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This story is unfinished and will remain that way. Sorry and thank you to everyone who leaves/has left comments and kudos :)

“The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue.” said Umbridge quietly.

“No!” shrieked Hermione. “Professor Umbridge—it's illegal.”

But Umbridge took no notice. There was a nasty eager, excited look on her face that Harry had never seen before. She raised her wand.

“The Minister wouldn't want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!” cried Hermione.

“What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him.” said Umbridge, who was now panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of Harry's body in turn, apparently trying to decide where it would hurt most.

“He never knew I ordered dementors to go after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same.”

“It was you?” gasped Harry, “You sent the dementors after me?”

“Somebody had to act.” breathed Umbridge, as her wand came to rest pointing directly at Harry's forehead.

“They were all bleating about silencing you somehow - discrediting you - but I was the one who actually did something about it ... Only you wriggled out of that one, didn't you, Potter? Not today though, not now…”

She lifted her wand but seemed to change her mind at the last moment, pointing it instead at Hermione. Ropes shot out of her wand and wound themselves around her, then around Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna also.

Using magic, she forced them all into a corner and then turned her wand on the Inquisitorial Squad; before they knew what was happening, they were all obliviated and House-elves had been called to take them back to their common rooms.

When Snape entered the room once more moments later, he too was tied up and sent to a separate corner before he had chance to react.

Finally, she turned to eyes back to Harry.

“So Mr Potter.” She sneered, “There’s not much you can do now except telling me the truth. Why did you break into my office?”

When she got no reaction, she leveled her wand at him once more.

“Then I have no choice. Crucio.” She said, almost lazily.

Pain flooded through him; it wasn’t as bad as when Voldemort had tortured him the year before, but it was bad enough that he lost all awareness of space and time after a few minutes.

Eventually, it stopped, and Harry became aware of Hermione’s pleading. He was pulled upright from where he had fallen under the influence of the curse and Umbridge spat in his face.

“That was just a taster, are you ready to talk?”

Once again, Harry refused to even acknowledge her. Growling, she let him fall to the floor and cast the curse again, this time stronger. Harry refused to scream, but his limbs were shaking, and every nerve end felt as if it were on fire. He was hardly aware of anything, although he could hear Hermione still, and after what seemed like an eternity, Umbridge let up and pulled him towards her again.

He spat in her face and she dropped him with a howl of disgust.

“Fine. Miss Granger is making enough noise, how would you like to hear her scream?”

She leveled her wand at Hermione, but Harry, panicked, managed to pant out.

“Are you actually as stupid as you seem, or is it all an act?”

“What?!” she half growled; half shouted.

“What’s the matter? Can’t hear my through that thick skull of yours?” he quipped as best he could as he panted.

From behind Umbridge, he could have sworn he saw Snape lift an impressed eyebrow as his figured out his plan, but the toad was too worked up to realise she was playing right into his hand.

“Crucio!” she shrieked at him, almost frothing at the mouth.

This time the pain was immense; she was fueling her hatred at being insulted through into the spell, making it all the more powerful and Harry couldn’t help but scream as every nerve seemingly shriveled inside of him.

After a while he blanked out, only to awaken a few moments later to a sharp pain on his face. He tried to lift his hand to sooth the sore spot, but his limbs were shaking too much.

When the spots in his vison cleared and the room came back into view, he saw that the toad was right in front of him, hand raised to slap him again.

Seeing he was awake, she stepped back instead, raising her wand once more. Just as she cast the spell and Harry dissolved into screams again, the floo flared and Amelia Bones stepped out.

Quickly taking in the situation, she flicked her wand thrice - once to disarm, once to stun and once to tie up - before loosening the bonds on Snape and the other students and running over the Harry.

“Mr Potter?” she gently asked the shaking boy, then, more to herself, she asked, “What has been happening here.”

“If I may.” Stepped in Snape, “He has been under the Cruciatus curse for a considerable length of time. I would advise he be taken to the hospital wing by two of the students while the other three and myself stay here to explain what happened.”

Amelia Bones nodded and Snape barked out.

“Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, take Mr Potter to the hospital wing, explain to Madam Pomfrey his injuries. The rest of you remain.”

“Please tell Madam Pomfrey that I will be there shortly and ask her not to give Mr Potter any sleeping medicine,” added Madam Bones, “I wish to talk to him.”

Ron and Hermione nodded before leading – nearly carrying - the still shaking Harry from the room.

As succinctly as possible, Snape told Madam Bones everything that had happened and when he had finished, they turned to the three teenagers, who looked at them nervously. They couldn’t very well tell the head of the DMLE that they were trying to talk to escaped prisoner.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny spoke up, “We were trying to break into her office, but she caught us.”

Amelia Bones raised an eyebrow, “And why were you breaking into her office?”

Ginny fidgeted for a moment before answering, “All the floos are monitored except this one, and Harry needed to talk to someone without being watched, so we were helping him.”

“I see,” she considered them for a moment, “I have a sneaky suspicion I know who he may have been trying to contact. I think it best if I go and talk to Mr Potter now. I suggest you three go back to your common rooms, please keep what had happened here today to yourselves for now.”

The trio nodded before heading out of the door; when they had left, Madam Bones headed in the direction of the hospital wing, Snape trailing along behind her. As soon as they reached the hospital wing, she apologised to Madam Pomfrey for disturbing her patient before turning to the teenager himself.

“Mr Potter, Professor Snape and your three friends have told me what happened and what you were trying to do, but not who you were trying to contact, do you think you could fill me in?” she asked gently.

Slowly, Harry nodded, then told her everything from the vision in the exam to the fact that Sirius was living in a house under the Fidelius charm. She didn’t seem very surprised at the fact they were trying to reach Sirius, but it did alarm her to think of Death Eaters being in the Ministry of Magic.

“I must go to the Ministry, I will try and find out if you Godfather is safe, but as his is in hiding it will be hard for me to find out.”

Snape stepped forward, “No need, I contacted him after Mr Potter sent me a cryptic message. He is safe and well, it must have been a false vision.”

Harry smiled faintly and Madam Bones nodded her head, “Good, thank you. Now, I will hopefully get Umbridge’s trial for tomorrow, will you both be willing to testify?”

Snape nodded while Harry said, “Yes, but only under Veritaserum and only if you ask me about the return of Voldemort as well, I’m fed up with being called a liar.”

Madam Bones shuddered slightly at the mention of the evil wizard’s name but nodded.

“Very well, I will stay away from the connection you share with he-who-must-not-be-named, but we may be able to prove your Godfather’s innocence if I ask you the right questions. I see what I can do. And now I will leave you to sleep. Goodbye Mr Potter, Professor Snape.” She nodded at them both before striding out of the room.

A few seconds later, Madam Pomfrey bustled over and shoved a potion into Harry’s hand, muttering something about untreated and traumatised patients. So as not to get on the wrong side of her, he obediently downed the potion, which he realised was Dreamless Sleep.

Seconds later, the pain in his limbs was gone and he was in a deep sleep.

The next day, Harry sat in a room by himself, ready to testify. After he had been there for about an hour, Tonks came to collect him.

“You’re the last one.” She whispered to him, “Fudge is pretty mad.”

Harry smirked, “Did anyone else go under Veritaserum?”

“No, they try to use it as little as possible and you’re the key witness.” She looked at him, concerned, “Are you alright now?”

“Still a little shaky but I’ll be fine.” He said with a small smile.

She threw a smile back before leading him into the courtroom where he had been tried nearly a year previously.

As he sat on the witness stand, Amelia Bones introduced him, despite the fact everyone already knew who he was, and declared he would be going under Veritaserum, which was quickly administered.

For the next ten minutes, Harry was questioned about the events of the previous day, together they gathered enough detail to prove both Umbridge’s guilt and Dumbledore’s innocence until she finally asked the question that they knew would turn the most heads.

“And why were you breaking into Professor Umbridge’s office in the first place?”

“To use her floo, all of the others were being monitored.”

“Why did you need to use the floo?”

“I needed to talk to my Godfather.”

“But isn’t your Godfather the escaped convict, Sirius Black?”

“Yes.”

“Is Sirius Black innocent?”

“Yes. He was never given a trial and Minister Fudge refused to listen to us because we were ‘children’ and he feels intimidated by Professor Dumbledore.”

Fudge turned bright red and started to splutter.

“Who gave the information to he-who-must-not-be-named then?” asked Madam Bones.

“Peter Pettigrew.”

“Isn’t he dead?”

“No, he blew up the street with his wand behind his back then turned into his Animagus form, which is a rat, before disappearing down the sewer. He was living with the unknowing Weasley family until the end of my third year, then he escaped and helped to resurrect Voldemort.”

Ignoring the gasp at his use of the name, Madam Bones asked, “So, you are saying that he-who-must-not-be-named has returned?”

“Yes, Voldemort is back.”

During the exchange, the level of noise in the courtroom was slowly growing, but at the last statement, there was an eruption so loud Harry could hardly think. Fudge’s face was purple, and Amelia looked slightly smug – there was press at the trial, there was no way for the Minister to cover it up.

“I ask for silence!” she called, after sending a cannon blast of with her wand, and the courtroom quietened once more as Harry was given the antidote for the Veritaserum.

“That is the last witness. I now call for a vote, all those in favor of sending Dolores Jane Umbridge to Azkaban for life, please raise your hand.”

More than three quarters of the room, including – much to Umbridge’s distain – Fudge, put their hands in the air.

“Very well, and all those in favour of dropping the charges against Sirius Black, raise your hand.”

“Wait a minute.” Blustered the Minister, “You can’t do that.”

“I believe I am in charge here, Minister Fudge, and it is well within my authority to do this. I repeat, all those in favour of dropping the charges against Sirius Black, raise your hand.”

Just over a half raised their hands, excluding Fudge this time; at this, the Minister rose to his feet and stomped from the room amidst a flurry of flashing camera lights.

“Very well. Mr Potter if you would like to give your Godfather the good news and ask him to come and visit me later today, so I can sort out the details of his release.” Then she addressed the rest of the court, “I believe we will sort out the issue of Peter Pettigrew tomorrow. Now, all those in favour of dropped the charges against Albus Dumbledore, raise your hand.”

Most of the court voted for Dumbledore’s release, and just like that, both Sirius and Dumbledore were free while Umbridge was locked up for life; Harry thought it was a pretty perfect day.

Everyone started to move, so Snape grumpily led the five teenagers out of the room and towards the floo.

Harry summoned up his courage and asked Snape, “Do you think you could take me to my Godfather, please Sir?” carefully using his relation to the man not his name to show how important this was to him.

Snape looked at him disdainfully but sighed, “As long as you’re quick about it. You lot through to the Great Hall, go to your common rooms.” He snapped.

Harry grinned as the others disappeared, then gripped tightly onto the Potion Master’s arm. A second later they appeared next to Grimmauld Place and Harry rushed inside.

“Sirius. Sirius!” he called, causing the painting for Walburga Black to start shrieking.

Sirius appeared down the stairs, “Pup? What is it? What’s wrong?”

Harry ran up to him and gave him a hug.

“You’re free! The court freed you!”

“Wait, come and sit down, tell me everything!”

Excitedly, he followed his Godfather into the kitchen and Harry told him everything that had happened at the trial. Soon Sirius’s eyes were shining.

“That’s amazing Pup! Thank you so much! I’ll go and see her as soon as you leave.”

“Do you know where Dumbledore is?”

“Right here.” Came a soft voice from behind them.

“Professor!” Harry cried, jumping out of his seat, “Did you hear, Sir? The court cleared your name.”

“Yes, I am very grateful Harry, thank you.” There was a twinkle in his eye, “Now the world is sure of Voldemort’s return, they can be more prepared, you should be proud.”

Harry grinned, “Are you coming back to Hogwarts, Sir?”

Dumbledore shook his head, “Not right away, Professor McGonagall just arrived back from St Mungo’s, she will be Headmistress while I am gone. Now, I believe that Professor Snape is getting impatient, I suggest you go back with him.”

Harry nodded, gave his Godfather a hug and shot out into the hall, almost crashing into Snape who glared at him before stalking outside.

They apparated to just outside the gates of Hogwarts, then set off up the drive.

As they got to the doors, Harry said. “Thank you, Sir.” Before running off and leaving a slightly bewildered Potions Master behind him.

The next day was Saturday and Harry happily made his way down to breakfast. He was now completely cured, and his limbs no longer shook, so he had a smile on his face as he read a letter from Sirius, telling him that he had claimed the Black Headship, and had bought a whole new wardrobe, as well as a new house and registered his Animagus form (Madam Bones had considered twelve years wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban more than enough punishment for being unregistered).

They were having a big meal all together to celebrate the return of Professor McGonagall and the fall of Umbridge, so everyone was there when the Minister for Magic himself burst through the doors, ranting and raving, followed by two Aurors.

The whole room turned to look at him as the red-faced man shouted, “I am in control of this establishment! I will be choosing the next Headmaster to reflect what the Ministry wants students to be learning!”

Immediately, the whole room began to shake, and everyone grabbed onto the nearest person or thing to stop themselves falling to the floor. Minister Fudge wasn’t so lucky, falling over and landing rather heavily on his backside.

After a few seconds of rumbling, a golden mist descended on them. The mist condensed to form a woman with flowing, waist length hair, fiery eyes the same colour as the stone walls and glowing golden robes.

She looked somehow young and wise simultaneously and her voice thundered with power as she hovered above Fudge and spoke directly to him.

“The Minister for Magic dares to claim this school as his own? It belongs to the four Founders and their descendants. You and yours have no control over it and you will leave now or be forced out!”

“See here.” Blustered Fudge, “The Ministry has control over…”

“No,” she cut over him, “The Ministry has tried to take control. But Hogwarts is governed separately from the rest of the country, it is a country in its own right, and you have no say here. Like the Warrior Nation of Goblins, you have no power and yet you try to carry on as if you do. Let me make it clear, you have not power here.”

“And you do? Who are you?” the Minister tried to put authority into his voice but was betrayed by his position on the floor.

“I am Lady Hogwarts. The great Founders created me to help the school when it was in danger – not matter what that danger might be - and you are a danger to this school. I will be picking the new Head of this school myself, as the Founders gave me the power to do. I will give you a little information, although this is by choice as I am not obligated to tell you anything, none of the Professors are suitable, so I will pick from the students.”

She clicked her fingers and two suits of armor clanked towards Fudge, who cowered away from them.

“A student cannot run this school.”

“The person I pick will be more than capable with power and authority to match. You will know my decision by Monday, but now, friends will escort you out.”

The suits of armor picked up Fudge, who was whimpering like a baby, and dragged him out of the grounds – the two aurors following behind - before marching back to their posts.

Lady Hogwarts turned to the rest of the school, “The new Head will make himself known to you when they see fit, not later than Monday. Stay in your common rooms until then, the House-elves will provide you with what you need.”

With that she vanished, leaving the students to wonder at what had just happened, the only thing telling them that they hadn’t all had the same dream was the lingering gold mist that hung without malice in the air.

Harry couldn’t get to sleep; it was well past midnight and his brain just wouldn’t turn off, too much had happened that day.

Eventually he gave up, retrieved his map and cloak from his trunk, and made his way out of the Gryffindor Tower. Not really having a plan for where he was going, he was surprised but not unhappy when he found himself at the top of the astronomy tower, admiring the twinkling stars reflected in the lake.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been stood there - it could have been three minutes or three hours – when a gentle voice echoed from behind him.

“Harry, you see as much potential in each student in this castle as you do star in the sky. That is an amazing quality.”

Drawing his wand, Harry spun around, only to see that the voice came from the same entity that had appeared in the Great Hall, only she was glowing more softly and the fire in her eyes was more of an ember than a blaze.

Quickly, he lowered his wand again, “Lady Hogwarts, my apologies, you make me jump.”

Hogwarts gave a slight laugh, “But you were still ready to defend yourself which shows you can think quickly and on your feet but act with caution. I have no doubt that you would not hesitate to defend this school and your friends if needed and these are admirable, Headmaster like qualities, don’t you think?”

Harry’s eyes widened, “You’re not implying that I think you are, are you?” he asked.

“That I want you to be the Headmaster of Hogwarts? Yes, I think you would be perfect.”

“But… But I wouldn’t. I’m only fifteen for starters!”

“Harry, Harry,” she let out a tinkling laugh, “before you get panicked, I would at least like to explain my existence and my reasoning for choosing you. You can still refuse then, if you wish.”

Sighing slightly, Harry nodded and motioned for Lady Hogwarts to take a seat next to him on the wall. They sat in silence for a few moments, staring up at the stars, before Hogwarts began her tale.

“Back when Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin founded Hogwarts, the Statute of Secrecy did not exist and so the school was not in danger. However, the four were wise enough to realise that this may not always be that case.”

Not for the first time, Harry was struck by how powerful and all-knowing the founders seemed to be.

“They poured their own magic into the castle, until there was eventually enough to bring me to life. Usually I am effectively asleep, I can fix minor problems in the castle and such, but I mostly leave the people within to their own devices.”

‘People probably wouldn’t want the castle interfering with the running of the school.’ Harry thought to himself, ‘but I think it would be a great help.’

“Occasionally - if the castle is being taken over, either by war or by politics, or if there is significant damage done – I wake up and take this human form to help the inhabitants of the castle. I have been given the power to banish people from the castle and appoint a new Head, as you have already heard. Hogwarts is effectively its own country; it is not governed by the laws of the rest of the country and as such, the Ministry cannot take it over.”

‘Thank goodness.’ Harry thought.

“When it tried to, I was awakened, and I now have to find a new Head. Ideally it would have been a professor, but none of the current professors are what this school needs right now, and according to the rules I have to choose someone who is already living in the castle.”

Harry was about to protest but Lady Hogwarts carried on.

“Hogwarts needs a leader who will take everyone’s views, opinions and needs into account, but still make sensible and fair decisions, someone who will not be biased towards a certain house and will defend all of the students to the last, who will make the changes needed without worrying about what those who are biased or don’t have all the facts. Someone like you, Harry.”

“But I’m fifteen.” Protested Harry, a little desperately.

“You are old enough to handle it, else I wouldn’t be asking. Your experiences have dictated that you are mature for your age.”

“But I don’t think I can handle it. I’m not ready! I haven’t got the first idea how to run a school!”

Hogwarts tinkling laugh was heard again, “It is because you don’t think you can’t handle it, that I know you can. Tell me Harry, what do you think needs to change about this school?”

He thought about it for a moment, “The Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry, some of the teachers, some of the subjects, the uniform, the brooms and there are lots of dangerous things in the castle, to name a few off the top of my head.”

“You see, you know already what needs to be changed. With the help of a council and some extra knowledge, you would be able to change it and make this school great again.”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry about this, do you think I could have a little time to think it over and talk to my friends.”

Hogwarts nodded, “I need to know by lunchtime at the latest, just say your decision aloud, I will hear it. There is just one more thing, if I am right you have the blood of the Founders in you too, you should go and pay a visit to the Goblins.” She said before fading into the stones, leaving Harry alone and a little confused atop the tower once more.

In a daze, he walked back to the Gryffindor tower - it was a miracle he didn’t get caught as he stumbled through corridors and tripped up stairs. Once he was back in his room, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and had a dreamless few hours of sleep.

Waking with a stretch, he realised that he felt more rested then he had in years. He checked the time (7:30) and jumped out of bed, waking Ron with a shake.

“Oi Ron, this is important, you need to get out of bed.”

His friend groaned and shifted himself.

“What mate?”

“I can’t tell you here, we need to get ready, get Hermione, then go to the Room of Requirement.”

Ron pulled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his hand over his face, “We’re not supposed to leave the tower.”

“This is important Ron; we can take my cloak. Just get ready, please.”

With that he left for the bathroom himself.

Half an hour later, both boys were ready and had made their way down to the common room. They ate some breakfast that the House-elves had set out on a table, while they waited for Hermione, who appeared ten minutes later.

“Hermione, finally!” exclaimed Ron with a smirk, in pay back for all the times she had said it to him.

Before Hermione could react with more than a glare, Harry spoke up.

“We need to go to the Room of Requirement, Hermione, get under the cloak.”

She was about to argue, but at seeing the determined look on his face, she decided to just go with it and the three huddled under the water-like material together.

Once they were outside of the room, Harry left the safety of the cloak and paced backwards and forwards along the corridor, thinking of somewhere with a few sofas for them to sit. He opened the door and it revealed a room not unlike the Gryffindor common room, but with less lion features.

The three each settled onto squashy armchair, then Ron and Hermione looked expectantly at Harry, who took a deep breath and told them everything that Lady Hogwarts had told him a few hours previously, except that for the very important detail of her asking him to be the Headmaster.

“I don’t understand. Why did she tell all of you this? Surely she’d be telling the new Headmaster.” Asked Ron.

Hermione had a look of realisation on her face as she watched Harry squirm and said, “She asked you to be the new Headmaster, didn’t she?”

Not for the first time, it surprised Harry just how good Hermione was at putting things together, although he thought that he should probably be used to it by now.

“Yes.” He admitted, with a small smile that came out more as a grimace.

Ron was speechless, for a moment he wanted to throw a punch at Harry, who always seemed to get everything and be center of attention and everything he wanted to be.

But after he thought about it for a moment, he realised didn’t want to be the Headmaster; sure, it may be fun for a while, but all the responsibility and paperwork? That wasn’t his thing at all.

Meanwhile, Hermione was thinking about why Lady Hogwarts had chosen Harry, he must have had all the qualities she was looking for when no older person had. If he was what was best for the school, then she would help him. After all, he had said that he needed a council, and she could be on that.

The two friends looked at each other and said together, “You should do it.” Before turning to Harry with a smirk.

Now Harry was speechless; he had expected Hermione to say he was too young and Ron to be jealous, not for them to immediately back him up.

“But… But you haven’t even thought about it.”

“We don’t need to think about it, we know you well enough to see that you would be perfect for the job.” Pointed out Hermione, while Ron added.

“And it’s not like you’ll be doing it alone. You said you were gonna make a council, didn’t you?”

“I mean, yes, but do you really think this is a good idea?”

They both nodded at him. “I do have a few questions for Lady Hogwarts though, do you think I would be able to ask them?”

Before Harry could response Lady Hogwarts appeared beside them.

“Of course, dear Hermione. What would you like to know?”

“First of all, what would Harry do about his exams?”

Lady Hogwarts addressed all three of them “Well, Harry has his OWLs, but he may want to redo at least a few of them.” She smiled at Harry, who cringed a little but laughed.

“And for the remaining knowledge that he would need, I have looked back in his family tree and he had blood of all four Founders in him. Within the Gringotts vaults of the Founders are a set of devises that will allow him to access their knowledge if he has the Hogwarts Headmaster ring on his finger.

“That is not to say that he will lose the knowledge if he takes the ring off or steps away from the position in time, but the conditions of the knowledge gain are being Heir to all four Founders and Head of Hogwarts School. With this knowledge, all Harry has to do is spend a little while making sure the knowledge is up to date and he will be able to retake his OWLs and take his NEWTs at the end of the summer.”

The three looked at her in shock, Harry had to get his brain rebooted from the idea that he was (if everything went to plan) going to be in possession of knowledge that the Founders had by the end of the summer if he took up the position of Headmaster.

Eventually, Hermione spoke, “Thank you. And would he be part of Gryffindor anymore?”

Lady Hogwarts frowned, “No. He would be allowed in the common room of course as he will be allowed in all the common rooms - but he will no longer belong to a house. Of course, it is up to the students as to whether or not they will allow themselves to treat him – respectively – still as Harry.”

Hermione nodded, “Finally, what happens if he refuses?”

“I didn’t mention this before because I didn’t want to put pressure on Harry, but if he does not become Headmaster the school will close, as there are no other viable candidates.”

Harry sighed, “It’s a good thing I had already made up my mind then, isn’t it?”

“You’ll do it?” Lady Hogwarts squealed, looking much closer to their age then a thousand-year-old castle as Harry nodded.

“Follow me then.” She clapped, leading them out of the room and through so many corridors that the trio became completely disorientated.

 After about twenty minutes, Lady Hogwarts stopped outside of a wood door - which looked plain, ordinary and completely inconspicuous, except for the fact it had no door handle - and the trio stood next to her trying to catch their breath.

“Unfortunately, only the Headmaster can go into this room, so we three must wait out here.”

“Surely you can go in?” asked Hermione.

“I can.” Replied Hogwarts, “But Harry must be ready to step into something new alone, this is ultimately his decision.”

Harry nodded and gave both of his friends a quick hug. They gave him reassuring smiles and he lifted his hand to the door with a big intake of breath.

The wood felt old beneath his fingers, as though it had been there since the very beginning of time, and he held his hand on it for a few seconds before pushing the door open.

At first, Harry couldn't see anything, as there was little light in the room, but as his eyes got accustomed to the half dark, he was able to pick out more.

The room was circular and about three meters in diameter, the walls stone and the floor earth. There were five standing stones around the room, four around the outside next to the walls and one in the center; each stood about three meters tall and had a large rune that glowed a blue colour near the top.

Each of these stones radiated power and magic to such an extent that he could feel it thrumming along his skin and the four around the outside were connected to the one in the center by lay lines that pulsed along the floor and into the base of each stone.

Slowly, he stepped into the room and the door closed behind him - shutting out all light except for that which came from the stones and connecting lines - then carefully walked around the outside of the room, stopping before the first stone. He placed his hands on it and felt the rough, natural material beneath his fingers.

It was not weathered, being so deep underground, nor was it moss covered, but there was still an age to it that Harry could hardly comprehend. He held his fingers above the rune and let the light dance through them, then placed his hand directly on the strange symbol.

There was a rush of power through his fingers and he could suddenly see golden strings forming and joining the stone he was touching to the center stone. Strangely, he now knew that the rune beneath his fingers was the Nordic symbol for wisdom and he found that he suddenly understood why Hogwarts was so important. Beyond it being a school, it was a safe haven for knowledge and growth.

Moving slowly, he felt it was wrong to rush this, Harry moved onto the next stone and took a minute to feel the power of it before putting his hand on the rune.

Once again, the golden threads connected it to the center stone, and he felt more knowledge descend upon him. This symbol, he knew, meant courage, and he now felt that he had the willpower, even with his still limited knowledge, to defend the castle till his death.

Moving onto the next stone, he repeated the process, watching the golden strings appear then feeling the weight of the stone's magic. This symbol meant loyalty, and when he knew that, he also became aware that he had to do everything in his power to protect the school and stay loyal to its inhabitants.

By the time he reached the final outer stone, he was starting to feel weighed down by the magic, but he continued with the process. The final symbol meant cunning, and as he touched it, he knew that he had to bring the school back on top and strategies filled his mind.

Staggering slightly, he made his way to the center stone - this one was slightly taller and more imposing, but Harry knew what he had to do.

He stepped towards it and ran his hand along it, before taking a deep breath and placing his hand on the center rune. There was a huge rush of magic, he received the knowledge that the rune beneath his fingers meant unity, and then he blacked out.

When Harry awoke, he had no concept of how long he had been unconscious, but he could hardly stand for the weight of the magic upon him. He could feel the wards in a golden dome around him, sense every living being within them and hear the light, cheerful humming of the magic.

He stayed panting on the floor for a few moments but looked up when his brain finally told him that the room was a lot bright then it had been. The runes were now giving off a white light, so bright Harry could hardly look at it, and finally he was convinced that he had done the right thing, both for himself and Hogwarts.

Pulling himself up, he put his hand on the stone for a few seconds, almost wishing he could stay there longer, but he felt stronger now, the wards had less of an effect on him and there was a kind of pull on his magic that told him to go outside and meet his friends.

Walking out of the door, he was met with a slightly frantic looking Hermione and an only mildly nervous looking Ron, while Lady Hogwarts sat quite calmly with a comforting hand on the frantic friend’s back.

Upon seeing him, Hermione jumped up and rushed forward to give him a hug; as she did, he could feel the anxiety radiating off her.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay.” He soothed patting her on the back.

“Oh Harry, you were in there for so long, we were so worried!”

“Sorry Mione, I didn’t mean to worry you, the weight of the wards and the power of the magic knocked me out for a while. How long was I in there?”

“About half an hour.” Answered Lady Hogwarts while Ron stared at him in awe.

“You can feel the wards?”

Hermione finally let go of him and he took a deep breath before answering.

“Yes, it’s weird; I can see the wards, they’re a kind of dome around the school and I can sort of sense where everyone is and what rooms are where. It’s kind of on the edge of my mind, and if I focus, I can see most things. No wonder Dumbledore always knew what was going on.”

Ron was awestruck and Hermione looked like she was going to ask him a dozen more questions, so he quickly continued.

“Right. We need to create a council if we are to have a hope of this working. Let’s go back to the Room of Requirement, then we can decide who we want, write letters and have the House-elves send them out.”

He looked around for Lady Hogwarts, but she had once again melted into the wall. Thinking carefully about the layout of the castle and sensing with his mind’s eyes where the different corridors and doors led, he started to walk and didn’t stop until they were next to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

Chapter Text

Harry paced up and down outside the Room of Requirement, asking it for a space to gather his council. When the door appeared, the trio entered to find a neutral space which had a table big enough to seat four people, and a small comfy seating area off to the side.

As soon as he had sat down, Harry scrunched up his face in concentration and three notebooks appeared with pens next to them. Harry and Hermione immediately picked them up, but Ron stared in wonder.

“What are these?” he asked, confused.

“Muggle notebooks and pens,” explained Hermione, “The paper is thinner, has lines to write on and stays together better than parchment – but you can take out pages if you need to – and the pens have ink in them already, so you don’t have to carry around any ink, plus you can get them in lots of different colours.”

While Ron had a go, Harry began to write out a list of who he might want on his council.

“Hey guys, I was thinking two people from each house, don’t you think?”

“All of the houses?” asked Ron in despair.

“Of course, this school is made of four houses.”

“But the Slytherins are all Death Eaters! They won’t help us, and they’ll just abuse their power.”

“First of all Ron, at least half of the Slytherins have nothing to do with the Death Eaters, and want nothing to do with them either, while the other half, through no fault of their own, are related to Death Eaters, but that doesn’t mean they are or even want to be them!”

“Harry’s right. We may even be able to save some people from being forced into becoming Death Eaters if we go about it carefully. I think three from each house is a good idea, did you have any specific people in mind?”

“Yes.” Harry nodded, “But you’re not going to like the Slytherins.”

“Please tell me you’re not thinking of Malfoy!” exploded Ron.

“I think he would be the perfect person, and I want to try and save him from his father and Voldemort if I can.”

“I agree with you,” Hermione sighed, then frowned, “But he would have to promise to stop bullying everyone.”

“To be honest with you, I don’t think he wants to do it anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“This last year; he hasn’t sort us out to insult us, he only says something if he comes across us, and he isn’t outright bullying anyone anymore other than a few insults every now and again. But I don’t think he even wants to do that, there’s something different about him, like he’s seen that he is on the wrong side of the war. If we offer him the chance to join us and protection, I think that he will jump at it.”

Ron sighed, “If you really think so mate, but he has to apologise to us – anyone who is on the council, actually – and say he will never do it again. If he agrees then I am willing to work with him.”

Harry nodded and Hermione smiled slightly, “Read out the list you had.”

“Okay. From Slytherin: Draco Malfoy and Daphne Greengrass. From Ravenclaw: Luna Lovegood and Terry Boot. From Hufflepuff: Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Finally, from Gryffindor: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.”

He finished reading and looked up to see that Ron was frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was thinking about Neville, I think that he would be a good edition.”

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing, but I really want the two of you. Actually, I thought that he would be perfect as my deputy, that way I can have two deputies, one connected me to the staff and the other to the students. He wouldn’t be representing Gryffindor, but he’d be on the council, I think that we can trust him to be neutral and fair.”

“That’s an amazing idea, Harry!” enthused Hermione, “He’ll love that, and it will really boost his confidence. Shall I write out a quick letter for each of them?”

“Thank you, Hermione, yes please.”

A few minutes later and they had come up with the following letter.

Dear (insert name here),

You will be aware that there are changes happening at Hogwarts,
and I would like you to be part of them.
If you are willing, then please come to the Room of Requirement as soon as you can,
If you do not know where this is, you can ask the Elf who brought you the note,
Please tell no-one else where you are going.

Signed: Harry Potter

They added an extra part into the notes of the Slytherins, as they knew that they would just think it was a joke the Gryffindors were playing on them, their notes read.

Dear (insert name here),

You will be aware that there are changes happening at Hogwarts,
and we would like you to be part of them.
I swear that this is not a joke or a prank,
Please come to represent your house, the school has four of them after all, not three.
If you are willing, then please come to the Room of Requirement as soon as you can,
If you do not know where this is, you can ask the Elf who brought you the note,
Please tell no-one else where you are going.

Signed: Harry Potter

When they were satisfied, Harry could Dobby, who appeared with a pop.

“What can the lowly Dobby be doing for the Great Headmaster Harry Potter?”

“Hey Dobby, you don’t have to call me that you know. I have some notes for you to deliver, can you do one house and have three other elves do the other three please? Please do not let anyone other than the addressee see you or the note. You may have to lead them to this room.”

Dobby nodded vigorously, “Dobby would be happy to, Sir.”

He clicked his finger and three other House-elves appeared, took the notes and then disappeared again.

Dobby appeared in the Slytherin common room and began to look for the two teenagers that the letters were addressed to. They were sat together, but the problem was that there were five other people with him.

He bounced on his heels and thought for a moment before sending a quick charm at the people he needed to leave. Suddenly they remembered that they had things they needed to be doing and hurried off to do them, leaving Dobby with the two he needed to talk to.

Quickly, he moved towards them and cleared his throat. As Draco saw him, he started in surprise.

“Dobby? Father told me that you were dead.”

“Yes, it is Dobby. Dobby is not dead, the great Harry Potter freed me. Dobby has come to give you these.”

He handed each letter to the person it was addressed to and gave them a minute to read it.

When they had finished, the two looked at each other.

“What do you think they’re up to?” wondered Draco.

“Nothing, Sir. The great Harry Potter is trying to save the school.”

Draco groaned, “I bet you anything he’s been made Headmaster, that’s the kind of stupid thing he gets himself into all the time.”

“If so then I think we should go, if only to protect the Slytherins.” Commented Daphne.

“It might even level out the ground between us and the rest of the school.”

“And it would give us political power.”

“Maybe he would be able to protect me from my father.” Draco mused, “So we’re doing this?”

“I guess so. But if it’s a trap, we hex their butts off.”

“Agreed. Dobby, where is this room?”

“Dobby will show you, Sir.”

Back in the Room of Requirement, people were starting to arrive. The Gryffindors were first, then the Ravenclaws, as their common rooms were closest. Pretty soon, there was only the Slytherins left to arrive and everyone was chatting about what they thought was happening, as Harry refused to talk with them until everyone had arrived, although he had pulled Neville to the side and held a whispered conversation with him.

