Charlie said. “We understood. Mum, you really wanted a little girl, and we understood that. Sure, we resented the fact that the boys all had to take turns when picking out new toys while Ginny got something new for herself each time rather than taking turns with the rest of us. But girls and boys don’t always like the same things. And we understood that Ginny couldn’t just wear the hand-me-downs the rest of us could. But we are adults now and have long since rationalized the differences in how you treated us versus Ginny. But Ron and the twins aren’t adults, they are still kids. And although Percy is technically of age now, he hasn’t fully made peace with it yet. But this summer is just making things abundantly more clear.”

“We have always loved you all equally.” Arthur quickly assured his sons, although he knew they couldn’t argue about the toy issue since they had always made the boys take turns.

“In a way.” Bill equivocated. “But you didn’t always treat us that way when it came to Ginny. I remember when the kids were born. When Charlie was born it’s a bit fuzzy, but I remember for those first few years you always repeated to me that he wasn't a replacement for me and that you loved us both equally whenever I got angry when you didn’t give me all the attention I wanted. And when Percy was born I can clearly remember you sitting Charlie and I down and giving us this big speech about how we had a new little brother, that he wasn't a replacement for us, and that you loved us all equally. And you repeated that often over the next two years. And you did it again when the twins were born, and again when Ron was born. But do you know what? I can’t remember you doing that when Ginny was born.

It was different for the older kids, because we had had it hammered into our heads for years that our younger siblings weren’t a replacement for us. But Ron, and to a certain extent the twins, hadn’t. Ron in particular hadn’t since he was only a little over 1 when Ginny was born.”

“And then the way we were all treated differently from Ginny just made that issue more stark. Like Bill said, we knew she wasn't a replacement, although I do admit there were many times I at least didn’t think that whole loving us all equally was necessarily true, but I understood it. Ginny was a surprise, you hadn’t expected to get the girl you both wanted after so many boys. But now there is a problem.” Charlie added. “Percy is starting to isolate himself more, and while that is in most part due to what happened with Ginny this year, it isn’t the only reason.”

“And then there is Fred and George.” Bill pointed out. “I want to ask you both something. When was the last time either of you sat down and just talked to the twins about something they were interested in without yelling at them for something or implying, or right out telling them, their dreams didn’t matter? Because I’ve been watching for the two weeks you’ve been here, and I haven’t seen it even once.”

Molly and Arthur exchanged looks as they tried to think of when they had last just sat and talked with the twins, but neither really could.

“We never told them their dreams didn’t matter.” Molly said eventually, but she was starting to feel horrible about just how disconnected from her children she had allowed herself to become.

“Mum.” Charlie raised an eyebrow at his mum but he was sympathetic, he knew their mum really did love them, she just didn’t always express it properly. “Fred and George want to open a joke shop.”

“There is no future in that.” Molly immediately snapped only to gasp and cover her mouth in shock, she had never really thought about how that might sound to her children.

“I know you for some reason think we all need to work in the Ministry, but that just isn’t what most of us want.” Bill pointed out, he had argued with his mum for months about working at the bank and not the Ministry. It got so bad he ended up requesting the post overseas just to get away from it. And he knew the same was true for Charlie, he could have worked at the dragon sanctuary in Wales or the one in Scotland and still been able to visit the family every day, he had selected to apply only to overseas sanctuaries to avoid the fighting he had endured.

“Fred and George wouldn’t last a week in an office job.” Charlie chuckled. “The first time one of those pompous idiots dared to look down their noses at them they would prank them senseless and get fired. They love pranks and jokes, and they are amazingly creative. Did you know they’ve actually invented a potion that changes peoples hair colour to plaid for an hour? They didn’t use a charm or glamour, and they didn’t use the regular hair dye potion, they created their own. Forcing them into an office would be a waste of their talent and leave them miserable. Yes, it isn’t what you dreamed of them doing, but it isn’t your dream, it’s theirs. They have been saving up their allowance for years. How many other children do you know that have wanted and believed in something so much they were willing to start saving money before they even reached school age? I know I certainly didn’t. They believe in their dreams so much they are willing to give up on getting themselves toys and candies so they can save for their future. Sure, they still do get themselves little treats in Hogsmeade, but they never spend more than half of what they’re given.”

“And then we come to Ron, and by merlin there are some issues there.” Bill said, wanting to keep going so they could get it all out and address it after. “I sat and talked with him about a lot of things these last few days. Did you realize Ron really doesn’t understand what love is?

Yes, he knows you love him. But just from watching the different ways you treat each of us he thinks your love is conditional and is completely transactional. When Ron tattles on Fred and George or Ginny for breaking the rules, it isn’t because he cares about the rules. He does it because seeing you guys yell at or punish the others makes him feel that you don’t love them more than him. He thinks each time you yell at them your love for them decreases which means you love him more for a few moments. He thinks the same thing about when you buy him gifts. If you buy him a gift it means you love him most that day, and when you buy anything for the others it is because you love them more than him at that time.

Ron wants to be prefect, headboy, and quidditch captain. But not because he wants the responsibility or for the personal accomplishment, it’s because he saw how you got each of us gifts for getting the badges. He thinks that if he can achieve all the things we did you will love him as much as you loved us at that time, but he also thinks you won’t care as much because we did it first. He actually thinks it’s a competition of sorts. He’s given up on ever getting either of you to love him as much as Ginny since he doesn’t want to be a girl, but he thinks he needs to compete against us to be loved second best.”

“And Ginny’s got a similar viewpoint.” Charlie told their horrified parents. “I asked her about her tattling on the twins for not including her in their game of exploding snap, even though they had been playing for over 20 minutes before she even got there so it isn’t like they could have included her in the first place, but that didn’t stop you from telling them off. When I asked her why she did it she said it was because you loved her more and the twins needed to be reminded of that so they would know they wouldn’t get away with not including her. Which is just wrong on so many levels.”

“And her perception of romantic love is just as skewed.” Bill said. “The boys all made little comments about how Ginny would sometimes act like she couldn’t do something they knew she could while at school. When I talked to her about it she told me that any time any of the older boys helped her do things it was because they were falling in love with her. 

Ginny is so wrapped up in the fantasies of damsels in distress being saved by the heroes she is actually pretending incompetence to get boys to pay attention to her. For Merlins sake, she’s 11. She should be thinking about unicorns or fluffy things or whatever it is young girls think about, not getting older boys to fall in love with her. Which they aren’t, from what Ron said a few of the boys in his dorm actually just think she’s a bit slow and help her because they don’t want others bullying her for being an idiot. 

If she keeps that sort of behaviour up there are going to be serious issues. She needs to learn to respect herself and not worry about how boys perceive her because if they want an incompetent idiot then she can do way better. Not to mention, again, she’s still just 11. If she’s so boy crazy now I worry what she’s going to be like when the hormones really kick in. If she doesn’t learn self-respect soon then she’s going to need to learn the contraceptive charm or she’s going to be a mum well before she’s ready.

And one final little point on this, Ginny’s little damsel and hero fascination makes what happened last year take an even worse turn to the horrible. I actually kind of have to question if she didn’t get help because she wanted someone to save her. Did she allow herself to nearly die just so she could get her own personal hero? Because if she did she needs serious help. If Fawkes hadn’t been there Harry would have died, and that means she would have too, and Ron too since he had no way out. It’s only a miracle they all survived.”

Arthur and Molly just sat in horrified silence for a few minutes as they tried to understand where they had gone so wrong. How could their younger kids not understand they loved them the same as all the others and that wether they were in trouble or not didn’t change how much they loved them?

“We… We haven’t been spoiling Ginny that much… Have we?” Molly asked in a surprisingly small voice.

Bill sighed, he saw how much this was hurting his parents, but they needed to hear it. “Mum, yes, you have. You guys have been here for about 2 weeks, and I will admit I wasn't watching for 3 days because of the meetings, so I am missing what happened during that time. But over the past weeks you guys bring a few galleons with you each day you go out for treats and souvenirs. And, so far, only Ginny and Ron have gotten anything. And Ron only managed to get the sneakascope for Harry’s birthday and a few candies he wanted simply because Ginny had slept in that day, since she had demanded to get to stay up late the night before for no reason, and Ron got to you guys first.

Percy wanted a book about the history of the tombs, but that day Ginny wanted a new shawl, even though she has never worn a shawl a day in her life, and still hasn't, so Ginny got what she wanted and Percy had to put the book away while you guys said maybe next time. Fred and George actually managed to get close once. They wanted a pair of puzzle boxes, but Ginny had found an Egyptian Mau stuffed animal and wanted it. The twins compromised with you, even with getting Ginny the toy, that has yet to even leave the bag it came in once I might add, there would still be enough left over for 1 of the puzzle boxes. Unfortunately for them on the way to the cash register Ginny found a bracelet that she just ‘had to have’, which liked the stuffed cat hasn’t left the bag, so Fred and George had to put both back, but you assured them maybe next time. And as for the day Ron managed to get what he wanted, when Ginny did finally get up she threw a fit because she wanted a pretty perfume bottle, even though she doesn’t wear perfume. So, that one time you came back to camp dad to grab the money to buy it for her, even though you both always said it was just too much of a waste of time whenever it was the boys that wanted something, so Ginny still got what she wanted even though Ron managed to get something too.”

“We aren’t trying to be mean.” Charlie said to try and take a bit of the sting out of what they had just told their parents. “We understand you didn’t mean to start treating any of us differently. You guys are really great parents, but you need to work a little harder at being fair. The kids all know you love them, it’s just reminding them you love them all the same that’s gotten a bit lost.”

“I think your mother and I are going to need to discuss what we do from here.” Arthur said softly. He couldn’t believe the mess they had made of things, they had always tried to do right by their children, but they seemed to have missed so much. “We will be discussing what punishment we feel is warranted and inform your sister tomorrow. And we will definitely be making sure the boys get souvenirs they want.”

“You are going to need to understand, Ginny isn’t going to like getting in trouble or being told no. She’s had to deal with it from time to time as a kid, but never in a longterm way. She is going to throw a fit, and is probably going to say some pretty nasty things while she cries about how you hate her, but you need to be strong and not let it sway you into giving in.” Bill reminded his parents knowing how they hated to see his little sister cry. “Just remember you are doing this to make sure she doesn’t almost get herself killed again.”

“We will.” Arthur assured his oldest boys, proud of just what kind of men they had grown up to be.

Just after breakfast the next day Molly and Arthur were ready to get serious with their daughter. They gave some money to Bill and Charlie and asked them to take the boys to get a few souvenirs that they wanted while they had their little chat with their daughter.

“Why can’t I go with the boys?” Ginny whined to her parents, not understanding why she was being  kept from finding more treats for herself.

“Because we need to speak with you.” Arthur sat down across the table from his daughter. “Your mother and I have been talking and we realized that things need to change. We were just so relieved that you were ok we weren’t able to see clearly, but now we can.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ginny questioned in a slightly fearful voice.

“Ginny, you knew something was wrong but chose not to get help.” Arthur reminded her.

“N…No I didn’t.” Ginny said, she really didn’t like where she thought this was going.

“Lying isn’t going to help you, it will actually just make this situation worse.” Arthur pointed out. “You threw the diary away. You clearly knew it was dangerous and rather than getting help you tried to hide it. And when you realized your brother and Harry had found it you broke into Harry’s trunk to steal it back, throwing his things all over in the process.”

“Did Ron tell you that?” Ginny glared as she thought her brother was trying to get her in trouble, she wasn't going to let him win. “He’s just saying that because he’s jealous of me, he always has been, you know that.”

“Ginny, this isn’t about your brothers, this is about you.” Molly reminded her daughter.

“It doesn’t matter who told us what, what matters is that you knowingly allowed people to get hurt just because you didn’t want to get in trouble and that is not acceptable.” Arthur said.

“Headmaster Dumbledore said I had been punished enough by having to be possessed.” Ginny whined.

“Headmaster Dumbledore isn’t your parent.” Arthur said. “He might feel that way, but your mother and I don’t. You almost got yourself killed in your attempt to cover things up. Do you understand that Ginny, you could have died? What kind of parents would we be if we allowed you to think that was ok? Your mother and I have discussed it and we have selected what we feel is an appropriate punishment.”

“Why do you hate me so much?” Ginny started to cry instantly at the word ‘punishment’.

“Ginny, sweetheart, hush now, it’s ok.” Molly quickly went to her daughters side.

“Molly.” Arthur said in a warning voice.

Ginny felt relief as her mum enveloped her in a hug. That had been close.

Feeling Ginny relax Molly leaned back slightly so she could look her daughter in the eyes. “Ginny, your dad and I love you, you know that. And it is because we love you that you are being punished. By not getting help you endangered a great many people, including yourself. We love you too much to allow you to continue on like that.”

Arthur sighed in relief that Molly was sticking to it even as Ginny shoved away and started to pace. “If you had at any time tried to get help things might be different, but you didn't. You need to understand that you can never do something like that again young lady. You knowingly hurt people because you thought not getting in trouble was more important, well guess what, you are going to get in trouble anyways. 

If you had just come forward in the first place none of this would have happened. We all would have understood you hadn’t meant any harm and that you were a victim, but by not getting help you became a part of the attacks. While you are still partially a victim you also share responsibility.”

Ginny glared at her parents. “It wasn't like that. I didn’t want to get expelled.”

“And you haven’t been, and you wouldn’t have been if you had come forward earlier.” Molly reminded her. “But because you were afraid of getting expelled you chose to willingly endanger others. You are just lucky none of the others that were hurt were killed, or you would have been expelled. Getting things your way is not worth the cost of an innocent life and we will not let you pretend it is. I would have much rathered you being expelled rather than killing someone.”

“But no one died.” Ginny whined.

“Only because you got incredibly lucky.” Arthur said. “If Hermione Granger hadn’t figured out about the basilisk when she did, and Penelope Clearwater hadn’t had her mirror those two girls would have been killed.”

“And that just brings us to another thing you did wrong.” Molly said. “You knew very well that Percy was in no way responsible for what happened to his girlfriend but you let him think he was because not getting in trouble meant more to you than how much pain your brother was in. There is absolutely no excuse for treating your brother that way young lady, we raised you better than that. Letting your brother suffer like that is completely unacceptable. And the fact that you have yet to apologize to him for doing so is not helping your case. So that is going to be a part of your punishment, you are going to be giving your brother an honest apology for letting him blame himself when you knew what had been happening.”

“But mummy….” Ginny whined again.

“No buts.” Arthur said sternly. “As for the rest of your punishment, your mother and I have thought long and hard and have come up with what will be happening from now on. You will be required to have adult company any time you leave this tent. You will be in your room by 8 each night, you can read or work on homework for a while if you want, but you will not be playing. You will be allowed to keep the presents and souvenirs we have already gotten you since we acknowledge that our spoiling you was our fault, but that is the end of it. You have gotten more than your fair share of things this trip, now it’s your brothers’ turn.”

“That’s not fair.” Ginny instantly snapped. “If they get presents so do I.”

“You have already gotten your presents Ginny.” Molly said. “You got something new each and every day while your brothers didn’t. If you look in your room you will see there are over a dozen souvenir bags.”

“As for school.” Arthur brought the topic back around. “We have decided that you will be keeping the earlier bed time for the next year. You will be required to be back in your common room by 6 each night, 7 on weekends. The only exception we are willing to make is if you are in the library doing homework, but you actually have to be doing work and not just spending time with friends. And you will be up in your dorm by 8. We have also talked about it and we have decided that you will not be trying out for your house quidditch team or going to Hogsmeade on weekends until your fourth year at the earliest. We just don’t think you are responsible enough yet, and it will take a while before you are.

When we get back home we will be sending these rules and restrictions to the school so the staff knows to keep an eye on you. We will also be talking with your brothers about it so they can ensure you are doing as you are told.”

Ginny was so horrified she couldn’t even speak. Instead she just let out a high pitched shrieking, sounding like a kettle, before running into her room and throwing herself down onto her bed and crying.

Arthur and Molly decided to give her a few minutes to just feel bad for herself before they tried talking to her again. They needed her to understand that the reason this was happening was because they loved her, not because they didn’t.

The next week had been tense in the tent after the discussion between Ginny and her parents. No matter how many times her parents explained why they were doing what they were doing Ginny just wouldn’t let go of her anger.

It had gotten worse the day after their little meeting when Molly had asked Percy if Ginny had apologized. Percy had confirmed that she had, but he didn’t know why. Ginny had just walked up to him, snapped she was sorry and walked away. Percy had actually thought she had broken something in the room he was sharing with Ron and had been looking through his things.

The day after that Molly had sent Arthur and the boys off and kept Ginny back with her. They had spent nearly the entire day writing out an apology letter. It took a long time to do even though the final copy was only a foot long. But Molly had thought Ginny had started to understand at least slightly what she had done wrong in that instance since Molly just kept telling Ginny to put herself in Percy’s position and making her imagine how she would have felt if her brothers let her take the blame for something they did. Percy had accepted the apology, but had been perfectly honest in saying that it would take time for him to forgive her given how serious he took what happened.

Ginny was less than happy about suddenly being told no and being made to go to her bed so early, but her parents weren’t backing down in the slightest. Ginny was surprised by that, she was just so used to being able to get her parents to lessen if not completely get rid of her punishments if she just pouted and cried often enough.

Everyone was hiding in the tent to avoid the worst heat of the day after lunch when Bill arrived to make an announcement. “I have a meeting time set up at the local branch of Gringotts tomorrow.”

“Another meeting?” Molly huffed, she didn’t like how Bill was always being called away from family time to deal with whatever it was that was going on. Sure, he was still supposed to be working, but she didn't approve of his job and felt family should come first.

“Yes, but this one isn’t about work.” Bill told his mum. “I’ll be taking the twins with me too.”

“Why do Fred and George get to go with you?” Ron questioned in slight jealousy.

“Why would you want to go to the bank?” Ginny asked Ron like he was an idiot.

“Ron, Ginny, don’t start.” Arthur said quickly when he saw Ron getting angry. “Why do you want to take the twins with you Bill?”

“I’ve scheduled an appointment for all of us to do our tests. I doubt the twins will be able to pass, but it will give them the types of information they need to learn and they can try again later.” Bill said.

“Tests, what tests?” Percy was instantly attentive thinking it involved school work or something, although he didn’t understand why the bank would have any involvement with their school work, or why the twins would need to take tests when he didn’t.

“Oh right, you guys haven’t been getting any of the news from the UK. I only found out because gran and grandad wrote me.” Bill realized there really was no way the rest of the family would actually know anything that was going on back in the UK, the only reason they knew about Black’s escape was because it had made international news. “The Wizengamot and Magical Council voted to bring back the Heir Tests.”

“But why would the twins need to take them?” Arthur asked in slight confusion while also growing suspicious. “Or you for that matter?”

“I have to take them because I’m the Weasley Family Heir. Since you and Uncle Arcturus both refused the position after Uncle Billius was killed it passed to me. After I graduated gran and grandad asked to meet with me and explained. They told me I could refuse the position if I wanted, but I chose to keep it. They got me a bunch of books to explain what I needed to know since I hadn’t ever learned any of it before and was leaving the country.”

“But why would we need to take any tests?” Fred asked for him and George.

Bill looked to his mum with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t even tell them?”

“Tell us what?” George demanded when he saw his mum looking like she was going to stop Bill from talking.

“The Prewett title follows magical twins. Regardless of order of birth the title will always be passed to magical twins first.” Bill looked to his little brothers. “From the moment the two of you were born you were automatically Co-Heirs. And since Uncles Fabian and Gideon were killed during the war you two will be able to take the position of Co-Lords when you turn 17.”

“I thought Mafalda was the Heir.” Percy said in slight confusion. “From what Penny told me she is always making a big deal about it in the Ravenclaw common room. She acts like being the Prewett heiress means the others should just give her whatever she wants.”

The younger Weasley children all shivered at the mention of their cousin. Mafalda Prewett was their Aunt Muriels granddaughter. Muriel had been older than their grandfather and had been furious when their uncles were born as it meant her own son, Rodrick, wouldn’t get the title. The only person Muriel doted on more than her son was her granddaughter. When she had gotten married Muriel had demanded her husband take her last name since she had been sure their child would be Heir, and he had until her brothers twins had been born, Muriel had never gotten over it. Mafalda was a few months older than Ron. Given his frame of reference Ron considered Mafalda’s personality to be a cross between Hermione’s know-it-all tendencies and Ginny’s spoilt and demanding nature, only she was arrogant and rude about it. She treated him and his siblings like they were nothing because her side of the family had a bit more money.

“No.” Bill shook his head. “Muriel may want the title to pass to Uncle Rodrick or cousin Mafalda, but it’s going to the twins.”

“But what are Heir tests?” Percy asked.

“Heir tests are just tests to verify that the Heir of a family title is being taught what they need to know to take up the responsibility when the time comes.” Bill told his brother. “It’s really just things like the history of the Wizengamot or Council of Magic, depending on which one the family sits on, basic procedures, and the responsibilities involved in managing an Ancient and Noble House.”

“Yeah, there’s no way…”

“We are going to pass that.” Fred and George said.

“And that’s fine.” Bill shrugged. “You have until you’re 31 to pass the tests and take up the title. If you fail then it will pass to Mafalda, if she can pass the tests. I still have all the books I needed so you guys can just go over them at your own pace.”

“They really don’t need any of that.” Molly really didn’t like the title system in the magical world. She felt her brothers were targeted because of the title they held, and that if they hadn’t been titled they may not have been killed. As much as she wanted her children to work in the Ministry and have respectable positions she didn’t want any of them to be titled. “There is no need for them to take tests if they’re just going to fail.”

“But they need to take them and meet with the Prewett Account Manager if you want their tuition to be paid this year.” Bill said.

“What do you mean? We pay the twins tuition.” Arthur said in confusion.

“You do?” Bill was slightly surprised by that, he knew his parents had refused the money his grandparents offered for him, but he didn’t think they would do the same thing with the Prewett money. “As the Heirs of the family they are entitled to have their tuition paid in part, if not all, by the Prewett Estates. I know the Prewett Estate has never been the wealthiest families, but they still have enough to cover their responsibilities. Aunt Muriel never arranged for the payments?”

“Why would she?” Molly questioned. “Your grandparents never paid your tuition.”

“But they offered.” Bill pointed out. “They offered to give you the money for my tuition and school supplies but you refused the money. Instead they put a portion of that money into an account for me and gave it to me for graduation.”

“Why do you get money and we don’t?” Ginny whined, if she had money like that she wouldn’t need her parents to buy her presents.

“Because you haven’t graduated.” Charlie told her. “I got my own vault as a graduation gift too. They set up vaults for each of us and add a small amount each year and give them to us for graduation. It isn’t a ton of money, but it is enough to take the pressure off so we have time to get a job and start making a living for ourselves.”

“But that isn’t the point right now.” Bill said to draw attention back to what he had been talking about. “Aunt Muriel should have gotten in contact with you about the twins tuition and school supplies, not doing so can be seen as an insult to the family Heirs. Guess she’s getting what she deserves now anyways?” Bill smiled slightly.

“How?” Fred and George asked together.

“Part of the rules that were implemented when the tests were brought back. In the cases where a house has an Heir, but not a Lord or Lady, the House is managed by a steward. That person is usually an elder member of the family or the magical guardian of the Heir. Aunt Muriel has been the steward of House Prewett since Uncles Fabian and Gideon died.

The rules state that the Heirs are required to take the test and pass with a minimum of 85%. If they don’t then the House is effectively locked down. All seats on a governing body are placed into dormancy, that means Aunt Muriel can no longer sit on the Council of Magic. But I think the worst part for her is that the main family vaults go into lockdown too. She and the others will keep their personal vaults, but the only way to access the main family vault will be with the permission of the Account Manager and only to ensure proper care of the Heir. That means Aunt Muriel has just lost her main source of funding, and since she didn’t ensure the twins were properly trained she most likely will never have access again since even if the twins pass the test she will not be trusted by the goblins due to her failings. Gran sent me a letter the other day, she said she had seen Aunt Muriel all but throwing a temper tantrum on her way into the bank.” Bill grinned.

“So what exactly do we need to do?” George questioned.

“You come to the bank with me, take the test, and then we can meet with the account manager. That’s it.” Bill said. “I can give you the books I used to learn all this stuff and you can go through them at your own pace. I even have the books for the Council of Magic since grandad has been working on lobbying for the return of the Weasley seat on there as well as the one on the Wizengamot he’s already managed to claim back and wanted me to be ready since it may not happen until I am the Lord. The Prewett's have a seat on the Council of Magic rather than the Wizengamot. The Wizengamot is responsible for making laws while the Council of Magic deals with more of the more everyday kinds of things like setting tax rates, setting standards for things, and determining how tax revenue is spent. Their work often crosses over so they have joint sessions once a month. Also, any laws the Wizengamot creates needs to be approved by the Council while any policy the Council makes must be approved by the Wizengamot. ”

“There really isn’t a need for them to learn any of that nonsense.” Molly argued. “That system is far to old fashioned. Besides, the boys really have no interest in any of that.”

“Mum, it’s their heritage.” Charlie said. He knew he wasn't the family Heir, but he had still learned the basics since he actually found it interesting. Then he realized that it was going to matter for him from then on since he was contracted to marry an Heir who would be the Lord of his house before said wedding and flopped back into his seat as his mind tried to sort out the implications and responsibilities.

“And even if they aren’t interested, it doesn’t mean they have to give it up. If they pass the test by the time they’re 17 they can claim the title, but even if they don’t they can still assign a proxy. Gran or grandad can easily do it if they don’t want too, or maybe even Percy.” Bill looked to his book loving younger brother for confirmation.

“I wouldn’t mind it.” Percy shrugged. “Can I see the books too, they sound interesting?”

Molly huffed, but kept quiet for once. She had been working on not belittling the twins and what interested them.

The next day Bill guided the twins into the bank to take the tests. He had made arrangements for their dad to join them in the office the visiting Prewett Account Manager would be using to go over things like finances.

For Bill the test was rather easy since he had read the books his grandparents had given to him and paid attention in their lessons. He was interested in the history and traditions so it had been easy for him to learn.

Fred and George however knew next to nothing. They did their best, but they realized there was so much they apparently didn’t know about how their government worked or even their own family. They went over each question to see just what they needed to learn but left a vast majority of the tests empty.

“Please take a seat.” Stonecrusher said as the humans entered his temporary office. “Looking over your tests it is obvious neither of you were trained for your future positions. Heir Fredrick received 14%, Heir George received 17%.”

Fred nodded slightly as he shared a small smirk with his brother. “Better than expected.

“Were neither of you taught anything about your position?” Stonecrusher asked.

“Nope.” 

“Not a thing.” The twins said.

“The first they heard of it was when I told them I had scheduled their tests yesterday.” Bill informed the goblin.

“I actually didn’t know either.” Arthur said when the goblin looked to him. “My wife isn’t a fan of the Lord and Lady system as she blames it for making her brothers targets during the war. Her Aunt Muriel convinced her to just let her manage things.”

“What contact have the Heirs had with their Great Aunt?” Stonecrusher asked as he pulled out the paperwork to deal with a failing steward.

“She visits once or twice a year.” Arthur said. “Other than that we generally just get cards on birthdays and holidays.”

“There is something else that may play a part.” Bill told Stonecrusher. “According to one of our other brothers Muriels granddaughter has been portraying herself as the family Heiress. I believe Muriel may have been trying to get the title to skip over the twins and pass directly to her own son and his daughter. I also think we will need to address the lack of financial support for the Heirs education. Muriel has not provided any even though it was her duty to arrange it as steward of the house.”

“There seems to be a few issues. I can see from the magical scan neither Heir has a fully matching wand.” Stonecrusher had out the medical information. “They both also have plenty of potions residue in their systems for some reason.”

“I thought your mother and I told you to stop testing your potions on yourselves.” Arthur turned to scold his children before looking back at the goblin. “As for the wands, we had to get them at the second hand shop. They were the best we could get.”

“We’re fine.” Fred and George said seeing their fathers embarrassed guilt. They knew how hard their dad worked, it was just with so many of them the money went away fast.

“And normally that would not be an issue.” Stonecrusher said. “Many young of wizardkind go through school with second-hand wands. As children their magic can adapt to them, they will only notice a shift in the efficiency once their cores stabilize with their maturity. But that isn’t the issue, as the Co-Heirs of House Prewett they are entitled to funding for their educational needs, regardless of any other factors.”

The way it worked was that partially matching wands were fine. The wand Neville had had, had not matched him even in the slightest so it had completely rejected his magic. Second hand wands would accept the magic if it was even a partial match, whether it be a matching core type or wood type. At the shops they always looked for a wand that responded to a childs magic. When it came to passing wands down family lines it could also work. Families often had similar magical signatures, often, but not always, as was proven by what had happened to Neville.

As a child grew and changed so did their magical signature. For many children their childhood wands wouldn’t work for them properly once they were an adult, but they could work for their children or younger siblings, like how Charlies old wand had worked decently for Ron until it had been broken. As a child age their magical signature changed and that meant what they needed to properly support their magic changed too. As a boy Charlie had needed unicorn hair for its calm consistent magic, but after coming of age he ended up needing a dragon heartstring wand because it supported his higher power levels.

“Looking at the financial records Muriel Prewett removed funding for the education of one student claiming that the agreement with the Co-Heirs parents was each would pay half.” Stonecrusher said as he looked over the paperwork.

“That isn’t true.” Arthur said immediately. “My wife and I have paid full tuition for both of the twins.”

Stonecrusher pursed his lips, this was why the goblins hated when the wizards Ministry added foolish restrictions on them. Up until the return of the Heir tests they had actually been barred from verifying anything with the Heirs. Thankfully, they could now do their job and deal with those who had apparently been committing fraud. “It shall be investigated and addressed. When are you returning to Britain?”

“We are portkeying back on the 26th.” Arthur said.

“If it is possible I would request a meeting on the 27th. It will give me time to go through everything and give the Co-Heirs a coherent report.” Stonecrusher said.

“I see no issue with that.” Arthur answered for them. 

After leaving the bank the Weasley family went on to enjoy the rest of their vacation. 

Chapter Text

Albus Dumbledore was in a cheerful mood as he arrived back in his office after two weeks away. Working on the ICW involved a lot of paperwork and listening to long winded speeches made by fools, but he wouldn’t give up the power for anything. Albus knew that their world needed him there to make sure they didn’t go down the wrong path. There was just to much of a risk of another dark lord like Tom trying to take over, if he hadn’t openly opposed him he was sure the fools in charge would have sided with him if he just promised them more power.

Looking around he sighed when he saw the large piles of mail. Every year it was the same. He always arrived back to massive piles of mail. Thankfully he had figured out a long lasting sorting spell that would separate and prioritize the mail. There was a section dedicated to just his associates and acquaintances that were reaching out to maintain their relationships, one for the Ministry which was separated into Wizengamot business, Council of Magic business, and letters from Ministry members which usually meant requests for help or advice, there was a third section that included any school business he needed to deal with, another section for letters from Gringotts which was separated into his own accounts and the Potter accounts and the final section was letters sent to Harry from people he hadn't approved of. He would have to go through the letters for Harry and determine if any of there were worth sending on to the boy, over the past years none of them had been deemed important enough by Albus, Albus knew he needed to protect Harry from negative influences or anything that might lead him away from the side of the light.

What confused Albus was that there were letters in the Gringotts area. Under normal circumstances that area was always empty on his return. Gringotts only sent out letters on the first of each month, and those were just the basic outline of the state of the vaults. Other than that they had no reason to contact him.

Deciding to deal with the inconsistency first Albus went over and opened one of the letters addressed to him. It was just a request for him to visit the bank and attend a meeting in regards to his vaults. The other letter to him was a request to attend a meeting in regards to the Potter vaults. The final letter was addressed to Harry and was the same as the one sent to him, he was requested to visit the bank.

Albus rubbed his temples in annoyance. He knew he was going to need to find the time to go to the bank to deal with whatever it was that had happened. Albus had no real worries, both the Potter accounts and his own were relatively well off. 

He had received hundreds of thousands of galleons after the defeat of his dear Gellert along with a great many properties and artifacts. Over the years his money had only grown. He had used a small portion of it during the last war, but those funds had quickly been replenished by the kind donations of his supporters who wished to contribute to the war effort.

Albus was sure that his own vaults were fine. He had made sure to make arrangements to ensure his vaults only grew. Between his investments, and his rather large salary he made a large amount of money each year.

But he was concerned about the Potter Vaults. He knew the Potters had even more money than he did, even more so after all those foolish people credited Harry with saving them and gave him the gifts and money rather then himself, he had spent over a decade standing against the man after all, he deserved at least some of the gratitude. Although he checked in with the account manager he had assigned to the Potter Vaults he never really bothered to look in-depth at any of the information. He was sure the investments were fine as they were. The only real changes he had made was to continue the donations to the school, stop certain donations, and redirected the stopped donations to causes he supported.

The last thing he needed was for something strange to have happened with the Potter investments costing Harry the Potter fortune. There was another war coming, Albus knew that, and since Harry was going to be one of the frontline fighters it would only make sense for him to help support Albus and all the work he did.

Albus took no pleasure in the boys fate, it actually saddened him greatly, but sacrifices were needed to protect their world, and who was he to trade the life of one boy for the rest of their society. But if Harry must die than Albus would make sure that all would not be lost. He had already had a marriage contract drawn up to ensure that the Potter name was not lost with his death. As Harry was the last of the Potter line, so far, if he died that money would end up in the hands of the fools at the Ministry like Fudge and that just wouldn’t do. The contract he had created would allow the Weasley family to claim it, and that would be better since they would be more than willing to ensure the war was funded for the greater good. Plus, if Harry survived long enough, the contract would ensure there was a next generation that he could guide into the light, he was sure between himself and Molly the child would be a great asset to the light and they could ensure the family money was handled properly.

He knew that Harry’s life had not been easy, but adversity built character. Harry needed to understand suffering, it was the only way to ensure he would do what needed to be done. Besides, he was sure it wasn't as bad as the boy had made it out in his first year when he requested to stay over the summer, many children just didn’t want to leave the magical world behind for the mundane one of the muggles and exaggerated, he had learned that lesson well in his years working at the school.

But all of that was unimportant at the moment, what mattered was finding out what was going on at the bank. Albus decided that he would go the next day, he was exhausted after a long day of traveling and felt he deserved a break to just sit back with a good book and some lemon drops, the Ministry and the bank could wait a bit longer.

At lunch the next day Albus apparated into Diagon Alley. He had specifically selected that time as Harry should be back at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Albus didn’t want the boy to see him as of yet. It was best if he only saw him upon his return to school so he would associate him with the joy he found in the castle. Plus he didn’t want the boy to start asking questions.

Thankfully the apparition spot for the alley was just to the side of the bank so he only had a little way to go to get out of the crowds. Going into the bank he went to the nearest teller, pleased when everyone else got out of his way. He said he was there for a meeting and handed over the letter he had been sent about the Potter vaults. He made sure to give those who had moved out of his way a grateful smile since he didn’t want to waste any more time than he had too. He also didn’t mention just what he was there for a meeting for, normally he quite enjoyed people knowing he had control over Harry Potter, but not this day, he didn’t want his presence there and why he was there to spread through the alley to Harry himself.

Albus was pleased when he was immediately escorted back to where the offices were. As he arrived in the office and took his seat Albus couldn’t help but feel that something was off. He had never really paid much attention to the goblins or the interior of the bank, all he had cared about was making sure his money was safe, but this office seemed different.

“Thank you for coming Mr. Dumbledore.” Griphook clenched his teeth ever so slightly at the disrespect shown by the mans not waiting for an invitation to sit but chose to overlook it since he would get his revenge with the information he had. “I am Account Manager Griphook and…”

Albus figured out what had been wrong and quickly interrupted. “You aren’t the Potter Account Manager. I assigned Rockhand. I will only speak with him, it is a matter of privacy.”

Griphook was growing more annoyed, he might not like Rockfist, but the man had been working with him for over 3 decades, he should at least know his name. “Rockfist was arrested for the murder of a goblin. He has been sentenced to the pits for his crimes. I was assigned to ensure the accounts are brought into compliance with all the new regulations.”

“New regulations?” Albus said in slight shock. This was not what he wanted to hear. His goblin had just done what he was told. Albus didn’t want a goblin that would ask questions.

“Yes, as of last week the Wizengamot and Council of Magic voted overwhelmingly to return the Heir Tests.” Griphook felt oddly giddy, not that he would ever admit to such a human emotion.

“Heir Tests? Why would they do such a thing?” Albus was startled by this information. He had only been a young man when the Heir Tests had been canceled. While he had supported their cancelation he hadn’t been involved in it since he had yet to gain much political power. Since they had been cancelled he had never really bothered to learn anything about them, all he knew was what he had heard from his titled classmates while at school. As far as he knew they were just meant to test that the family Heir knew what it meant to take the title.

“It was determined that a number of Heirs were being left unprepared by incompetent guardians.” Griphook said blandly.

“But what does that have to do with me needing to speak with you?” Albus really wasn't liking how off balanced he was. Those fools at the Ministry weren’t supposed to do anything without his permission.

“You will need to bring Heir Potter in for his test, it is why we sent him a letter requesting his presence here today.”

“Harry feels that he just isn’t ready to deal with the responsibility with being Heir Potter, he has requested that I handle everything for him.” Albus said genially. It wasn't exactly the truth, but Albus was sure Harry would agree with him. Albus felt that Harry just wasn't ready to deal with everything involved in his political and financial situation. It was best that Harry not know about any of it, the last thing their world needed was for Harry to become a self-important brat like so many others, including his own father, James had been a very spoiled child and it had taken years for him to grow into any form of maturity. Albus would tell Harry about the money and title, but he would wait until he felt Harry was ready, most likely within a year or so of his graduation. Once Harry was safely married to Ginny would be best.

“How he, and yourself, feel have no impact on this issue.” Griphook knew it was a lie, this man had never bothered to inform his client of anything. “The Heir Tests have been reinstated. By law Heir Potter must pass the tests with a minimum of 85% for him to be able to claim his title. He will have until his 31st birthday to pass his tests.”

Albus smiled happily. “Then Harry will just come in and take them once he’s older. There really is no need to put any undo pressure on the poor boy.”

Griphook pulled a sheet out and made a few notes. “So noted. But that does bring up other issues for yourself.”

“Me?” Albus said in confusion. “What does Harry not taking those silly tests have to do with me?”

“You are Heir Potters magical guardian. The Ministry has determined that any underage Heir that fails to pass the test clearly has a guardian that is failing. As such, until Heir Potter passes his Heir Test you are deemed incompetent and are therefore barred from making most decisions in regards to his care. While you could still be classed as his guardian you no longer have any rights to his financial information or his political influence.”

“I beg your pardon?” Albus gasped in shock.

“You are deemed as an incompetent guardian. I can no longer allow you access to the Potter accounts and all voting seats on any governing body have been placed into dormancy.” Griphook explained almost joyfully.

“Now really, there is no need for any of that.” Albus said, growing irritated at the repeated implication that he wasn't a good guardian. Sure, he really only saw Harry at school, and he hadn’t bothered to teach him anything about his position, but he was a busy man and had a great many responsibilities to their world. Plus, Harry was just fine, he was well on his way to being what they needed him to be. “I’m sure Harry would be able to pass the tests, he just doesn’t want to take them.”

“The law is the law Mr. Dumbledore. Until Heir Potter takes, and passes, the test you have no say in his finances or political decisions.” Griphook said. “Heir Potter is required to take the test, regardless of your opinion on what his opinion may be. So long as you have been properly caring for Heir Potter and his education there is no reason he shouldn’t be able to pass the test. But, until then, you have no control.”

“But how will Harry survive if you take away his money?” Albus decided to go after the financial angle since he knew that was all goblins really cared about. “The bank has no right to deny him what is rightfully his.”

“And the bank shall not, but you are not Heir Potter and as such have no right to access his financial information.” Griphook pointed out. “If Heir Potter wished to make a purchase that exceeds the limit of his trust account he will need to gain my approval.”

“Your approval? But I am his guardian.” Albus couldn’t believe the Ministry had allowed the goblins to steal control over the Potter money from him.

“The goblin nation was selected as a neutral arbiter in regards to the tests to ensure no side of the political spectrum could weight the tests in their favour. It will keep all sides from being able to claim bias should their children fail.” Griphook said. “As neutral arbiters we were assigned the task of ensuring the Heirs financial security should their guardian prove incompetent. As you stated, it is Heir Potters money, and will remain so. I, as the Potter Account Manager, will just need to sign off on any major expenses until he reaches the age of maturity. For expenses such as his schooling the receipt just needs to be submitted to me for his yearly tuition so I can go over it and approve it should everything be as it is supposed to be. I will manage everything until the Heir comes of age and passes his tests, just like all the other Heirs.”

Albus ground his teeth slightly at the repeated reference to incompetence. “What exactly is included in these tests?”

“We preform an identity test to ensure we are dealing with the correct Heir and not someone in disguise or a false claimant. Then we do a health check to ensure the Heir is indeed being properly cared for as well as to ensure their is no outside interference like potions being used to assist in passing the test. Then all the Heir has to do is take the test which covers the basic history of the governing body they will sit on, the traditions, and a basic overview of how to manage their estate. As Heir Potter will have seats on both the Wizengamot and the Council of Magic he will need to take both tests.” Griphook explained.

Albus really didn’t like that, not one bit. Harry knew none of those things, he had specifically ensured that, there was no way he could pass those tests. And the health and identity checks would stop him from using someone else or making it so he could pass, not to mention he knew Harry wasn't exactly in the best health and didn’t want the goblins believing any of that nonsense that he wasn't cared for properly, the Dursley’s might not love him as he had hoped, but they looked after him as best they could he was sure. How was he supposed to ensure their world stayed on the right path if he couldn’t vote in Harry’s place?

“There really is no need for any of that. Harry is fine.” Albus said.

“And I will reiterate, your opinion means nothing in this matter.” Griphook was finding it cathartic to get to deny this man. “He is required by law to take the tests, so he will have to take them. Until he does, you will be deemed incompetent and your control of his life shall be appropriately limited. If you have done the job you took when you decided to become a magical guardian then there is no need to worry, the only reason to worry would be if you indeed failed to honour your responsibilities and educate the Heir.”

“There seems to be no reasoning with you does there?” Albus sighed in aggravation. “I shall speak with the Ministry about your poor conduct in regards to Harry.”

“Speak with them all you wish Mr. Dumbledore, it is their rules I am following. Again, if you have ensured Heir Potter is raised in a way befitting his station in life then there is no reason to resist proving it.” Griphook took joy in the knowledge that the man was stuck with no way around the situation since he had taught Heir Potter nothing.

“Good-day.” Albus got up and stormed from the office. He was guided out and swiftly apparated away.

Back in his office that evening Albus was not in a better mood. He had gone to the Ministry after leaving the bank to try and find a way around this stupid new law, but to no avail.

The only way to regain his control of Harry’s accounts and votes was to have him pass the test, something Albus knew there was no chance of, or get the law repealed. But since the law had had ¾ majority approval by both the Wizengamot and Council of Magic it couldn’t be reviewed for a minimum of one year and would need over ¾ majority votes, something Albus knew there was little chance of.

After hours of trying and failing to find a way around it Albus had to admit defeat, even if just for the moment. 

Giving it plenty of thought Albus made a decision. Until such time as he could get the law repealed he was going to have to give up the added power. He just couldn’t risk Harry finding out about them yet so he couldn’t start teaching him so he could pass the test. Although he enjoyed the power and money he got from Harry it wasn't like he didn’t have any of his own. It would be a bit harder for him to pass the laws he wanted, but he had no doubt he was capable of getting it done. And he did have plenty of his own money, the added money from Harry had just been nice.

It would only be a few more years and Harry and Ginny would both be of age, allowing him to regain his control once they were married. He would just have to ensure Harry didn’t have to face Tom in battle until after the marriage took place. It could be a little difficult since Tom could b unpredictable, but Albus was sure he could manage it.

Soon enough Molly would be able to add Ginny’s name to the contract he had made. He knew Molly well enough to know he could easily get her to sign off on the clauses he had created. All he would have to do was tell her he had ensured Ginny would have the life she always wanted and Molly wouldn’t even bother to read a word that he had written.

Albus knew it was a little underhanded, but it really was all for the greater good.

Chapter Text

Harry was sitting at Fortescue’s ice cream parlour when Ron and Hermione arrived. Although Harry was slightly resentful of the fact Ron had gotten his and Hermione’s letters mixed up making it so he wasn't invited with the Weasley’s he understood Ron just really wasn't that focused and often made little mistakes like that, but it had worked out in the end for him so he was willing to overlook it. After all, if he hadn’t blown up Marge then he wouldn’t have been at the Cauldron and gone to the bank, meaning he might never have known about the contract until it was too late.

Both told him all about the fun they had had that summer on their vacations and Harry explained what he had done, leaving out all the bank trips naturally. Hermione had enjoyed her time in France, she talked about all the things she had learned as they made their way to the pet shop. On the way back from the pet shop Ron explained about his own summer, talking about how his parents had been treating Ginny, Ron didn’t seem to understand the change in his parents but Harry and Hermione had exchanged knowing looks, and he also showed off his new wand his parents had gotten him.

Harry was pleased to have his friends back.

The day after the three friends reunited Arthur went to the bank with the twins. Molly had wanted the entire family to go, but Bill had pointed out the offices generally weren’t that big and not everyone would fit before they had left to go home. Molly had then decided she would take the twins but the twins requested their dad go with them. 

They pointed out that their mum didn’t support the Lord system so knew even less than they did about it, despite not being the family Heir their dad had still had a few basic lessons growing up so would be able to help them more. Given their mums aversion to the Lord system they both knew having their mum there would only make things more difficult since she would most likely argue about every little thing. That, and they had no doubt their mum would try to take control of the money. They loved their mum, but they knew she just couldn’t be trusted with money. She was great at making every knut count when needed, but when she had money it was spent quickly, their trip to Egypt was proof of that, that money could have been put to much better use than a three week holiday in their opinions. Fred and George had always scrimped and saved what they could so they would have money for their planned shop, they weren’t going to risk their mum using all the money before they had a chance to come of age. They knew it really wouldn’t be wasted since they knew their mum would most likely use it to fix up the house and get them all better clothes and supplies, and they knew it really wasn't fair to deny their siblings, but they just didn’t want to lose it now they knew they had it.

In the end the twins got their dad to agree to go with them while leaving their mum to deal with the other kids. It hadn’t been easy to get her to agree, but they both felt it would be worth it. They loved their mum, but they knew she had some serious control issues.

Going into the office the three Weasley’s took a seat after they were invited. Bill had made sure to go over basic etiquette in how to deal with a goblin with them before they left Egypt just to be safe. They all knew it would be much easier for them if they were just polite, another reason the twins preferred to have their dad with them and not their mum. Despite their mums insistence they be polite to those around them she had never really been herself, in particular, if she was denied anything she wanted she tended to start yelling at everyone.

Stonecrusher was sitting calmly behind his desk as he examined the two Heirs and their father before him. He was pleased the humans had been taught at least the beginning of respect. He knew there were more than a few issues with the accounts he was going to have to explain so having them be polite for the moment was pleasant, there was no guarantee it would last.

“So, is everything ok with the boys account?” Arthur asked slightly worriedly.

“The account will recover.” Stonecrusher said diplomatically.

“What happened?” The twins asked as one.

“The Prewett family owns a large number of tree nurseries. Historically these trees were used for potions supplies like alihotsy leaves and neem oil, as well as the wood. The Prewett family had a contract with the Clean Sweep Broom Company to supply wood for 1000 brooms a year, it was the primary source of the families income.

However, after the passing of the late Co-Lords their aunt took control and she did not manage the business properly it would seem. When the broom contract came up for renegotiation it was cancelled in its entirety due to an inability to reach a deal. The business manager selected by the late Co-Lords was fired and the person she placed in charge of the business has also failed to properly care for the potions ingredients resulting in lower quality ingredients that have resulted in a lower income. And as that was happening she arranged for larger and larger salaries to be paid to those she hired as well as paying herself exorbitant amounts.”

Stonecrusher had selectively edited what he said so as not to cause too much anger, emotional humans rarely made intelligent business decisions. The truth was that after the deaths of her nephews Muriel had fired the competent business manager the twins had hired and replaced him with her own son while increasing the pay to an exorbitant level. Her son had then driven the business into the ground and blamed everyone else for his failures. During that same time the major contract the Prewett Nurseries had had with the Clean Sweep Broom Company came up for renegotiation and she had personally destroyed any chance of getting a deal by demanding outrageous amounts of money as well as a large share of the company. According to the paperwork he had looked at the company had pulled out completely because they found her to be completely unreasonable and impossible to deal with.

After a decade of Muriel Prewett and her son in charge the Prewett estate had been effectively cut in half. But Stonecrusher was confident that he would be able to repair the damage given time. And as he did that he was also going to make the woman repay the money she had defrauded the estate for as what little amount of revenge he could legally get.

“So Muriel wasted everything and there’s nothing left for the boys?” Arthur asked. Money had never been the most important thing in their family, but he did feel slightly bad for the twins, he knew they had gotten their hopes up that they would be able to use the money from the estate to fund their dream business. It also aggravated him that Muriel would betray her own family like that.