After a little while, the door opened to reveal Daphne, followed by Draco. Immediately, most of the people in the room started to complain.

“Not the Slytherins!”

“Why are they here?”

“What’s going on?”

Harry roared, “Quiet!” and the Slytherins were surprised - as they did not know that the others had come to view him as their natural leader because of the DA – to see that everyone obeyed him instantly.

“Thank you. The Slytherins are here for the same reason the rest of you are. I am the new Headmaster of Hogwarts and I need a council made up of all the houses to help me do what is best for everyone. Not all Slytherins are evil and most of not Death Eaters. These two most certainly are not.”

He motioned for everyone to sit around the now much larger circular table and explained a bit more calmly and clearly.

“This school is made up of four houses; unless we all work together, Voldemort will win. I need you all.”

He turned to the Slytherins, “Are you willing to be on the council?”

Daphne spoke up, “As long as we are treated fairly and you don’t ignore what we have to say, I am willing for the sake of my house.”

“Thank you, Daphne. I promise to treat you fairly and I do not intend to ignore anything that anyone has to say, every single one of you has a voice and I expect you to use it for good.  It is my intention to unify the school and get rid of any unwelcomed feelings.”

After a few moments silence, Draco quietly said, “I want to help my house and school, and I think that having a council is the perfect way to do it, but I must decline. There is no way you will not treat me differently with our past, and chances are I will be a Death Eater by the end of the summer.”

“Draco.” Harry said his nemesis’s name for the first time, “If you are willing to apologise to us, then we will apologise to you. I will swear an oath of your protection if I have to - and you do not want to be a Death Eater.”

“How do you know? Maybe I do.” Draco tried to sneer.

“I know because I can see it in your eyes, you have change over this year, you have seen the true Voldemort, not the fanciful tales you Father has been telling you all your life. If you join us, you will be protected, I swear it.”

Draco looked him right in the eye, “Will you protect my mother? Father doesn’t treat her right and I cannot leave her there alone in the same house as the Dark Lord.” Suddenly his eyes widened.

“Voldemort is at your house?” Harry asked, then he thought better of it, “It doesn’t matter, that doesn’t change my offer. I will protect both you and your mother. I swear it.”

“Then I accept.” Draco replied simply.

“Very well, thank you. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you Draco; you were the first person I met from the wizarding world besides Hagrid and during that first conversation we had you insulted both Hagrid and my muggleborn mother.”

He paused for a second before adding, “You also reminded me of my cousin, whom I do not get on well with, and that was why I didn’t shake your hand in friendship and that was also the reason I am in Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, but you said you wanted to be there, so I decided on Gryffindor. For everything I have done to you, I am sorry.”

Everyone was surprised, “You were going to be in Slytherin?”

Harry nodded and Draco shook himself, “Anyway, thank you for apologising. I am also sorry, I have been a bully, to you and to basically everyone else. I was brought up with my father telling me that those things were the right and it was everyone else in the wrong. I see my mistakes now and I am truly sorry.”

He turned to everyone in the room and apologised to them each individually, when he got back to Harry, he held out his hand and Harry shook it, as a symbol that those days were behind them.

“Perfect. We will sort out your situation later Draco, I have the beginnings of a plan, but there is a lot we need to discuss. First of all, I would like to tell you about my life so far, it may help you to see what I am trying to do here.”

There was a murmur of interest around the table, as most had only heard the rumours, but everyone settled as Harry put up his hand.

He began to talk, he skipped over most of his years at Privet Drive, as he didn’t want anyone to know what had happened then, but he told them everything else.

From the Philosophers Stone to the Chamber of Secrets, from the escape of Buckbeak and Sirius Black (Draco was slightly relived as he had never wanted to hippogriff to be killed, it was all his father’s doing) to the details of the Triwizard tournament.

By the time he got to Cedric’s death, most people in the room were silently crying and Harry had to take a moment to compose himself. Draco looked at him in surprise as he wasn’t used to a Harry who cared about other people, but then he realised that there was probably never any other version except in his head.

Harry apologised for breaking down in front of them (they all murmured not to mention it) then carried on into that year and the DA, then into what had happened over the last few days.

When he finished, there was a stunned silence and everyone was amazed that someone could go through so much and still be there, ready to fight again. Even the Slytherins could now see why people rallied behind the ‘Gryffindor Golden Boy’.

“So, that is the story as to why I am here today, and you are here to help me. I’m not sure that everyone here knows who everyone else is, so we’re going to go around the circle, say our names and our favourite ice cream flavour, because I feel like knowing. I am Harry Potter, I am not representing a house, and my favourite ice cream flavour is fudge.”

Next Neville answered, softly but not nervously, “I am Neville Longbottom, I am not representing a house and my favourite ice cream flavour is strawberry.”

“I am Hermione Granger; I am from Gryffindor and my favourite ice cream flavour is mint.”

“I’m Ron Weasley. I’m a Gryffindor; my favourite ice cream flavour is chocolate and you are making me want some.” Ron moaned, making everyone chuckled.

“I am Terry Boot; I am from Ravenclaw and my favourite ice cream flavour is Cherry.”

Next, Luna spoke with a dreamy expression, “I’m Luna Lovegood, I’m in Ravenclaw and I like lemon sorbet.”

“My name is Susan Bones, I’m a Hufflepuff and I like raspberry sorbet.” She grinned at Luna who smiled back.

“I’m Just Finch-Fletchley, I’m a Hufflepuff but I’m not a fan of ice cream.” He admitted with a shrug.

“I am Daphne Greengrass, I’m in Slytherin and my favourite ice cream flavour is fudge.” She smirked at Harry.

Finally, it was Draco’s turn, “I’m Draco Malfoy, I’m a Slytherin and I like vanilla.” He said quickly, before turning back to Harry.

“Perfect.” Harry smiled, “Now we all know each other, we should get down to business. First, we’re going to go through a few smaller things – like wards, and rivalries - then we’ll get to the bigger things like Professors and subjects. But before we begin, I’d just like to say that I intend to go to Gringotts tonight to see what is happening with the Hogwarts finances.

“I’m going to send a quick letter to Sirius because he’s my legal guardian and can help me, but I’m going to need some tips on dealing with Goblins later, will you be able to help me with that please Daphne?”

“I can do that.” She nodded.

“Thank you, let me just write a quick letter. And Neville? Will you be okay to join me?”

“Sure, Harry. But can I borrow Hedwig? I need to send a quick note to my gran.”

“Of course. Lady Hogwarts?” he called, and the entity appeared from thin air.

“Yes, Harry?” she asked mildly.

“Is there any way of getting Hedwig in here?”

“I can create a temporary window if that is helpful.”

“It is, thank you.”

The window was created and a few minutes later the snowy owl came soaring in, took the two letters and left again hooting happily.

“Firstly, you all know that this council will be a big part of the new system, as such I would like to make it more official. What I mean is that the ten of us will be distinguished from the others in the school, everyone will know who we are and be able to come to us for help and guidance. Are you all okay with that?”

There were nods all around the table, some more hesitant than others.

“In which case, I would like us to have a name. Any suggestions?”

They thought for a moment, then Neville softly suggested the Dragon Council, which had a positive reception around the table.

“Now that has been sorted, we can discuss a few of the smaller problems. The first ones link together, they are all about protection of the castle so what do people know about wards, curses and dangerous objects?”

“Warder and curse breakers work at Gringotts, like Bill – he would give an arm to search the castle for cursed objects – so I suggest asking the goblins tonight.”

“Thanks Ron. Anything else to add?”

Lady Hogwarts spoke up, “We will have to be careful with the wards, as some of them cannot be removed and you can’t just add wards atop wards, I will go through it with you. In the meantime, I can help you by moving all the dark objects to one place if you wish. I cannot get rid of them, but I can tell what shouldn’t be here.”

“Thank you, Lady Hogwarts, that would be most appreciated.”

“We should get someone to clear out the forest.” Commented Ron with a shudder.

“What’s wrong with the forest?” asked Susan.

“There are lots of dangerous creatures in there, not to mention that the centaurs would probably be happier in a different forest and there’s a nest of acromantulas that could attack the castle at any moment.”

“Acromantulas?” asked Justin, while Ron shuddered again.

“Yes, the giant spiders I mentioned from my second year. Hagrid raised the leader, Aragog, in the castle, but it escaped and went to live in the forest, then Hagrid found him a wife and they had a lot of babies. Aragog told me and Ron that the only reason they don’t attack the school is on his orders out of respect for Hagrid and Aragog is old, so could die any day.”

Now it was not just Ron who was shuddering.

“We should definitely send a team through the forest.” Concluded Hermione.

Draco added, “We can sell the parts of anything we kill to potioneers and wand makers, that will get a fair bit of money.”

“Good point Draco, thank you.”

He looked mildly surprised at Harry’s reaction but nodded anyway.

Harry wrote down what he had to ask Gringotts about before moving on, “Okay, next is a random one. Uniforms; they are truly awful for lessons such as herbology and potions.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“How about formal either black trousers or black skirt, white shirt and a cloak?” suggested Terry.

“The cloaks could be two thicknesses, one for summer and one for winter, they could have the Hogwarts crest on the back rather than the breast pocket.”

“And we could keep the coloured ties but have the crest of Hogwarts on them instead of the house crest?”

“All amazing ideas guys. Hermione, do you think you could write all that down, please?”

“Harry, you said that you wanted us to stand out, didn’t you? How did you want to do that?” asked Luna.

“That’s a good question, does anyone have any thoughts on that?”

“It can just be a simple thing, like we wear black shirts instead of white shirts.” Suggested Daphne.

“That wouldn’t work from behind though.” Pointed out Hermione.

“Then we change the crest of the back from the Hogwarts crest to a new crest.”

“A new crest?” mused Harry, “A Dragon Council crest – good idea. So, for you we change the crest of the back, when you have a minute you could do a sketch Luna, black shirt instead of white. I think that the new crest should also be on the breast pocket, but we keep the tie’s the same. Everyone okay with that?”

Every nodded, but then Neville spoke up.

“If I’m not supposed to be representing a specific house, then what shall we do about my tie?”

“Well, I guess we have two options, you either keep the tie and become a sort of representative for Gryffindor, or you get a different colour tie completely and you’re no longer a Gryffindor in that sense,”

“If I got a different colour, would I still be allowed in the tower?”

“Of course, nothing could change except the colour of you tie.”

“Then what’s the point?” asked Draco.

“Because it would show that anyone can come to him.”

“But I thought the point of the council is that we all help anyone.”

“You’re completely right, Draco. What do you suggest?”

Draco was slightly taken aback, but answered, “I think we should all change ties. They should be silver, with the colour of house running through them, Longbottom – Neville – keeps the red because he’s a Gryffindor and will always be a Gryffindor and that’s not a bad thing.”

Harry looked around the table and saw that everyone seemed to agree.

“Very well, perfect solution. Now, we need to talk about the rivalries, between the houses. Why do we think they exist?”

“Because they always have, Slytherin and Gryffindor have been fighting since the founders.” Pointed out Ron.

“That’s not true.” Came the calming voice of Lady Hogwarts, “The four founders were the best of friends right until the end. The rivalry did not come about until their great-great-grandchildren’s time.”

“But what about all of the history books that say that Salazar Slytherin only wanted purebloods and let the school in a strop?” asked Hermione.

Lady Hogwarts sighed, “That is a mistranslation, Salazar was concerned that the traits he prized could easily create dark wizards, so he wanted only the pure of heart, not pure of blood. He didn’t care of about blood type and neither did any of the founders, just wanted their students to be safe from the witch hunts that were all too common when they were alive.”

“What about the basilisk?” added Susan.

“That was Salazar’s great-great-grandson’s doing. He started the war between the houses.”

Everyone sat there, stunned.

“We need to get this into the history books.” Commented Terry.

“But that doesn’t help the current problem very well, this has gone beyond the influence of people hundreds of years ago. So, what’s the problem now?”

“Do you not think it’s how we are raised?” asked Hermione, “Purebloods don’t really understand what it’s like to grow up in muggle society and muggleborns don’t know what it’s like to grow up in wizard society.”

“We don’t need to know what it’s like to be in muggle society.” Pointed out Draco.

“I think it would be useful for you actually. You could land yourself in a situation with Muggles and a simple confundus doesn’t work now there are CCTV cameras.”

The wizard raised looked confused at the mention of CCTV cameras but decided against asking what they were.

“The muggleborns don’t have any prejudices against Slytherin.” Mused Harry.

“But the fact that a lot of us are pureblood means that they offend us and our ways without realising it, which puts us on bad terms with them.” Offered Daphne.

“So have wizarding world classes for the muggle raised.” Suggested Terry.

“I think that would really help.” Commented Justin, “I had no real idea what I was getting into when I agreed to come here. And I had no intention of offending anyone, but I probably did.”

“So, we have wizard lessons for the muggle raised.” Repeated Hermione, writing it down. “What about the way we tell muggleborns about their magical abilities.”

Most of them were unsure how to respond.

“Only you and Justin are muggleborns.” Pointed out Harry, “How were you told?”

“Professor McGonagall came to see me at the beginning of the summer holidays. The problem with that method, is that there will hopefully be more students soon, and so too many muggleborns for one professor to go and see, plus that only gave my parents two months to prepare for me to leave then for ten months of the year for the next seven years.”

“So, it looks like we need to hire someone specifically for the role of talking to muggleborns. Lady Hogwarts? How do you know who to send letters to?”

“There is a book, called The Book of Admittance. When a child’s first case of accidental magic is shown, the name of the child is written in the book using its companion, The Quill of Acceptance. The two have to agree in order for the name to be written down.”

“So we have someone monitors the book and goes to talk to the muggleborns when they first get written down?” suggested Justin.

“Yes, that sounds good to me.” Agreed Harry, while the others nodded, “We should get more muggleborns coming that way.”

“We could create some brochures about the world they are going to enter; one for when they first show magic with a few details about Hogwarts and the Ministry and the wizarding world in general and one for the summer before Hogwarts with how to get onto the Platform and other important details about school itself”

“Excellent idea Justin, please make a note of that Hermione. Right, as important as that was, we have gone slightly off topic, I wanted to ask what you think about changing muggle studies slightly so it’s less about technology and more about blending in, and bringing to down to first year, specifically for the wizard raised?”

“But the purebloods would never agree.”

“Make it compulsory then.” Shrugged Harry, “It doesn’t matter if they like it or not, it’s important. You never know when you will need to look like you belong to the muggle society.”

There were nods and a few sighs around the table, the purebloods could see it would be beneficial, but it didn’t mean that their parents would be pleased.

“How are we going to get the board of governors to agree to this?” asked Susan and everyone groaned slightly except for Neville, who sniggered.

Everyone looked at him in confusion, until he explained, “Gran sent me a letter yesterday, she gave me some information that she said I could pass onto the new Head if I saw fit. She expected that Hogwarts would choose someone who would make changes, but she also expected that the board would not like the new changes.

“Apparently the Board of Governors doesn’t really exist. They were created only two hundred or so years ago by a group of parents who wanted more say in the way the school was run but they were set up by the ministry and so have no say whatsoever on the running of the school.”

By now, everyone was chuckling to themselves.

“What makes it even funnier is that she has known for a while and didn’t let on to Dumbledore - she thought that giving him more power would just make it go to his head – and every time the board has stopped him, she’s just had a laugh to herself.”

“I can’t say I feel sorry for him.” Chortled Harry, while everyone else continued to snigger, “Well, now that’s sorted, we can move onto more pressing matters without worrying that out changes will be stopped at every turn by the board.”

“Before we move on,” interrupted Susan, “I have a suggestion for our original question, which was about house rivalries.”

Harry nodded so she continued, “First of all, we need to stop the professors from being biased, while Snape is the worst.” She cast an apologetic glance at the Snakes, but they weren’t too annoyed, they knew that Snape was biased towards them, “He’s not the only one.”

“You’re right, McGonagall can be biased too. Like in my first year, I broke a rule and should have been punished but instead I got onto the quidditch team a year early.” Commented Harry, causing Draco to look at him in surprise.

“Exactly,” agreed Susan, “So we stop the professors from being biased, but we also need to bring attention away from houses. Yes, at big feasts and such we sit at out tables, but for a random Sunday breakfast, why do we need to? That will encourage friendships between the houses. Also, I feel like we should change house cup in some way, I just don’t know how.”

“It needs to be less of a big deal. I know we can’t get rid of it entirely, but maybe we could introduce other things that make it less important?”

“What do you mean, Harry?”

“Maybe we could keep track of how many points each person has, as well as how many the house has, then the top individuals in each year get a cup as well as the overall house. That makes the house cup less of an all or nothing and if one person messes up and loses loads of points, the whole house doesn’t turn against them because they still have a chance at winning something.”

There were nods all around at that idea and Hermione’s hand blurred in an effort to write it all down.

“Do you think that the quidditch cup should be separate from the house cup?” asked Draco.

“That sounds like a good idea, Draco.” Admitted Harry, much to the Snake’s surprise, he had expected that idea to be shot down, “And I think that we need to come down harder on cheating, because more than one team has been known to cheat.”

Hermione made a note of this too as everyone who was interested in quidditch (which was most of them) nodded firmly, as the rivalry did get out of hand quite easily when it came to quidditch.

“Right, now that’s out of the way, I want to know about how Hogwarts compares to other schools in the world.” Harry announced, “Lady Hogwarts, what can you get us by way of records and information about other schools?”

“I can get you what is already available to the public, which includes past grades and subject lists.”

“That is perfect thank you.”

Seconds later about fifty binders appeared in the table, one for each of the bigger schools around the world.

“Thank you, Lady Hogwarts. I think we’ll take this by continent, Gryffindors take Australasia, Ravenclaws take Asia, Hufflepuffs take Africa and Slytherins take Europe. Me and Neville will take North America and Lady Hogwarts, do you think you could take South America?”

She nodded so he carried on with his instructions, “Please make a list of the subjects that each school offers and how their grades compare to Hogwarts as well as how many muggleborns, halfbloods and purebloods they have. Then we can compare notes.”

“Mate, I’d love to.” Ron spoke up, “But we should have stopped for lunch half an hour ago.”

Harry laughed, “Okay, we can have a half hour break for lunch now, then get straight back to this. This room can’t make food, but I know who can – Dobby!”

With a pop the House-elf appeared, “What can I do for the Great Headmaster Harry Potter Sir?” he asked, much to the delight of all those around him.

Harry sighed the greeting, but he had given up trying to get Dobby to just call him Harry.

“Please can you bring us some lunch? Get the help of a few other elves and remember that Ron is one of the people eating.”

Dobby grinned as Ron objected in an injured tone then replied, “I can do that Great Headmaster Harry Potter Sir.” And with a pop he was gone.

Less than five minutes later, he appeared again with four other elves, all of whom were carried huge platters of food which they placed on a nearby table.

“Quick everyone, before Ron takes it all!” cried Harry.

Everyone laughed and Harry thanked Dobby.

“Anything for the Great Headmaster Harry Potter Sir.”

Chapter Text

Half an hour later, the food had been demolished (much to Ron’s disappointment) and the group began to open and leaf through the huge binders.

By the time they had finished a few hours later, no-one looked happy.

“I will say what Neville and I have found, then each group can tell me how what they have found differs.” Harry announced, “The grades at the North American schools seem to be only a little better than the grades at Hogwarts, but most of them offer between twenty-five and thirty subjects, compared to our twelve. There is a very small percentage of purebloods and an ever-growing number of muggleborns.”

“That about sums up what we have found.” Agreed the other groups.

“If I may, I have a theory as to why the purebloods are dying out?”

“Go for it, Hermione.”

“Well, if the purebloods will only marry purebloods, then the gene pool will get smaller and smaller which means that the magical power and ability held by the offspring is dramatically reducing.”

“She’s right.” Sighed Draco, “Some families are even marrying first cousins, which produces people like Crabbe and Goyle who - as loyal as they are - are nearly squibs.”

“Not to mention that most pureblood couples only have one child more often than not,” added Daphne, “I am different in that, but most of the people that I grew up with are single children.”

“A big piece of evidence for this theory is the Weasley family.” Explained Hermione, “They are a pureblood family, but they don’t care about blood status and the result is having seven children all with high magical ability.”

“You’re not wrong.” Sighed Draco.

“As for the muggleborns, the magic doesn’t just appear, it comes from somewhere which means that many muggleborns have squibs in the generations before them.”

Harry could see where they were headed, so stepped in quickly, “If you don’t mind, this is an important matter, but it can be discussed at a later date.”

The attention turned back to him and he continued, “Lady Hogwarts, do you know what place Hogwarts ranks in general in the top fifty magical schools worldwide?”

“Fortieth.”

There were gasps all around and Harry gulped, they were being told that Hogwarts was the best school around, but it seemed that the other countries found it to be laughingstock.

“It’s alright everyone. We are here so we can change things, we’ll soon be the best school out there and we can start by talking about subjects. We’ll start off with first year and work our way up. The first-year subjects at the moment are: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. Does anyone have any thoughts?”

“Well, we already mentioned bringing down muggle studies and changing it to Muggle Customs and its counterpart Wizard Customs.”

“Yes, thank you Susan please can you write the first-year stuff down. What about Charms?”

“I can’t see that there’s much wrong, but I think we should learn the theory behind the wand movements before we start spells.”

“The same with Transfiguration, I think we need to learn the theory behind the words we are saying and the slight differences in pronunciation.”

“I agree, please make a note of it, Susan. What about Herbology?”

“I think it’s perfect as it is. We need it to go with Potions, so it has to stay as a compulsory and there’s less theory to learn, but I do suggest we stick to Class 1 plants for safety reasons.”

“Yes, not that you’d be able to find anything wrong with Herbology anyway, Neville.” Harry teased, “But I agree. Potions?”

“We need to learn a lot more theory; like what does stirring do? How do different ingredients react together? That kind of thing.”

“Your right, I think that first year should be almost all theory. It’s not fun, but it’s necessary.”

There were nods all around, so Harry moved onto the next subject, “Astronomy?”

“It’s kind of pointless as a compulsory subject,” pointed out Draco, “I can’t say that I’ve used it ever, but it is useful for Warding so I think that it should be a third-year elective.”

“Yes, please can you make a note of that for later, Susan? I can’t see the point of it being compulsory either. Now, we have Defence Against the Dark Arts. First off, I don’t like the title, why just defence and why just against the Dark Arts?”

“Maybe it could be called Offensive and Defensive Magic.” Suggested Daphne, “And we should learn some theory first about the Dark Arts and why they are classified as such. After all, it’s mostly about how much power if put into the magic, not that the magic itself is dangerous or dark.”

“I like the other ideas, but Offensive and Defensive Magic is a bit of a mouthful, maybe just Battle Magic?

“That’s brilliant Daphne, Terry. Battle Magic it is, and the idea of learning about what you’re defending yourself from is perfect too. Maybe in the future we can split them down into more sub-subjects, but at the moment we don’t have the students for that. As a bonus, changing the name and the subject should get rid of the curse, although I’ll have to talk to the Goblins. Finally, we have History of Magic.”

“It’s pointless and boring how it is taught at the moment.”

“Yeah, we may as well just scrap it all together.”

“Guys, history is important.”

Harry interrupted before an argument could break out “What do you suggest we need to learn then?”

“Why the Statute of Secrecy exists is important.”

“Yes, and the founding of Hogwarts.”

“The founding and evolution of the Ministry of Magic.”

“Wizard relationships with other magical creatures.”

“Can I suggest that we have the Statute of Secrecy for our First-year studies, the founding of Hogwarts for our seconds, the founding of the Ministry for our third and then Wizarding relationships for our fourth and fifth.”

“That sounds sensible, thank you Neville. That’s all of the classes we have already, does one think that we need to add more?”

“I think we should have a writing class, so we know how to write essays.”

“Yes, that is very much needed thank you, Ron. Anything else?”

“Do you think we should have a Latin class? Not learning how to have conversations in Latin or anything like that, but basic words and phrases because most incantations are Latin in origin, and it would be good to know what we are saying.”

“I was thinking the same thing, thanks Justin. Please make a note of Writing and Latin classes. Anything else?”

There was a long pause, then Terry spoke up.

“We need something so that we can make a better descion for our third-year electives rather than just picking what sounds easiest.”

“Magical Careers? We can learn about the different jobs of the wizarding world and what OWLs and NEWTs you need. We could even have guest speakers if we could get some people to agree.”

“Magical Careers sounds perfect for what we need, we can add that to the list. Speaking of which, please can you read out what we have for our first-year compulsory subjects?” Asked Harry.

Nodding, Susan read out, “For first-year, we have:

English/Writing – how to write and plan essays

An introduction to Latin – origins of words

Wizard Customs – for the muggle raised to learn about wizard society

Muggle Customs – for the magically raised to learn about how to blend into the muggle world

An introduction to Charms – Theory and basic spells

An introduction to Transfiguration – Theory and small sized items

An introduction to Herbology –Class 1 plants

An introduction to Potions – Theory of stirring and reactions between ingredients

An introduction to Battle Magic – Learn about power and why dark magic classified as such

An introduction to History of Magic – Why the Statute of Secrecy exists

Magical Careers - An introduction to different careers in the wizarding world (includes guest speakers)”

“Thank you, Susan. That’s ten subjects per person, does anyone have anything to add?” asked Harry, but no-one did, so they moved onto the year two.

“I think most things would be the same to a slightly higher level other than in Potions and Battle Magic where we start the practicals.” Commented Neville.

“And we move onto the founding of Hogwarts in History of Magic.” Added Luna.

“Great, Susan if you can add that onto the end of year 1, then Luna can take over the writing for year three.” Harry instructed, “We can start with the compulsory subjects, which ones should be dropped in third year?”

“Writing and Latin I think, you can’t learn much more that would be helpful. After all, it doesn’t take more than two years to learn how to write an essay and we aren’t trying to learn to have whole conversations in Latin, just learn words and phrases.”

“Maybe we can have Latin as an elective for those who want to learn more.”

“Luna, please make a note of having Latin as an elective but don’t write it down properly yet, I want to get the compulsory subjects done first. I agree that we can get rid of writing and compulsory Latin. Anything else?”

“Do you think we should get rid of the Customs? And the Magical Careers because there’s only so much you can learn.”

“But you can’t learn everything you need to know about the magical or muggle world in two years.”

“Plus, there’s a lot we should learn about how to survive the world, if you like.”

“Well then, how about we combine the two. Drop the Customs classes and change Magical Careers into The Wizarding World, a class where we can learn about household spells, finances and other life skills.”

“That’s a great idea Hermione, please write that down Luna. I assume we want to keep the other subjects the same?”

“Just slightly harder.”

“We can learn about the founding of the Ministry and move onto class 2 plants.”

“Sounds perfect, now we can move on the electives. We have mentioned Latin, what other languages would we like?”

“French and Spanish.”

“Chinese is a growing language.”

“Oh and a few of the languages that the Magical Creatures speak, Mermish and Gobbledygook.”

“Slow down.” Harry laughed, “That’s a lot of languages.”

“We can split it into Human Languages and The Languages of Magical Creatures.”

“Good idea Luna, but how would they decide which of the languages they wanted to learn?”

“Have them learn the basics of them all for the first year, then specialise with one or two for the second and third years.”

“So, we have Languages, which is learning the basics of Latin, French, Spanish and Chinese, then The Languages of Magical Creatures, which is learning the basics of Mermish and Gobbledygook.” Summarised Luna.

There were nods all around, so Harry continued, “Great, now we should move onto the third-year electives that are already offered. Care of Magical Creatures, Runes, Arithmancy, Divination and I guess Astronomy as we discounted that from being compulsory. Obviously, we can forget about Muggle studies.”

“I don’t see a problem with Care of Magical Creatures, Runes, Arithmancy or Astronomy.”

“Me neither, although I do think that we should be careful what class of animals we are allowed near.”

“We can just keep it to class 1 animals for the first year.”

“Divination is just used as an easy OWL, most people don’t have a gift, not even the teacher does!” cried Ron.

“How about we let people take the course, but after a month we test them for the seeing gift; if they have it, we let them stay on and if they don’t then they can drop it or switch to a different course.”

“A perfect solution, thank you Daphne. Please make sure you note about the test a month in Luna. That covers all the one’s we already know about, what others are there?”

“Government, Politics and Law.”

“As one elective together?”

“There’s enough content to cover them as separate, but maybe we should keep them together for OWLs and separate them for NEWTs.”

“Perfect, please note it down Luna. Anything else?”

“I think it would be good to have a basic healing course.”

“I’ve heard a lot about how the healing industry is struggling due to lack of staff, I think that would be a big encouragement.” Commented Draco.

“Okay, I think it’s a brilliant idea, but I think that it should just be theory for the first year else it might get dangerous. Anything else?”

There was a short pause, then Hermione spoke up, “I can think of a lot of NEWT courses, but not many OWL ones. I just had a look through the courses other schools offer, and they seemed to be either breakdowns of classes we already have, but we don’t have enough students to split them, or the magics from the areas and tribes, which are truly fascinating, but we can’t really teach them.”

“You’re right about not having more students; we can split the classes down once the school begins to grow again. How about we combine the area or tribe specific magics? Have one class that introduces the basics of some of the smaller ones, we could call it The Worldwide Magics.”

A lot of delighted murmuring came from that idea.

“I would have loved to take a course like that.” Admitted Daphne, while about most of the group nodded.

“I think that’s an amazing idea, it might be hard to find a teacher, but it will be worth it if we can. Write it down please Luna and then can you read out what we have.

After a few minutes of furious writing, Luna prepared to read it out, “Year 3: (start of Owls),

Compulsory:

Intermediate Charms – High level basic spells

Intermediate Transfiguration – Medium sized items

Intermediate Herbology – Class 2 plants

Intermediate Potions – Basic potions

Intermediate Battle Magic – Basic shields and minor hexes

Intermediate History of Magic – The founding of the Ministry of Magic

The Wizarding World – Learning household spells as well as finances and other life skills (there is no OWL in this subject)

Electives (pick either three of four of the following):

Languages – the basics of French, Spanish, Chinese and Latin

The Languages of Magical Creatures – Includes Mermish and Gobbledygook (must be taken with Care of Magical Creatures)

Care of Magical Creatures – Class 1 animals

Runes – The runic alphabet and the deciphering of runes

Arithmancy – An introduction to number charts

Astronomy – The basics of the night sky

Basic Healing – Theory of healing

Government, Politics and Law - An introduction to wizarding Government, Politics and Law

The Worldwide Magics - An introduction to the magics of different cultures around the world

Divination - An introduction to the art of predicting the future (please note that after a month on the course, an exam will be given to determine who possess the seeing gift. Anyone who fails will have to either drop it or switch courses)”

“Thanks Luna, can anyone see anything else than we need to add?”

“Can we have an art and music course?” asked Luna.

“I had thought about that, but we can’t offer an OWL in art or music.” Commented Justin.

“Well, how many electives do you think each person should take?”

“Minimum of three, maximum of four I would say.” Piped up Hermione, “Any more than that would be too much, we don’t want anyone doing what I did in third year.”

Ron and Harry laughed, but everyone else was confused until they remembered what Harry had told them about the time turner earlier in the day.

“So how about we offer the course, but it has to be your fourth subject.”

“I think that would work,” Luna mused, “We could teach some spells around art as well, like how to make drawings and painting come to life and how to make instruments play by themselves.”

“That would be quite cool.” Admitted Harry, “Do you think we should do the same with sport?”

“That would be helpful if you’re on a Quidditch team, it got quite hard to keep up with studies and practices.”

“Yeah, we could offer Quidditch if you’re on the team or reserve team, then some muggle sports like football and swimming.”

“We could add in stuff like capture the flag and broom racing.”

“Please note it down then summarise, Luna.”

“Electives without OWLS (these must be chosen alongside three other electives):

Sport – This includes Quidditch (you must be on a House Team or on the Reserve Team) as well as muggle sports such as football, basketball, tennis ect. (open to request) capture the flag and broom racing.

Art/Music – Learn or continue to learn an instrument. Sculpting, painting and drawing, both magical and not.”

“So, we have an art/music elective and a sport elective, I don’t think we can add anything else, so shall we move onto year 4?”

“The same but to a higher level; History of Magic covers the relationship between Wizards and Goblins, you can pick one or two languages to continue with and Care of Magical Creatures moves onto class 2 animals.” Summarised Hermione.

“And Basic Healing becomes practical.” Added Draco.

“Thank you, please add that on Luna. And year five?”

“The same but to a higher level still; History of Magic covers the relationship between Wizarding and Magical Creatures - besides Goblins – Herbology moves onto class 3 plants but Care of Magical Creatures stays on class 1 animals.”

“I think that sums its up nicely, thank you. While Luna finishes writing that down, we can have a break.”

Half an hour later, the council gathered back together, and Harry continued the proceedings.

“Right, now it’s time for NEWTs!”

A small cheer went up around the table: this was the part they had all be waiting for.

“Not so fast,” Harry laughed, “We need to go through the more boring ones to start with I’m afraid. I want the name of the subject, what it is if its not an OWL subject, what OWLs you need to have an E or O in to take it and what other NEWTs you need at the same time, if any. Draco, please can you write these down.”

An hour later they had come up with quite a list between them:

Year 6: (start of NEWTS) – select either three of four of the following

Advanced Charms
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Charms
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Transfiguration
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Transfiguration
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Herbology
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Herbology
Must take NEWT: N/A

Battle Magic
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Battle Magic
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced History of Magic
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: History of Magic
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Care of Magical Creatures
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Care of Magical Creatures
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Runes
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Runes
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Arithmancy
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Arithmancy
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Worldwide Magics
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Worldwide Magics
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Government and Politics
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Government, Politics and Law and History of Magic
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Law
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Government, Politics and Law
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Astronomy
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Astronomy
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Divination
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Divination
Must take NEWT: N/A

Healing Potions
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Potions, Herbology, Battle Magic and Basic Healing
Must take NEWT: Herbology

Battle Potions
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Potions, Herbology, Battle Magic
Must take NEWT: Herbology and Battle Magic

Potion Creation
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Potions and Herbology
Must take NEWT: Herbology

Wandless magic –
Elementals, Animagus training and Mind arts (occlumency and legilimency)
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Battle Magic, Transfiguration and Charms
Must take NEWT: Transfiguration

Warding –
The protection of buildings and areas
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Runes, Astronomy and Battle Magic
Must take NEWT: Runes and Astronomy

Curse breaking –
Removing, countering and breaking curses on objects or places
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Runes, Arithmancy and Battle Magic
Must take NEWT: Runes and Arithmancy

Enchanting –
Placing charms on objects so that they can be interacted with
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Charms and Runes
Must take NEWT: Charms and Runes

Dueling –
Learning the rules and knowledge needed to successfully duel
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Battle Magic
Must take NEWT: Battle Magic

Mermish
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: The Languages of Magical Creatures (Mermish) and Care of Magical Creatures
Must take NEWT: Advanced Care of Magical Creatures

Gobbledygook
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: The Languages of Magical Creatures (Gobbledygook) and Care of Magical Creatures
Must take NEWT: Advanced Care of Magical Creatures

Advanced French
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Languages (French)
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Spanish
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Languages (Spanish)
Must take NEWT: N/A

Advanced Chinese
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Languages (Chinese)
Must take NEWT: N/A

Healing
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: Basic Healing, Potions, Battle Magic and Herbology
Must take NEWT: Healing Potions, Battle Magic and Herbology

The following subjects do not have NEWTs in them and so must be taken as a fourth subject:

Art/Music
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: N/A
Must take NEWT: N/A

Sport
Requires an E or O at OWLs in: N/A
Must take NEWT: N/A

“Wow guys, I think we’ve done an amazing job at that and just in time because I’m due to meet Sirius in two and half hours, that’s enough time to talk about professors. I’ll call Dobby to bring us some dinner and we can have to ten-minute break.”