“No.” Stonecrusher reassured them. “While the estate has suffered in recent years more money can be made. As I have been placed in charge of the estates finances until the Co-Heirs pass their tests I have already started to correct the course. I spoke with the former manager yesterday and he has agreed to return to his old position and work to bring the business back up to the standards the late Co-Lords had set. I have also put out feelers to see if anyone is in the market for wood. The wood trees haven’t been harvested in over a decade so the business has a much larger quantity than it did in the past.”

“So how big is the estate?” Fred questioned.

Stoncrusher opened the folder he had on his desk. “The current monetary balance in the estate is 87,732 galleons, 8 sickles, and 21 knuts. There are also a few family heirlooms as well as the family home currently occupied by Muriel Prewett along with her son, his wife, and their daughter.”

Arthur, Fred, and George were all startled by that amount. The average yearly income in their world was 17,000 galleons a year. And while Arthur’s department was deemed as a less than important one at the Ministry he was still a senior employee and so he made 21,000 galleons a year.

“What… What’s happening with Aunt Muriel?” George asked after a few moments.

“For the most part there is nothing that can be done.” Stonecrusher said. “She was the appropriate steward of House Prewett and was legally allowed to do what she did. Rodrick Prewett has been removed from his position and as I previously stated the former manager has been rehired. It will take a few years for the business to show recovery, but it should be stabilized by the time the Heirs come of age.

As for the money that was removed under the claim that it would be used for the education of the Heirs it is required to be returned. After a thorough examination I have tracked the money as to going into the account of Muriel Prewett for the first two years of the Heirs education. After that the money intended for the Heirs education was instead used to pay Mafalda Prewett’s tuition. As I have verified the money was embezzled it will be returned by Muriel Prewett.”

“But what if she doesn’t have the money?” Arthur questioned. While he was furious with what Muriel had done, he didn’t want to destroy the family relationship. They may not have ever been overly close to Muriel, but she was still one of the last remaining members of Molly’s family and Arthur didn’t want her to lose that connection. “Is there any other way to handle this?”

“There is nothing else to do." Stonecrusher said coldly, he would never understand humans and their tolerance and so called empathy for those who would steal from them. “What she did constitutes fraud, not just against her family, but the bank as well. She gave false information and took money that was not hers to take. Given how much she and her son have paid themselves over the years they are more than capable of repaying the money they took. They had no reason to take that money in the first place given what they had been paying themselves, the only reason for them to take it was greed, plain and simple. Even if the Heirs had taken the titles of Lords and refused to act the bank would be required too.

As for what is to be done with the money. As it was appropriated to cover the education of the Co-Heirs that is what it will be used for. Muriel Prewett only arranged the funds to cover one students tuition and I can not approve funds to cover both Heirs retroactively. But as the money has been previously approved once the repayment is collected from Muriel you and your wife will be reimbursed for the education of one of the Heirs for the previous years Mr. Weasley. From this point on funds will be made available to cover tuition for both Heirs for the next 3 years. Each Heir will have 15 galleons made available each year to assist in covering their supplies for school.”

Arthur was startled by that. He made what would be considered a decent wage in comparison to many others, but with such a large family money was always tight. All the children used hand-me-down school supplies and the supplies hadn’t been new when they first bought them, Ginny’s uniform was the only non-hand-me-down since she was a girl, but those had come from the same second hand store as everything else. Getting reimbursed for 4 years of school as well as having the twins tuition covered until they graduated would ease a great deal of strain from the families finances. They had 5 children in school and that took a majority of Arthur’s wages.

Arthur had never been one to accept charity, but this wasn't charity. With that money things would be much easier. Percy only had one year left, and if the Prewett Estate covered the twins education they would only need to cover tuition for Ron and Ginny over the next few years. Tuition was the largest expense they had each year, this would effectively cut the expense in half once Percy graduated, plus they would be getting tuition for one child for four years back in the form of reimbursement. 

Arthur couldn’t find a reason to refuse so instead just signed off on the financial forms he was given as legal guardian of the Co-Heirs. Each of the twins were handed a pouch of 15 galleons and the three left the bank to get on with their day.

Molly had been both thrilled and furious when Arthur explained to her about what was going on with the twins tuition. She felt relieved that it would take the pressure off trying to find ways to afford getting the kids their books, plus the fact both Ron and Ginny had outgrown their uniforms. Arthur did make sure to remind her a few times about how they were trying to treat the children equally and that Ginny didn’t need custom made robes while Ron got his new robes from a second-hand shop. But she couldn't believe her aunt had taken money intended for her sons and used it to benefit her own granddaughter, especially since Molly knew Rodrick and his wife made more than enough to afford to pay for the education of their only child.

After  Arthur and the twins had had their meeting at the bank Molly and Arthur had taken the children to get their supplies. Each of the children got their own wands, Ron had already gotten his the day before since his old one had been broken, but the others had still had their second-hand wands. They also gotten them newer robes, but they weren’t the custom ones Molly had at first wanted to get for Ginny.

Life had gotten a bit easier for the large family. 

Chapter Text

Like many other children, Harry found himself disappointed as summer ended, but he was still looking forward to school slightly. But Harry couldn’t help but think that the year was off to a horrible start as he lay on the floor of his train compartment. It had started off as just a normal ride to school. They had been running late like always happened with the Weasley family and they had gotten a compartment where a professor was already sleeping but it hadn’t been a problem.

But then that thing had come in. Harry didn't know what that thing had been, but he never wanted to be anywhere near it again.

He remembered.

Harry had heard it all. The final moments of his parents lives. How his dad had tried to give his mum time to grab him and run. How his mum had refused to step aside and let Voldemort kill him. How Voldemort had laughed when he killed his mum…

The new professor shoved chocolate in his hand, but Harry didn’t know what to do with it. He was to far in shock to be able to make sense of what had just happened. His entire body felt like ice and his mind felt numb. He had just relived his parents murders and he just couldn’t process it.

Once at the school Hermione and Harry were pulled aside by Professor McGonagall. She wanted to talk about something privately with Hermione and Madame Pomfrey wanted to check him over. 

Madame Pomfrey told him he seemed to be in shock, not that it was news to him, and gave him a calming draft to help him relax. Harry drank the potion, not even flinching at the taste. Even as he felt the potion taking effect he still couldn’t get his parents voices out of his mind.

Once that was done they went to the evening feast. Harry didn’t even notice what he was eating that night let alone what was going on around him.

Class Schedule

The day after arriving back at school Harry was still slightly out of it. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before and what little sleep he did get was haunted by the final moments of his parents.

He honestly wasn't sure if he even would have been able to make it down to breakfast if Hermione hadn’t come and forced him and Ron up and then guided them down to the great hall. Once sitting he just blindly picked at his food, not really noticing anything around him.

By half an hour later however he was starting to take more notice of what was around him, mainly because Hermione kept elbowing him in the ribs thinking his lack of response to what she was saying was because he was falling back to sleep. Ron was too focused on eating as much as he could before the food went away to notice what was going on with his friends.

Just as breakfast was coming to an end Professor McGonagall came walking down the table handing out the timetables. When Harry got his he only intended to glance down, sure it was fine. But it wasn’t.

“Professor.” Harry called his head of houses attention.

“Mr. Potter?” McGonagall raised an eyebrow as she looked back at one of her students. “What is it, I don’t have much time, so make it quick.” 

“My schedule’s wrong.” Harry told her as he held it out to give it back. “I signed up for care of magical creatures, arithmancy, and ancient runes. But my schedule only has care and divination.”

Minerva pursed her lips. Under normal circumstances she would be thrilled to have one less student wasting their time in divination, she herself thought that class was useless and she didn’t understand why Albus insisted they keep it in the curriculum. But this wasn't normal circumstances. It had been Albus himself that had altered Harry’s schedule, when she had questioned it he had explained that Harry needed to learn about the subject for the greater good she had grudgingly agreed to the change. From what she had seen from Harry in years past she wasn't sure how he would react to the altered schedule, but she didn’t think he would draw attention to it in the middle of the great hall, he seemed to greatly dislike attention unless it was about quidditch.

“Mr. Potter, this is not the time for complaints that something isn’t how you want it.” McGonagall said.

“But classes start today. This seems to be the exact time to correct the mistake in my schedule so I don’t have to waste my time in a class I didn’t sign up for, don’t want to take, or even have the book for.” Harry argued. “I don’t want to fall behind in the classes I actually signed up for because my schedule is wrong.”

“Mr. Potter.” McGonagall snapped, shocked that he would challenge her this way in public. In past years he had been much more submissive to authority figures. “For now you will just have to use the schedule you were given until it can be changed, if you even want to change it. Arithmancy and runes are both very complicated and difficult subjects and you may find you prefer the more relaxed pace of divination.” 

It was at that point Minerva realized her mistake as she saw the stubborn and insulted look cross her students face. She had seen that look often on his mother. Telling Lily she might not be able to do something had always been seen more as a challenge, and she nearly always proved people wrong. Lily had very much been similar to Ms. Granger just with a more relaxed and personable attitude.

“Professor,” Harry said in a cold voice as he tried to stop himself from snapping at his head of house. “I signed up for those classes because those were the classes I wanted to take. If I struggle in them then that is my problem. You have no right to alter my schedule just because you apparently think I’m to stupid to keep up. Like I said, I have nothing for divination because I have no desire to take the class. Rather than giving me the best chance to do well in class by allowing me to start with everyone else you are intentionally making it harder by forcing me to go to a class I don’t want to.”

“I did not say you were stupid Mr. Potter.” Minerva hated that she had made one of her students feel like that, but she could admit Harry had never been overly focused on academics. “I only mean that it will be difficult to keep up with so many new classes on top of your quidditch schedule.

As it is you will just have to stick to your schedule until it can be corrected. It shouldn’t take too long. I’m sure Ms. Granger will be willing to allow you to have a copy of her notes.”

Harry narrowed his eyes in irritation. “Yes, it’s so nice to be reminded how you would go out of the way to ensure Hermione can take all the classes she wants while the rest of us just need to make do with mistakes since we just aren’t worth the same amount of effort.

If you will excuse me professor, I want to go and speak with the professors of the classes I actually signed up for to try and make arrangements to get their assignments until such time as my schedule gets corrected. I’m sure you will be able to do that in a timely manner.”

With that Harry got up and all but stormed out of the great hall. He didn’t notice all the gobsmacked looks aimed at his back.

Minerva had practically never been spoken to like that, and it had never been done by a student. If it weren’t for the fact she slightly agreed it wasn't fair she would have taken points for the disrespect. She wasn't sure how long it was going to take before the boy relaxed and realized his schedule wasn't going to be changing, but she was sure it would happen. Albus was adamant he take divination, so he was just going to have to get used to it. Minerva was sure Hermione would be able to make him see just how much work those other classes were and he would come to understand they had really just been doing him a favour.

Hermione was horrified Harry had spoken to a professor like that, even more so since it was Professor McGonagall and she wasn't just a professor, she was also the deputy headmistress and their head of house. Yes, she knew she was getting special treatment, but that was just because she was the brightest of their year. She didn’t want to be insulting to her friend, but Harry just wouldn’t be able to keep up with all the classes she was taking, he was better off taking easy classes with Ron.

Ron was still to focused on the last of his food. He knew something was going on but he was sure Harry and Hermione would tell him what he missed later.

Everyone else was impressed at Harry telling off their head of house for her actions. There were many who had felt Professor McGonagall only really cared about certain students and then just left the rest of them to deal with things on their own, so seeing one of her favoured students tell her off for it was impressive. It took a lot of courage to speak like that to McGonagall, they were even more impressed since he didn’t even lose any points.

After leaving the great hall Harry really did go and speak with the professors of the classes he had wanted to take. When he explained the situation, poorly attempting to hide his anger at his head of house, they agreed not to hold it against him.

Both agreed they would give him copies of any assigned readings and assignments they gave in class and he could hand them in after class. They also gave him their office hours so if he had any questions about what he was reading he would able to go and discuss it with them.

Harry was irritated, but he was sure it was going to work out.

Care of Magical Creatures

There was a slight problem in his first care class, but it ended up fine.

Harry was the first to approach Buckbeak. He was furious as he ignored the whispering about the grim from his classmates that had been in divination with him. Having to spend 2 hours in an over-heated classroom that smelled disgustingly of incense and something that burnt his nose and listen to all the ways he was going to die was not something he enjoyed.

When he had gone to transfiguration after he had glared at McGonagall when she questioned them about who had been predicted to die that year. She had flinched and wore a guilty look as she explained Trelawney had been predicting the death of a student every year. It was obvious she had been hoping it wasn't him since she wanted him to remain in that class. And that was something that didn’t make sense to him since she clearly didn’t think much of the class or the professor.

But as Harry flew on the hippogriff all of that annoyance faded away for just a few moments. It was fun to just let go and relax, even if it was only for a short time.

Everything caught back up with him once he was on the ground though. He had seen that Malfoy and his little posse weren’t paying attention to Hagrid as he explained how to approach the hippogriffs. Because of that he kept close to them and watched what they were doing, he didn’t want them ruining Hagrid’s first class.

As Harry had expected Draco immediately started insulting Buckbeak. As soon as the hippogriff reared up Harry darted forward and dragged Draco back, keeping him from getting slashed. Ignoring his rival Harry worked to calm the angry hippogriff before turning back to glare at the blond.

“Merlin Malfoy, how stupid can you get? I thought you of all people would understand those with a delicate ego.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean Potter?” Draco sneered, having no idea why the beast had attacked. “Just wait until my father hears about this.”

Harry rolled his eyes at the petulant boy. “Honestly, for someone with such a massive ego you have no pride. Are you going to hide behind your daddy’s cloak for the rest of your life? I thought Slytherins were supposed to be ambitious and cunning, all you do is whine to your father because you can’t deal with anything on your own. Grow up. Have a little pride and learn to fight your own battles.

As for Buckbeak, like Hagrid said, hippogriffs have very delicate egos, much like you. Never insult a hippogriff unless you want to be cut to ribbons. If you find being polite to a creature that is much larger and more dangerous than you too difficult I’m sure your daddy will understand you dropping the class since he isn't here for you to hide behind.”

Draco sputtered in indignation, it just got worse for him when Blaise Zabini chuckled at what Potter had dared to say to him before the Italian moved up next to Potter and bowed to the great beast. His cheeks flushed at the dig about his father. He couldn’t believe anyone would dare to speak to him like that. He was also aggravated that Zabini was able to pet the interesting beast and he had nearly been attacked.

“Now see here…” Draco huffed in anger.

“No, ya’ see here.” Hagrid cut in, irritation clear in the way he growled. “Ten points from Slytherin, each, for failing to listen to a professor and nearly getting yourself hurt. Hippogriffs deserve your respect, or ya’ll get hurt. Harry, five points to Gryffindor for protecting a fellow classmate. I know it might be a bit much to ask, but can you work with this lot to keep them from hurting themselves or others since you clearly paid attention while they didn’t.”

“If they’re so dangerous why would you start off with them?” Pansy Parkinson demanded from where she was clasping Draco’s arm in a possessive nature.

“Cause I thought ya’d want to start out with some’tin interest’n.” Hagrid defended, his confidence flagging slightly. “We’s gonna start with the regular curriculum next class, but I wanted to start off on a good note. But if ya’d prefer we can start on flubberworms. We’s gonna be look’in at ‘em for the next week.”

“NO!” The rest of the class called out.

“Really Hagrid, hippogriffs are great.” Dean Thomas called out from where he was petting a tawny female. “Just ignore them, we can wait to start on flubberworms.”

“Or…” Parvati Patil cut in slyly. “You can give them the work on flubberworms since they aren’t up to studying hippogriffs and we can keep on with this lesson. It’s fine if they are just a bit to slow for the rest of us.”

“Well, what da ya lot think?” Hagrid questioned with a slight chuckle. “Do ya want to keep on with this lesson or do ya want to head back to ta classroom and start reading about flubberworms while the rest of the class stays out here.”

Draco swallowed back a scathing retort, he didn’t want to have to go and read about disgusting worms when he could be with something interesting. “Hippogriffs are fine.” He bit out before stepping forward next to Blaise and copying what he had done. He couldn’t help a small grin in delight when it bowed back and he was able to pet the creature too.

“Thanks Harry.” Hagrid smiled at the end of class. “Ya really saved me there, who knows what Lucius Malfoy would have done if Malfoy had gotten hurt.”

“No problem Hagrid.” Harry smiled at his biggest friend, happy the lesson hadn’t ended in blood. It really would have damaged Hagrid’s confidence if anything had gone wrong. 

After class let out Ron whined about how Harry had saved Malfoy of all people. He said he thought it would have been funny seeing the git get what he deserved, in his opinion. Harry just pointed out that Malfoy Sr. would have gone after Hagrid for that and most likely would have had Buckbeak killed.

Ron agreed, especially after Hermione got the ‘I’m going to lecture you look’, but that didn’t stop him from pouting most of the day.

Fix the Schedule

It only took a week for Harry to reach his breaking point. 

He hadn’t had a single decent nights sleep since his encounter with the dementor. And then having to listen to Trelawney tell him all about how she thought he was going to die didn’t help. But what made it even worse was how his classmates were acting, those who knew about the predictions from the fraud treated him like he was going to die any minute, even Ron.

He had been sitting in his afternoon divination class with Trelawney telling him yet another way he was going to die when he just couldn’t do it anymore. He didn’t say a word as he got up and just walked out of class, slamming the door behind him. He didn’t know that his accidental magic sealed the trapdoor behind him keeping Hermione and Ron from following him to get him to calm down, Ron, and return to class, Hermione.

Since it had been Flitwick that had approved his change in schedule during the summer, and McGonagall was proving useless like always, Harry went towards the charms masters office. He slammed into the office without bothering to knock. Harry didn’t really notice anything around him, his world was spinning out of control and he just wanted it to stop.

Filius and Remus Lupin looked up in shock from where they were discussing the merits of different charms when the door slammed open. They were startled to see the state Harry was in. His eyes were huge and glassy with a few tears just starting to streak down his cheeks. But the most noticeable thing was the way his magic was swirling around him in agitation.

“Mr. Potter?” Filius squeaked in worry.

“I can’t…” Harry said in a harsh wheezing voice, he couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen into his lungs. “I just… I can’t deal with it anymore.”

“What can’t you deal with Harry?” Remus asked in a soft voice as he watched the child of his best friends pace back and forth as he struggled to breathe.

“Divination. I can’t take it anymore.”

“But Harry, you didn’t take divination.” Filius pointed out, he remembered getting the course change request in the summer while he was in charge while Albus and Minerva were away. “I changed your course selections myself. You signed up for care, arithmancy, and ancient runes.”

“It was changed back.” Harry wheezed. “I told McGonagall I didn’t want to take it but she wouldn’t listen. She just keeps telling me that she hasn’t gotten around to fixing my schedule yet and that I should just agree to take divination. But I can’t.”

“Why not?” Remus questioned in honest confusion, he hadn’t taken that class either.

“She keeps telling me how I’m going to die. I can’t hear that again.” Harry partially covered his ears like he could still hear the woman.

“How you’re going to die?” Remus said in confusion, looking over at Filius. “What kind of teacher tells a student they’re going to die?”

“Sybil Trelawney has predicted the death of one new student every year in her class. It’s sort of how she welcomes them. None of them have ever died.” Filius said in slight disgust, he really didn’t like the woman and felt she was an embarrassment to the profession, both teaching and predicting the future, especially since she tended to smell like sherry all the time.

“And that’s allowed?” Remus was surprised at just what was allowed.

“Albus refuses to do anything about her.” Filius sighed. “All we can really do is tell the students to ignore it.”

“I can’t…” Harry’s hands slid up off his ears to dig into his hair as he started to tug. “I hear it every time I try to sleep. Then she tells me all these horrible things. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat… Please just make it stop.”

“Hear what when you sleep?” Remus questioned Harry, wishing he would stop pulling his hair but not being sure how to stop him without upsetting him more.

“He…” Harry’s eyes went from glassy to glazed over as the anguish on his face disappeared, he showed absolutely no emotion and didn’t seem aware anyone was there as he started to speak in a haunting whisper. “Dad noticed he was coming first. He told mum to get me and run, that he would hold him off as long as he could. There was a blasting sound and then a curse. Avada kedavra. What does that mean?

Mum was in the room with me. She just kept saying how much she and my dad loved me. Then he came in. He mocked her. Told her she didn’t need to die. All she had to do was step aside and let him kill me. Why didn’t she save herself? She told him to take her. She begged him not to hurt me. But he said that spell again. Avada kedavra. He laughed as she fell. And then he said it again, avada kedavra. There was so much pain… 

Why didn’t they save themselves? Why, why, why? Please, just make it stop. I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

As Harry finished speaking he walked directly to Remus and buried his face in his chest as he started to cry, holding on to him like he was going to shatter if he let go. Remus was startled but didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around the trembling child and start rubbing his back to try and soothe him. Both of the adults had tears in their eyes.

“How does he…?” Filius questioned in horror.

“The dementors.” Remus whispered after a few moments.

“Oh please merlin no.” Filius hated having those things around the school but this just made it worse. “I think we need to take him to Poppy. He’s going to need an incredibly strong calming draught and some rest after this.”

Remus ended up just carrying Harry to the hospital wing. Thankfully there was still about 20 minutes left of class so no one saw. Remus knew some students were trying to tease Harry about his strong reaction to the dementors and didn’t want this added on top of that. He was just glad neither he nor Filius had had classes that afternoon so Harry hadn’t been alone for his breakdown

“What in merlins name happened to him?” Poppy questioned as she came out of her office to see two professors with a shaking student.

“He needs a strong calming draught Poppy.” Filius said as Remus took Harry to a sectioned off area and laid him on the bed.

“Please don’t leave me.” Harry practically cried as he tried to get closer to the warm body that had been holding him. “I’m so tired of being alone.”

“Shh, I won’t leave.” Remus promised without thinking. “I’ll stay with you until you wake up.” Remus summoned a chair and sat right next to the bed.

“Filius, what is going on?” Poppy questioned in confusion.

“Harry has had a bit of a breakdown. From what he said he hasn’t been able to eat or sleep properly in the past week. He’s exhausted and was just pushed past his limits today.” Filius said in sorrow at what his student had been through.

“I know he was in shock after the train, but this seems to be more than that.” Poppy said.

“The dementors are what caused this, but he’s been going over this nonstop since it happened I think.” Filius told her.

“None of the other students were this bad.” Poppy said in confusion. “I did have a few come to me for some dreamless sleep potion due to nightmares, but never Harry. And none of them were this bad off.”

“Poppy, you do remember who this is right?” Filius questioned her softly, he didn’t blame her, he hadn’t even realized the trauma the boy had been subjected to himself. “He was there when his parents were murdered and then their killer tried to kill him. The dementors forced him to remember all of it. I think he’s been reliving it on a loop ever since.”

“Oh no.” Poppy gasped in horror. “I told the headmaster it was dangerous to have those things so near the children. Many of our upper years remember bits and pieces of the war. Who knows how bad their memories are.”

“Have you had any issues with any of my students?” Filius questioned in worry about those in his house. 

“There’ve been a few.” Poppy told him. “Most were just general nightmares. But I do think you might want to speak with Luna Lovegood, she’s been here almost every night. If you will excuse me I need to tend to Harry.”

Poppy quickly spelled the curtains closed around the bed Remus had placed the boy in, she didn’t need any of the other students harassing him. Once that was done she administered her strongest calming draught and then a double dose of dreamless sleep. If the boy hadn’t slept properly in a week he needed to catch up or he would never be able to handle it

“What do we do now?” Remus questioned. “I promised Harry I wouldn’t leave him. But I really want to give that Trelawney a piece of my mind for doing this to a student. And then I have a few choice words for Minerva for interfering in his education. Who knows, maybe if he hadn’t been forced into that class to be told how he was going to die he would have been able to handle this better.”

“You stay.” Filius heard the slight growl in the mans voice. He honestly was just as offended on behalf of one of his students, but he knew it wouldn’t help Remus to verbally tear a coworker apart, no, that was going to be his job. “ We have that staff meeting tonight. I will give your excuse for why you won’t be there and then I will address Minerva’s behaviour with her.”

For the first little while Filius was silent as the staff meeting moved along. He had explained Remus had other business to attend to so wouldn’t be able to make it.

The first issue that had been brought up was by Severus. He was less than pleased that Hagrid had taken 40 points from his house, 10 for each student that hadn’t listened (Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson). But Hagrid didn’t fold in on himself the way he once would have. instead he explained his reasoning. While Severus didn’t like it he couldn’t argue it since he took the same amount, if not more, from students that weren’t listening and endangered themselves or others.

“I have something we need to discuss.” Filius spoke up in a hard voice once there was quiet for a few moments.

“And what might that be Filius?” Albus smiled at the little man, slightly confused by the anger the man was showing, Filius normally was never anything but cheerful.

Filius turned his glare on Minerva. “Just what did you think gave you the right to alter a students course selection? And when you got caught, why did you not just fix it, why continue to force the student to attend a class they didn’t want to be in?”

Minerva blinked at being called out so publicly by another professor. Yes, she knew she technically didn’t have the right to force Harry to take a class he didn’t want to, but Albus had assured her it was necessary. “Albus said…”

“So this was your idea?” Filius turned to the Headmaster. “Well… Why did you suddenly decide to interfere with the educational decisions of a student when you haven’t cared even once in the last twenty years?”

“Divination is a perfectly respectable subject.” Albus defended, instantly knowing what this was about.

“That isn’t the point.” Filius said, though he disagreed with the idea that divination was respectable, since it obviously wasn't useful to help students get an average job. “The point is every student has the right to select their own courses. And no one here has any right at all to try and force them to change. You had no right to interfere with his education, especially since you are only terrorizing him and holding him back.”

“Harry is not being terrorized.” Minerva argued.

“Oh? So you spoke to him about what was going on? How he was feeling? What he was going through?” Filius questioned in sarcasm.

Severus snorted in irritation. “Of course, because the precious Boy-Who-Lived can’t be denied anything.”

Filius shot a glare at the potions master. “I thought you would be supporting me in this Severus. You are always saying Harry shouldn’t be given special treatment, and that is what I am saying. Harry should be treated like any other student. And that means he should be allowed to select the classes he takes and the ones he doesn’t.”

Severus looked like he swallowed a toad at this. He wanted to argue, but Filius had out Slytherined him. If he argued then he was arguing to treat the boy different, something he had always argued against in the past. Rather than saying anything he just settled for a glare at that moment.

“I’m sure Harry will settle in quite comfortably in divination.” Albus smiled softly. He really didn’t want the boys schedule being changed. Harry needed to learn as much as he could about divination so he would be able to understand and grasp the importance of the prophecy about himself. “Besides, the year has already started and it would not be fair to force Harry to start behind the other students in class.”

Everyone squinted at the Headmaster at the stupidity of that statement, but it was arithmancy professor Septima Vector that spoke. “That is nonsense and we all know it. Students have until the end of September to change electives. I’ve already had five third years transfer out because they felt the class was too hard while 2 have transferred in. And none of those who transferred in have had any problem catching up.

As it is Mr. Potter came to me when he first learned his schedule had been changed against his will and explained the situation to me. He has been getting the notes from one of his classmates and I give him any assignments he might miss. So far I’ve only had one assignment and that was a quick arithmetic quiz to help me gage where my students are starting from in their ability to calculate things. Like most muggle raised students Mr. Potter did quite well since he attended a muggle primary school and had math classes.”

“Same for me and my class.” Bathsheba Babbling, the ancient runes professor, said. “There is no problem with him joining my class.”

Albus ground his teeth slightly, he hadn’t known that. This was not what he wanted. He really did not take any joy in the fact that Harry couldn’t be like all the other children, but the boy was just too important to not be under Albus’s control and instruction. “I am just not sure Harry will be able to handle the responsibility.

Minerva, weren’t you saying that Harry threw a fit and stormed out of Divination this afternoon and has yet to show his face since. It is highly immature behaviour. We were already in the process of addressing his little problem yet he still chose to behave in such a manner.”

“Your faulty opinion of his maturity level has absolutely nothing to do with his educational choices.” Filius squinted at the Headmaster in aggravated confusion. What was going on with the man? “He came to my office after leaving divination after once again being forced to listen to all the horrible ways he was going to die that Sybil had dreamt up since the last time he was in her class. He has been struggling with nightmares and is currently resting.”

“Oh, did the precious little Potter prince throw a fit and need a nap.” Severus sneered, he hated having to deal with the Potter spawn. “Really Filius… You can’t argue that you want to treat the boy like everyone else one minute and then give him a pass for walking out of class for a nap the next. The petulant brat is just like his fath…”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Filius thundered. The tiny professor was standing on his chair. To anyone just looking into the room it would look funny, since he was so short his chair already had had a booster on it to lift him up to be the same height as his coworkers and now he was standing on it, but everyone inside the room could feel the furious power rolling off him. “For two years I have held my tongue while you have belittled and insulted Mr. Potter just because of who his father is.

I had hoped that Minerva would eventually intervene to curb your abuse. But apparently she isn’t up to it. So I will.

Mr. Potter did not have a choice in who his father was anymore than you or any of the rest of us did. Yes, James and you didn’t get along at school. Yes, he bullied you. But Harry had absolutely no part in any of that so you taking your anger out on him makes you no better than you say James was. In some ways it makes you worse since James was a teen going after a teen while you are an adult attacking a child.

It ends now. I do not want to ever hear you attacking that boy because of who his parents are again… I don’t want to hear about you attacking him period. And the same goes for Mr. Longbottom. Those two are children, you are an adult, bloody well act like it.”

As Filius spoke his magic crackled in the air. Since most of the women tended to tie their hair back they were relatively fine, but the men with longer hair like Severus and Albus were starting to get staticky, Hagrid was looking down right fluffy. But Filius wasn't done, they had finally riled his goblins temper and he needed to let it out.

“This is what is going to be happening… Minerva. You will be correcting Mr. Potters schedule immediately. He will not be taking divination. He will be taking arithmancy and ancient runes, like he selected. It isn’t some big difficult thing to arrange, it’s signing off on three forms, that’s it, I’m sure even you have time for that. Mr. Potter will have the correct schedule by tomorrow morning so he can start attending his correct classes after the weekend.

Albus. You will not be interfering in any way. You do not have the right to try and dictate what Mr. Potter is and is not allowed to learn. If either of you find yourself incapable of doing your blasted jobs I will inform the board and they can start looking for competent replacements.

Severus. As I said, you will keep a civil tongue in your head. I know that intimidating the students as you do keeps them from fooling around in your lab, that is fine. But you will stop this needless attack on children. For Merlin’s sake man, you have terrified Mr. Longbottom to the point his boggart turns into you, it’s no wonder he can’t preform in class since he is literally in the same room as the thing he fears most. This is a child who’s parents were tortured by Death Eaters, and you frighten him more.

As with Minerva and Albus, if you find yourself incapable you can discuss it with the board. And possibly the DMLE depending on whether or not they consider your actions emotional and mental abuse of children.

As for everyone else, we will be putting our foot down in regards to the bullying. I understand Albus’s point of view that we need to take a step back and allow the students to deal with their own problems, but there are limits to that. Just based off what I have learned in the last 6 hours the students of this school have little to no faith in us. We will need to earn their trust back, and we will do that by doing our jobs. We aren’t just here to teach the students our subjects, we are also responsible for teaching them right from wrong and how to be functional members of society since their parents aren’t here.

And I personally will be starting with the students tormenting Mr. Potter about his strong reaction to the dementors. Any students I catch harassing or mocking him will be losing 10 points each and getting an evening of detention each time it happens. Hopefully they will learn it’s wrong quickly.”

Severus was startled by Filius’s vehemence to say the least, but his Potter hate was overriding his Slytherin cunning at that moment. “Potter has one little bad dream and…” Severus started to mutter under his breath.

Filius narrowed his eyes at the potions master, it was clear to him he was going to need to go another way to make the man understand. Filius had always liked Lily, they had even been arranging an apprenticeship contract so he could help her gain her charms mastery when she learned she was pregnant with Harry and then had to go into hiding. But he knew as much as Lily had meant to him it was nothing in comparison to what she had meant, and still did mean, to Severus.

“Severus… Did you know that James was the one that spotted You-Know-Who approaching their home? Did you know that he stayed to fight and told Lily to run? Did you know that You-Know-Who killed him instantly? Did you know that when he cornered Lily in Harry’s nursery he taunted her? Do you know what her last words were? Did you know that after he murdered Lily he laughed before turning his wand on her son?

Because Harry now knows all of those things due to being exposed to dementors. That’s why he reacted the way he did when that dementor went into his compartment on the train. He was reliving the murder of his parents and his own attempted murder. So no Severus, Harry has not had one little bad dream, he’s been experiencing night terrors as his mind tries to process what I think we can all agree is an unspeakably traumatic experience. 

He has barely slept or ate in a week. During that time he was forced to attend a class where all he was told, repeatedly, was that he was going to die. And on top of that he has had to deal with the harassment and mocking of a great many students. He is currently in the hospital wing after suffering what Poppy called a complete emotional collapse coupled with a panic attack. I’m just glad he was able to make his way to my office since he was so worked up he was struggling to breathe and Remus had to literally carry him to the hospital wing. Remus and Poppy are watching over him.

And he isn’t the only student struggling, his case was just more severe. Many seem to have forgotten that we aren’t just in a castle surrounded by dementors, we are in a castle filled with the children of war. The first and second years were to young or hadn’t been born so they don’t remember it, but basically all of our students born into magical families from third year and up were in some way touched by the war, be it through the loss of a family member or friend. I’m sure we all remember the December 1980 attack on Diagon Alley during Yule. 18 people were killed and over 100 hurt, over a dozen of those hurt were children out shopping with their parents. How many of those children now attend this school?”

The rest of the staff looked slightly green after Filius spoke of what Harry heard when the dementor came near him. All of the senior staff had known Lily and James, many of them quite well. The younger staff members might not have known James or Lily, but they did still care about them like they would about any other person that was killed, plus they didn’t like the idea of their son being forced to relive their murders. But none were worse off than Severus. 

Severus was paler than the castle ghosts and looked like he was about to be sick. Lily had meant the world to him. When he was a teenager, and even into his early 20’s he had thought he was in love with her, now he was old enough to know that he loved her, but hadn’t been in love with her. It was just that for so long Lily had been the only one he had really had, his mum was there but while she had loved him, she had loved his abusive father more and had stayed with him and allowed him to continue hurting the both of them. It had been Lily that checked on him and helped treat his injuries after a beating while his mum just got his dad another glass of cheap whiskey. Seeing her body on the floor had been the worst moment of his life, no beating, torture, or torment, had compared even slightly with seeing her lifeless. Hearing of her final moments just reopened those old wounds that hadn’t even fully scabbed over yet.

“It is truly unfortunate that our students have lost their faith in us.” Filius’s temper had come to an end as he slowly retook his seat while his mind moved to the disappointing topic.

“Whatever would make you think the students wouldn’t trust us?” Albus asked in confusion. He felt bad for what Harry had experienced but he also saw it as working in his favour so he wasn't as broken up as the others. “If the students have any problems they always know they can speak with the staff.”

“Yet none of us knew just how bad things have already been for many students this year.” Filius pointed out.

“Just because Mr. Potter chose not to come ask for help doesn’t mean the other students are so stubborn.” Minerva said in a sad yet snippy voice, she couldn’t believe what Filius had implied about her.

“But they are, and after the shining example of failure that was the last year it makes sense that the students don’t feel like their protection is our priority.” Filius pulled out sheets of parchment he had gotten from Poppy and handed one to each of his fellow heads of house. “Those are lists of your students that have gone to Poppy for dreamless sleep potions more than once in the past week due to nightmares.

I assume that since none of us have previously stepped in to stop the harassment of Mr. Potter about his reactions to the dementors the other students didn’t want to make themselves targets so they didn’t come to any of us. Poppy has a policy that unless it looks like an injury occurred in something truly dangerous or illegal she doesn’t ask questions so I guess the students felt safe enough to go to her, thankfully. Poppy requested we speak with them to make sure it’s just bad memories and not an indication of something more severe. Minerva, if you find making the arrangements to correct Harry’s schedule takes up too much of your time and you aren’t able to actually go to Gryffindor this month Poppy would like for you to tell her so she can arrange to speak with the students herself.”

“I’m sure there really is no need for all that.” Albus said genially as he stroked his beard. “The children need to learn to seek help if they need it.”

“But they will never trust us enough to come to us unless we prove we care and are willing to help.” Filius argued. “As I said, after last year it’s no wonder they have no trust in us. Multiple students were attacked and we barely managed to do anything. For Merlins sake, it was one of those very students that was attacked that figured out what was going on and two other students that dealt with the danger after a student was kidnapped.

You might have tried your best to hide what really happened Albus, but that just means the students have made their assumptions. Ms. Weasley has repeatedly credited Mr. Potter for saving her, and she said her brother was there too. Both Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley received plenty of points and rewards for services to the school, so the students know they really were involved. And they know that whatever happened you yourself weren’t involved since the older Weasley brothers had reported to their house just after Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley the youngest were noticed as missing that you were meeting with their parents to comfort them about their missing daughter. The boys were less than subtle in their anger that you were just sitting there and not trying to do anything to find their sister. 

The students might not know the exact specifics, but they understand the basics. It was students that saved them because the staff failed. There is a muggle saying that applies perfectly to this situation. They say trust takes a lifetime to build and a moment to destroy. Well, we spent an entire school year destroying that trust. It’s going to take work to rebuild it, but I personally am going to be trying my best to do so, starting with the students in my house.”

“Me too.” Pomona added. She couldn’t believe just how badly she had let her badgers down as she looked at the list. She was also ashamed to admit she knew a number of students in her house were amongst those that were making fun of poor Harry, but that was going to be stopping that very night. She was going to make sure her badgers were safe and then she was going to get them back in line if it was the last thing she did.

Severus was still too out of it to really form sentences but he was already making a few basic plans about how to address his students as he looked at the list.

“Now, Aurora.” Filius looked over to the astronomy professor. “You mentioned at the beginning of this meeting you wished to discuss something about the quality of telescopes a number of first years had?”

Albus was sitting in his office an hour after the staff meeting had ended. He was staring out the window while he pet his beard, occasionally treating himself to a lemon drop to help himself think. He had so many plans on the go and he often needed moments like this to go through the specifics of them all and keep track of them. 

After decades of working to improve their world he knew that things would not always run smoothly, but he had always managed to keep some level of control, even during the last war. There were always going to be little twists and turns that he hadn’t been able to account for, especially when children were involved, but that just meant he needed to keep more of a watch on things and not give up any of his control to others. But this plan he had been working on with Harry was one of the most intricate and delicate he had ever had, and that meant he had to be as involved as possible.

Up until that very moment everything had been going exactly as he planned it. Harry had grown up to be a humble boy that knew nothing of his fame or money. Even now that he knew of his fame he had no idea of his money which made him appear even more humble to the people since he wasn't out buying everything that caught his attention like so many other children from wealthy families. Albus had lost control of the Potter money, but so long as he kept Harry from learning of it he was sure it would be fine.

When the boy had started his first year he had immediately made friends with the youngest Weasley boy, just as Albus had planned. Years before he had started encouraging Molly to take her children the muggle way since he knew that would allow them to meet Harry when the time came. Most in the magical world flooed to the platform. Since the Weasley’s always ran late he knew they would run across Harry regardless of how early he showed up. To ensure that he had placed wards tied to Harry’s magical signature that would make others ignore him that only the Weasley’s were immune to. He knew Molly well enough to know that she would raise her children with the proper ideals, and since he was planning on using the Weasley girl to keep Harry under control having him befriend the family would make it appear more natural.

And it had worked perfectly. Ronald had sought the boy out just as he had known he would and they formed a fast friendship. Albus could admit it was a little underhanded, but he had ensured the boys got a few low-level trust and loyalty potions geared towards each other, but that was just to ensure their friendship wouldn’t be broken up by others trying to get close to the famous Harry Potter. And it hadn’t been like he used the potions for very long, he had stopped by Christmas that year since the boys friendship had seemed strong enough by then.

At first he had been a little weary when they had connected to the Granger girl, it had not been in his plan after all, but he had easily adjusted. Now he thought bringing Hermione into their friendship was the best thing the boys could have done, and like with the boys they had only needed a few months of potions to ensure the bond was strong enough not to be broken by any petty differences the children might have. The girls blind obedience to authority came in very handy to monitor the boys since all he needed to do was have Minerva speak with the girl and she would tell her everything. It also helped with how bright the girl was since she made sure both boys passed everything even as they went through the trials Albus had laid out for them. 

Her devotion had come in handy that very day. After she and Ronald managed to get out of divination they had gone in search of Harry. When they couldn’t find him she had immediately gone to Minerva and told her everything. That was the only reason he had known the boy wasn't where he was supposed to be. He hadn’t managed to use that information in the way he had wanted too, but he had at least had it. 

After he had learned Harry had walked out of divination he had quickly come up with the idea of Minerva giving him detention, he had still been debating whether it should be set with Severus or Argus since they both always gave the worst detentions. Albus had planned to interrupt halfway through the detention. He would then discuss the problems the boy had been having. He would kindly agree to cancel the rest of his detention so long as he agreed to just stop fighting and accept taking divination with his friends. Unfortunately Filius had stopped that from happening. If he tried to give the boy detention now many of the other staff members would be unhappy, and he still needed them on his side. 

He hadn’t wanted to endanger the other children during his testing of Harry, but he now found it to be better that way. Having them there to offer support just made Harry more devoted to his cause. Harry needed to be trained, and his friends served as another way to teach him of the importance of others.

But this year was the first Harry was going through with no potions or spells to encourage the appropriate behaviour. He had stopped the potions and spells to see if Harry properly understood his role and position in all of this. Albus had originally planned for the test this year to be relatively easy just to ensure Harry could do it without the added incentive of a few potions and spells to encourage him. Even as things had changed he had decided to allow Harry to go without the spells or potions just to see what he would do, although he was ready incase it was needed. The pushing back against his plans for his courses was annoying, but Albus chalked it up to teenage rebellion, and he could allow some of that, but only some.

This year was already shaping up to be much more difficult than he had planned, for him, not Harry. He still had no idea how Sirius Black had managed to escape Azkaban, or figure out why. The man had been there for over a decade, surely he was to weak to do anything. Albus still couldn’t believe that he had missed Sirius being a traitor. He had thought he knew everything there was to know about his Order members, but he had somehow missed that. But although Sirius had caused the deaths of Lily and James he had managed to allow Albus to determine just who the child of prophecy was.

To counter the danger of Sirius Albus had had to move quickly. Originally he had been planning on hiring a defence professor that was more of a cross between Quirinus and Gilderoy. He knew the man was a thief and he would have released the clues during the year so Harry and his little friends could catch him near the end of the year, he did need the professor to last that long at least so he wouldn’t need to arrange yet another new professor.

But with the escape of Sirius that plan had to be scrapped. He had instead hired Remus Lupin since he would be better equipped to track and stop the man. His new plan for the year, besides getting Black sent back to Azkaban, was to have Remus’s werewolf status leaked near the end of the year. Harry and his little friends would be tasked with defending him. Although Albus would ensure he was gone for the next year, it would allow Harry to look like a kind hearted boy to the public once  had it released in the Daily Prophet.

But that brought with it its own set of issues. For years Remus had been writing and sending presents to Harry, Albus had gotten all of those since he had a mail redirect on Harry to protect him from his fans. He of course hadn't gotten rid of those letters or anything, he wasn't cruel, but he just hadn’t passed them on. He would give them to Harry once Albus felt he was old enough. A few years earlier Albus had written a letter to Remus telling him that Harry and his guardians just wanted Harry to be left in peace when Remus had started trying to arrange a meeting. He couldn’t have Harry around anyone in the magical world after all.

But now Remus was around Harry and Albus was going to have to make sure they didn’t get too close. Harry still needed to remain with the Dursley’s and Albus knew Remus just wouldn’t understand. It was even worse now that Remus had been there for Harry’s little meltdown since the man would think the boy needed him. He was going to have to nip that in the bud. Remus was there to stop Sirius, not get close to Harry.

Making his decision on how best to proceed Albus got up and left his office.

Remus was annoyed as he glared at Albus from across Harry’s bed. Albus had come down to the hospital wing claiming he wanted to check on Harry and then started telling him that he should just leave his poor cub.

“Albus, he requested I stay, so I’m staying.” Remus repeated for the third time in five minutes.

“Now my boy, surely you understand that isn’t necessary.” Albus tried again, he was getting irritated at how Remus wasn't listening. “Harry will be asleep most of the night from the potions, I’m sure you have better things to do. Plus Harry really doesn’t know you all that well so he might get nervous when he sees someone he hasn’t spent much time around being so close to him while he sleeps.”

“He asked me to stay.” Remus defended.

“I really must agree with Remus Headmaster.” Poppy cut in before the older man could start speaking again. “Harry asked him to stay, and Remus promised he would. I worry that if Remus isn’t here when Harry wakes he may see that as him being abandoned and have another breakdown. In my medical opinion Remus needs to be the first person Harry sees when he wakes since he was the last one he saw when he fell asleep. Remus, I’m sorry but that means you are going to get to enjoy staying in my hospital wing for the night just like old times.”

Remus smiled at the kindly woman. He had gotten to know her extremely well during his seven years and was glad she was helping him stay. “It’s no problem. Not like it’s the first time I’ve had to spend a night here. Besides, nothing is more important than what Harry needs right now, correct Headmaster?”

Albus knew he couldn’t deny that or it would make him look bad so just agreed.

Hours later Harry woke up for a few minutes late in the night. Seeing his new professor fast asleep in a lounge chair next to his bed filled him with warmth. He didn’t know what it was about having the man there, but Harry felt truly safe and cared for in that moment.

Quidditch

Over the next month there was a subtle but drastic change in the castle. All the heads of house became much more involved with a number of their students, even McGonagall visited her house. Most of the students didn’t know what it was that had caused the change or why those particular students were getting the attention.

The students that had been struggling were all provided private support. It had also served for the staff to find a few instances of abused children and make arrangements to protect them. The students had also quickly adapted to the fact they weren’t allowed to mock Harry, it only took a week of point loss and detentions for it to sink in. Even the Slytherins got it since Snape wouldn’t counter it and had subtly impressed upon his students why it was happening and why he couldn’t stop it.

The largest change had been in Ravenclaw though. When Flitwick had gone to speak with Luna he had noticed that she didn’t have any shoes on. When he questioned her about it she had made excuses. He had then summoned her shoes and was furious when they had come from the dorm of the fifth year girls. The girls had made up an excuse for why they had her shoes but Filius hadn’t believed them. Before leaving that evening he summoned all of Luna’s missing items before secretly putting a charm on her trunk. Anyone other than Luna that touched something of the girls would have invisible dye cover their fingers that couldn’t be washed off. 

When he stopped by the common room the next weekend he cast the spell to make the dye visible. Nearly a quarter of the students had dyed fingers, this had actually surprised him since boys couldn’t get into the girls dorms and that meant girls had to be stealing the things and then be passing them off to the boys. Each and every one of them lost points and was assigned weekend detentions for a month. He saw the bullying problem that had been developing in his house without him noticing and went out of his way to stamp it out. Any Ravenclaw he caught bullying their housemates suffered greatly under his disappointment.

During the first weekend of November the quidditch season started with the regular Gryffindor versus Slytherin match. It was a horribly cold and windy day, but a game was a game.

The game was very much like any other, even with the bad weather. That was, until the end of the game.

Harry and Draco were chasing the snitch, Harry was well ahead of the other boy since he had spotted the snitch earlier. They were well over 100 feet up as they chased the small golden ball through the downpour.

Neither boy noticed the dementors until it was much to late as they swooped in. The darkness caused by the cloud-cover had hidden their approach even as the boys were on the lookout for bludgers. 

Draco screamed and lost his grip on his broom, causing him to start to plummet, when he saw the lead dementor swoop up to his rival and immediately go in for a kiss. He might often complain about how much he hated the other boy, but that didn’t mean he wanted him dead. The combination of the horror of seeing a boy the same age as him appear to be kissed, his own worst memories, and the terror of falling all came together to make the Slytherin pass out.

Harry screamed in agony as his head was grabbed by a dementor. He was in so much pain he couldn’t identify where he hurt the worst. Harry felt as his magic built as he tried to protect himself, he had spoken with Professor Lupin about how he had kept that dementor away and he tried to cast that spell even though he didn’t have his wand out and had never cast it before, anything to stop this pain. Like his fellow seeker Harry quickly lost consciousness as he fell off his broom.

Down in the stands students were screaming. At first they had just felt the fear and depression brought on by the fact a whole hoard of dementors were closing in on them, they had believed the staff would be able to keep them away. But then they saw as Draco Malfoy plummeted through the fog towards the ground. That was then followed by a blinding flash of light and then the body of Harry Potter followed Draco Malfoy.

Most of the staff quickly sent off their patronuses to force the creatures back and away from the students, a few of the most advanced NEWT level students also cast their own. As that was happening Filius cast a multidirectional charm that would slow the descent of both boys, if he halted it immediately it would break their bones. Pomona was next to Filius and cast a complicated herbology based summoning charm that caused a massive cloud berry bush to form under the boys and then stimulated it causing it to start producing large billowing clouds that were thick enough to support the boys weight but had enough give to absorb their impact. 

Poppy was already down on the field getting ready to start treating the students as Madam hooch was directing the teams down towards her.

As soon as both seekers were on the ground they were retrieved from the bush and moved over to stretches near Poppy.

“They… He…” Draco had woken partially and his eyes were darting around instinctively looking for danger. “Potter…”

“Hush now Draco.” Severus tried to sooth his student who was also his godson.

“No.” Poppy said as she looked over from where she was running tests on Harry but the magic around him was acting very odd, it also had not escaped the notice of many that Harry’s famous scar was bleeding profusely. “What did you see?”

“They…” Draco forced himself to focus. “It looked like the lead dementor… It kissed him.”

There were screams of horror from those around them as Draco passed out once again. Poppy had immediately started running more tests before screaming for Fawkes. Everyone was slightly startled as the Phoenix immediately flashed next to her and she ordered him to take her and Harry to the hospital wing, telling the others to follow.

As soon as she arrived in the ward she put Harry in the private treatment room and wrote out two notes and sent them off with Fawkes. 

The staff had quickly organized their students. Most were sent back to their common rooms immediately, but those that had been injured and those on the quidditch teams were all taken to the hospital wing.

When the group arrived in the hospital wing they found three healers wearing St. Mungo’s robes waiting.

It took over an hour to sort out the students in the hospital wing. Most were treated for minor injuries and sent back to their houses, but some had more serious injuries from being trampled. The quidditch teams had both been kept since they had been the closest to the dementors and the healers wanted to keep them for observation for a few hours. 

The only other students that had remained that weren’t seriously injured were Ron and Hermione. Ron had ended up with a broken arm when he had tripped and fallen over trying to get to the stairs. Hermione had taken a nasty hit to the face when one of the upper years had accidentally elbowed her in the mouth causing her front teeth to break, the healers had easily been able to fix them and Hermione had had them make them smaller without knowing. Like always, the student that had had it the worst was Neville who had been shoved while he was on the way down the stairs and had fallen down three flights only to be stepped on a few dozen times before someone grabbed him and got him off the landing, he would be spending the night.

Everyone was anxious when Poppy, two St. Mungo’s healers and an unspeakable stepped out of the private treatment room another hour after that.

“How is Mr. Potter?” Albus asked for everyone. He had been furious about the actions of the dementors, but he was also worried about Harry, he had seen the bleeding scar and wondered just what had caused that.

Poppy gave a strained smile. “We believe he will make a full recovery.”

“What happened to him?” Hermione questioned through happy and worried tears.

It was the unnamed unspeakable that spoke. “From what we have managed to determine a dementor attempted to kiss the boy. There was a report of a flash of bright light, that was the boys magic lashing out against the creature to try and protect him. It was enough to throw the dementor off course. 

A dementors kiss is when they suck out the soul through the mouth. But the boys magic kept it from doing that and it instead seems to have kissed his forehead, causing his famous scar to rip open once again. There is evidence of straining on his soul, but it is still in place and intact. The Department of Mysteries will be brewing a soul sealing potion for him just to be safe.”

“The main problem for young Mr. Potter is his magical outlash.” One of the healers continued on softly. “To protect himself Mr. Potter has nearly drained his core. He is suffering from a severe case of magical exhaustion which is what is keeping him unconscious. For now, all we can do is wait and keep him comfortable. He should wake once he is ready.”

Everyone sighed in relief that Harry was expected to recover. Hermione instantly threw her arms around Ron and cried into his shoulder. Albus was thinking quickly, a dementors kiss to the forehead, was it possible the dementor had removed the horcrux, he was going to have to check Harry later.

“We do have a bit more news.” Poppy said with a small watery smile as she pulled the snitch out of her pocket. “We found this clutched in Harry’s hand.”

“Best seeker ever.” George announced in a strained voice.

“Wins a match even when being attacked by a dementor.” Fred added before both boys broke down in hysterical sobs and were forced to drink calming draughts by the healers.

It was late in the evening that Poppy slipped out of the hospital wing. The night before had been the full moon so Remus hadn’t been able to attend the quidditch game as he had been recovering. But Poppy knew how much Harry meant to him and didn’t want him to find out what had happened at breakfast the next morning.

Albus had set wards to let him know when Poppy had gone to bed or left the wing so he could go in and check on Harry. As soon as she was gone he slipped into the wing and into the private treatment room.

The tests he cast came back as negative. Harry Potter was no longer a horcrux, and that was going to change things. Albus didn’t know if that would negate the prophecy, was Harry no longer Tom’s equal, did that mean they were doomed to lose. Or was this meant to happen, did this somehow make harry more capable of beating Tom that Albus hadn’t yet determined.

What he did know was that this meant that Harry no longer needed to die, as far as he could tell, and Albus was pleased by that, he knew sacrifices were needed for the greater good, but that didn't mean he liked it. He hadn’t wanted the boy to die, and now he didn’t have too. But this also meant it was even more important that Albus retain his control over the boy. Harry was going to become even more famous once he defeated Tom again and Albus needed to make sure he made the right choices and followed the plan Albus had laid out. He was just glad he had already signed that marriage contract and written up the clauses since it would ensure his control.

No one noticed as he cheerfully slipped out to go to get some well deserved rest.

Poppy returned with an exhausted Remus not five minutes after Albus had left. She had explained what had happened and Remus had demanded to be able to go and see him immediately.

That night Remus transfigured a chair into a lounger, like he had done the last time Harry had spent the night in the ward, and slept next to his cub. 

After the Match

The day after the attack a set of nervous twins made their way into the hospital wing.

“And just what brings you two here?” Severus asked coldly. He and Poppy had been going over Potters medical chart to set up a potions regimen to help his core recover.

“We…” Fred and George exchanged worried looks, they had only wanted to meet with Pomfrey.

“We brought these.” Fred said after a fortifying breath and held out a potions box. They had spotted Harry taking potions and had questioned him about it, he had ended up telling them he had visited a healer and been given them.

Severus recognized the container as one that a person would get from a healer. “And why would we want these?”

“They’re Harry’s.” George said.

“And why would Mr. Potter need a medical potions box?” Severus questioned.

“Because he needs medical potions.” Fred said like he thought the professor was intentionally being stupid.

Severus gave the snarky twin a nasty look.

“Look, Harry spent the end of the summer in Diagon Alley.” George cut in so his brother didn’t end up as potions ingredients.

“And why would he do that?” Severus sneered, having heard nothing of it. “Wouldn't he prefer to stay with his guardians being waited on hand and foot?”

“Wow, have you ever even met Harry?” Fred questioned only to get smacked by his brother.

“Harry has not ever been treated like a prince in that prison he’s been forced to stay in.” George added angrily.

“He’s just lying to you.” Severus rolled his eyes at the gullibility of Gryffindors.

“No, whoever told you Harry was treated like a prince lied to you.” Fred argued. “Unlike you we’ve actually been to his place.”

“We borrowed dads car the summer before last to go and check on him since he wasn't answering any mail.” George added quickly. “There were bars on his window and half a dozen locks on the outside of the door keeping him trapped since those things he’s forced to stay with don’t like magic and didn’t want him coming back.”

“There was even a cat flap in the door so they could push through a can of cold soup each day which accounted for the only food he got.” Fred told them.

“He lost his temper slightly when his Uncles’ sister came for a visit and got drunk and started insulting his mum.” George said.

“And there are rules, and those rules state you do not get to talk crap about Harry’s mum.” Fred might not know what that woman had said, but there were things you just weren’t supposed to do. “His magic reacted and that fat thing may have inflated and floated away.”

“Harry took off when his Uncle started to threaten him.” George finished. “But while he was in the Alley he visited a healer who gave him those to take to recover from his relatives care.”

“Leave.” Severus snapped in annoyance, he hated how the twins had to bounce conversations between the two of them. Once they were gone he opened the box and was confused by what he saw. “Poppy, what kind of tests have you run on Potter?”

“Only the ones needed to treat his injuries.” Poppy told him. “I haven’t been able to get permission to do more, no matter how many times I asked the Headmaster.”

Severus narrowed his eyes, Albus had forced him to take a vow to protect the brat yet was denying him proper medical care. “Given that Potter is unconscious I think it would only be natural to run a full check to make sure there are no underlying conditions that would keep him that way.”

Poppy agreed. She had been looking for excuses to do a check and this was a perfect opportunity. The full scan took only a few minutes. She was less than impressed with what she saw.

“Good Merlin, where did he leave the boy? He has long-term malnutrition starting before he was even 2. He’s had over a dozen broken bones throughout his childhood, most of which show no evidence of medical attention, even through muggle means. And that is far to many concussions for even a quidditch player. What happened to this boy? But it looks like he’s recently experienced some extremely high level healing magic to ensure his health.”

“I think Albus has been up to his old tricks.” Severus growled before handing over the potions case. “These potions are meant to counter malnutrition and strengthen and repair bones. It would explain why he’s so small if he hadn’t been getting enough food. The blue ones also assist in fixing problems caused by concussion damage, including eyesight.”

“What do we do?” Poppy looked at the unconscious boy with worry.

“For now there’s nothing we can do.” Severus rubbed at his eyes, he hated having his ideals challenged like this. “Albus will do what he wants regardless of what we say, like he always has. As of now the boy seems to have found ways around Albus and I wouldn’t want to risk messing that up for him. We have to keep our heads down and just hope he comes to you for help if things get worse.”

Harry woke three long days later. Pretty much everyone had been on edge those days, most had an extremely strong opinion of Harry Potter even if they weren’t close to him, or even met him at all.

As expected word had leaked to the press that the dementors had attacked a quidditch match and that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived had nearly been kissed. The people were furious and the Ministry was struggling to defend their actions. That defence was especially difficult since they were still refusing to remove them and instead just said they had given them stricter rules.

It was after he woke Harry was given the bad news. Not only had his broom been destroyed when the wind threw it into the whomping willow, but Madame Pomfrey was keeping him prisoner. He was going to be restricted to the room for a minimum of a month while his magic recovered. And during that time he was forbidden from casting any magic since his core was still dangerously low. Once December started he may be able to start going to class again, but he would still be sleeping in the hospital wing. It was unlikely that things would be getting back to normal for Harry until after the start of the new year.

It was a few nights after Harry woke up that he was sitting in dim lighting going over a book Professor Lupin had brought him. Being stuck in the hospital wing was not fun. Not only did he have Madame Pomfrey hovering, but he only got a short amount of time with his friends each day. All he could really do was sleep or read.

And since he had taken a 2 hour nap in the afternoon he was wide awake.

There was a creaking sound as his door was pushed open and Harry was confused as he saw a grim coming into his room. The large dog froze and stared at Harry as Harry stared at him. Neither of them seemed to know what to do, eventually Harry forced himself to relax and called the animal forward.

As soon as it stepped into the light Harry was sad to see the poor condition it was in. It was skin and bone. It’s fur was matted and filthy and it was obviously in need of some care. Most would say it was dangerous, but Harry had met a strange girl named Luna Lovegood over the summer who had explained how many creatures that were classified as dangerous were really just misunderstood. A few weeks before she had taken him out into the forbidden forest and introduced him to the thestral heard, and he had been happy about that since it meant he wasn't the only one that had seen them.

Rather than freaking out, once the dog came fully into the room Harry summoned a house elf. According to Madam Pomfrey all students that stayed in the hospital wing for a prolonged period of time had their own house elf assigned to them to look after their needs if she was busy. His elf Fluffles looked after his food and kept everything fresh.

The grim was obviously weary of the elf but didn’t run much to Harry’s joy.

“Fluffles, can you take this dog into the bathroom and give him a proper cleaning?” Harry asked the happy little elf. “He looks like he could do with a bath and proper meal.”

Fluffles was happy to help. Elves didn’t really care for all that stuff humans concerned themselves with. All they cared about was getting to cook and clean till their hearts were content. And Fluffles also knew this dog was not a dog but was instead a wizard, and he wanted to help any wizard in need.

The elf guided the dog/wizard into the adjoining bathroom and drew it a bath. He left him to just soak for a few minutes while he popped back to the kitchen to get food started. Popping back into the bathroom he set to work scrubbing down the dog/wizard. Once done he got him out of the tub and brushed and trimmed his hair and nails, even going so far as to brush his teeth and give him potions to get rid of all the cavities, leaving him with a perfect set of teeth.

Harry was happy when the grim came out of the bathroom looking much better. He even called him up to sit on the bed with him. 

Fluffles came back with a full roast beef for the dog/wizard and an evening snack of a grilled cheese for his charge. Harry and The grim ate their food in peace, just drawing comfort from each other. Harry didn’t know why he felt so safe with the grim, but he did.

After an hour Harry had fallen asleep and the grim got up and changed. Sirius Black gently brushed his godsons hair off of his forehead and smiled sadly. He had missed so much. The baby he had loved so much was half grown. He didn’t know whether to be happy to have gotten this time with him or worried that his godson was so trusting.

He didn’t get much time to think about it since there was a pop and the house elf was back. Sirius started to panic but the elf stopped him.

“Yous is not looking afters youself properly Mr. dog/wizard. Fluffles has put together a care package.”

Sirius took the bag the elf handed over in confusion. Why was this elf helping him? 

But Fluffles popped away before he could ask, as he did so he freshened the air leaving behind no trace of the dog scent in the room.. Sirius decided to just take the win. Saying goodnight to Harry Sirius changed back into Padfoot, grabbed the bag in his teeth and slipped back out of the school.

That night, once back in his cave in the forbidden forest Sirius opened the care package and was stunned. The bag clearly had an undetectable expansion charm on it. On top there was three sets of clean robes, including a winter robe with gloves, scarf, and boots, and a number of blankets and pillow charmed to stay warm and clean. Underneath that was boxes. As he pulled them out he read what was written on them.

They were food. There were full meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for 100 days. From checking each box he found they had been spelled to stay warm and fresh for as long as they were sealed. This meant he would have proper food for a while. 

For Sirius Black, it had been the best day he had had in a very long time.

Class in the Hospital Wing

Harry was board out of his mind. All he could do was read. It was doing wonders for his grades, but Harry wanted to get out and have fun. The most excitement he got to have was when his friends came to visit and when the grim came to visit. The Grim showed up at least once a week late at night.

Since he couldn’t use magic or go to class his professors just gave him written assignments. All he had was theory work, he hated theory work.

Something that seemed odd was the way Snape had been acting. It was obvious the man still didn’t like him, but he hadn’t snapped at him once. He even spent 1 hour with him three times a week to make sure he understood what he was reading and to answer any questions he had.

Potions was one class where his grades had risen sharply since the quidditch attack. Snape had brought him a number of books that he was to use to go over ingredient prep and the theory behind each technique used to brew potions. Although, he had to literally sign a contract saying that he wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch the books and they wouldn’t leave his room. The books were apparently from his private collection and were extremely expensive since they came from the potions guild.

Harry was just using one of those books to write up a report on the different ways to prepare aconite when Ron and Hermione arrived. He marked his page in the book and started to set it aside when Hermione made a grab for the book.

“Hey.” Hermione shouted when Harry jerked the book away from her. “I want to see that, I’ve never seen that book before.” 

“It’s not my book.” Harry told her. From what he had seen and heard from Ron Hermione had been having more and more difficulty with her large course load and had been snapping at him a lot.

“It’s just a book, I want to read it.” Hermione argued, making another grab for the book.

“Hermione, It’s not my book.” Harry said again. “This is one of Snape’s books.”

“Professor Snape.” Hermione corrected automatically. “I still want to read it, give it to me.”

“I literally had to sign an agreement with him that I wouldn’t let anyone else have the book.” Harry told her. “If you want to read it you will need to get his permission. I’m not going to risk losing it, I need it to do all the assignments he gave me. Knowing him he would take it away but still expect me to use the information in my essays, meaning he’d fail me since I wouldn’t be able to access the book.”

“It isn’t a big deal.” Hermione huffed and put her hands on her hips as she glared at her bedridden friend, she didn’t understand why his eyes suddenly grew huge. “Just don’t tell him. It’s not like it's the first time you’ve lied to him. I want to read that book. Besides, if I haven’t read the book how can you expect me to correct your essays?”

“Oh really?” Came the silky voice of the potions master who had silently slipped into the room. “Tell me Ms. Granger, just when has Mr. potter lied to me?”

Hermione swallowed as she spun on her heal to look at her professor. “It’s just… He hasn’t…”

Severus let the girl suffer for a few moments before he spoke. “As it is, Mr. Potter is actually correct in this instance. No one is to lay a finger on the books I leant Mr. Potter for his assignments. Also, his assignments are his, not yours. If I wanted your opinion on the topics I gave him I would have given you the assignments, not that I would get your opinion if I gave you those assignments, all I would get is word for word what’s in the books since you lack the ability to think for yourself.”

“Hermione’s essays are great.” Ron defended.

“Then you spend your time reading them. If I wanted someone to rewrite the textbook then that is what I would have asked for. Essays are supposed to prove you know what you’re talking about, all her’s prove, and apparently yours as well, is that you can all copy information.” Severus sneered in aggravation, Albus kept him from marking the girl down as she deserved, but he wasn't here to stop him from telling the girl off. “As it is, you will not be reading those books. Those are from my personal library and they are worth more than your life. If you want to read them then you will buy your own copies so you can slam them around in your overstuffed bag as you wish.”

“Is there something you wanted from me Professor?” Harry questioned to divert the conversation away from Hermione.

“I came to hand this back.” Severus passed over the last essay he had done. “It was… adequate.”

Harry smiled down to see he had managed an EE as the professor spun away and left the room. Hermione grabbed the parchment to look it over. She tried not to be disappointed when she saw the grade, Harry had always needed her help just to get an A before and now he was doing better without it, she didn’t like that.

“Why would you even be doing potions right now?” Ron questioned as he ignored the reading Hermione. “You don’t have to attend classes, you can do whatever you want, and rather than having fun you decided to do work and read?”

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron’s hatred of school work. “Ron, it’s not like I can do anything else. I’m not even allowed to get out of bed yet.

Besides, I still have class work, I just can’t attend classes so I get a written copy of the lectures. Plus, since I can’t do the practical lessons I’m just given written assignments. Last week I had to write 19 different essays. Trust me, I would much rather be in class. Snape gives me 2 essays for each potion you guys brew in class.”

Ron was suddenly not jealous in the slightest that Harry didn’t have to attend class, he absolutely hated having to write essays.

Freedom! At Least Some...

Harry was relieved when he was finally allowed out of the ward at the start of December. The first week he was only allowed out for class, but it was better than being stuck in the hospital wing.

Each day he attended class from 9 until 4 and then was required to immediately return to the hospital wing and get checked over by Madam Pomfrey. He got to eat lunch with the other students but had breakfast and dinner in the ward. It was frustrating for Harry, but it was better than nothing. 

During class Harry still wasn't allowed to cast any spells. Pomfrey had confirmed that his magic levels were recovering well but they didn’t want to risk anything yet, much to his annoyance. She told him that so long as he stuck to the rules she set he would be able to start casting again within another few weeks.

Potions class became a bit more fun when Neville once again blew up another potion and Snape sent him to work with Harry. Harry wasn't allowed to brew so instead Snape just had him working on different cutting techniques and ingredient prep. Since Harry was able to work one on one with Neville the other boy actually started to improve, slightly. He was still a nervous mess, but while working with Harry he didn’t end up in the hospital wing even once. That year Nevill had greatly improved in many classes thanks to having a proper wand and his confidence had been increasing, but he was still pants at potions

Half way through December Harry was finally able to start using magic again, but it was only low level. Madam Pomfrey had said he needed to start small so she could monitor him just incase his core showed any strain. Because of that he was subjected to even more tests.

For that week he was limited to first year spells. Harry was actually grateful for that since he was finding it harder to control his spells. He was constantly overpowering them, he just figured it was because he hadn’t been able to use magic for so long.

What Harry didn’t know was that the horcrux that had been consumed by the dementor had been causing him to be weaker. His own magic had been so focused on keeping it from possessing him that he had only had so much power available for his own spells. Without the horcrux he had access to his full power. But Harry’s magic was stronger than an average child his age, and the horcrux was the reason for that too.

Over the years his magic had been constantly working. Because of the constant strain his magic had grown much stronger than was normal. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick had decided to test to see if he would be able to handle spellwork by having him cast a low-level levitation spell and monitoring his core as they saw how long he could hold it. 

Even not being at full power Harry managed to hold the spell for over 10 minutes before they stopped him when his core levels started to descend in a noticeable way. What they didn’t tell him since they didn’t want to make him feel singled out was that an average 13 year old would generally only be able to hold the spell for 5 minutes before they would start to struggle.

All Harry could do was work on his control and learn to handle his full power.

Christmas

By Christmas Harry was still sleeping in the hospital wing, but he would be getting out soon. Madame Pomfrey had promised that he would be allowed to return to his dorm and regular schedule when the new semester started, and he couldn’t wait.

But that Christmas wasn't what he had expected. When he woke up he found an obviously broom shaped present. He had no idea how it got there. He was of course suspicious, especially when he found that not only was it the most expensive and newest broom in the world, but that there was no note.

Harry was conflicted. On one hand he really wanted that broom, but on the other he had learned to be cautious over recent months. He knew thanks to that mail ward on him Dumbledore was in control of what mail he got, but this still seemed odd. Had Dumbledore started to notice his distrust and sent this as a way to buy his loyalty? But that seemed out of place, the Headmaster had sent his cloak, but that had been a family heirloom and he had sent a note to ensure that he could at least get some credit for it even if he didn’t sign his name. The Headmaster didn’t seem the kind of man to buy something so expensive for someone and and not expect something in return or take some kind of credit for it.

But who would send him something so expensive that the Headmaster would allow to contact him?

Ron and Hermione both walked in before Harry could come to any conclusions. Ron was amazed to see the broom. He had thought the display model he had seen in Diagon Alley was the closest he would ever get to a firebolt, and now there was one right in front of him. Hermione was nervous, she didn’t know who would ever spend that much on Harry. She liked her friend well enough, but Harry didn’t have that many people in his life, and none of them would be able to afford a broom like that. Only Dumbledore would be able too, but she doubted that he would waste his money on something so frivolous she was sure, the Headmaster understood the value of knowledge just like her.

Harry just brushed off what Ron and Hermione were saying about the broom, he told them he needed to think about it before he made any decisions.

It was in the evening after Harry had returned to the ward that McGonagall came and took the firebolt from him. This infuriated Harry.

When he had been with Ron and Hermione, Hermione had gone on about how dangerous the broom could be. They had heard that Sirius Black was Harry’s godfather and that he wanted to kill Harry on their Hogsmeade trip in the middle of December. She had repeatedly pointed out the fact the broom may have been sent by Black, by the end of the day she had convinced herself that he really was the one that sent it and it was covered in all manner of dark curses.

Harry had understood her point of view, but he wasn't sure how to react. Hermione didn’t know about the mail ward so she didn’t know that only mail Dumbledore approved of could reach him, the only other way he could have gotten the broom was if it was hand delivered and he doubted that someone like Sirius Black would be able to just walk into his room in the middle of the night and leave a broom. Harry had said he needed to think about things and he would make a decision on what he was going to do the next day. He said he just wanted the day to celebrate the holiday and would go back to dealing with potential murder later.

But Hermione just couldn’t seem to wait. She had gone running to McGonagall not even an hour after he had told her that since he had said it at dinner.

After Christmas

Ron and Hermione had had an epic fight about the confiscation of the firebolt. Things got worse between them when Scabbers seemed to have finally been eaten by Crookshanks. Harry hadn’t yet been able to leave the hospital wing so he wasn't a part of it, but he did make his opinion clear to Hermione.

What she had done was not ok. She had no right to go behind his back to a professor just because he hadn’t done exactly what she wanted when she wanted it. He told her that she needed to think about what she had done and then they could talk about it.

And they did talk about it a few times, but it never went the way either of them wanted. All Hermione wanted was for Harry to see he was being stupid and that she had done the right thing and apologize. Harry in turn wanted Hermione to see going behind his back was wrong and apologize. 

It never worked out that way.

Harry returned to the Gryffindor dorms just as he had been told once the new semester started. He was thrilled to be back, but found he was no longer used to all the noise that came from being in Gryffindor. 

And as he returned to Gryffindor he was able to return to a normal class schedule.

One thing that made life a little more interesting for Harry was when the next Hogsmeade weekend arrived and Fred and George pulled him aside and gave him something called the Marauders Map.

Patronus Lessons

Since Harry was finally able to get back to normal he was also able to start his patronus lessons with Professor Lupin. He had spoken with the professor about it during a few of his many visits.

The first lesson didn’t go as well as Harry had hoped, but in some ways it had gone better than expected. He knew just how difficult the spell was, he had read plenty about it, but he had still wanted to accomplish more than some faint wisps of silver.

Once the lesson was over Harry decided to speak about a subject that had been interesting him. He had heard from Lord Weasley over the holidays, the man had been searching for Black’s trial transcripts for months and had found nothing. He had been letting Harry know upon further inspection Sirius Black had been sent straight to Azkaban without trial so they couldn’t tell Harry why he had done it, and that seemed odd to Harry.

“Professor, can I talk to you about something privately?”

“Of course Harry, what is it?”

Harry narrowed his eyes and glanced around nervously. “And you promise not to tell anyone? I don’t want this to be gossip for the school by next week.”

Remus smiled, but underneath it he was worried about what Harry wanted to hide. To appease the boy he guided him into his office and set up some privacy wards. “There you go Harry, no one can hear us. I also set the privacy spell so that only you can release it, that means I would need your permission to discuss what you say with anyone.”

“Thanks.” Harry pulled out the old photo album he had gotten from Hagrid at the end of his first year. “I was going through this and I saw you a few times, so I know you knew my parents. But that also means you knew Sirius Black. From what I’ve heard he was my dads best friend, and my godfather.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Remus said sadly.

  “Ok, so what I wanted to know was your perspective as someone who knew Black and his relationship to my family.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Remus asked in confusion.

“When I first heard about him and all the stuff about me and my family I wanted answers. I had hoped he would explain why he betrayed my family during his trial, but the thing is, there wasn't one. I asked someone I know to look into it and he wrote me back over the holidays, Sirius Black never received a trial and was just sent straight to Azkaban. That seems odd to me. If they really had all this proof wouldn’t the Ministry have wanted to make a big show of it?

So do you know what evidence they had? Can you tell me how you saw things and if you ever had any questions?”

Remus spent the next half an hour telling Harry what he could, but as time went by he realized he really didn’t know as much as he had thought. Things just got worse as Harry systematically dismantled the case he laid out for Sirius’s believed guilt. James and Lily were in no way stupid, so why would they select the most likely secret keeper and then allow it to be made public knowledge?

By the end of their discussion Remus wasn't sure what to believe. He knew Sirius was connected to the death of Peter, but he had started to question if maybe Peter had been the one to betray them and Sirius had lost it on him.

“Harry, there is something I wanted to discuss with you too.”

Harry looked over in question.

“I overheard Professor McGonagall mentioning about the broom you got for Christmas and how Ms. Granger was the one who told her about it. She said you and Mr. Weasley have been very mean to her ever since. You do understand why she did it, don’t you? You can’t accept mail and gifts from just anyone, at least not without having it checked.”

“I’m not being mean to Hermione.” Harry defended. “I told her all I want is an apology for what she did, but she keeps acting like she didn’t do anything wrong and that I should be the one to apologize because she and Ron got in a screaming match because her cat ate Ron’s rat or something.”

“Why don’t you tell me things from your perspective?” Remus suggested thinking more than likely Minerva might not know as much about the situation as she thought.

“I got a firebolt for Christmas.” Harry started. “I’m not an idiot like everyone seems to think, I knew how weird that was. But I just didn’t want to worry about if it was some weird convoluted murder attempt, I just wanted to enjoy the holiday with my friends so I left the broom in the hospital wing. 

I told Ron and Hermione that I just wanted to forget about everything else and just enjoy the day. I told them I would figure out what to do about the broom the next day. Hermione couldn’t even wait an hour before running to McGonagall.

That’s why I’m angry with her, although it’s more disappointment now. She didn’t trust me and went behind my back to get her own way. It’s what she always does. Hermione is one of my best friends, so I’ve always just put up with it, but she needs to grow up. Any time she doesn’t get her way immediately she pitches a fit and I just can’t deal with it anymore.”

Remus gave Harry a sad but understanding look. “Alright. I can understand your being upset with her if she really did go behind your back. Being able to trust your friends is something incredibly important, trust me on that one.

But you do understand just how dangerous that broom might be, don’t you? Who knows who sent it? Anyone can send mail, and while it might be difficult for Siri… Black to buy a broom he was more than clever enough to do so.”

“That isn’t exactly true.” Harry tilted his head from side to side.

“What do you mean?”

Harry thought for a moment before he decided to explain since he found he actually trusted the man, to a point. “Over the summer someone mentioned to me how they had been sending me letters for years and I never replied. But I never got any letters.

I had someone check me over and found that I’m under a mail ward. All mail sent to me first goes to the Headmaster, and then he passes on what he thinks I need. After my parents death he was assigned as my magical guardian since the Ministry sealed their wills so no one knew who was supposed to be in charge of me. He was the one who decided where to place me and was responsible for making sure I was aware of anything I needed to know, but he never bothered to do anything. He just abandoned me in the muggle world.

The only people I have ever gotten letters from are Hogwarts, the Ministry, and my friends Ron and Hermione. It would seem the Headmaster thinks he has a right to dictate every aspect of my life, and education since he tried to force me into different classes just this year.”

Remus growled softly at that information. “That lying sack of hippogriff…”

Harry jumped to his feet and rushed to block the door when the professor started to stomp towards it. “Professor, you promised.”

Remus shook his head to get rid of the thoughts of just what he wanted to do to Albus Dumbledore, that man was in so much trouble when he got his hands on him. But for Harry he would wait, he had promised after all. Reaching out he gently stroked his hair. “I’m sorry Harry, my emotions got the best of me for a moment.”

“Why are you so upset?”

“After your parents… I wanted to take you. But I have a… A medical condition that would preclude me from being able to look after you.”

“You mean that you're a werewolf.” Harry said matter-of-factly, he wasn't an idiot, and Snape was rather obvious.

“You… You know?” Remus said in worry.

“Not exactly all that difficult, especially with Snape assigning me multiple essays on things like aconite and the wolfsbane potion.”

“And you’re… Ok with it?” Remus said nervously.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Harry asked in confusion. “Better yet, what does my opinion matter. You are the best defence professor we’ve had. You’ve also gone out of your way to help and support not just me, but any student who needs it, which is something that none of the professors have ever really done before. So you turn into a wolf one night a month, with the wolfsbane potion you are harmless. 

Personally, the laws and treatment of werewolves is absolutely disgusting in my opinion. They’re bigoted laws made by bigoted people. And you are ten times better than every single one of them. And if you ever start to doubt that I will hex you, professor or not.”

Remus couldn’t help it, he started to laugh. After catching his breath he looked up and smiled at Harry. “You look so much like your father, but you are definitely your mothers son. She threatened to hex me too. And she did, more than once when she felt I was getting too negative.

But that is a topic for a different time. What I was meaning to say was that I couldn’t take you after we lost your parents, but I did try to stay in contact. I used to write you every few weeks. Mostly it was nonsense, I would write about my day and ask you about how your life was going. It was very calming to write them honestly. I also sent you presents for the holidays and your birthday.

But I never heard back. And then, when you were about 10 I figured you would have gotten to know me well enough through the letters and I started requesting to meet with you. After a few months of that I finally got a response.

The Headmaster sent me a letter. In it he said that you and your family had requested that I stop writing. He said you wanted a fresh start with everything so I shouldn’t try and force you to deal with the past for my own needs. It’s why I’ve been keeping myself distant from you. He said when he hired me it would be better if I treated you like any other student and didn’t try to form any connections with you.”

“That bastard.” Harry hissed in fury at the old mans manipulations. “I never said any of that crap. When I was little I always used to dream of someone coming to take me away. I would have given anything to just spend an afternoon with you from time to time even if I couldn’t stay with you.”

Remus pulled Harry into a hug. “Harry, why would you want to be taken away? I know the Headmaster has told me about how well you have been treated, but I don’t think I can believe a word out of that mans mouth.”

Harry flinched slightly, he knew Professor Lupin was going to want to interfere and Harry just couldn’t allow that, not now that he had found a way to get himself away. “It’s not so bad. I mean, it’s never been great, but it’s gotten better since I started Hogwarts and I’m away so much.

I live with mum’s sister Petunia and her husband and son. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon don’t like magic. I actually got grounded once when I was little for just saying the word. They didn’t even want me to attend Hogwarts. It was Hagrid that had to tell me about magic and everything when he came to take me to Diagon Alley.”

“You never knew?” Remus gasped in shock, he was going to tear Albus Dumbledore limb from limb when he got out of this room.

“No.” Harry shrugged. “I don’t know why the Headmaster thought I didn’t deserve to know about the magical world, but he did.”

“Don’t you worry Harry, I will be addressing this with Albus…”

“No.” Harry cut in quickly. “Please, you promised.”

“Harry, it isn’t healthy for you to stay in a place like that.” Remus tried to reason with the boy. “No one deserves to be forced to live with people that would deny them the very essence of who they are.”

“I know I deserve better.” Harry had had plenty of discussions about how he deserved better with Lady Weasley over the summer, and he still got reminded of it in the letters she sent. “But I don’t want Dumbledore to know I know.

Right now he thinks I’m as ignorant as he wants, and because of that he isn’t watching me to closely. He does still try to interfere, but for the most part I can work around it. If he found out he would be meddling in everything trying to make me fall in line with his plans.”

“And what plans might those be?” Remus didn’t like it, but he did have to agree that Harry was better off without Albus knowing Harry knew what he had been up to.”

“I don’t really know. My first two years here were…odd. It seemed like challenges were laid out to test me, and they often connected back to the Headmaster in some way.” Harry went on to give Remus a basic outline of what had happened.

“You're right, that almost sounds like the Headmaster was testing you to see what you would do.” Remus really didn’t like how everything was sounding, especially since he doubted he was going to be able to yell at the man for it.

“Right now I think it’s best if the Headmaster continues to see me as an ignorant child.” Harry told his professor. “I don’t want to know what he would do if he found out I’m not exactly what he wants me to be.”

Remus agreed and the two switched the topic and started to talk about what Harry’s parents had been like when they were his age.

Being Friends

For a few weeks Harry had little to nothing to do with Hermione as he waited for her to apologize, but the girl was showing just how stubborn she could be. Harry missed his friend, but she needed to learn now or she never would.

In the beginning of April Harry was surprised when he, Ron, and Hermione were called to the staff room. And it wasn't just that they were called there, it was who was in the room. In the room was the Headmaster, all four heads of house, Hagrid, Professor Lupin, Madam Pomfrey, and Madam Pince for some reason.

Harry and the others exchanged looks, it was obvious none of them knew why they were there. When Dumbledore announced that it was a mediation session he had set up to help them save their friendship the three were all mortified. None of them wanted to lose their friendship, but they didn’t want their issues put on display in front of everyone.

Harry, and he assumed Remus as well, understood the subtext of this meeting. Harry had been going against Dumbledore’s plan so this was his way of trying to force him back into compliance. He didn’t know what Dumbledore could gain from this. But then again nothing the Headmaster had done in regards to him had made much, or any, sense to him. The only thing he could think of was that the old man was counting on Hermione’s devotion to authority figures to help him keep track of him.

“Ms. Granger, why don’t you start by telling the boys how you feel?” Albus smiled benignly. He hoped he could just get Harry and Ron to fall back in line with the girl, he didn’t want to deal with them getting lower grades because Hermione wasn't there to assist them, Ron especially since that would mean a very loud visit from Molly.

Hermione gave her hero a small smile, but her cheeks were still burning in her embarrassment at being called to do this. She went on to explain about how Harry had gotten a broom and hadn’t understood the danger of it, she had felt she had no choice but to report it to McGonagall out of fear for her friends life. She also mentioned that Scabbers was missing and Ron was blaming Crookshanks for no good reason.

This set Ron off who snapped about how there had been blood and Crookshanks hair on his bed. He then told the staff about all the times Crookshanks made an attempt on Scabbers life.

Once Ron ran out of steam the staff looked to Harry.

“Harry, my boy.” Albus gave a small smile but made sure to add disappointment to his tone. “Why don’t you tell us why you decided to turn your back on your friend?”

Harry felt his eye twitch at the Headmasters words before he turned to look to Ron. “Ron, there is something I feel I need to point out to you before I address Hermione. Did Crookshanks repeatedly try to attack Scabbers, yes. Do I doubt that there is a decent chance Crookshanks finally killed him, no, not really. But you are not blameless in this little issue either.

You knew that Scabbers was in danger, but you didn’t do anything to try and protect him past just yelling at Crookshanks. You knew Hermione never bothered to keep Crookshanks in her dorm yet you weren’t any different with Scabbers. From what I understand about what happened before he disappeared you just left Scabbers alone in our room yet again, despite the danger. You had a perfectly comfortable cage with food, water, and bedding sitting on your bedside table, but you couldn’t be bothered to offer Scabbers that protection. I think the reason you are lashing out so furiously at Hermione is because you understand on some level that you could have stopped what may have happened just as much as she could and you don’t want to face that.”

Harry then turned to Hermione and developed a slight frown when he saw the sanctimonious smirk just starting to tip up her lips. “But that doesn’t excuse your own actions Hermione. 

Crookshanks’s first attack happened before you had even bought him. You went in that day to buy an owl, instead you intentionally selected an animal that had already attacked your friends ill pet. And even knowing that he didn’t like Scabbers you never tried to train him not to attack or keep him away from him.”

“Crookshanks has the right to be in Gryffindor tower.” Hermione huffed with her arms crossed.

“And so did Scabbers.” Ron shouted back at her. “He was there first and…”

“No.” Harry snapped out. “You both have already had your say, my turn now. You both made mistakes and it looks like Scabbers paid for them. But you two need to decide if this is worth destroying your friendship over. I don’t think it is, but Hedwig wasn't involved in this so it’s not personal to me.”

Harry looked between the two and could see neither was willing to say it, but they didn’t want to lose each other. Harry knew they fought, almost constantly, but they really did care for each other.

Harry waited a few moments before he turned his full attention to Hermione. “And as I told you when you first came to talk with me after the broom was taken Hermione, I’m not angry that you told about the broom, I’m angry that you went behind my back to do so.”

“It was dangerous.” Hermione snapped. “You just wouldn’t listen.”

“No, you wouldn’t listen, you never have.” Harry cut in. “Despite what you seem to think I’m not a suicidal idiot. I knew something was wrong. Who just sends someone the most expensive broom in the world without leaving a note? But do you remember what I told you and Ron at dinner about the broom?”

“You said you weren’t going to hand it in.” Hermione said in a superior tone.

“No, I didn’t.” Harry said in a forced calm voice. “You always say Ron and I need to listen better, well so do you.

I said I wasn't going to go to anyone about the broom that night. I told you that I just wanted to enjoy the holiday and not have to think about some new attempted murder scheme. I told you I would deal with it the next day. All I wanted was a single day to just be a normal kid.”

“But it was dangerous.” Hermione shrieked.

“In your opinion.” Harry told her. “So far no danger has been confirmed. But again, I am not an idiot. You might have noticed that I left the broom in the hospital wing when we left. I at no point in time even said I wanted to ride it. For Merlin’s sake, I only got Madam Pomfrey’s approval to rejoin Quidditch practice two weeks ago.

All I wanted was a day. I told you I was going to deal with it later. I have no clue what I would have done since you couldn’t even give me time to figure out what I wanted. You didn’t get exactly what you wanted exactly when you wanted so you went behind my back to force me into compliance with your plans. That’s why I’m angry.”

“I was just making sure you were safe.” Hermione huffed. “You should be thanking me, instead you won’t speak to me.”

Harry held up a hand to shut her up before he continued. “It isn’t up to you what other people do, and you certainly aren’t allowed to dictate others emotions. I understand that most of the time it’s just your response to how you grew up.”

“There is nothing wrong with how I was raised.” Hermione said in a high pitched offended tone.

“No, there isn’t.” Harry agreed. “But that doesn’t change the fact how you behave is a result of it. From everything you’ve said you are the only child in a semi-wealthy family. Your parents have doted on you since the day you were born, but they also both work full time so they couldn’t always be there, resulting in them spoiling you even more. And since you do well in school you were isolated there too.

But this means you have never really learned how to work with others. Ron had to learn how to share and get along with his siblings, and I had to learn to put the needs of my cousin first since my aunt and uncle actually liked him. We both had to learn early that our needs and desires weren’t more important than others, and that’s a lesson you never learned, but you need to.

What you want is not more important than what anyone else wants, and what you need is not more important than what anyone else needs. The moment anyone doesn’t comply to your desires you pitch a fit. Ron and I both know that, and for years we hav made excuses for how you don’t understand how to look at things from someone else’s perspective, but it's getting a little old. You are a teenager now, it’s time to start to expand your horizons and start taking others needs into account and accept responsibility for your own actions.”

Hermione blinked a few times in a combination of hurt and anger. “I think about others just fine.”

“Do you remember the study schedules you created for all three of us and required we stick to before exams in our first year?” Harry questioned.

“Of course.” Hermione didn’t understand where this was going. “It’s why we all managed to pass our classes.”

“In part, but it really didn’t help Ron or I.” Harry told her. “You set up the schedules to meet your needs, not ours. Ron and I are both rather decent in classes like charms and defence, but I think we can all agree we are pants at things like history and potions. You however are near level in most subjects.

You set up the schedules for yourself. I can tell you that when it comes to passing my defence tests all I really need to do is go over my notes and practice my spells a few times. But in something like history I need to spend more time to help me connect events, dates, and names. But our schedule assigned equal amounts of time to each subject because that was how you needed it. And whenever Ron or I tried to explain that we needed to pay more attention to a certain class so we needed to deviate from the schedule you created you would yell at us until we just gave up and studied what you dictated.

We were actually trying to study, but it wasn't what you needed to learn so you felt we wouldn’t need to learn it either. You seem to have just concluded that if you knew it and could memorize the books so could we, but we can’t. And then, when we got our results back you had the audacity to get angry with us because our grades in the classes you wouldn’t let us study extra for were lower than you found acceptable.

And I’ve seen the schedules you're working up for this year, and it's the same thing. You are arranging it to match your needs without considering ours. You even have times blocked off for us to study for muggle studies even though neither of us are taking it. Not that you should be wasting your time with it either.”

Hermione felt the latter subject would be much easier to refute. Thinking about it she couldn’t actually deny how she had set up the boys schedules and wouldn’t let them study different subjects than the ones she assigned. “Muggle studies is a perfectly respectable subject. It should honestly be made mandatory for those magically raised so they could get a better understanding of the muggle world and progress.”

Harry sighed as he rolled his eyes up in slight exasperation. “We can argue the merits of making the class mandatory, but if that happened I would argue for a magical culture class for us muggle raised since we are all just dropped in the magical world without any prep and expected to figure it out on our own. At least muggle high schools have civics classes where you learn about how the government functions, here it’s like they prefer us ignorant. It makes it easier for certain individuals to gain an unfair career advantage since we have no idea how to do a lot of things here. But that failing isn’t the point.

The point is that I actually looked into the muggle studies class. Since you’ve read the book I’m sure you’ve figured out it’s completely out of date. The reason for that is the curriculum here is way behind. Thankfully in classes like potions and charms it’s updated every decade, so we’re only a few years behind the rest of the world. But muggle studies hasn’t been updated in over a hundred years. That class is effectively a history class if you haven’t noticed, and from my glance at the books it is just as effective as teaching magical raised students about the muggle world as Binns is at teaching us the history of the magical world. Any magically raised student ending up in the muggle world and attempting to use the information from muggle studies is going to end up on a 48 hour hold at the nearest psych ward since everyone will think they’re insane. It’s a huge hole in the statute of secrecy since they’re all getting taught the wrong information that will only make them stand out more.”

Hermione was sickened by that information, Hogwarts wasn't maintaining its curriculum? That was a serious problem for her future. She was going to have to address that later, but now she had something else that was bugging her. “And my supposed inability to accept responsibility? I am perfectly responsible.”

“Yes, you are responsible, but what I said is you don’t accept the responsibility for your actions.” Harry pointed out the difference. “Like in September, when we had to run back to the common room and got back just before curfew. You spent a good twenty minutes lecturing Ron and I about how we had almost broken curfew. When Ron pointed out you were with us you went into this big spiel about how it was our fault you had almost been late, but it wasn't.”

“Yes it was.” Hermione stamped her foot. “Neither of you would listen to me.”

“Hermione, at no point did we hold you at wand point. We didn’t force you to stay with us. That was your decision.” Harry said in a forced calm voice. “You are capable of telling time. You are capable of walking on your own. When you first noticed it was getting late and started to berate us before anything had even happened Ron told you to go back to the common room if you were so worried, but you chose to stay with us. As it is we still made it back with a minute to spare, but that was close enough for you to get angry. You blamed us because you made a choice and acted like us potentially breaking a rule was worse than you doing it.

And that just brings us to how you seem to see rules. If anyone in this entire school even comes close to breaking a rule you feel it is your right to berate and lecture them. How many times have you gone off on the twins and even threatened to write to their mother, something you have no right to do. But when it’s you who breaks the rules you seem to think it's fine.

You always make excuses for yourself. If it’s you then it’s justified. But that isn’t how rules work. Whether it’s you or me breaking a rule it’s still breaking a rule. You aren’t automatically exempt just because you're you. I fully acknowledge when I get caught breaking rules that I earned any punishment I’m given, I might grumble about it, but I accept I earned it. But you don't, you always blame others for your actions or just claim you had a good reason and that because of that you shouldn’t be punished. You are perfectly willing to accept praise for when it works out, but if it goes wrong then it’s never your fault and there’s always some excuse.”

“I don’t break rules.” Hermione huffed imperiously.

“Oh really?” Harry said in sarcasm. “So last year you didn’t lie to a professor to gain access to a book in the restricted section. That was all your idea, Ron and I just watched you. We even told you how dangerous and risky what you were doing was, but you felt that because it was you it was fine. And because you didn’t pay close enough attention you ended up spending three weeks in the hospital wing coughing up hairballs.”

“I BEG YOUR PARDON?” Harry and Hermione turned slowly to see both Madams Pomfrey and Pince on their feet glaring. Ron had been trying to warn them to remember where they were but they hadn’t noticed leaving him with his head in his hands. The two had been so caught up in their argument they had forgotten where they were.

“Ms. Granger…” McGonagall said in a strict tone but wasn't able to get anything else out.

“Punishments can’t carry over.” Ron said suddenly, keeping McGonagall from carrying on. When everyone looked to him in shock he flushed but kept going, Hermione was his friend regardless of their fighting and he wasn't going to let her get in trouble if he could help it, although he did kind of think Harry was right and she needed to face consequences for her actions. “Fred and George told me punishments can’t carry over between the years.

It’s why they have no problem telling anyone about the pranks they pulled in previous years, it’s because they can’t be punished for them. Yes, Hermione broke the rules, but she did that last year, so she can’t be punished for it. The most you can do is just watch what she takes out of the library closer.”

Harry chose to ignore the staff and just looked back to his friend. “Hermione, we all make mistakes, it’s what happens after that defines us. We are three strong willed and stubborn teenagers, we’re going to fight, and that’s ok. But we need to be able to just apologize and move on or this friendship isn’t going to last, and I want it to.

I need to be able to trust the people I have around me. I need to be able to know that if something goes wrong you can handle yourself. If every time you don’t get your way you run to a professor than I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’ll be safe with me. Hogwarts is a death trap, and I need to be able to trust you if we are to survive it together.”

Hermione gave a small smile and nodded. She knew just how dangerous it could be, she had nearly been killed by a basilisk just the previous year after all. She didn’t like to admit it, but Harry was right, they needed to be able to trust each other, and she had broken that trust. No matter what excuses she came up with, none of them would change that fact.

“Now really my boy, Hogwarts is a perfectly safe place.” Albus smiled happily, it looked like this little get together was working and the three would go back to being friends. But he really wasn't liking all the insults to his school, first the curriculum and now this.

Harry stared blankly at the Headmaster for a moment. “Were you dropped on your head as an infant? In my first year alone there were multiple attempts to murder me. And all of them were carried out by a member of your staff. We’re supposed to be able to rely on the adults here, but you keep hiring criminals.”

“Always so dramatic.” Snape huffed, although he was surprised to find he was actually agreeing with the boy about his friendships. The boy had made a good and reasoned argument without snapping and screaming even once, he was surprised to see that level of emotional control.

“Dramatic?” Harry turned his attention to the potions master with wide eyes. “I have to give you credit Snape, the only reason I survived that first attempt was because you started doing the counter curse. But that doesn’t negate the whole attempted murder thing.”

“I’m sure it wasn't as bad as you're making it out to be.” The Headmaster said. “It’s just because you were young it seemed more scary than it was.”

Harry turned to Madam Pomfrey with scheming eyes. “Madam Pomfrey, would you like to give the Headmaster your perspective? After all, it was the last murder attempt where I was attacked, tied up, and nearly strangled to death, again, by a member of staff, that resulted in me spending a week in your ward, three days of which I was unconscious, at the end of my first year.”