“Ten minutes isn’t enough time for food!” howled Ron.

“Relax Ron.” Laughed Harry, while everyone else smirked, “I’ll let you carry on eating while we talk.”

“As long as you don’t talk with your mouth full.” Added Hermione with a shudder.

“Right guys, I think that its time we move on, I’m sorry to not give you much of a break, but I’m on a time scale. We can start with the Heads of House. Professor McGonagall?”

“She’s strict but fair, a good teacher and she’s not biased unless it comes to quidditch. Although I think that three roles will be too much for her in the future, with more students.”

There was nods around the table, “Thank you Hermione, I agree, she’s a good teacher and I would guess that she will choose to stick with House of House and drop Deputy, but I’ll talk to her tomorrow. What about Flitwick and Sprout?”

“They’re both perfect, they really listen and are good teachers.” Agreed the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

“Yes, I didn’t think that anyone would have anything bad to say about either of them. Now, before we move onto Professor Snape, I would like to make myself clear on something.”

Tension sizzled in the air, but Harry ignored it.

“We’re not going to argue about this, we’re going to go around each person and they are going to say their opinion. We can start with the Slytherins, Daphne?”

“He’s good to us when everyone else is not. He looks out for us even if he isn’t the warmest.”

Ron snorted and Harry sent him a firm look.

“We know he’s biased, but no-one else will give us a chance.” Added Draco.

“Very well, Hufflepuffs?”

“I don’t think he teaching style is very good, just putting a recipe on the board doesn’t even require a teacher.”

“Plus, he makes it harder to work when he’s always breathing down your neck.”

“Thank you, Gryffindors?”

“He’s a Potions Master and one of the best in the world at that, we can’t just give him up.” pointed out Hermione.

“How can you say that after all he’s done to you?!” exploded Ron.

Hermione glanced at Ron then turned to look at Harry, “He’s done a lot more to Harry, so if he can forgive him so do I.”

“Thank you, Hermione. I think that Ron’s feelings are quite clear, so Ravenclaws?”

“His teaching doesn’t really bother us, we just work together to work it out, plus he doesn’t go after us like he does the Lions.” Shrugged Terry.

“I think he would be better off teaching further up the school.” Commented Luna, her eyes looking clearer and more focused than ever before, “Also, do you think that some of the hate against Slytherins might be because of Professor Snape?”

“What do you mean, Luna?” asked Harry.

“Well, the first Snake anyone comes into contact with is him, unless they are in Slytherin house, and he’s not very nice so they think that all the Snakes must be like him because he is head of them. Professor Snape treats the other houses worse because they have a higher percentage of muggle born and raised, which means they have no idea when it comes to potions, whereas the purebloods have already learnt the basics of potion making, but I don’t think he’s realised that, he just thinks they’re stupid.”

Everyone looked at Luna with renewed respect.

“I think you might be onto something.” Commented Harry, “In which case, I think that we talk to him about what Luna just said and see his opinion on it. The solution may be that we keep him on, both as a professor and a Head of House, but that we only let me teach NEWT level. Come to think of it, I think that all the subjects that are compulsory through to fifth year should have two professors, one for the first five years and one for the last two. Maybe some professors can share fifth-year.”

“So what subjects are we talking about here?”

“Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, History of Magic and Battle Magic.”

“Do we need separate people for Magical Careers and The Wizarding World?”

“I don’t think so, because those lessons are only once a week. So, we find junior professors for those subjects and move our current professors up to NEWT level. Great, now we can move onto the other Professors. Binns and Trelawney can go, they are both useless. What about Vector, Burbage and Babbling?”

“Professors Babbling and Vector are perfect, but I don’t think that Professor Burbage will work well with the new Muggle Customs class, she has never even lived in the muggle world.”

“Right, keep Babbling and Vector, let Burbage go. The last Professor is Hagrid and before you all start tiptoeing around, I know that he can’t stay.” Harry sighed.

“I disagree.” Luna stated, “The only problem with Hagrid is that he doesn’t know his own strength, if we tell him what class of animal he’s allowed to teach and limit him to NEWTs then I think that he could stay.”

“Do we think that could work?” Harry asked.

There were nods in reply – though some were more hesitant than others – so he took that as his answer.

“Great, thank you everyone. I hope you don’t mind but I need you all to stay here for tonight, the Room will be able to fix you up with whatever you need unless its food, you’ll have to call a House-elf for that. Tomorrow we can get the Professors in here and talk to them, then start to clean up the school. Draco, I need to have a quick word with you, then Daphne, please can you help me with some Goblin etiquette?”

“Sure,” replied Daphne before looking him up and down with a smirk, “And, I think that you’re going to need a new outfit.”

Trying to ignore his heart’s quickened beating at her looks, Harry gave a playful groan before turning to Draco and beckoning him onto two chairs the in the corner. The other teenager looked a little awkward, but Harry ignored it.

“You asked for protection for you and your mother, correct?”

“I did.” Draco nodded, “Have you come up with a plan?”

“Well, your mother is a Black by birth, isn’t she?”

Again, Draco nodded.

“Well, it just so happens that I am Godson to the Head of the House of Black, he can annul the marriage.”

“He could, but we’d need a reason.”

“Sirius and your father are on opposite sides of a war which means that your mother is being asked to go against her birth family. That wouldn’t be a good enough reason in the muggle world, but would it be in the wizarding world?”

Draco’s eyes shone, “You know what, it just might.”

“Sirius is going to Gringotts with me, I’ll talk to him and get him to see if its possible. If it is, you get your mother to pack up and come to Hogwarts - I suspect it would be idiotic to annul the marriage whilst your mother is in the same house as your father - then she and Sirius can go back to Gringotts and sort it out. Does that work with you?”

“Thank you, but where will she live?”

“She can either stay here or in a Black house, I’m sure Sirius has a few spare.”

“This is very generous, thank you.”

Harry shrugged, “I want you to be on the right side of this war.”

“Why? If our roles were reversed, I would probably have thrown you to Him.”

“I would not wish that on anybody. We have not treated each other right, but we can start anew – we can be friends and allies. What do you say?”

After a very short pause, Draco replied, “I say yes, and thank you for the chance to show my loyalty. I just hope that our past doesn’t get in the way of trust, trust is important on a council like this.”

“I trust you.”

Draco started into the green eyes before him and saw that they held truth.

“I trust you too.”

“Thank you. I should go now; I don’t want to keep Daphne waiting.”

“No, you don’t.” laughed Draco, “You don’t know what she’s like when she’s kept waiting.”

The two glanced over at where Daphne was hovering, eyeing them suspiciously, then looked back at each other and laughed some more. Harry stood and clapped Draco on the back before moving over to where she was waiting.

“Thank you for helping me with his, I really don’t know the first thing about Goblins.”

“The main thing you need to know is not to offend them; that’s important with all Goblins, especially their leader, Lord Ragnuk the fifth, not that I’ll expect you to be meeting him. But first, we need to sort clothes. I’m assuming you don’t have any formal robes?”

Harry shook his head, “Only dress robes.”

“That’s really not the same thing.” Daphne laughed, “The question is colours.”

She looked him up and down again then stared into his eyes. He felt himself staring back and his stomach twisted not quite uncomfortably.

After a few minutes, Harry started to wonder why they were still staring at each other, but just as he was about to tear his eyes away, Daphne cleared her throat and shook out her blonde hair before announcing.

“Green I think, trimmed with gold.” She looked up at him again from under thick eyelashes, “They will go with your eyes.”

An hour and a half later, Harry stepped out of the floo network (Daphne had found time to laugh at his awful landings and teach him how to step out gracefully) and into the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place.

He was greeted by the sight of Sirius silently (they didn’t want to wake the painting of his mother) beckoning him into the sitting room; they sat on opposite armchairs and Sirius eyed his new and beautifully made green robes with a cocked eyebrow.

“What’s with the fancy getup, pup? Am I going to need one of those?”

Harry laughed, “Probably, I need you to come to Gringotts with me.”

“And here I was thinking that you just came to tell your favourite godfather how you managed to become Headmaster of the greatest wizarding school in the world! Dumbledore knows by the way, he was here when you sent the letter, he didn’t look very surprised though.”

Frowning, Harry replied, “Well, firstly you’re my only godfather, and secondly I did come to tell you about that – as well as about some of the changes I have in store of Hogwarts – but I also need you to come with me to Gringotts incase they have any problems with me being underage or I don’t understand something. We’re meeting Neville there in an hour.”

“Neville?”

“Neville Longbottom, the grandson of Augusta Longbottom, he’s my friend and kind of the Deputy headmaster. We haven’t sorted out the details yet.”

“Ah yes, I know Augusta Longbottom, a formidable woman if ever there was one.”

“Yes, probably some of the reason Nev was so timid. He’s become much more confident over the last year though. Anyway, how much have you heard about the events of last few days?”

“Just what was reported; that the Minister was kicked out of Hogwarts by Lady Hogwarts herself right after she declared that she would be choosing a new Head because of the Ministries interference. Other than that, just what you told me about you being chosen, which I thought was a complete prank to start with you know.”

“Well,” Harry grinned, “Good job I’m here to fill you in on a few of the details then!”

Chapter Text

Harry stepped out of the floo into the fairly empty Gringotts foyer and was greeted by the sight of a young man, who had styled brown hair and rich plum robes trimmed with gold, moving towards him.

It wasn’t until the young man was a meter away that he realised who it was.

“Neville?” he asked in astonishment.

“Hey Harry.” His friend replied.

“I hardly recognised you without your school robes, you look about five years older.”

“Have you looked in a mirror?” laughed Neville, “You look pretty grown up yourself.”

He looked down at his robes; Daphne hadn’t been able to tame his hair, but she had really pulled it out of the bag with his robes – he wasn’t sure if gold was a bit much, but she had insisted that he looked amazing (which had made them both blush) and had sent him on his way.

Just then, the floo flared, Sirius - now dressed in black robes trimmed with sliver, characteristic of House Black - stepped out and he moved towards them.

“You must be Mr Longbottom?” he asked with a warm smile.

“Actually, its Lord Longbottom now, but you may call me Neville, Lord Black.” Neville inclined his head in a bow.

“Ah, congratulations on becoming one of the big boys Neville, please call me Sirius.” He bowed back.

Harry was bewildered, “When did you become Lord Longbottom?”

“About half an hour ago.” Neville laughed again, “I sent a letter to Gran this morning telling her that I was ready, and she gave her blessing. I’ve been waiting you see; you can take over a Headship when you turn fifteen, but I wasn’t ready then.”

“Well, I’m happy for you Nev.” Harry clapped him on the shoulder, “I’m sure you’ll do your gran and your parents proud. Now, we should go and do what we came to do.”

Sirius walked up to the nearest goblin, nodded at him and said, “Ah Steelheart.”

“Lord Black.” The goblin replied emotionlessly.

“Harry, Neville, this is Steelheart, he is in charge of the Black accounts.”

Harry gave a short bow and addressed the goblin just as he had been taught by Daphne.

“May your gold multiply, Steelheart.”

“May it multiply forever, Mr Potter.” The shocked goblin replied, “What do you want?”

“I am Harry Potter, and I wish to speak with the goblin in charge of the Potter finances, then the Hogwarts finances please.”

The goblin gave him a critical look, “You have to be the Headmaster or Deputy of Hogwarts in order to gain access its finances.”

“I am Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

That earned him a disbelieving look, “I will have to confirm. I can do that while you speak with the Potter manager. Please follow me.”

The trio followed the short legged but fierce looking goblin as he led them across the main foyer of the bank towards a second goblin.

“Griphook?” Harry asked in surprise.

“Yes, Heir Potter.” The goblin replied with equal surprise, “It is not often that a human remembers a goblin that they have seen only once before. Your father couldn’t remember my name after meeting with me several times.”

“I am sorry to hear that. Does that mean that you are in charge of the Potter finances?”

“It does. Please follow me.”

Griphook lead them into a fair-sized office; it was quite plainly decorated and seemed to be made for goblin proportions except for three human sized armchairs, which the trio lowed themselves into.

“What can Gringotts be doing for you today, Heir Potter?”

“I would like a full blood inheritance test please. I would also like to look at the Hogwarts finances, but Steelheart said that he would look into that.”

“Yes, he will be back about the Hogwarts finances, I can give you have inheritance test now however.”

He pulled out a thick piece of parchment and an ornamental silver dagger.

“Seven drops of blood on the parchment please.”

Harry held back a shudder, picked up the dagger and quickly slit his palm. After the seventh drop of blood had fallen, the cut healed and any left-over blood vanished, much to his shock.

Griphook took back the parchment and watched as words began to form in blood red ink.

The written didn’t stop for a few minutes (both Sirius and Neville were growing more and more astonished, but Harry didn’t have a normal to compare it to), and when it eventually did, even Griphook looked slightly impressed.

“Quite a list you have their, Heir Potter.” He announced and he handed the parchment over.

It read:

Harry James Potter

Father: James Fleamont Potter – Pureblood.
Mother: Lily June Potter (nee Evans) – Muggleborn (one magical great-grandparent).

Abilities: Parselmagic, Fire elemental.
Animagus form(s): Bernese Mountain Dog (Octopus, Stoat, Merlin, Komodo Dragon). Locked.
Patronus form: Stag.
Health Status: Fragile bones, malnourishment, myopia,
signs of physical and emotional abuse.

House of Potter - Head of House: Unclaimed
Heir: Harry James Potter, by Right of Magic, Blood and Lineage.

House of Peverell - Head of House: Unclaimed
Heir: Harry James Potter, by Right of Magic, Blood and Conquest.

House of Slytherin - Head of House: Unclaimed
Heir: Harry James Potter, by Right of Magic and Conquest.

House of Gryffindor - Head of House: Unclaimed
Heir: Harry James Potter, by Right of Magic and Blood.

House of Hufflepuff - Head of House: Unclaimed
Heir: Harry James Potter, by Right of Magic and Blood.

House of Ravenclaw - Head of House: Unclaimed
Heir: Harry James Potter, by Right of Magic and Blood.

House of Black - Head of House: Sirius Orion Black, by Right of Magic, Blood and Lineage
Heir: Harry James Potter, by Right of Magic, Blood and Inheritance.

Harry gulped as he read, too worried about his godfather’s reaction to his health status to be exited, intrigued, or shocked by anything else that was written.

He watched Neville’s face turn to sympathy – as well as a slight flush of anger – then he saw Sirius’s face darken as he read and winced at the thought of the impending outburst.

“What did they do to do?!” he growled, making Harry flinch while Neville sat, stock still in his chair.

“Sirius!” Harry tried to calm the now pacing man, “Sirius, please!”

His godfather turned to look at him, the anger still evident on his face.

“They never hit me or anything, just made me work a bit, shut me in my room sometimes and urm, maybe didn’t feed me as much as they probably should have. I’m fine though!”

“Maybe as much as they should have? They can’t have been feeding you much at all for you to have this many problems, that’s abuse Harry! Why have you never been taken away? And if you’re so fine then why does this magical parchment - that cannot lie - say you’re not?”

Harry tried to breath normally, “No-one ever cared enough, not a single adult tried to help me! I had nowhere else to go!”

“You never told me!”

“I’m sorry Sirius! But you know now and your free now I can come and live with you, or at Hogwarts.”

Sirius seemed to calm down a little at that but only a second later he was pacing again, “They need to pay for what they have done to you!”

“No Sirius, you will not do anything to them. The last time you went after someone for revenge you ended up in Azkaban for twelve years, are you really going to abandon me when I need you most?” Harry pleaded while trying to keep his voice firm.

His godfather’s shoulders drooped, and he flopped back into his chair, “I’m sorry Prongslet, I just wanted to protect you.”

“You are protecting me by staying by my side, not by going to beat up some muggles.”

“I wasn’t going to beat them up, I was going to…” he stopped muttering when he caught sight of his godson’s face and threw up his hands in defeat, “Alright, just promise me that you will never go back there.”

Harry was about to promise (he didn’t want to go back anyway) when Griphook, who had been silent up till now, spoke.

“You will find that the claiming of these Headships will automatically emancipate you, Heir Potter, as it was designed that only Heirs of Houses that have no Head can claim their Lordship at fifteen, other Heirs have to wait until seventeen. You will be a legal adult and free to live where you please.”

“Thank you, Griphook.” Harry bowed to him, then suddenly remembered the other things that had appeared on the parchment, he was still astonished by the sheer number of families he was heir to, families which somehow including all of the four Hogwarts founders!?

This was but one of the many questions he had, so he decided to go in order of what was written on the parchment, “Do you think you could go through a few things please?”

The goblin nodded and Harry asked his first question, “What’s Parselmagic?”

“You are a Parselmouth are you not, Heir Potter?” Harry nodded, “There are magics that only Parselmouth can use and as such they are not widely known, but well worth looking into as only Parselmagic can block Parselmagic.”

“So not much good against Riddle, but good against everyone else,” commented Harry, “Thank you. It says here I have power over the fire elemental, does everyone have this power and how do I use it?”

“Yes, everyone has an elemental power, more often than not it correlates to your Hogwarts house, but not always. It is a skill that takes a lot of power, as it is wandless, but by the time you have claimed all of these Headships, you will definitely have enough power. As for how, I suggest you read a book, Heir Potter.”

“Of course, thank you.” Harry gave a quick bow.

“I have Earth abilities.” Neville put in and Harry grinned.

“I guess that’s why you’re so good with plants, ‘ey?” then he turned back to Griphook, remembering what Daphne had warned him about wasting the Goblin’s time. “You said I will have enough power after claiming the Headships, does that mean I will gain power from the rings?”

“Each ring will give your magical core a boost, yes.”

Harry nodded, “Now, what about these Animagus forms? Not that I know much about them, but I have never heard of someone having more than one. And why does it say locked?”

“The ‘locked’ signifies that you have not yet learnt how to transform. I believe these different forms have something to do with the combination of Headships you are heir to. The Head of the Houses Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw have always had more than one Animagus form. You have your usual form – Bernese Mountain Dog in your case – and you also have four other possible forms that can be unlocked with each Headship ring. I believe that they each corollate to the element associated with the family.”

“I will have to learn five different forms?”

“No. You will have to learn one form then the other four will come naturally after that.”

“Phew.” Harry sighed then grinned over at his godfather, “Jealous?”

Sirius gave him a slightly mischievous, “A little. And you’re going to find the initial transformation way easier than we did.”

“Why?”

“Ah, you’ll find out soon enough.” Sirius had a real smile on his face when he saw Harry scowl at this vague response.

“My apologies for wasting you precious time, Griphook, but I have a few questions about the origins of the Headships themselves.”

“I know that James was only eligible for the Potter and Gryffindor Headships.” Pointed out Sirius.

“Yes, the male line of Gryffindor died out and was passed down through the female line which joined the Potter family about two centuries ago. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw lines come from you mother’s side.”

“But my mother was a muggleborn.” Protested Harry.

“All magic blood has to come from somewhere, usually something like that happens when a squib is born. Lily Evans had a single magic great-grandparent; this grandparent was the last living descendent of both Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw, who were cousins. The Headship cannot be taken up by squibs, muggles or women, so you are the only possible heir.”

Harry, Sirius and Neville (who had been staying quietly out of the way this whole time) looked at each other in shock and awe.

When they eventually recovered, Harry asked Griphook, “What of the Slytherin and Peverel Headships? What does by right of conquest mean?”

“If you kill or strip the magic of someone who was the last living descendant of their family, then you take over that family.”

“But I haven’t killed anyone - unless you count Quirrell in first year.”

“You did not kill Quirinus Quirrell, Voldemort did.” Interrupted Sirius.

“Quite.” Griphook agreed, “But I am talking about one Tom Marvolo Riddle.”

“But he’s alive…”

“He is now, but when the killing curse backfired on him his magic was completely destroyed, allowing the Headship to be passed to you, only him taking your blood during his resurrection allowed him his magic back.”

“Wow.” Harry’s shock was growing, “One final question, why does the Peverell writing also say by right of blood?”

“That is because you are a descendent of the third Peverell brother. Tom Riddle is a descendant of the second brother, but the first brother had no children before he died so the family passed through the second brother’s family. Effectively, you would have become Lord Peverell no matter who had killed Riddle, as he never had any children, making you the only possible heir.”

“That’s quite an impressive list you have there, pup.”

“Yes. Thank you very much for your patience with us, Griphook. What happens now?”

“We bring in the six Headship rings and single Heir ring so you can put them on.”

“Please do not bring the Black heir ring.” Requested Sirius, “I wish to make some alterations to my account that may affect this. Would it be possible for me to meet with Steelheart tomorrow afternoon?”

“That can be arranged, yes.”

“Thank you.”

Griphook waved his hand in a circle six times clockwise and once anticlockwise then turned back to Harry.

“Each Headship ring has knowledge hidden inside it, therefore when you put it on, you will gain an ability. Lord Black, Lord Longbottom, if you are comfortable to give an example?”

“The Black ring gives me the ability to sense any people who may be in the same room as me.”

“The Longbottom ring gives me a boost when performing silent magic.”

“There are also Heir rings and Lady rings,” continued Griphook, “Which give the wearer a connection to the Head of the family. If the Heir or Lady is in trouble, then the Headship ring will pulse, but you do not have to worry about either of those as you have neither wife nor heir yet. The rings can only be taken of here at Gringotts to be passed onto an Heir or when you die, it will automatically appear back in the ring box.

I should warn you that there are also complications about which rings your Heirs get because you have so many different lordships but, as we have mentioned, you have no wife so that doesn’t matter quite yet.”

Harry was just nodding in slight confusion, when five goblins walked through the door, each holding a small pine box with a painted crest on the lid.

Seeing Harry’s confusion, Griphook pulled out a similar box and explained, “We are the goblins in charge of each family’s finances. In each box is the Headship ring, when you put on the ring, it will shrink to size, glow for a moment, then become invisible. All you have to do to get it to become visible is concentrate on it. Each ring will give you a short vision of your new power and how to use it.”

Harry nodded, “Thank you. Which fingers do I put the rings on?”

“It depends how you have the ring. Lineage goes on your right ring finger; Conquest goes on your middle finger – one on each hand - Blood goes on your index finger – two on your right and one on your left – and Inheritance goes on your pinkie finger, not that you are claiming the Black Heir ring.”

Harry nodded and looked at the wooden box in Griphook’s hands. The crest carved on the top was of two waves crashing into each other inside a circle; the waves themselves were painted a deep teal colour and the spray that flew off them was a bright silver. Under the crest were the words ‘Άνοδος όπως τα κύματα’.

Griphook saw him looking questioningly at the words and told him, “The Potter motto. The Potter family was originally Greek, although this is actually modern Greek; it translates to ‘Rise like the Waves’. The Potter colours, teal and silver, are also demonstrated.”

“I didn’t realise that the Potters were Greek.” Harry said in surprise.

Griphook just grinned and opened the box to reveal a small cushion on which sat three silver rings. The middle ring was about a centimetre in width and had the Potter family crest painted on to it.

The ring on the right was almost identical to its neighbour, expect the crest was carved into the silver, and so was not in colour. By comparison, the left-hand ring was only three millimetres wide, and was fitted with a small silver disk that also held the Potter crest, in full colour.

“The Ladyship ring, the Headship ring, the Heir ring.” Griphook pointed to the small pieces of jewellery from left to right and Harry nodded.

“If you would like to take the Headship ring please, Heir Potter.” The goblin grinned savagely.

With a deep breath, Harry picked it up and put it carefully on his right ring finger; just as Griphook had said it would, it immediately shrunk to fit his finger, glowed, then turned invisible.

He felt a flux of magic as his core expanded and the next second, he was in the middle of a field willing himself to transform into his Animagus form - he felt his body shift, then the vision fell away.

When he opened his eyes again, he was seeing the world from a different, much lower, angle – he was about on level with the goblins. After a few seconds he realised what had happened and closed his eyes to concentrate on become his human self again.

His body shifted and he opened his eyes to reveal an impressed looking Neville and a sniggering Sirius.

“Well that felt weird.” Harry announced, “Is that how you guys became Animagi?”

“No, we became Animagi the hard way, which takes about a year. Your father only became Lord Potter when he was twenty, because his father was still alive before then, besides that wouldn’t have helped me become Padfoot either way. You wouldn’t believe how annoyed your Dad was when he found out that the Potter ring would allow him to become an Animagus in about five seconds.”

By the time Sirius had finished talking, both Harry and Neville were sniggering.

“You make a fine Bernese Mountain Dog, Harry, very regal.” Commented Neville, making Harry laugh all the harder.

“I’ll have to take your word for that, Nev. I’ll have another go when we’ve finished here, we don’t want to keep Griphook and his fine warrior friends waiting.”

He turned back to the goblin who gave him a bow of respect and thanks, “I present Goldfoot, who is in charge of the Gryffindor family accounts.”

The first Goblin the line stepped forward and grinned nastily.

Harry bowed slightly and greeted him, “May your enemies fall at your blade, Goldfoot.”

Goldfoot looked almost surprised but immediately responded, “May they fall thick and fast, Lord Potter.”

He held out his box, which was decorated with the crest of House Gryffindor. He noticed that this crest was less abstract than the house crest used by Hogwarts, it was a shield shape that was scarlet, with a golden lion residing on it. The motto below the shield read ‘Daring, Nerve and Chivalry’.

After Harry had looked at the crest for a few seconds, Goldfoot flipped the box open to reveal the three rings inside. These three rings were identical in design to the Potter rings, apart from holding the Gryffindor crest on a base of gold.  Again, the Headship ring was thick with a fully coloured crest, the Heir ring was thick, but the crest had no colour, and the Ladyship ring was thin with the shield shaped crest attached to it.

Harry carefully picked up the Headship ring and slipped it onto his left (he wanted the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw rings to go on his right) index finger.

As the Potter ring had, it shrunk to fit his finger, glowed, then turned invisible. Immediately he felt his core expand for the second time in only a few minutes and he found himself in the field once more.

Unlike last time, however, he was surrounded by people trying to shoot spells at him. He found that he could easily dodge the spells by sensing where each one was coming from even if they were behind him. Just as he was getting used to the sixth sense, the people disappeared, and he began his transformation into a Komodo Dragon.

The vision fell away and he found himself looking up at his Godfather from an even lower angle than before. Because this was the second time, he had no problem with working out what had happened and changing back into his human form.

He transformed to find Sirius and Neville grinning at him.

“You’re some Komodo Dragon.”

“Thanks. It would appear I now have a new Animagus form and I have a sixth duelling sense.” He smirked, then allowed Griphook to introduce the next goblin.

“This is Presz, he is in charge of the Hufflepuff family finances.”

Harry bowed slightly and greeted him, “May your enemies blood flow, Presz.”

“May it flow until they are drained, Lord Potter Gryffindor.” The goblin responded offering up the box he held long enough for Harry to see the shield shaped crest that was yellow, with a black badger on it. Under the crest was the motto ‘Patience and Truth’ and inside the box were three gold rings in the same design as the other two sets.

Seeing a theme occurring, Harry picked up the Headship ring and went through the now familiar ritual of putting it on his right index finger, then watching it resize, glow and disappear and waiting a few moments for his core to expand and the vision begin.

The Hufflepuff vision took him back to the same field and he soon found himself in front of a wounded man. He knelt beside the man and placed his hand over gash that ran down his arm; after a few seconds later, the wound was healed, and he began the transformation into his earth animal: a stoat.

He opened his eyes and found himself on the ground, then changed himself back. He was about to grin at his godfather when he felt a strange sensation all over his body; his bones strengthened, his muscles developed, and his skin became healthier looking, but his vision became blurry.

As he took off his glasses to clean them, the world came back into focus again. Surprised he looked through his glasses and found that they turned the world blurry, so he slipped them into his pocket.

“What does the parchment say under Health Status now, Griphook?” he asked.

Griphook gave him a grin then looked down at the paper, “Just signs of physical and emotional abuse.”

Harry nodded in thanks, “It would appear that the Hufflepuff ring gives me mild healing abilities and I have just healed myself.”

“At least you don’t have to worry about your glasses getting broken anymore.” Laughed Neville after he had recovered from the shock of his friend seemingly aging five years in about ten seconds.

“That is true.” Harry raised an eyebrow, “I can’t remember a time anything was this clear, those glasses didn’t work very well for my eyes anyway. Shall we move on, Griphook?”

Griphook nodded and ushered the next Goblin forward, “Ogmok, goblin in charge of the Ravenclaw family finances.”

Harry bowed slightly and greeted him, “May your gold flow forever, Ogmok.”

“May it never dry up, Lord Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff.” The goblin responded offering up the box he held long enough for Harry to see the shield shaped crest that was midnight blue, with an eagle in bronze upon it; under the crest was the motto ‘Wit: Man’s Greatest Treasure’.

Harry repeated the process that he had gone through for the other rings (this one joined the Hufflepuff ring on his right index finger) and was soon in the field watching himself weave new spells into existence. When that part of the vision was over, he became his air Animagus - a Merlin – then he opened his eyes, flapped his wings and became human again.

“I know how to create spells now.” He announced.

“That makes sense, Rowena Ravenclaw is well known for her creations. She created pensives and the spells to extract and copy memories.” Answered Sirius wisely before they all turned back to Griphook.

“Trux, goblin in charge of the Slytherin family finances.”

“May the fire of war burn in your heart, Trux.” Harry greeted him with a small bow.

“May it never die down, Lord Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw.”

Harry had to smirk at his ridiculously long name as he studied the Slytherin crest. It was shield shaped and a deep holly green, with a silver snake coiled on it. The motto beneath the crest read ‘Forward to Greatness’.

The rings were silver, and Harry slipped the Headship ring onto his left middle finger.

Back in the field, he found himself stood opposite to another man, who was trying to read his mind, but he suddenly felt that he could build walls to stop the man penetrating and even leave false memories for added protection. Then he felt that he could in fact read other people’s mind, sometimes without them knowing, and break down certain barriers within the mind.

He found himself coming out of the mind of the other man, who then disappeared, and felt himself shifting into his water Animagus. Suddenly he was underwater and swimming happily around, but he pulled himself out of his octopus form before the vision could end, because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to breath otherwise.

Carefully, he looked inside his mind at the carefully constructed walls, “I can read minds and stop other people from reading mine, plus I’m an octopus.”

“Occlumency and legilimency.” Sirius explained, “You usually have to learn it, and it takes quite a while to learn.”

“Wow. I almost feel like I’m cheating with all of these shortcuts towards really rare and difficult talents.” Harry laughed.

“Finally,” cut in Griphook, turning the attention back to him, “This is Olk, goblin in charge of the Peverell family finances.”

“May your enemies fall at your blade, Olk.” Harry greeted him with a small bow.

“May they fall thick and fast, Lord Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin.”

Now the name was just getting ridiculous, he thought to himself as he admired the Peverell crest. It was a white circle with a lilac cherry blossom blooming across it and beneath it was the phrase ‘بداية جديدة’.

“It’s Arabic.” Olk announced, “The Peverell family originated in Egypt. In English, the motto is ‘New Beginnings’.”

Harry nodded then slipped on the silver Headship ring. Once he was in the field, he saw many objects on the grass in front of him, each of which had tendrils of pulsing magic in and around them.

The magic tendrils were made of lots of different colours, but he instinctively knew that the black magic was dangerous and dark magic. He moved towards one of the objects that contained some black tendrils and concentrated on separating the dangerous magic from the safe, good magic.

The black tendrils rose like mist, then diffused into the air and, when he had cleansed all of the dark objects, the vison faded, and he came back to reality.

All around Griphook’s he could see tendrils of magic; each object had magic in it – though some more than others – and there were even a few tendrils hanging in the air, snaking their way across the room.

Above his head was a dome of woven gold magic (similar to the Hogwarts wards), but most fascinating of all was that each person and goblin in the room had a magical core, where the tendrils were tightly wrapped around each other to form a pulsing cylinder of light deep within their stomachs.

From these cores, the tendrils snaked all the way through the body; going into the head and along each limb (the wizards had thick white tendrils connecting their wand arms to their core).

The magic centred around each goblin was red and so were most of the objects in the room, but the magic within his two companions was mostly white with a few other colours mixed around.

Harry could tell where the Headship rings that Neville and Sirius wore were (despite them being invisible) because they were each surrounded by a pulsing sky-blue tendril that connected - and added to the size of - the core of the wizard who wore it.

He looked down at his own hands and saw that the same sky-blue tendrils were wrapped around his fingers and connected to his core, dramatically increasing its size.

Suddenly, he noticed a strand of black magic connected to his core which was pulsing at a much slower rate than all of the other tendrils. Carefully, he followed it as it led him towards his head, then nearly gagged as he saw the mass of sludgy dark magic that was hidden just behind his scar.

Panicking, he told himself that he needed to get rid of the icky magic as soon as possible, but before he could think about anything rationally, he felt his head split open and he blacked out before he even had time to scream.

Chapter Text

When Harry came to, he was lying on a hard bed with a goblin that he had never seen before leant over him while Sirius, Neville (who were looking rather pale) and Griphook were hovering nearby.

Everywhere he looked he could still see tendrils of magic and when he looked inside himself, he could see that the dark magic was now gone despite the pounding in his head.

He found that, if he stopped concentrating on the magic, he could kind of make it disappeared into the background, which he did before trying to sit up and being pushed roughly back down by the Goblin.

“What happened?” he asked as strongly as he could through the pounding in his head.

“Horcrux.” Grunted the Goblin.

Confused, Harry looked over to his Godfather who just shrugged helplessly and motioned to Griphook.

“Griphook?”

“A Horcrux is a piece of someone’s soul that has been kept safe inside a container, which - in this case – was you. The power to attune to magic and destroy dark objects that you got from the Peverell ring destroyed the Horcrux that was behind your scar. When you came out of the vision, you fell to the floor and an inky black mist erupted out of your head, it looked like it was trying to go somewhere so I sent Goldfoot to follow it and brought you here. This is Healer Sluntan.”