“Headmaster.” Madam Pomfrey narrowed her eyes, the old fool had never given her a straight answer about what had happened to the boy. “Don’t you dare try and belittle Mr. Potters injuries. He nearly died. If he hadn’t been brought to me as quickly as he was he could have suffered permanent damage to both his core and throat, or do I need to remind you he had a partially collapsed trachea restricting his ability to breathe.”

“And you say this isn’t the only criminal that worked at this school?” Professor Sprout questioned in worry for the safety of her students.

“Lockhart.” The three students all said as one.

“He told Harry and me that he hadn’t done anything he wrote about in his books.” Ron shrugged. ‘He said that those heroics were done by others and that he tracked them down, got them to tell him everything, and then he obliviated them so they wouldn’t get in his way.”

“And just why would he confess all those things to you?” Snape questioned.

‘It was after Gin… Ginny was taken.” Ron struggled slightly with the memory, he might almost always be arguing with his sister, but she was his sister and he loved her. “Harry and I went to him since he was the defence professor and we thought we knew where Ginny had been taken to. He grabbed my wand while we were on our way there and told us. He… He planned on telling everyone that he was too late to save Ginny, and that Harry and I had gone mad after seeing what had been d…done to her. Then he tried to obliviate us. But my wand had been broken earlier and the spell backfired, wiping his memory rather than ours.”

All the staff turned their attention to an uncomfortable Headmaster and started demanding answers. The man had never given them any specifics about what had happened at the end of the previous two years, he had just told them it had been handled. Now they wanted to know.

The only two not looking at Dumbledore were Snape and Lupin. Severus found himself actually grudgingly respecting the students actions. They had managed to divert all attention away from themselves, ensuring none of them got in trouble for anything they had done. Remus was just busy examining Harry for any signs of injury even though he knew there wouldn’t be any, it had been years ago all this had happened.

“Why don’t we leave you all to your discussions.” Harry gave a small smile to the staff. “I’m sure you have plenty to discuss before your next meeting.”

“Next meeting?” Snape questioned.

“Well yes.” Harry shrugged nonchalantly. “After all, the staff seems to have made the decision to become more involved in the lives of the students, something I think might be good, although this is taking it a little far. I’m sure you have already started arranging meetings with all the other students in this school that have been having disagreements with their friends since only getting involved in our relationship would be highly irregular. 

I know that both Padma and Pavarti have been arguing for over a week about where they want to go on their holidays so they will have to come here. Justin Finch-Fletchly and Terry Boot have been arguing about assignments for a while too, so you will need to meet with them.”

“There’s also Sue Li and Lisa Turpin, Parkinson and Bones, Brocklhurst and Entwhistle, that I know of.” Hermione added.

“And that’s just in our year level.” Ron added, trying, and failing, to hide his smirk at seeing what his friends were doing.

“So we’ll just let you get on with your little mediation council.” Harry said with a grin before spinning on his heel and guiding his friends out.

Once they were out of the staff room Hermione finally said a tearful apology and promised she would try and work on looking at things from their perspective and taking responsibility for her own actions. Harry and Ron just hugged her from either side. They knew Hermione had major control issues but was glad she was finally going to try and address them even as they knew it would take a while for her to actually begin to change her behaviour.

Saving a Godfather

In the Shack

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were looking back and forth between the three adults in front of them. Sirius Black had dragged Ron into the Shrieking Shack and the other two had followed.

Professor Lupin had followed shortly after having seen what happened on the map that he had confiscated from Harry a few weeks earlier. Hermione had started to spout off about how Harry shouldn’t trust him since he was a werewolf, Harry shot that down since he had already known and he had been alone with the man in lessons for months.

When Snape made his presence known Harry was able to make him just shut up and listen when he shouted that he deserved to know why his parents died. Professor Lupin had mentioned during one of their evening chats that they passed off as lessons that Snape had been one of his mums best friends when they had been younger.

Sirius went on to explain what had really happened and proved it with the transformation of the newly found Scabbers into the supposedly dead Peter Pettigrew. Ron in particular was horrified to find out that the rat that had often slept on his bed was in fact an adult man.

The four adults and three students were led back to the school by Crookshanks. Unfortunately things did not go as planned.

Only a few seconds after they stepped out from under the tree the full moon made its presence known and Professor Lupin began to shift. Sirius instantly shifted into his dog form to try and distract Moony as Snape pushed the three students behind him. Both were quickly tossed aside.

Harry put himself between his friends and his professor, but what happened next wasn't what any of them expected. Moony didn’t attack. For months now Remus had been getting to know Harry more and more and recognized him as his cub, and his inner wolf had accepted that claim. 

Remus had taken the wolfsbane potion everyday that week, he had only missed the last dose. Although he didn’t retain control there was still enough sanity to know not to harm his cub. Instead he separated his cub from the others that the wolf didn’t know before curling around him and starting to groom the hair of his thoroughly embarrassed cub.

If Harry wasn't so embarrassed and confused he would have broken down laughing when Sirius pulled himself up only to cock his head in confusion at what he saw. Werewolves were supposed to be vicious and dangerous creatures, but this one seemed to be acting parental to the boy with burning red cheeks.

In their distraction Pettigrew shifted and made a break for it. Seeing this Sirius turned to go after him. Harry, seeing this as well jumped up to follow. Moony went to follow but there was a howling shrieking noise from the forest that caught his attention. Harry encouraged him to go after it while he went after Sirius. When the others went to follow they ended up getting struck by the whomping willow that had started to move once again, knocking them each out.

Harry ended up down by the lake surrounded by dementors trying to cast his patronus before he passed out.

In the Hospital Wing

Harry woke up once again in the hospital wing, he really did spend to much time there. He could hear people talking nearby but he was struggling to make out the words. But eventually he figured it all out.

He was in the hospital wing with a listening Hermione and an unconscious Snape and Ron. They had all been found about an hour or so after the dementors had attacked by Dumbledore and a few other members of staff who had noticed Snape was missing. The ministry had been informed of the discovery of Sirius and Dumbledore was the one just outside the ward that was discussing what was going to happen.

Dumbledore was saying that he had spoken with Sirius and believed him to be innocent, but Fudge was refusing to listen and instead sending for a dementor to come and administer the kiss immediately. This caused both Hermione and harry to shout. They tried to explain but Fudge just refused to listen. Dumbledore said he agreed that they should wait, but Harry couldn’t help but notice he actually didn’t try to stop it, he just said words that made it seem like he was opposed to what was effectively murder. Harry wasn't sure if it was just his resentment making him see the man that way or if it really was the truth.

Harry and Hermione argued to wake Snape to get his support since he was an adult and thus more believable in the eyes of those like Fudge, but Madam Pomfrey absolutely forbid it since it could hurt Snape to wake him to soon. Harry was practically shaking with rage once he and Hermione were left alone with Dumbledore. Harry was struggling with how to react, if he did nothing Sirius would be killed, but if he confronted Dumbledore it would make the man more suspicious of him which could cause serious issues for him. 

But before he could say anything Dumbledore told Hermione that they had been found 20 minutes before, and they had been unconscious outside for about an hour. He also told them that Sirius was immediately placed in Professor Flitwick’s office and had been left alone at 10:40. He told her that two spins would do it and that he would be locking them in and stepped out of the ward.

Harry was confused as Hermione pulled a chain out from under her shirt and called him over. As she wrapped the chain around him she spun the little gold hour glass and the world began to spin.

Time Turner

Hermione took the thin chain from around her neck and quickly explained it to Harry. Given the time they knew they should be just leaving Hagrids.

Going to the doors they watched as Ron was dragged under the willow. The two moved quickly to hide behind Hagrid’s cabin since it would allow them to see the willow so they could watch for their return. They saw as first Remus and then Snape followed after them. As they waited for the others to come out they started brainstorming ways they could reach Sirius.

When there was just a few minutes left before they came out Harry suddenly got an idea.

“A thestral.” Harry said suddenly.

“A what?” Hermione asked in confusion.

“Thestrals are the creatures that pull the carriages, Hagrid has a heard here.” Harry grinned. “Luna took me out to see them earlier this year. They have wings so I can fly one up to the charms window and Sirius can escape that way.”

“Harry, there’s nothing that pulls the carriages. It’s just magic.” Hermione said slowly.

“No, they’re pulled by thestrals.” Harry repeated. “The thing is thestrals have a perception filter. They can only be seen by those who have seen death. It’s why both Luna and I can see them but those like you and Ron can’t.”

“If I can’t see them how can I fly on one?” Hermione asked.

Harry blinked a few times. “I don’t think you can. But I am going to need you to do something for me. I’m going to go down to the lake, I need to see who it was that sent that patronus. I want you to go into Hagrid’s hut. Grab one of the raw steaks he keeps for Fang and take it to the paddock. Hang the steak on the post, it will draw one to it, it’s their favourite snack. Once that’s done get back in the castle and hide to wait for when we need to be back in the hospital wing. I’m going to get Sirius away and then I’ll meet you there.”

Hermione wanted to argue, but she couldn’t come up with a better plan so just chose to do as she was told for once.

Once Harry had taken off she collected the steak and headed for the paddock just as she heard the screams and growls that signalled Professor Lupin had changed. Placing it on a post she waited, not sure how to tell if a thestral really was there, but then she heard that shrieking howl that sent shivers down her spine.

Hermione suddenly knew she needed to get out of there. That had been the sound that had drawn the professor away from them. She ran back to the hospital wing and hid in a closet to wait until it was time.

Harry did go down to the lake to see who had cast the patronus. And it was lucky he did since he realized it had been him that had been the one to cast it.

Once that was done he went back to the paddock to see if there were any thestrals. There were three. Harry chose the large male since he knew he was going to have to fly a fair ways. Mounting the thestral he directed it up to the top of the astronomy tower, he had had an idea.

Harry grabbed some of the spare parchment that was kept available for the students during astronomy and quickly wrote out a letter to Lady Weasley. Harry trusted her and her husband to actually help him, and Sirius too. Lady Weasley had been born a Black, and from everything she had said family was everything to a Black. He just hoped they would be able to help.

With a sharp whistle he called Hedwig to him. Even from such a distance a mail owl would know when they were needed, and Hedwig was especially perceptive. Harry was very confident that Hedwig was the best mail owl that ever existed, and Hedwig agreed.

When Hedwig arrived he gave her the letter and told her it was urgent. He told her that it was a matter of life and death and he asked her to fly as fast as she could without hurting herself. Hedwig gave him an affectionate nip since not only was he giving her a job, but he wanted her to be safe while doing it before she took flight and was off like a niffler after gold.

Harry checked the time nearly every minute until he knew Sirius was in the office. He waited until two minutes after he was supposedly alone just to be safe before remounting the thestral and directing it down to the window. It was surprisingly easy to just unlock the window and get Sirius to climb out and onto the thestral, he was relieved he could see it but had figured he would be able to since he had been through a war. Once he had Sirius he took them back up to the astronomy tower.

“How are you here?” Sirius questioned in pleased shock. He couldn’t believe Harry had managed to rescue him, but he couldn’t be more proud, although he was more than a little embarrassed too.

“No time for that Sirius.” Harry hugged his godfather. “You need to get out of here. Thankfully, thestarls are a great getaway method. This one can fly you far away.”

“Harry, I can’t just leave you.” Sirius couldn’t stand the idea of leaving Harry so soon. “Where would I even go?”

“I’ve written a friend so they will know to expect you.” Harry told him after assuring him he was fine.

“You did what?” Sirius was stunned at that, who would Harry trust like that.

“When I first learned about you I asked someone I knew to look into you. While he was looking he found out you never had a trial. But his wife is the one I wrote too. She was furious at what had been done to you, even if you were guilty.”

“Who would care about me?” Sirius questioned in confusion.

“Other than Professor Lupin and me… Lady Cedrella Weasley nee Black.” Harry pointed out. “She said you were family, and that was all that mattered to her. I wrote to her telling her you're innocent and she should be able to help hide you until you can get out of the country.”

“Aunt Ella, yeah, she’s someone that I should be able to count on.” Sirius said thoughtfully as he remembered the woman who was actually his parents second cousin. She was very much like Harry’s grandmother even though there was no relation within over a half dozen generations, Euphemia Potter, and Sirius said so.

“Sirius, I need you to do something for me.” Harry said after another few moments of them talking about Harry’s family.

“Anything.”

“Be careful about who you trust.” Harry said cryptically. “Not everyone that claims to want to help seems to be fully willing to do whatever it takes.”

“Harry?” Sirius questioned in worry.

“I don’t know?” Harry rubbed his hand through his hair. “I’ve just been noticing things more lately and some things have been… off. Headmaster Dumbledore claimed to believe you were innocent but he also said there was nothing he could do to help you when I saw him in the hospital wing.”

“He’s just a headmaster Harry.” Sirius tried to calm the boy.

“Who’s also on the ICW and is Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.” Harry reminded the man. “Did he even offer you sanctuary?”

Sirius blinked a few times at that having forgotten that little fact about just how influential Albus was. “Harry, are you ok?” Sirius was suddenly worried.

Harry smiled at his godfather as he once again checked the time. “I’m fine Siri, I promise. I’ve just been on edge lately with certain things not exactly adding up. Just be careful. But right now I need to get back to the hospital wing before anyone notices I’m missing. Lord and Lady Weasley live at the Weasley Estate just outside Plymouth. From what I’ve heard about thestrals that’s more than enough for him to get you there.”

Sirius and Harry hugged and said their final goodbyes before Harry watched as Sirius mounted the thestral and gave it the directions before flying away. Harry watched him for a moment before running down the stairs since he only had a few minutes to get to the hospital wing that was on the other side of the school and down multiple floors.

Harry made it back to the hospital wing with 30 seconds to spare and joined Hermione just as she was stepping out from the closet. The Headmaster asked where they had sent Sirius since he had assumed they were just going to have him hide in the school. He was surprised when they said they had decided to use a thestral to help him get away. Harry didn’t bother to mention where he had sent him since he still didn’t trust the old man.

The two went back into the ward and climbed into their beds. They were perfectly comfortable under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey when they heard the commotion caused when Sirius’s disappearance was noticed. When Ron questioned it since he had woken in the mean time they had gave him secret little smiles and told him they would explain later.

Dumbledore Plans

Albus Dumbledore made his way back to his office after finally getting Cornelius Fudge out of his school. This night had been particularly difficult for him.

He was deeply saddened that one of his own people had spent over a decade in Azkaban for crimes he hadn’t committed. He just couldn’t believe it had been Peter Pettigrew that had been the spy all along. And more than that, that the man had been hiding out in his school just added insult to injury.

But as much as he regretted all the suffering Sirius had been subjected too a small part of him couldn’t help but argue it had been for the best. If Sirius had been free he would have been nearly impossible to work with. It had been hard enough keeping Remus away from Harry, Sirius wouldn’t have ever stopped fighting for him, and Albus just couldn’t have allowed that. It also would have made it that much harder for Albus to name himself Harry’s magical guardian, he may have lost that position recently, but he may never have even attained it in the first place if Sirius had been free, and that meant he wouldn’t have been able to secure the boys future.

Albus knew he could have stopped Fudge tonight if he had really had to, but thankfully the children were able to get Sirius out without him having to work to get the man free while burning bridges with those at the ministry. He was honestly surprised at just how well the children had served their purpose, although he did wish he had had more time with Sirius to impress upon him what he should and shouldn’t do in regards to Harry. If it really had come down to it Albus was sure he would have been able to just stop Fudge from killing an innocent man.

But the way things had worked out had been perfect for him. Harry had seen him as defending Sirius while the ministry tried to kill him. This would ensure Harry was loyal to him first and would follow his instructions rather than anyones from the ministry. It also meant that Sirius was still on the run so he couldn’t try and gain custody of Harry or take him from the Dursley’s.

Sitting at his desk for a few moments before he went to bed Albus looked over some paperwork associated with Remus. He hated having to out the poor man, but he just couldn’t have him at the school the next year. The man had gotten far too close to Harry for his liking. He couldn’t have Remus swaying Harry away from him.

He knew Remus was devoted to him since he had allowed him to get an education, but the man was still a werewolf and thus a risk. He trusted Remus, to a point. Werewolves were still dark creatures and Albus knew how dangerous that could be. Harry needed positive light influences in his life, and Remus wasn't that. If he had to allow Remus around Harry in the future he was going to have to make sure they were monitored just in case.

Plus, Remus had taken a great risk that night and could have seriously harmed one of the children so Albus felt less guilty about what he had to do.

The next morning Albus secretly slipped the information to an upper year Slytherin that Lupin was a werewolf through a dropped form. It was around the school in less than an hour, just as Albus had known would happen.

He really did regret having to do it, but Remus needed to go.

And just as anticipated, Remus handed in his resignation by lunch.

Saying Goodbye to Remus

Harry was devastated and furious that Remus was being forced to leave the school. He was trying not to be negative, but the fact the story about Remus being a werewolf couldn’t be tracked to anyone who would have known made Harry suspicious that it had been Dumbledore. Harry really was beginning to wonder if everything bad in his life could be tracked back to that man.

Harry arrived just in time to see as Remus finished up packing. Harry tried to argue, but Remus calmly talked him down. He didn’t think staying was what was best, although he did promise he would find a way to stay in touch.

Harry got Remus to put up the privacy wards once again. Once that was done Harry explained that he had sent Sirius to Lord and Lady Weasley since Lady Weasley had been born a Black and he trusted them to look out for Sirius. He had gotten a letter back a little earlier letting him know that Sirius had made it there safely. He suggested that Remus go and join Sirius so he could keep him company.

Remus had agreed, proud of just how smart Harry was proving himself to be, but agreed it was best if no one knew the truth of where Remus was going.

With the Weasley’s

A very exhausted Hedwig arrived at the Weasley estate just a little after 3 in the morning, only 4 hours after leaving Hogwarts. Mail owls had their own kind of magic that would allow them to travel on the wind much faster than a normal bird could. But flying as fast as she had had still been tiring.

Once she arrived Hedwig made a huge ruckus with tapping on the windows until she forced the humans inside to wake up.

“Hedwig?” Cedrella asked in confusion. She easily recognized the bird but was confused by this behaviour. Hedwig was normally such a polite and courteous bird, this behaviour was highly irregular. And that could only mean one thing, something serious had happened.

“Ella?” Septimus looked to his wife. “What has happened to Harry?”

Cedrella took the letter and gently moved the obviously tired bird to a stand, having their house elf bring a restorative potion to perk the poor thing back up before she opened the letter and read it. “Oh my.”

“Dear?” Septimus questioned again.

“It’s a complete mess.” Cedrella summarized. “Earlier tonight Ron, Harry, and Hermione found Sirius Black. Turns out Sirius was completely innocent. Oh that absolutely disgusting!… Peter Pettigrew was the one to betray the Potters. He was also an animagus and has been hiding with our grandchildren. He was Scabbers, the rat Percy found when he was a boy and gave to Ron.”

“That rat was a man!” Septimus shouted in shock.

Cedrella skimmed over the rest of the letter once again. “According to him Pettigrew got away. Fudge ordered Sirius to be kissed immediately. Harry and Hermione used a time-turner she had been given, are they serious, they gave a teenager a time-turner, Albus is an idiot, to go back. Harry got Sirius out and is sending him here on a thestral. He didn’t know what else to do as he didn’t want to risk Dumbledore’s focus on him or Sirius’s safety.”

“Why didn’t Albus just give him sanctuary or demand a trial? He can do that as Chief Warlock.” Septimus pointed out.

“Be reasonable dear, Sirius is Harry’s godfather, if he was free he could take Harry away from Albus’s control. The man would never allow that and you know it.” Cedrella pointed out. “He just wanted to warn us and hopes we will be able to help get him out of the country.”

Cedrella handed the letter to her husband and started to pace as she planned.

“What are you planning my dear?” Septimus asked when his wife turned to him ten minutes later with a devious smile.

“Frizzel.” Cedrella called for their house elf who was instantly at her side. “I need you to prepare one of our guest rooms, we are having company. Also, alert us when Sirius Black arrives please.” She turned to look at her husband. “Dear, I am going to need you to make a quick trip to France for me. We need a full course of dementor recovery treatments and there’s no way we can get that here without drawing attention. I am going to make arrangements for Sirius to see the Black Account Manager. Since he was never legally convicted of anything he may still be able to claim the title which will stop that pompous ass Lucius Malfoy and his wife acting like their son is the family Heir when we all know it isn’t true. I may be related to the woman but if she looks down her nose at me one more time I swear I’m just going to punch her, decorum be dammed.”

Septimus just nodded his agreement, knowing better than to argue with his wife about things like this as he started to get up.

“What are you doing?” Cedrella asked her husband after a few moments fuming as he was headed for the closet.

“You want me to go to France for potions.” Septimus said cautiously.

“It is the middle of the night dear.” Cedrella rolled her eyes. “We are trying to not get noticed. Randomly leaving the country in the middle of the night will certainly draw attention. Go back to bed, get some sleep. It’s a long trip from Scotland, even on a thestral. He won’t be here for a few more hours.”

“And what will my excuse be tomorrow for going over seas?” Septimus questioned as he happily climbed back in bed.

“I will be giving you a shopping list dear.” Cedrella assured her husband as she rejoined him. “It will just look like you are being the doting husband you are.” She looked over to the sleepy owl watching them. “Hedwig dear, you get some rest too, you deserve it. I will send a letter off to Harry in the afternoon once everything is settled.

The sun was just peaking over the horizon when Frizzel entered her Masters room and alerted them Sirius Black had just landed a thestral in the back field and was walking towards the back door. Cedrella was instantly up, she had just been laying in bed plotting for over an hour after all.

“Sirius.” Cedrella smiled as she met Sirius at the door. She saw the thestral milling about in the shade of the fruit trees and sent Frizzel to get it some meat and water so it would be able to return to the school the next night.

“Aunt Ella.” Sirius gave the woman a tired smile as she pulled him into a hug.

“Come dear, your room is already ready.”

“My room?” Sirius blinked in confusion. “I need to get moving. It’s only a matter of time before my second escape makes the paper.”

“I’m afraid that broom has already flown dear. The early early edition of the Prophet has it on the front page. It arrived about an hour ago. Besides, I have plans.” Cedrella smiled, the grin grew larger as Sirius froze and gave her a panicked look.

“What kind of plans?”

“Nothing to worry too much about.” Cedrella huffed. “For now, you are going to go to your room, have a nice shower, eat your breakfast in bed, and then take a good nap. You look like you could really use all three. 

It’s going to take a few days for people to begin to relax enough we will be able to get you out of the country through the Black backchannels. Until then you will be perfectly safe here.”

Sirius didn’t see a point in arguing and just did as he was told.

Sirius woke again in the late evening. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do exactly since he wasn't sure if there was anyone around that might see him. But only a few minutes later the door burst open and Cedrella bustled in.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Cedrella smiled. “Septimus just got back from his little trip to France. I had him pick up a full supply of dementor recovery potions.”

“Aren't those really expensive?” Sirius questioned in worry. “I can’t ask you to pay for something like that.”

“You didn’t ask.” Cedrella pointed out as she held out the first vial. “If you don’t take it then the money will just have been wasted. Besides, I’ve already arranged for a meeting with Gringotts, if it’s that important to you you can just repay us later.” 

“Ella, I can’t just walk into Gringotts.” Sirius pointed out.

“You won’t be walking, we will be using the private floo room.” Cedrella said drolly. “And you know, as well as I do I’m sure, that the goblins don’t care for wizards laws. You have neither been convicted of anything or committed any crimes against the goblin nation, as far as I know. As such you are perfectly able to access the bank. And as a side benefit Gringotts is sovereign territory. You could walk right up to Fudge when he goes to make a deposit and stick your tongue out and he couldn’t do anything.”

Sirius chuckled at that and then swallowed the nasty tasting yellow potion.

Gringotts

Sirius flooed into the private floo room in the bank three days after arriving at the Weasley’s. 

Cedrella had explained about the mail ward around Harry and how they worked around it but warned he was going to need to keep up the pretence of sending letters the normal way, he just had to make sure he included nothing important in them. Harry had responded to her letting her know that Remus had been forced to resign and that he was sending him towards them too.

Remus was able to further explain about the oddity that was Albus’s obsession with his godson. Cedrella made sure to warn both men that they couldn’t openly act against the man. She pointed out Harry had found a way to keep himself protected and that would only last so long as Albus was unaware. 

Sirius still had some respect for the old man from the events of the last war, but it was fading quickly. The man seemed to be acting for only his own benefit now and Sirius cared more about Harry than keeping Albus happy. He and Remus even took a secrecy pact with Cedrella to ensure they wouldn’t betray Harry’s secrets even by accident. The pact was similar to a vow but was easier to do, far less dangerous, and without the added threat of death.

Remus had remained at the Weasley Estate with Septimus while Cedrella accompanied Sirius to the bank. The two were quickly guided through to the Black Account Managers office.

“What can I do for you this evening?” Bonecrusher, the goblin that had managed the Black Accounts for over 40 years, barked.

“Sirius Black wishes to verify his position in the Black family.” Cedrella said in a cool voice. She had been kicked out of the family for her choice in husband, but she still had Black blood.

Bonecrusher examined the human male before him. After a moment he pulled out the needed material for an identity test.

Name: Sirius Orion Black

Father: Orion Arcturus Black

Mother: Walburga Irma Black (Black)

Inheritance:

Black (Lord) - Paternal - Lord upon Claiming

Estate Value: 582,285,494 Galleons, 52,083 Sickles, 90,795 Knuts

Sirius looked at the sheet in shock. “How can I be the Lord, I was disowned.”

“By your mother.” Bonecrusher grunted. “Your father and grandfather both refused to do it. Your grandfather named you as Heir after the deaths of both your father and brother.”

Bonecrusher pulled out the Lordship ring and Sirius claimed his title.

“Is there anything else Gringotts can assist you with Lord Black?” Bonecrusher was as respectful as he ever was since this was now his boss.

“Yes.” Sirius thought quickly. “I wish to restore the privileges as a Daughter of House Black to Cedrella Weasley nee Black. She is to have full access to her dowery vault.”

“Easily done.” Bonecrusher pulled out the forms and started filling them out.

“Sirius, you don’t need to do that.” Cedrella assured the boy she had seen grow up.

“Consider it repayment for the dementor potions and hiding Remus and I.” Sirius smiled at her.

Sirius and Remus slipped silently out of the country two days later. It had been rather easy. Sirius’s great Grandfather had bought his wife a private island in the Mediterranean. There was an untraceable portkey in the Black property portfolio. No one could get close to the island unless they were personally brought by Lord Black so they knew they would be safe.

But just because they went there didn’t mean they needed to stay. There was a magical boat on the island that would allow them to go to the mainland for day trips. Sirius just had to use glamours and stay in the muggle world. Remus would be able to get anything magical they might need.

Hogwarts Express

Harry was slightly depressed as he sat on the train on the way back to the Dursley’s. He had almost gotten to escape completely and move in with Sirius. But at least he knew he only needed to spend a week with them.

As they travelled a small little owl arrived with a letter from Sirius. It wasn't his first letter from the man, but this was the first one that didn’t come through his backchannel, and that meant it had already been approved and passed on by Dumbledore.

The letter just assured him once again he was safe. It also included a permission form for Harry to go to Hogsmeade, much to his pleasure. It ended with Sirius apologizing to Ron about the whole leg biting thing along with being the reason he no longer had a pet so the owl that delivered the letter was his.

Ron was thrilled to get an owl of his own.

Chapter Text

With the end of the school year Harry was both excited and depressed. He had a godfather that loved him, but that godfather was still on the run. At least he knew there were people that had truly cared about him.

Harry took a great deal of joy in mentioning Sirius to his Aunt and Uncle as they left King’s Cross. He had heard from Bill who had had the wards around the Dursley’s examined that he would have to stay with the Dursley’s for a period of time. The wards were incredibly weak, but they still needed to be maintained. If the wards fell Dumbledore would be notified, and after what had happened that year Harry was even less trusting of the Headmaster than he was when the year had started. 

Thankfully he would only need to be there for 1 week. Seven days and the wards would remain for another year. Harry knew he could last that long, he had already survived years after all.

Once that week was up Bill and Charlie had made arrangements for him. They had enrolled him in a summer camp. It was only a week long, but it would get him out of the country under the radar. They couldn’t risk him leaving through magical means since the Ministry and Dumbledore would surely intervene to stop him so they had settled on the camp. Harry would be flying out with a group of muggle kids from Heathrow. They were going to Denmark to spend a week camping and hiking.

After that week though he would be getting on a plane that would take him to Romania to join Charlie for the rest of the summer. And Harry couldn’t wait for that. He had been fascinated when Ron had told him that his elder brother worked with dragons, and now he was going to get to go there himself and see.

A Week at Number 4

The week Harry had to spend with his relatives wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Dudley was oddly decent even as he was miserable about being put on a diet.

Harry had asked him about it the second day he had been home and Dudley admitted he really did want to get in better shape. He also told Harry that he had gotten into a fight with his best friend, Piers, and that the other boy had turned the others against him too.

Each day Harry went into Diagon Alley on the Knight Bus. Hidden down the back alleys of the main alley were little shops that had been set up by muggle-borns and people that couldn’t afford the insane cost of having one of the main shops. Harry had found them the year before and had been amazed by how much they had.

In one of the shops he grabbed a test to determine if someone was a squib. That night he got Dudley to take the test and found that he was indeed a squib.

The next day when harry went to the Alley he brought Dudley with him. He did make sure the boy wore sunglasses so no one would b able to see how huge his eyes got.

Their first stop was to a potions shop. Harry told the woman at the counter that his cousin was a squib and someone had used a gluttony curse on him as a joke. It wasn't the first time she had heard something like that so she just shrugged it off and gathered the needed potions. She explained that so long as Dudley took the potions and did even just a minor amount of exercise like walking around the block he would be able to lose 20 pounds a week. She also gave them some bath salts that he would need to use to tighten his skin back up so it didn’t sag. And the final potion he got would stop his body from absorbing any large quantity of fat from any meals he ate over the next few weeks since it would take time to switch back to a normal diet.

Dudley had been amazed by all of that information. His parents had always told him magic was horrible, but it was looking pretty good to him. Dudley really liked getting to explore this new world that his cousin was a part of.

For his entire childhood Dudley had been encouraged to hate and demean his cousin. After all of that he was grateful Harry had even cared enough to notice he was having a problem, his parents hadn’t.

On Harry’s last full day at the Dursley’s he decided it was time to tell them he was leaving. He had already mentioned it to Dudley earlier so all he had left to tell was Vernon and Petunia.

Harry cleared his throat that evening just before dinner started.

“What do you want now boy?” Vernon demanded. “Some new demand from that horrible godfather of yours?”

“Sort of.” Harry shrugged. He really was going to be using Sirius as an excuse for this. “Sirius feels I haven’t been getting out enough so he arranged for me to attend summer camp. I will be picked up by a taxi at 5 tomorrow morning. The camp lasts all summer so right now the plan is for me to come back and grab my trunk the day I meet the express to go back to school.”

“Your leaving?” Petunia shrieked. 

“And just how do you expect to pay for this?” Vernon sneered. “We certainly won’t be paying for it.”

“Sirius has already arranged the payment through an intermediary. Everything’s already payed for.” Harry assured them.

“Fine.” Vernon snapped. This was actually perfect for him. He got rid of the boy and didn’t have to pay for it. And anything that got the boy far away from his normal family was something he would tolerate.

Harry was slightly surprised the next morning when Dudley got up to see him off. They had been getting along better over the past few days, but he hadn’t thought the boy that hated getting up would intentionally get up early just to say goodby to him.

Harry had made sure Dudley had a few galleons in case he needed to go back to Diagon. He wasn't sure if it would happen, but better he have something and not need it than need something and not have it, especially since he was on potions.

Harry said goodby and got in the car to head to the airport.

Romania

Harry spent a week in Denmark hiking and camping at his outdoor summer camp. It had been a surprising amount of fun. Harry found he actually did enjoy all that outdoors stuff. He had grown up in the suburbs and the closest he had got to camping as a kid was the few nights he ended up getting locked outside.

But once that was done he got to go where he had really been planning to spend his summer. Another plane ride and he was arriving in Romania where he was met by Charlie.

Harry knew he was definitely in for a fun rest of the summer.

Like Harry had expected the past weeks had been great. There were a few handlers at the reserve that were parselmouths too. They were happy enough to teach Harry more about his gift. Parsel was the language of the serpents, and dragons were serpents. Harry just needed to adapt to their dialect and those that could speak with them helped him with that.

Other than that Harry spent most of his time with Charlie helping him on his rounds, which mostly amounted to him following behind Charlie and asking questions. Harry had told Charlie that if he found him too annoying to just tell him so but Charlie laughed it off. He loved to talk about his dragons and was glad to find someone that was interested in them, his own family all got exasperated whenever he was home and started to talk about them since he did it so often.

The reserve was massive, it was broken up into different sections, one for each type of dragon that lived in the reserve. There were over 2 dozen different species of dragons in the world but only 10 types in that particular reserve. Because it was so large they were often on the move and lived out of a wizarding tent. They spent 3 days in each section.

When Ron had spoken to Harry about Charlie’s job he had just referred to him as a dragon handler, but that actually wasn't true. Dragon handlers were just generic workers at the reserve that were actually not really allowed to interact or get near the dragons much, despite their job title, since they lacked training, their job was mostly to clear areas for nesting and make sure there was plenty of food available. 

Charlie was a dragonologist, which was a branch of magizoology that focused on dragons. He specialized in socialization and behavioural issues for dragons, although he was also very good at treating their injuries as well. Since the reserve often took in injured or orphaned dragons, like Norberta, Charlie monitored them to make sure they were fitting in and weren’t causing problems.

He really liked having Harry around since he could communicate with the dragons so Charlie didn’t have to watch for days on end to determine what was causing problems. It was very hard to do therapy when you and your patient can’t understand one another. The reserve did have parselmouths, but there were only 3 of them and they were usually kept in the medical treatment area to keep the injured dragons calm.

Harry liked chatting with the dragons. They had all kinds of interesting stories. The oldest of the dragons were hundreds of years old so they had amassed a great wealth of knowledge, it wasn't generally useful to a wizard, but it was still interesting.

Something that interested Harry was that something was going on. Charlie kept getting called away to deal with issues surrounding the transportation of three dragons. Harry questioned him about it but he told him it was a surprise for when he got to school, something that just confused Harry.

“We have a slight issue.” Charlie announced one afternoon near the middle of August when he entered the tent.

Harry looked up from the kitchen table where he was going over his homework assignments one last time. “What’s happened? Has Dumbledore figured out about you? Has…?”

“Relax kiddo, not that kind of issue.” Charlie tried to soothe the kid. “Dad got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup. From the letter I got they are planning to invite you and Hermione to go with us. Mum’s planning on writing to the muggles to get permission and they are going to go and pick you up.”

“That’s a problem.” Harry agreed. “What should we do?”

“I think I’ll write to Bill and get him here.” Charlie said thoughtfully. “The three of us should be able to come up with a plan. There’s still a week and a half till the match and my darling parents do have a tendency to leave things to the last moment. They only let me know early since dad knew I would need to schedule time off work and arrange travel.”

Harry agreed and the two went out to check in on the latest clutch of fireball hatchlings.

Bill arrived in Romania a few days later.

“Hey Bill.” Harry smiled as the tall red head came into the tent. He had just been making their lunch, a nice grilled chicken salad. Charlie was great at a lot of things, but Harry had quickly learned his cooking skills extended only as far a sandwich and trail mix so had set about getting him eating properly. Charlie pointed out they could just go to the mess hall but Harry reminded him that he himself couldn’t apparate there, and he absolutely hated the feel of side along apparition. Charlie had been smart enough not to argue, especially when he found out Harry was a really good cook.

“Hey kiddo.” Bill ruffled Harry’s messy hair causing Harry to bat him away with a huff and Bill laughed. 

“Leave him be Bill.” Charlie smiled at his brother. “He’s in charge of your food after all.”

Bill held his hands up in surrender. He was slightly surprised to see just how easily Charlie got on with the kid. It was an odd and uncomfortable situation to say the least, but he was glad they had found they could be friends. There would be nothing worse than being forced to be married to someone you couldn’t stand. He had hated putting his brother in this position, but it had been the only option he could find. It was a relief seeing he hadn’t completely destroyed both their lives.

“So what’s the plan?” Harry asked as he put the food on the table.

“I had an idea.” Bill spoke up after a few bites of the amazing food, he just might have to steal Harry from his brother for the next summer. “We do want to make sure there is some separation between the two of you. Currently no one outside those of us in the know would connect you, but better to have that distance early.

Charlie, mum wants us to come back a few days early. I think you should go home in a few days. Harry, when Charlie leaves you come to Egypt to stay with me. Then you fly back to London while I take a portkey. I’m sorry, but you're gonna have to spend a night at the Dursley’s before we come and get you.”

“That’s fine.” Harry assured, he actually didn’t have a problem with spending a single night at the Dursley’s. “But I don’t think you guys should get me from my aunt and uncles place. They already dislike magic enough I don’t think they will respond well to having a bunch of wizards showing up at their house. They just might hold a grudge about that until next year, and I will still need to spend a week with them.”

“So how would we be able to get you?” Charlie asked, not liking the fact Harry still had to deal with those people. He was just such a good kid, he shouldn’t have to deal with people like that.

Harry thought for a few moments. “We could meet in Diagon. I can say I need to go and collect some stuff for school and you guys can meet me there.”

“That should work.” Bill agreed.

Back to Number 4

Harry took a fortifying breath as he got out of the cab and walked towards the Dursley’s.

“Oh where have you been today Harry darling?” Came a familiar voice.

Harry turned and gave his old babysitter a polite smile. He was sure this woman might be a bit more than batty, but she was harmless as far as he could tell. “Just had to go into London to grab a few things for school. I’m going to stay with a friend for the rest of the summer so wanted to get it out of the way.”

“That’s nice. Hope you have fun with your friend.” Arabella Figg turned to head home and send off a message to her old friend Albus Dumbledore. She had been growing more and more worried in recent days when she noticed she hadn’t seen Harry around like normal, but when she questioned his cousin about it he just said that he had been staying in his room a lot. But now she knew he really was just fine. She was however going to mention that Harry was going somewhere just in case Albus needed to know.

With a deep breath Harry knocked on the front door of his relatives house. He didn’t want them yelling about him breaking in or something. Harry was startled when Dudley opened the door, not just that he had actually been the one to get up, but how he looked. Dudley had slimmed way down and actually looked like he was putting on muscle. Now that he wasn't covered in a thick layer of blubber he made Harry think of a stereotypical blond surfer.

“What are you doing back so soon?” Dudley asked in shock. “I wasn't expecting to see you again until the last day of summer.

Harry smiled as Dudley guided him in. “I got invited to attend the world cup with a couple friends so came back early. I’m gonna hav to spend the night here and then I’ll meet them in London tomorrow. Let’s just hope your parents are in a good mood.”

Dudley laughed. “Their mood isn’t going to matter. They decided to have a date weekend.” At this both Dudley and Harry shivered at the mental image. “They said it was safe to leave me home alone since you were gone and they didn’t need to worry about you hurting me or destroying the house, sometimes I swear those two live in a different reality. I’m the one most likely to destroy the house. But either way, they’re in Brighton for the weekend at some ridiculous little bed and breakfast mum heard about from one of the other ladies in the garden club.”

Harry let out a relieved sigh. “That’s good. I really wasn’t looking forward to having to deal with them, no offence.”

“Be as offensive as you want, my rose-tinted glasses are off with them.” Dudley grumbled.

“What happened?” Harry wondered at his cousins reaction.

“It’s just all the little things.” Dudley flopped down on the couch. “I started going out jogging to help with my weight. For some reason dad seems to think it's ‘unmanly’ or some such nonsense. He said I should take up boxing instead. I think I’ve done enough beating people up to last me a life time.

And mum…” Dudley cut off to run his hand through his hair with a growl. “As soon as I started to lose the weight she started going on about how I was to thin and looked unhealthy. She started getting a lot of junk food and making really greasy and heavy meals. I actually had to start using my allowance to buy healthy food and cooking for myself.”

Harry snorted at that. Petunia, a woman who was nearly always on a diet so she could stay thin and mock the heavier women in the area, had absolutely no idea what was an appropriate meal for anyone. She had always gone between starving, with Harry, and stuffing, with Vernon and Dudley.

Harry got a letter from Ron in the afternoon, and Dudley remembered an odd letter addressed to his parents that had arrived that morning. Harry wrote back to Ron and the Weasley’s explaining he was going to be in London and that it would just be easier to meet in Diagon Alley.

The two boys found when they didn’t have Vernon and Petunia interfering they actually got along rather well and had a relaxing day.

Diagon Alley

Harry arrived in Diagon Alley much earlier than his arranged meeting with the Weasley’s. The reason for this was that he felt ready to take his heir test. Griphook had agreed to allow him to take the test but that it wouldn’t be submitted yet. They were going to keep it as a backup just in case there were any other issues Dumbledore created.

As Harry had anticipated he passed both of his test easily enough.

At 11 o’clock Harry was relaxing outside Fortescue’s Ice Cream waiting for the Weasley’s. He had already finished a quick snack of a banana split with extra caramel sauce.

Only about five minutes after the meeting time he had suggested he saw a large group of red heads, and a head of fuzzy brown hair, making their way down the alley towards him. Over the summer he had written back and forth with Ron and Hermione using his normal method so Dumbledore wouldn’t sense anything off. They often asked how he was doing with his relatives and he would say he was fine, he mentioned often going camping and spoke of Dudley’s changed attitude and diet, if Dumbledore was reading the letters like he suspected the man would have no reason to suspect anything was wrong with his plans, plus he wasn't lying to his friends. 

Harry really felt uncomfortable with all this sneaking around without telling his friends but he knew he couldn’t tell them everything, not yet. Ron had a temper, only a blind idiot wouldn’t be able to see that, and when he got angry he lost what little filter he had. If Ron knew about things like the contract and mail ward he would be spouting them out the first time he even got annoyed. And then there was Hermione. Despite her working to be more understanding she was still overly enamoured with those in positions of authority. If she thought he was in danger, or just being reckless, she would go running to the Headmaster. The only thing that would get her to tell faster than that was if he asked her, then she would spill everything because she still truly believed he was the greatest wizard in the world and was always right. 

Harry loved his friends, but he also knew them. Besides, everyone had their secrets. Look at Hermione with the time-turner, if she got to keep that to herself then surely he had the right to his owns secrets. As for Ron, Harry wasn't sure if he had any secrets, mostly because he was nearly as loose lipped as Hagrid, but he figured Ron didn’t tell them everything, so he didn’t have to either.

It took a couple minutes for all the greetings to get out of the way before Molly spoke up.

“Harry dear, there really was no need for you to come all the way into London to meet us. Arthur was just going to have your relatives fire hooked up to the floo for the day so it would be easier for you to travel. Plus it would have allowed you to say a proper farewell to your aunt and uncle.”

“Then I’m really glad I needed to come into London today.” Harry said. “My relatives don’t have a proper fire place. They used too, but it was bricked over years ago. Besides, it wouldn’t really have mattered. My aunt and uncle are in Brighton for the week. It’s only been Dudley and I at home.”

“But you’re to young to be left alone!” Molly was horrified at leaving children without adult supervision.

“They’ve been leaving me home alone since I was 7, I’m fine with it. I actually prefer it.” Harry told her. While it was true, Harry neglected to mention that was only when the Dursley’s went on day trips and he was left locked outside so he wouldn’t destroy the house if they couldn’t find someone to leave him with. He still had no idea why they had decided to bring him to the zoo with them on Dudley’s birthday.

Molly looked like she’d become part frog as she started gulping in large breaths of air to keep from screaming. How dare those people leave such a young child home alone? She knew what Albus said, but surely he couldn’t know about this.

“And how has it been…”

“Dealing with that cousin of yours?”

“We had plans…”

“To play with him.” The twins said while their mother was trying to keep control, they knew it was only because they were in public. She would get angry in public, but she always saved the banshee like screaming until they were home, something they knew well.

Harry grinned at the twins. “No playing with Dudley boys, he’s actually been pretty good this summer. His school put him on a diet and he took up jogging. He’s a lot easier to deal with without all the sugar and junk food. He’s started to realize his parents are kind of stupid. He’s even started to talk to me about how school is and things that interest me.”

“Awww, no more baby whale?” George questioned as Fred pouted.

“Nope, no more baby whale. He’s lost over 50 pounds this summer.” Harry chuckled.

“So what is it you needed to get Harry?” Percy questioned. Percy had grown rather fond of the Potter Heir over the previous year when he had come to him for advice on how to manage his time better and help with homework questions. 

The previous year had changed a lot for Percy. He had finally managed to get closer to his brothers, or at least, four of his brothers. Both Charlie and Bill had written him often since they had been worried about him after the events of the previous year. Fred and George had liked the idea of him being proxy for their title so had started spending more time with him. To claim the title and assign a proxy the twins first had to pass their Heir Tests. Since Percy had already expressed an interest in the subject the three of them would get together on the weekends and spend a few hours going over the books they had gotten from their grandfather and Bill. Even with him having to study for his NEWTs Percy still made time in his schedule, and it wasn't just because he wanted to learn, he found he actually enjoyed that time with the twins and it allowed them to bond on a level they hadn’t before. Percy also may have sneakily used that time to help the twins study, and convince them to do their best, for their OWLs. Given Fred and George’s lack lustre performance in their previous years their parents had been stunned and thrilled when they each managed to get 7 OWLs, especially when that result was coupled with Percy’s own 12 NEWTs.

Fred and George had taken their test half-way through July and had passed by the skin of their teeth. But they did pass, so they were able to assign Percy to the position of Proxy. He had proudly attended his first meeting earlier that month. Since he only had to attend the two meetings per month, the Council meeting and the joint meeting with the Wizengamot he also had a job. The twins had offered to arrange for Percy to get paid for his work as proxy, but he had refused, at least until the estate had been built back up from the damage Aunt Muriel had done. He had been offered a number of positions but hadn’t known which ones were honest and which ones were in the hopes of currying his favour due to politics, something he had never thought he would have to worry about. With his dads help he had managed to find a position that matched him perfectly, he was working as a junior researcher in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Like a few of the brighter students he had quickly figured out about Professor Lupins condition and had started researching it, Harry had caught him and they had discussed how disgusting the laws in regards to those like Professor Lupin were, Percy had really liked the professor, he had been the only decent teacher they had had in that class during his time there and the man had gone out of his way to help make sure each of them did their best. When he had mentioned it to his father after graduation he had pointed out Percy could use his position to get a thorough understanding of the laws and restrictions that were bigoted and then use his position as Proxy of House Prewett to start updating or outright removing them. After that he had talked about it with the twins who had been like him in both figuring out about Professor Lupin and didn’t like the laws so they had fully supported him in what he wanted to do.

“I just wanted to pick up a few changes of clothes for winter, it get’s rather cold in the winter in classes like herbology and care, and even in the spring it can get chilly in astronomy. I wanted to get some that were heated and weather resistant.” Harry said.

“Oh those are rather expensive aren’t they dear.” Molly pointed out. She didn’t think the boy should be wasting money like that. “I’m sure just a normal jacket will work just fine.”

“The price isn’t really bad.” Harry countered, he wasn't leaving without getting the clothing he wanted, he was finally going to get a proper wardrobe, not the disgusting oversized rags the Dursley’s had given him. “I found a little shop last year that has way better prices. It’s where I got Ron and Hermione’s winter cloaks I gave them for Christmas with the warming charms. I wasn't sure how they would work so I only got one for each of us, but given how great it was last year I want to get a few more so I don’t have to wear the same thing all winter.”

“Oh, I love that cloak.” Hermione said suddenly. “It stays amazingly warm.”

“Why would it be cheaper in one shop and not another?” Ginny asked, she would love more clothes but her parents always said she was fine and they were too expensive. Although she had been getting more ever since the twins tuition started getting paid for, she was jealous they got their schooling free, even more so since they each also got money for their supplies and she didn’t.

“A number of reasons.” Harry shrugged as he thought back to the discussions he had with many of the shop owners the previous summer. “The first is name recognition. Twilfitt and Tatting’s can charge more than Madam Malkin’s because of the name recognition even if they have similar products. 

Most students are encouraged to get their robes at Madam Malkin’s because she charges a bit less. Plus she has a deal with the School Board of Governors to set a standard rate and style and bundle the robes so they can get it all done at once. Because of that she can set whatever price she wants since most don’t know to shop around.

But the main reason is how the clothing is produced. Shops like Malkin’s and Tatting’s get bolts of fabric and then cut and sew it into the generic shapes before tailoring it to each persons measurements. Fearless Fashions, the shop I want to go to, buys pre-made, mass produced clothing and then adds the enchantments making it much more cost effective.”

“But where would they get pre-made clothing that cheep?” Arthur questioned.

“They buy them in bulk from a local muggle company that they have verified ethically sources them.” Harry shrugged.

“Ethically?” Hermione questioned in confusion. She had never bothered to pay attention to where her clothing came from.

“Yeah.” Harry was slightly confused by that. Hermione was always very opinionated and looking for a cause. “The owner of the shop is really socially active so she makes sure nothing she sells comes from sweatshops.”

“What is a sweatshop? Who would want to buy sweat?” Arthur questioned in confusion.

“A sweatshop is a workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions.” Harry told the group. “They’re often used by clothing companies in the muggle world for cheap labor and material since they pay incredibly low wages and exploit the people who have to work there. It’s a horrible practice, but greed can make people do horrible things to each other, and those that do things like that often just pay off politicians and law enforcement to look the other way.”

Arthur was horrified by that information. He had only ever looked for the good of the muggle world, he had never wanted to think about anything like that.

“If they don’t tailor it how do they know what size to make it to fit?” Ginny questioned in confusion. Even getting her clothing from second hand shops her clothing was still tailored, her mother would always make sure it fit her properly.

“In the muggle world only the wealthiest of people and professional businessmen get their clothing tailored.” Hermione informed her in a slightly strained voice, she hadn’t thought Harry would know that much about things like sweatshops when she didn’t. “For things like shirts they just use sizing like small, medium, and large. Pants can get a little more complicated since they are numbered and some go by waist size while others use leg length, and some both. Plus not all shops use the same sizing metrics.”

“Because they just use general sizes it’s much easier to mass produce clothing for muggles.” Harry added.

“But you aren’t allowed to enchant anything from the muggle world.” Percy pointed out. Surely what they were doing was illegal.

“It’s all about the loopholes.” Harry smirked devilishly at the older boy. “They can’t blanket outlaw enchanting things from the muggle world when they exist in both. To outlaw these clothes they would be banning all enchanted clothing. The law states it’s illegal to enchant anything from the muggle world with the intention of returning it to the muggle world. They only sell the enchanted clothes to magical people so they technically aren’t breaking the law.”

Arthur smirked. He had personally intentionally put that loophole into the law so that he could keep up with his regular hobbies.

Harry guided them down a small alley between Slugg and Jiggers and Quality Quidditch to find the small shop. Reaching the shop Harry stopped and looked back at the group with him. There was no way all of them were going to fit inside comfortably even with space expansion spells.

“I think we’re going to need to split up, we won’t all fit.” Harry told them.

“Are there any other shops like this one?” Fred questioned. He and George had their money for school supplies and wanted to use it in the most cost effective way so they could save as much as they could.

“Yup.” Harry nodded. “There’s a trunk shop between Scribbulus’s Writing Instruments and Madam Pimpernelle’s. It’s where I got my new trunk last year.” Harry pulled the shrunken trunk out of his pocket to show them all. “They use cheaper material so it’s a lot cheaper. They sell a basic school trunk that’s equipped with feather-lite and self-shrinking runes on them for only a few galleons.”

“Really!” Bill said in slight shock. “Normally getting those enchantments on a trunk cost at least 10 galleons each at the normal trunk shop.”

Harry just shrugged. “That shop builds their trunks with more expensive material that’s also harder to get the magic to stick too. From what they told me at Pack’n’Go they just use regular plywood covered in lacquer which is a much cheaper material and accepts the magic easier.

But there’s also a few other hidden shops. There’s also a few shops that just sell random odds and ends. If you go down any of the little side alleys like this one you’ll usually find little shops.”

“Why wouldn’t they be out on the main alley?” Mrs. Weasley questioned in slight surprise that there were actually shops down here. “There’s still a few open storefronts.”

“Bigotry and Price.” Harry said with his lip slightly curled in anger. He had been disgusted at what he had learned the year before. “It is really expensive to get a shop in the main alley. When I talked with Florean Fortescue he said he has a rent to own agreement for his shop. I think it’s similar to a mortgage in the muggle world. But the deal is directly with the family that owned the shop before since his family didn’t want to have to take a loan from Gringotts to buy the shop outright since they didn’t want to risk failing to pay a debt to the goblins if something went wrong. He said the payments take up over half of what he makes each year, and he still has another 12 years left before he owns the shop. And I should point out he is the forth Florean Fortescue to own it, his great grandfather was the one to initially open the shop almost 100 years ago. The reason those storefronts are empty is because they can cost over 1 million galleons easy.

Plus, no shop can open in the main alley without the approval of the Ministry. Since the alley is such an important location the Ministry regulates it so they all need special permission to operate there. All of these little shops are owned by muggle-born or half-bloods. Even if they had the money the Ministry wouldn’t approve them. From what I heard in the past 100 years no muggle-born has ever been approved to open a shop out there, and only one half-blood has, but he came from an extremely well connected pureblood family on his fathers side. But he didn’t stay in business long since his tax rate was double that of the other shops. The only half-bloods that currently have shops on the main alley inherited them.”

“But that isn’t fair?” Hermione said horrified.

“Life isn’t fair.” Harry said bluntly.

Bill, Percy, and the twins all decided to go check out the trunk shop. The rest followed Harry into the clothing shop and were surprised by what they saw. There was a massive back to school sale on. Ginny actually squealed in delight at seeing how cheap some of the clothing was. Some of it was cheaper new than the stuff she often got stuck with from the second hand shops.

Both Weasley parents were surprised at the prices in this shop and wished they had known about it earlier. Life had gotten much easier for them since Fred and George started getting their tuition covered, but they still weren’t rolling in galleons. This year they were only going to have to pay tuition for Ron and Ginny so it would be much easier for them to get more and better supplies for the four they still had attending Hogwarts.

Harry didn’t miss how Charlie seemed to be keeping close to him and felt warm inside. He had really missed the man over the past few days. He didn’t have anything against Bill, it had been really fun with him, but he had just gotten so used to being around Charlie. 

That day everyone returned to The Burrow in a good mood. With Harry showing them the little shops that had better prices, even before the back to school sales were included, the Weasley’s were able to not only get their kids more, it was often of a better quality. And it wasn't just their kids that benefited, Molly and Arthur were also able to get a few new changes of clothes that were on sale. Hermione explained that many people in the muggle world changed what clothes they wore by the season, and this shop seemed to be following that idea, meaning there was the end of summer sale on adult clothing. Even Hermione was happy since she had gotten an enchanted bag from the trunk shop that would allow her to carry all of her books without damaging them or having them be to heavy for her to carry.

It looked like the rest of the summer was going to be good for Harry.

After the World Cup

Harry knew he had jinxed himself. Things had been great at the Weasley’s, but then they had gone to the World Cup. 

Oh the game had been fine, great actually. But afterward had been a mess.

After they had all gone to bed screams and shouts woke them. There were some people in black robes tormenting the muggle who owned the campground and his wife and children. They were also cursing those around them and lighting fires. Those of age had gone to try and help and they had sent the kids to hide.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gotten separated from the twins and Ginny. It was then that Hermione realized her wand was missing. Harry had had his in the wand holster Charlie had given him for his birthday.

They had found the wand, but it had not been good. It had been found in the hands of a house elf named Winky, and it had been used to summon the dark mark.

Hermione had been furious ever since and had gone on plenty of rants about house elf enslavement since she had seen how Winky was treated by Bartemius Crouch. Harry knew very well that this was going to be her cause of the year and she would more than likely try and force him and Ron to help her. Harry knew that Ron already thought her latest idea was crazy and he had no intention of supporting her either since he had actually met a few of the Hogwarts elves and knew they were happy and would be miserable if they were freed, the most he would support would be passing laws to protect house elves from abuse.

The last few days leading up to the start of the new year were hectic with all the commotion over what had happened at the World Cup.

Chapter Text

For Harry the first 2 months of school weren’t any real trouble. He was a little disappointed that quidditch was cancelled, but he thought the tournament might be interesting to watch, although he was thrilled there was an age limit so he wouldn’t be able to be involved. 

Harry was quick to settle back into school life, but he had decided it was time to start expanding his horizons, mainly in terms of friends. Like he had expected Hermione had thrown herself full force at protesting for elf rights and wouldn’t listen to what anyone told her when she learned there was a large staff of elves at Hogwarts. Because she was so busy with her crusade she wasn't spending much time with Ron or Harry. While that was happening Ron just wanted to laze about the common room while Harry had more work to do since he had more classes. This was naturally putting some distance between them.

It wasn't that Harry was giving up on his friendships, he still went out of his way to spend what time he could with them, but he was getting to know new people. He was spending time with others in his year mainly as part of school assignments. Any time there was a group assignment in class he would suggest Ron work with Hermione and he would work with someone else, it helped to ensure Ron got a good grade and Harry didn’t end up doing the work for him like used to happen. Harry was finding it nice to work on building bonds with the others, he figured it was the lack of bonds that made it so easy for so many students to turn on him during his second year.

Harry was hopeful the year would continue to be good for him, but the realist in him expected something to go wrong.

The Fourth Champion

Of course. Of bloody course his name would come out of that bloody goblet.

Harry was forced up to the head table where he loudly announced he hadn’t put his name in the goblet. He openly argued with Dumbledore in front of the entire school he hadn’t put his name in and he had no intention of competing until Dumbledore had McGonagall and Snape physically grab him by the shoulders and march him into the side room.

Once he was in the room the real aggravation began. No matter how many times Harry said he hadn’t entered no one seemed to hear him, or if they did they didn’t seem to care. When Bartemius Crouch announced that he had to compete Harry had had enough and shouted.

“THAT IS INSANE! I did not enter. The contract is between whoever entered my name and the goblet, not me. If a magical contract worked like that everyone would be writing them for each other.” Harry glared at the old Ministry official he knew was responsible for helping to send Sirius to Azkaban without trial.

“Now Harry my boy…” The Headmaster said in his indulgent grandfatherly voice. “We understand this is a distressing situation for you but unfortunately there is nothing we can do to change this. The best thing to do right now is to just accept this and carry on as best you can.”

“There’s nothing you can do?” Harry questioned in a cold voice.

“I’m sorry my boy, but no.” Dumbledore truly looked repentant, but Harry didn’t believe it one bit.

“Honestly, it isn’t really a surprise.” Everyone in the room was surprised at how Snape like Harry’s sneer was. “After everything that has occurred in my previous years you claiming not to be able to do anything is nothing new. Despite all those grand titles you’ve been given you really don’t seem to be capable of much it would appear.

What about you two?” Harry spun away from his Headmaster and two shocked professors to look at the other two school heads in expectation. “It’s obvious neither of you want me in this tournament. Is there anything either of you can do to correct the failings of Hogwarts?”

Igor Karkaroff almost grinned at the backhanded insults to the pompous fool that was Albus Dumbledore, and by his little golden boy no less. “It should not be too difficult. The rules state only 17 year olds can compete. I will file a complaint and request your removal based on being underage.”

Madame Maxime also took joy in Albus’s shock, the man needed to be taken down a peg or two in her opinion. “I shall also file a contest, this time based on your assertion that you did not enter yourself. That is correct, yes? You would have to prove it.”

“I didn’t enter.” Harry told the woman but was worried. “But how could I prove it?”

“You could simply take a vow or agree to the use of truth serum during any hearing that may occur.” Madame Maxime told him.

“I can do that no problem.” Harry assured in relief, happy there just might be adults capable of getting him out of this.

“Things like vows and truth serums can be extremely dangerous my boy. They are just too much of a risk for you.” The Headmaster said from behind him.

Harry turned to give him a cold look. “I didn’t put my name in, I didn’t ask anyone else to put my name in, and I don’t want to have to compete so I have absolutely no problem with proving it.”

This resulted in another argument between the adults, completely ignoring him and the other students. McGonagall wanted to just cancel the tournament outright, but Dumbledore refused and she backed down, like always. Crouch and Bagman both wanted to carry on like nothing was wrong.

It was Snape that surprised Harry, he had expected the professor to be blaming him for everything and claiming he was just an attention seeker just like his father. Snape however, had kept quiet and had been watching everything.

Snape himself was conflicted. On one hand, James Potter definitely would have tried to get himself in the tournament, the braggart wouldn’t have been able to resist the competition and attention, but on the other he was working harder to see that Potter Jr. wasn't Potter Sr.. The way the boy was arguing and seemed to be willing to take a magically binding vow made Severus actually believe him. He could also see the distance the boy was creating between himself and Dumbledore, he was going to have to be careful, Severus above all knew just how the old man treated those that challenged him.

“Am I needed here for anything else?” Harry questioned in a still irritated voice. “I have a few letters to write.”

“Oh no, no, no.” Bagman moved closer but still kept his distance, despite his past as a professional beater it was obvious he didn’t know how to handle conflict. “The first task is to test bravery so no clues will be given. You will just have to show up on the 24th of November.”

“Delightful.” Harry said before spinning on his heel and walking out with his back straight.

As soon as he was out of the view of the adults his shoulders fell and he curled in on himself slightly. He knew this was going to be another one of those years. He had just wanted one year, one bloody year, where he wasn’t dragged into this nonsense and forced to face death.

“You ok Potter?” Cedric asked. He and the other three champions had followed the younger boy out and left the adults behind to talk. He was surprised at just how defeated the kid looked now after seeing him so strong while facing off against the Headmaster.

“No, I’m really not.” Harry sighed. “I had just hoped for a single year of peace, but it would seem the death trap that is Hogwarts just can’t allow that.”

“You see your school as a death trap?” Krum asked in confusion.

“During our first quidditch match last year the field was swarmed by dementors.” Harry said bluntly and saw the shock on the other seekers face. “The idiot adults around here thought it would be a good idea to surround a school full of students with a hoard of dementors even knowing that most of them had absolutely no way of protecting themselves, and that’s just one act of stupidity. I have nearly been killed in this place every single year, and this year seems to be headed in the same direction.”

“You think it’s going to be that bad?” Cedric asked in worry.

“You all do understand that the reason this tournament was canceled in the first place was because of the number of deaths, right?” Harry looked at the three older students like they were idiots. “You all willingly entered something that can kill you. And let me just say, as someone who has been in dangerous situations in this school before, no one is going to save you. If you get in trouble and think the staff of this school is going to be able to get you out you are delusional.

As it is, something tells me this is going to be a lot like my second year with that whole Heir of Slytherin nonsense. Most are going to treat me like crap for something I can’t control. It will be another year of whispers, back stabbing, and murder attempts.”

“Heir of Slytherin?” Viktor Krum questioned.

“Someone claiming to be the Heir of Slytherin started attacking people, including one of my best friends, and a majority of the student body decided that because I’m a parselmouth that it must have been me, and the staff did nothing to stop the bullying and in some cases outright attacks.”

“What does being parselmouth have to do with attacks?” Viktor questioned in confusion.

“Salazar Slytherin was known to be a parselmouth, and so was You-Know-Who. Only the Slytherin family has the ability.” Cedric told the others.

“No, they are the only ones famous enough for that little fact to have been recorded about here in Britain. For all anyone knows it could have been a perfectly common ability amongst people that just didn’t get put in history books. Besides, after seeing how I was treated I highly doubt anyone else that might have the gift will ever willingly admit to it.” Harry rolled his eyes. “And that’s only in Britain, there are other parselmouths in the world.”

Seeing the look of confusion on the older Hogwarts student Viktor agreed. “He is correct. There are parselmouths all over the world. Two of our delegation here can both speak. And there’s another 1 that I know of back at Durmstrang that was too young to come.”

“Beauxbatons has 1 that I am aware of.” Fleur added.

Cedric was startled by that. Everything he had ever been told was that only those in the Slytherin line could speak to snakes, but apparently that wasn't true.

“My mothers mother immigrated here as a young child.” Harry said, he knew it didn’t come from his Quinn relatives, but it was a good excuse. “For all I know it could have come from her family.”

“But you’re mum was muggle-born.” Cedric pointed out.

“As far as anyone knows.” Harry shrugged. “But I was reading some stuff from Australia over the summer, and they claim that if you do a genealogy test on those classed as muggle-born they will connect back to squib lines.”

“Yes, my father works for the French Ministry and he allowed me to read a few of those reports he brought home from work. The staff at Beauxbatons is in the process of encouraging all incoming students too get a test since certain families have gifts and it is easier to help them develop those gifts if they know who may hav them.” Fleur added with a delicate sniff, she couldn’t believe how much Hogwarts students seemed not to know about the rest of the world. At least Potter seemed to be interested in the world beyond their boarders.

“If you want I can loan you a few of my books on the subject Cedric, since I know there aren’t any in the Hogwarts library.” Harry offered.

“I think that would be great.” Cedric wanted to know more about what the other three obviously knew that had apparently been hidden from him. “And Harry, I will do what I can about my house. I’ll make sure they know you are contesting this and are willing to take a vow to prove you didn’t want this.”

Harry gave a small smile. “Thanks, I don’t hold out much hope it will stop what’s coming, but it might help to put off the worst of it.”

Harry and the others went their separate ways after that. Harry went directly to an empty classroom to get his hands on parchment and quill and quickly wrote out messages telling those he thought needed to know what had just happened. Once that was done he went to the owlery and sent Hedwig off.

After leaving the owlery Harry made his way up to Gryffindor tower. He really was not looking forward to what he would find there. More than likely there was going to be a party celebrating, but many in the house were going to be mad he got in while they didn't.

He didn’t understand why anyone would want to enter this death trap. What really worried him was how Ron and Hermione were going to react.

Getting into bed about half an hour after returning to the common room Harry couldn’t help but sigh in despair. It had gone both better and worse than he had thought.

The first thing he did when he arrived back in Gryffindor was loudly announce that he had not entered and was contesting his entrance. There was a lot of disappointed grumbling at that, but they weren’t going to let it stop them from enjoying a party. 

Since not only had Harry made himself clear about not wanting anything to do with the tournament earlier and also started making more friends he had a few more people believing him than he had in his second year, but it still wasn't that many.

Ron was once again jealous. He had gone off on Harry about how he should have let him enter too. When Harry repeated he hadn’t put his name in Ron didn’t believe him. But Harry had kind of expected it, he knew just how insecure Ron could be and how he hated when anyone got anything he didn’t. Harry had actually seen him get angry at Hermione for doing better on assignments when she spent hours working on them and he only spent 20 minutes, like he expected that his grades should be just as good without having to put in the work.

It was Hermione’s reaction that really surprised him. After the previous year she had been making an effort to be more understanding and listening to what he said. But it would seem she felt he hadn’t been living up to her expectations of being her friend.

Hermione had just kept pointing out that Harry had been missing for hours the night before the drawing of the champions. Harry said he hadn’t been missing, he had been in one of the library study rooms working on his runes assignment with Neville. This had just caused Hermione to get angry that he was working with Neville and not her. From there Hermione had gone off about how Harry had been refusing to support her efforts to protect house elves. Harry had no idea what that had to do with someone putting his name in the goblet of fire, but it seemed to make perfect sense to the girl.

The way Harry saw it Hermione was angry at him for not just doing what she wanted and was using what happened as an excuse to get her anger out. He honestly thought that she didn’t think he had put his name in but wanted him to think that was why she was angry. And he thought the same might be true with Ron, but to a lesser extent. Ron might believe there was a possibility he put his name in, but mostly he was angry that he wasn't getting the attention he wanted.

Harry resented his so called friends for their treatment of him, but he knew it was most likely going to get worse before it got better.

After the Naming of the Champions

Surprisingly the house that was the most civil to him was the Slytherins. What Harry didn’t know was that after leaving the side room Snape had gone to speak with his students and informed them he had arranged to have his entrance contested and was willing to take a vow. The Slytherin’s all knew what vows meant so they knew Potter hadn’t added his name. Although they weren’t accusing him of being a cheater they still made their support of Cedric clear, they would always prefer a Hufflepuff to a Gryffindor after all.

The most surprising of the Slytherin’s for Harry was Draco Malfoy. Harry figured that if anyone would go after him it would be him, but he wasn't even wearing one of the ‘Support Cedric Diggory’ badges. But Harry could acknowledge there had been a change in Malfoy in the previous year.

What Harry didn’t know was that Draco had finally met reality. For Draco, in years previous, all the mocking and bullying he had done was because his parents had made him feel he was above consequences and he honestly hadn’t realized anything serious could happen. He might have argued and fought with those like Potter and Weasley, but despite what he said he never really thought they could die, they were all just kids. The first quidditch match of the previous year had shown him that it was real, people really could die. His godfather, Severus, had met with him every weekend that year to talk to him about what had happened so he could work out the near-death experience and the resulting trauma and it had helped him put things in perspective. Much to his godfathers joy, Draco Malfoy had started to grow up.

But Harry was still dealing with plenty of insults and even a few attacks from the students that didn’t believe him. And although there were a few teachers punishing the attackers it wasn't all of them, plus they weren’t always around.

That day, Harry made sure to be overheard by a few staff members talking with Neville about vows and how they worked. Neville had only recently started to get proper heir training, but he still knew enough to make people think Harry had gotten the idea from him and the few other Heirs that added their opinions when they heard the two talking. Even Fred and George gave him extra information. 

Truthfully Harry already knew about vows since he had gotten all the Heir books and Charlie and Bill had been helping him study them, Plus Lord and Lady Weasley were always willing to answer any question he had. But he needed the excuse. Dumbledore couldn’t know how much he knew, not if Harry didn’t want the old man doing something that could destroy all of Harry’s hard work. He knew Dumbledore would notice the distance he was putting between them, but he hoped the man just attributed it to teenage rebellion and didn’t learn that he knew more than the old man had ever wanted him to know.

At dinner that night Harry waited until pretty much everyone was in the hall. He couldn’t be sure it was everyone since it wasn't mandatory to be at every meal, only feast were mandatory, but he felt it was more than enough to get his message across. 

Once there were enough people Harry walked quietly to the front of the hall and set off a charm that mimicked the sound of a whistle. When everyone was looking at him he made a magically binding vow on his magic that he did not enter himself in the tournament, that he didn’t have anyone else enter him, that he didn’t know who entered him, and that he didn’t want to participate. After finishing his vow he cast his patronus and sent Prongs to gallop the length of the hall before thanking everyone for their attention before returning to his seat between Neville and Dean and across from the twins and Lee.

As soon as Harry had finished his vow the chatter had started, but Harry had long since gotten used to all the chatter around him. All those that knew about vows now knew that Harry really did want nothing to do with the tournament, but Harry knew that even though they now knew it they wouldn’t be apologizing. No, everyone just expected Harry to just accept their behaviour and move on and let them go back to hero worshipping him before they demonized him again. 

Truthfully he was sick of them. He had done a lot of talking with Charlie over the summer, plus everything Lady Weasley had told him the summer before, and Harry had come to accept that he mattered. He wasn't going to let people just walk all over him and treat him like crap and then forgive them the instant they gave him positive attention, he deserved better.

Harry completely ignored everyone except those that had been on his side the entire time as he ate his dinner. Although, he did take a sadistic glee out of the look that had momentarily graced Dumbledore’s face. It would seem the old man hadn’t expected him to do something like that, and he also apparently didn’t want anyone to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he hadn’t entered himself for some reason Harry couldn’t figure out. He still couldn’t figure out what Dumbledore had to gain from all of this, what benefit did he get from testing Harry like this.

Around him more and more students were realizing he hadn’t wanted any of this.

With the vow out of the way Harry decided to take up his place as the heir to the marauders. Sirius had sent him a copy of the marauders prank journal over the summer so he had plenty of material, for every prank they had pulled off there were a half dozen they never got around to.

The first thing he had done was reached out to the twins. Despite his brilliant pranking heritage, he had never done any major pranks at Hogwarts. Sure, he had done a few minor things like adding dye to the soap in a few of the dorms, but not much else. The twins however had tonnes of experience. Everyone thought they weren’t as great as they really were because they allowed themselves to get caught on the little things so they could hide the bigger ones they were setting up. 

By the end of the week Harry got to see the outcome of all their work. It started off with little things like salt and sugar being switched. After that came frictionless hallways, although he made sure that the areas around all the stairs were safe. All the Hogwarts students uniforms were switched around, Gryffindor and Slytherin robes switched while the Hufflepuff’s and Ravenclaw’s did too. Then everyone’s voices changed, boys voices became high pitched and squeaky and the girls voices became deep and rumbling. But Fridays was the best from Harry’s perspective, he had had to wait for the potion to be complete, it was also why he had included the twins, although his potions skill was improving he still didn’t trust himself to brew something that he intended to give to people.

This particular potion would give everyone animal features, including furry faces and a tail. The visiting students were exempt since Harry didn’t want to create an international incident or anything. However everyone else was fair game. The potion was going to be added by his allies amongst the house elves, Harry had been surprised to see Dobby there but glad he had been so willing to help. The students that had bullied Harry about the tournament were going to get the features of either a rat, a donkey, a pig, or a goat. Those that had seemed ambivalent to Harry or had never been heard saying anything negative would be sheep or chickens. And those that had been friendly to Harry or supported him would get cute animals like bunnies, cats, or dogs.

Harry had made sure that Ron would be a pig, Hermione would be a donkey, Dumbledore would be a goat, and McGonagall would be a rat since he was particularly angry with each of them. For Luna Harry had arranged bunny features, Neville would be a lion, Fred and George were both going to be wild cats, and Harry himself would get the features of a fox. The rest of the staff were going to be an assortment of sheep or chicken, but Hagrid was going to be a bear, and neither Moody or Snape would be potioned. Moody never ate anything he hadn’t checked first, and Snape was a potions master so would know as soon as he smelt his drink.

The results were even better than Harry could have hoped, especially since the results would last the weekend.

Legal Issues

One of the letters Harry had sent out the night the champions names were drawn was to Griphook asking if there was anything he could do since he was in charge of the Potter Estate. Griphook had reached out to the law firm that Fleamont Potter had hired. He had spoken with the law-wizard, Martin Fawley, to ensure he would just make it sound like the firm had still been on retainer and had had no contact with Harry Potter, which they really hadn’t.

Along with the contests filed by the two visiting head of schools Martin filed to revoke Harry Potters placement in the tournament based on his age and the fact he hadn’t entered himself. The Daily Prophet had run a large piece on the vow that Harry had made the day after he had made it.

Everything was looking like it was going to work until they were derailed. Fudge used his position as Minister of Magic to overrule all the contests and force Harry to remain in the tournament. Since the lawsuits were all classed as civil litigation and not legal since the rules and regulations that guided the tournament weren’t laws, he was able to do it, with a little secret encouragement from Dumbledore of course.

It was during that discussion that the magically binding contract was brought up. Fudge had excused his actions by saying they didn’t know how the contract would respond and they didn’t want Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, to potentially lose his magic. That also brought out the fact that the contract was deemed as accepted by the champions not when their names came out of the cup, but by them entering the side chamber where their discussion had been held. Up until they entered that room they could have withdrawn without any repercussions, not that any of them knew that.

The articles that had been put out by Rita Skeeter had been scathing. The woman had taken great joy in publicly going after Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge for what they had done to the publics hero.

And that had brought up the issue with the press. Under normal circumstances the press was forbidden from printing anything about an underage child, but part of the contract about the triwizard tournament was an agreement for publicity. The organizers of the tournament had wanted as much public attention as possible so had included that bit so none of the competitors could just refuse to sit for interviews.

Thankfully Martin had managed to get a few added details for Harry, and anyone else underage with him. He couldn’t outright stop the media, but he was able to gain some control. As the barrister on record for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter any articles had to be run by him to ensure they weren’t slanderous. He also managed to get a requirement added that any and all reporters that would be involved in the media coverage of the tournament had to make a vow not to lie or take information out of context for any of the competitors or any of the underage students. He had argued that if the competitors could be forced to do interviews then the least they could do was ensure they weren’t being lied about and even Dumbledore agreed with that, much to the irritation of Skeeter. Skeeter loved to selectively edit her stories for the most drama, but now she wasn't going to be able too, it was that fact that made her go after the Ministry and Dumbledore so hard about Harry being in the tournament, she was angry and it was her revenge.

Harry was slightly disappointed that he wasn’t going to be considered an adult. The rule stating that only of age students could apply was one the heads of school had just made up and really wasn't enforceable. He could think of a lot of fun things he could do if he was considered an adult.

Dumbledore’s Meeting

Albus sighed as he sat in his office. It had been a long two weeks. While he had gotten his way, his reputation had still taken a hit.

Harry was going to be forced to compete in the tournament, but now everyone knew he had been the one to force it. Albus knew very well that Harry’s name being entered had to be some plot by Tom, and that was why Harry had to play his part. If Tom didn’t get his way with Harry being in the tournament who knew what he would do. Besides, Albus was sure Harry would be able to survive.

He looked over his desk to see Minerva and Severus across from him. Minerva was sitting in the chair across from him, she had been on edge since Harry’s name had come out of the goblet but Albus had been able to get her to not interfere. Severus was leaning against the wall by one of his bookshelves, his attitude had been surprising to Albus since the man seemed to actually be angry with him about something.

“What is it you wished to discuss Albus?” Minerva questioned.

“We are going to need to keep an eye on Harry.” Albus said with a sigh. “He is starting to act out.”

“Well what did you expect?” Severus sneered. “You forced him into a dangerous tournament he wants nothing to do with. In doing so half the school turned on him, and you did nothing to try and help him or stop the bullying he was once again enduring.”

“You seem upset Severus.” Albus said in confusion, he didn’t know what could have brought out this anger.

“Upset?” Severus said in a sarcastic voice. “I’m furious Albus. You used me. You used both Minerva and I to hurt that boy.

Need I remind you part of the deal I made with you to get you to actually acknowledge my role as a spy to keep me out of Azkaban was that I was required to take a magically binding vow that I would protect him to the best of my ability. As we all know now Potter simply entering the side chamber would be seen as him accepting the magical contract, something you knew perfectly well since you were the one that set it up. And rather than allowing him to withdraw due to his age and the fact he didn’t enter you used Minerva and I to force him through that door, thereby accepting the contract against his will.”

“I’m sure this is all just a slight misunderstanding.” Albus tried to placate his temperamental potions master.

“No Albus, it isn’t.” Severus snapped. “YOU KNEW exactly what you were doing when you told us to take him into that room. And by using me to put him in danger you have activated my vow. My very MAGIC sees me as being responsible for the danger he is now in. I will be punished for any injury he receives doing this ridiculous tournament ten fold.

So no, I am not doing any of your extra little tasks this year. You have already done enough damage to Potter and I. If you want something done you are going to have to get up and do it yourself for once. You have gotten far to comfortable sitting back and directing us around like pawns on your chessboard. It’s time you got your own hands dirty and take the blame for your actions rather than just leaving others to pay the price for your games.”

Severus couldn’t stand to be around the old manipulator any more. Pushing himself away from the wall he stormed out. He was sick of the old man acting like nothing he did was ever wrong, and when he did screw up and got caught for it acting like it was all a misunderstanding and someone else’s fault. The man needed to see he wasn't as great as he thought he was and that he wasn't above everyone else.

Albus was perplexed by Severus’s anger. He hadn’t meant for the vow he had taken to react to this little issue, surely the man couldn’t blame him. He did regret any pain Severus might feel, but it was all for the greater good. Harry needed to be in the tournament, how else was he going to figure out what Toms plans were?

“I feel I must agree Albus.” Minerva sighed wearily. This was not what she had wanted. She trusted her old friend and mentor implicitly, but Harry being forced into this tournament was just too dangerous. “You used the trust Severus and I have in you to endanger Harry.

As for his acting out, he is a teenager. They all rebel against authority figures. Look at what his father did at that age. If you want him to trust you then you have to earn it. An after what you have already done this year it is going to be difficult.”

With that Minerva quietly got up and left the office as well.

Albus stared at his closed door for a moment in complete shock. How could his own staff see things that way? He had only done what needed to be done. Yes, Harry was in a slight bit of danger, and through that so was Severus, but he was sure it would all work out. 

The First Task

The weeks leading up to the first task hadn’t exactly been fun for Harry. While many of the students had backed off and started acting like they had always been on Harry’s side, not everyone did. There were still some that took Harry being in the tournament as an insult and were blaming him for it, and unfortunately Ron and Hermione were amongst them.

Even though they now had evidence that Harry really hadn’t put his own name in they were still angry with him. This above all cemented in Harry’s mind that Ron was just jealous and Hermione was angry about other things. And as much as he missed them, he couldn’t deny that he was actually finding class easier without them interrupting his work constantly.

He had really freaked out when he had been invited out by Hagrid and his large friend had guided him to an area where there were dragons. Learning the first task was to go up against nesting mother dragons made him realize just how insane the organizers of this blasted tournament were. But it did give him something good, Charlie was there.

After slipping away from Hagrid he went into the tent he recognized as Charlie’s. Charlie had returned a little later and Harry took off his cloak. The two talked until late in the night. Something Harry was extremely grateful for was that over the summer he had met each of the dragons that were there so they were less likely to outright kill him.

Harry was really worried about the eggs and told Charlie so. It was one thing to use an adult dragon, but placing eggs in such danger was just stupid. Both the short-snout and horntail were classed as endangered, those eggs were incredibly important to protect the species. Charlie agreed and promised that he would make sure to add protections to the nests to keep the eggs from being harmed. 

Harry didn’t really care about the tournament past surviving. He and Charlie discussed different ways Harry could make sure everyone knew he had no desire to win since they now knew he hadn’t entered himself.

He also explained just how screwed up everything had gotten since his name came out of the cup. Harry was grateful that Charlie didn’t judge him for just how angry and resentful he was of everyone and how they were treating him. In particular Charlie was incredibly disappointed in his youngest brother for his behaviour.

Charlie told Harry he was welcome to come back whenever he felt like it just so long as he used his cloak and no one knew he was doing so since they weren’t supposed to be in contact with anyone from the school, especially the champions.

The day after learning of the dragons Harry tracked down Cedric. It took a bit of work to get him alone since his friends were amongst those targeting Harry the worst, but Cedric told them off, yet again, and went with Harry. Harry then told him about seeing the dragons, although he made sure not to let anything about Charlie and Hagrid slip.

After his chat with Cedric Harry tracked down the other two champions just to verify that they had been told. He didn’t doubt their professors would have told them, but he wanted to be sure.

And Harry was also able to visit with Sirius and Remus. When they had learned that Harry had been entered into the tournament they returned to Britain. And not only were they in the country, they were renting the upstairs apartment above the Hog’s Head Pub. Sirius did tell Harry he had had to take veritaserum to prove to the pubs owner, who just so happened to be Dumbledore’s younger brother that he was innocent.

Harry was a little weary at first since the man was related to Dumbledore, but Sirius and Remus had just laughed it off. They told him all about the falling out between the two brothers and how Abe barely spoke to his brother at all even though they lived so close to each other. They told him that if anything, Abe would be more helpful to them if he thought it would aggravate his brother.

Harry snuck out twice to visit with them. He also told Charlie they were there, he had explained the full story to Charlie over the summer so he wasn't worried about them. They mentioned that Charlie had stopped by one afternoon just to check in with them and see if they had any ideas about how to help Harry. Although they were both very careful to not let the two marauders know about how they were connected, Harry trusted them, but he was weary of everyone in regards to the marriage contract.

On the day of the task Harry wasn’t surprised that he got the horntail, it was the most dangerous after all. He waited in the tent while each other champion did their task. And then it was his turn.

Harry walked out into the arena. He saw Ibolya, her name meant violet in the native language of her homeland. Harry had grown rather fond of the temperamental female during his time in Romania. 

In clear view of the angry female Harry transfigured one of the stones into a chair, another into a table, and summoned the bag he had left just outside the arena. 

And then, he sat down.

From the bag he pulled out a book and a full tea service, including sandwiches and biscuits. Relaxing he fixed himself a cup of tea and sat back to read.

Everyone in the stands was very confused. The idiot boy was just sitting, in plain view of a dragon reading a book and sipping his tea like he didn’t have a care in the world. This was nothing like the three previous competitors.

Ibolya was just as confused as the humans at first. She had heard the rage of her fellow dragons as these despicable humans tried to get into their nests, but this one was just sitting there. Moving her head forward she sniffed the air. And then she relaxed, she knew this human.

Keeping her lower half covering her eggs, she didn’t trust the other humans, she moved forward to get close to the human she knew as Harry. “What are you doing here little hatchling?”

Harry looked up from his book and smiled at the dragon. “I’m here because the grown ones are idiots. They think forcing younger ones into this arena with you and your fellow great mothers is entertainment.”

Ibolya looked around the arena and snarled, snorting smoke at the high table with multiple grown ones sitting at it before turning back to the little hatchling. “But what are you going to do?”

“For now, sit here.” Harry smiled. “They want entertainment, while let’s see if they like sitting and watching me read for a while. Once they are as board as they can be, I’ll tell you what we can do next.”

Harry went back to his book and Ibolya rested her great head at his feet. Every now and then he would give her one of the sandwiches or a biscuit, they weren’t much to her, but she did like the taste. When he had gone to the elves to get his own meal and tea he had requested some Hagrid sized sandwiches and biscuits too, those were the ones he was feeding to Ibolya.

His wand alarm went off after half an hour. He had selected that time since all of the other champions had completed the task in less time. He had no intention of winning this stupid tournament. Once everything was put away he looked to Ibolya who had been dozing.

“Ok, as to why I’m here. The idiots placed a fake gold egg in your nest and tasked me to retrieve it.”

“THEY WHAT?” Ibolya snarled.

“Please don’t destroy the egg, I need it for their next bit of entertainment at my expense.” Harry quickly asked, he knew just how hot Ibolya’s temper could get.

“They plan to do more of this to you?” Ibolya turned to send a poisonous glare at the humans at the table.

“Oh, this is just one of three ‘events’ they have planned.” Harry said sarcastically. “If you wouldn’t mind can you grab the gold coloured egg in your nest and give it to me?”

Ibolya turned her head back to look over her nest and snuffled around a bit, quickly finding the fake egg. How dare these disgusting humans tamper with her nest for their own entertainment? Taking the egg between her teeth she dropped it on the ground at the hatchling’s feet.

“Thank you great mother.” Harry stood and gave a bow to the large dragon.

“Tell those vile humans I do not like them and if I ever see them again I shall feed them to my hatchlings.” Ibolya said with a snarl, she was not pleased in the slightest with this. If the humans that brought her and the others here thought they were difficult on the way, it was nothing in comparison to what they were going to be like on the way back, she would make sure of that.

Harry agreed before canceling the spells on the rocks, packed up his beg and the egg and walked out of the arena to a small amount of very confused clapping. None of the audience seemed to fully understand what had happened.

As soon as he was out of the arena Madam Pomfrey all but jumped on him and dragged him into the healing tent.

“Madam Pomfrey, I wasn't hurt.” Harry said in confusion.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Madam Pomfrey snapped. “Honestly. Dragons. DRAGONS! We’ve already had dementors last year, what will the idiots think of next?”

Harry couldn’t help but smirk slightly at the healers outrage. Thankfully he was released surprisingly quickly once she had indeed verified he was uninjured. She told him if he went back out the front of the tent he would be able to hear his scores, but Harry asked if there was a back way out, he didn’t want to have to deal with anyone just yet. There was no proper exit, but she simply vanished part of the back canvas wall and allowed him to pass through before putting it back up.

Harry avoided everyone for about half an hour until he was tracked down, thankfully it wasn't by the people that he was angry with. The tournament was open to public viewing so Remus had come to watch and brought his dog with him. Padfoot found it rather easy to track Harry around the lake to a hidden grotto.

Harry was just relaxing in the area that seemed to have been placed under a perpetual warming spell when he was suddenly jumped on by a big black dog and getting licked.

“Get off you filthy mutt.” Harry tried to be stern, but he couldn’t help the joyful laugh that bubbled up at the sight of the two people that were the closest to parents he had.

“He’s not filthy, I made sure he had a flea bath just this morning.” Remus told him with a chuckle before casting a privacy ward to ensure they weren’t interrupted.

As soon as the ward was up Sirius shifted back and gave his godson a hug. “Never, and I mean never, get that close to a dragon again.” Sirius ordered in a hard voice. “I have never been more scared in my life. I also never thought I was going to have to be mature enough to set limits.”

Harry chuckled, it was still odd having someone worry about him. He had only been getting positive attention like that from Lord and Lady Weasley, along with Bill and Charlie for a year. And he didn’t count Molly’s smothering fussing as it actually kinda terrified him. Even still, Remus and Sirius were the only adults that he would accept in the roll of parents for him.

“It’s not like it was my idea.” Harry snarked, but the anger in his eyes was real.

“We know cub.” Remus assured him as he sat down next to him. This reminded him so much of the past, he, James, Sirius, and the traitor had often relaxed in this very spot. “I still can’t believe Albus forced you into this and no one stopped him.”

Harry snorted. “Not like it’s the only time the old man has put me in a dangerous situation and expected me to figure it out.”

Sirius and Remus couldn’t argue that fact, Harry had given them the basic outline of his time at Hogwarts and they were less than impressed with their old mentor. They had no idea what the man was up to. and neither of them liked it.

After an hour together Remus and Sirius had had to leave. Just because they were allowed to watch the tasks didn’t mean they would be allowed to stay. All visitors had been informed of when they had to leave by, if they didn’t the wards would alert the staff and they would be barred from watching any of the other tasks.

Once his godfather and honorary uncle were gone Harry grabbed his cloak out of his bag that he had brought with him and put it on. He didn’t feel up to dealing with other people so he slipped back to the area where the dragons were and slipped into Charlie’s tent. Charlie returned about half an hour later once they had managed to settle the upset dragons as much as they possibly could given everything that had just happened. It had been decided that because of how upset the dragons were once Ibolya informed the others what had been going on that they wouldn’t even try to transfer them back to the reserve for at least a week. Charlie was particularly relieved Harry had suggested they put protections around the nests because if they didn’t they could have lost the entire clutch of fireball eggs and that would have just made the dragons even angrier.

Harry and Charlie talked for a while, not really about anything. They both knew that Harry was just putting off having to go back to Gryffindor tower. They both knew how many of the students were going to be acting like they had always supported Harry and that he was to stupid to remember the fact they hadn’t. Harry was just sick of all the backstabbing by everyone, in particular, his own house.

“We should have realized you had kidnapped our poor dear Harrykins.” Fred shouted out in relief when he slipped into his older brothers tent 3 hours after the first task.

“How dare you hold our dear seeker hostage just because he’s better on a broom than you?” George said in faux outrage.

Harry just smirked at them over his cup of cooling tea from his spot on the couch.

“What are you two on about now?” Charlie smiled over at his brothers.

“Harrykins, there is a party in your honour taking place.” Fred informed his little friend.

“We know Charlie is obsessed with dragons and he now knows you can talk to them, but you really don’t have to let him kidnap you so you can translate for him.” George added.

Harry rolled his eyes at the twins. “Oh yeah, I so want to go and celebrate with people that were hexing me behind my back just this morning.”

“And I don’t need to kidnap Harry boys.” Charlie added. “He isn’t the only parselmouth in the world, just the only known one here in Britain.”

“Harrykins, Harrykins, Harrykins.” George sighed at the boy in exasperation. “A party is the perfect place to get your revenge on the little backstabbers.”

“A large room with plenty of people gives you so many other suspects there’s no way to prove you were the one to target them.” Fred added.

“Ah, forgive this uninformed pranking apprentice.” Harry said in mock sorrow.

“Go on Harry, make those fools pay for treating you like crap because they were jealous.” Charlie encouraged. “We’re going to be here for another week so you can always come down here and chat later.”

Harry gave Charlie a small smile before allowing himself to be escorted out by Fred and George. Harry didn’t notice the speculative looks on the twins faces, but Charlie did. He was going to have to talk with his brothers and give them an excuse or it could be trouble.

Harry was greeted with cheers and congratulations when he was escorted back into the common room. Harry just gave everyone an offended look before loudly thanking those that had supported him all along but he really had no interest in talking with anyone that had been calling him a cheat or insulting him for the past month since they obviously had no integrity and they couldn’t be trusted.

Fred and George smirked behind him before setting off a bunch of fireworks. If the fireworks ended up targeting those they knew had attacked their honorary little brother they weren’t going to have any problems with it.

Chatting with Charlie

It was two days after the task that Charlie sat in his tents living room looking over at his youngest brother and one of his best friends, Hermione Granger. Harry had spent a lot of time visiting with him so he had heard about how the two were trying to act like nothing had happened and that everything should be exactly as it had been before without even pretending to apologize.

Harry had often hid from everyone in his tent. Charlie was just relieved he had made sure to make sure none of the other handlers were to let anyone know they already knew Harry, he just told them that Harry often snuck away during the summers and none of the adults at the school could learn of it. The last thing they needed was for Dumbledore to learn about where Harry had been that summer after managing to keep it a secret.

After hearing Harry talk about what was going on with his friends Charlie decided it was time he intervene and set the two straight. He had had the twins request they meet with him.

“What do you want Charlie?” Ron questioned. “We were trying to find Harry when the twins came and got us. The idiot keeps disappearing on us.”

Charlie could hear from the tone of Rons voice he wasn't trying to be mean about Harry, it was more exasperation. “Harry is exactly why I asked to see the both of you.”

“Why?” Hermione questioned in confusion.

“Because Harry has come down to visit me a few times since the task and he’s been telling me some rather upsetting things about how the two of you have been behaving to someone you claim is your friend.” Charlie told the two.

“We haven’t done anything to him.” Ron said defensively.

“Oh?” Charlie questioned. “So you didn’t turn on him when his name came out of the goblet? And neither of you are trying to act like Harry should just forgive you, despite neither of you even acknowledging what you did?”

“We made a mistake. It happens.” Ron’s defensiveness was getting worse. He had never been able to handle being told he was wrong about anything, Ron preferred to act like he was never at fault for anything and even if he was at fault that everyone else should just forget it.

“Ron, acting like nothing happened isn’t going to fix everything.” Charlie tried to tell his brother.

“You don’t know anything.” Ron snapped.

“I know if you two keep carrying on the path you are on you are going to lose your friendship with Harry, permanently.” Charlie told them. “You two did something wrong, and you need to acknowledge that. As it is, I thought you would prefer to have this conversation with me since the twins would also like to discuss it with the both of you. I should warn you, I’ve managed to hold them back while I’m here, but I’m leaving at the end of the week and they will have free rein to address their issues with you both.

Now, would either you like to tell me just why you decided Harry entered the tournament in spite of what he told you and continued to disbelieve him even after he provided proof to everyone?”

“We didn’t mean it like that.” Hermione defended them. “All year Harry has been distant. Before the names were drawn Harry had been avoiding us, it was only natural we suspected he might have tried to put his name in. Maybe if he had just told us where he was going we would have known better.”

“So you think Harry needs to tell you where he is at all times or else you suspect he is off breaking rules and committing crimes?” Charlie questioned. “Tell me, do those same standards apply to you? Do you tell him everywhere you are going and every detail of your life? He’s mentioned that last year you had an extremely large secret, though he wouldn’t tell me what it was. Why were you allowed to keep secrets but when Harry just goes off to work on an assignment it’s wrong? Seems to me you have a serious double standard when it comes to Harry.”

“It isn’t like that.” Hermione said petulantly. “Yes, I kept a secret, but it was because the professors told me too. No teacher told Harry he had to start separating himself from us, he just won’t listen. He won’t partner with us on assignments and he keeps wandering off alone.”

“Hermione, you are not his mother, you do not get to dictate his life.” Charlie reminded the overbearing girl. “From what he’s told me he has started working with others because it’s easier for all of you. Ron doesn’t like to work while you love it so he lets the two of you partner up to balance each other out.”

“And in runes and arithmancy?” Hermione threw her arms up. “Ron doesn’t have that class with us but Harry still won’t partner with me.”

“According to him he tried. Whenever he works with you you give him the parts of the assignment you will allow him to do, and when he does them you always complain you don’t like how he did them and throw his work away because you feel you can do it better. And, as you redo the parts he had already done you berate him for not doing his fair share.” Charlie said. “I honestly can’t blame him for not wanting to work with someone that does that. How would you feel if when he didn’t like something you did he just threw it away and then yelled at you for not doing your work?”

“I just don’t want our grades dragged down because of any mistakes.” Hermione said defensively.

“Then if you think he only pulls your grades down why are you complaining he won’t work with you? Shouldn’t you be happy he is working with someone else?” Charlie said slightly sarcastically.

“He also isn’t helping me free the house elves.” Hermione quickly shouted out hoping that would prove her point somehow.

“Hermione, have you ever spoken to a house elf? Did you learn anything about their way of life?” Charlie questioned.

“Of course I learned about them.” Hermione announced. “I looked through all kinds of books in the library about how to save them.”

“That isn’t what I asked.” Charlie pointed out. “I asked if you had spoken to a house elf?”

“Well… Not really. I don’t know where the kitchens where they’re held are.” Hermione grumbled.

“And did you learn anything about house elves beyond how to set up your little campaign?”

“I know that house elves are slaves. They are forced to do anything they are ordered and some are abused.” Hermione growled. “Slavery is illegal."

“In the muggle world.” Charlie said.

Hermione let out a hissing shriek. “How can you defend slavery like that? Why is everyone in the magical world so backwards?”

Charlie had to force himself to take a calming breath so he didn’t say anything to the irate girl he might one day regret, he did have the Weasley temper after all. “Hermione, you need to just stop. You need to open your eyes and look around you.

You are a witch. You are in the magical world. And it is time you accept that. This sort of attitude is exactly why things are so hard for muggle-borns. Even neutral and light pure and half-blood families that welcome muggle-borns into the magical world are hesitant and tend to dislike them because of that kind of attitude. Our society has existed for thousands of years, and we find it highly disrespectful when someone like you comes into this world and starts demanding we comply with the muggle world.