Harry turned to the Goblin and said, “May you never lose your healing power, Healer Sluntan.” With a slight incline of his head, which was still pounding.

Slightly bemused by his use of a Goblin greeting, the Healer replied, “May it be used for the good of my clan, Lord Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell.”

Still uncomfortable at how many titles he now had and shocked at how he had managed to become heir to all four Hogwarts founders (he was wearing rings that the four founders worn themselves at one time!), he took the medicine vial that the Goblin held out to him without complaint.

His head cleared instantly, and he sat up about to continue the Horcrux conversation when Goldfoot hurried into the room.

“Griphook. The piece of soul went down to Vault 771.”

“Whose vault is this, Goldfoot?”

“Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black.”

Both Goblins turned to look at Sirius who raised an eyebrow, ”You have my word that by this time tomorrow, she will no longer be a part of my family.”

“We goblins do not take the word of Humans; they go back on it too often. But rest assured that if she is still part of your family by this time tomorrow, you will be what she is: an enemy to the Goblin Nation. We do not want such magic in this place.” Griphook gave Sirius a nasty grin then turned back to Goldfoot, “What was the container for the second piece of soul?”

“The Hufflepuff cup.”

“Has the soul piece been destroyed?”

“It has; the cup is still intact.” Goldfoot lifted a shiny gold goblet that had two ornate handles and a carved design of a badger playing in long grass out of the satchel at his side.

“Take it and these three to Lord Ragnok, then find Coilk and have him freeze the Lady Lestrange Vaults.” Griphook ordered before turning back to Harry, who was staring at him with slightly wide eyes, “Lord Potter, now that you have accepted your rings, you need to swear an oath to complete the claiming of the Headships.”

Harry took the piece of parchment that the goblin held out to him, raised his wand arm and began to read out the oath.

“I, Lord Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell, do swear to protect and help every member of the Houses Potter, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Peverell until my last breath. So mote it be.”

As he said each name, he watched a thin, green strand of magic wind around each sky-blue tendril that connected his rings to his core.

Letting the magic fade from his consciousness, he asked Griphook, “What happens if I do not abide by this oath?”

“You will lose the magic that the rings give you.” The goblin grinned ferociously then changed the subject, “Lord Ragnok wishes to see you now, he will discuss both the Horcruxes and the Hogwarts finances with you. As the head of the Goblin nation, he is in charge of the most important monies in the United Kingdom.”

Harry quickly regained his composure, “Thank you for your help, Griphook.”

The Goblin nodded in response then added, “If you to return after you see Lord Ragnok, you can be taken over your finances.”

“Would it be possible for me to come back in a week’s time to go over them?”

“It would.”

“Thank you,” Harry bowed, “May your clan be ever behind you.”

“May I lead them on the path to victory.” Replied Griphook as the three wizards were led away by Goldfoot.

As they were being led through a maze of corridors, Harry let out a sigh.

“This has been and continues to be a very eventful day.”

“You can say that again, pup.”

“And this is probably going to be one of many. Never a dull moment for Harry Potter.” smirked Neville.

“I still can’t believe that I’m in charge of so many families!” Harry ignored his friends’ teasing.

“There are a few out there who have two, but I’ve never heard of anyone who has more than that.” Sirius agreed.

“And I don’t see how I didn’t know about that Horcrux, how did I not know that it was inside of me?” he was starting to panic now.

“I don’t know, pup. But I suspect that even the person that the soul belonged to didn’t know it was in you so don’t feel bad.” Sirius soothed.

“I guess there’s only one person it could be.” Harry sighed.

“Yep, old Mouldy Voldy left it there by when he tried to kill you.”

“It must have been an accident, otherwise he wouldn’t keep trying to kill you. Killing you would kill a bit of him.” Neville added.

“So, it was Voldemort’s soul. And the cup must have been his Horcrux too, else the pieces wouldn’t have tried to join together. At least that explains why he didn’t die why the curse backfired on him. I wonder if he made anymore.”

Sirius was shocked, “If he did than he’s beyond crazy. Creating one Horcrux makes you unstable.”

“Sirius, he’s past insane and determined to stay alive, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s made quite a few.”

“We’ll have to find out I guess; else we’ll never be able to kill him.”

“You’re right Nev, it looks like we’re going to have to go on a bit of a Horcrux hunt.”

They were silent for a few seconds before Sirius spoke up again, “It’s so cool that you have five different Animagus forms, I’m a little jealous.”

“Only a little?” Harry grinned.

“Okay, maybe a lot. You need your Animagus name!”

“One name or one for each form?”

“I think just one for your Bernese form, the others we can just refer to by their element.”

“Good plan, remembering five names is a lot.” Laughed Neville.

“True. You have a think about a name then, Padfoot – it’s only right that the Animagus among us picks the name after all.”

“I’ll have a think on it and get back to you tomorrow. You can’t rush these names.” Sirius promised solemnly.

“Speaking of names, what am I supposed to do with mine?”

“What do mean?”

“I now have; a title, a first name, a middle name and six last names.” He commented as he tried to get used to the feeling of the six rings on his fingers. They weren’t uncomfortable or annoying despite their size, as they seemed to have built in cushioning charms, but they were going to take a bit of getting used to.

“You only have one last name; you have six lordships.” Sirius pointed out.

“People aren’t going to have to say all six names, are they?”

“Only when you’re introduced for the first time.” Sirius assured him, “People will refer to the name they are doing business with. Most of the time it will just be Lord Potter, but if you are, for example, doing business in Egypt, you will be referred to as Lord Peverell because it’s the Peverell connections that you are using.”

“Complicated, but I see where you’re coming from.”

“You’ll get the hang of it; you just have a disadvantage that you haven’t been learning since you were young.”

“Daphne can teach me.” Harry shrugged.

“Daphne? Who is this fine lady and how come this is the first I have heard of her?” inquired Sirius with a smirk.

“Daphne Greengrass, eldest child of Lord Greengrass. You haven’t heard of her because I only met her properly this morning.” Harry ignored the suggestive tone in his Godfather’s voice

“And already something is happening between you? How sweet.”

“No. She just helped me understand Goblin etiquette.” Insisted Harry with only a faint blush.

“And she picked you clothes. Didn’t she say green to match your eyes?” Neville teased.

“Not helping, Nev.” Harry hissed as Sirius started to exaggeratedly bat his eyelids, “Plus, how did you hear that?”

“Hermione did, she told me.”

Harry suppressed a groan at the idea of a rumour like that going around and decided to change the subject.

“Can I see your Headship ring, Nev?”

Neville gave him a grin, then complied, “Sure.”

He lifted his hand a gold ring appeared on his right ring finger. The crest on the ring was circular, with a plum coloured orchid in the centre.

“What’s the Longbottom motto?”

“’Hard Work Conquers All’ it’s kind of dramatic. The colours are plum and gold, hence the robes.”

“Are we always supposed to wear our house colours?”

“Only for important events; like I said before, it depends one which house you are representing as to if you wear your house colours and which house.”

“But you have so many different colours to choose from.” Neville laughed easily and Harry was struck by how much his friend had changed in the last year, the timid boy was gone, replaced by a hardworking and compassionate young man who had quite a skill for defensive magic.

“The Lordship suits you, you know Nev.”

Neville looked at him in surprise, “Thanks, Harry. My whole life, Gran has chased after me, trying to make me into my father, but I think she has finally expected that I am who I am, and that I can be a good at doing magic and being a Lord without being a replica of my father.”

“Well, I am glad she’s accepted you but I’m even happier that you haven’t changed yourself to please her. You’re a good man.” He clapped his friend on the arm.

“You know what, Gran told me that the Potters and the Longbottoms have been allies for nine generations, how do you feel about making it ten?”

“What does that entail?”

“Well, there are two types of alliance bonds, the True Alliance Bond and the Brother Alliance Bond. The True Bond is a promise of fanatically and political backing and is fairly common, whereas the Brother Bond is a rarer and deeper bond. You give each other fanatical and political backing as well as an oath of protection so that we effectively become brothers and look out for each other.”

“I’ve always wanted a sibling and I think that you would be a perfect big brother.”

“I’m only one day older than you.” Laughed Neville.

“One twin is always older,” Harry pointed out, “What do we have to do?”

“We need two witnesses, maybe we can ask Lord Ragnok.” Neville replied, then he asked, “It is true what Griphook said about you being able to attune now?”

“Is that being able to see magic? Yes, that’s the ability that the Peverell ring gave me.”

“Awesome. What does it look like?”

“Like strands, the different magics are different colours and we all have a core that holds most of our magic.”

“Wow, what colours do I have?”

“It seems that most wizard magic is white, so your core is mostly white, with a little green, light blue, yellow, orange and gold in it.”

“Wow, do you know what the different colours mean?”

“From what I can tell the light blue is from the Headship rings and the green is the vow that goes along with the rings, I don’t know what the yellow and orange are, but the gold is for wards, but you don’t have enough to be in control of wards so I’m guessing that your magic is keyed into the wards of your home?”

“I am, yes. That’s pretty impressive Harry! I can’t believe all of that is inside me and I can’t even see it.”

Harry didn’t have time to reply more than a grin, because Goldfoot led them up to a set of grand oak doors (they had been walking for about ten minutes and were now deep underground) behind which sat the office belonging to the leader of the Goblin Nation.

Carved into the doors was a magnificent, golden oak tree, complete with thousands of leaves and an old, weathered look to the golden bark. In the centre of the carving, there was a knot which was just the right size for a goblin’s hand; Goldfoot placed his hand upon this knot, waiting for a few seconds, the pushed the door open.

The office of Lord Ragnok was a large (compared to the other goblin offices), richly decorated room. Three of the walls were covered with floor to ceiling filing cabinets made of the same old oak at the door was; these cabinets, Daphne had told him earlier in a moment of distraction, were rumoured to be bigger on the inside (it was a magical bank after all) and hold a copy of every single document at Gringotts.

Astonishingly, the fourth wall held a piece of wall art that appeared to be made of solid metal. The great oak doors were one side of the wall and the rest of it was covered from top to bottom in textured waves of silver and gold metal that had clearly been carefully forged by goblins.

Light from the chandelier that hung from the ceiling reflected off the buffed metal in a way similar to the sea, adding to the oceanic effect and nearly blinding the wizards in the room (the goblins had much less light-sensitive eyes).

This chandelier was hung from the very centre of the room and was made of shaped metal but still had a delicate feel about it. Around the light fixture was a painting; it covered the whole ceiling and depicted the end of a bloody battle between goblins and wizards.

Of course, the goblins had won and were celebrating over the many wizard heads that lay on the ground. It made Harry’s stomach turn slightly to see it.

The floor was made up of two levels that split the office in half; the half with the door was lower and made of charcoal grey tiles, each one of which had a gold Celtic knot painted on it, while the section at the back of the room was about thirty centimetres higher (there was a small goblin sized set of stairs off to one side) and was covered in a plush charcoal grey carpet.

On this upper level of the office, was a wide but low wooden desk that had ornate oak leaf carvings around its rim and carefully assembled draws for legs. In front of the desk (on the lower level) were three armchairs, each wooden with gold and red upholstery, but behind the desk, was a large leather chair that held the fiercest goblin Harry had ever seen.

This goblin, who could only be Lord Ragnok, was dressed in rich reds and golds and seemed to be wearing a fur lined cape. His face was less wrinkled than the other goblins, but it looked to be older, and his eyes seemed to see straight into Harry’s soul.

Goldfoot bowed immediately upon entering the room and the three wizards behind him followed suit, not coming out of the bow until Lord Ragnok spoke to them individually.

“May your army be all powerful, my Lord. I bring you three humans and the purified Hufflepuff cup.”

Goldfoot came out of the bow and laid the goblet down on the table before backing out of the room.

“May it always be at my command.” Replied the other Ragnok, before turning to Harry, “Lord Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell, I presume?”

“May your riches ever multiply, Lord Ragnok.” Harry came out of his bow.

“May they multiply forever. I was told of your adoption of our customs, but I did not truly believe until now.”

“Do not many use them?”

“Not many humans, they see us as below them.”

“I think that it is respectful to adopt the greetings of whom I am greeting. I am on the land of a great warrior nation after all.”

“I would agree with you, but most of your kind would not. You are an unusual wizard, Lord Potter.”

“So I have been told.” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“Lord Black, Lord Longbottom.” Ragnok released the two from their bows.

“May your enemies fall at your blade, Lord Ragnok.” They repeated together.

“May they fall thick and fast.” He motioned the three into the armchairs before settling down in his own chair, “Our records show that you indeed now the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lord Potter.”

“I performed the ward bonding early this morning.”

“And you wish to go over the finances?”

“Among other things, yes. I am changing Hogwarts for the better; adding more classes and ridding it of harmful objects.”

“A noble cause. Before we look at Hogwarts itself, I would like to talk to you about this.” Ragnok held up the Hufflepuff cup, “This is the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. It is worth around 1.1 million galleons and you helped us to not only discover that there was dark magic in our bank, but who the culprit was, that puts me in your debt, and I do not like being in debt.” The Goblin gave a nasty grin before continuing, “Therefore, I would like to give you this cup.”

Harry raised his eyebrows, “Is this goblet not Goblin made?”

“It is.”

“Then I think that it should stay as a position of the Goblin Nation.”

Ragnok eyed him a little warily, “Then what do you want from us to pay the debt?”

“There are a few things that Hogwarts needs that the Goblin Nation can provide; we need to update the wards, clear the castle of dangerous or dark objects and empty the forest of dangerous animals.”

“You wish to use the debt to help the school?” Ragnok asked renewed respect in his eyes.

“I do.” Harry replied, “Is this acceptable to you?”

“Please outline your specific requests.”

“You would work with myself and Lady Hogwarts to upgrade the Hogwarts wards, then sweep for, gather, and destroy dark objects within the castle and kill the dangerous or over populous animals in the Forbidden Forest. Anything you find that can be sold will be put into a Hogwarts vault sperate from the main vault.”

Ragnok was silent for a moment then spoke, “That is acceptable, but doing this would only equalise about three quarters of the debt. Is there anything else?”

“Forgive me, but I think you are forgetting that you helped me to get rid of the Horcrux that was inside me. I will see the debt as paid if you help with what I have outlined.”

Once again, Ragnok looked at him with renewed respect, “If that is what you wish, it is done. When do you want this to happen?”

“Next weekend when the students have left please.”

“It will be arranged, expect three teams next Sunday. Now, to finances.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Lord Ragnok, but before we do, might you aid myself and Lord Longbottom in performing a Brother Alliance Bond?”

Ragnok was clearly surprised but nodded, “If you wish. You must touch the Potter and Longbottom rings together and repeat this oath.”

Neville and Harry stood up and held the rings against each other, before repeating the oath that Ragnok had given them.

“I, Lord James Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell, do initiate an oath of brotherhood between myself, of House Potter, and Lord Neville Frank Longbottom, of House Longbottom. I swear to be a brother to you, to offer you aid in battle, politics and finances, and protect you however I am able. So mote it be. Brother Longbottom.”

Green tendrils of magic erupted from each ring and connected in the middle, they pulsed slowly at first them sped up and got thicker and the oath continued.

“I, Lord Neville Frank Longbottom, do initiate an oath of brotherhood between myself, of House Longbottom, and Lord James Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell, of House Potter. I swear to be a brother to you, to offer you aid in battle, politics and finances, and protect you however I am able. So mote it be. Brother Potter.”

When the oath was finished, the green magic diffused into the air and a different magic appeared. This connected each ring to the wearers core with a thick tendril a magic which was midnight blue in colour, but wrapped around with a stand of green magic, as the Headship magics were.

Harry pulled Neville into a brotherly hug then turned to Ragnok, thanked him with a bow, and sat down while Neville did the same.

“It is not often the Heads of houses chose that bond. You will now be able to sense if the other is in trouble in the same way as you can with the Lady or Heir ring.”

“It is right for us.” Responded Harry simply, “Now, we have wasted enough of your time already, shall we get onto the Hogwarts finances?”

“Very well, we must start with the Headmaster ring.”

Harry laughed in disbelieve, “Another ring?”

“Yes.” Ragnok answered with raised eyebrows before bringing out a wooden box in the same design as the House ring boxes. This one had the Hogwarts crest on the lid, and it opened to reveal a ring that looked like a Headship ring, but instead of being either solid silver or gold, it was both wound together in a Celtic design around the crest.

Next to the Headmaster ring was a space that clearly should have held another ring.

“What should be there?” Harry asked Ragnok.

“The Deputy ring, it is currently worn by Minerva McGonagall.”

“Is there any chance of making another Deputy ring?”

Ragnok was surprised but there was a glimmer of intrigue in his eyes, “You must claim the Headmaster ring before you can make any changes of at sort.”

“Thank you. If I may ask, what is the difference between this ring and the other Headship rings?”

“This ring will not give you an extra ability like the others did, it instead connects you to the wards of Hogwarts.”

“Didn’t I already connect to the wards?”

“You did, but you notice that you cannot feel them now? This ring will tell you if there is a problem or breach of the wards when you are not there. It will also allow you to signal the Deputy of danger within Hogwarts and vice versa. It goes on your right thumb.”

Harry nodded, reached for the ring and slipped it onto his thumb. Instead of being sent to the field, he felt the weight of the wards; it wasn’t a restrictive weight, but it was a constant in the back of his mind.

He couldn’t sense where everyone was like he could when he was in Hogwarts, but, if he concentrated, he could examine the wards and check that they were still working correctly.

Quickly, he opened his eyes and looked down at his hand, The Hogwarts Headmaster ring - unlike the others - was surrounded by gold magic which was the same colour as the Hogwarts wards.

Following this thick, gold tendril carefully towards his core, he saw that it ended in a ball that was slightly separate, but still connected, to his main magical core; it seemed to have yellow tendrils inside it, as well as a few black (as the castle has not yet been cleansed), white and orange tendrils.

“Please read out this oath.”

Ragnok headed in a piece of parchment that had seemingly appeared from nowhere and Harry quickly stuck up his wand hand before reading:

“I, Lord James Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell, do swear to be a good Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I swear to defend it and its students until my last breath as Headmaster and do everything I can in the interests of the students’ education and safety. So mote it be.”

He watched as a small green strand of magic once again wound its way around the gold tendril and joined the Headmaster mass inside of him

“Everything seems to be in order.” Ragnok told him, “Now, what did you mean about making another Deputy ring?”

“I wish two have two Deputies, Minerva McGonagall, who’s job would be to simply keep order if I’m not there, and Neville here, who has agreed to be my Deputy, and would take on the running off the school if I was unavailable.”

“That is not something that has been done before.” Ragnok stated and Harry was not sure if the goblin leader was for or against the idea.

“If I did not do it like this then I would have to hire a Deputy outright, it is too much work for someone to teach and be Deputy unless you split it; I saw how run off her feet Professor McGonagall was and the workload will only grow. Do you think that this would work?”

Ragnok studied him for a moment before replying, “I do.”

Harry bowed in thanks before asking, “Am I right in assuming that these rings are Goblin made?”

“Yes, all Headship, Ministry and Hogwarts rings are Goblin made.”

“The Ministry has rings?”

“For each of the Department Heads, the Chief Warlock and the Minister all do, yes.”

“And would it be possible for you to make a second Deputy ring?”

“It would, but it would take about a week.” Warned Ragnok.

“That would be acceptable. Can I ask, how does one become deputy? Is it as simple as putting on the ring?”

“The ring and an oath. The ring gives the wearer access to the wards as you feel them now. Deputy can sense and strengthen the wards but not see them as you can while you are there.”

“Very well, might Lord Longbottom come with me next weekend when I come to look over my personal finances?”

“We can have the ring ready by them yes, I will be a witness to the oath myself.”

“Thank you, Lord Ragnok.”

“Now, let’s get down to business. Currently, Hogwarts does not support itself. There are only 280 students, who each pay 1,000 G a year tuition, amounting to 280,000 G per year, but the yearly running cost of Hogwarts is 400,000 G.”

“Where is the rest of the money coming from?” asked Harry.

“The remaining 120,000 G is split between the ministry and families such as your own. The ministry covers about three quarters.”

“They want to keep Hogwarts under their control so that we are dependent on them.”

“It would seem that way, yes. Do you know what you’re yearly running cost will be from next year?”

“I do not. But I know what we need if we can work it out now?”

“Start with your professors. A reasonable income per year is 20,000 G for a senior professor and 15,000 G for a junior professor. How many of each will you have?”

Harry took out the notebook that they had made their notes in earlier and counted it up.

“28 senior professors, which amounts to 560,000 G, 11 junior professors, which amounts to 165,000 G and 4 heads of house, who I think should be paid more, 25,000 G? So that is 100,000 galleons.”

Ragnok made notes of this as it was spoken, “Then you move onto other staff, Librarian, Healer, Groundskeeper.”

“Groundskeeper at 10,000 G, Librarian at 15,000 G and Healer at 20,000 G. I have heard Madam Pomfrey say many times how much she need help, so an assistant Healer at 15,000 G as well. We wanted someone to scout out muggleborns and introduce them to the muggle world, so two scouts at 15,000 G each and finally I think we need some school therapists, two I think, at 15,000 G.”

“Therapists?” asked Neville.

“Do you not have those here?” Harry frowned.

“We might have an equivalent, what is a therapist?”

“Someone who you talk to about your problems and they help you deal with them…”

“Oh! A Mind Healer. Yeah, I think that’s a good idea, being a teenager is traumatic enough, let alone if something else happens.”

“Okay, what does that put us on, Lord Ragnok?”

“945,000 G. You are forgetting someone, however.

“Who?” asked Harry, puzzled.

“You!” Sirius replied exasperatedly.

“Oh, I don’t need paying.”

“You are working, so you will get payed.” Sirius told him.

“But I’m a student!”

“You won’t been next year; didn’t you say that you were going to take your exams at the end of the summer?” Sirius retorted.

“Fine, if I get paid then we need to talk about the Deputy spot.”

“I don’t need to be paid,” Neville protested, “I’m still a student.”

“I have never known anyone to not want to get paid for doing something.” Ragnok commented disbelievingly.

Sirius laughed, “These are a unique pair. Neville you are working, so you will get paid. You’re not working full time, fair enough, how about 5,000 a year while you are still a student, then you can re-negotiate.”

“That seems fair, what about the rest of the Dragon Council?” asked Harry.

“The Dragon Council?” Ragnok queried.

“Myself, Neville and two others from each house are working together to make Hogwarts better, we are calling ourselves the Dragon Council so who to talk to about their problems.”

Ragnok raised his eyebrows, “I hope that you do not lose your wisdom with age. If you do not than I think that you may actually be an acceptable Headmaster.”

“Thank you.” Harry took the compliment for what it was and bowed, “I think that Hogwarts agrees with you, or she would not have picked me.”

“Quite. Now, if there are eight members of the Dragon Council and they each get 2,500 G a year – something that can be negotiated when they leave school – that would put your total salary cost up to exactly 1 million G.”

“That is with a maximum number of professors though, there will some that can do more than one subject.”

“Yes, that is correct. My estimate is that 1.1 million would be enough to cover an academic year. Of course, there will be more costs this year because you are setting new things up that are not covered in this budget. Although I have to ask, if you do not want to be dependent on the Ministry, then where do you plan to find this money?”

“First of all, I was thinking of increasing the tutoring fee to 1,500 a year but setting up a lot more scholarships, I’m not sure there are any at all right now and if we introduce them, more students – especially muggleborns - will come to Hogwarts.”

“With Hogwarts’ current student count, that would give you 420,000 G a year, which still leaves 680,000 G that need to be covered. Hogwarts is currently only a quarter full, if it was half full then you would get 840,000 G a year, leaving 260,000 G to be covered. If Hogwarts was full then you would get 1,680,000 G a year, which would leave you with 580,000 G that is unneeded at the moment.”

“But it would take between fifty and one hundred years to get to anywhere near full capacity, because I’m sure that there aren’t that many muggleborns who just can’t afford it.” Sirius pointed out.

“It’s not just muggleborns, there should also be a spike in students from pureblood families in a few years when they stop in-breeding and there will be the half humans and werewolves too.”

“You’ll allow werewolves? Moony will be so happy!” Sirius exclaimed.

“Yeah, we can make sure the students are safe. We can supply wolfsbane and build somewhere safe for them to go every month.”

Happy tears shone in Sirius’s eyes for a few seconds as he realised what that would mean for the new generations of Remus’s.

“You want half humans at Hogwarts?” Ragnok asked suddenly.

“Half goblins, half giants, excreta, if that’s okay, yes.”

“The half goblin to ever go to Hogwarts was Filius Flitwick because he was the son of a goblin just below me who swore war if they would not let him attend.”

“About how many half goblins are there per year?”

“Three or four most years, not many.”

“Well, as long as they paid tuition and went by the same rules as everyone else, they are perfectly welcome.”

“You like to put us in your debt don’t you, Lord Potter?” asked Ragnok with a raised eyebrow

Harry was confused, “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean?”

“You think this doesn’t put us in your debt?”

“No, half goblins have as much right to go to Hogwarts as anyone else.”

“Is there anything at all you want in return for this?”

Harry thought for a moment then replied, “How about an alliance?”

“Alliances between goblins and humans have never gone down well before.”

“And half goblins have never attended Hogwarts before, save one.”

“What sort of alliance?”

“Between Hogwarts and the Goblin Nation.”

“What about if the next Hogwarts head does not share you views?”

“I will do everything in my power to ensure they do, but how about if the alliance is to me. I allow half goblins to study at Hogwarts and you help us me to defeat Voldemort.”

“You do realise that the alliance would then break as soon as Tom Riddle is defeated?”

“Will that be enough to pay off the debt?”

“It depends how long the war goes on for, but probably not.”

“Then how about you become my ally for while I am Headmaster of Hogwarts?”

“That seems acceptable,” Ragnok replied after a moment’s thought, “I will swear the oath. I, Lord Ragnok, leader of the Goblin Nation, do swear the Goblin Nation into alliance with Lord Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell for the duration of his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So mote it be.”

When he concentrated, Harry could see green tendrils of magic rising into the air from Ragnok’s hand, which was lifted in the air, and shooting toward him.

“I, Lord Ragnok, leader of the Goblin Nation, do declare Lord Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell to be a friend to the Goblin Nation. Congratulations, Lord Potter.”

Goblin and teenager bowed to each other as the green magic diffused into the air before sitting in their seats.

“Okay,” Sirius said, trying to persuade himself to concentrate despite the number of extraordinary things that had happened that day, “Where are we going to get the rest of the money from?”

“The one-off amounts can come from the money we make off selling things from the forest, I think that we will get a lot of money from that.”

“Yes, and the Longbottom family could help cover scholarships.” Offered Neville, “10,500 G isn’t really that much for a Lord.”

“The Black family can help with that also. And fundraisers are an option, Hogwarts can put on fundraising quidditch matches or balls.”

“Thank you, now we just need to cover the yearly budget. Lord Ragnok, I’m struggling to see how I can help financially because I have not had time to see how much I actually have in my accounts, I have no idea about the size of my fortune as I have only seen the Potter vault.”

“You have seen the Potter vault?” Ragnok asked, puzzled.

“Yes, when I was eleven Hagrid took me to get some money out for my school things.”

To Harry’s dismay, both Ragnok and Sirius started to laugh.

“Ah pup, that wasn’t the Potter vault. That was your trust vault.”

“Sorry, what’s a trust vault?”

“It’s a vault that parents set up for their children. It includes their Hogwarts tuition and extra for pocket money and school supplies. Yours held 50,000 G when you were born but now holds,” Ragnok looked down at a piece of parchment on his desk, “42,052 G, 9 S and 28 K.”

“Wow you’re not a big spender, pup.”

“I’ve spent nearly 8,000 G!”

Sirius laughed again, “No pup, you’ve spent nearly 1,000 G. The other 7,000 G were your tuition, remember.”

“Oh.” Harry blushed slightly.

Ragnok seemed to be holding back a smirk and he said, “I can tell you how many galleons in each account if you would like? That wouldn’t include properties, shares or items owned by each family, but it would give you an idea.”

“Yes, please.” He gave a quick sigh of relief as Ragnok summoned a different piece of parchment out of a filing cabinet and gave it to him.

The parchment read:

Potter Main Vault Monies: 71,567,866 G   6 S   21 K
Gryffindor Main Vault Monies: 23,857,267 G   4 S   6 K
Hufflepuff Main Vault Monies: 8,764,854 G   2 S   19 K
Ravenclaw Main Vault Monies: 8,126,635 G   15 S   16 K
Slytherin Main Vault Monies: 49,547 G   7 S   4 K
Peverell Main Vault Monies: 20,000 G   9 S   20 K

Harry stared at the parchment in disbelief, “I have how much?!”

“A lot, pup.” Sirius laughed, “And that’s just your straight galleons remember.”

“I guess you’re not used to having that much, are you?” Neville asked and Harry shook his head.

When he had recovered enough to talk again, he asked, “Where is all this money from?”

“The Potters are good at investing,” Ragnok explained, “They just seem to have a knack and they often invest in muggle companies too. That vault sees about a million a year coming in through good investments and nothing has gone out of it in fifteen years so it’s building up. The Potters have been in charge of Gryffindor house for quite a few generations, so they have done the same to that vault, expect not to the same extent.

“The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw vaults have about how much most of these old families have and the Slytherin and Peverell fortunes were squandered by the Gaunts until Tom Riddle started to build them back up again. Although he is spending a fair amount of the money he made.”

“If most old families have around eight or ten million, then which ones have a lot more?” Harry asked.

“Malfoy, Avery, Lestrange, Nott, Parkinson, Greengrass, Black, Abbott, Longbottom and of course Potter are the big ten.” Sirius replied.

“Five light and five dark.” Commented Neville dryly.

“Funny, Black has never been considered light before.”

“This is a dawn of a new age, Padfoot.”

“Quite right, pup.”

“Lord Ragnok, you said that Riddle is spending the Slytherin and Gaunt money, does this mean he has access to the vaults?”

“Yes. When he came back, he could not claim headship but there was no other head and so he could keep taking the money. Unless you deny his access, he can keep taking the money.”

“Can I remove him from the families?”

“You can.”

“And what would that do to him?”

“He would lose the Slytherin family ability and would not be able to access any Slytherin or Peverell house or vaults.”

“He would lose an Animagus as well as his occlumency and legilimency skills?”

“He never learnt how to be an Animagus, but the other two, yes.”

“I, Lord Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell, do remove Tom Marvolo Riddle from the Houses of Slytherin and Peverell. So mote it be.”

“Well, Lord Ragnok I thank you profusely for your time. Lord Longbottom and I will be back on Saturday morning for the Deputy ring and oath.”

“It will be ready by then and I will have the Goblins in charge of your various accounts ready to go through them with you straight after. I will have someone show you out.”

The Goblin knocked twice on the table and Griphook appeared.

“Ah Griphook, please show Lord Potter, Lord Black and Lord Longbottom the way out.”

“Certainly, my Lord.”

“Thank you, Lord Ragnok. May you find riches beyond measure.”

“May power come with those riches, Lord Potter.”

The three (Sirius decided to stay the night at Hogwarts since he was meeting Narcissa there in a few hours anyway) finally emerged out of the floo into the Room of Requirement at one thirty in the morning, thoroughly exhausted.

Despite the late hour, all of the Dragon Council were waiting (though not all were still awake) on sofas that the room had provided.

Daphne and Hermione - who had apparently been bonding – greeted them, exclaiming about their new appearances and waking up all those were asleep as they did so.

Neville and Sirius promptly stood on either side of Harry and dramatically announced his new name which caused a stunned silence. The purebloods were shocked because they realised the significance of this young man’s new status and the others because, how could their friend be Heir to all four founders?!

The trio sat down and Harry told the rest of the Dragon Council (in confidence) everything that had happened at Gringotts, emphasising on the Horcruxes and the Hogwarts finances but not mentioning the Brother Bond between him and Neville or the different abilities that came with his rings, as they were a bit more personal and not very relevant at that time.

There was uproar about his alliance with the Goblin Nation, Harry didn’t understand why until it was explained to him that no-one knew of an instance that an alliance like that had been formed – ever. Eventually he saw just how big a deal it was - and how much it was going to help them in the future.

Upon revealing his new Animagus powers, everyone of cause demanded a demonstration and he obliged because he knew that they would just keep asking if he didn’t.

The eleven of them agreed that having five Animagus names would be too much, so they tried to come up with a name, specifically for his Bernese form.

They had great difficulty in finding a name that suited him and ran in the same theme as Moony, Padfoot and Prongs and after fifteen minutes of being patted, Harry was getting tired.

In the end, Daphne came up with Apollo, which earned her a lick on the nose from the huge dog.

They all found this name appropriate as it seemed fitting that a big and powerful dog be named after a God, plus they found it ironic that Apollo was God of light (among other things), so Apollo he was.

By just past two o’clock, Harry finally persuaded everyone to go to sleep and collapsed into his own bed, his mind still reeling from the events of the day despite how much he had locked away behind his new Occlumency shields so he could deal with it at a later date when he had a little more time.

Chapter Text

Harry awoke at just past eight o’clock and decided to get some breakfast while making a plan-of-action for the day. He pulled on his green robes from the day before, made his way out of his small room and into the living space.

“Dobby?” he called and barely a second later, the small elf appeared.

“What is Master Headmaster Harry Potter Sir wanting of lowly elf Dobby?”

“Dobby, please call me either Master Harry or Headmaster Potter if you really can’t just call me Harry.”

The elf nodded his head viciously, making his ears flop all over the place.

“Please can you bring me up some breakfast? And if the others are not up by nine, please can you wake them and bring them breakfast.”

“Dobby can do that, Master Harry.” And he disappeared with a crack.

“That’s an odd elf.” An amused voice behind him commented.

Harry turned around to see Daphne, wearing the same casual but still very put together style of clothes she had been wearing the day before. They were steel grey with a silky light blue trim that Harry found himself noticing matched her eyes.

“Is he?” he asked vaguely, “The only other house-elves I’ve coming into contact with were different to Dobby, but I’m not sure either of them were quite right either.”

Daphne simply raised her eyebrows, moved until she was right in front of him and crossed her arms.

“You can’t wear the same robes two days in a row.”

“I can. I think you mean to say I shouldn’t.” Harry grinned, which made Daphne roll her eyes.

“Right. You shouldn’t.”

“I desperately need to go shopping, the only thing I bought myself were my school robes.” He said, more to himself.

“Where did your other clothes come from?”

Harry shook himself, suddenly realising what he had said, “Ah, not important. You know your tailor from yesterday? Do you think that he would be okay to do me a full wardrobe; dress robes, casual robes, formal robes?”

Daphne gave a delicate snort, “I think he would faint with excitement. When were you thinking?”

“This afternoon if possible, I need my clothes to be sorted before I’m officially announced as Headmaster.”

Before Daphne could answer, Dobby appeared with Harry’s food. He saw Daphne, set the food down on the table, disappeared and then reappeared a second later with a second plate of food.

“For Mistress Daphne.” He gave a short bow and popped away.

“Thanks Dobby.” Harry called after him, then turned back to Daphne.

“I’ll write to my tailor as soon as we have finished eating. In the meantime, a colour changing charm should work. What colour do you want?”

“There are so many to choose from.” He laughed, “The Potter colours are teal and silver, how about that?”

Daphne nodded and pointed her wand at him, instantly changing the colour. Harry looked down at himself.

“Great, thanks Daphne.” He took a few mouthfuls of food, then commented, “I expected everyone to sleep in for as long as I would let them.”

“I had a nap while you were gone last night, and I don’t like to get up late. Eight is a lie in for me.” She laughed.

“Me too really, I’m used to be up early during the summer and it kind of just stuck,” mentally shaking himself, Harry wondered what was wrong with him today, he kept just saying things to Daphne, who he hardly knew, that he hadn’t mentioned to his closest friends; before she could comment, he steered the conversation on, “Plus wanted to get started on planning the day.”

“I can help you if you like?”

“I’d like that thank you.” He stared into her eyes until she cleared her throat and smirked at him.

“Draco’s mother will be here in about an hour, I think that me, Draco and Sirius should greet her.”

“Draco, Sirius and I.” she corrected.

“Huh?”

“The grammatically correct way to say it would be Draco, Sirius and I.”

“Oh, yeah I guess it would be. I was never allowed to get very good at English before Hogwarts.” He shrugged, but he really wanted to slap himself in the forehead with his hand: again with the brutal honesty about his time with the Dursleys.

Daphne gave him a calculating look, then cleared her throat and moved the conversation backwards, “Narcissa will floo into the Entrance Hall, that’s where the visitors floo in.”

“Okay, so we’ll greet her, and Sirius can entertain her for the morning - they can’t go to Gringotts this morning because we need Draco – we’ll call the Heads of House in and talk to them, should we talk to all of the staff together?”

“Yes, I think that we should. Just to let them know that you’re the new Headmaster and that we’re making a few changes. We shouldn’t tell them who we are letting anyone go yet, we can deal with that after the students have gone.”

“Perfect, thank you. We’ll have some lunch while Neville and I tell everyone in more detail what our Gringotts visit meant for the school. Then Sirius, Draco and Lady Malfoy can go to Gringotts, we can sort my wardrobe and I have a few other jobs for the Dragon Council that we can share out. Dinner, then I need to sort out my own quarters, I can’t live in the Gryffindor Tower.”

“No, you can’t.” Daphne smirked, “It seems that you’ve got it pretty well covered, well done. There are quarters off your new office, I suspect you may have to decorate them to a more neutral palette after seeing the vivid colours that Dumbledore loves.”

She wrinkled her nose in distain and Harry couldn’t help but laugh.

“I take it you’re not a fan of his fashion choices then?”

“He’s rather an eccentric wizard.” Daphne shrugged as she placed a now empty plate back down on the table, “Speaking fashion, I have something to show you.”

She took Harry’s arm (both trying to ignore the odd warmth that passed between them) and led him over to a corner of the room which held a table that him had not noticed before.

Upon this table was parts of an outfit; a skirt, trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of dragonhide boots all in black. The shirt had a logo embroidered on to the breast pocket that appeared to be a stylised Dragon within a circle.

Daphne picked up the shirt and held it up to show him the logo more clearly.

“Is this the new Dragon Council symbol?” he asked in delight.

“It is. Luna designed it last night.”

She picked up a black cloak that had been previously hidden at the back of the table and held it up so that he could see the silver symbol that had been embroidered onto it. It was about thirty centimetres in diameter and Harry knew that it would be possible to see it from quite a distance.

Finally, she held out four ties; each was a silvery grey and had thin strips of colour running diagonally across them. One had blue and bronze strips, the second had yellow and black, the third had scarlet and gold and the fourth had green and silver.

“Wow. This looks amazing! Who put all this together?”

“My tailor actually put it together after you had left last night, but Hermione and I decided on the cuts and placements while Luna designed the symbol.”

“Well, it looks amazing! Any chance we can get these outfits by tomorrow?”

“Actually yes. My tailor was already coming this afternoon to bring ten of these and to sort out your wardrobe.”

“And you let me ask you about my wardrobe.” Harry laughed.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “It was a pleasant surprise that you did. It means that you’re serious about fitting into political society.”

“I am. By the way, there’s only nine members of the council.”

“Funnily enough, I’m aware of that. I thought that you should have one just in case you want to match us or something. Your cape is silver with black rather than black with silver and you don’t have a tie.”

“Ah, you really do think of everything. Thank you.” he reached across and gave her a kiss on the cheek without thinking, then promptly blushed a bright red.

Daphne laughed, “You can’t blush like that every time you kiss a lady Harry! Tell me, was that you’re first kiss?”

“No!” he insisted, then added a little more quietly, “Second.”

She smirked and was about to tease him more when Draco appeared dressed in smart, but casual, robes of Slytherin green.

“My mother is arriving in half an hour.”

“Yes, I’m just about to go and make sure Sirius is awake. Dobby will be bringing breakfast any minute.”

Twenty minutes later and the three of them were in the entrance hall awaiting the arrival of the fabled Narcissa Malfoy. Sirius – who was definitely not a morning person – only stopped yawing when Harry elbowed him in the ribs; Daphne had taught him enough to know that yawning was considered very rude.

“I thought you grew up in a pureblood family?” he hissed.

“I did, but I wasn’t supposed to inherit, despite being the oldest. Unlike my brother, they were everything I hated, and I made it pretty clear that I hated it – plus, they would never have allowed someone how hung around with a half-blood, a muggleborn and a ‘blood traitor’ to inherit.”

“A blood traitor?” Harry frowned.

“You’re father.”

“Because he married a muggleborn? Wow your family really are set in their ways.”

Now it was Draco’s turn to frown, “Hopefully we’ll be able to change that enough to stop us breeding ourselves out of existence.”

Just as Harry was about to respond, the floo flared, and Narcissa stepped out, the picture of grace.

Harry could see Draco in this woman, their faces were nearly identical from the shape of the chin to the arching eyebrows, in fact the only real differences were their hair and eyes. Narcissa had long black hair (the colour inherited from her family) which was held up in a complexed braid and dark brown eyes that stood out against her pale complexion.

She wore simple, yet elegant and flatteringly cut, robes of black and held herself in a way that spoke of a childhood learning to be a part of pureblood society.

“Mother.” Draco stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hello Dragon.” She greeted, making her son blush slightly.

Harry thought it was quite cute really, no-one had ever cared enough to give him a nickname.

“Mother, my I present Lord Black.”

“Lady Malfoy; it’s been a while since we met.” He took her hand and kissed it – he had finally remembered his years of training - while she gave a low curtsey.

“Lord Black; I believe that the last time we saw each other was before you ran away.” Her tone was neutral but had a slight hint of amusement in it.

“I knew there was a reason you were my second favourite cousin.” Sirius let out a laugh, “Please, call me Sirius. Or at least Cousin Sirius.”

“Cousin Sirius.” She gave him a nod, “You may call me likewise. I am amusing that your first favourite cousin would be my rebel sister Andy and not Bella?”

When she received no reply beyond a withered look, she quirked an eyebrow and moved to where Harry was standing, “I do not believe that I have been acquainted with your godson yet.”

“Of course.” Sirius slipped into the role of host, “May I present, Harry James Potter, Lord of Houses Potter, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Peverell as well Headmaster of Hogwarts.”

“It’s a pleasure, Lady Malfoy.” He kissed her on the hand just as Daphne had instructed while she gave a small curtsey.

“Lord Potter, you’ll be taking the Wizengamot by storm in the near future I see.”

“As soon as I have started the process of improving Hogwarts, yes. Would it be incorrect for me to ask you to call me Harry?”

Narcissa raised an eyebrow, “Maybe a little but we are family now, how about we settle for Cousin?”

“Very well, my apologies for having to ask but I have only just started learning these things.”

“That’s quite alright, my son told me that you were not brought up in this world.”

“That’s correct. I only found out about my titles yesterday and have received only a crash course in goblin etiquette for my recent visit to Gringotts.”

“You can get a long way in Gringotts with some basic etiquette.”

Here Draco interrupted smoothly, “Mother, you are talking to a friend of the Goblin Nation.”

Once again, she raised an eyebrow, “An impressive feat, Cousin. I would like to know how you managed it.”

“Well, it turns out that treating a Goblin with respect and politeness can get you nearly as far as etiquette. But I can tell you the full story after we show you your rooms if you would like? Draco and I,” he smirked to himself as he remembered Daphne correcting his grammar, he wasn’t going to forget in a hurry, “Have a while until our meeting, and we can fill you in on the happenings of the last few days and what our plan is for this afternoon, if that is agreeable to you?”

“Please, lead the way.”

Harry and Sirius walked in front, while Draco and Narcissa walked a little behind, holding a hushed conversation.

“Sirius, you mentioned Regulus, did they make him heir?”

“They didn’t get chance. He got killed so young.”

“What happened to him?” asked Narcissa, “I always rather liked Regulus, and he looked up to me in a way.”

“He got killed on Voldies orders, didn’t he?” Sirius asked in surprise.

She held back a wince at the nickname, “Not that I ever heard. We all thought that he was killed by Aurors.”

Sirius stopped and turned to face his cousin, “Do you remember the last time that you saw him?”

“I think that it was when the Dark Lord asked for an elf at a meeting, Regulus volunteered Kreacher for the task and we never saw him again.”

Sirius paused then his face lit up with an idea, “Kreacher has been going steadily battier since Regulus died, and that’s saying something as he wasn’t exactly sane to begin with, maybe there’s a reason. Kreacher!”

There was a pop and the ragged elf appeared, “What does the filthy master want?”

Narcissa and Draco looked shocked at the disrespect, but Sirius soldiered on, “What did Voldemort want you to do when Regulus was still alive?”

The elf stuttered, looking like he was about to cry, “Master Regulus was a good master, he didn’t deserve to die.”

“Do you know how he died?”

“Kreacher swore not to tell, Kreacher swore to destroy it, but Kreacher couldn’t, couldn’t carry out good Master’s last order!” the elf was sobbing now and Sirius looked disgusted, so Harry got down to his level and pulled him around to face him.

The small elf shook himself free of Harry’s grasp but didn’t move away.

“Kreacher, we will help you destroy it; we will help you carry out his last order. Just tell us what happened.”

Through his sobs, Kreacher explained. He told about the cave, how Voldemort had forced him to drink the potion and how Regulus had ordered him to take him there afterwards. About how he had watched as Regulus drank the potion and handed him the locket, replacing it with a fake and ordering him to destroy it before being pulled under by the inferi.

Harry looked up at Sirius, “The locket, there was locket in your house that none of us could open. It had a huge snake in the shape of S on it, it must be a horcrux!”

“But we threw it away, it could be anywhere now!”

“Wait - Kreacher, did you steal back the locket?”

The elf looked like he was about to shake his head, but he nodded instead, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

“Please fetch it, bring it to me and I can help you to destroy it.”

Kreacher nodded and popped away, then Harry called Dobby (if Narcissa was surprised at seeing her old elf, she didn’t show it) who appeared just a second later.

“Dobby, please can you get me quill and parchment, hurry.”

The elf nodded, disappeared, and reappeared milliseconds after.

“Thank you, Dobby.” He wrote a quick note and handed it back to the elf, “Please take this to Lord Ragnok.”

Once again, he nodded and disappeared and in the same moment, Kreacher appeared, clutching the locket. Harry could feel the dark magic radiating from it and all he could see when he concentrated was a mass of black, just as he had seen inside his own forehead.

The locket, Harry could see as he levitated it out of Kreacher’s grasp, held the crest of Slytherin, which he knew was a big deal by the matching gasps from the other three.

“Salazar Slytherin’s locket…” Draco breathed.

Before Harry had time to respond, Dobby popped back in.

“Headmaster Harry Sir, Lord Ragnok says please send it through, they will destroy it and send it back.”

“Thank you, Dobby. Please can you give these to the people they are addressed to? They are notes asking the staff to join us later.”

He handed a stack of notes to Dobby who nodded and left, so Harry turned to Kreacher.

“Kreacher, please take the locket to Lord Ragnok and watch him destroy it. Please thank him and ask him to keep it safe for me until I return next week.”

“Kreacher can do that, I will honor Master Regulus’ last orders.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving the four humans to exchange glances.

“I believe that you have a lot to fill me in on.”

“Indeed, Cousin Narcissa. I’m sorry for the interruption, we will continue on our way now.”

“It’s quite alright.”

They were silent until they reached their destination; one of the many guess suits that littered the castle, this one was the closest to the Room of Requirement.

Harry led the group in and looked around, Draco had been the one to fix up the room the night before, so this was the first he was seeing of it. It was decorated in warm neutrals and golds, with dark woods contrasting light walls and plush carpets in each room.

They entered a small living area first, then Draco showed them the small kitchenette/dining area and finally the bedroom and bathroom. It wasn’t a big space, or a fancy space, but it had a warm feel to it, as well as being high quality and functional.

Narcissa didn’t look disapproving, so he took that as a good sign. Then again, Harry trusted Draco to know what his mother would like when it came to decor, not that he knew what it had looked like before.

“Of course, we can sort out some more permeant residence for you outside of the school if you prefer in a few days.” Harry assured her as they sat together in the living room.

“I thank you for your hospitality, Cousin, and for your plans to save both myself and Draco from the Dark Lord.”

“I think that it is common curtesy to save you friends and family from an evil wizard.” Harry gave a small shrug.

“Indeed. Now, I believe you promised me a story?”

“So I did.” Harry agreed, and he told her the basics of everything. How he became Headmaster, the formation of the Dragon Council, the discovery of his new titles and the horcruxes, as well as the effects that they had on his relationship with the goblins.

He didn’t want the knowledge going too far, so he swore her to secrecy, but he thought that she may have some insight on any possible horcruxes.

“Alas, I did not know that he had any, the only reason I know of the foul objects at all is because of the Black and Malfoy libraries. The only one that I may of know about was the Goblet in my sister’s – not that she is a true sister of mine anymore – vault, I was there why the Dark Lord asked her to take it, even though he didn’t tell us what it was.”

“I suppose he would have kept these objects to himself, you don’t really go flaunting pieces of your soul that can be destroyed, do you. But you’re the only one who we can talk to and might know, other than Professor Snape I suppose.” He looked thoughtful.

“I will let you know if I think of anything, but I don’t think he would be so obvious with pieces of his soul. Unless… I’m not sure, do you think that a living creature could be a horcrux?”

“Well, I was a horcrux, so I guess so. Have you had an idea?”

“Nagini, his snake. I think that she is the closest thing he has to a friend, plus not even magical snakes can be that size, which suggests dark magic.”

“How big are we talking here?” Sirius asked.

“Easily twenty-six feet I would guess, and more than a foot in diameter.” Answered Harry with a grimace.

Sirius whistled and Draco shuddered – clearly, he had some bad memories of Nagini.

Narcissa eyed Harry curiously, “I didn’t know that you had ever seen her.”

“I haven’t, in real life.” Sirius looked sympathetic but the other two just looked confused and he really didn’t want to explain the vision that had haunted him in the past – although he hoped that were linked to the horcrux and so would never bother him again – so he moved on quickly.

“So, I would guess that he’s definitely done something to her. Are you sure it has nothing to do with the familiar bond?”

“Familiar bonds don’t change the size of the animal.” Narcissa replied after shooting him a calculating look.

“Well, I don’t know that there’s any way we can know unless I see her - and even then, it isn’t certain if what he has done to her if dark enough - but even if she wasn’t a horcrux I’d want to remove her from the equation, she’s too dangerous, so we may as well kill her and be on the safe side.”

“You don’t think that your new abilities are enough to tell?” Draco asked.

“Possibly, but it may be hard to tell if there’s something else going on too. Either way, we should kill the snake. Anyway, my apologies Cousin Narcissa, but we are needed in a meeting, Sirius will be staying with you until Draco is free to go to Gringotts with you this afternoon.”

Draco and Harry rose and said their goodbyes.

“Oh and Sirius,” Harry added, “I’d try being kind to Kreacher now, I have an idea that he won’t hate you as much now that we’ve helped him with the locket.

“You’ve helped him with the locket,” snorted Sirius, “You’re probably going to have another Dobby trailing you around.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “I’d rather have loyal elves than elves that hate me. Speaking of people who hate me, wish me luck with Professor Snape.”

“Does he hate you that much?” Narcissa raised an eyebrow.

“He does. Although I couldn’t tell you why.”

“Why does Snivellus need a reason?” Sirius sneered and Harry sighed.

“But if I had to guess, I would say that it has something to do with that.”

“What?”

“The hatred between my dad, Sirius and Professor Snape. Many people have told me over the years how much I look like my dad, he sees me as a miniature version of him who will attack at any second. I really need to talk to him about it.”

Both Draco and Sirius looked surprised, but Narcissa did not.

“That makes sense, knowing Severus he’s probably taken every little action you’ve done in the wrong light, making it ten times worse.”

“I would say that you’re right. He should be arriving any minute, I asked him to come a little early so that I could talk to him. And you.” Harry turned to Sirius, pointing a finger at him, “Grow up. You’re not a teenage bully anymore, you’re a grown man, it’s time to act like one.”

And he walked out, leaving Sirius scowling with all the childish anger he was being told off for behind him.

The walk to the Room of Requirement was short, so the pair arrived barely five minutes later.

Entering the room, they saw everyone gathered eating breakfast.

“Draco’s mother is with Sirius and will be until this afternoon. I wanted to let you know that we have destroyed another horcrux, Draco can tell you the story in a few minutes but for now I need to tell you what’s happening this morning. Professor Snape will be here in a few minutes for a private conversation with me, the other Heads of House will be here in about ten minutes, and the rest of the staff will be here half an hour after them.

“I want everyone to stay for the Head of House meeting, but not when the other staff are here because that will be a lot of people. Please send Professor Snape through to me when he arrives. Are we all okay?”

Everyone nodded and Draco made his way over to the group to fill them in on the horcrux drama. Harry concentrated for a moment and a new door appeared behind him, walking through it noted that it had created exactly what he wanted; a horseshoe conference table with four chairs in the open space.

This was more private than the oval conference table in the main area and perfect for smaller meetings.

Just as he was admiring the room, the door behind him opened, revealing Draco who was leading a sour looking Professor Snape. Quickly, Draco left them to it and Snape began to snap.

“Potter, what is the meaning of this?”

“We need to have a conversation, please have a seat.” He motioned to one of the chairs.

“I don’t take orders from you.”

“If you would rather stand, then by all means.”

“No, I mean that I do not have to be here, you have no right to summon me.”

Harry raised his eyebrows, “As your employer, I believe that I have every right.”

“You!? Very funny, Mr Potter, are you done wasting my time?”

“I assure you; I am not wasting playing a joke on you, I would not do that – I am not my father.”

Snape sneered, “You are a carbon copy of your father, don’t pretend otherwise.”

“You see, that is where you are wrong. But as seen as you do not believe me, will the Headmaster ring convince you?” as he spoke, the ring became visible and Snape sank into a nearby chair with a groan.

“Professor I called you here to find a few answers,” Harry began, sitting in a seat near but not right next to the Potions Master, “The first being, why do you hate me?”

Snape fixed him with glare, but Harry didn’t back down. Eventually he sighed; it was an angry sigh, but it promised answers.

“You only know a little of what happened between me and you father at Hogwarts. They bullied me, made my already bad life hell. Yes, I retaliated, sometimes more viciously than they did, but it was three against one and I felt that I had no choice, I had no other friends. That and…” he paused and took a deep breath, “He got the girl who I loved.”

“He got..? Y-you loved… my mum?”

“She was the first and last true friend I ever had.”

“From what I have heard, I am not surprised. She had time for everyone. So, this is why you hate me, because my father bullied you and I look like him?”

“You act just like him.”

“How so?”

“Arrogant, popular, loudmouthed.”

“I think that you have only been seeing what you want to see. I hate my fame, utterly despise it, I spend all my time trying to escape. I’m not popular, I have a small group of friends and all of us have our issues, Hermione, Neville and Luna have all been bullied and Ron has so many insecurities I don’t even know where to start. We are a group of misfits who have banded together because we couldn’t trust anyone else.”

Snape said nothing, and Harry was getting into his stride, looking straight into the man’s eyes while he stared down at the table.

“You may think I’m loudmouthed, but actually, that only happens in your lessons and only because you purposefully rile me up. In case you don’t remember, you’re the one who started this, in my very first lesson. No-one would stand for being insulted as you insult me. You take your rage for my father out on me and justify it because I react instead of letting myself be picked on. Is that not right?”

Snape didn’t reply, just looked at him with an expressionless face.

“My so-called arrogance is a defense mechanism for the same reason; people judge me enough without me breaking down in tears because the mean scawy potions professor said something about me. I am Lily’s son too; doesn’t that count for something? If you had been looking, you would have been able to find more of her in me than just my eyes, but you just weren’t interested.” He lifted his hand in surrender, “For anything I have done to you in the past five years, I apologise, but I am not responsible for my father’s actions.”

At that, Snape broke down. He let lowered a few of his barriers and showed some of his true emotions on his face; anguish, distress, regret.

“You’re right.” He whispered and looked straight into Harry’s eyes, almost challenging him to hold it over him, but he didn’t, just raise his eyebrows.

“You’re right, I only saw what I wanted to see. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you just because you look like your father, a father who you didn’t even grow up with. Although I naturally assumed that you were growing up pampered somewhere but that is no excuse and I’m, I’m truly sorry.” His voice was barely audible, but Harry knew that the apology was genuine.

“I forgive you.” He said earnestly, then let out a bitter laugh, “And I was never pampered. I was a House-elf to my aunt and uncle while they doted on my cousin just to rub into my face how much of a freak I was.”

For a moment he lost himself in memories, but when he pulled himself out it was to see the potions master staring at him with a calculating but otherwise unreadable expression.”

“Anyway, if it’s not impertinent to say, I would suggest you see a mind healer. You say you didn’t have a good childhood, then bullying and working for Voldemort, that takes its toll.

“There’s no-one that we can trust with such sensitive information.”

“Tonks told me that her mother was the best mind healer in the industry, she owns her own business. I trust the mother of Tonks and you should trust the sister of Narcissa. I am going to suggest that Sirius also sees her, and I hope that in the future, you two will be able to forgive each other. This grudge is truly childish.”

Snape didn’t answer, just nodded he head in defeat.

“The other Heads of House will be her in a few minutes, I just have one final question. The Headmaster usually calls the staff by their first names when it is appropriate, would you be comfortable with that?”

Snape paused to think; in the end he decided that, although it would take some getting used to, it would be a sign that they had started to reconcile.

“That would be acceptable. Only you though, none of those out there.” He jerked his head towards the door.

“That’s fair. You may also call me by my first name of course - in fact, that may help you to separate me from my father. You never answered if you would be willing to see a mind healer?”

“I think it would be beneficial.” He admitted after a moment.

Harry nodded, “Would you like me to reach out?”

“Please.”

“Very well. I’m going to go and see if the others have arrived yet. Would you like anything to drink?”

“A cup of coffee would be nice.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, “Why am I not surprised that you like coffee. Dobby!”

The small elf appeared, and Harry asked him to get a coffee for Snape before stepping out of the room and towards the group sat on the sofas.

“Well, that went better than expected, he doesn’t hate me anymore.”

“That’s great, mate.” Congratulated Ron while Daphne and Draco shot him approving nods.

“Yeah, it’s like a weight off my mind. By the way, I have permission to call him by his first name, but he wants to limit it to me, we can ask the others when they arrive, which should be any minute now. If you want to go into that room? You sit around the table and Draco please can you ask Professor Snape to sit in one of the four chairs to the side.”

Draco nodded and they all filed through. The door was just closing behind him when the door to the Room of Requirement opened and the three Heads of House filed in, led my Professor McGonagall.

“Ah, Professors.” He greeted them, “I’m sure that you’re wanted to know what’s going on?”

“Mr Potter – Harry – I think we may have a pretty good idea.” Minerva’s eyes twinkled and she gave him a rare smile.

“Everything does seem to happen to you, Harry.” Added Pomona while Filius looked around the room.

“So it does, Professor Sprout.”

“Oh please dear, call us by our first names.”

“Thank you, I encourage you to do the same. Have you seen this room before, Filius?”

“I don’t believe I have, no.”

“It’s known as the Room of Requirement. You ask it for what you want, and it appears.”

He concentrated for a moment and a tall, bright purple wizards hat appeared in his hand.

“Impressive, I’ll have to study this room, I wonder how it was created.”

“I may well be able to find the answer that question for you, Filius. Lady Hogwarts?” he called, and the entity appeared.

“Harry, Minerva, Pomona, Filius.” she nodded to each other them, “To answer your question, this room was created by Helga Hufflepuff. Each of the founders created a room, Salazar created what is now known as the Chamber of Secrets, originally it was a dueling space, and he made sure that it could only be opened by a true Slytherin.

“Godric made a training room full of magical weapons, only to be opened by a true Gryffindor. Rowena made a library full of every book ever written - both muggle and magical - that updates every day, only to be opened by those why truly crave knowledge. Helga made a simple room, made to cater to the needs of anyone who needed it – the room that you are in now - the Room of Requirement or the Come and Go Room.”

There was a shocked silence, then Harry asked, “Would the Headmaster be able to find the other two rooms?”

“They would, but they wouldn’t be able to go into them unless they are true heirs of the founders.”

“I am heir to all the founders; do you think I would be able to go in them?”

“Possibly but I cannot say for certain.”

“Thank you, Lady Hogwarts.”

“My Lady,” Filius interrupted, “Do you think that we could have a conversation sometime soon? I have many questions.”

“Of course, just call me when you are ready.”

And with that she faded.

“Well, after that revelation.” Harry laughed, “Would you like to come through and meet everyone?”

“Everyone?”

“Yes, there is much you don’t know yet. We wanted to talk to the Heads of House before we talked to the rest of the staff.”

“Harry, all of the Heads of House are not here, I would seriously suggest that you include Professor Snape in this.” Minerva looked slightly disapproving and Harry couldn’t hold back his smirk.

“Severus is already here, I needed to talk to him.”

All three understood what he was saying and looked at him with renewed respect.

“My apologies for assuming that you would cut him out, Harry.”

“That’s quite alright, Minerva, please follow me.”

The four filed into the room and Harry saw that everyone was already seated, with a space for him in between Daphne and Neville. He noticed with pride that the houses were mixed, and everyone was chatting happily.

Harry quickly organised everyone and began the tale for the second time that day - though leaving out the horcruxes for now.

The four seemed to approve of the Dragon Council and the unity of the houses and were suitably shocked at the events of the bank. The only ring he went into detail with was the Peverell ring, but he didn’t mention horcruxes yet.

“Any questions?” Harry asked them, trying to check he had covered everything.

“The only query I have is the reason for you having three Gryffindor students in your council?”

“That is a legitimate question, Minerva. First, I must explain something, we plan to at least double the size of this school and that would make it too much work for a deputy who is also trying to teach. Therefore, I plan to have two deputies; you would oversee order keeping if I were not here, whereas Neville would take over the administrative duties if I were unavailable.”

McGonagall looked impressed, “That is a sensible decision, but there is only one Deputy ring.”

“Lord Ragnok is having a second one made. Now, we must get on, the other professors will be here in a half hour and we have much to discuss. Severus, I must start with you, plain and simple, you have the dark mark.”

There were a few gasps, including from Snape.

“I can see it.” Harry answered the unasked question, “I believe you when you say that you are on the side of the light however that creates a problem; I want to put up a ward that will not allow anyone with the dark mark to pass through. We have two options, you can leave - which we do not want - or I can try to get rid of the mark.”

“It cannot be taken away.”

“You forget the powers that the Peverell ring gave me.”

“You are welcome to try; I would gladly be rid of it.”

“Very well, as I need this meeting to continue, I will not do anything yet as it may knock you unconscious for a while. We will just assume for now that we can get rid of it. Severus, I will not lie to you, there were many students in this council who wanted to get rid of you as soon as possible and I do not blame them. The only way you will stay on at this school is if you stop picking on and bullying students. You will also stop your blatant favoritism because there will be no need for it when we have straightened out the school and you will begin to teach instead of just putting instructions on the board.”

“I would like to make it clear right now that I am truly sorry for anyone who I bullied in my time as professor.” Declared Snape while looking straight at Neville, then he looked away, “But it doesn’t help when some don’t know one end of a knife to the other. Potions is a dangerous subject.”

“I understand that, and I am not expecting you to allow students to blow up the room, but it is possible to be strict and not bully your students. Anyway, we have three solutions that we wish to implement, Neville, if you would?”

“Sure Harry. Firstly, you need to stop breathing down the neck of students, it makes them nervous and way more likely to blow something up, speaking from experience. Secondly, you think that the Slytherins are much better at potions, but that is because they have a much higher percentage of purebloods who already know the basics of potions, whereas the other houses have more muggleborns who don’t get any information at all.”

Snape gasped, he couldn’t believe that he had never thought of that before, it was so obvious when he thought about it!

“We plan to change the curriculum and make the first year much more theory, learning how to prep ingredients and the theory behind stirring and the compatibility of different ingredients. Thirdly, we intend for you to only teach years five, six and seven. That way the students will know what they are doing and be less of a group of, ah – how do you say it - ‘dunderheads’?”

Snape had the decency to look guilty, “Who will cover the other years?”

“We plan to hire a junior professor,” Draco took over, “The same for all of the compulsory subjects that go all the way through.”

The three other heads began to protest but Harry silenced them with a hand, “I know that you are all more than capable and masters of your subjects, but we plan on at least doubling the size of the school you will not have time to teach that many classes.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Pomona sighed.

“I’m glad that you agree with us. Now I have one final thing to discuss with you before the other professors come. At Gringotts, when I put on the Peverell ring I found out that I had a piece of Voldemort’s soul in my head, a horcrux.”

There was a collective gasp, and Harry paused for a moment before continuing.

“It has been destroyed but it led us to a second horcrux in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault. It was inside the cup of Helga Hufflepuff and has now been cleansed. We do not know how many horcruxes Voldemort has made, what they are or where they are, but we found a third one this morning, in Slytherin’s locket.”

Snape’s face was stony, “If there is more than three then there is seven. It is no secret that seven is a very magically powerful number.”

A few people around the room gagged.

“How is he still sane?” asked Ron.

“He’s not.” Replied Draco with a shudder.

“I can agree with you there, Draco. Now, the rest of the staff will be here soon, please can the Dragon Council expect for Neville go out and send them through when they arrive. While we’re out here, you might brainstorm a list of immediate jobs that need doing?”

He was quickly obeyed and within a minute there were only six people left in the room.

“Do you know off the top of your head how many staff there are?” Harry asked, but before anyone could answer four more chairs were added around the horseshoe and the four disappeared from the front.

“Well that would have been a disaster if we hadn’t already stood up.” Commented Minerva wryly, “But that is correct, there are fourteen staff.”

Harry allowed himself a small chuckle, “Sorry about that, I didn’t realise the room would react like that.”

He and Neville moved to the front while the four Heads of House moved to around the horseshoe table.

They had just got themselves settled when the other professors began to file into the room. Five minutes later, everyone was there, and Harry began.

“Would anyone like a drink?” he asked, but no-one immediately answered, “I hope you don’t mind if I get a quick glass of water, I’ve talking all morning. Dobby!”

“Yes Master Harry, Sir?”

“Please can we get a jug or water and a jug of pumpkin juice?”

Dobby clicked his fingers and the drinks arrived, plus glasses.

“Thank you, Dobby. Please, help yourselves.”

Slowly people got their drinks, allowing Harry a few second to wet his throat.

“Now, you may have guessed by my calling you here, but Hogwarts chose me as the Headmaster.” As he spoke the ring appeared and a few in the room gasped, “And I am really working bring this place up to scratch; I hate to tell you that Hogwarts isn’t as good as everything thinks it is, but in a few years it will be. I have put together the Dragon Council to help me - two students from each house, plus myself and Neville as my deputy - to uniting the school.

“This meeting is just to inform you that changes are coming. There will be new subjects, new teachers, new standards. If any of you are unwilling to go through these changes then I suggest you hand in your resignation to me by the end of the week. Also, if you have a problem with muggleborns, werewolves or half humans then I also suggest that you get out now.”

There was a dangerous edge to his voice that made everyone (except maybe Filch) look at him with renewed respect.

No-one moved.

“The only other thing I have to tell you if my new title, I went to Gringotts last night and claimed Headship of several families.” He gave a small sigh, mostly to himself, then continued, “I’m going to shock the country on Monday with my new title of Lord Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell. Yes, I’m heir to all four founders, if you really want to know then you can stay after the meeting.

“For now, however I would just like you to keep the school ticking over – make sure the students are all okay and not getting too restless in the common rooms - we will have a more in-depth meeting once the term has ended. There is nothing else so you may go.”

Again, no-one moved.

Harry sighed, “You all want to know?”

Many glances were exchanged but that was answer enough for Harry, who drank another glass of water before beginning the explanation.

“My father was descended from Godric Gryffindor and technically the youngest Peverell sibling, although that’s not where I actually claimed that title. My mother had a single magical great-grandparent who was the last living descendant of both the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw lines. Finally, we have Voldemort,” there was a collective shiver that he ignored.

“He was the heir to the Slytherin and Peverell lines, being descended from the second Peverell brother - I am descended from the third – and when I ‘killed’ him the first time, I claimed both titles by right of conquest, because he was the last of the families, although I would have claimed the Peverell title no matter who killed him, because I am the last descendant alive.”

There was a stunned silence and Harry bit back a sigh at the idea that this was going to be happening a lot over the next few months – nay years.

“I think it is time that someone checks each of the common rooms to ensure nothing is going wrong. Please tell no-one about this, the announcement will be in the morning. Poppy, Severus, please stay.”

A few minutes later the room was empty save for the four of them.

“Neville, please fill the others in and get lunch for you all.”

Neville nodded and left the room, so Harry turned towards the other two.

“Poppy, I need to go through a procedure with Severus to get rid of his dark mark and I’m not sure how his body will react so I thought that having you there might be good.”

Madam Pomfrey huffed, “It would be recommended during an unknown procedure to have a healer present, yes. If it were any other procedure you were trying then I would try to stop you, but if Severus wants to leave you-know-who then I won’t be the one to stop him. Please come down to the hospital wing.”

“There’s a floo in the next room, that will be quicker. I’ll be along in about two minutes; I just need to address the Dragon Council.”