Is the magical world perfect, not at all. But you can not claim the muggle world is better. How many people are killed every year because they do something others don’t like? People are judged and discriminated against for so many things. Religion, gender, language, sexuality, race, and citizenship are just a few things people are judged on. You complained this summer about how muggle-borns don’t make as much as pure-bloods at the ministry and how wrong it is, and I agree with you, but I feel I should point out for you in the muggle world you would get paid less because of your gender.

If you want to stay in this world you need to figure out how to become a part of it rather than trying to force the rest of us to turn our backs on everything our families have stood for for generations just to make you happy. You can try to pass improvements you think are needed through the government, but you can not force us to do everything you want just because you want it. You have no more right to force us to do your bidding then we have to do that to you.

If you wish to help house elves, then ok, help house elves. But you can not just force what you want. Your passion and drive are amazing, but they also blind you. If you took your blinders off you just might learn why you are having such a hard time getting people to support your ideas without bullying them into it.

House elves are not humans, trying to treat them as such isn’t going to change that. House elves have their own history and culture, just like goblins, vampires, centaurs, elves, mermaids, silkies, and so many others. Trying to force human ideals on them will always be treated as an insult. In the case of those like goblins, vampires and centaurs trying to force them to follow human ideals will most likely get you killed.

For your information house elves are a sub-species of brownies. As you learn in care brownies are household spirits. Some can be mischievous and like to play tricks while others will tidy or fix things if left treats. House elves are from the more helpful type. About 1000 years ago a plague swept through their population and it destabilized their core. After many died they found that if they bound themselves to a witch or wizard, or in some cases a magical building or family, it serves to stabilize their core allowing them to use their magic and stay alive. Without the binding their magic goes wild and they will die rather horribly as they are consumed by their own magic within 7 years.

That is why no one that knows anything about house elves is agreeing to support you. You are not arguing to save them, you are arguing to commit genocide. If they are freed like you want they will die out.

If you truly want to help them then you would need to go into creature healing and find a way to treat the damage caused by the illness. The ICW has an office that deals with things like that and have been researching how to help heal their cores for generations, there is even a 25 thousand galleon prize to whoever figures out how to do it.

But more than that, like with the magical world, you have no right to force your beliefs and ideals on them. You might think you are helping, but you aren’t. They have minds of their own, what you want for them isn’t more important than what they want for themselves. It is the failing so many from the muggle world have, they believe because they are human they know best, and that simply isn’t true. By trying to force them to comply to your wishes you only show you do not value them or their opinions.

It comes from a good place, I know that, but you can not control others like that. And the same is true for Harry. You might see your behaviour as helping him, but it isn’t. You need to trust him. I think, and he agrees, that the reason you turned on him wasn't just because his name came from the cup, but that you were angry over the house elf issue and just used the tournament as an excuse to hurt him.”

Hermione just stared at the floor. She didn’t know how to answer that. It wasn't like there were that many books in the Hogwarts library that covered the history of house elves, there were barely any history books that covered anything outside of goblin rebellions. She wasn't trying to act like what she wanted was more important than the house elves, she just wanted to help those like Winky from being hurt.

“Now, Ron. Would you like to explain to me why you have been behaving this way with your best friend?” Charlie questioned his youngest brother.

Ron wanted to argue that it was possible that Harry could have put his name in the goblet but knew his brother wouldn’t accept that from him anymore than he did from Hermione. “It’s always about Harry. Everything he does he’s the centre of attention. Even when he doesn’t want something he gets it.”

Charlie sighed. “So it’s this again.”

“What again?” Ron snarled, his ears going red in his anger. He hated the way his brothers, and everyone else, looked down on him because he didn’t have as much as them. It angered him especially when it was his brothers since they all had more than him and didn’t share.

“Ron.” Charlie rubbed his eyes in exasperation, they had been having discussions about Rons insecurities since he was a kid. “You got insecure again and lashed out, and in doing so you hurt someone. Everything is not about Harry, it just seems that way to you because you’re around him more. I’m sure in Hufflepuff right now it’s all about Cedric. Just because someone get’s something you don’t isn’t a reason for you to flip out on them.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you have a great job, make lots of money, and were a prefect and quidditch captain at school. I don’t have any of those things.” Ron glared.

“I’m going to tell you a little secret Ron, one that I know Bill and the rest of us have told you often over the years, hopefully this time you are old enough to understand it. If you want something, you have to earn it.

Yes, Fred and George are popular and people like their jokes. But they work hard to buy all their supplies and create them. And, they spend at least a weekend every month in detention, not to mention all the injuries they get when something goes wrong. You only see the fun part of what they do and just ignore any of the downside, including the near constant lectures from mum.

Yes, Percy was a prefect and head boy, plus he got 12 OWLs and NEWTs. But he worked hard for that. Being a prefect isn’t just about getting to wear a badge Ron, you actually have to do things. Prefects have to look after the younger years, show them around, deal with homesickness, and help them with homework. They also have to do rounds of the school to make sure others aren’t breaking rules. It’s work. And being head boy is even more work. You are a fourth year, you still have time to prove you are responsible enough for the position, and that means you would need to bring your grades up and start helping others, if you can’t show you can handle it you won’t even be considered. When it comes to grades, do you even realize just how hard Percy worked to get them. If I remember correctly you made fun of Percy while we were in Egypt because he got up an hour early to go over books for school before breakfast even during the summer, but that is what it takes to get grades like his. I’ve seen the schedule he had for his NEWT and OWL prep. He studied a minimum of 3 hours a day, every day, while at school and 6 hours on weekends. During the summer he studied ahead in his theory work. If you want grades like his then you are going to need to work at it.

Yes, I was quidditch captain along with prefect, but I earned those positions. Like with Percy, I had to show I was responsible enough to look after the younger years. When it comes to being quidditch captain, that is also work. I know you’ve seen the practice Harry and the twins have done in the past. Quidditch isn’t just going out and playing, there is training and drills that you need to do. You like to go out and play when the twins are playing, but you never join them when they are doing any of the training because you don’t like the repetition. I can tell you when I was captain our keeper, Oliver, spent an hour, three nights a week, doing nothing but flying in front of the hoops having the chasers throw quaffles at him non stop. I know there isn’t any quidditch this year, but you could ask Harry and the twins to help you train in your spare time so you can try out for the team next year, because if you even want to be considered for captain you would actually have to be on the team, but you have to train hard to earn the spot on the team.

Yes, Bill, like Percy, had good grades, was a prefect, and head boy, but like with Percy, he had to study and work hard. You never attended school with Bill, so you would never have seen what he was like. Bill helped anyone and everyone that asked him too, even Slytherins. He was involved in that whole Cursed Vaults mess. He also set up and ran study groups for the younger years starting in his fourth year and on. He was popular and well liked because he went out of his way to support others.

And when it comes to work, yes, Bill and I have rather cool jobs in my opinion, but we didn’t just graduate and have them, we had to earn our positions. Bill didn’t just walk into the bank and automatically start raiding tombs. Bill worked 50 hour weeks for the first two years sorting through mummified flobberworms and mokes while training before he was even allowed to set foot in a tomb. I spent the first 6 months at the reserve helping to collect dragon dung to package as fertilizer before I earned a promotion and was able to start working in the infirmary. But even then, I wasn't allowed within 100 yards of a dragon until I finished my first year.

Nothing in this life comes for free. If you want something you need to work for it, just like everyone else before you. Ever since you were a child you have always wanted what the rest of us have had, but you have never understood that we had to earn it, and you can do it too. You used to complain all the time that I had a broom that you were never allowed to ride, you figured it should be a family broom like the rest of them. The reason it was labelled as my broom and none of the rest of you were able to use it was because I bought it with my own money, just like Percy bought Hermes, and the twins got their brooms and Loki. If you can remember each of us got paper routs in the local muggle village each summer and also mowed muggles lawns. We used to ask if you wanted to join, and I know the twins have tried to get you to go with them this last summer, but you never want to get up early, the result of that being you don’t get any of the money the rest of us earn.

I know this is a lot to go over, but all of it means the same thing, if you want something, earn it. To keep my grades up I had a policy, for every 2 hours I spent playing games and hanging out with my friends I had to spend an hour studying or doing my homework. That might be a good method for you to start showing the teachers you are growing up so they know you can handle more responsibility. The only one keeping you from getting everything you want is you.”

“And Harry’s fame?” Ron grumbled. “You can’t deny all the attention he gets because he’s famous.”

“No, I can’t. But you seem to think it’s a good thing.” Charlie rubbed a hand through his hair. “Harry is famous because his parents were murdered and he survived a murder attempt. You for some reason see fame as this great thing, but all it is is a constant reminder of the loss of his parents. Next time you start to think his fame is so great I want you to just imagine what it must be like to have no mum or dad, no annoying siblings, just you getting thrown away to live with muggles. I’ve spoken to him about his fame, and he always says the same thing, he would rather be a normal kid with a loving family than a famous kid without it.

As for the attention, are you kidding me. You’ve seen up close and personal how that goes. He is followed, stalked, and harassed on a good day. There are always people whispering behind his back and he’s treated like everyone expects him to be perfect. And when he doesn’t live up to every single persons exact expectations of him, because no one can, they turn on him. When that happens he’s stalked, harassed, insulted, and in some cases cursed. You yourself told me just how everyone treated him during his second year. That’s what fame is Ron.

But I want the two of you to think about something. Hermione, when you ran into a troll in your first year Harry and Ron didn’t hesitate running in to try and help you. Ron, when you got dragged under the whomping willow by what at the time was believed to be a grim Harry and Hermione didn’t hesitate to go after you. But when Harry was forced into a competition that you both knew had killed people in the past you didn’t just hesitate, you turned your backs on him and insulted and demeaned him for something he has already proven he didn’t do.”

Charlie saw the way the two young teens were folded in on themselves and looking miserable. He was slightly pleased, they needed to know that they had done wrong, but he also didn’t want to hurt them. “You both need to grow up. You let your own issues and insecurities turn you against your friend. You can’t just act like everything is fine. You need to acknowledge what you did wrong and try to fix it.

But you also need to understand that just apologizing isn’t going to make everything how it was before. You both really hurt him, and it will take time before he will be able to start trusting either of you again. But, if you just be his friend and show him he can trust you someday it might go back to how it was. He is going to have his secrets and he is going to want his own space, and as you are entitled to your space and secrets so is he. Just because you are friends doesn’t mean you have the right to know every single little thing in his life, just as he doesn’t know everything about your own lives. If he doesn’t want to talk about something you can’t force him too, you need to respect his boundaries as he needs to respect yours.

Now, I think we are done here. I will be here for a few more days if you feel either of you need to talk to me about anything else, if you need to talk don’t hesitate to come to me. Why don’t the two of you head back to your common room and figure out what you are going to do now.”

Both just mumbled goodbye and left. Charlie sighed as he rubbed a hand through his hair, he really wanted a shot of firewhiskey, but it wasn't even dinner time yet. He hated having to act like the grown up. Merlin, it was so weird having to be calm and rational when all he wanted to do was yell at them for hurting Harry, he had really come to care about the kid and he knew just how much he had been hurting over the loss of his best friends even if he didn’t want to admit it.

Charlie just hoped they would be able to patch things up.

The Yule Ball

By December things had mostly gotten better for Harry. Ron and Hermione had come with apologies after their talk with Charlie, and their friendship had slowly been getting back to normal. Harry still worked with others in class, but he was hanging out with them more like he used to.

He had also noticed changes in his friends. Hermione was still obsessed with research, but now she wasn't limiting herself to only what supported her opinions most of the time. Previously she just ignored anything that didn’t support what she wanted but she had finally started to look at things from different perspectives from time to time. Ron had also started working more. His grades didn’t shoot up or anything, but they had gone up. Previously he had had a mid to low level A in most classes, but he had managed to move to a high level A to mid level EE. They both still obviously didn’t like when he spent time with others, but they weren’t harassing him as much about it.

His biggest issue was the stupid ball. Harry hated the idea that he was once again being forced into the centre of attention, it was even worse since this time he was going to have to have a date and dance in front of everyone. He had decided to ask his friend Luna Lovegood to go as his friend since he knew they would have fun and didn’t want anyone making any assumptions about his dating life, he was technically engaged after all.

The entrance had gone off without any issues. He managed to walk in front of everyone without falling on his face or doing anything embarrassing. It was the meal and dancing after that worried him slightly. He just hoped he didn’t choke or spill food down himself during the meal. He had gotten basic dance lessons from Charlie while he was there since the older boy had known the dance was coming, and he had gotten a bit of practice during the lessons, but he was still worried.

It was just as the meals arrived on their plates that Harry suddenly thought of something. “How come we’ve never celebrated Yule before? I mean, sure, most kids go home for the holidays normally, but for those of us that stay everything is set up to celebrate Christmas. Why are we celebrating a muggle holiday in a magical school?”

“It isn’t like it’s the only one.” Luna singsonged before anyone else could speak. “We are also forced to celebrate Halloween here rather than Samhain. Easter rather than Ostara. It really is sad we can’t honour magic in a magical school.”

“You are not forced to take part in the holidays.” Albus forced through an incredibly fake smile. He hated having to listen to all the old pure-blood families going off on their racist rants about how they should be celebrating their holidays and forcing out the muggle ones just because they didn’t like muggles. Honestly he had expected better from the young Ravenclaw, he was going to have to speak with Filius to keep a closer eye on the girl to make sure she didn’t do anything, especially since Harry was foolishly trusting her.

“But the holiday feast are mandatory, so it is kinda forced.” Cedric spoke up. His family had always tried to honour their magical heritage during the holidays. He wasn't opposed to the muggle holidays, he even found them entertaining sometimes, but he hated being denied the ability to celebrate how he wanted.

“You only celebrate muggle holidays?” Victor questioned in slight shock as he looked to his date, Hermione.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Hermione questioned in confusion. A few weeks before Charlie had said something about pure-bloods not liking to be forced to comply with the muggle world, but what was wrong with celebrating Christmas, she loved it.

“Many years ago Hogwarts made the decision to be more inclusive.” Albus said. He really didn’t like this topic and was hoping to put it to rest. Why was Harry of all people being so insulting to the muggle world, what wasn't there to like about holidays like Christmas and Halloween, he loved all the bright colours and sweets.

“But it isn’t really inclusive.” Harry said thoughtfully. “While many celebrate Christmas it isn’t the only holiday. There are all kinds of different religions, and hundreds of different denominations within each religion. We only celebrate one version of the Holiday. What about the students that have Jewish heritage, or Muslim, or Buddhist? They are not being included in the slightest. 

But more to the point, this is a magical school, not a muggle one. I mean, when witches and wizards go into the muggle world they are literally legally required to act like muggles. Yet when we are in the magical world, in a magical school, we are still expected to follow certain muggle traditions. It just doesn’t make much sense to me. If you really wanted to promote inclusivity you should split the difference. Have half the great hall decorated for muggle holidays, and that includes those of different religions, and have the other side dedicated to magical holidays and allow the students to select where they want to sit rather than requiring them to sit with their house for those days.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Cedric said. He didn’t stay over at the school for holidays like Yule, but he would love the chance to celebrate the magical way while allowing those from muggle religions to still have their holidays too. “It would allow for each group to learn about how the other celebrates and give everyone a more well rounded view.”

“I think it might be nice to actually get a chance to learn about and experience a proper magical holiday.” Hermione said thoughtfully.

“I like it.” Luna announced as she twirled the pasta she had requested on her fork. “I would prefer to celebrate the holidays I grew up with, but I do enjoy a few things about the muggle traditions.”

“Why ever wouldn’t you wish to celebrate your muggle heritage Harry?” The Headmaster gave Harry a disappointed look. “Your mother loved to celebrate the muggle way. It would only be natural for you to stay in contact with your muggle roots if only just to stay close to your family.”

Harry was much less of a foolish child than he had been in his first and second years now, he saw the manipulation for what it was and was disgusted but also knew enough not to let it show, Merlin was he grateful Cedrella had given him books on occlumency before his third year. “I have nothing against muggle holidays, and if my mum loved them then that’s fine, but I am no more my mum than I am my dad, I am my own person with my own preferences. As for staying in contact with the muggle world, I really don’t want to all that much. I might visit to go to the movies or go out to some restaurants, but I want to be a part of the magical world. I lived a decade solely in the muggle world, it wasn't exactly great. 

And while I know the magical world isn’t perfect either, it’s the one I want to live in and be a part of. The problem for me is that I was raised completely muggle until I found out I was a wizard when you sent Hagrid to bring me my letter and he explained everything to me. Other than the one or two books Ive found in the library we have no access to what it means to be a part of the magical world for those like me that are muggle raised. All we really have are the other students that are willing to explain things to us in their spare time and that just isn’t enough, we need to actually be able to experience it to properly understand. I mean, at least in muggle schools they offer civics classes to teach children how their government and legal system work. Not that the legal system in the magical world appears to be functioning.”

“I agree about the need for a civics class.” Hermione instantly said. “I’ve been trying to research what we can do after school but haven’t been getting anywhere. I haven’t been able to find any information on much of anything. I haven’t even been able to figure out what the tax rate is, or how that tax rate has been determined, or even how we pay them. In the muggle world all of that information is public knowledge so everyone knows what is expected of them.”

“There is no need for little children to know the ins and outs of how our government works.” Kevin Macmillan said in a pompous voice. Kevin was the undersecretary to Crouch who was away sick, he was also the uncle of Ernie Macmillan, and somehow, he made the pompous Hufflepuff seem humble by comparison. “And our justice system is in perfect working order.”

“To the first point, yes, we are children now, but we are going to graduate and be adults in only a few years. How can you expect those that are muggle raised to know how to survive in the magical world if you deny them the ability to learn? Or, maybe that’s the point. It kinda makes me wonder just how many muggle raised students either go back to the muggle world or leave Britain for a more welcoming homeland.” Harry modulated his tone to limit just how much disgust he felt towards a government as corrupt and biased as the one of magical Britain was. “As for the idea of the justice system working, are you joking?”

Kevin was seething at the dismissive tone from a mere child. “Of course I’m not joking. Our justice system works fine.”

“Not for everyone.” Harry replied.

“And just why do you think the justice system is flawed?” Madame Maxime questioned thoughtfully.

“Two years ago the Chamber of Secrets was opened here at Hogwarts. Multiple students, a cat, and a ghost were attacked. Including Hermione.” Harry indicated to his friend who was sitting with a very sad look on her face as she no doubt remembered what had happened to her. Harry was pleased to see Viktor was visibly upset by the idea that Hermione was hurt and immediately offered her comfort. “Hagrid was arrested for the attacks. Anyone who’s ever met him knows Hagrid wouldn’t hurt anyone. And he wasn't arrested because there was any evidence, he was arrested so the Ministry could be seen doing something, and that was the exact wording the Minister used when he ordered the arrest.

There was no trial. Instead, Hagrid was sent directly to Azkaban. And the attacks didn’t stop. Hagrid was completely innocent and others were hurt because no one could be bothered to properly investigate what had been happening. And then, when the real culprit was found Hagrid was just released. No apology. No treatment for dementor exposure. No repayment of the wages he lost while illegally incarcerated, let alone any compensation for his suffering. Nothing. They just let him go and he had to make his own way back to the school alone.

And he isn’t the only one to be thrown in what is considered the worst prison in the world without trial. When Sirius Black escaped and I was told what he had been accused of I wanted answers. I wanted to know what justification he could possibly give for betraying my parents. Instead I got nothing, because the man was never given a trial so there were no answers for me to find.”

“He BETRAYED your PARENTS to their deaths and then MURDERED over a dozen people, including another wizard.” Kevin near shouted in exasperation. “Your parents deserved to have him pay.”

“No, my parents deserved justice.” Harry snapped back. “But they didn’t get justice, what they got instead was people who had no right taking revenge in their name based off rumours.

And now my parents may never get the justice they deserve. The Ministry has placed a kill on sight order on Black. That means the truth will never be made known. It also means the Ministry has effectively ordered the execution of someone who has never been convicted of a single crime. And if they can do it to one person who’s to say they won’t do it again to someone else.

If truth really mattered to the Ministry they would hold a big public trial. There would of course need to be protections on both sides, to ensure the public was safe and to ensure Black isn’t killed before he even faces trial, maybe hire goblin security as a precaution to ensure security is unbiased. But either way, everyone deserves a trial. My parents deserve justice. And Hagrid most certainly deserves justice and reparations for what was done to him.”

There were many murmured agreements as Harry went back to his food. Kevin was annoyed, but couldn’t really argue the issue, most definitely not in front of witnesses. Hermione was proud, although she wished Harry would stop being so antagonistic towards the professors and ministry members. And Albus was flustered, he agreed in everyone deserving justice, but he didn’t necessarily want Sirius freed. It was better for his plans if the man remained on the run for now, it kept Harry with his relatives where he needed to be and kept the man from influencing the boy into any more outrageous and rebellious behaviour. He would naturally ensure Sirius would get a chance to clear his name, it would just have to wait until after Harry was of age. 

After that the ball passed peacefully.

The Marriage Contract

Albus was frustrated with Harry’s behaviour. There was a plan, and he just wasn't following it.

He knew that the boy didn’t know the plan existed, but it was still aggravating when he disobeyed. He had spent more than a decade, ever since the boy had defeated Tom really, planning everything out to perfection. He knew what was best for their world. And all of his plans were being undone by a single teen boy that just wouldn’t do what he was supposed to. 

But Albus knew he could handle it. All he needed to do was put his back up plan into motion. A simple readjustion and everything would be back on track.

The marriage contract.

Originally he had had it made so that he could ensure the Potter name wouldn’t be lost. At that time he had known that Harry was going to need to die to finally defeat Tom, but with the dementor removing the horcrux the year previous he no longer needed to accept his death. Now Harry could survive the war. The marriage to Ginny would ensure that Albus was able to keep the boy on the right path. He had hoped that Harry’s bond to the Weasley family would have allowed things to seem more natural with his relationship with Ginny, but the boy just wasn't complying. But once Molly signed the contract that would be it, Harry would have to do as he was told.

Although, he was going to have to make sure no one learned about the contract until the time was right. The last thing he needed was anyone finding out he had been the one to make the contract, once the boy was of age he could just act like his parents had made it. But if it was discovered while he was still underage there was no doubt it would be looked into, especially as Sirius was the boys godfather and could potentially claim guardianship if he was freed. 

Not to mention he didn’t need people being to sympathetic to the boys situation. He knew of a case about 400 years previous where an underage heir had publicly challenged a marriage contract made by their guardian after the loss of their parents and the public had sided with her. From what he knew even though she broke the contract, which was to her guardian, she face no public backlash as the people had agreed with her and she had been underage at the time. He couldn’t risk the Wizengamot stepping in and declaring the contract invalid and allowing the boy not to fulfill it, and he knew Arthur, the naïve fool he was, would argue for that option.

He knew the final year of Ginny’s schooling would leave Harry out of his grip but he knew he could adjust. He had added an addendum to the contract stating they would marry within 6 months of the younger party graduating Hogwarts, now he wished he hadn’t. If he had specified it as 6 months after the younger party coming of age they would have had to be married by half way through young Ms. Weasleys final year which would have meant they would need to use one of the couple rooms the castle had for married students. It would have put the boy back in his domain for a bit longer, but unfortunately he had felt at the time he had added Harry’s name that would seem to much of a stretch to peoples sensibilities, plus, at the time he had believed Harry would have been dead by that point so it would just look better if the contract specified a later date since it wouldn’t have mattered.

He just needed to get Harry back on the right path. He couldn’t believe the boy had taken Ms. Lovegood to the ball, he knew Ginny had made sure he knew she was available, he had encouraged her to do so after all. And then to hear those vial things coming from the young girls mouth, she was practically spouting that pureblood nonsense with all her talk about how much better magical holidays were. He had never thought the Lovegood’s were blood supremacist, but apparently they were, he knew he was going to have to keep a closer eye on that girl, and make sure Harry put distance between them. Harry needed positive light influences in his life, not someone that discriminated against muggles.

His mum had made sure he knew better than that. His father had at one time been Albus’s hero, but then the man had gone to prison. Albus had understood on some level about why his father had done what he did, he did love his sister after all. But at the same time he resented his father for leaving them the way he had. He had only been 10, and he had to give up his entire life, move to a new town where he didn’t know anyone, and also deal with the shame of having a father in Azkaban. 

It had been his pureblood father that insisted they celebrate the old way. Once he was gone his mum had taught them the proper ways, the muggle ways. In a fit of anger towards his father both he and his mother refused to acknowledge any thing about his father and his desires, the man had left them after all. With his father gone his mum had been free to tell him all about how much better it was in the muggle world, he hadn’t known but apparently his father had been stopping her from doing so before because he had apparently wanted them to be proud of their so called heritage. 

And he was proud, he was proud he was the son of a muggle-born who had made sure to raise him right. Just look at his brother, Aberforth had never adapted to the muggle ways and look where he ended up, the owner of a dirty, reprehensible pub that was known for attracting the wrong element. Aberforth, who hadn’t accepted the muggle world, had amounted to practically nothing to his mind, while he, who had fully embraced muggles, was a hero and the most powerful person in the magical world. He knew what was best, and he needed to make sure Harry followed in his footsteps rather than someone like his brothers.

The floo flared green and Molly Weasley stepped through drawing Albus from his thoughts. “Thank you for coming Molly dear.”

“Of course Albus.” Molly smiled at the man she revered. “What is it that I can help you with? Is something wrong with the children?”

That was exactly what Albus needed, Molly Weasley in protective mother mode, it would help him to ensure she did what he wanted in regards to Harry. “I asked you here for Harry. I know how important the dear boy is to your family and was hoping we would be able to help him.”

“Of course Albus, anything Harry needs. He’s such a sweet boy.” Molly assured as her worry turned to the young boy that was practically family to her and her children. “How can I help?”

“Unfortunately Harry has started to fall into a bad crowd.” Albus made sure to allow all his disappointment to be evident in his tone and posture to make sure Molly fully understood just how bad it was. “Right now nothing has happened, but I worry about the dear boy and what he will be talked into.”

“Ron hasn’t mentioned anything like that.” Molly said as she started to wring her hands in worry. She cared a great deal for Harry, she couldn’t stand the idea of him being tricked into following the path of dark magic.

“Unfortunately young Ronald, Hermione, and Harry had a bit of a falling out after Harry was selected as champion. They have made up, but there has been a bit of a distance between them ever since. You might want to write to him and see if you could assist him in repairing his friendship fully. I’m sure he misses his friend.

But with the distance between the three children others have seen their opportunity to get close to Harry. Harry has always been such a sweet and trusting boy as I’m sure you know. He just doesn’t understand not everyone has others best interests at heart.”

“Oh dear.” Molly said in a worried voice, both for her son and for Harry. She had known something had happened between the children, but she hadn’t realized how serious it had been. She was going to have to write to Ron, she knew how much his friendship with Harry meant to him so he was going to need her support. She might even have to see if she could arrange speaking with him at the school if the letters didn’t work. And then there was Harry, the boy really was to sweet for his own good. She was going to have to ensure he wasn't corrupted, her family owed him that after he had saved Ginny from her own foolishness the year before. It was just so sweet the way he had gone after her to rescue her, just like the little hero Ginny had always loved and known him to be. “Anything you need me to do, I’ll do it.”

“Good.” Albus smiled, pleased. “I’m sure you remember the marriage contract that we created for Harry and Ginny when they were still young, I need you to go to Gringotts and sign it on behalf of Ginny. Everything’s already arranged, I’ve taken care of the clauses and everything, all you need to do is ask for the Weasley marriage contract and sign Ginny’s name.”

“The… The marriage contract?” Molly’s voice quivered as she spoke. She had all but forced herself to forget the contract even existed.

When the contract had been made the war had only just ended and it hadn’t even really sunk into her mind that her children were safe. At that time she had six kids at home as only Bill was old enough to start school so she was run off her feet, especially with Ron who was only a year and Ginny just a few months old. Albus had asked her to the school, she had assumed Bill had been homesick or something, instead he asked her assistance to protect the boy that had saved them all.

Albus had told her all about how he had heard rumours of different families planning to try and get marriage contracts approved that could endanger the young boys life. He told her that if they created a contract between Harry and Ginny first it would protect him from being used for his fame and money like so many would do. 

She had of course been more than a little hesitant. She was a born and raised pure-blood after all, her family may have never been wealthy, but she still learned the basics about things like marriage contracts and vassal oaths even if she never had to worry about them. She had only just gotten her baby girl, she didn’t want to do anything to endanger her future, or the future of her other children.

But in the end Albus had convinced her. They all owed Harry, the least she could do was help to protect him from those who would use him. Besides, the contract had just been between the Weasley and Potter families. No names had been added so it would be easy enough to ignore it once the danger to Harry had passed, Albus had assured her of that.

“Yes, the marriage contract.” Albus reiterated. He could see the hesitance in Molly’s eyes, she had been just as reticent about signing it in the first place, but he had gotten her to sign it then, he knew he could get her to sign it now. “Right now Harry is at risk of someone tricking him into fathering a child with them and being forced to marry them. There is a particular young woman that has been working her way into his good graces while feeding him all sorts of dark propaganda dressed up in benign words.

Once you add Ginny’s name to the contract he will be protected. He won’t be able to be forced to marry anyone who took advantage of his trust. He will be protected from those who want to use him.”

“But what about Ginny and Harry?” Molly questioned in an apprehensive voice as she fidgeted under her old headmasters gaze. “Shouldn’t we ask them if they want to get married? I know Ginny has a crush on Harry, but he hasn’t expressed any kind of romantic interest in anyone so far as I’ve seen or heard.”

“I do understand your worry of course Molly, but we have to make the hard decisions in order to protect the children.” Albus told her. He knew he just needed to play on her devotion to her daughter. “As it is, I am well aware of Ginny’s interest in Harry. She will make a perfect Lady Potter. It will be a dream come true for her I’m sure, and it will ensure she has the life she deserves. And Harry… Well, Harry is a teenage boy. I’m sure you know just how foolish they can be about their emotions. He might be a Gryffindor, but when it comes to matters of the heart boys are always the last to know. He was willing to risk his life to save Ginny not even 2 years ago, it is obvious to someone on the outside looking in he truly cares about Ginny, he’s just to innocent to understand just how much yet. Just think about what Arthur was like when it came to the two of you.”

Molly laughed softly as she remembered what Arthur was like at that age. He had tried to ask her out over a dozen times just to walk away stuttering with a red face before he could get the words out. The only reason they had even gone on their first date was because she decided to give him the push he needed and slipped him a weak love potion, just to help him get his nerve up. “I do indeed remember what Arthur was like. I thought I was going to need to take an advertisement out in the Daily Prophet saying Molly Prewett would say yes if Arthur Weasley asked her out.”

Albus chuckled his agreement, he knew he had Molly going in the right direction. “Exactly. He’s just shy and unsure of himself. I know the use of marriage contracts is incredibly old fashioned and more along the lines of what a darker family would do but we really don’t have a choice. We must protect Harry at all costs. After everything the poor boy has endured he deserves that. And I have no doubt Ginny will be delighted not only to help protect Harry, but in the knowledge that she and the love of her life will one day marry.”

Molly slowly nodded her agreement, both to the idea that they needed to protect Harry and that Ginny would love marrying Harry. She still didn’t feel comfortable using a marriage contract to force Harry and Ginny to marry, but she knew how much that marriage would mean to Ginny. And it wasn't like they would ever do anything to hurt Harry, him being a member of their family would ensure he was always loved, and he deserved that. Molly made her decision.

“Ok Albus. I’ll go to the bank.”

“Wonderful.” Albus clapped his hands together as he smiled and his eyes twinkled in joy knowing he had once again gotten things his way. “As I said, you will just need to sign the contract as I’ve already handled everything else. Just go to the bank and ask to see the Weasley account manager and tell him you need to sign the open Weasley marriage contract.” Originally the contract had been made only with the knowledge of the Potter account manager, but now that his hand selected manager was gone and the knew one was being so difficult they would have to use the Weasley manager.

Albus allowed his overly large smile to fall from his face as Molly flooed away. With a sigh he rubbed his hands down his face. It had been a surprisingly easy, and quiet, meeting, especially when one took into account it had been a meeting with Molly Weasley. Everyone knew just how temperamental that woman could be, not to mention how loud she could get even when she was agreeing with someone. 

But having to deal with an overbearing mother wasn't what had caused his mood, it was the contract itself. Albus above all understood that sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good. He had lost the man he loved because of dark magic and a war, now it was Harry’s turn to sacrifice, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

And having to use something so despicable as a marriage contract was less than pleasant. It was just another one of those disgusting pure-blood traditions he had been trying to stamp out for decades. But he had to use whatever was available to keep things on the right track. As much as he didn’t like it, it had to be done.

Sure, Harry would more than likely be a little upset when he learned his future had already been planned, but Albus knew he would be able to win the boy over. Rebelling was only natural, but Harry was a reasonable sort, eventually he would have to come to understand that he had done the right thing. He needed to stay on the right path, and the Weasley family would ensure that.

Albus really didn’t take any joy in the knowledge that Harry couldn’t grow up and fall in love on his own, but he was sure a life with Ginny Weasley would be fine. It wouldn’t be the immediate deep love like what had existed between James and Lily eventually, or Molly and Arthur, but it wasn't like it would be the disdain he had seen between other couples that had been contracted. Harry had already saved Ginny, clearly he cared about her. The two would surely grow to love one another in time he was sure.

Getting up, Albus went over and grabbed a wide-eye potion before heading down to lunch so he could watch over his students to ensure they were safe.

At Gringotts

Molly was nervous as she entered the bank after her meeting with Albus. She knew what she had to do, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

Waiting in line she couldn’t help but keep glancing over her shoulder to keep an eye on everyone around her. She knew there was no way they could know why she was there, but she still felt like they were judging her. It felt like everyone in the room was watching her as she stepped up to the counter and requested to be taken back to the office of the Weasley account manager.

Account Manager Sharpstaff wasn't overly surprised when he was informed that Molly Weasley was there to meet with him. Lord Septimus Weasley, the wizard he truly worked for, had warned him that she may appear one day.

While he worked for the bank he was responsible for doing the wishes of the Weasley Family, and it was Lord Weasley that had final say and could override what others did. Molly Weasley could sign contracts on behalf of her children, and they would be legal and binding, and Lord Weasley couldn’t stop them, but he could have him manipulate or redirect her. And that was what he was going to do.

Lord Weasley had been perfectly clear when it came to dealing with his daughter-in-law. He was to do whatever he could to limit any damage the woman could do to the family. And, if the woman attempted to do anything with the family money he was to deny her and contact him immediately. Lord Weasley was very specific, he did not trust Molly Weasley to have the best interest of the family at heart.

He wasn't surprised when the woman simply marched into his office and took a seat without being invited or exchanging any proper greetings. “How may I assist you today Mrs. Weasley?”

“I… I need to sign a marriage contract for my daughter.” Molly announced as she tried to make her voice strong. She didn’t feel overly comfortable around goblins, they had taken her baby boy far away from her and put him in danger and she could never forgive them for that.

“So you wish to sign a Weasley marriage contract…” Sharpstaff nodded and opened his filing cabinet to the contracts section.

If there was one thing a goblin could not stand it was when another failed to properly do their job. When he learned that a marriage contract had been signed between his clients house and another house and he hadn’t been given a copy he had been outraged. Him not being aware of an open contract involving the family he was working for made him look incompetent, and he would never forgive that.

“Yes, everything should already be arranged.” Molly informed the goblin. “And you fully accept the pre-existing clauses?” Sharpstaff asked.

Molly nodded, she just wanted to get this done so she could get out of there and forget she had ever done this. She held hope that Harry and Ginny would get together on their own in the following years so the contract wouldn’t be seen as a bad thing and she would never have to admit to her husband or children what she had had to do, she just knew Arthur would be unhappy if he ever knew. “Everything is already arranged. I just need to add Ginny’s name. The clauses are fine as they are.”

Sharpstaff didn’t show any outward reaction but inside he was horrified. What sort of fool signed anything without fully reading it, especially when it was about their young? But her disinterest would only assist him in his subterfuge. He pulled out a basic marriage contract, marked a few spots, and handed it over.

“Add the name of your child you wish to contract and sign the marked sections.”

Molly took the quill on the desk and hovered it over the parchment. Could she really do it? Fill in three little sections and it was done, Harry and Ginny would have to get married.

Sharpstaff noticed the womans hesitance and he couldn’t risk her signing under undo influence. “Are you sure this is what you desire? It would not do to make any major decisions if you are under duress.”

“No, no. I’m not under duress.” Molly assured the goblin a she finally put quill to parchment and quickly filled it out. “It’s just a major decision. But I have to make sure the children are protected. I can’t let them be tricked into anything. They are innocent, and they will stay that way.” Molly nodded as she pushed the contract back to the goblin.

Sharpstaff glanced at the signed contract with a nod. He assured the woman the contract would be filed and she was up and out the door as soon as he said so. He set the contract off to the side and set a message off to Lord Weasley to set up a meeting.

“So she actually did it?” Septimus Weasley sighed after formal greetings were exchanged and he and Cedrella were seated in the office. “She signed a marriage contract?”

“I have a question.” Cedrella said. “The Potter Weasley contract is already signed, so what did she actually sign?”

“I gave her a standard marriage contract.” Sharpstaff informed them. “She had no desire to even look at it so it was easy enough to keep her from doing anything that couldn’t be worked around.”

“She didn’t even bother to read what she was signing?” Septimus said even more horrified. He had seen the clauses that had originally been in the contract for Harry, no one deserved to suffer that. 

“Do we even know why she would do such a thing?” Cedrella questioned. “Morgana knows Molly and I don’t agree on much, but I never would have considered her so callous about a childs future, let alone her own childs.”

“It is my opinion that it is not her idea.” Sharpstaff informed the couple. Normally a goblin would not give their opinion to wizards, but as an account manager he was better off if the family he worked with trusted him. “I even questioned her if she was under duress as she truly appeared to not want to sign the contract. From what she said when she denied being coerced someone gave her the idea that if she didn’t either, or both, children would be in danger of being exploited by others.”

“Of course.” Cedrella sighed as she rubbed her eyes at Molly’s gullibility. “If Albus told her it needed to be done or one of the kids could be tricked into marrying someone else she would do exactly as she was told regardless of her own opinion.”

“We will have to put that aside for now dear.” Septimus reminded his wife as he took her hand, he fully understood, but they needed to follow the plan that had been made over a year before. “If we confront Molly with what she’s done, or almost done, she will run directly to Albus and Harry doesn’t need that. The boy already has enough to deal with with the fool allowing him to be forced into that bloody tournament. Sharpstaff, can you tell us the consequences of this for our granddaughter?”

That was one thing they had been worried about, what would happen to Ginny. If her name was on a marriage contract it would effect her own future marriage, they knew that much, but they didn’t know the full extent.

“Nothing.” Sharpstaff informed them.

“Nothing?” Cedrella said in confused hope. “But she now has a marriage contract. Won’t her own future husband have to add his name when they marry just so it’s legal?”

“No.” Sharpstaff pulled out the contract Molly Weasley had signed. “I sent it to our legal office to verify the contract as is standard and it was rejected. Luckily for your granddaughter your daughter-in-law signed a contract for Ginny Weasley meaning it is only applicable for Ginny Weasley, but that is not her legal name. Her legal name is Ginevra Molly Weasley. The contract has been placed in dormancy and will only become active if there is ever a female in the Weasley family named Ginny, no middle name, Weasley.”

Both Septimus and Cedrella sighed in relief knowing that both Ginny and Harry were safe from Molly’s stupidity. They had been working at getting closer to their son and his family, but it was slow going as Arthur was still rather hesitant. They just hoped with a bit more time they would be able to become more involved and work to undo some of the damage.

The Second Task

Harry had been frustrated to learn that Skeeter had somehow gotten information on the discussion they had had at the head table during the yule ball but it wasn't worth getting overly upset about.

Because of the vow the woman had been forced to take as part of the media coverage of the tournament she couldn’t lie or spin what she heard. Instead she had to give an accurate account of what happened and what was said. She had tried to print a few articles that were less than kind to him but his lawyer quickly put a stop to those.

And there were a few beneficial results of the articles. The first thing that happened was the ministry was forced by public opinion to make a full and public apology to Hagrid for what they had done to him. They also had to give him reparations for what they had done, although Hagrid really had no idea what to do with money so said he would just use it to buy extra treats for his pets. But even as the Ministry acknowledged what they had done to Hagrid they were still burying their heads in the sand in regards to Sirius, but at least the public was grumbling about it.

There had also been a pretty serious discussion about whether or not the school should allow for the children to celebrate both magical and muggle holidays. There had of course been those pushing for just muggle and those pushing for just magical, but from what Harry had been hearing it looked like the school governors may actually force through his idea of splitting the hall in half for the next year during holidays. Harry had taken a bit of joy seeing the constipated look on Dumbledore’s face when peoples opinions were printed in the paper, which of course just had to include what he had said at the ball.

But soon enough it was time for the second task. Thankfully Cedric gave Harry the tip he needed to figure out the clue. Then with a combination of Neville and Dobby he was able to get gillyweed.

Ultimately he was successful in saving Luna who had been his hostage. Like with when he faced the dragon he went down to the bottom of the lake and waited until he knew time was up. Fleur hadn’t arrived by that time so he took both what had to be her little sister along with Luna. Unfortunately it would seem Dumbledore expected his behaviour and made an argument that he was being heroic by waiting with the hostages and making sure they were all safe.

Somehow, despite all sense, and his best efforts, Harry was given enough points to put him tied in first with Cedric. Harry had just stared at the judges like they were idiots, that was the exact opposite of what he had wanted. For merlin’s sake, even when he does the least work possible they still find some way to make him in the centre of attention.

The Third Task

Before the Task

Harry woke up early the day of the final task. He just couldn’t sleep anymore. It was the day he was once again going to be forced to risk his life for the entertainment of others.

There was also the idea he had had the night before. His name had been entered into a deadly tournament, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Surely, if someone had been trying to hurt or kill him they would have done something… Since nothing had happened in the previous two tasks he knew whatever it was was going to happen during the final task.

He puttered around the common room for an hour before heading down to the great hall for breakfast. He wasn't surprised to see he wasn't the only one that couldn’t sleep in as the other three champions were already there. As soon as they spotted him Cedric waved him over to where the three sat picking at their food at the Ravenclaw table.

When Harry noticed others were starting to come into the hall he knew he needed to speak up. He couldn’t allow the others to blindly walk into a situation where someone could once again be trying to kill him. 

Thankfully they were all understanding that there was a good chance something could happen that evening. They had all known from the very beginning Harry shouldn’t have been in the tournament and that clearly something was wrong. They all agreed that they would keep an eye open and be weary during the task, something they would have done anyway given they were in a tournament that had killed plenty of contestants in the past.

The four were sitting and talking since none of them had any classes or exams to attend when they were called into the side room. Harry had been confused as to why he would be included in a family day but didn’t see a point in arguing so just went along anyways.

As soon as he walked through the door he was nearly tackled in a hug from Mrs. Weasley. He still wasn't sure how to approach the woman, she was a loving and caring woman, but she was also involved in forcing him to marry. He had received a letter from Lord and Lady Weasley explaining what they had learned about how she had been convinced it was protecting him, but that honestly wasn't really enough to make up for her actions.

Thanks to his now more paranoid mindset he found himself questioning the womans presence. It seemed rather negative but he had no doubt Dumbledore had specifically invited her there to further link him to the Weasley family.

But he was grateful he didn’t need to worry about ulterior motives of who was there and why for long. Mrs. Weasley had been joined not only by her two eldest, but also Remus and Sirius in dog form. As soon as Bill pulled his mum off Harry he had a large dog jumping on him as Remus laughed.

Charlie knew he and Bill had made the right decision to make sure Remus and Sirius were there too. Bill had quickly contacted Charlie, who had been getting ready to return to Romania, when his mum told him they would be going to the school that day. Bill told him their mum had said they were invited to the school since Harry didn’t have any family of his own so they were the next best thing. It was obvious to Bill and Charlie, just like it was obvious to Harry, that Dumbledore was trying to integrate him into the family more.  

They had quickly reached out to Remus and Sirius and explained that there was a family day and helping them arrange to be there. Their mum had been hesitant when Charlie showed up with Remus and his ‘dog’, but she had easily been set at ease. All it had taken was explaining that Remus was in fact one of James Potter’s best friends and she had thought it was so nice that he cared for his late friends child. 

To be on the safe side Remus used a spell Lily had created that would keep Sirius from turning back without his permission. Lily had used it when she was annoyed at him or James, the day of their wedding both James and Sirius spent over an hour outside in their animal forms after they had interrupted her getting ready one too many times. Sirius was far too impulsive to trust him around a crowd so the spell would keep him from doing anything stupid. 

Harry didn’t notice the jealous look that momentarily flashed across Mrs. Weasley’s face when she saw the excitement the boy felt at seeing the strange werewolf, but her sons didn’t.

The rest of the morning and afternoon were spent just wandering the castle. Harry made sure that he was closer to remus, Sirius, or Charlie at all times while Bill ran interference with his mum for him.

Taking the Cup

Harry and Cedric agreed to take the cup together so they could share the win for Hogwarts. Harry didn't really care about, or even want to win, but Cedric had refused to take the cup unless he did.

It had been surprisingly easy to reach the centre of the maze. There had been an issue with Viktor attacking Cedric, and they believed Fleur as well, but both Harry and Cedric had quickly recognized the signs of the imperious. Harry had quickly jotted down a note about their observations with a conjured quill so Viktor wouldn't punished for anything he had done. If Fleur’s scream was anything to go by he had been forced to go after her like he had Cedric and he could be arrested for that and he didn’t deserve it.

Harry and Cedric grabbed the cup and felt the hooking behind their belly buttons indicative of a portkey.

Harry and Cedric both slammed into the ground wherever it was they landed. Harry would have fallen when his leg, which had been injured by an acromantula, gave out but Cedric had reached out and steadied him.

Harry felt as his very magic practically shivered in recognition of the magical signature of one of those in the graveyard and instantly he knew who it was. When he heard the cold voice telling whoever else was there to ‘kill the spare’ and saw the flash of green Harry threw himself on top of Cedric knocking them both to the ground as the green streaked above them.

Harry rolled off Cedric just in time to see the red of a stunner pass the area he had just been. He and Cedric shared a quick look and stayed completely still, whoever it was that was casting at them needed to believe one was dead and the other stunned so no more spells were thrown at them.

There was a shuffling sound and then the form of Peter Pettigrew came around the headstone. Harry didn’t think, he just reacted.

This was the man that had got his parents killed. This was the man that had framed his godfather causing him to be sent to prison. This man was the embodiment of everything Harry hated.

With a flick of his wand Pettigrew fell face first on the ground, stunned. Harry felt disgust just being around the poor excuse of a man but grabbed him by the ankle anyway. Feeling pain sear his scar he knew they needed to get out of there fast. With another flick Harry summoned the cup that had been dropped only moments before when they had arrived. 

He and Cedric grabbed hold and were yanked away, Harry with a firm grip on Pettigrew.

After the Task

There was a lot of noise when Harry, Cedric, and a man, suddenly slammed into the ground outside the maze.

Remus and Padfoot pushed their way through the crowd to get to Harry and immediately recognized Pettigrew. Remus pulled out his wand and sent a few more stunners at the man as well as a spell that would keep him from transforming. Padfoot put himself between Harry and the traitor and growled at him. It was taking everything to remain in canine form, he didn’t want to get caught and kissed now that there was evidence he hadn’t done what he had been accused of, the only thing making it possible was the spell Remus had used on him.

After that it was chaos. Mr. and Mrs. Diggory all but threw themselves at their son. They hadn’t been gone for more than a few minutes, but it had been the longest minutes of the parents lives. 

Filius Flitwick had been the one to collect Krum from the maze, and upon seeing the note saying Krum had been under the imperious he had instantly contacted the aurors. Albus had been flustered when he learned of it when they arrived, but he hadn’t been able to stop it. Instead the aurors started to investigate. Madam Bones was more than a little irritated when she was told she couldn’t stop the final task even though it was obvious something was wrong.

When the aurors saw the man with the two teens and had him identified as someone that was supposed to be dead they immediately took him into custody for questioning. As that was happening no one noticed Mad-Eye Moody escorting Harry away, he had told him that it was too dangerous to be in a crowd since they didn’t know who was behind the kidnapping.

Albus tried to keep control, but Amelia had never been one of his biggest fans so she was more than willing to challenge him. Amelia Bones was a by the book kind of woman and wasn't willing to bend the rules, not even for the great Albus Dumbledore. 

Amelia was planning to go up to the hospital wing with the two teens when everyone finally realized Harry was missing. They had all been so focused on what had happened they had missed what was right in front of them the whole time.

Remus and Sirius quickly started to follow their noses to guide Dumbledore and the aurors to Harry.

Harry began to grow concerned something wasn't right as they entered Moody’s office. There was something off about the auror. He wasn't acting any differently than he had in class, but Harry’s instincts were screaming at him something was wrong.

And then Moody started to go off about the ‘dark lord’ and Harry knew things were not what they seemed. He had only ever heard those that followed the monster refer to him like that. Harry was sure someone would notice they were missing so he tried to buy time by keeping the clearly crazy man talking. 