He moved out of the conference room and towards the group, “Hey guys, I’m just going to try and take care of this dark mark, I’ll be back in no more than half an hour. While I’m gone, please make a note of anyone you know who might fit a teaching post that is open.”

Everyone nodded and he beckoned Draco over.

“I know I’ve only met your mother once, but she strikes me as someone who would be a good teacher.”

Draco thought about it for a moment, “She did a good job of teaching me when I was little.”

“Perfect, do you think she would like the Wizarding Customs post? She would only have four classes a week for at least the first year, although it would be nice if she did some seminars for the upper years who didn’t get the chance to learn.”

“You know what, I think she’d like that.”

“Well, you can go ahead and ask her, I’m not going to ask for an interview, I trust you.”

Draco nodded and Harry moved off towards the floo with a surge of anxiety, really hoping that he would be successful in getting rid of Snape’s dark mark.

Chapter Text

Harry stepped out of the floo into the hospital wing and glanced around; the room seemed deserted except for a curtained off area, so he headed towards it.

“Poppy?” he called, not wanting to barge in.

“Come on in, dear.” The healer called and he pushed past the curtain to see Snape sat up in the bed with her at his side.

Moving to stand next to the bed, Harry admitted, “I do not know exactly what is going to happen when I try this, so I hope you trust me. When I got the horcrux out of my own head, I was unconscious for about half an hour, and it hurt like hell. Are you ready to proceed?”

Snape didn’t answer beyond a firm nod.

“Right, so I’m going to look at how much it is connected to your core first, because that will affect how I do this.”

With that, he focused on the magic tendrils that were wound inside the man in front of him. The dark mark was connected to the quite small core by thick black strings that wound themselves in and around the whole core, turning it a sort of shadowy colour, with flecks of different shades of grey.

The others colours also all had a greyish tinge to them that Harry did not like the look of.

He looked back at Snape, “The good news is that I think I can get rid of the mark, the bad news is that it’s tainted your whole core and I’m not going to able to get rid of everything without destroying your core. Do you still want to do this?”

“What do you mean by tainted?”

“A core inside a human is made up of hundreds of tendrils of magic that are all mixed together and near impossible to separate. The dark mark has latched itself into the core and almost tied it up, which has made the rest of your core a grey colour. I would guess that getting rid of the dark mark will cause the black to slowly die, as it has no source to pool from, but this has never been done before so I do not know for certain.”

Snape sighed, “Anything to get rid of it. I understand the risks.”

“Very well, you might want to lie down.”

Carefully, he looked inside his own core and found the sky-blue tendril, flanked with green, that connected the Peverell ring to his core. As he focused upon his intent of removing the dark mark, the tendril began to bend out of his body, towards Snape’s arm.

Concentrating hard, he pushed a white piece of his core to join it, so that the ring would have more power behind it. After a few seconds, the two stands of magic met and combined, doubling in size until they connected to the dark mark itself.

The second his magic touched Snape’s skin, he screamed in pain, writhing slightly on the bed.

Trying not to be distracted by it - but pitying the man deeply - Harry continued, pushing his magic just below the skin to where the mass from the dark mark was, he surrounded it with his pulsing magic.

This meant that no magic could get in or out through the wall her created and the connection between the mark and the core was severed.

Slowly, Harry pulled his magic away, taking the mass of dark magic with him. As soon as it was out of the arm, he allowed his magic to condense it, squeezing it tighter and tighter until it was destroyed completely.

Not even a second after the destruction of the mark, there was an ear-splitting scream and a blinding flash of light, then Harry knew no more.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Malfoy Manor, Voldemort screamed in agony as he felt a portion of his core rip away. After a minute, the pain lessened but he still felt the loss as a tiredness settled over his body.

“Who!?” he screeched, “Who has got away from me? Call everyone here! I want to know who the traitor is!”

“My Lord?” asked a few of the Death Eaters.

“Snape! Snape!” was all the reply they got, “Severus Snape has turned his back on me, and he will pay dearly for it! I offer a glory beyond your wildest dreams for anyone who can bring that traitor to me alive so that I can deal with him myself! You will not live, Snape!”

The Death Eaters didn’t understand how Voldemort knew that Snape was a traitor, but the incentive of getting a reward or at least not being tortured at the hands of their crazy leader was enough to send every masked person sprinting from the room.

When Harry awoke, it was to Poppy standing over his bed with a glass of water. Blinking carefully, he sat up and checked his core; everything seemed normal, so he took the water and drank it eagerly then asked.

“How’s Severus?”

“He’s still unconscious.”

“How long have I been out for and what happened?”

“You’ve only been out for about ten minutes and I’m not sure. I thought it was magical exhaustion, but your core seems unchanged.”

“May core’s fine, yes. The last thing I remember is a blinding flash of light, did you see it?”

“I did not.”

“Then it must have come from Severus’ core, I’ll go and have a look.”

“That would be appreciated, then you should have a rest for a while.”

“When does the Headmaster ever get time to rest?” Harry tried to joke, but the Healer wasn’t having any of it.

“Harry James Potter! Headmaster or student, I will not hesitate to tie you down!”

She wasn’t joking, and Harry knew it.

“Okay, okay.” He threw up his hands in surrender as she glowered at him, “I’ll just check on Severus then I need to stop for lunch anyway.”

“Make sure that you do.” Poppy glowered.

Harry gave her a sheepish grin then climbed out of the bed and made his way across to the curtained area. Snape was now dressed in a hospital gown and looked weirdly peaceful for the ordeal he had just gone through.

Carefully, he adjusted his sensed and focused on the core in front of him. He could tell without even checking the skin that the dark mark was gone, but what was really shocking was Snape’s core.

It was about double the size it had been and the purest white he had ever seen.

“Well, I think I know what happened.”

“Oh? What might that be?”

“The mark was draining his power and binding his core, but as soon as I took it away, the core was able to take over. It’s dispelled all traces of dark magic and doubled in size, it’s now a little above average and very pure – the only core I’ve seen that’s as pure is mine, because of the Peverell ring. I would guess that I got knocked unconscious because I was focused on the light which suddenly became whiter and a lot bigger.”

“Well, that does explain a few things. I think he will be fine.”

“Please let me know when he wakes up.”

“Of course. Now, Dobby!”

“Yes, Madam Pompie?”

“Please get Harry some food and make sure he eats it. You have my permission to stick him to a chair if you wish.”

The elf gave a little giggle, “Dobby can do that.”

Ten minutes later, Harry was back in the Room of Requirement, eating a plate of sandwiches while talking to the Dragon Council.

“So,” he began, “I asked for a list of everything we need to do this afternoon, what did we get? Remember that me, Daphne and Draco will be unavailable, so Neville will be in charge.”

“Right, we made a list.” Hermione began to read it out, “Job advertisements, information leaflets to send home so that the parents know what’s going on and finally we thought that we could use a shop within Hogwarts so that students don’t have to wait for them to be delivered or for Hogsmeade weekends.”

“You’re right guys, that’s an amazing idea. I suggest that you have a group brainstorm about the shop now, then split off into three groups. One pair for the leaflets, one pair for the adverts and a trio for the shop, I trust you to choose wisely and I encourage you to look at each other’s work.”

Everyone nodded and began to group up, while Draco and Daphne made their way over to him.

“Good luck at Gringotts Draco. Think about it, you’ll have a proper cousin in a few hours.”

“A proper cousin?”

“Tonks, she’ll be your official cousin.”

“Is that a good thing?” Harry glowered at him and he quickly back peddled, “Only joking, only joking. I’ll see you later.”

With that, he was gone, and Harry turned to Daphne, “So, who’s idea was the shop?”

“It was me who mentioned it, but quite a few of us were thinking of it.”

“Aw, I always knew you were smart.”

“Are you flirting with me?” she didn’t look angry, merely amused.

“I’m a fifteen-year-old boy.” Harry laughed, “I don’t know how to flirt. But if I were, would you be against it?”

“Not overly.” Daphne leaned in a gave him a peck on the cheek, smirking at his blush.

At Gringotts, Draco was walking next to his mother and Sirius; Steelheart (goblin in charge of the Black finances) led them to a small conference room in which three people - who stood as Sirius entered the room – were situated.

Sirius introduced Draco to the three people across the room; the Aunt, Uncle and Cousin, Andromeda, Theodore and don’t-call-me-Nymphadora Tonks, none of whom he had ever properly met.

After the introductions, they all sat around the table and Sirius began the proceedings.

“Firstly, I would like to bring Andi back into the family and formally welcome her husband and daughter. Cissa and Steelheart, if you would please be my witnesses?”

The two nodded and he began the process, “I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, do welcome Andromeda Tonks nee Black back into the Black family and award her 50,000 galleons as compensation for being unjustly banished. So mote it be.”

There was a small flash of light.

“I’m assuming there was neither dowry nor bride price?” Sirius asked Ted who shook his head nervously.

“Very well. I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, do accept Theodore Tonks and his daughter, Nymphadora Tonks, into the House of Black and welcomed husband and daughter, respectively, of Andromeda Tonks nee Black. They shall each receive 25,000 galleons as compensation for being unjustly unwelcomed by the family and Theodore Tonks shall receive a further 50,000 galleons as a dowry. So mote it be.”

Andromeda had been somewhat expecting the gift (she had been brought up with the old ways after all) but it was all Ted and Tonks could do to not gasp – that was a lot of money for someone who wasn’t a pureblood.

“Next, I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, do annul the marriage between Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black and Rodolphus Lestrange because of a breach in the marriage contract that made an heir a requirement by the fifth year of marriage. I reclaim the dowry of 75,000 galleons. I also cast Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black from the House of Black for going against her own family in war. I claim all of her Black related vaults, amounting to 678,098 galleons 15 sickles and 21 kunts. Henceforth she shall be known as Bellatrix no-name. So mote it be.”

There was a third flash of light and Narcissa couldn’t help grimacing at the idea that what just happened to her sister could well have happened to her if Harry had not asked Draco to join his council. Finally, Sirius turned to her.

“Narcissa, what do you wish to claim back from Lucius?”

“Only my wardrobe and personal belongings, which I have. He can keep everything else.”

“As you wish. I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, do annul the marriage between Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Lucius Malfoy because the man in question did force a Black to go against her family in war. I reclaim the dowry of 100,000 galleons and her son, Draco Malfoy. Henceforth they shall be known at Narcissa Black and Draco Black. So mote it be.”

There was a small flash as the silver Ladyship and Heirship rings that had been on their fingers disappeared.

“Will there be anything else, Lord Black?”

“Yes, one more thing. I wish to name a new heir.” Everyone looked at Sirius in surprise, knowing that his current heir was Harry, as he had no children of his own.

“I, Sirius Orion Black, do name my heir to be Draco Black, so mote it be.”

Once again there was a small flash of light and Draco was in shock.

“Lord Black?” he asked.

“Call me Sirius, please.”

“Sirius then, why do you want me to be your heir?”

“Harry and I decided that you’re too at politics to waste. Harry decided that he already has enough titles to be going on with, and he didn’t want your years of training to go to waste. I agree with him.”

Draco bowed to Sirius and smiled to himself as the Black Heir ring was brought out and presented to him.

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts…

Monsieur Jacques was everything that Harry imagined a stereotypical high-end tailor to be, very French, built like a dancer and showing off his latest styles. He was exuberant but sophisticated and very witty, immediately making Harry feel right at home.

Seeing him for the first time the day before had been an experience, but he felt a lot more relaxed the second time around and easily kept up a steady conversation with both Monsieur Jacques and Daphne while trying on countless styles, cuts and colours.

Finally, he had a full wizarding wardrobe, complete with dress robes and formal robes in all his house colours (in more than one design for each), a set of what he called his ‘Headmaster’ robes, which were comfortable and soft, but still looked smart and presentable and finally his casual robes or ‘teenager’ robes as he called them, as they were for when he was being just Harry, rather than a Headmaster Potter or Lord Potter.

He had yet to sort out his muggle wardrobe, but as he wasn’t planning on leaving the wizarding world for the next week, so he didn’t see that it really mattered much.

Lastly, he tried on the special clothing. His Dragon Council robes (Daphne was right, the black on silver really showed up well) and a set of dragon-hide dueling robes.

Looking at the dueling robes he asked, “So what do these protect me from?”

“These will be protecting you from minor hexes and jinxes. Better is basilisk hide but is much rarer.”

Harry stared at him, “Basilisk hide?”

“What are you thinking, Harry?”

“I wonder if the basilisk is still good for getting the skin off?”

“Harry, you mean to say that you haven’t harvested that basilisk yet? I thought that it happened years ago!”

He shook his head, “I didn’t know that it was worth anything.”

“It’s worth a hell of a lot! Almost every part of a basilisk is useful in some way and because they are all so rare, the parts go for a lot of money.”

“Wow. That will give us the boost we need to set up a few things then, won’t it.”

“You want to give the money to Hogwarts?”

“Doesn’t it already belong to Hogwarts?”

“Oh Harry.” Daphne laughed, “If you slay a dangerous and valuable creature in the wizarding world, all of the money goes to you.”

“Wow. I did not know that. I guess we had better go and check the chamber.” He turned to the tailor, “Monsieur, how much for a set of Basilisk dueling robes if we provide the hide?”

“Normally would cost 250 galleons, without cost of hide, say 100.”

“And how much is my total now?”

“Your robes and council robes, 25,500 galleons.”

“Thank you, I will see that it is transferred to you. And I will write by the end of the day saying whether or not we will go forwards with the Basilisk hide robes as well as how many we require.”

“Of course, Lord Potter.” He bowed, packed up his things and was through the floo in a flourish.

Ten minutes later, the pair were standing outside the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

“In a girl’s bathroom, really?”

“Yep.” Harry laughed, “I’ve got no clue why, but here we are. Open.”

The sink opened immediately to reveal a lit spiral staircase and Harry laughed again.

“I didn’t have to slide down that tunnel after all, I wonder where these stairs came from.”

“You actually slid down a tunnel into an unknown place?”

“I was a stupid second-year with too much Gryffindor bravery, what do you expect?”

“Point taken; shall we go down?”

“Sure, I’ll go first.”

The stairs were steep, and they walked down in silence as it took all their concentration not to fall.

Eventually they reached the bottom and found the circular snake door, but everything seemed slightly different this time, the walls were still dark, but not wet and slimy and there were no rats’ skulls littering the floor.

Because they were in less of a rush, Harry got a better look at the door this time and he noticed that each of the four snakes had sparkling green emeralds for eyes.

As he hissed the password, each of the eyes seemed to flicker as if in candlelight, as though they were recognising the command. Then the snakes moved, splitting to reveal a circular tunnel with white and gold marble walls.

This was not at all how Harry had remembered it, the gloom and the damp that he was sure he hadn’t imagined was not there and neither was the cave-in that Lockhart had caused with Ron’s awful wand.

Harry led the way and after a few minutes of walking, they emerged into a chamber that was about thirty feet by fifteen feet and made entirely of black and gold marble that was bathed in a warm glow from the candelabras all around.

There were marble pillars running in two rows down the length of the chamber, and on the other side of these pillars (against the two longest walls) there was a wide ledge that was the perfect height for sitting on, also made of black and gold marble.

Both Daphne and Harry gasped.

“You never said it was so beautiful! This is a proper duelling chamber!”

“It wasn’t like this last time, it’s changed completely, but I think I know who will know. Lady Hogwarts?!”

The entity appeared out of the walls, “Yes, Harry?”

“Do you think you could explain this to us, please?”

“Certainly. The Basilisk was connected to the chamber as Salazar’s great-great-grandson had remodelled it, which meant that it could not be restored until the monster was slain.”

“Woah, what did it look like before?”

“At lot less marble and a lot more creepy statues.” Shuddered Harry, “My Lady, what is the status of the Basilisk, if I may?”

“It is in good condition and laying with its sheds in the next room.” She pointed to a small door that was concealed in shadows.

“Thank you, Lady Hogwarts.”

She gave a small curtsey and faded from view, allowing the pair to move towards the door.

“This was a maze of tunnels and statues and all sorts when I was here, it really has changed for the better. I wonder how many other rooms there are.”

He quickly scanned the door for any signs of dark magic, but found nothing, so pulled it open carefully.

They both stepped through, with Harry leading, and as soon as they entered, the room was flooded with light from two raised firepits that stretched along the two longest walls. The room was much more modest than the last; it was about six foot by ten foot, with simple slabbed floors and stone walls.

In fact, the room was so simple that neither of them paid much attention to it, they only had eyes for the Basilisk that lay their coiled up. It was just had Harry had left it, three years previously; poisonous green, as thick as an oak trunk and sixty feet long, except now, there was an odd peace to the carcass.

“You killed that with just a sword?”

“Fawkes blinded it first, but yes.”

“And you were only in second year…”

Harry wasn’t really listening, he was focused on the fact that despite the eyes being damaged beyond repair, there was still a relaxed look about the animal, as if it were only in a deep sleep – he knew that it was really dead, but it looked less vicious and more pitiful.

Harry felt a wave of sympathy for it that he just couldn’t squash.

“He didn’t want to attack people. He was forced.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lady Hogwarts, she said that the Basilisk was bonded to the remodelled chamber. He was forced to do the heir of Slytherins bidding.”

Daphne looked sceptical, “How do you know?”

“I can see it in his face, can’t you?”

“Not really.” She scrunched up her face to try and change how she was looking, but it made no difference.

“Huh, odd – must because I'm the Heir of Slytherin now. Anyway, it’s all still here and it doesn’t look like its aged more than a day.”

“Basilisks live for thousands of years, this one is about one thousand years old from what Lady Hogwarts said, so three years is just a blip for him.”

“I guess. I suppose I’d better make a quick trip to Gringotts to ask Lord Ragnok about harvesting it. I’ll send the hide to Monsieur Jacques and ask him to make ten Dragon Council robes and use what’s left to make as many as he can out of, I can think of a few people who would like a set.”

Daphne wrinkled her nose, “Maybe we could ask him to die it? I’m not a fan of that green.”

“It does look a bit – poisonous?”

“Yes. What are you going to with the rest?”

“Give half the ingredients to Hogwarts, sell the other half. Split that money in half, half goes to funding wolfsbane and werewolf safe places at Hogwarts and the other half gets split among the victims of the basilisk.”

“You’re not keeping any for yourself?” Daphne asked in surprise.

“I have money,” Harry shrugged, “I don’t need anymore.”

“I would guess that you are the richest wizard in the country, so that makes sense I suppose. Shall we send a note to Gringotts?”

“Let’s go back up first.”

Half an hour later, Harry and Daphne arrived in Gringotts via a private floo and were greeted by a goblin in armour and carrying a pike, who thumped his right fist on the left of his chest in salute. Harry responded in kind as he realised that he was expected to do, then they were led into Lord Ragnok’s office.

“Lord Ragnok, may your gold multiply.” Harry addressed him with the same salute, while Daphne bent into a low curtsey.

“You may call me Ragnok, Lord Potter, and may it multiply forever.” Then he gave Daphne a questioning glance.

“Ragnok,” he bowed his head, “Please then call me Harry. May I present Lady Daphne, eldest daughter of Lord Greengrass.”

“May your enemies fall at your blade, Lord Ragnok.” Daphne addressed him, still in her curtsey.

“Ah, Lady Daphne, may they fall thick and fast.” he offered them seats in front of his desk and settled down himself, “What can I do for you today, Harry?”

“Well, Ragnok, I was wondering if it would be possible for you gather a team and harvest a basilisk for me.”

“It is possible, but how soon would you be wanting this team and which of our agreements would this fall under?”

“I was hoping for it to be this afternoon and it would fall under the agreement of you removing all dangerous creatures of objects from the castle and grounds, although you would get a bonus of basilisk meat, which I understand is a goblin delicacy.”

“You understand correctly, Harry. There will be a team there within the hour, but in the meantime, you might tell me how there is a Basilisk in the castle, who slayed it and what is happening to the remains.”

So, Harry gave him the basic story, how it was Salazar’s great-great-grandson who started the war against muggleborns and changed the chamber to house the beast, a beast who he was sure did not want to attack anyone.

“You’re most likely right, Harry. Basilisks are dangerous but that do not attack unless they are forced or threatened.”

Harry felt a wave of rage course through him at the thought of anyone forcing the poor animal to attack and murder people, but he used his new occlumency shields to bring his emotions under control and continued to speak about how he slayed the Basilisk, three years previously, with a large amount of help from Fawkes and luck.

Even Ragnok was impressive that a twelve-year-old killed a sixty-foot basilisk with a sword.

“If it’s as big as you say it is, then it’s the biggest basilisk ever recorded. That is quite the achievement, my friend.”

“If the goblin leader is impressed, then I must be doing something right.” Harry grinned.

“As for what is happening to the remains, all of the skin will go to Monsieur Jacques the tailor to become duelling robes and half of the remains useful in potions will go to Hogwarts. The other half will be sold, and the monies split thusly: half will go to funding the creation of werewolf safe rooms and the production of wolfsbane potion for the werewolves of Hogwarts. The other half will be split among the victims of the attacks.”

“Split how?”

“Can I answer that when I know how much money there is?”

“Of course. Is that everything you needed to talk to me about?”

“There was one more thing. Helga Hufflepuff’s cup and Salazar Slytherin’s locket, who do they currently belong to?”

“The cup belongs to us, as her our agreement, and the locket belongs to you, as Lord Slytherin.”

“How would you feel about the cup living at Hogwarts? I wish to put it where it can be seen and appreciated. Of course, it would still belong to the Goblin Nation and you could reclaim it at any time, but it would live at Hogwarts.”

Ragnok studied him for a moment, “I agree under one condition.”

“Name it.”

“I set the wards for its protection myself and anyone found trying to steal or contaminate it will be handed to me for punishment.”

Harry grinned savagely, “That is acceptable.”

“I assume that you want to locket with the cup?”

“Yes, and the sword of Gryffindor, although that is in my office.”

“Very well. The harvesting team is ready, and I can bring the artefacts to be warded into place now. Where do you wish them to live?”

“In the entrance hall.”

“It will be done.”

Half an hour later, Vriotoizz (a goblin who Harry had never met before) was busy harvesting the Basilisk with his team while Harry, Daphne and Ragnok were in the entrance hall warding cases for the three founders’ relics to sit in.

“Does Ravenclaw not have a relic?” Harry asked.

“It does, but it has been lost for centuries.” A voice can from behind them.

Harry whirled around and saw Narcissa stood there, with Draco and Sirius just behind her.

“Cousin Narcissa,” he greeted as he moved towards her, “and what was this relic?”

“The Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw was said to enhance the wisdom and knowledge of the wearer, but it has not been seen since Rowena herself died.”

“How unfortunate.”

“Indeed.”

“Sirius, Draco. Was your trip to the bank successful?”

Draco gave him a genuine smile, the only one he had ever seen come from the other teenager, “I’m heir to a big family, I don’t have to become a Death Eater and I have a cousin now. All in all, pretty good thank you.”

Harry laughed, “Your welcome. I had more than enough titles to be getting on with.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“Harry, what’s Lord Ragnok doing here?” Sirius asked.

“Ahh, forgive me, I have not yet introduced everyone.” He moved back towards Daphne and Ragnok with the other three following along behind, “Ragnok, you know Lord Black. This is his cousin, Lady Narcissa Black and her son, Heir Draco Black.”

“Lord Black, Lady Narcissa, Heir Black.” He nodded to each as they bowed and curtsied to them.

“Ragnok is here securing the wards for the relics of the three founders. He is allowing the cup to live here under the condition that he sets up the security himself.”

“And now it is done, Harry. Shall we go and see how the harvesting team is getting on?”

“I believe that would be a good idea, yes.” He saw the confused looks and added, “The basilisk that I slew is being harvested by a team of goblins. Would you like to join us? I believe that you will find it quite interesting.”

There were nods all around and the six made their way down, Harry explaining the story of the chamber as they went.

They arrived to see Vriotoizz moving towards them.

“It is finished, my Lord. What is to be done with the remains?”

“Take the hide to one Monsieur Jacques the tailor.”

“With this note please.” Harry added, pulling a short letter that he had written earlier explaining what he wanted done with the material out of his robes.

Vriotoizz took it and turned back to Ragnok, who continued.

“Half of the potion grade ingredients go to the potions classroom here and the rest is to be sold. What would that fetch?”

“It would fetch 1,657,078 galleons in total. With the reductions of half the potion grade ingredients and the hide, it would go down to 598,652 galleons.”

“Very well. Split that 598,652 galleons in half, put one half in a new Hogwarts vault, and the second half in a new Potter vault.”

“It will be done, Lord Potter.” Vriotoizz saluted – witch Harry returned - and walked away.

Ragnok turned to Harry, “Lord Potter if you make a list of what you want to happen to the money in your new Potter vault and give it to Griphook, he will sort it out for you.”

“Thank you, Ragnok.” He gave a small bow, “May your Nation be ever behind you.”

“May I lead them on the path to victory.” And with that, they were gone.

“Cousin Narcissa, Sirius, would you like to dine with the Dragon Council or alone tonight?”

“I, for one, am curious to get to know your Dragon Council.”

Before Harry could reply, Dobby popped in.

“Master Harry, Sir, Madam Pompie says Professor Snapey is awake now.”

“Thank you, Dobby. Please tell her that I’ll be there as soon as I can, then arrange for dinner for the Dragon Council, staff and our two guests to be laid in the Great Hall in half an hour. Please inform the staff.”

“Of course, Master Harry, Sir.” And he was gone.

“May I know why Severus is in the hospital wing?” asked Narcissa.

“He got knocked out after I removed his dark mark.”

Everyone except Daphne, who already knew, looked impressed and shocked.

“I didn’t know that it was possible.” Narcissa whispered.

“Neither did I until I tried it. The Peverell ring is very powerful.”

“At least that explains why the Dark Lord never claimed his headships, it probably would have killed him.”

Harry snorted, “Draco, please tell the Council about dinner, I will meet you there after I’ve seen Severus.”

Draco nodded and they parted, the chamber closing as they left.

It wasn’t until he was nearly at the hospital wing that he realised Daphne was still beside him. It wasn’t that he hadn’t known she was there, simply that he hadn’t question why she was until just then.

“Why didn’t you go back with Draco?”

“Why, don’t you want me?” she gave a little pout then a smirk.

“To the contrary, you company has been very pleasant all day, but I still assumed that you would get back with Draco.”

“And yet you did not question it until we had been walking for five minutes.”

“It didn’t take me long to get used to you being by me side.”

Daphne stopped to stare at him, and he couldn’t help staring back. She was only about an inch shorter than him, so it wasn’t hard to look directly into her steel grey eyes. They were gentle, yet seemed to look straight into his very soul, he knew that he would never be able to hide anything from her.

His eyes traveled down to her lips and he also stopped himself right then, the only kiss he had ever attempted had been a complete disaster, although admittedly going out with the ex-girlfriend of someone who you watched the murdered of was not a good idea.

Unable to stop himself and not really thinking about it, he stepped closer and pressed his lips into hers, just holding them there for a few seconds. Neither of them moved their lips, it was a sweet kiss, but both still felt like it meant something.

Harry stepped back and Daphne let out a small giggle, “Lord Potter, I would remind you that you hardly know me.”

“True.” His voice was lower than usual, but he ignored it and gave her a sweet smile, “I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve known you for a lot longer than two days. Still, would it be okay with you if we got to know each other better, Daphne?”

He reached out a gently squeezed her dainty hand, the skin soft beneath his fingers.

“I would like that. Nothing improper mind,” she warned him, with a smile and a short curtsey, “I am a Lady, and I am expected to have standards.”

“Of course!” he replied, surprised that she thought he was capable of taking advantage, “I warn you now that I have never does this before, but I promise to try my best.”

“From the short time I have known you, I have worked out that you always try your best.” She gave his hand a quick squeeze and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, then pulled away, “We should go.”

Harry brought his fingers up to his cheek and let them linger there for a moment before following behind.

Madam Pomfrey met them as they entered the hospital wing.

“He’s cranky because I won’t let him leave until you’ve checked him over.”

Harry let out a small laugh, “Don’t worry, I have some good news for him.”

The healer raised her eyebrows but didn’t comment, figuring that she’d find out soon enough.

They rounded the curtain and Snape called out, “Ah Po – Harry, please tell Poppy that I can go.”

“Easy, Severus, let me just check that everything is normal. Has Poppy told you what happened?”

“She has. And I feel better than I have, well – ever. I thank you for that.”

“Your very welcome.”

Harry focused on Snape’s core, methodically checking everything through. After a few minutes he stopped.

“Everything is good as far as I can tell. You’ll have to be careful about overpowering your spells for a while as your core is significantly bigger than it was, but other than that, you’re good as new.”

Snape breathed a sigh of relief as Poppy discharged him.

“Now, dinner is in the Great Hall in ten minutes, you might walk with me and Daphne now? I have some news for you on the way.”

The Potions Master nodded, changed his clothes back with a wave of his wand and fell into step beside them.

“There is a present for you in your classroom.”

“A present?”

“Yes, half a Basilisks worth of potions ingredients.”

Snape stopped in shock, “Half a Basilisk?”

“Yes.”

“As a present? No charge?”

“No monetary charge, no.”

Snape narrowed his eyes, but Harry motioned for them to keep walking, “I had to decide what to do with the Basilisk. The hide is being made into dueling robes for the Dragon Council, plus a few extra for whoever needs them, half of the potion grade ingredients go to you, the rest are to be sold.

“Half of that money is being split among the victims who were petrified, killed, possessed or sent to prison, and the other half is being put back into the school, specifically for building safe spaces for werewolves and for you to produce and maybe even further develop wolfsbane.”

“You want me to improve wolfsbane?”

“If possible.”

“It may be. It would take a lot of money, but I guess that’s not much of a problem if you sold a sixty-food basilisk.”

“Indeed, and I would guess that Sirius would be happy to fund anything else, he has a vested interest.”

Harry noticed that Snape didn’t snarl when Sirius was mention for the first time - well, ever – he simply nodded.

Dinner went smoothly and afterwards Harry explained to everyone what was going to happen the next morning and got a tour of everything that the Dragon Council had achieved. Neville, Ron and Justin showed the group the disused classroom that they had cleared and transformed into a shop.

Luna and Susan showed the advertisements that they had designed for each job and they had a talk about anyone they knew who might be good for one of the positions. Then Hermione and Terry showed the information leaflets they had designed and asked if they had missed any information – they hadn’t of course.

By the time they were finished, it was about six o’clock, so Harry gave the Dragon Council the rest of the evening off after thanking them for their hard work and commitment.

Knowing that he needed to see what was happening with his own office and quarters, Harry made his way towards the stone gargoyle. When he reached it, he paused not knowing how to get in.

“Password?” the gargoyle asked, making him jump – he had never heard it talk before.

“Um, I’m sorry, I don’t know it…”

He didn’t know how a stone sculpture managed to look amused, but somehow this one managed it.

“No, Headmaster. You need to set a new password.”

“Oh.” Harry felt himself blush as the thought about it, “The new password will be Bernese.”

Lost in his own thoughts about his new powers, he walked through the door into the office, only half realising that all of Dumbledore’s belongings were gone.

“Oh, please tell me that you didn’t become Headmaster?” a voice came from behind him.

Harry was facing the voice with his wand out only a second later, but he relaxed when he realised that it was the portrait of Phineas Black. After checking around, he put his wand away again before answering.

“Lady Hogwarts chose me.”

“Well obviously, you wouldn’t choose this unless it was forced on you.” The portrait snorted.

“You may be right, at least I wouldn’t have chosen it for a good few years yet. I’m guessing that I’m the youngest?”

“By a good thirty years.” Phineas huffed.

Harry grinned, “Impressive. I’m guessing that you guys haven’t had any company since Professor Dumbledore left?”

“Well, other than his portrait appearing, no.”

Harry scanned the room and his eyes alighted on a portrait on the far end - a sleeping Albus Dumbledore wearing his signature bright purple robes.

“Is he actually asleep?”

“Yes. When a head gives up the post, their portrait appears, but they are asleep until the actual person dies. If you want to talk to Dumbledore than you can go and find him.”

“Makes sense. Where did all his stuff go, do you know?”

“House-elves packed it up for him when the portrait appeared, yesterday morning.”

“When I became headmaster.”

“Exactly.”

“Do the Heads tend to redecorate?”

“They have been known to. Although more the living quarters than the office, they tend to just put stuff in here to fit their tastes.”

“And what happens if I don’t have ‘stuff’.”

Phineas snorted, “All you youngsters have stuff, you have too many material objects and not enough regard for what’s on the inside anymore.”

Harry decided to ignore him, instead calling for Dobby.

“What can Dobby do for the Headmaster, sir?”

“Please can you bring all my belongings here?”

With a click of the fingers his trunk appeared.

“That doesn’t say anything, how many extension charms are on that thing?”

Harry gave the portrait a hard glare, “None. This all I have, this and some robes which I bought today. I had no money until yesterday.”

“There are lots of poor families, although I didn’t expect you to be one of them.”

“I’m not poor now but, as I said, I only got my fortune yesterday. Anyway, my family had money, they just didn’t share it with me.”

“Oh, poor boy. No pocket money, going to have a tantrum about it?”

“I don’t think you quite understand what I’m saying. I lived with my aunt and uncle until today, they hated my parents and magic which meant that they spoiled my cousin just to rub it in my face. My bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs – in a four-bedroom house, where only two rooms were being used - until I got my Hogwarts letter and I only got a bedroom then because my relatives were scared some wizards would come and turn them into mice.

“I was made to do all the cooking, cleaning and gardening while my cousin sat around eating and then I had to steal scraps out of the bin every night because I wasn’t allowed to eat any of the food I made. My cousin and his friends created a game called ‘Harry Hunting’ where they would chase me around then beat me up and they bullied me every day at school. I’ve been beaten up more times than I can count, pushed down the stairs and hit with frying pans but have never once been to see a healer. My clothes: the hand-me-downs of my whale of a cousin.”

He reached into his trunk, pulled out a pair of trousers that were about six sizes too big and held them up for Phineas to see then dumped them on the floor, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows.

“So, no, I don’t have anything to put in an office. But this a new chapter of my life, I am moving forwards and I am determined to be the best headmaster that I can.”

Phineas just stared at him for a few seconds, as if sizing him up.

“Very well, I think you actually have potential.”

Finally, one of the other portraits spoke up, “That’s high praise coming from Phineas.”

Harry gave a small bow and turned back to his Dobby who he suddenly realised was shaking in fury.

“D-dobby?”

“Those nasty muggles! They dared to do that to the Great Harry Potter?!”

Harry almost burst out laughing at the outburst from the tiny elf, but he managed to stop himself, knowing that would offend the small creature and instead choosing to sink down on one knee and gently grabbing his arm.

“Dobby, Dobby.” He soothed, “I’m not going back there, they can’t do anything to me anymore. Now, will you help me?”

“Dobby will do anything for Master Harry.”