And then he saw as his skin started to bubble. Polyjuice. This was someone pretending to be the former auror to allow them to get close and arrange everything, it was the only explanation. Earlier in the year he had heard Snape going on about missing potions ingredients, he had talked about boomslang skin, lacewing flies, and bicorn horn, all of which Harry knew were needed to brew the potion. He couldn’t believe it had taken him that long to put it together, he had been so busy being suspicious of Dumbledore he had completely missed what was right in front of him.

As the man started to change in front of him Harry saw his opportunity to escape. Normally he would have stayed to fight, but he was in too much pain from the injuries he got in the maze, he was pretty sure his leg was at least fractured, and he thought he may have broken a rib or two when they hit the ground upon their return. But his injuries kept him from moving overly quickly and he ended up having to dodge spells before he even reached the door as the man finished his change.

Harry turned back to face his attacker seeing as his plan of escape was no longer an option. He knew the man looked familiar, but he just couldn’t place him. But who he was didn’t matter in that moment, all that mattered was surviving. Raising his wand, Harry got ready.

Harry tried his best, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to fight for long. He was in too much pain and just couldn’t catch his breath enough to properly say the spells. He was just relieved his magic was responding even with the messed up wording, he knew they weren’t going to be starting silent casting until 6th year so he was proud to manage as much as he did. Eventually Harry knew he couldn’t keep it up, and there was one last thing he could try.

Those raised in the magical world always relied on magic to solve all their problems, but Harry hadn’t been raised in the magical world. Harry threw himself forward and tackled the man. And it worked, kind of. The man was taken off guard and didn’t react fast enough to stop a physical attack.

Harry landed on top of the man and was able to land a few good punches, but he still had the problem with how much pain he was in, and then that pain got worse. Harry could only look down in shock as the man under him pulled the blade he had forced between his ribs out only to stab it back in. With a gurgling noise Harry grabbed the man by the hair and slammed his head into the floor repeatedly before the man managed to get a little leverage and throw him off him.

The two pulled themselves into sitting positions as they panted trying to catch their breath. Both of them were covered in blood, Harry from the stab wounds in his chest and the bite on his leg, while the man was bleeding excessively from his head and face.

Before either could restart their fight the door was slammed open. Remus and Padfoot froze in the doorway, aurors, professors, and Charlie and Bill behind them, as they caught sight of the bloody mess in front of them. Harry used the distraction to throw a final blasting curse at the man.

It only added to the gory scene. The man threw his arm up to block the spell, but it didn’t fully work. The curse hit him with enough force to throw him back into the wall even as his hand was blasted off, splattering more blood across him. Padfoot charged at the man with a snarl but before he could reach him he was whisked away by what must have been an emergency portkey.

Everything was fuzzy to Harry as people started rushing around. Snape was talking to him as he laid him down to assess his injuries but Harry couldn’t really understand, he knew the individual words, but they just weren’t working together. Padfoot tried to get close but Snape flicked him on the nose. Padfoot crouched looking ready to pounce on the man but was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and directed away by Remus.

Charlie tried to be as close as possible without drawing too much attention to himself. He was terrified Harry was going to die and didn’t think he could handle it if he did. Neither of them had wanted the engagement between them, and Harry’s death would free him, but that was something Charlie couldn’t even comprehend. Bill stayed close to him as he tried to provide comfort to his brother without it being too noticeable. He knew Charlie had really grown to care about Harry, he had too, and seeing him like that was horrifying.

Harry felt like he was floating, but he forced himself up for just a moment. “You need to find Moody.”

“Mr. Potter do you know where he is?” A woman with a monocle asked, hushing Dumbledore when he tried to speak for Harry. “He was last seen with you leaving the quidditch pitch, but his leg and eye are over there.” She waved towards where Moody’s fake leg and magical eye sat on the floor where they had dropped but Harry couldn’t see it as Snape had done something to keep his neck still.

“Wasn't him.” Harry mumbled. “The man… He was using polyjuice. He must have been the one stealing your supplies professor.”

“We can worry about that later Potter, right now I need you to shut up and stay still.” Snape snapped before glaring over at everyone else in the room. “This boy needs medical attention now. You will have to wait to question him any further.”

Before anyone could say anything else Snape was activating the floo and levitating Harry through to the hospital wing.

Hospital Wing

As seemed to be the pattern of the evening, the hospital wing was in chaos as Harry was brought through. Snape moved Harry through to the private treatment room while barking out an order for Pomfrey to get a healer from St. Mungo’s there and ignoring all the questions being asked by those that were already there.

Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were all questioning what had happened. Over the year the four champions had become friendly. They had known something could happen, but they had thought it had already happened given the attacks on Viktor and Fleur and the kidnapping, however temporary, of Cedric and Harry. Cedric had been confused when he first reached the hospital wing only to find Harry wasn't there. Seeing him being brought in on a floating stretcher, covered in blood, was the last thing any of them expected.

As soon as she sent a message to St. Mungo’s Poppy ran full pelt into the treatment room, not even waiting for the healer to arrive. When the healer did step through a few seconds later everyone in the room just pointed to the treatment room. Not even Albus Dumbledore was willing to interfere for once.

Healer Frost rushed into the treatment room to see Severus Snape chanting a spell to clear the lungs of the boy on the stretcher. Yet even as the spell worked it was obvious from the blood continuing to bubble up through the boys lips that his lungs were continuing to fill with blood. 

Medi-witch Pomfrey was using multiple spells trying to seal the bleeding wounds on the boys paling chest but none of them seemed to be working. As she used her wand with one hand her other hand was slowly dripping a blood replenishing potion into the boys open mouth.

Healer Frost waited until there was an opening to enter the fray so he didn’t disrupt the flow the other two had. While he waited the few seconds it took for the others to make room for him he glanced over the injury scan that sat on a side table. The boy had a fractured left leg, 4 broken ribs, a punctured right lung, and 2 stab wounds. It was the stab wounds that were the main problem as they showed evidence of magic meaning they were most likely caused by a cursed object.

Both Severus and Poppy began to worry even more than they already were when they heard the healer curse.

“What’s wrong?” Poppy questioned fearfully.

“The stab wounds were made by a vampire blade.” Healer Frost said in horror.

“What’s that?” Poppy questioned. She was a medi-witch that had worked in a school for her entire career. She dealt with quidditch accidents and potions mishaps, not whatever a vampire blade was.

“A vampire blade is a cursed blade.” Healer Frost said as he started trying to stem the blood flow by adding pressure rather than using magic. “The wounds can’t be closed by magic. They need to heal on their own over time, something that isn’t possible since one of the stab wounds punctured his lung. We can’t stop the bleeding.”

Poppy stopped what she was doing as she looked to the healer in horror. Was he really saying Harry Potter was going to die? “Healer Frost, this is Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived. Are you really saying he is going to die?”

Healer Frost looked closely at the unconscious teen in fear. This was bad, really bad. Everyone knew from the press that Potter had been forced to compete in a deadly competition by the Ministry. If he died as a result it was going to be pandemonium. Normally he wouldn’t let the identity of a patient have any effect on how he treated them, but there was no way he could treat him as a normal patient.

Before any of them could panic any more than they already were there was a flash and Fawkes was perched on the bed frame releasing a calming song that settled the nerves of those in the room. He turned his beady black eyes to Severus and chirped a few times before leaning over so his head was over Harry’s mouth.

Severus got the message rather quickly, he wasn't a dunderhead after all. He gently tipped Harry’s head back and opened his mouth. Three pearly tears fell from the fire birds eyes directly into the open mouth. Once that was done Fawkes sat up and began to sing softly as the others watched as the wounds slowly healed.

All three let out a sigh of relief. None of them had wanted to have to be the one to inform everyone that Harry Potter was dead, and now they wouldn’t have to.

As soon as the door to the private treatment room closed all those in the regular hospital wing ward started to chatter. The first thing that happened was that Viktor tried to apologize to Cedric again about what he had done to him but Cedric just brushed it off. Viktor may have tortured him, but it wasn't his fault so Cedric in no way blamed him. When Viktor kept blaming himself for not being strong enough to fight the curse Fleur told him off, like Cedric, she didn’t blame him at all and made sure everyone knew it.

The aurors in the room started questioning the three champions what had happened and what they knew. When Cedric described seeing the green killing curse fly over him after Harry had thrown them both to the ground everyone was left stunned. Former Professor Lupin had to go over and grab calming draughts out of the potions cabinet for his parents as his father was hyperventilating and his mum was frozen as silent tears poured down her face. 

Things in the hospital ward got that much louder when Molly arrived with Ron, Ginny and Hermione in tow. They had expected Harry to be resting and waiting for them to check on him so learning that he was receiving treatment for an attack of some kind they were all upset. And when Molly Weasley was upset, everyone knew it. Thankfully Bill managed to head her off with a reminder they were in a hospital wing so she didn’t go into full hysterics as the aurors continued their questioning.

Only a few minutes after that another auror returned to inform Madame Bones they had followed the triwizard cup portkey coordinates and found a cemetery that looked set up for a ritual of some kind, but no one was there. The other aurors who had gone with him were still there waiting for her orders. She sent the auror to the Ministry to get an Unspeakable to have them examine the prepared ritual to determine what it was meant for. 

Everyone was anxious when the door to the treatment room opened and Poppy walked out. Molly released a shriek of horror and Hermione and Ginny started to sob, when they saw the blood that covered the white front of her apron. They had known from what little the others had said Harry was injured, but they hadn’t thought it would be that bad.

Remus and Padfoot just stared at the woman silently, praying to every deity that Harry was going to be ok. They couldn’t lose Harry now. Bill and Charlie were in the same state. 

There was a collective sigh when Poppy smiled and told them that Harry was going to be fine. And when Healer Frost levitated the stretcher out of the treatment room most moved as one to try and get closer to see him but they were stopped by a forcefield conjured quickly by Snape.

“Now Severus my boy…” Albus started, annoyed that he was being held back from checking on such a valuable student.

“No.” Snape snapped. “This boy has almost just died, no one will be crowding him.”

Severus was just relieved the attack on Harry had occurred after the final task had been finished since he knew he wouldn't have survived his magic punishing him for this. As it was he was still plenty sore from the injuries Harry had gotten in the maze. He was pretty sure it would be weeks before the bruises he had gained would even begin to fade.

“I agree with Severus.” Poppy quickly added, knowing full well how Albus just ignored most peoples words and did what he wanted. “He needs rest. He is healed, but his body is still going to be delicate for a few days. The last thing he needs right now is to be smothered by people.”

“You said he was going to be fine.” Molly snapped in worry as she looked to the small young man in the bed.

“And he will be.” Poppy kept her voice soothing, she had had to deal with a worried Molly often over the years and knew how best to word things to sooth the woman and keep her from getting angry. “He has lost a lot of blood and even with blood replenishers it will take time.”

“Do you know when he will be able to tell us what happened?” Amelia questioned.

“He most likely won’t wake properly until lunch tomorrow at the earliest.” Healer Frost told everyone. 

“What caused his injuries?” One of the unnamed aurors questioned as he pulled out a notebook to take it down.

“He had two stab wounds from a cursed blade to his chest, one puncturing his lung.” Poppy informed him briskly.

“And how was the curse countered?”

Before anyone could answer the question Fawkes flew out of the treatment room and went to land on the frame of the bed Harry had been moved too. By that point Remus and Sirius had slipped over towards him and claimed their spots next to his bed while the others were distracted questioning the healer.

Poppy chuckled softly and smiled at the phoenix as it sang to the unconscious boy while calming those in the room. “I do believe that answer is rather obvious. Fawkes gave Harry some of his tears. The old bird always has been rather fond of the boy.”

“It is rather odd.” Healer Frost said thoughtfully. “Most phoenixes don’t part with their tears so readily.”  

At that Albus chuckled too, he knew of Fawkes’s affection for the boy. “Yes, Fawkes has always been rather fond of him. Near the end of the war, when Harry was born, there was a verified threat to both Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom. Because of that it was arranged for the boys to be delivered here in the school since there were to many ways in and out of St. Mungo’s at the time.

Both Harry and young Mr. Longbottom were born here in this very ward. Fawkes chose to attend the births and watched over them as they slept just after they were born. Even after the boys were taken home by their parents Fawkes kept a watch over them. I can’t count how many times during those first few months I received word that Fawkes had flashed over for a visit. Lily and Alice said he was always welcome as he could always sing the boys to sleep. I think the old firebird considered the boys to be like his own chicks.”

Remus smiled at the memory. James and Lily had often called for Fawkes in the beginning because Harry would only calm and go to sleep when he heard the song of the phoenix. Turning from the others that continued to talk about Harry’s condition and the ongoing investigation Remus focused on the pale body laid out on the bed before him. Padfoot was sat next to him resting his head on the bed and just staring at Harry. Neither was willing to let their boy be alone for even a moment if they could help it.

It was a few hours after Harry had been healed that Remus had to leave him, but only for a little while.

Amelia had returned to the ward to request his assistance. They knew from what Harry had said the man who had been impersonating Moody had been using polyjuice, and that meant Moody had to be alive and easy for him to access, but they couldn’t find him. She hoped that with his heightened senses he might be able to give them direction in their search since none of their spells were showing anything. 

Originally she had just asked to borrow his dog, but Remus knew there was no way Sirius was going to be leaving Harry. He still hadn’t, and probably never would, forgive himself for allowing Hagrid to take Harry after James and Lily were killed. He offered to go and search and left Sirius with Harry, making sure to order his ‘dog’ to not leave Harry’s side when he heard Molly muttering about how a hospital ward was no place for a dog. He didn’t want Molly to try and remove Sirius as he knew Sirius would not respond well to that.

It took about an hour, but he was able to narrow down just where the real Alastor Moody was. The reason it had taken so long was because the mans smell was incredibly faint in the room. He was in the room, but since he had been locked up so long the smell from his clothing and personal items strewn around the room had started to fade and they didn’t think the fraud opened the trunk that Remus had identified as the origin of the scent very often so there was no fresh scent to track. 

It was just lucky for them the trunks key had been left tucked in the desk drawer. Trunks like the one Remus had identified had tamperproof locks and although they could be magically picked it could take days. Moody was a little roughed up, but after taking him to the hospital wing and having Poppy examine him they were all assured he was expected to make a full recovery in time.

While he had been searching for Moody he had overheard some of the aurors discussing the man that had attacked Harry and escaped. More than a few of the aurors, including Amelia had recognized the man. Barty Crouch Junior. A team had been sent out to Azkaban to try and determine how a man that was supposed to have died in the prison over a decade before was alive and impersonating a professor at Hogwarts. Like the aurors Remus was interested in how the man had escaped, but Harry was his main priority.

Remus was relieved the man would be fine, but he was happier to be able to return to Harry’s bedside. Albus came and tried to get him to go do a task for him, but both he and Sirius absolutely refused, they were not leaving Harry.

Albus was flustered when he returned to his office that night. Once again, Harry was causing him problems, and this time he wasn't even consciously doing so.

He didn’t like having aurors in his school. Ever since Amelia had been called the woman had been driving him crazy going on about failures in security. And yes, he could admit a few mistakes had been made, but it really wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be. Everyone had survived so things obviously weren’t as bad as she claimed.

And then there was Harry bringing back Pettigrew. He was pleased for Sirius that the public would learn of his innocence, but he would prefer it hadn’t happened for a few more years. Sirius had always been stubborn, but even more so since his escape from Azkaban and Albus didn’t need him teaching Harry to be the same, the boy was already being enough of a problem without him. 

Sirius would also want to have Harry live with him and that just wasn't possible, the blood wards were just too important, now more than ever. He had known since Harry’s name was put in the goblet of fire that this was some scheme by Tom to try and return, and he may have failed but the fact that he had gotten so close meant they needed to be more cautious than ever. If he was back in Britain he would no doubt be working on regaining his power.

And from what he had learned the man impersonating Alastor had gotten a sample of Harry’s blood so more than likely they would use it in whatever ritual had been planned for that night. Albus had no doubt that Tom would be returning to his own body within the next few weeks so they needed to get ready.

But that just brought up another issue he had had with Sirius and Remus. He had gone to speak with them in hopes of getting them to put some distance between them and Harry. He had requested they go to contact the old order members so they could reconstitute the order and get to work battling the dark, but they had refused. Remus had said neither of them were willing to leave Harry while he was so injured and Sirius had just huffed his agreement since he was still in canine form. Didn’t they understand, it didn’t matter what they wanted or how they felt, what mattered was what was best for the magical world.

Instead they had suggested he just send out letters, like that was secure enough…

Albus knew he was going to need to get everything back on track, but now he had so much more work to do.

Harry woke the next day and gave his statement about what happened to the aurors. There really wasn't much he knew beyond the basic facts since he had really just blundered in to the different situations.

Once that was out of the way he had to deal with all the people around him. He had been glad when he woke to see that Sirius and Remus had stayed with him, he knew that Dumbledore had more than likely tried to get them to leave so was glad to see they had prioritized him. He was also secretly kind of happy to see that Charlie had chosen to stay with the rest of the Weasley’s.

Everyone had had tons of questions and he had been grateful, for once, that Mrs. Weasley had such a loud voice as she had ordered everyone around to leave him be after Madam Pomfrey had told them not to stress him. Harry knew as soon as he returned to the dorm he would be interrogated, but a bit more time was nice.

Harry talked a bit with the other champions and none of them were thrilled with the tournament overall. The thing had been a mess since the beginning and was filled with nothing but corruption and favouritism from certain judges. Although Harry and Cedric officially won neither of them considered their win to be legitimate and made sure everyone knew it. They had even split the prize money 4 ways. A large number of the officials that had planned the tournament had been more than a little irritated to have the 4 of them do that during the award ceremony that had taken place a few days later.

The end of the year was a bit of a let down, but it was expected. 

Sirius and Remus had tried to argue to allow him to live with them for the summer but Dumbledore managed to make them accept it wasn't possible. Harry was disappointed, but he couldn’t argue the wards around the Dursley’s place did serve a purpose. Plus, it meant he would be able to go and spend the summer with Charlie like he had the year before and he actually preferred that to being under Dumbles watchful eye. But he had enjoyed sing Sirius and Remus make Dumbledore swear that Harry wouldn’t be left at the Dursley’s all summer and would be allowed to stay with them for at the very least a few weeks. Dumbledore clearly hadn’t liked the idea, if someone knew what to look for, but knew he needed to keep Sirius at least semi happy since the order was going to be using his house and more than likely he would be getting a trial and going free.

Harry just shrugged it all off as he got on the train

Bonus: Neville’s Really Good Year

It was shortly after the first task Neville’s life began to change.

He had seen Harry reading a book and questioned him about it. Harry had explained it had been something Charlie Weasley had had that he borrowed. It was a research book covering new methods of mind healing.

Neville had been interested in it because of his parents. The healers at St. Mungo’s really weren’t doing much for his parents and mostly just tried to keep them comfortable. He knew they tried new treatments from time to time, but that wasn't enough for Neville. While he did want his parents comfortable, he wanted them to get treatment more.

He had gone to Charlie and asked if he could borrow the book after Harry and he had agreed. When Neville read it he was astounded by the information. Learning about the different methods being developed all over the world while Britain stood still was startling. One treatment in particular caught his eye.

It was called sympathetic legilimency. The idea behind it was a mind healer would start out with surface legilimency, something that didn’t cause pain like a deep scan would. The healer would then slowly sink deeper using new methods without causing pain. In the case of a catatonic patient like Neville’s parents, the healer would search for where their conscious mind had hidden away. Slowly they would then help to pull them out and slowly deal with whatever trauma had put them in that state.

Neville thought it might actually be a good treatment to try with his parents. There had been contact information at the end of that section of the book since that treatment was still in the experimental stage and they were looking for patients to participate in the research study. Neville had written not expecting to get anything back, but the researcher had responded surprisingly quickly.

The researcher had expressed a great deal of interest in attempting to treat Neville’s parents. He wrote of how their case would be one of the most severe he had been contacted about so it would help to provide the limits his treatment might be able to reach. He made sure that Neville understood that there were no guarantees and that he had never treated anyone as bad off as his parents were.

Neville had in turn sent a copy of everything he had gathered to both his gran and his families account manager at the bank as both would need to be involved in making the arrangements. His gran would need to make the arrangements with the hospital and the account manager would need to be made aware for any financial issues it caused. Since the passage of the heir tests Neville had found a change to have occurred in the family, especially with how his gran treated everyone. He had always known she truly loved him, but she had allowed others to look down on him or mistreat him in the distance she put between them but the tests seemed to have reminded her just who and what he was and she had become like a fire breathing dragon against those who’s actions she had previously ignored.

Augusta Longbottom had not had an easy life, but she had done the best she could with what she had. 

She had been born into the Bletchley family. She had two older brothers and a younger sister. And for a time, life was good.

But then her parents were killed on a trip to France by Grindelwald’s forces when she had been in her final year of school. A few years after that both her eldest brother and younger sister were also killed by his people while they were on a business trip to America.

After the defeat of Grindelwald she married Walden Longbottom. And for a time, life was good.

She had two girls and then a few years later she had had her baby boy. Augusta had loved being a mum. She had been so proud as one after another her children graduated and her eldest daughter and son went on to get married.

But there was a war going on. And one after another, she lost her family yet again. First had been her husband who had been targeted for his stances in the wizengamot. Then her younger daughter was killed in an attack on Hogsmeade where she worked. Then her elder daughter, her husband, and their two young children were killed when their house was burned to the ground with fiendfyre for some reason she never learned. 

And then the war ended with the deaths of James and Lily Potter and Augusta had thought they were finally safe only for Frank and Alice to be attacked. It was even worse than death in her opinion. To be able to see them, know they were there, but for the people she had known and loved to not be in there was horrible. At least with the dead she knew they were at peace.

All that was left was Neville, her traumatized grandson. And she had tried, she really had, but it just hurt too much. She always made sure he knew she loved him, but there was always a distance and formality between them.

There were times she would watch him as he grew up and see he was nothing like anyone else in the family, and seeing it hurt. But then there were times she looked at him at practically saw the family she had lost. The shy stutter of his grandfather. His love of plants like his mother. His small crooked smile exactly like his father. The calm nature just like his aunts. It was agony.

And in her pain she had failed. She didn’t want Neville to end up dead like so many others in their family so she kept him isolated and limited. She also failed to realize just how bad things had gotten between Neville and other family members like her brother-in-law, Algie. She knew he had tried to force Nevilles magic, but she hadn’t realized just how close he had come to killing him, if she had she would have killed Algie herself. She had always just thought there would be more time to teach him whatever he needed to know, but if he wasn't the head of the family there wouldn’t be a big a target on him.

When the heir tests had passed it had forced her to see just how much she had failed. Neville didn’t know anything he needed to know because she had never taught him. When Algie had tried to berate and mock him for failing the test she had waited until Neville left the room before she tore a strip off him. He had avoided her for months after that.

She still felt pain, but she was trying to be better.

And then she received the package from Neville about a possible treatment for his parents. She of course did her due diligence and read everything included, she wasn't going to take any risks with her son, but she, like her grandson, thought it could help.

After going over everything she contacted the healer who was interested in coming to try his treatment on Alice and Frank and St. Mungo’s to make the arrangements. Experimental treatments could be rather expensive but thankfully since they would be participating in the research project most of the cost would be deferred. The Longbottom family was rather wealthy but that didn’t mean she was going to be frivolous with the money.

It was arranged for Healer Massani and his assistants to stay at the Longbottom cottage in Nottingham while they treated her son and daughter-in-law. It would allow them to be available to do their treatments at any time, but still provide privacy for both them and her family.

Over the months Frank and Alice responded to the treatments. It was slow, but it was something.

When Neville left school to spend an afternoon at the hospital during the yule holidays he was surprised to see the changes even though his gran had been keeping him updated during the semester.

His mum was showing a limited awareness of what was going on around her and had started to use simple words like yes and no. When she saw him she actually smiled in recognition, something that had never happened before and even hugged him when she had never allowed physical contact before. 

His dad had been in worse condition then his mum so hadn’t shown the same level of improvement, but there was still some. He was sitting up and looking around when before he had just laid vacant eyed in his bed. He even showed an interest in Neville when he didn’t seem to notice anyone else around him giving Neville hope that he on some level knew who he was.

It wasn't perfect, but it was something. Healer Massani planned to continue their treatments twice a week for the next year. He didn’t think they would be able to fully recover, but he was hopeful they would be able to heal to the point where they could function semi normally living outside of St. Mungo’s so long as they had assistance.

Neville was hopeful.

By the time Neville was heading home for the summer he was excited. His parents were doing much better.

From the letters his gran sent his mum was up to speaking in simple sentences and had often asked about him. And his dad was up and moving around and saying the occasional word.

Healer Massani said they could start relying on traditional mind healing techniques from that point on since they were no longer catatonic. But at the same time he still planned to make monthly visits to St. Mungo’s to carry on with his treatment. He said that his treatment of Neville’s parents was exactly what he needed to prove his treatment program was successful.

Based off the progress he was seeing the healer told them that his parents would be able to move home with his gran within a year as long as they had assistance.

Chapter Text

Weasley’s Visit the Weasley’s

Bill had known it was going to be a long day when his dad said they would be visiting his grandparents. The occupants of the Burrow had been on edge for the few days since summer began.

One of the first things that had happened was their mum announcing they would be moving into the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for safety. It had caused some confusion since there was no evidence the family was in any danger. Yes, Harry had been kidnapped and almost killed, but that didn’t mean anything for their family other than the fear for someone they cared about and the stress for Charlie about Harry’s safety. And with them planning to move suddenly everyone was in a tizzy about what they were going to take with them since they planned to be wherever it was for the entire summer.

Then the move had been postponed since apparently Sirius Black hadn’t exactly given permission for them to move in, his mum and the headmaster had just decided it would happen. Eventually they bullied Sirius into allowing them to move in, but Bill knew Sirius had laid down the law about his property. With Harry bringing back Peter Pettigrew the Ministry had been forced into finally giving him a trial that was scheduled for a few weeks later, not that it was really necessary since Pettigrew had confessed to everything during his own trial that had been held on the last day of school, so Sirius would no longer be a wanted wizard so Dumbledore had nothing to intimidate him with.

But the biggest tension was between Percy, the twins, and their mum. When their mum had announced they would be moving somewhere else Percy had decided to move in with their grandparents instead. He had said he would visit the headquarters, but he wanted to be with his grandad since he could help him with his position as the twins proxy. Percy, like usual, had studied everything he could get his hands on when he first agreed to take the position, and technically their grandad was on the Wizengamot and not the Council of Magic like Percy was, but he wanted their granddad to help him. 

Their mum wanted Percy to stay with them but he absolutely refused. He said he would visit, but he wouldn’t be moving with them. Bill understood, Percy wasn't a little kid anymore and needed to stretch his wings, something his grandparents would allow but their mum certainly wouldn’t. He was honestly surprised Percy had lived at home for the entire first year after his graduation, he and Charlie had both been out within 6 months.

And then there was the twins. Neither of them were acting any worse than normal, if anything they were calmer, but that was because they were starting to lay the groundwork to start their prank business, something everyone knew their mum would never approve of. Bill only knew because he had caught the two designing their order forms so they could start an owl order service before they graduated. But their calmness had their mum suspicious. Everyone in the house knew that their mum was planning to search the twins room and things before they left and had been running interference as best they could, none of them wanted to deal with that headache.

The decision to visit their grandparents was their dads latest distraction to keep their mum out of the twins room.

“So what are you two planning to do after you graduate?” Septimus asked the twins as they sat out on the back porch.

“We’re going to open a joke shop.” Fred announced proudly for himself and his twin. Both didn’t care what anyone said, owning a joke shop was the perfect job for them.

“Stop being so ridiculous.” Molly huffed from where she sat nearby in clear disgust. “No sons of mine would do anything so worthless, they are both going to be going to work in the Ministry with their father and Percy.”

Cedrella narrowed her eyes in outrage as she saw the twins didn’t even flinch at what their mother said, clearly they were used to such abhorrent treatment. “I think we could use a few snacks. Molly, would you assist me?”

“Of course.” Molly happily agreed and quickly bustled inside.

Arthur and Septimus exchanged weary looks. They fully recognized the tone Cedrella had used, it was the ‘you’re in major trouble’ tone. As much as neither wanted to get in-between a cat fight between their wives they knew they had too. They were fairly evenly matched in temper which meant neither would back down. Both got up and followed the two women inside and weren’t surprised to find a furious Cedrella and Molly growing angry and defensive.

“What in Morgana’s name was that?” Cedrella demanded of her daughter-in-law, completely ignoring her husband and son entering the room.

“What was what?” Molly huffed in irritation. She had never liked how meddling her mother-in-law was. The woman had always acted like she should have a say in how she raised her children.

“‘Ridiculous’. ‘No sons of yours’. ‘Worthless’.” Cedrella hissed. “It is your childrens dream.”

Molly harrumphed in irritation, of course her mother-in-law would support such foolishness. “It’s a foolish idea. They need to get respectable jobs. No one will ever take them serious with that… that stupidity. Opening a business would be just too much for those two.”

“So that’s your lesson for your children?” Cedrella questioned venomously. “Don’t bother to have dreams. Don’t bother to follow your heart. Best to give up because you just aren’t capable of anything.”

“Of course not.” Molly said horrified. Where would the woman ever come up with something so horrible. “The twins just…”

“Want to open a joke shop. It’s their dream.” Cedrella finished before the woman could get anything else out.

“It’s ridiculous.” Molly snapped in exasperation. Why wasn't Cedrella understanding the simple truth. “And just what do you think everyone else will say?”

“It’s their dream, not yours.” Cedrella said in the exact same tone. “And so what about what other people say. Their opinions should never mean more to a parent than the needs of their children.

I can’t speak for the twins, but I can tell you what I just heard out there. I heard a mother tell her children their dreams didn’t matter. I heard her say they needed to just give up because they weren’t capable of hard work. What in Merlin and Morgana’s name made you think treating your children like that was acceptable. I know for a fact your parents would never have told you your dreams didn’t matter. If your mother, magic rest her soul, ever heard you speak like that to her grandchildren she would have had you over her knee in a heartbeat regardless of your age, an impulse I’m struggling with myself.”

“That isn’t what I meant.” Molly said in sheer horror. How could anyone interpret her wanting the best for her children in such a horrible way?

“It may not be how you intend it to come off, but it is what you said.” Septimus said in a measured tone. He fully supported his wife, he too had been outraged at the words coming from Molly’s mouth, but he didn’t want it to devolve to a screaming match between the two high-strung women. “A child deserves to know they have the love and support of their parents in all things.”

“Like how you loved and supported Arthur growing up when you were constantly running off to the Ministry to play politics to get a seat on the Wizengamot” Molly all but sneered.

“I did what I had to do.” Septimus defended himself before letting out a dejected sigh. “I can admit I made mistakes. Parenting is not exact. No one is a perfect parent, it is a learning process and no matter what you do mistakes will be made. But I did what I thought was best at the time.

When Arthur was 14 he announced he wanted to work at the Ministry. I, as his father, didn’t think it was right to tell him it was a ridiculous dream. I couldn’t bare telling him that his dream was impossible, so I set out to ensure he had, at the very least, a chance. I worked my way into a position of trust at the ministry. I curried favour. I did whatever I had to to gain prestige for the Weasley family.

And it worked. When Arthur graduated he applied for, and got, a job at the ministry. The first Weasley in 300 years to do so. Do I regret I couldn’t always be there in the moment, yes, do I regret that my son got the job he wanted, no.”

Molly harrumphed once again. “Like anyone would have denied Arthur his job at the Ministry.”

“Yes, they would have.” Septimus countered. It was time his daughter-in-law learned the truth as she was secretly admonished for her actions in regards to the marriage contract stupidity. “The Weasley’s failed to fulfill a marriage contract. The punishment for that is most severe. It’s why no Weasley has been so dimwitted as to sign one since. Failure to fulfill all aspects of a marriage contract takes a horrible toll on a family. After the initial failed contract it took two generations before a Weasley was welcomed back at Hogwarts and seven until I managed to regain our seat on the Wizengamot, I’m still working on the Council of Magic. And, as I previously said, Arthur was the first to be able to get a job at the Ministry. Only a reckless fool signs a contract they don’t fully understand, doing so shows a true disregard for the future of their family. I made a great many mistakes over the years, but I have always done what I thought was the best for the survival of this family.”

Arthur was slightly flabbergasted. He had known he been the first Weasley to work at the Ministry for a very long time, but he hadn’t known it was because of the failed contract, he just thought none of the others had wanted too. In truth his anger towards his parents for their devotion to politics had faded greatly since he was a teen, even more so since his parents had started to get more involved in his families life since the previous year, but he had still held a bit of a grudge. But they had done it for him. 

He also agreed with what his parents were saying in regards to the twins. Molly had always had strong opinions about their childrens futures, but she had crossed the line from wanting the best for her children into needlessly insulting when it came to the twins. He knew she loved them, just like she loved all their children, with an obsessive devotion, but she was just going about it in the wrong way.

Molly was flustered by the talk of marriage contracts. There was no way anyone could know that she signed one for Ginny and Harry, could they? No, no one but her and Albus knew the contract even existed. She was still uncomfortable with it, even more so now hearing what the consequences could be if it wasn't fulfilled but she was sure it would be ok, Ginny loved Harry, and Harry would love Ginny. 

“I, personally, would rather have grandsons that tried and failed rather than grandsons that just gave up.” Cedrella said sagely. “Besides, you have no way to tell if they are going to fail. From everything I’ve seen they are incredibly inventive and dedicated. And they have the backing of the Prewett estate to fall back on, it’s been doing better since they got it out of the control of Muriel. Plus Septimus and I would be willing to pitch in in the case of an unforeseen emergency. Because we believe in them.”

“I believe in them just fine.” Molly defended herself, she didn’t like being spoken too like she was. She was the mother, she told others off. “I am their mother, I want what’s best for them.”

“But not enough to believe in their dreams.” Cedrella muttered. “I think you need to sit and think about your behaviour for a little while young lady. When you feel ready to be kind to your children you may join us out on the porch.”

Septimus had to force himself not to laugh as his wife treated their daughter-in-law the same way she treated so many, like a child. He glanced to his son to see what he wanted him to do. Arthur nodded towards the door so Septimus followed his wife back outside.

Arthur watched silently as his wife paced and muttered to herself. He knew there were two outcomes if she was left to her own devices. First, and most likely, was she was going to get furious and lash out. Molly always thought of herself as the ideal mother, and there was no denying she was a great mother, she had raised 7 children and each were good people, she just couldn’t stand anyone saying anything negative about her parenting style. The second option was that she was going to meltdown into tears. He needed to draw her attention to him to keep her calm.

“Mollywobbles?” Arthur said cautiously.

“I’m a good mother.” Molly said in anger, she was well on her way to the fury Arthur was worried about. “I want what’s best for all of my children, nothing more, nothing less.”

“I know.” Arthur said soothingly. “I know you want what’s best for them Molly, and they know it too. But your idea of what’s best and theirs don’t always match up. And as much as we might wish we can safely guide the children into the perfect lives we can’t.

Fred and George are legally of age. They could move out tomorrow and there’s nothing we could do to stop them. Pushing them away is the last thing we need to do right now. We’re better off guiding and assisting them rather than trying to force them in certain directions. We can’t make them work at the Ministry.”

“But they need to.” Molly argued almost petulantly. She wanted her children to have stable respectable jobs. “They need that stability. If they just give it a try and settle down they will see. Fabian and Gideon were just the same, and they enjoyed working at the Ministry.”

Arthur understood to a point why Molly always connected Fred and George to Fabian and Gideon, and it wasn’t just because they were twins and their names didn't just start with the same first letters but their twins had their uncles names for middle names. For Molly he knew it went back to what her brothers had meant to her.

Molly’s father had passed away when she had been in her second year. Her mother had then been killed in one of the very first attacks of the previous war. Molly had been 15 at the time. With both of their parents gone Fabian and Gideon, who had been 19 at the time took custody of their younger sister. To Molly, they were her heroes, especially since if they hadn’t she would have ended up with her aunt Muriel, and everyone knew the two of them were just too similar to live together, having that much temper and attitude in one house would have resulted in daily explosions.

Growing up Fabian and Gideon had had plans to join the dueling circuit and had already won a few minor competitions at that point. They had wanted to travel and learn in other countries. But after taking custody of Molly the twins had gone to work as aurors since they had wanted to be able to give their sister a stable home life while she was with them. The way Molly saw it they had grown up and seen the light about their foolish ideas.

But Arthur knew better. Fabian and Gideon had gone to work for the ministry for one reason and one reason only, their sister, and while they were proud of the work they did they didn't love it. They didn't want Molly to feel like they had had to give up their dreams for her so they pretended when their sister was around. Arthur knew that Fabian and Gideon stayed as aurors after Molly came of age because of the war and nothing else, they had often talked with him about how once the war was over they were going to finally be able to quit and go live their real dreams of becoming dueling champions, they had even secretly trained with Professor Flitwick more than a few times just to be ready. But, like them, Arthur had never had the heart to tell his wife her brothers were all but counting down the days to when they could start living their own lives the way they wanted again, Molly was far more happy in her view that they had loved their jobs and stopped all the foolish plans of leaving since she didn't so much as see it as them wanting to leave Britain as them wanting to leave her.

He knew when Bill and Charlie had left she had seen it like they were leaving her and not just advancing their careers, and it had taken her months to accept it, even if she still badgered them to come back to her every chance she got. But it was different with their twins and he knew it. Fred and George were the most Prewett like of their children in appearance, and looked very much like their uncles, which made Molly see her brothers in them even more. Prewett’s were known for having a stalkier build, red hair, round face, and brown eyes, in comparison the the Weasley’s tall slim build, orange hair, oval face, and blue eyes. Bill was all Weasley, Charlie had the stalky build and redder hair, Percy had the brown eyes, Ron had the round face, and Ginny had the round face and brown eyes, but the only part of the Weasley looks the twins had gotten was the tall slim build, other than that they were all Prewett.

Arthur believed it was why Molly kept falling back into trying to get Fred and George to act like Fabian and Gideon despite them having had talks about it being unfair more than once over the years. After one of their talks Molly would try and separate her sons and brothers for a few months, but it always seemed that as soon as they got back from school she would back into her old habits and forget all about their previous conversation. Arthur felt like Molly had never truly dealt with the loss of her parents or brothers and that was why she was so controlling with their kids.

“Molly, Fred and George aren’t Fabian and Gideon.” Arthur pointed out softly. He knew just how risky it was to discuss her late brothers with her, Molly would never get over their deaths, not that he thought she needed to do anything like forget them. “Yes, Fabian and Gideon enjoyed being aurors. But the twins wouldn't.

Fred and George thrive in chaos. Percy enjoys the Ministry for its structure and rules, but those very factors would drive the twins crazy. Maybe, if you browbeat them long enough you could force them to work at the ministry, but it would come at a horrible cost. They would hate every minute of it, I have no doubt. And they would blame us for their misery. I think, in the long run, it’s better for us to guide and support them on whatever path they choose rather than force them down a path they don’t want and lose them completely as a result.”

Molly didn’t want to admit it, but she was pouting. She hated it when Arthur got all calm and rational. She could argue with him, but she knew even if he gave in she would still be in the wrong. 

In a rare event, Molly just quietly agreed to not say anything more about Fred and George working at the Ministry and not argue with them about it anymore, at least for that moment.

Outside Fred and George had been astounded. As soon as their parents and grandparents had gone in they had of course pulled out their new creations, extendible ears, and listened in. Having not only their grandparents, but their father, speaking up for them was surprising. They were so used to their mum just bullying her way through everything and arguing until everyone just gave up and gave her what she wanted.

They knew their mother loved them and she was just doing what she thought would give them the best future, but it wasn't the future they wanted.

Beginning of Harry's Summer

Like the year previous Harry had to return to Privet Drive for a week. And like the previous year arrangements had already been made for him to go on a muggle camping trip for a week following that before going to join Charlie.

But there was a slight problem. Only the day before he left school for the summer he had gotten messages from Bill, Remus, and Sirius. According to them Dumbledore had recalled a group he had had during the previous war claiming that the attack on him after the final task was an attempt by Voldemort to return so they needed to get ready for war. 

Harry didn’t necessarily disagree, he had recognized the voice in the cemetery, and he also knew from what he had been told of his injuries when he woke up that the man that had been identified as Barty Crouch Jr., a convicted death eater, had taken some of his blood for some reason. The aurors had taken his memories of what had happened since he and Cedric had taken the cup so they had seen the mans face after the polyjuice potion had worn off and someone had recognized him. He knew more than likely his blood was going to be used to bring the monster back. But that didn’t mean he was suddenly going to attack him, Voldemort like to build up tension and seemed to wait an inordinate amount of time before doing anything, like waiting until the end of the school year to try to steal the stone and kidnap him when he literally could have done it almost any other time.

The letters all warned him that Dumbledore was arranging for him and the Dursley’s to be ‘guarded’. From what they said the guards were going to be under strict orders not to even let him know they were there and only do anything if there was imminent danger. He apparently wasn't supposed to ever know anyone was even there.

But that meant he was going to need to figure out some way to leave without them noticing. He had no intention of allowing himself to be held captive at the Dursley’s all summer. From what Sirius in particular had said Dumbledore wasn't willing to give them a time he would be able to join them and just said the wards needed to be recharged so Harry knew he wasn't planning on telling anyone how long it took for the wards to charge and was just going to leave him there for as long as possible for some reason.

Harry brainstormed through letters with Bill and Charlie and they thought they had a plan. Bill had bought him a couple doses of polyjuice and slipped it to him while he was on guard duty. Polyjuice didn’t work when it came to muggles, but since Dudley was a squib it would work with him so Harry could just slip away looking like Dudley. Dudley added to the plan by offering to take the potion for a day to make himself look like Harry so none of his watchers would become suspicious until he was out of the country.

Dealing with the Dursley’s was just as unpleasant as usual. It didn’t help that Dudley was making his dislike of his parents behaviour obvious that year. Petunia and Vernon were acting like he had done something to Dudley to turn him against them when it was simply their own behaviour that did it. But at least it was only for a week.

Like it was the previous year, slipping away was rather easy. 

Bill had given him a schedule of who was watching and when. Harry decided to sneak away while Sturgis Podmore was supposed to be watching the Dursley’s in the very early morning. From what Bill had said Podmore was a decent enough man but rather dim and uncreative. He wouldn’t bother looking to deeply into anything without a very good reason, something Harry wasn't going to give him.

Dudley called for a cab to pick him up at 6 am, long before anyone else in the house would be up. Harry and Dudley would take the potion just before the cab arrived. Harry, disguised as Dudley, would get in the car and drive away while Dudley, disguised as Harry, would wave him off before going back inside. Dudley would keep taking the potion for the day and make sure he made himself visible by being out in the garden from time to time.

And it worked just as they planned. Harry was on a flight to Spain within a few hours of leaving the Dursley’s without anyone the wiser.

Back in Romania

Like the year before Harry enjoyed his time in Romania.

But not everything was perfect. He had been struggling with nightmares and panic attacks since the attack. Charlie spent at least half an hour every day just talking to him about how he was feeling and helping him figure out how to cope with surviving yet another murder attempt, something no one had ever done for him before. He felt guilty about all the time Charlie was wasting on him, but Charlie always told him off for it, he said being there to support him wasn't a waste of time.

Other than the therapy sessions they did the same as they had done the previous summer, they hung out. Since Harry was going to be doing his OWLs at the end of the next school year Charlie helped him do some basic prep for it and helped him with his extracurricular projects. Along with his school studies Harry had taken up working on occlumency and the theoretical side of spell crafting, he also was self studying magical history since Binns was absolutely useless.

Despite all the work he gave himself Harry still spent most of his days either relaxing or helping out around the reserve like the previous year.

A major disappointment for Harry was the letters he was receiving from his friends. Ron and Hermione were saying practically nothing. 

He knew from what they said they were together, but that was it. They just kept going on about how he needed to stay hidden and not draw attention to himself and they would talk when he got wherever they were. 

They went on and on about that, where they were. It was obvious to Harry, who had known them for so long, they were hinting that they knew things he didn’t but Dumbledore had told them not to tell him. And he was furious. He thought they had understood what it meant to be friends after the previous year, but now they were putting Dumbledore ahead of him. He had some sympathy for them since he knew Mrs. Weasley was probably nagging them to keep quiet, but that wasn't enough.

Eventually he just wrote back to them and told them to stop. That they had made themselves perfectly clear about the value of their friendship and he didn’t want to hear it. If they had anything worth saying they could write, but until then to just stop.

It hadn’t worked. Instead he had gotten a letter from Ron telling him not to be like that and then going on about the same old useless crap. They didn’t even tell him anything about how their own summers were or ask about his, it was just all pointless nonsense. His response to that had been rather childish he could admit. He had sent back a rather decent, in his opinion, drawing of a pile of hippogriff dung.

From Hermione he got 3 feet about how he was being childish and petulant and she forgave him. She said she understood he was upset they couldn’t tell him everything but that it just wasn't safe.

To go along with another picture of hippogriff dung he also got a dictionary and wrote out a few definitions for her, including friend, loyalty, honesty, and a very detailed description of what lying by omission was.

Not that it got through to either of them. Instead both just wrote to him about not being like that and carried on as they had before. Harry was rather annoyed, normally they wrote a few times during the summer, but this year they sent letters every other day like clockwork and they all said nothing. Eventually he settled on just sending their own letters back with pointless or worthless written in red permanent marker.

But it wasn't like Harry wasn't getting any information. Sirius, Remus, and Bill were giving him the information they felt he needed. Although Sirius and Remus sent two letters, one that was obviously the Dumbledore approved version and the second one was the real letter. 

At the beginning of the summer Sirius had finally gotten his trial arranged. It would be held in the final week of July and they were all sure he would be found innocent. Naturally, one of the men he had been accused of murdering had been alive and had confessed to the other murders. Harry had been forbidden from attending by Dumbledore, but it hadn’t been to bad since by that point he was already out of the country. Harry was just glad Sirius would no longer be killed on sight by the Ministry.

And Fred and George were writing too. They didn’t bother with any of the worthless babble. Instead they told him what they were doing, and it was highly entertaining since they were apparently testing a few prank products out on those around them. They included a detailed description of the sweet that had left Ron looking like a bald canary for almost an hour and how they had accidentally made it so Hermione couldn’t understand the written word for 3 hours, something they had no idea how they had done but had resulted in the girl having a full meltdown.

Harry was trying not to be too angry, he knew Ron and Hermione were getting a lot of pressure from others, but it still hurt. But at the same time he hadn’t told them what he was doing, instead just casually mentioning that he had gone camping, not mentioning that it was in another country.

Charlie just encouraged him to feel however he felt.

Dudley Demented

As the first week of august came to an end Dudley went out for his evening run. He ran a few kilometres every evening to keep in shape. He didn’t have the potions anymore so it was up to him to maintain his weight, something that was difficult during the summer since his parents were still trying to force him to eat nothing but junk.

The streetlights were just coming on as he was passing the park when it suddenly got cold. Something was wrong and he knew it so he put on some speed to get home.

But before he could make it two big black cloaked things descended from the sky towards him. Dudley knew it was magic and immediately called for help, he knew from what Harry had said there were wizards watching the house.

Kingsley Shacklebolt let out a yawn as he sat under Mad-Eye’s invisibility cloak and watched the home of the Dursley family. Originally Mundungus was supposed to be on guard duty but it had been switched to him after it was brought up by Sirius in a previous meeting that Dung and skived off twice already so he was taken off guard duty.

He had just worked an 8 hour shift. Now he had to sit and watch a house for 6 more hours before going home, sleeping for a few hours, and going back to work another 8 hour shift. But he wasn't going to complain, war was coming, they all needed to make sacrifices.

Kings didn’t really see the point in not informing the boy he was being protected. Surely after the murder attempt knowing someone was there keeping him safe would bring the boy comfort more than anything. He'd been beyond relieved when Sirius finally got his trial. He had been the head of the search for the man and had been misleading his own bosses about the mans whereabouts at the request of Albus for far too long, he had done so because the man was actually innocent, but if anyone had found out he still would have lost his job.  He just wanted to be able to do his job normally.

Then he heard the shout for help. He knew it wasn't Harry since he hadn’t left the house since he had been on guard duty, but he was still an auror and couldn’t refuse to help someone in need. He took off after the voice and was horrified to see Harry’s cousin trying to get away from where he was cornered by two dementors.

Whipping out his wand he sent his lynx patronus after the creatures. He was just relieved he hadn’t hesitated as they had been preparing to kiss the boy when he got there, even 30 seconds later and it may have been too late.

As he had known would happen the dementors fled and he quickly got the boy moving. He knew he couldn’t take him directly home, he wasn't supposed to enter the Dursley house, so instead he took him to Figg’s. 

Once at Figg’s he sent off  an emergency patronus message to Amelia Bones demanding she floo there. Dementors, who were under the control of the Ministry of Magic had just attacked the cousin of Harry Potter less than two blocks from where the boy lived. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but he was an auror first, and this was a major crime.

As Kings was getting Amelia there and Dudley sat vacant eyed on the couch Arabella was making up a flagon of hot chocolate and grabbing a few bars just in case as she fussed in panic. Dementors in Little Whinging, what was the world coming too.