“Thank you, can elves buy things for wizards?”

“Only if we are bonded to them,” Dobby frowned, “Master Harry doesn’t have an elf, but Dobby can be his elf.”

“You want to be my elf? Don’t you like your job, being a free elf?”

“There’s not much to do if Dobby is honest, Sir. Dobby likes being free, but he would like more work.”

“If you want to be my elf then that’s alright with me, what does Dumbledore give you currently?”

“Dobby gets one galleon a week and one day off a month.” the elf smiled happily.

“Is that enough? Do you want more time off or more pay?”

Dobby looked horrified at the thought, “No, Sir. That's lots of money for an elf such as Dobby.”

“Okay, if you're happy with that, then how do we do it?”

“Yous just has to say your name and that you submit me as your house elf. Make sure you say all titles so I can access all vaults.”

“I, Lord Harry James Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell, do take Dobby to be my personal House-elf for the wage of one galleon a week and with a day off a month, so mote it be.”

Harry saw a small flash of light and a strand of yellow magic wound its way into his core while a thick strand of white wound itself into Dobby’s.

“So.” Phineas was talking again, “How come you have some many titles?”

“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you another time. Be thankful its only six though, I nearly got Black too.”

“You?! How?”

“My godfather had me as his heir, but he changed it to Draco Black after the marriage Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy was annulled today. I really don’t need seven titles and he’s good at politics.” He turned back to look around the room.

It was quite large, circular, and tall; three quarters of the walls were lines with books and shelves, and the final quarter was mostly filled with portraits.

Under the portraits was a door - the entrance to the office – and a large fireplace with a few bright purple armchairs nearby. The walls were a kind of weird brown and all the woodwork was a dark colour that made the whole room look a little dingy, however beautifully carved and put together it was.

“Dobby, please can we have a chocolate-coloured carpet and light cream walls. Change those armchairs to red and light wood and lighten the bookshelves and desk slightly.” He paused then grinned to himself, “I think I need one of those old spinney chairs for my desk don’t I, Dobby?”

“Yes, Master Harry.” Dobby grinned too and with a single click of the fingers, everything was as he had asked. Everything was just a little brighter and less dim.

When he moved around the room, he could see that one part of the bookcase was actually a door. Carefully he pushed it open and walked through, feeling like he was invading in Dumbledore’s personal space.

The room he walked into, Dobby trailing behind him, was a large a comfortable living room that had more of a Dumbledore-ish flare than the office. One wall of the room was curved, clearly with the curve of the circular tower he was in and had a window with a view out onto the grounds.

The warn carpet was a deep maroon with random splashes of purple, the furniture was all deep purple and gold on dark wood and trimmed with frills. The colours didn’t exactly clash, but Harry didn’t know a single other person who would have used that combination.

His aunt would have had a fit if she had seen it, especially when you threw in the greenish cream wallpaper.

Deciding to look around everywhere before redecorating, he moved through an archway into a small kitchen diner, that was decorated fairly normally in creams and golds – except from the bright deep purple walls; clearly Dumbledore liked purple.

Shaking his head, he moved through a door and found his new bedroom - again with the purple walls, crazy carpet, and dark woods. Despite the over-the-top colours and patterns, the room was quite simple, with a bed, dresser, small desk, and window overlooking the quidditch pitch and lake.

Like the living room, the wall with the window was curved, but one of the other walls held three doors. One door, he found, led to the bathroom; a large one, with a bath not unlike the one in the prefects’ bathroom, a shower with jets that shot out in different directions and a separate little room for a toilet and another sink.

The bathroom was almost the exact opposite to everything else he had seen; it was so boring and monotone white that he wouldn’t have assumed that this room was connected to the others.

The second door led to a walk-in wardrobe, with a huge full-length mirror, in which Dobby had already hung all of his robes. It was pretty plain, although he did find it quite astonishing to find all of the clothes he now owned, even though they barely filled a quarter of the space.

The third door led to a reading room. It was shaped like a quarter circle, with one curved wall and two straight walls where the wardrobe and bedroom met, and the curved wall was covered by a large bookcase, while the rest of the space was filled by a few armchairs (purple of course) clustered around a firepit in the floor.

Walking out of the reading room and back to the living room, Harry pondered how he wanted to decorate. Daphne had said neutrals were the best way to go, and he couldn’t really disagree, but he decided that a slightly more modern look for his room would be good, to escape the sometimes-stifling ancient feel to the castle.

“Well Dobby, are you ready to get decorating?”

“Yes, Master Harry. What is yous wanting for this room?”

Carefully looking around, Harry answered, “Charcoal grey carpet, light grey walls. Is it possible to have the brick exposed on that wall?” he pointed to the one that led into the kitchen.

“It is, Sir.” He clicked his fingers, and it was done.

“Perfect, thank you. Glass coffee table in the center, a long sofa to that side of it, and two armchairs to the other. Dark grey with deep purple pillows. Oh, and charcoal grey drapes with purple accents for the curtains. Perfect!”

Harry could appreciate purple if it wasn’t glaring at him from every wall.

They moved onto the kitchen diner.

“Okay, we can get rid of the table completely and create a white and gold marble worktop. Light pine wood high stools. The floors become hardwood – the same colour as the stools – and the walls cream. Great!”

He glanced around; this was a place he would happily cook a meal for his friends – if he ever had time. They moved onto the bedroom. This was the room that Harry was the most anxious about, it was a place that he would hopefully be spending time and so needed to be – him.

“I kinda like sea colours, how about very light grey walls, wheat coloured carpet with a sea blue rug. White wood bed, dresser, door and bedclothes with sea blue accents and drapes.”

Dobby did it, Harry thanked him, and they moved onto the bathroom. He kept it largely the same but added accents of sea blue and green with lots of fluffy towels.

For the reading room, the walls were left stone and the floor became a plush maroon carpet. The firepit was kept and so were the dark wood bookcases, but the armchairs were swapped out for a mound of beanbags and cushions. The walk-in wardrobe was left unchanged.

Thanking Dobby and feeling quite accomplished, he summoned his trunk and began to sort out his trunk. Most of it went away in draws and Dobby took all of the rubbish (including his old clothes) to be thrown away or burnt.

Filling up the huge bath, Harry sank into it for a much needed (if a little short) break from everything.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Harry was up at six o'clock and got ready for the day as quickly as he could. He put on his Dragon Council robes, knowing that they would have to give the view of a united front at breakfast that morning.

Before he made his way to the Room of Requirement, he sat down at the vast desk in his new office and looked around, trying to get used to the idea that, yes, this was actually his office now.

Giving himself a quick shake, he looked through the draws of the desk and noticed that they were full of useful equipment - both muggle and wizard – pens, quills, ink of many different colours, wax for seals and even a stapler and a whole draw full of post-it notes.

Thinking quickly about his own awful scrawling writing, Harry called for Dobby.

“What can Dobby do for his Master?”

“Hey Dobby, I was wondering, do House-elves ever scribe for their masters?”

The elf thought for a moment, “Not very common, but sometimes. Dobby can do that for you.”

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Harry Potter
(Lord of Houses; Potter, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Peverell)

Dear Minister Fudge,
I am writing as to inform you of my appointment as the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
I request a meeting with you in this capacity at eleven o'clock today,
I must insist that this is a private meeting, please limit this to yourself and one other.
I will contact the press for a statement after the meeting.
Please note that the Ministry has no jurisdiction within Hogwarts and that meeting is merely courtesy. No, this is not a prank, please see the seal for evidence of my position.

Signed; Lord Harry Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell

Harry melted a little wax with his wand then poured it onto the envelope and sealed it with his Headmaster ring. He then dictated a second letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Harry Potter
(Lord of Houses; Potter, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Peverell)

Dear Mr Dumbledore,
As you can imagine, I have many questions.
It might surprise that you that not many of these questions are about my new job,
But more about some decisions you have made effecting my life,
Which I would like to some answers for.

If you could please meet me at Grimmauld Place at midday.

Signed; Lord Harry Potter Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin Peverell

He sealed this one the same way and turned to Dobby, “Please can you take the second one to Dumbledore and the first one directly to the Minister and wait for his reply. Make sure he sends one. When you come back, I'll have a note for you to take to someone else, okay?”

Dobby nodded and as Harry thanked him as he popped away.

Quickly, he got a small piece of parchment and scrawled on it in pen.

If you want to know who the new Headmaster of Hogwarts is,

then come to the Ministry for twelve.

Standing and stretching, Harry placed the note in this pocket, then made his way down the stairs and towards the Room of Requirement.

Upon reaching it, he found everyone, in their Dragon Council robes, gathered around Daphne, who was sat at the conference table.

“Good morning all, how are we? Ready for this morning?” he smiled nervously.

Everyone greeted him and he asked what they were doing.

“We're drafting a letter to send out to parents, the information leaflets are being sent out with the equipment lists, which aren’t going out until at least half-way through the summer, so we needed to send out a separate notice of the change in Headmaster.” Neville explained and Harry let out a small groan.

“I suppose we were never going to remember everything yesterday. How's it going and who remembered that we needed it?”

“Daphne remembered and she's nearly finished drafting it.”

“Well done Daphne, and thank you everyone for helping.” she threw him a smile before bending back over her work.

He was just about to tell them about the letter he sent to the Minister when Dobby appeared clutching a letter in his hand.

“Your reply, Headmaster.” he handed Harry the letter.

“Thank you, Dobby! Amazing, right. This note,” he pulled it out of his pocket and handed to the elf, “Needs to go to Rita Skeeter at the Daily Prophet. Do not tell her who it's from and, if you can, make sure that you’re not seen.”

Dobby gave a firm nod and disappeared again while Harry looked at the letter now in his hand. It was sealed with the Ministry seal and addressed to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, which he took as a good sign. Breaking the seal, he read:

MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Minister: Cornelius Fudge

Dear Headmaster Potter,
Please floo straight to my office for eleven o'clock.
The password is Unity.

Signed; Minister Cornelius Fudge

Harry immediately changed into Apollo and gambolled around the room - much to the amusement of everyone there - until he was panting, then changed back.

“Good news?” Neville asked.

“The Minister of Magic believes that I'm actually Headmaster!”

“Which you are…?”

“Yes, but that didn't mean he would believe me, he's never trusted what I've said before.”

Daphne put down her quill with a flourish and turned to him, “Did you seal it with the Headmaster ring?”

“Yup.”

“Then he had to believe you, there's magic in that seal which means it can be tested for a fake. Besides, there's no guarantee that he does actually believe you, he just doesn't want to look stupid if he's wrong.”

Harry pouted slightly and she laughed, much to everyone's (expect for Hermione and Luna) surprise.

“Here, you should check that this is good. Tell me if there's anything in there that you don't want to go out or anything that you want to include.”

Dear Parent or Guardian of _________,

This a notice to inform you of changes coming to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
There are not yet many details available, we will send out a second letter in a few weeks with more information.
There will staffing changes, new subjects, and new policies.
The first of these changes is the new Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This position is now filled by Harry Potter, Lord of the Houses Potter, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Peverell.
Please be patient with us at this time of change.

Signed: Neville Longbottom, Deputy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Head of House Longbottom

Signed:

“Looks great, thanks Daphne. I'm guessing that the gap at the bottom is for Professor McGonagall?”

Daphne nodded, “Yes, technically they don't both need to sign it, but Neville doesn't have the ring yet.”

“Right. How do these get sent out to all of the parents?”

“You'll have to ask Professor McGonagall. She's the one who sends these kinds of things out at the moment.”

“Let me see if I can tell where she is.”

He focused on the wards and thought about Minerva McGonagall, he was draw towards a particular magic signature that he recognised as being in her office.

“She's in her office, I'll go and talk to her now. Please be in the Great Hall by eight o'clock everyone. Come with me Nev.”

“That was weird you know, you being able to tell where people are. Will I be able to do that?”

Harry shook his head, “You'll be able to check that the wards are secure and feel if they are being attacked, but you won't see – or feel I guess - the detail that I do.”

“Before you go, I have one more thing to help you with a good first impression.” Daphne stated, handing him two vials of potion, “This one will grow your hair, and this one will stop it. It’ll be easier to control if it’s longer.”

“You just want to see me with long hair.” Harry teased and Daphne smirked.

“Maybe I do.”

The potion worked perfectly. He grew it until it was at his collar bone then Daphne flicked her wand to plait the sides, so it was neatly out of his face.

“Much improvement.”

Smiling, Harry strode out of the room with Neville smirking knowingly as he fell into step next to him.

A few minutes later they arrived outside the office of Minerva McGonagall and knocked on the door.

“Enter.” came the call and they walked into the room.

“Harry, Neville. Please, have a seat, what can I do for you?” she smiled at them.

“Good morning Minerva,” - that would never not be weird - “We have drafted a letter to go out to parents and guardians.” he held it out to her, and she took it, “We would please like you to read and sign it if you think we’ve covered everything, then describe how you to send out letters such as this to everyone.”

“Of course.”

They sat in silence as she read and signed the letter.

“This is perfectly acceptable. Now, in order to send out I use a duplicating charm. This sort of charm needs to be mastered for a lot of use in this job.”

Harry was concerned about his friend's reaction to what she was implying for a moment, but Neville didn't flinch.

“I understand that, Professor McGonagall, actually I have a theory about my low power levels.”

“You may call me Minerva; I think that we will be worked together a lot in the future. But what theory is this?”

“Minerva then. Harry, do you think you could take a look at my core please?”

“Sure, Nev. What am I looking for?”

“I'm guessing that you've seen everyone in the Council's core? How does mine compare?”

“Well,” Harry focused in on the magic, “Yours is a little bigger than the rest of the council, my guess is that it was around the same size, but the Headship ring boosted it a little.”

“So my core was the same size as everyone else's when I was failing to do simple magic?”

“You’ve done a lot better this year in the DA, but yes.” Harry nodded.

Neville continued, “And the other council are all have a pretty high amount of power, don't they?”

Again, Harry nodded, “You don’t think that your problem is power.”

“No, think about who else in the Council used to struggle with magic?”

It only took him a second to think about it, “Ron, before he got his new wand.”

“Yes, he had a hand-me-down wand, but as soon as he got one that suited him, he could do spells a lot better. I use a hand-me-down, my Gran wanted me to use my Dad's wand.”

Here, Minerva spoke up, “Yes, that would explain it. I recommend that you get a new wand, Neville, whatever your Grandmother says. She has spent too long trying to make you into your father and not enough time loving you.”

Neville blushed, “I'll get one as soon as possible.”

“You might be able to go this morning, I want you to come with me to the meeting at the Ministry, but that would still give you time between ten and eleven to go to Diagon Alley. We can go and get you a new wand, then go to the Ministry, then I have a final errand that I want you to come with me for.”

“Sure,” Neville turned back to the amused looking professor before them, “Sorry about that detour, please show us the spell?”

Half an hour later, the letters were ready to be sent out and the three were making their way to the Great Hall for their pre-breakfast meeting.

They were the first there and they walked in to find that a fourth table had been added; a third platform had been added for it, slightly higher than the House Tables, but lower than the Head Table, so that they could still be seen by those sitting at the house tables, which was where the new table was facing.

There were ten seats along the table, the centre two were slightly more ornate – although not over the top - while the other eight were straight back wooden chairs, the same as the ones that the professors sat on.

The trio were looking curiously at the table when Lady Hogwarts appeared.

“Symbolism.” she commented with raised eyebrows.

Harry laughed, “Thank you, Lady Hogwarts. I guess that we can sit there for formal occasions, then the others can sit at their house tables for normal meals.”

Neville nodded then laughed, “I like how we both have fancier chairs.”

“Well, you're my deputy. Although I’m really not a fan of the throne style that Dumbledore had going on.”

He flicked his wand and transfigured the throne at the centre of the Head Table into something a lot less gold and a lot more simplistic but still impressive.

As Neville was rolling his eyes, the Dragon Council appeared, followed by the rest of the staff. They all looked curiously at the new table as Harry gathered them on Hufflepuff table – neutral territory - and explained it to them.

Everyone liked the idea so Harry moved to explain what would be happening for the rest of the week.

“Because it's the last week of term, the lessons aren't as important, so the Dragon Council will not be in all of them. They won't be coming in and out of lessons - because that's disruptive – they will either be at the lesson or not as there are many errands and jobs that need to be done.”

The professors nodded appreciatively; it was nice when they didn't get disrupted all of the time.

“I expect that there will be lots of questions this week, from the students and from outside. I can, with the help of the Council, cover the outside questions, but I would appreciate if the rest of the staff would answer questions honestly, with as much detail is appropriate.”

He trusted them to know what to say; after all, there had been enough secrets within Hogwarts before.

“I have a meeting with the Minister at eleven and I'm sure there will be press at the Ministry at twelve. I intend to make a statement, but I would like the details to come out in the Quibbler.”

McGonagall looked her cub with pride Luna beamed, “It can go in tomorrow’s paper, I will move the article about the goblins hiding the Crumple Horned Snorkacks to the next issue. I'll have it written for you to look at by the time you get back today.”

“Thanks Luna.” Harry was silent for a moment, thinking about Crumple Horned Snorkacks; he would have to ask Ragnok about them later.

That mental reminder set, he addressed everyone, “Neville and I are leaving after breakfast, but we'll be back by the time lessons end. Effectively, I just want everything to keep going as they are for this week, as we have no way to implement big changes so soon before the end of term. I think that's all. Severus, Minerva, Pomona, Filius; please can I talk to you?”

The five moved further down the table and Harry took a deep breath before speaking.

“I'd like you four to make me a list of everyone who's at risk of taking the mark over summer – either by choice or by force - anyone who belongs or is close to a Death Eater family and might be in danger. I want to give them the option to stay here and be protected from their families. No students who have the Dark Mark will be allowed into the school next year, because of them being a danger within the castle and we might have wards against it, so by next term it’s too late.”

All the Heads of House were looking at him with slightly shocked expressions.

“Draco Malfoy was going to be forced to take the mark with summer, and we are protecting him and his mother from the rest of their family. We have to save those who we can.” he explained, “And I'm not above thinking that the followers of Voldemort can come from any house, the same way that those opposing Voldemort can also come from any house.”

Harry looked straight at Snape, who regarded him with something that might even have been respect.

“We'll keep our eyes out. What happens if they've already taken the mark but want to get rid of it?” Snape asked.

Thinking quickly, Harry answered, “You know them better than I, so I leave it up to you to see if they can be trusted. If believe that they can then bring them to me, I can do it.”

He waited for nods of understanding then quickly checked the time.

“Do you think that you could please go to the common rooms and make sure everyone is on their way?”

Ten minutes later, the Heads of House were back, and Harry was mentally preparing what he was going to say as the students walked through the door. They agreed that the Dragon Council would go into the anti-chamber next to the Great Hall and wait until all the students were there.

They could hear the noise of curious students speculating who they thought had taken over the role of Headmaster. Harry didn't hear anyone mention that there had been ten students missing all weekend, but then again, he couldn't hear everything that was being said.

Professor McGonagall quietened the crowd and began her announcement.

“Thank you all for gathering so early. I know that there have been many rumours surrounding the replacement of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I can confirm that Professor Dumbledore is not coming back and that Lady Hogwarts – yes, Hogwarts is sentient and working to help you – has picked a new Headmaster. The new Headmaster would like to explain his story, so please allow me to introduce the new Headmaster: Harry Potter.”

There was a roar of noise as Harry walked into the hall and stood next to Professor McGonagall. He waited for a few minutes before letting off a loud noise from his wand (a useful spell that Daphne had taught him the day before) which made everyone cover their ears then turn to stare at him.

“Everything that Professor McGonagall said is true,” he said solemnly, “But I must ask that you stay silent for a few minutes so that I can explain.”

He looked down at all the students, silently daring them to challenge him while simultaneously taking note of the different reactions. Some (mostly the younger years) looked awestruck and impressed, while some looked disbelieving and some looked straight up pissed. The remaining members of the DA didn’t look very surprised.

“Lady Hogwarts, would you join me please?”

The entity faded in and gave a small curtsey.

“Most of you have seen Lady Hogwarts briefly before, but for those of you who haven’t, she is the castle, in a living and breathing form. The four founders put so much magic into Hogwarts, that she came to life and could be awoke if the castle were under attack, whether that be from an army or from the Ministry trying to take over.

“She came to me the night after the Minister was removed from the castle and asked me to become headmaster. After much consideration, I accepted and so the plans began to make Hogwarts successful again, the fact that we have been told it is the best school is the world has been found to be grossly incorrect. I have brought together a council of students - two from each house, myself, and my deputy – to make changes in the best interests of the students. After all, who knows what we need better than we do?

“We are the Dragon Council. We are, Lord Neville Longbottom, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Heir Draco Black, Heir Daphne Greengrass, Heir Luna Lovegood, Terry Boot, Heir Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchly. We are from all houses and walks of life.”

As he said each name, the members of the Council walked in and took their place behind a chair at the table, Neville on Harry’s right-hand side and Daphne on his left. Everyone had to agree, that they did look quite impressive with their all-black-and-silver outfits and cloaks swishing out behind them.

“All of these students will remain in lessons and they will be your connection to me; if you have a problem or question that you cannot talk to a Professor about, then come to one of us – we will always listen. We are here to make this school better and not one of us has a separate agenda. On Saturday morning, I officially accepted the job of Headmaster by being keyed into the wards and late on Saturday evening I went to Gringotts and claimed the rings of Headmaster as well as the Lordship of Houses Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.”

As he spoke, his rings came visible one by one and a gasp went up around the hall.

Harry held his hand up for silence, “Yes, I am Heir to all four Hogwarts founders, so who better than I to bring this school together? We will no longer tolerate the school being divided, as it was not so when the Founders died, no matter what you’ve heard. Lady Hogwarts if you would please?”

“Of course, Headmaster. Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin were friends of old, as were Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff. It was Rowena and Helga who brought up the idea of a school for magicals after meeting in a village while traveling where they had to save a small girl who was about to be stoned for showing signs of magic. Each having a close friend with the skills that they needed to balance themselves, the four were brought together on the project and immediately began planning.

“Godric and Salazar didn’t get on instantly, they were too opposite and yet too much the same. Godric was loud and obvious where Salazar preferred to blend into the background a be subtle, but they were both highly skilled at their crafts – Salazar in healing and Godric in battle magic - and respected each other for that. It wasn’t until Godric saved Salazar’s life by killing a Hidebehind that tried to attack him, and Salazar returned the favour by healing Godric’s nearly fatal battle wounds that the two learnt to trust each other.”

The Great Hall was silent, you could have heard a pin drop, and everyone was staring (with different levels of dignity) at Lady Hogwarts, as no one in the room had heard this story before.

“The time of the Founders was before the Statue of Secrecy, so magicals did not legally have to hide from muggles, but they were a great danger because muggles did not understand the use of magic and were scared of it, meaning they tried to destroy any trace of magic if they found it which put your community in grave danger. Because of the risky connection between muggleborns and muggles, all of the Founders were wary of allowing them in and out of the school during the holidays. None of the Founder had any problem with allowing muggleborns into the school but they were very aware of the risks and wanted a community isolated from muggles.

“Salazar died first of all four at a young age, leaving his personal journals – which were written in parselscript - in his personal chambers beneath the school where they were found a some twenty years later by his grandson who was only a babe when his grandfather died and could not speak parseltongue but managed to create a spell to translate it, or he thought he did. The translations were inaccurate to the point where it made Salazar appear to have hated muggleborns and thought that they didn’t deserve magic.

“Disgusted that the man who he had heard amazing stories about could think like this, Salazar’s grandson burnt all the original journals in a fit of rage and sealed off the entrance to the chambers. The seal was broken years later by Salazar’s great-great-grandson, who was a parseltongue, and found the innacuratly translated journals and had no original to compare them to, so took them as the gospel truth, spreading the message about how muggleborns were a blight on society and placing a Basilisk in the chamber to finish his work when he was forced from the school by his own grandfather who would not convince him of the truth having destroyed the original journals.”

Lady Hogwarts stepped back, and Harry gave everyone a minute to think about what she had said before speaking.

“Salazar Slytherin knew that ambition and cunning could lead easily to someone become a dark wizard, so he compensated accordingly and only expected those pure of heart into his House. This has been mistranslated through time also, giving the older magical families a negative view on muggleborns and their so called ‘dirty’ blood, but this is incorrect and something that was thought up through mistranslations and hear-say.

“Muggleborns do not have dirty blood in the same way that not all Slytherins are Death Eaters and this is why Voldemort must be stopped. He is using the excuse of making magic pure to rule the world and he doesn’t care about anyone else, no matter what you might hear. He himself is a halfblood by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle, his mother a near squid and his father a muggle, and the sooner the country sees his lies, the better for everyone. The Dragon Council have gathered to make sure you are kept out of this war as much as possible until it is over as we only want to keep you safe. If you need help, then you can turn to us.”

He pulled out his chair and stepped in front of it, the rest of the Dragon Council and the staff having already sat down.

“That is your food for thought for the week, we will be around it you need us. But now,” he clapped his hands twice as a signal to the elves to send up the food, “You have listened for long enough, please eat!”

Harry could feel several pairs of eyes on him as he placed a few slices of toast on his plate and tucked in while holding a quiet conversation with Daphne about Animagi and the process by which someone could complete their transformation in the absence of the Potter ring.

Simultaneously, the two kept an eye on the students at the House Tables for any signs of disruption or anger directed at their table. There were a few of the older years that they knew they would have to watch out for.

Once the tables had been cleared, Harry stood up again, “Thank you to the elves for that delicious breakfast. Lessons will be continuing as normal today, in half an hour, which I advise is just enough time to go to your common rooms and collect your equipment as long as you do not make a detour to the owlery. All parents and guardians are being set an official letter today, explaining the situation. By all means, you may write to them yourselves, I just ask that you do not make yourself late by sending it now.”

A few of the older years looked a little scornful at the idea of taking orders from someone younger than them, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been considering that he did look a bit older than his nearly sixteen years of age – especially as he had only looked about thirteen before his visit to Gringotts.

Everyone filed out the hall, taking a few last looks at the Dragon Council as they left.

Harry turned to the teacher’s table, “Thank you everyone. Neville and I having a meeting with Minister Fudge and won’t be back until after lunch. Minerva, I leave the school in your very capable hands.” He shot her a wink, and she rolled her eyes fondly, “But is there anything anyone needs before we leave?”

There were shaken heads all around.

“Would you like me to send those letters to parents out now?”

“Yes please.” He turned to the council, “Do you guys all know what you’re doing?”

At their nods of confirmation, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Good. If you need either of us for anything then send a Patronus.”

“Urm, what?” Draco asked in a most un-Draco-like way.

“Ah of course, you and Daphne don’t know how to cast a Patronus.”

“It’s common knowledge that you can, but these guys too?” Daphne asked in disbelief.

“Yes. They learnt this year.”

Neville stepped forwards, “What Harry is failing to tell you is that he taught us all how to cast a Patronus this year.”

Draco’s eyes were wide, “But you’re fifth years.”

“Fourth year!” Luna cried happily from further down the table, raising her hand helpfully in the air as Susan let out a little giggle.

“I can teach you if you want, when we have a bit more time. Right now though, just ask someone else to send one if you need us. Hermione, if you have a minute you might look at making something like the DA coins for us, so we can communicate. Ask around if anyone has any ideas for making it better and see what you can do.”

“Sure!” she looked delighted at the idea of a project.

“Coin? DA?” Draco and Daphne were confused.

“These guys can explain, we’ll see you later.” Neville and Harry waved goodbye before leaving the hall and making their way up to Harry’s office.

“I like what you’ve done with the place, Brother.” Neville nodded appreciatively.

“Thanks, Nev. It’s really odd being in Dumbledore’s office but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”

Half an hour later, they were clear on what they were going to be saying during the meeting with the Minster.

“Right, to Diagon Alley, but we don’t want people to know it’s us because students shouldn’t be wondering around during school.”

“Hm, you don’t know how to do glamours by any chance do you?”

“Nope. I really need to go to Gringotts and get the knowledge, but I don’t think that I’m going to have time until term ends. Ooh, I know. Dobby!”

“Yes, Master Harry.” The small elf bowed.

“Is there any way you could change our appearances? Just hair and eye colour. Oh, and maybe get rid of my scar.”

“Your scar is gone you know.” Neville pointed out.

“Is it?”

“Yeah. Well, nearly, it’s very faded.”

“Huh, I guess once the horcrux was out it could heal.” Harry smiled then turned to Dobby, who clapped his little hands.

“I can change hair and eye colour for Master Harry and his friend.”

Ten minutes later, Harry and Neville were stepping through the door of Ollivanders wearing casual – but still high-end – robes with new hair and eye colours. Harry had strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, while Neville’s hair and eyes were a few shades lighter but still in the brown family.

“Ah, Lord Longbottom, I was beginning to think you would never come for your new wand. Lord Potter, how lovely of you to join your brother.” The rasping, low voice of England’s finest wandmaker came from the shadows.

‘Huh, must be a Seer, nice to know they aren’t completely fake’ Harry thought as he bowed slightly.

“Greetings, Master Ollivander. I hope business is doing well?”

“Perhaps not as well as it will be doing in eleven years or so after the post war boom comes through.” Ollivander’s face came out of the shadows, blue eyes bright.

“If my maths is correct, that means the war is going to be ending soon.”

“I may be incorrect of course, Lord Potter.”

“But when has your Sight ever led your wrong, Master Ollivander?”

The wandmaker considered him for a moment before nodding, “Yes, you will do this country well, there is no one better to have your titles.” He turned towards Neville, “And you. You have taken a turn for the light by stepping into my humble shop today, Lord Longbottom.”

Neville looked like her was only just holding it together as the measuring take began to flick around him.

“Relax Nev, it’s just like talking to Luna.”

He just opened his mouth to reply when Ollivander beat him to it, “Ah yes, Miss Lovegood. Beech and thestral hair. One of my more unusual wands. But extraordinary things only happen to extraordinary people. Here.” He held out a wand box with the lid off, “Chestnut and Unicorn horn.”

Neville picked it up and tried to light up the tip in a low power Lumos; but instead setting a nearby table on fire.

Nearly half an hour later, he finally found his wand, larch and Knarl spine, and was happily paying for it.

Meanwhile, Harry had found the wand holster shelf and picked up ten in black for the council members, each with anti-summoning charms and magical signature locks.

Once everything had been paid for and bagged up, Harry stepped forwards to ask a question.

“Master Ollivander, what do you know about Prior Incantatem?”

“Ah Prior Incantatem. It is something that happens between to wands of twin cores when they are forced to go against one another. One of the wands is forced to relive the spells it has cast in the past, in reverse. But not much else is known about the phenomenon, I myself know no more than that.”

“So, neither can win when twin cores are at play. Do you know how to stop it from happening?”

“The only way I know of is to not use twin core wands. But the one with their original wand is more likely to win, as it most likely suits them better.”

“So there’s no way of me finding a wand that suits me just as well?”

“Perhaps if you choose the components yourself.”

“You mean, like a custom wand?”

“Exactly.”

“And would you be able to do that?”

“I would. If you would like to come around the back to my store, you can see where your magic takes you and I can begin to craft it once you are gone.”

When they left ten minutes later, Harry had yet more questions about who he was.

Chapter Text

The first thing Harry did when he stepped out the floo into the Minister’s private office, was breathe an internal sigh of relief at who was in there as Fudge’s second in command.

Luckily, it was not another arduous, torturing madwoman, but Amelia Bones, someone he knew from both Susan Bones – her niece/ward – and Tonks to be fair and hardworking, if a little stern, which was understandable given her difficult job as Head of the DMLE.

Minister Fudge stepped from behind his desk and towards the floo, looking somewhat nervous, while Madam Bones hung back, contemplating Harry as he took a quick look around the office to assess his surroundings.

It was a large office, with ornate furniture that was all red-cherry wood with pinkish-purple upholstery (what was it with wizards in powerful positions and purple!?) and gold. An elaborate chandelier threw light down on the sturdy table and the two chairs that sat on either side of it; one which was more embellished and had a velvet cushion, clearly the chair of the Minister himself.

A neat tray of papers and a golden desk tidy with writing equipment and wax were the only things on the – in Harry’s opinion – too large table, save for a small collection of blown glass paperweights that were transparent and shot through with different colours that danced a captivating dance in the flickering candlelight.

Directly opposite the desk was the door out of the office, a grand thing with a plane of glass in the centre that had a direct view to a secretary desk just outside and was clearly (at least clear to Harry thanks to his new ability of magical sight and because it was sensible) only see-through in one direction.

On either side of the door was an Auror, who just so happened to be Kingsley and Tonks, but Harry purposefully didn’t interact with them beyond a curt nod, to minimise damage to their Ministry inside-forces if this meeting went pear shaped.

All of this Harry clocked in the two seconds that it took for Minister Fudge to step around the table and take the few steps towards him.

The floo flared behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to check that it was Neville before moving to shake the Minister’s hand, giving his Deputy the time that he needed to check over the office.

“Minister Fudge.” With a smile he reached out a hand which the older man met with nervous enthusiasm, “Thank you for taking the time to meet me today.”

“Lord Potter.” He glanced down as if to check that he was actually a lord, so Harry quickly made his rings visible, “I don’t believe that we have talked since before your third year, how have you been?”

“Ah, Minister, I do believe it was only last year that we talked.” He replied with another smile, casually telling the bumbling politician without actually saying it that he was not just going to forget how he tried to get him expelled the year before, or spent the year trying to discredit him.

It wasn’t that he was going to hold a grudge, or try and get revenge, but it did tell him a lot about how the Minister worked and he was going to be keeping it in mind. “But I am well, thank you, although it has been a busy weekend. How about yourself?”

“So it was.” Harry watched as a bead of sweat formed on his forehead and wondered if the Minister was usually this nervous, or just around him because he knew just how much power stood before him. Power that he had royally pissed off on several occasions.

“It has been a hectic weekend for myself also.”

“I suspect that there is never a weekend when being Minister for Magic is quiet.” Harry remarked as he stepped towards the other person in the room.

“Madam Bones, I don’t believe that I was quite coherent the last time we met, and the trial wasn’t the time for conversation, so I am delighted to be meeting you, properly this time.” He leaned forwards to kiss her hand and caught the slight shift of her eyebrow that could have meant a million different things.

“Lord Potter, I hope you have quite recovered from your ordeal?”

“I have, thank you. And I thank you for your work on the trial; although I suspect that you walking in on someone using the Cruciatus curse with several people typed up the corner is one of your simpler cases.”

The Minister spluttered slightly but Madam Bones raised a careful eyebrow.

“I am curious as to when you have found the time to think over my job in such detail, not everyone in the country knows who I am or what I do.”

“Madam, I think that it is important for everyone to know who the Head of the DMLE is, it is a crucial position in our government, possibly the most crucial as without your position the Minister here would have no protection and would not be able to make any of his important decisions.” He spoke plainly enough that he seemed sincere, but Madam Bones did pick up the hint of sarcasm if the raising of her eyebrow was anything to go by, “Also, your reputation precedes you.”