“Kingsley?” Amelia snapped as soon as she stepped through the floo. She was beyond irritated, she was the head of her department, she was not at the beck and call of her subordinates. “What in Merlins name are you doing demanding I come here? Where even is here? And aren’t you off duty?”

“Amelia, we have a serious problem.” Kings announced gravely as he moved the two of them into the hall where they could still see Arabella fussing over Dudley but could speak quietly.

“Well, what is it that makes you think you need to interrupt my evening and demand me here?” Amelia glared down her auror.

“Amelia I just had to stop 2 dementors from administering the kiss to that boy.” Kings told his boss’s boss.

“What?” Amelia paled instantly, that was not something to joke about. “Why would they be here? Dementors are confined to Azkaban Island. And why were you here?”

Kings knew he couldn’t tell her Albus had had him and others watching Harry Potter so they all knew the cover story. “I’ve been thinking about getting a kneazle, Arabella breeds them so I came to see her to chat.”

“A kneazle?” Amelia said with an arched eyebrow, if not for magic her monocle would have been on the floor. She wasn't an idiot, it was clearly a cover story, but what it was covering she didn’t know, yet. “Well, carry on.”

“I heard a cry for help and responded, as any auror would.” Kings said, keeping it simple.

“And just why do you think that boy is special enough to be targeted by dementors?” Amelia didn’t understand that. Dementors didn’t just leave Azkaban and go all the way to a muggle village and attack muggle boys.

“Amelia, that is Dudley Dursley.” Kings wasn't surprised when the woman didn’t respond to the name in the slightest, the number of people who even knew that Harry Potter lived with muggles was small, let alone the number that knew the name of the muggle family. “He’s the cousin of Harry Potter.”

“Harry Potter?” Amelia was stunned as she glanced towards the boy. This really was serious. A dementor attack on the cousin of the Boy-Who-Lived just after the near murder of the boy during the school year, this could be a disaster if it got out. “Do we know where Mr. Potter is?”

“I think he’s at home.” Kings told her, but it was worrying. Could the attack on Dudley have been a distraction to get to the boy? “We need to handle this carefully.”

“Agreed.” Amelia swiftly walked back into the room. “Mr. Dursley, my name is Madam Amelia Bones. I’m the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. I am truly sorry for the shock you’ve experienced tonight but I need you to answer a few questions for me, can you do that?”

Dudley looked up at the intimidating woman vacant eyed and nodded.

“What happened when you were attacked?” Amelia questioned.

“I went out for my evening run.” Dudley said slowly. Thinking was taking a bit of time. “I… I felt it get really cold when I was passing the park. I knew it wasn't normal. My cousin had told me something about sudden changes in temperature being connected to something dangerous so I knew I needed to get home. But those things came down before I could get there so I just tried calling for help. Then the man came and sent a bright light at them. I like that light, it was nice.”

“Those things?” Kings questioned suddenly. “Muggles can’t see dementors.”

It was silent for nearly a minute but eventually Arabella found her voice as she put two and two together. “Muggles can’t, but squibs can.”

“Squib.” Dudley latched onto the word. “Harry said I was a squib. He took me shopping in the cool alley. Got me potions to help me lose weight. It was awesome.”

Arabella smiled. She had seen the two cousins finally bonding and she was happy for it. Harry needed someone decent in that house. It also explained the boys sudden change in body shape, there was no non-magical way to lose weight like that. It would seem Dudley Dursley was finally growing up, it looked good on him.

“And where is your cousin Dudley?” Amelia asked. “Is he still back at your home.”

“At home?” Dudley repeated in a questioning voice as the hot chocolate he was sipping started to break through his freezing haze. “No.”

“Where is he?” Kings asked in worry. That wasn't possible. He knew Harry hadn’t left while he’d been on guard duty. And Dudley wouldn’t have known he left if he did so after he had already left on his run.

“He went camping.” Dudley said slowly. “Sweden. Maybe Switzerland. I know wherever it was it started with an S… Or maybe it was the town he was in… Or maybe the group he was with.”

Kings just blinked a few times. That wasn't possible, was it? They had been watching the house, there was no way Harry could have left the country and they not know. But he could admit he hadn’t seen the boy even once in weeks. “When did he leave?”

“A few weeks ago.” Dudley shrugged as he started to focus more. “I think I’m supposed to be home by now, it’s getting late.”

“Ok Mr. Dursley, just a few more moments and Auror Shacklebolt will escort you home.” Amelia said. “I’m going to be stopping by to see you tomorrow afternoon if that works for you. I’m going to need your formal statement about tonights events so I can open a case.”

“Ok.” Dudley just agreed. He wanted his bed.

“King’s, take him home.” Amelia instructed. “Make sure to set up wards and alerts around the house and in the area. You can carry on watching over the residence if you like, but I will be sending two aurors to patrol the neighbourhood just to be safe.”

Kings flushed at the tone Amelia used to let him know she knew the story about the kneazles was a lie and he’d actually been watching the house. But he was relieved to know other aurors would be in the area, he needed to quickly go and report to Albus and the rest of the Order. He couldn’t believe they had missed the kid leaving the country weeks before.

“Mrs. Figg, I hope it won’t be too much to ask for you to allow a team of aurors through your floo to keep an eye on things?” Amelia turned to the woman in her pink dressing gown and fluffy slippers.

“Oh no problem at all.” Mrs. Figg smiled blandly.

At that everyone dispersed to do what needed to be done to deal with the mess.

At the Order Meeting

“Kingsley, what in Merlins name are you doing here?” Sirius demanded as they started to gather in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place for the emergency meeting the man had called. “Your supposed to be on guard duty tonight.”

Sirius knew that Harry knew about the guards unlike most believed but he still wanted his godson protected. Nothing meant more to him than Harry’s safety. He had been furious when Albus had told him and Remus they weren’t to tell Harry anything and that the weren’t going to be allowed near him. He had made it a stipulation for allowing the Order to use his parents home as headquarters that Harry be allowed to come and stay with him. But so far nothing. Albus said the wards needed to recharge, but that Harry could come after that, he just hoped it hurried up. He didn't know how long it took for protective blood wards to charge.

He was getting sick of dealing with the others in the house without having Harry around. Molly was overbearing and constantly sticking her nose in things, going on about how she loved Harry like a son and looking down her nose at him because he had missed so much time with him while in Azkaban. Sirius knew Remus had had Arthur talk to the woman more than once about antagonizing him about Harry. Arthur was a good man, but he just couldn’t temper his wife all the time. Molly felt she had the right to mother everyone, even if they were already adults.

Before anyone could say anything Kingsley opened the door and called for the kids to everyone’s surprise. Molly was outraged at the idea of bringing her children into a meting, they were to young.

“Kingsley, they can’t be here, they aren’t in The Order.” Molly glared at the auror for giving her children instructions.

“They need to be here.” Kings said, completely ignoring Molly’s anger.

“Kingsley, my boy, why have you called an emergency meeting? And why are you involving children, they have no place in this.” Albus said in a benign voice, but it was obvious he was irritated. He didn’t do well when he didn’t have control, and he certainly wasn't in control of what was happening at the moment.

“As I said, we need them right now.” Kingsley told the group. “Can any of you tell me anything about what Harry said he was doing this summer?”

“He said he wanted to go camping and sleep under the stars.” Hermione informed the auror primly. She would never deny answering such a simple question. “I told him about the few times my parent set up a tent in our backyard when I was a kid and pretended we were camping. I hated it, but Harry seems to like it.”

Kingsley looked closely at each of those he knew had been writing to the boy to see if any of them had known what he had done but all seemed to look innocent and didn’t understand what he meant.

“What is going on with my godson Kingsley?” Sirius questioned in a warning tone. Something was wrong and he knew it.

“Earlier this evening two dementors arrived in Little Whinging.” Kingsley said solemnly.

That caught everyones attention. Everyone was shouting out questions about what happened and questioning if Harry was hurt. A few moved to go towards the floo like they intended to go look and see for themselves but Kingsley had the floo blocked quickly. The last thing they needed was for order members to go streaming into the area that was now being patrolled by aurors.

“It’s fine, no one was hurt, too badly. Dudley Dursley was a little shaken up, but he’s going to be just fine.” Kingsley said to quickly calm the agitated group. “I got rid of the dementors easily enough and called for Amelia Bones.”

“WHAT?” A few demanded.

“Really my boy, we have to keep Harry’s location a secret.” Albus chastised. He had spent over a decade making sure no one knew where the boy was and now it had just been thrown away. “You should have contacted us. We could have handled it.”

“No, we couldn’t.” Kingsley said like he thought the old man was being an idiot. “This isn’t something I could cover up. Dementors were in the same town where Harry Potter lives. Dementors, which are supposed to be under the complete control of the ministry. Of course I had to contact Amelia, sending dementors after someone can be classed as assault at the very least. If anyone had been hurt or killed it could become murder or attempted murder. This needs to be investigated properly.”

“But what about Harry?” Sirius questioned in a slight panic. He didn’t like all this chatter about inconsequential information, all that mattered was Harry.

“When was the last time any of those on guard duty actually saw the boy?” Kings questioned the room. He believed the others were like him, just assuming the boy had been in an out while the others were watching.

It was discussed for a few minutes as everyone tried to think when they last saw him. It was then they realized they hadn’t seen him in weeks.

“WHERE IS HARRY!” Sirius panicked. 

“Calm down Sirius, we know he’s ok, he’s been writing to us.” Remus soothed, but he too was worried.

“He’s camping.” Kings told them. “But it isn’t in the back yard. He apparently joined a muggle camping group and is in Switzerland, or possibly Sweden. Mr. Dursley couldn’t quite remember given he had just been attacked by Dementors, but he’s sure it’s somewhere that started with an S.”

Sirius started to laugh. His godson had outsmarted them. He was a little sad that he wasn't there with him, but he above all understood the desire to be free.

“He’s where?” Hermione demanded, outraged. Harry knew just how dangerous it was for him. Not only that, but he had been so petulant about them not being able to tell him anything when he hadn’t bothered to tell them anything about where he was.

“It isn’t safe.” Molly worried. 

She seemed to be in a constant state of terror ever since Harry was kidnapped weeks ago. Ever since the argument at her parents-in-law’s place she had been working on being more supportive, she really hadn’t realized just how negative she had grown in regards to the twins dreams, but she was still a very over protective mother, and that was never going to change.

Although it wasn’t the first time she had been forced to admit she had made mistakes while raising her children. The first time had been two years previous when Bill and Charlie had confronted her and Arthur about what Ginny had done. But Molly was an exceptionally strong willed woman and had a tendency to fall back into her old patterns within a few weeks. Her children had no doubt she would be right back to shrieking at them anytime they did anything she didn't like by the next summer at the latest, but most likely before the new Hogwarts year had even begun.

“To be fair, I think he’s safer where he is now, than where he has been at Hogwarts.” Remus pointed out. “No one even knew he was out of the country so there’s no way they could attack him. He was quite literally kidnapped from Hogwarts itself before nearly being murdered by someone that had managed to impersonate a professor for an entire school year. I actually think he’s probably the safest he’s been in a long time.”

Albus tried to hold back the flinch at that comment. Of course he’d known something had been going on the previous year, but he honestly had never considered it would get so out of hand. He truly regretted the pain Harry had been forced to endure. He appeased his guilt with the knowledge that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of a single child.

“We will need to see if we can locate him.” Doge put in. He knew how hard Albus had worked to make sure the boy grew up right, and he didn't like that the boy was disrespecting his oldest friend by not following instructions. “Albus has worked too long and hard to let the protective wards fall.”

“Quite right Elphius.” Albus nodded at his old friend. He was pleased the man was focusing on what mattered. “We need to find Harry and get him to safety.”

Harry is Blamed

Harry and Charlie sat down in their tent living room to talk.

Harry had just gotten off his mirror phone with Sirius and Remus. They had told him about the dementor attack, assuring him that Dudley was fine. They also warned him that everyone now knew Harry was out of the country and they were suddenly desperate to find him. They made sure to warn him about many of the letters, and owls, would most likely be layered in tracking charms. Harry wasn’t concerned about the spells. The system that was in place to bypass the mailward around him included disabling any trackers. And, since the letters were removed from the owls and then sent through his post box, while he was out of the country, none of the trackers on the birds would work either. Although he did think the post office was going to be getting a large number of visitors, he was just glad they were under privacy contract so they couldn’t say anything.

Sirius was thrilled and highly entertained with what Harry had done, although he was disappointed that he wasn’t able to go with him. Remus was likewise happy for him, but he was also really worried that he wouldn’t be safe enough. 

Whenever Harry had spoken with them over the mirror before he had always made sure there was nothing that would give any clue to where he was. Usually he just sat in front of a blank canvas wall Charlie would spell to look like a plaster wall so it wasn’t obvious he was in a tent. As much as he trusted them he couldn’t take any risks, Sirius admittedly lacked a filter when he was irritated, and he knew from the way Sirius had been talking he was getting more than a little irritated with the Order members.

“So what do we do?” Harry questioned. As grown up as he felt, and liked to act,  Harry knew he didn't know everything. And one thing he had learned from the reading into mind healing he had done was that he needed to allow others to help him.

“We need to stick to the story.” Charlie pushed Harry’s plate of food closer to him, he knew Harry put off eating if he was stressed and wanted to encourage him to eat but knew not to try and force him. “As far as they know you are with a muggle camping group. They need to continue believing that, especially if we need to do this again next year.”

Harry nodded his agreement as he picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on it slightly. 

“You know I’ve been receiving letters requesting I return to Britain to help the Order.” Which was a nice way of Charlie saying he had been getting letters practically every day that were growing less and less gentle in their encouragement to return. “I can go back first from here, and you can come back through muggle methods a few days later. Putting a few days separation between our arrival should keep the others from connecting us.”

Harry nodded again and took a drink. “The camp was in Spain this year. I’ll have to portkey there and then fly back to Britain.”

“If you want I can go with you to Spain. After you leave I can come back here and get a portkey back in a week or so.” Charlie offered so Harry wouldn’t have to travel alone.

Harry thought about it for a few minutes, he was slowly learning to think before he acted, sometimes. “No. That just means more portkey’s, and that means more records in the magical world. I doubt they would bother to look, or even have the ability to access the records, but we shouldn’t take to many risks.”

Charlie snorted and smirked at the younger boy. “I don’t think you are the one that should be talking about not taking risks.”

Harry rolled his eyes but he smiled slightly. “Ha ha. I’m getting better at thinking before I act. If you go back first then you can warn me what things are like there now that they know I’ve been keeping this from them.”

“Ahh, you want me to check that the coast is clear and try and defuse anything before you set foot back in the country.” Charlie smirked, not that he blamed him, especially after everything the previous year. Charlie still had nightmares about what had happened to Harry

“Of course.” Harry smiled.

A few hours later mail started arriving for Harry. 

Nearly all of the letters were demanding to know where he was and scolding him for ‘endangering’ himself by ‘running away’ and not telling anyone. The standout was the letter sent by Fred and George, the two, like Sirius and Remus, were thrilled with what he had done and gave him very flowery congratulations. Some of the letters even came from people he had never met but Charlie told him were members of the Order like that meant they had a say in his life.

Near the bottom of the pile was where he found it. A letter from the Ministry.

“Charlie?” 

Charlie looked up from the letter from an Order member named Hestia Jones when he heard the worry in Harry’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been expelled.”

“WHAT?” Charlie was on his feet instantly and moved over to Harry’s side and gently took the letter from his trembling hands.

Charlie read the letter quickly. Then he stopped, took a breath, and reread it slowly. 

The letter was pure stupidity. They already knew that it had been Kingsley that had cast the patronus, and so did Madame Bones. This more than anything convinced Charlie that the dementors presence had been a set up, if not an attempted murder, because most would never believe that a teenager could properly cast a patronus since most adults couldn’t. He knew from previous letters The Daily Prophet, most likely under Ministry direction, had been targeting and insulting Harry because of Dumbledore’s announcement that Voldemort was back. 

Sure, the magic sensors couldn’t tell who cast the magic in a certain area, but it was known an adult had been there and had been the one to cast the magic. Charlie was more than a little suspicious that whoever had sent the dementors had tipped off someone in the Improper Use of Magic Office that something was going to happen.

“We’re going to have to move up our timetable.” Charlie said. They had agreed they would return to Britain at the end of August since Charlie knew that once the Order had Harry they were most likely going to lock him in headquarters. “We need to get back to deal with this as soon as possible. You write to Sirius and the others to explain what is is happening and I will handle getting us both back in the country.

Back to Britain

Harry wasn’t exactly thrilled as the plane landed at Heathrow Airport.

Charlie had portkeyed from Romania back to London 4 days earlier and had sent a letter warning him that the Order was really annoying. His letter was nearly half complaining about how they were all acting like they cared so much about Harry, yet they hadn’t even noticed he had been gone.

He knew from the letters that when he had written he would be returning by plane everyone had been volunteering to help collect him. It had only been the intervention by Remus and Bill, who had been the voices of reason, that he wasn’t going to find 20 or more people waiting for him. Instead he was only expecting 5 people waiting, although Harry knew, better than most, that Dumbledore couldn’t help but meddle so there could easily be more. Ultimately it was decided that, Remus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, along with Bill and Arthur would be collecting him since they were the ones most capable of blending in with the muggles. 

Charlie had wanted to be there too, but felt it would be best to keep a little distance between them around the others just to be safe. Once Harry was at headquarters they could be friendly, but they didn't want to seem suspicious to anyone. 

Harry’s return to the country was pretty much what he expected it to be.

Remus was all over him as soon as they saw him, making sure he was ok. The others stood guard while pretending they weren’t. Although, Bill kept shooting him entertained grins, while Arthur was quietly whispering questions about the different muggle things he was seeing but didn't understand. 

Remus had mentioned that Dumbledore had tried to do as Harry had expected and send others with them, but they had avoided that. Harry thought it would have been quite funny to see the faces of the 7 others Dumbledore had hand picked to meet him when the others had ditched them. It had been decided they needed to go to the airport by muggle means so Remus had gotten bus tickets to the airport. His group got the tickets to Heathrow Airport, the others went to Luton Airport on the outskirts of London. Although, Remus was nice enough to pass over a time delayed letter telling them they were at the wrong place, as a decoy of course, and to meet them back at Headquarters.

Much to Harry’s joy he was able to convince the others to stop and grab pizza with his remaining muggle money. It was a bit of a lie since he had intentionally gotten money out of the Spanish branch of Gringotts for the purpose of getting pizza. But what did it matter if he stretched the truth a little, there was pizza, and anything that resulted in pizza was a good thing. Harry also collected a few different types of pop. It was a little mean, but he thought it would be fun to introduce Fred and George to pop since the only other caffeine they had had was a small cup of tea or coffee with breakfast. Although he was a little worried if the house would be left standing, but it would be fun to watch.

Harry was less than impressed when he saw where they were staying. The building was old and grungy despite its opulence. Sirius had told him during one of their mirror conversations that it had belonged to his family for a few decades but hadn’t been looked after properly since the death of his mother years before. 

Sirius had been staying there while he waited for his trial since his father had warded the property to Hades and back. Now that Sirius was free he had told Harry he planned to find a comfortable property, with a room just for him, so he could visit whenever he wanted. The original plan Sirius had had was to have Harry move in with him immediately. And as much as Harry would love too, which he had made sure Sirius knew, they all knew that he still needed to spend a bit of time with the Dursley’s, and the rest of the time outside of school in a secure place with the return of Voldemort.

But for now Harry would need to make the best of it.

“HARRY!” Sirius shouted in excitement as he threw himself at Harry the moment he came through the door.

Not that he was the only one shouting. The entry way was filled with people. And as soon as they shouted the portrait of Sirius’s mother that he had warned him about started screaming about blood traitors and the like. Charlie moved to force the curtains closed since it was obvious Sirius had no intention of letting Harry go.

“Padfoot, you need to let him breathe.” Remus chuckled after it became obvious that Sirius had no intention of letting Harry go any time soon.

“What’s that?” Sirius questioned as he glanced up from where he had buried his head in Harry’s hair once the scent of cheese and pepperoni met his sensitive nose. Then he watched as Bill and Arthur each carried in a stack of boxes he recognized from when Lily had pregnancy cravings and demanded all different kinds of pizza. “PIZZA!”

“Harry wanted to get rid of the last of his muggle money and decided to buy pizza for lunch.” Bill explained to the others. He was just relieved the tops were closed on the pizzas so that none of the confetti the twins had released when they had come in the house had gotten on them.

“Oh there was no need for that Harry dear.” Molly bustled forward and tried to give Harry a hug but Sirius refused to move out of her way, much to her irritation.

Harry just shrugged and let Sirius guide him towards the kitchen. He knew from previous conversations with Sirius that Mrs. Weasley had been less than subtly competing with him about who was more of a parental figure for him and he had no intention of feeding into her belief that it was her. Given her involvement in the marriage contract he had no intention of playing her games. He and Charlie may have made their peace, and had actually become friends, but that didn't mean that either of them were ok with it.

“Harry, are you even going to say hello?” Hermione demanded. 

She had been beyond frustrated with how Harry had been treating them in their letters and that he hadn’t told them what he was doing but was cautious because both she and Ron had been told off a few times during the summer when they complained about how Harry was reacting in his letters. She knew from listening to the others that Harry did technically have a reason to be upset with them, they had been keeping things from him, but she was still irritated, and she knew Ron was too. And Harry had also been keeping things from them obviously, so he shouldn’t be mad at them.

“I said hi to everyone already.” Harry said blandly, barely glancing at his female best friend, before turning to chat with Sirius.

Harry enjoyed lunch. He had often seen pizza since the Dursley’s were always getting it, but had never been allowed to have any. When he had mentioned it to Charlie he had gone out and got them a few different types. This had started Harry’s exploration of different types of food.

Like Harry, the twins, and Ron of course, greatly enjoyed the pizza. The twins in particular were fascinated and thrilled with the different types of pop he had gotten. Like Harry had expected the two were nearly levitating from their seats from the levels of sugar and caffeine. 

A few people kept trying to talk to, or more likely scold, Harry, but Sirius and Remus, and a few others like Bill, kept interrupting. It was really funny to see how frustrated the others were getting.

“Ah, it is good to see you safely back home Harry.” Dumbledore said as soon as he arrived in the kitchen when the meal was being finished up. “I apologize for being late, I had wished to be here when you returned to us but unfortunately was held up with meetings.”

“It’s expected by now Albus.” Sirius said in a sarcastic tone. And he meant it. He knew his former headmaster was chronically late for everything and always used the same excuses.

Albus was slightly annoyed at Sirius. The mans trial had been the week before and he had been found innocent, given that Pettigrew was in custody it wasn’t like anyone could argue Sirius had killed him. Albus was pleased for Sirius that he finally had his well deserved freedom, but he couldn’t deny that it caused some issues for him. Sirius had been more and more difficult since Harry had first captured Pettigrew, the man was determined to take control of everything. Albus had plans for the Black properties but the man had actually argued that he was not in control and that it was his place. And he was constantly arguing with Albus’s plans about protecting Harry, Sirius just didn't understand that the world had changed while he was in Azkaban and that he knew best, he had been protecting the boy for over a decade successfully after all.

Albus chose to ignore Sirius’s tone, he could tell from the looks Molly and a few other of his most loyal Order members were giving the man he would have his attitude corrected, and turned his attention to the wayward teenager. “While we are all pleased you made it home safe my boy, you really shouldn’t have left the safety of your Aunt and Uncles place. Really my boy, it just is not safe.”

“I was perfectly safe.” Harry barely resisted rolling his eyes at the disappointed looks he was being given from some others. He was still uneasy around Dumbledore for his previous actions, but he was no longer afraid of him, he had real things to fear. “No one knew where I was so I was perfectly safe. Staying here would have been the dangerous thing. After all, I wasn’t attacked by dementor’s, but my cousin who stayed there was. Speaking of which, is there any information on my supposed expulsion.”

“The expulsion has been overturned, mostly because the Ministry can’t expel a student from Hogwarts.” Kingsley spoke up. “Instead a hearing in Madame Bones’s office for underage magic has been arranged.”

“Don’t worry, you didn't do anything wrong so the law is on your side.” Remus assured, understanding Harry was trying to cut of what was undoubtably going to be a major guilt trip by Albus. 

“It is well known to Madame Bones that I was the one to cast the patronus.” Kingsley told the boy, not wanting him to worry that he was going to get in trouble. “I have also submitted a formal statement about what happened, and so did the others who monitored the area that night. Madame Bones has also opened an investigation into why dementors were there.”

“Although, I wouldn’t put it past that fool Fudge to try something tricky.” Sirius grumbled.

“As I was saying,” Albus shot an irritated look at the others although he was obviously trying for disappointed. “You really should have told us.”

“Quite right.” Molly gave a sharp nod in agreement at finally being given a chance to properly address the child disappearing like that. He was just a boy, he had no right to run away without permission. “Just what were you thinking young man?”

Harry raised an eye brow at the looks Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley, and a few others he didn't recognize, were giving him, his to illicit guilt and theirs an attempt to cow him, none worked. “I actually wanted to enjoy my summer is what I was thinking. So, I told the Dursley’s, they gave permission, I left. That’s all there is to it. The only person in this room that could have any say is Sirius, and since he hadn’t had his trial at the time I left he wasn’t in a position to interfere.”

“I don’t have a problem with Harry having a good summer.” Sirius quickly cut in before sending his godson a conspiratorial look. “Although I wish he would have taken me with him.”

“You would.” Molly scoffed in irritation. She liked the idea of keeping her family safe during the war, but she did not like exposing her children to an influence as bad as the likes of Sirius Black. Yes, Sirius hadn’t been guilty of the murders or anything, but she had overheard him far too often giving her children all kinds of foolish ideas, especially the twins. Just because she wasn’t stopping them from opening up their shop did not mean she approved of it.

“Really my boy, you should have spoken with myself and the rest of the Order.” Albus admonished the willful child.

“I don’t even know what this supposed Order is.” Yes, he was lying since he had those like Sirius, Remus, and Bill giving him information on the Order, but he didn't care. He had been lied to often enough by the Headmaster that it was only fair. “Besides, it isn’t like anyone has ever cared what I do during my summer before. For Merlins sake, Ron, Fred, and George all had to break me out the summer before our second year because the Dursley’s had locked me up and were only giving me a bowl of cold soup every few days, if they remembered, and no one batted an eye. Not to mention the summer of ’93 where I spent the final few weeks in Diagon Alley and I didn't hear a word from any of these so called Order members that apparently think they have a say in my summer.”

“What do you mean ‘locked up’?” Remus snarled.

“And the whole feeding you cold soup every few days?” Sirius questioned in the same tone.

“I mean exactly what I said.” Harry winced slightly. While he had mentioned  the mutual dislike between himself and the Dursley’s before he had never gone into specifics.

“I’m sure it is just a slight misunderstanding.” Albus quickly said, he could see the anger in the eyes of the two marauders and knew to be cautious. He was sure Harry was just exaggerating, family loved each other and wouldn’t hurt one another.

“He’s telling…”

“The truth.” The twins said.

“Why didn't you tell anyone what you saw?” Remus questioned the twins. He knew they cared about Harry so it didn't make sense to him that they wouldn’t have tried to help him.

“We did.” The twins said together in exasperation.

“We were told not to…”

“Exaggerate…”

“But we…”

“Weren’t.” 

“Oh hush you two.” Molly glared at her twins. She did not like them speaking about muggles as horribly as they had about Harry’s family. “What the Headmaster is trying to say Harry is that you are too young to just go running off.”

“Quite right my dear boy.” Albus swiftly agreed, pleased Molly had gotten them off the topic of Harry’s less than desirable home life, although he was sure much of it was an exaggeration since no family would ever be truly horrible to one another. “Not only is it dangerous but you need to stay with your family to maintain the wards. It would be such a shame if the wards your mother granted you with her sacrifice were to fall because you wanted to go galavanting around.”

“I asked the Dursley’s and they were more than happy for me to leave. So I did have permission from my adult guardians. No one here, except Sirius now, has any right or ability to interfere with that. Not unless they are trying to claim they are some how a part of my life and have a say despite this being the first time I have met most of you here. That would be like saying Sirius has more authority over the Weasley children then their own parents.” Harry reiterated. He knew Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley were repeating themselves because it hadn't gone their way the first time and were hoping saying it again would get a different response.

Molly was highly offended by that analogy. Sirius Black most certainly didn't have any say in her babies lives.

“I do agree.” Remus said in the calmest voice he could manage. His wolf was still enraged at the idea that someone would hurt their cub.

“And as for the wards, they are as fine as they’re ever going to be given they are supposedly based on love despite the fact Petunia and Vernon hate me so they aren’t exactly providing any support themselves.” Harry rolled his eyes. “Besides, I talked with Bill about the wards the summer I stayed in Diagon because I was worried then and he told me the wards that I was describing would need me to live there for a week to be maintained. I stayed a week, then I escaped to actually enjoy my summer.”

“A WEEK!?” Sirius demanded in outrage as he glanced at Bill who gave him a confirming nod before he turned his fury on Dumbledore. “You told me a minimum of a month.”

“It’s all just a misunderstanding I’m sure my boy.” Albus assured Sirius. 

Although, he wasn’t exactly an expert on wards, but he knew Harry only benefited from staying with his relatives. Sirius would just encourage the dear boy to rebel, and he didn't need him doing that even more, the boy was already becoming too oppositional. “I’m sure the wards would take longer to reach full strength.”

“That is true, if the wards were still properly functioning.” Bill cut in. He was an expert in warding thanks to his job as a curse breaker so was going to make sure the truth was known and not just others assumptions. “Unfortunately, because the Dursley couple never fully accepted Harry the wards never fully formed.”

“They took him in.” Albus argued, he was sure his plan had worked, the wards were still there and Harry had never been attacked by Death Eaters so he must be safe.

“It isn’t enough for them to just take him in. For the wards to fully form and work properly they would have had to take him in willingly, not just because they were forced to. And they would have had to love him as they did their own child, not just tolerate his presence and use him for slave labour.” Bill told them bluntly. “If the wards were fully formed it would take about a month for them to be at full strength, but because they only partially formed due to the disgusting behaviour of Vernon and Petunia Dursley they only take a week to reach the strongest they can be.”

Sirius snorted bitterly. “At least there is one benefit of you throwing Harry away to the hateful shrew that is Petunia. It limits the time he has to stay with them. Although I would prefer if he never got within a thousand yards of the filth again but we all know you would never allow that. The great Albus Dumbledore just loves making children stay in crappy homes.”

Albus barely managed to withhold his flinch. He would always regret that Harry hadn’t been able to have a happy childhood, but sacrifices were needed for the greater good.

“So…” Harry turned his attention to Sirius. “Clearly this little meeting isn’t going anywhere. How bout you show me to my room?”

“Ron can show you Harry dear.” Molly quickly assured, although she was still planning on having a long talk with that boy about his behaviour and that he shouldn’t try and be like Sirius. “The two of you will be sharing.”

“No, they won’t. As I have told you multiple times Molly.” Sirius rolled his eyes as he stood up and moved over to Harry, not that he needed to rush because Ron was still relaxing in his post meal haze.

“All the other children are sharing rooms, it’s only fair Ron and Harry do as well.” Molly huffed. “Besides, we need those rooms free for other Order members.”

“The other children are sharing rooms because they are guests, and because you ordered your children to do so. This is my home, Harry is my godson, and that means this is his home too. Harry is staying in his room, not one of the rooms that have been commandeered as guest rooms for Order members who have their own homes.” Sirius laid out bluntly before turning to guide Harry out of the room.

Harry loved his room. Not because it was anything spectacular, the room was a bit run down like the rest of the house due to lack of proper upkeep, but it was obvious Sirius and Remus had worked hard to fix it up.

No, what he loved was that it was his. This was evidence that Sirius acknowledged him as family. He knew Sirius loved him, how could he not with how many times he told him so, but this was physical evidence that there was room for him in Sirius’s life. Harry felt the same way about his room in the tent he and Charlie shared during the summers.

But he eventually had to leave. He knew he was going to have to talk with Ron and Hermione. He was surprised they hadn’t spoken up during lunch, or the conversation after, but figured it was because of Hermione’s devotion to adults and Ron’s fear of his mum telling him off.

After getting directions from Fred and George Harry found his way to Ron’s room where they warned him that the two were waiting for him. The twins also warned him that the two were angry but they knew he could handle them. And if not all he needed to do was bang on the door twice and they would be more than happy to create a distraction for him.

“Where have you been?” Hermione demanded as soon as he stepped in the room.

“I was putting things away in my room.” Harry said calmly. He honestly wasn’t sure if she meant just a few moments before or earlier in the summer.

“Mrs. Weasley said you were staying here with Ron.” Hermione waved her hand to the bed that clearly hadn’t been slept in that she was sitting on. “Yet your things aren’t here.”

“I’m staying in the room Sirius set up for me.” Harry looked at Hermione like she was losing it.

“But Mrs. Weasley said you were staying with Ron.” Hermione said again. 

“Yeah mate. We always room together.” Ron nodded along with Hermione.

“Not usually during the summer. In the summer we share a room when we are at The Burrow, we aren’t at The Burrow.” Harry pointed out. “Sirius and Remus set up a room for me.”

“You’re really going to listen to Sirius over Mrs. Weasley?” Hermione questioned in obvious derision. “Oh Harry. You need to think clearly right now, war is coming. We know Sirius means a lot to you, but he isn’t a good role model. Mrs. Weasley is the more responsible adult.”

“I don’t care who you think is more ‘responsible’ Hermione, Sirius is my family.” Harry said coldly, disappointed Hermione was still clearly unable to truly think for herself and chose to rely on those she saw as authority figures. “But more importantly, this is Sirius’s house.”

“You’ve never disobeyed mum like that.” Ron pointed out in a slightly worried voice. He knew how his mum was. She had been acting weird for the past few weeks in his opinion, but Ron knew she would be back to her regular behaviour soon.

Ron wasn’t a fool. He knew his mum was over protective and acted differently than most parents, he had talked to his dad over the years and knew what had happened to his mum and her brothers after their parents died. He knew his parent were just doing their best for them, and he did his best to help them and take some of the stress off them, when he remembered. With Percy leaving, and the twins being the twins, he knew his mum was stressed and didn't want to add to it. She did not handle disobedience well, which was why he tried to hide it when he did things he knew she wouldn’t like.

“I followed your mums orders because we were in her home. As I told Hermione, this is Sirius’s home.” Harry reminded his friend.

“This is the Order headquarters.” Hermione huffed. “Besides, Sirius isn’t always right about things.”

“Sirius may be allowing the Order to meet here, but this is still his home. Come on Ron, be honest. If anyone came to The Burrow and treated your family and the house the way everyone has been treating Sirius and his home they would have been kicked out within the hour and told to never come back.”

Ron’s eyes grew huge as he thought about that. If anyone had berated his mum the way his mum had berated Sirius it would be a disaster. And it wasn’t just his mum that would lose it. His dad rarely got truly angry, but Ron knew he would if someone was mistreating his mum, and his dads anger was far more intimidating than his mums. Ron actually had the urge to hide at just the thought.

“And Hermione, do you think your parents would let anyone stay in your home if they had behaved this way?” Harry turned to his female friend when he saw the clear fear in Rons eyes at his thoughts.

“That’s different.” Hermione said defensively, but she knew the answer. Her parents would never tolerate anyone bossing them around in their home. Her grandmother, her mums mum, even stayed in a hotel when she came to visit because she and her mum would just argue about how to run a household if they stayed together. They loved one another, they were just too strong willed to live together peacefully, and her mum had already said she believed she would do the same once Hermione had her own home.

“No, it really isn’t. But, I must say, I am impressed Hermione.” Harry's voice had become slightly sarcastic.

“About what?” Hermione was confused by that, completely forgetting the previous conversation in interest of some new information Harry obviously had.

“You have finally started to grow up and understand that not all adults are perfect and need to be treated like their instructions are gospel.” Harry was glad to see she was questioning the actions of at least one adult, but he really didn't like how dismissively she and Ron were treating a man that had suffered in ways they could never imagine. “Although it is only slightly since it is just one adult.”

“You’re being ridiculous Harry.” Hermione sighed in annoyance that Harry wasn’t listening.

“No Hermione, what is ridiculous is thinking that the Headmaster of my school, and one of my friends parents, have any right to make decisions about where I stay and what I do during the summer.” Harry said calmly, he was getting very good at staying calm and knew if he got too emotional Hermione would use it against him. “You are going to have to grow up one day Hermione. There is a difference between treating someone with respect and acting like every word out of their mouth must be treated like it is from the gods themselves. Adults are humans, and humans are not perfect. They are just as capable of lying or being wrong as anyone else. You obviously have no problem questioning Sirius, now you just need to start thinking critically about what other adults say. Same goes for books since they are written by people.”

Hermione ground her teeth. This wasn’t the first time Harry had said things like that and she didn't like it. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were great and accomplished people, of course she did what they wanted.

“Mum watched us too closely mate. If we had tried to tell you anything about the Order we wouldn’t have been able to write to you at all.” Ron assured Harry.

“Ron, I got letters from multiple people here, not just the two of you. The reason I am disappointed and annoyed with the two of you and not them is because they didn't spend the previous weeks taunting me with the fact they were here while I wasn’t.” Harry told them.

“We weren’t taunting you!” Hermione quickly assured.

“Yes, you were, you just didn't mean too. The letters the twins sent was about things like what they were doing and what they were thinking and asking me the same. The letters from the two of you were just vague hints about what was going on here while going on and on about all the things you couldn’t tell me.” Harry told them.

“We didn't mean it like that mate.” Ron quickly assured. They weren’t trying to taunt him.

“That’s how it came across, as I wrote to you. I told you to stop mentioning what you couldn’t say and focus on other things, you chose not to.” Harry reminded them.

“It isn’t like you told us everything yourself.” Hermione argued.

“I told you I was going camping, and that’s what I did.” Harry said with a slight smirk as he thought about how Dumbledore still had no idea of just how much he knew. “It isn’t my fault that you weren’t interested enough to ask more about it.”

Hermione huffed in irritation and crossed her arms. She knew that Harry had known exactly what he was doing with being so vague about his summer plans. But she also knew Harry was right, they hadn’t asked where he was camping, just assuming it was in the backyard like her parents had done with her when she was little.

“So you aren’t going to stay in here with me?” Ron questioned. He was hopeful the argument between Harry and Hermione was over and wanted to get past it. Despite his own short temper he really didn't know how to deal with conflict so he just chose to ignore it and move on like it never happened.

“No.” Harry said in a serious voice. “I will be staying in my room.”

“Awesome.” Ron said with a huge grin. Then he quickly decided to clarify when he saw the slightly insulted look of Harry and the irritated look of Hermione. “I just mean… It means I can spread my stuff out a bit more. Mum’s been on me nonstop to keep everything clean and tidy for when you move in with me, but if you are in your room than I can enjoy this big room all for myself.”

Harry smiled at the clear joy in Ron’s voice. He was glad Ron was choosing to look on the bright side of things. He just hoped Hermione would accept it as well.

Trial For Nothing

Harry was escorted into courtroom 10 by a very furious Martin Fawley, the law-wizard who had been hired by his grandfather before he had been born, and Sirius. Barrister Fawley had been the one who had represented him and tried to get him out of the triwizard tournament. Sirius had also hired him to get him free of his charges and now he was working on the lawsuit he was filing against the Ministry for his wrongful imprisonment. Sirius had reached out to him as soon as he had learned Harry was being charged for underage magic despite the fact he wasn’t even in the country.

There had been plenty of discussions about how Harry was going to get to his meeting with Madame Bones, it seemed everyone thought their opinion mattered. In the end Sirius had put his foot down, he would be escorting Harry along with the Potter’s barrister. And they would be going by apparition rather than trying to navigate muggle London to get there since Sirius was making him dress up like a proper wizard since he said he needed to make a good impression.

They had been lucky they had arrived early to go over what they were planning to say in the food court that morning. Mr. Weasley had gone with them and then went to his office but came rushing back only moments later with a note he had been passed that the time and location of Harry’s hearing had been changed.

Rather than the hearing they had been informed of Harry was now facing a trial, in front of select Wizengamot members, in a courtroom that hadn’t been used since the Death Eater trials, and it was starting in less than 10 minutes.

When they stepped into the room it was obvious Fudge was unhappy. He had been chatting happily with a few others, but when he saw him his smile fell away and he glared at him. With a huff the man started the trial by listing off the charges against Harry and introducing himself and the others involved in the official roles.

Before Fudge could ask a single question Fawley cut him off. “I demand a full explanation for this illegal farce.”

“Hem hem. This is no farce. This is a trial to punish a lying boy for his flagrant disregard of the international statute of secrecy.” The woman who had been identified as Deloris Umbridge said in a simpering voice.

“This is a farce, and an illegal one at that.” Barrister Fawley did not back down for a moment. He knew what kind of woman he was dealing with having had run ins with her in the past because she was always sticking her nose in things, she had done so with the tournament the year previous so he knew she already didn't like Harry. “We were informed this would be a simple hearing in Madame Bones’s office. And I was only informed, by word of mouth, that the hearing had been changed to a full trial, been move to a courtroom that hasn’t been used since the Death Eater trials, and the time had been changed. It is quite disturbing that the Ministry is so flagrantly violating so many laws.”

“Hogwash.” Fudge blustered in irritation, he hated being questioned by anyone. “Letters were sent out this morning. If you didn't get them that is your problem, not ours. This trial will move forward now. You should have prepared to defend your client better if you are this worried.”

“We have no problems with this trial moving forward. I just wanted to ensure you were fully aware of how illegal the actions of all involved in this farce are so that you will not be surprised when your crimes are investigated and you are held accountable. And it will be investigated as I will be filing criminal complaints.” At that he gave a hard look at Madame Bones, he knew the woman was known for being fair, and she was well aware his client was innocent, but she also went along with Fudge’s actions just to maintain her job far more than he was comfortable with. “After all, any change of trial time or severity requires both barrister and defendant be informed a minimum of 48 hours in advance. And as the Minister himself just confessed these supposed letters with said information were only sent out this morning.”

“Hem hem.” The pink clad Umbridge simpered. “The Ministry is perfectly within it’s rights to hold lying law breakers accountable.”

“So long as they do so legally.” Barrister Fawley reiterated.

“Can we get this done.” One of the elderly men sitting a few rows behind the Minister and his lackeys grumbled. “We do not have all day.”

“Quite right.” Fudge straightened his tie as he tried to regain control of the situation. It was not going the way he had planned, the boy shouldn’t have even been there, let alone have a barrister with him. “Are you Harry Potter of 4 Privet Dr. Little Whinging, Surrey?”

“Yes.” Harry confirmed when he got a nod from his barrister.

“And did you cast the patronus charm the evening of August 2, 1995?” Fudge demanded as he grew more confident.

“No.”

“Knowing full well… What?” Fudge was confused. He and Deloris had gone over what he would say multiple times the afternoon before and didn't understand why the boy wasn’t following their script.

“My client said no, he did not cast the spell.” Barrister Fawley.

“Then who cast the spell?” Fudge questioned.

“You were involved in the investigation Madame Bones, so would you like to answer that question since we seem to be ignoring all basic formalities with this so called trial.” Barrister Fawley glanced at the woman.

“The patronus in question was cast by Auror Shacklebolt to stop two dementors from desouling Heir Potter’s cousin.” Madame Bones said.

“Surely you aren’t implying anything so nefarious as a dementor being in a muggle town? Dementors are under ministry control.” Madame Umbridge simpered. “Though it is questionable as to why someone as respected as an auror was in a muggle town.”

Amelia knew just from the look on Barrister Fawley’s face nothing was going to stop him from forcing a full investigation. He had been allies with her father so she knew the man was ruthless when he was on a case. Add to that he was personally annoyed with the actions of Fudge and Umbridge, not that she could blame him. Neither of those two were going to allow her to do her job in peace. She knew she was going to need to mitigate as much of Umbridge’s anger since she was the real problem, Fudge was a power mad corrupt man, but he was a fool, Umbridge was power mad and corrupt too, but she had at least enough intelligence to cause problems. Luckily Amelia had one thing she knew would make Umbridge more merciful, or as much as she could be, towards Kingsley.

“Auror Shacklebolt had gone to see a squib kneazle breeder that lives in the area.” Amelia withheld a sigh when she saw the slight light in Umbridge’s eyes, the woman really did love felines.

“Potter had to be there. He lives there.” Fudge complained.

“Heir Potter was not even in the country at the time the incident occurred.” Barrister Fawley told them. He was pleased Black was keeping quiet, he knew from his own trial the man had a temper but he had made sure he understood not to say more than needed to be said.

“We have no record of that.” Umbridge said as she refocused on the annoying brat that was causing them all kinds of trouble.

“As the Minister stated, Heir Potter lives in the muggle world during the summer. His family sent him to a muggle summer camp in Spain this summer.” Barrister Fawley magicked copies of Harry’s muggle plane tickets to the present Wizengamot. “Heir Potter only returned to this country a few days ago after receiving the letter from this Ministry both charging him with the use of underage magic, as well as expelling him from Hogwarts, despite, as the ministry was later reminded, not having the authority to expel a student from school.”

At that point everything was stopped when Dumbledore threw open the doors and strolled in grandly with Mrs. Figg shuffling behind him in her house slippers. Harry was still annoyed to learn the woman who had babysat him while he was growing up was connected to the magical world and had never told him. Bill had written to him when he had learned about it earlier in the summer.

Thankfully, in Harry’s opinion, Barrister Fawley managed to keep things from falling into an ego battle between Dumbledore and Fudge. And when the vote was held Harry’s obvious innocence was affirmed, although it was clear there were a few, like Fudge and Umbridge, that were only going along with it so as to not make their bias against him public.

Prefects

When the Hogwarts letters arrived Harry was in no way surprised that Hermione and Ron were given the prefects badges. He figured they were a reward for the two doing as they were told to earlier in the summer.

Was he being a little petty, yes, yes he was.

Mrs. Weasley had arranged a party to celebrate and thats where everyone was at that moment. Harry really was happy for Ron and Hermione, even if he was still annoyed with them for their previous behaviour. They had spent a bit of time together since he arrived but Harry made it clear that spending time with his godfather was going to be his priority, they may have already been around him for weeks since they had been allowed to move into his home but Harry hadn’t and wanted the chance to get to be with him.

“Surprised it ain't you?” Mad-Eye grumbled, as quietly as he ever said anything, as he sat down with Harry.

Harry couldn’t help it, he snorted. “Thought you were smarter than that.” He said in a teasing voice, he had found he liked the blustery old man since arriving even if it was still a little creepy to be so close to him after someone wearing his face had tried to kill him only a couple months previous.

“What’s that supposed to mean lad?” Mad-Eye questioned as both his eyes locked on the child in front of him. He had only met him a few weeks before, but he found he liked the boys blunt attitude. He was also impressed that the boy had managed to not just get past them, but got out of the country. And not only did he get out of the country, but he managed to keep his methods secret even from him and that was something that he could respect, in his own way.

“I think it’s been made pretty clear this summer that I am not blindly obedient to what Dumbledore wants. I dared to both question and defy his demands. No way he, or McGonagall, would give me any form of authority after that. Those two are of the opinion that they are always right and never truly consider anyone else’s perspective or that they could possibly make a mistake.” Harry huffed with a slight eye roll. “Ron and Hermione proved they would obey regardless of whether or not they fully agreed. So they were rewarded for that.”

“Albus is a good leader.” Mad-Eye quickly defended the man that had led them through the previous war. He did agree that that was most likely the reason the boy didn't get the prefects badge, but that didn't mean Albus was necessarily wrong. “What do you think he’s doing wrong anyway?”

“Well… from what little I’ve heard you guys are guarding something, but I think we know how that went with the lot of you watching me.” Harry smirked at the scowl he got from the man that was still not over a teenager getting past him. “You guys don’t share information. Without having information on what happened while the others are watching all you can do is make assumptions. You also have no way to tell if anything has happened to a watcher. What if they get cursed, or hurt? And do any of you have alibis set up for if you are suspected of being somewhere where you weren't meant to be? Or are you all just going to rely on that 'looking for a kneazle' story again?"”

“What are you guys…”

“Talking about?” Fred and George questioned as they sat down with Harry and Mad-Eye. 

The twins were still ignoring their mum after what she had said about all of her children being prefects when they hadn’t, not that she had noticed. Both she and their dad were doting on Ron. They weren’t really bothered by Ron getting the badge, they knew Ron had his own issues and were hopeful this would encourage him, but they couldn’t deny they resented their parents behaviour.

“We were just talking about how the Order doesn’t have any protections for their guards, and actually good alibis.” Harry told the twins. He knew they were upset so thought giving them a task might get their minds off the dismissiveness of their parents. “What do you two think? What would you do to make sure the guards can get help if it is needed?”

That resulted in a planning session that was soon joined by a few others about different protections that could be put in place to ensure Order members weren’t attacked without being able to call for backup like had happened during the previous war. Mad-Eye had pulled out an old photo of the previous Order and they talked about what they could have done different to learn from their mistake so that when this newest war ended they wouldn’t have a photo with so many members that had been killed.