“Pray tell me, Lord Potter, what might this reputation be?”

They both knew that she already knew what her reputation was, after all, she had spent many years carefully cultivating and nurturing it, but he humoured her anyway.

“That you are fair but stern, and that you are not swayed by the selfish and bigoted beliefs of others. That you try and look after everyone, not just those who are considered, or consider themselves to be, ‘important’ in our society.”

There was silence for a split second as she searched his face for any sign that he was just parroting this and did not actually believe it, but she found none, because this was what he truly thought. She nodded slightly, a tiny smile gracing her features as she watched him step back to where his companion was standing.

“Minister Fudge, Madam Bones, may I present my Deputy, Lord Neville Longbottom. Brother, I think you know the Minister and Madam Bones?”

“Indeed, I do.” Neville stepped forwards and greeted them while Harry watched a small amount of surprise flick across Madam Bone’s face at his referral to his brother, “I’ve heard my Grandmother mention that Madam Bones was in the same year as my Mum.”

“Yes, we were good friends, despite being in different houses. We were the year above your parents, Lord Potter, and I often spent time with your mother and her friends. Frank was two years above us.”

The Minister, who seemed a bit lost in the conversation, cleared his throat to bring the attention back to himself.

“Lord Potter, Lord Longbottom, if you would like to take a seat? Then we can get to why you asked to meet with me today; I am not in the habit of granting last minute meetings to just anyone.”

“I would not say that the Headmaster of the biggest magical school in the United Kingdom is just anyone. It is my opinion that an open line of communication between the person in my position and the person in yours it beneficial, even essential, to keep this country running smoothly.” Harry replied as he lowered himself gracefully into the offered chair.

“Hogwarts is the only magical school in the United Kingdom.” Madam Bones raised an eyebrow.

“Quite right. Which is why communication is all the more important. Hogwarts houses the entirety of the magical population between the ages of eleven and eighteen, the very age when they are a crucial stage of growth and are deciding what they are going to do with the rest of their lives. How can they know what they want to do if they have no connection between themselves and the Ministry, where a large proportion of jobs are?”

“Yes, you say that you are the Headmaster of Hogwarts.” The Minister interrupted, entirely skipping over Harry’s question and bringing the attention, once again, back to himself, “But how did this come about?”

Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow, “Minister Fudge, you were there when Lady Hogwarts said that she would be choosing a new Head from the students. She came to me.”

Even Madam Bones looked slightly disbelieving, so Neville leaned forwards slightly, “Perhaps you should explain what we have been doing over the weekend, Harry.”

“I think that’s a good idea, Lord Longbottom.” The Minister agreed.

Harry gave a slight nod and began to outline what had happened.

“I found myself unable to sleep on Friday – it had been a busy week what with Umbridge and her trial and then Lady Hogwarts’ announcement – so I was sat by myself at some ridiculous time of night when Lady Hogwarts came out of the wall beside me. She said that I saw as much potential in each student in the castle as I did star in the sky, then asked me what I thought needed changing about the school. We talked for a few minutes then she asked me to be Headmaster.”

“He refused of course.” Neville broke in, smiling slightly at the two mildly surprised looking Ministry officials.

“You refused?”

“I did. I thought she was being ridiculous, but she asked me to give her a chance to explain, and I did. She said that Hogwarts needed someone who would listen to everyone but still make the decisions that needed to be made without being afraid of how it would make them look, to fight for all the Houses and to make Hogwarts the great school it once was.”

“It once was? Are you saying that Hogwarts is no longer a great school?”

Harry shook his head, “We looked at the general rankings, Hogwarts comes fortieth in the world.”

“Preposterous!” Minister Fudge cried, “Hogwarts is one of the top schools in the worlds!”

“No, it’s not. I saw the statistics myself. Only Britain thinks that Hogwarts gives education to a high standard, we are a laughingstock to the rest of the world, and I intend to do something about it.”

“So, you’re planning on making big changes within Hogwarts?”

“I am, planning has begun and a few of our plans are being carried out already.”

“The Board of Governors will never let you make big changes, especially not that quickly.” The Minister harrumphed.

“Which is why we have disbanded the Board of Governors.” Neville leaned forwards as he spoke, close to breaking out into laughter at the gobsmacked look on the bumbling Minister’s face, “They were a Ministry organised board for an area in which the Ministry has no say, which makes it well within our right to disband them.”

“So you plan to do this renovation alone? Just the two of you?” Madam Bones asked.

“Not by any means.” Harry replied, “Which brings me to what happened next. Lady Hogwarts gave me time to make my decision, and with the help of two of my friends I agreed to become Headmaster of Hogwarts. I went down to the ward stones and connected to them, then we began to plan. I sent a note out to two people from each House, asking them to meet us.

“Terry Boot and Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw, Susan Bones,” he nodded to Madam Bones, “And Justin Finch-Fletchly from Hufflepuff and Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley from Gryffindor were all in the Defence Association that I ran this past year, plus Neville as my Deputy. I also asked Draco Black and Daphne Greengrass from Slytherin; together we form the Dragon Council.”

“The school is being run by children?!”

“Draco Black?” Madam Bones asked - much more calmly - at the same time.

“Technically both Neville and I are adults, being emancipated and all, but no, the Dragon Council does not run the school, it is the connection between the students and the staff, an idea board, as it were, although there is more to it than that. And to answer your question, Madam Bones, Draco asked for safety for both him and his mother from his father in order to join my Council. My Godfather, being Lord Black, annulled the marriage and named Draco Heir to the Lordship.”

“Why would the young Malfoy need protection from his Father?”

“Let’s have one discussion at a time, shall we Minister?” Harry refrained from rolling his eyes at how he still refused to believe that Lucius Malfoy was Death Eater, “Myself and my council spent Saturday making plans, then I, with Neville here and my godfather Sirius, went to Gringotts to discuss the Hogwarts finances and my own. I discovered that I was Heir, and am now Lord, of six families; Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.”

He took a deep breath, “One of my rings started a purification of my magic which brought up a few concerns about my scar.” All eyes darted to where the scar was – or should have been - but the area was hidden by his hair, “That I think is very important for both of you to know, but I cannot tell you without a vow so the information cannot spread past you two.”

“Now see here!” The Minister’s face began to grow red, “Who do you think you are, trying to tell the Minister of Magic who they can or cannot tell information?!”

“This isn’t about power, Minister, this is about country wide panic.” Neville spoke quickly, allowing Harry the time he needed to control his face so that his disgusted look wouldn’t show.

“You think that this information will cause panic?” Madam Bones didn’t bother to hide her disgusted look at the Minister, but he couldn’t see it, so it didn’t matter. Harry saw it though, and he had to hold back a smirk.

“I do. It is important information, that I think you will benefit from having, but I by no means have to give it to you, and I definitely will not if you do not take a vow.” He said firmly.

Madam Bones considered him while Fudge spluttered in the background, then gave a nod.

“I will take the vow.”

The Minister huffed and puffed for a full minute before also agreeing. They both took a vow to make sure neither of them revealed the information Harry was about to tell them without his express permission.

Harry looked over his shoulder at the Auror guards, giving them a subtle wink as he did.

“May I cast a privacy charm?”

Minster Fudge nodded his consent and Harry spoke the spell, using his sight to ensure there was a weakness that Tonks and Kingsley could hear through before speaking again.

“Have either of you ever heard of a horcrux?”

They both gave him blank looks.

“I am not surprised, neither had I until the Goblins told me that I had one in my scar. A horcrux is a soul anchor that allows you to cheat death. In order to create one, you must complete a ritual that I know nothing of beyond the requirement of murder, as this allows the soul to be open to manipulation, to splitting, and allows it to be sealed in a container. This container must then be destroyed for the owner to truly die, it is as Black as Magic can get.”

“You have one of these in your scar?!” the Minister all but screeched, and Harry quickly shook his head.

“I did, but it has since been removed.” He lifted his hair to show the very faint mark.

“Who did this horcrux belong to?!”

Madam Bones narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, “Lord Voldemort.”

The Minister flinched while Harry nodded.

“Yes. But there is more to the story. While I was unconscious at Gringotts, the piece of soul was running around the bank, trying to join to another piece of the same soul, which was found in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange. We have since found a third Horcrux and we believe that we have an idea about what a further two may be. We believe there to be seven horcruxes in total.”

“We think that V-voldemort would want seven soul pieces, including his own, because that is a magically powerful number, but he did not take into account how fragile this would make his soul and it accidentally split for the seventh time when he tried to kill Harry and the curse rebounded.” Neville explained.

“If Voldemort split his soul in half seven times, then that not only means that he only has less than one percent of his soul left – making him understandably unstable – it also means that he is alive, and Lord Potter has been telling the truth for the past year, and he never really died.” Madam Bones summarised while Fudge sat in a state of shock.

“Yes. And it also means that a further five pieces of soul need to be destroyed. We know what one is and have suspicions about a further two but are in the dark about the last three.”

“Can you tell us what these objects are, which have been destroyed and so on?”

Harry and Neville exchanged a look before he nodded.

“My scar was the first one destroyed, then the Golden Chalice of Helga Hufflepuff from the Lestrange Vaults, then Salazar Slytherin’s Locket which was found by Regulus Black who died retrieving it and gave it to his elf who couldn’t work out how to destroy it but gave it to the new Lord Black. They are the three that are destroyed. Then we have Voldemort himself for certain and the two we are unsure about are his snake, Nagini, and the Lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.”

While Madam Bones was thinking about this, Minister Fudge finally found his voice.

“You mean to say,” he asked a little harshly, “That you-know-who has been alive and giving orders for a year now?”

“Yes.”

“I think we are going to need to see the memory of that night.” The Head of the DMLE sighed.

“Of course. Do you have a pensive? And maybe a few memory vials, I have more memories that I think you should see, Madam Bones, but we only have enough time to watch the shortened version of that night before our press meeting in twenty minutes.”

The two nodded, Madam Bones working to make memory vials, which Harry deposited his various adventures into, and the Minister bringing a pensive out from an ornate cabinet.

“This is the memory of him rising.” Harry let the blue strand swim in the silvery liquid, “But it doesn’t go all the way through as I was there for well over an hour. I won’t go in with you, living it once is more than enough for me.” plus nightmares, he thought to himself, “But I will label these memories so you can look at them after the press meeting, although you will not be able to show them to anyone else, considering your vow, and we can arrange a second meeting to talk about them if you desire.”

Once the three had disappeared into the memory, Harry quickly labelled the memory vials, using a spell that Dobby had taught him to make his hand-writing neat, then he stood up and moved towards to doors, greeting the two Aurors there with big smiles.

“Tonks! Kingsley! How are you guys?”

“Not having as much excitement as you, apparently.” Kingsley spoke with amusement in his deep voice while Tonks grinned.

“I don’t think anyone had as much excitement over me this past weekend Kings. I went from running an illegal defence club and breaking into an office, to being Headmaster of Hogwarts and Lord of six Families really quickly, it’s been like a whirlwind.” He laughed, knowing that he was safe around these two.

“Hey Harry, were you serious about the Horcrux thing? There was actually a piece of you-know-who inside your head?”

He shivered a little, “Yes. Creepy, isn’t it? I trust you guys to not pass that information on. I’m meeting with Dumbledore after this, and I’m hoping to get more details out of him, I can’t imagine that he never suspected that Voldemort had horcruxes, so he might know, or have an idea, of what the other ones are.”

“Of course, the information is safe with us.”

They talked for a few more minutes until Harry knew the memory was about to finish, then he moved back to his seat and waited.

Madam Bones arrived first, showing more emotion that she usually did; the Minister followed, his face white, and Neville came last with a fierce look of determination that made Harry squeeze his arm reassuringly.

“We’ll get him, Nev. He won’t be around for long.” He promised quietly, then turned to the other two, “I would suggest keeping this to yourself for a day or so long to come up with a plan. In the meantime, I think that I would be careful who I trust.”

“But… Lucius Malfoy!”

“Maybe don’t do what he pays you to do?” Harry held back a shrug, “I wouldn’t let on for a few days if I were you but we should go down, the press will be waiting, and Neville and I have another meeting after this.”

The Minister nodded wordlessly, and Madam Bones said her goodbyes as she gathered up the memory vials and made her way back to her office to find her personal pensive. Wondering on the way why the vials were labelled with titles such as ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ and ‘Chamber of Secrets’.

Harry and Neville stood behind a screen while the Minister went up on the press stage and began to talk to the already gathered press.

“Can you go into the crowd and find Rita Skeeter, tell her that I’ll give her an exclusive within the next few days, but terms and conditions will apply.” Harry spoke in a low voice.

Neville gave a nod and a whispered word of good luck before disappearing around the screen and slipping into the crowd.

Taking a deep breath, Harry listened to what the Minister was saying.

“Good morning Ministry workers and members of the press, thank you for joining me for a very special announcement. This morning I had the pleasure of meeting the new Headmaster of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His appointment is somewhat unconventional, but from the conversation I have had with him this morning, I think that he has much potential in his new role. Here to answer some of your questions is the man himself, Lord Harry Potter Peverell Gryffindor Hufflepuff Ravenclaw Slytherin.”

Stepping around the screen, Harry held back at chuckle at the lack of applause and the high volume of murmuring and whispers from the fifty or so people in the crowd. No one seemed to be quite certain of whether or not they were part of a joke, but that didn’t stop cameras from flashing every other second.

“Good morning Ministry workers and members of the press.” Everyone began to quieten down and the flashes become less persistent.

“I can understand your uncertainty, both over my being appointed as Headmaster of Hogwarts and of my new appearance. As you will have heard from the Minister’s introduction, I have been through a few Family Inheritances, and they have strengthened my body in an incredible way. I am aware that it is not common to have more than one Lordship, let alone six, but I do genuinely believe that this will only help me in my new role, and I intend to do right by my new families. Despite this, I am sure you, and the public, will have many questions, so I am open to answering some now.”

He looked around for a moment as everyone processed what he had said, then chose a woman at the front of the crowd who was wearing a Daily Prophet sash to ask him a question.

“How can you become Headmaster with only fifteen years of experience?” the question sent another murmur of sound through the crowd which Harry calmly silenced with a lifting of his hand.

“I can understand your concern over this, I shared this concern, however I am more mature for my age than people know. I grew up in the muggle world, not even knowing that this world existed until my eleventh birthday, but I was thrown straight into this world where everything was different, and everyone just expected me to know what was going on. Not only that, but I was famous; everyone knew who I was and celebrated me for something that I didn’t remember. I was always stared at, talked about and followed around, which matured me beyond many of my peers.”

Harry knew that there was more to it than that, he had had other experiences through his years, with the Dursleys and with Voldemort, that also matured him, but he knew that this wasn’t the time to talk about those times.

“If that is still not enough, I have a group of people around me that are helping and advising me. All of the Hogwarts staff are working with me to make sure Hogwarts is runs smoothly as we put new ideas in place, and I have put together a group called the Dragon Council which contains two students from each House who are my connection to the students and have potential to give me a different perspective than the staff.”

But aren’t you still in fifth year, and only using fifth year spells?” the same lady asked.

“As Headmaster, I have decided that it would be not only inappropriate for me to still be in lessons but impossible, given how my new position is a full-time job that does not leave time for school-work. However, I am taking my NEWTs at the end of the summer, so rest assured that I will be meeting the expected requirements of Hogwarts Headmaster.”

The crowd seemed to mull this over for a moment before Harry allowed the next person to ask a question, a man from further back in the crowd.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get some many Lordships when your father only had two? Especially as many of them were thought to be extinct.”

“Of course, a valid question after such an unheard-of phenomenon as occurred. Both the Potter and Gryffindor titles came from my father, the Slytherin title I claimed by right of conquest, as the last descent was Tom Marvolo Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort. The Peverell title came to me because am I descended from the third Peverell brother and the last direct descendant of the second Peverell brother died in between my father claiming his titles and myself claiming mine.”

He paused for just a moment before explaining the last two, knowing that they were going to get the most reaction, “And my maternal great-great-grandmother was the last descendant of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff lines, but she gave birth to a squib, so the titles were thought lost until my Mother was born with magic. She would have been able to claim the titles, but she never took an inheritance test.”

The crowd took a minute to quieten, as Harry had expected, so he again rose his hand for silence and the next question.

“Can we please have the names of the students on this Dragon Council of yours?”

“Certainly, we come from all walks of life.” He beamed, “Lord Neville Longbottom is my Deputy and so does not represent a House. Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley to represent Gryffindor, Heiress Luna Lovegood and Terry Boot to represent Ravenclaw, Heiress Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchly to represent Hufflepuff, and Heir Draco Black and Heiress Daphne Greengrass to represent Slytherin. I have worked closely with the majority of the group for the last year, and all ten of us are determined to do right by Hogwarts; I trust them all explicitly.”

“What changes are you making within Hogwarts?” Rita Skeeter herself asked at his prompting.

“We are not yet making specifics public knowledge, as we are still working everything out – we are creating an information leaflet for parents to go out with Hogwarts letters half-way through the holidays – but I can give you a general idea. We are changing some of the subjects to give a better theoretical foundation with the help of the Professors, our list of subjects is being expanded and we have contracted the Goblins to help us clear both dangerous objects from the castle and creatures out of the forest.”

“There are dangerous objects within the castle?”

“Yes, currently. However, we are keeping all of these far away from the students until they leave at the end of the week and the Goblins arrive to destroy what they can and take away what they cannot.”

“What are your aims as Headmaster?” the first lady asked after a minute of indistinct chatter.

“My aims are to improve Hogwarts as much as possible and to create a place that is the perfect environment for learning and going through those naturally difficult teenage years. School is not all about work, especially if you live there for weeks at a time, so it is my aim to improve all parts of the Hogwarts experience.”

“Does the Minister support your work?”

Harry nearly rolled his eyes, of course it was Rita Skeeter who was asking the awkward questions; he glanced quickly at Fudge before answering.

“I would think that is more a question to ask Minister Fudge, but I hope so. For Hogwarts to be successful there need to be a clear line of communication between us the Ministry and I hope for that line to be between myself the Minister, now that there is no formal Ministry controlled role within Hogwarts.”

“What do you mean by there being no formal Ministry controlled role within Hogwarts?”

“That they have no say whatsoever on how Hogwarts is run, and neither does the Board of Governors, which was Ministry organisation that has now been disbanded as it was not allowing for the change needed and it was illegally formed in the first place.”

“Why would Dumbledore allow an illegally formed organisation to dictate what is allowed to happen in his school? It is well known that they often disagreed with his ideas. And why does the Ministry have no say in Hogwarts now?”

“They have never had a say, Hogwarts is privately owned by the Families of the four Founders, which means that I own one hundred percent of Hogwarts land. The Ministry being in charge of my school would be like me coming along to your house and saying that you could only sleep in your bed on Saturday night and every other night you have to sleep on the sofa. There are regulations to follow, of course, to ensure the safety of everyone involved, but they do not have a say in the day to day running.

“And two answer your question about Dumbledore; the Board of Governors has been around for a few hundred years, longer than even Dumbledore has been alive, which meant that he simply didn’t know that it was Ministry formed. I have now disbanded the Board, but that does not mean I will not be listening to outside opinions from both Parents and the Ministry, it simple means that I have the last say in any matter regarding Hogwarts.”

“Does this mean that Dumbledore not coming back?”

“He is not.” Harry nodded, “He has demands on his time elsewhere and I respect that. It is not easy being Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock or Supreme Mugwump, let alone all three at the same time, but I am afraid that if you would like any more information on the subject, you would have to ask the Chief Warlock himself.”

He wasn’t sure if he actually did understand why Dumbledore didn’t come back as Headmaster but after seeing the state that he had left the school in, Harry wasn’t sure that he minded his leaving the position, he clearly didn’t have enough time to do it properly. But another thing to ask him during their meeting later he supposed.

Speaking of their meeting, Harry began to wrap up the press conference with the promise of a follow up interview for the Daily Prophet and a significant look to Rita Skeeter, then he pulled the Minister off to the side.

“Sorry to take more of your time, but just a quick question; how do you register an Animagus form?”

The Minister shot him a surprised look before answering, “The third floor, the third office on the second right.”

Twenty minutes later, Harry was stepping out of the floo at Grimmauld Place with Neville just behind him.

“Remind me why you want me here while you talk to Professor Dumbledore?”

“Because he’s less likely to do something stupid if you’re here.”

“You think he will do something stupid?”

“It’s a possibility. You also might have to stop me from attack him or breaking something if I don’t like what he is saying.”

“No pressure then.”

He offered a quick smile before leading the way in the kitchen.

They only had to wait for a minute or so before the wizened wizard appeared out of the floo and pulled up an armchair with them in one of the smaller sitting rooms.

“So, you wanted to talk to me, Harry?” Dumbledore steepled his fingers together and smiled in his grandfatherly way that Harry usually found relaxing, but today it just pissed him off.

“Yes.” He said abruptly, “I have a few questions.”

“By all means.” He sighed, “I have been waiting for this for a long time.”

“And yet you waited for me to ask the questions rather than just telling me.”

“I thought it would be easier…”

“Easier for you or easier for me?” he raised an eyebrow then shook his head when Dumbledore said nothing, “Why was it you didn’t take over Headmaster again, why leave it to the Ministry, why abandon Minerva?”

“Because I am finding that my time needs to be taken up by other things. Having three full time jobs is too many, and I knew that Minerva would be perfectly capable. I would have stepped in to stop the Ministry from taking over if Lady Hogwarts hadn’t of beaten me to it.” He explained calmly.

“While on the run?” Harry raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“I wasn’t on the run as such, I just couldn’t appear in front of the Minister, or the people close to him. Aurors wouldn’t have arrested me.”

Choosing not to answer, Harry reverted back to the original question, “So you didn’t come back because you have other things to be doing and you thought that everything would be handled in the mean-time?” ignoring the fact that the former Headmaster seemed to think he would be welcomed back with open arms when the time was right for him, even after abandoning them.

“That is correct.”

“Would these other things have something to do with fight Voldemort?”

Dumbledore frowned at his slightly condescending tone, “Yes, of course. I would not want this war to last longer than necessary.”

“And yet you make minimal effort in your search for horcruxes.”

The old wizard looked at him in surprise.

“So, you do know what they are. And I assume that you know Voldemort has some.”

“Yes, although I am shocked that you know.”

“Why? Because I was only allowed to find out from you.” Harry scoffed, “How did you find out?”

Dumbledore sat in silence for a few minutes, seemingly deciding how to answer, “The Diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle.”

“Ah. That makes sense actually.” He exchanged a relieved look with Neville, that was one less they had to find, “Do you know of any others?”

“No. I haven’t had the time to do a lot of research. I have a few suspicions.”

“I would have thought that trying to stop a dark megalomaniac was of high priority. Would you like to share your suspicions?”

“Possibly some artifacts from the Founders.” Harry noticed that he was speaking very carefully, sharing only the bare minimum of what he clearly knew, “There is a ring I have heard of. Maybe his familiar.”

Harry’s mouth curled into a sardonic smile, “Me?”

Dumbledore looked up sharply from where he had been staring off into space, his face paling slightly, “How do you know that?”

“The real question is why did I not find out from you? And why didn’t you get rid of it when you first found out about it, which I assume – correct me if I’m wrong - was right after it happened? Before you carted me off to the Dursleys.”

He paled further as he opened his mouth and forced the words out, “It cannot be removed.”

Harry scoffed again, “Of course it can. It has been. No, you just didn’t look further beyond your own knowledge.”

“I did, I did!” he sounded so much like a stropping toddle that Harry just barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes, “It’s hard to do research about a highly dark magic, but I did. And I found nothing, there is no way to get rid of it.”

“Well then you are like most wizards and didn’t look further than beyond what your magic is capable of. Goblins have a perfectly good ritual to get rid of horcruxes from living hosts; luckily, they didn’t need it on me, but they would have been able to do it even if the Peverell Lordship ring didn’t purge it from my system.”

Dumbledore gaped like a fish, but Harry was just getting into his stride.

“Speaking of Lordships. Okay, so you didn’t know I was going to get six, but you knew I was going to get two, so why didn’t you think it was a good idea to tell me about them, or prepare me in any way? I think it would have been nice to at least know, and I think it was your responsibility to tell me after you placed me with muggles who didn’t know about my Inheritance.”

Something flickered deep in Dumbledore’s eyes that took Harry a second to place, but when it did, he saw red.

“You didn’t expect me to live past a fight with Voldemort.” His voice was deceptively calm, but his magic was beginning to whip around the room, flapping tapestries against the wall and making objects on display rattle, “You thought the only way to get the horcrux out of me was to let me die.”

He watched as Dumbledore bowed his head, but he barely heard the angry noise that Neville made next to him as a ringing began in his ears.

“You wanted me to sacrifice myself.”

“I thought you had to.” He was still speaking quietly, barely above a whisper, “I couldn’t find another way.”

“It wasn’t your choice!” Harry stood, towering of the old man, trying to keep his magic under control, “You aren’t my guardian, you aren’t in charge of me! Okay, my actual guardians don’t care if I live or die, but I still don’t know why I am with my aunt and uncle who hate my instead of any number of people who I have been told over the years who have told me that they would happily have taken me in. But it’s not up to you to make the choice whether I live or die! Especially not when you haven’t said a single word to me about it!”

Taking a deep breath to break off his rant, he squeezed his eyes shut, taking deep breaths and feeling his magic blanketing comfortingly around him.

He had felt it more since his taking his Inheritance, there had been more volume to control and he wasn’t quite there with managing it yet, but he could feel a comforting hand on his back and a low voice murmuring something relaxing in his ear that seemed to ground him.

Eventually he opened his eyes and sat back in his chair, nodding at Neville’s reassuring smile before looking back to where Dumbledore was huddled in his chair, looking frailer and more weary than Harry had ever seen him.

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want it to be true.” He whispered, his voice cracking a little, “I wanted you to have your childhood without this hanging over you.”

Harry shook his head slowly, letting out a long breath, “It still wasn’t your choice.”

“I see that now,” the old wizard looked at him pleadingly, “I’m sorry.”

Simply giving a curt nod, Harry paused before asking his next question.

“I want to ask a question which you have refused to answer in the past. The question I asked you, all the way back in first year.”

Dumbledore looked at him with a resigned expression; he knew what Harry was about to ask, and he also knew that he wasn’t leaving until he got the answer.

“Why did Voldemort come after my family?”

“He never wanted your family, Harry. He was always after you.” He sighed, wearily, “Around the time you were both born, I was doing an interview for a new Divination Professor at the Hog’s Head when the person I was interviewing went into a prophesying trance and began to recite a prophecy about someone who would defeat Voldemort. Unfortunately, a Death Eater heard half of the prophecy through the door and rushed to tell his master.”

“So, Voldemort knows half of this prophecy, which I assume is about me?”

“It is now.” Harry looked confused to Dumbledore began to recite, “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.”

Harry looked at him in disbelief, “And you think this is about me?! Can you get more vague than that?”

“It could have applied to two people until Voldemort tried to kill you at age one.”

Dumbledore was getting more and more cryptic, and Harry had nearly had enough.

“It could have meant either of you.” Neville and Harry both exchanged surprised looks, “Both of your parents defied Voldemort three times, both of you are born at the end of the seventh month…”

“But Voldemort marked you as his equal when he tried to kill you and the curse rebounded.” Neville realised, “There is not much that could make you more equal than having a little piece of him in you.”

Harry shivered a little but nodded, “Neither can live with the other survives. Looks like I’ll have to kill him, or he’ll kill me.” He exchanged a grim look with Neville.

“This is what I wanted to spare you from, Harry. You are just a boy.”

“I’m the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Mr Dumbledore,” He used the title to prove his point, “I’m not a boy anymore. In fact, I haven’t been ‘just a boy’ since Quirinus Quirrell died under my hands when I was eleven.”

Dumbledore bowed his head and Harry sighed, maybe he hadn’t been ‘just a boy’ since the first time he had been forced to cook Christmas dinner for his relatives, then shoved in his cupboard while they enjoyed it at age five.

“I have one last question before I leave you alone.”

“Only one?” Dumbledore tried for a smile.

“Unless I think of more.” He shrugged, “Why did you leave me with the Dursleys?”

“Because there are blood wards around you there.”

Harry was confused, even more so when Neville sucked in a sharp breath.

“Blood wards are not quite illegal, but they are very frowned upon.” He explained.

“Yes, which is why I have kept them, not secret, but private. Nobody else knows about them, although I am sure that a few suspect. Blood wards are very hard to set up, but when your mother sacrificed herself for you, she put a protection over you, the same protection that would not allow Quirrell to touch you in your first year. By placing you with your Aunt, who shared blood with your mother, I was able to erect wards that would protect you as long as you called their home yours or until you came of age.”

“So, you were trying to protect me, not knowing how they would treat me, but why stop anyone from visiting me? Remus would have come, Sirius if he weren’t illegally incarcerated, Minerva clearly knew my parents outside of school. It would have been nice that I knew someone before I went to Hogwarts.” He tried to keep his temper in check, but it was hard thinking of all the years he had spent alone before he turned eleven.

“That was part of my agreement with your Aunt, she would take you as long as we left them alone until you went to Hogwarts. I know you aren’t very happy there, I know you have a rocky relationship; but they still took you in, they still provided for you, still gave you a home.”

Harry starred at genuine look in Dumbledore’s eyes.

“Number 4 Private Drive was never my home.” He scoffed, “I was never welcome in that house.”

The old wizard looked at him with dismay.

“Careful! Saying that might collapse the wards, they might be destroyed even now.” He stood as if to go and check but stopped when he heard what Harry said next.

“Good! It doesn’t matter anyway! I’m not going back there; ever. Hogwarts is my home in a way that Private Drive never was, I am not going back.”

“My dear boy, you have to go back, that’s your only protection.”

“Protection from outside, maybe. But what about protection from the inside?”

The confused look on Dumbledore’s face made his pause in shock.

“You don’t know, do you?”

“Don’t know what?” he gave him a puzzled look.

“You don’t know how they treated me.” He ran an agitated hand through the bottom of his hair, “And there I was thinking that people knew and just didn’t care after my Hogwarts letter was addressed to my cupboard!”

Both Dumbledore and Neville started then stared at him in shock.

“Your c-cupboard?” the old wizard fell back into his chair.

“Yes! My bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs in a four-bedroom house until my relatives got scared into moving me to Dudley’s second bedroom by my Hogwarts letter being addressed to my cupboard; they thought you were going to come and put a spell on them, but no one ever came.”

“T-the Hogwarts letters are self-addressing.” Dumbledore seemed to answer without really thinking about it, clearly distracted by the new information that he was hearing.

“That would explain it.” Harry crossed his arms, glancing at Neville who was slowing turning red as Dumbledore paled.

“What else did they do to you?” Neville’s voice was deceptively calm.

Suddenly all of his anger was gone, replaced by nervous awkwardness. Did he really want them to know? When it came down to it, it was a decision between just having everything out so that he didn’t have to dodge around anymore or keeping it tucked in the back of his mind so that everyone wouldn’t know how weak he was.

He rubbed the back of his neck and spoke quietly, “They made me do all the work while my cousin sat around eating. They didn’t buy me anything, just giving me Dudley’s hand me downs. Never acknowledged my birthday and shut me in my cupboard for Christmas. Made sure I never had any friends. Let my cousin do whatever he wanted with me. Locked me in my cupboard or my room. Only gave me scraps of food, food which they forced me to cook.”

He stared at the floor, not looking up until he heard Neville stand and move towards the door with harsh strides.

“Neville?”

He turned and Harry flinched at the angry spark in his eye. He had never seen Neville with such an irrational look on his face, and he couldn’t help but wish he hadn’t managed to break their friendship so soon.

“I know I’m weak, a freak, I’ve been told that my whole life, but you’re still my Deputy, can we still work together for Hogwarts?”

The look on Neville’s face softened to concern, “Harry, I wasn’t abandoning you, I don’t think you’re weak, and you’re definitely not a freak. I was going to give the people who told you that a piece of my mind.”

No quite believing with he was hearing, Harry just stared.

“You didn’t deserve what they did to you, not at all. However much they hated magic, that didn’t give them the right to treat you like that.” He moved forwards and patted Harry only slightly awkwardly on the back, “I don’t want you to feel like it was your fault.”

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do to change my mind just yet, Nev. Maybe in time.” He sniffed slightly, relief flooding through him, “Thank you for caring though, Brother.”

They exchanged a smile, then Harry looked over to where Dumbledore was slumped silently in his chair, his expression a mixture of guilt, mild horror, and resignation.

“I can’t apologise enough.”

“It’s not your fault.” He kept his voice apathetic, “At least not entirely. I don’t blame you. I’m angry with you about a lot of things – mostly all the important information you’ve kept from me – but this is not one of them. Playing the blame game doesn’t help now it’s over. I’m just leaving them behind, moving on, getting on with my life.”

Getting no response beyond a simple nod, Harry motioned to Neville that they should leave and stood up before suddenly remembering something from a previous part of the conversation.

“Oh, and about the horcruxes. The one in my scar has been destroyed, as have Hufflepuff’s cup from the Lestrange Vault, Salazar Slytherin’s locket from a cave out in the sea that Regulus Black died finding and his elf has had this whole time, and I suppose the Diary has also been destroyed. We suspect that the Lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw is out there somewhere, and that Nagini is also a horcrux. With Voldemort himself, that is seven, which leaves one. What is this ring you spoke of?”

Dumbledore was momentarily shaken out of his daze to gape for a moment before responding, “The Gaunt Ring. Voldemort’s Mother was the last of the ancient Family of Gaunt, which I believe he would have found very pleasing. I have a suspicion that it may be in the old house of his mother, uncle and grandfather – where they lived before they all died – but I have yet to check.”

Harry nodded, “I will ask the Goblins to go in the next few days.”

All he received from Dumbledore was a frown, but he ignored it as he strode from the room, Neville still at his side.

Back of Hogwarts, Harry discussed the prophecy with the Council.

“The horcrux meant that he literally couldn’t die while I was alive, because I was keeping that part of him alive, but now that is gone, I still don’t think the prophecy is fulfilled. It doesn’t say that neither of us can live if the other one does, it specifically uses live and survived, as if it knows that while Voldemort is alive then he’s always going to hunt me, so I can never truly live because I’ll always be under the shadow of possible death, and the same for him while I’m still alive. There’s a difference between surviving and living.”

“But is Voldemort even alive anymore? He’s surviving, yes. But is he alive?”

“I don’t know Hermione. I would guess not. But we can’t let him survive for much longer anyway. We need to stop him; find the last three horcruxes, destroy them, then kill Voldemort.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. We’re going to need a plan. But we also have a school to run. Is everyone okay to stay over the summer? At least most of it. We have things we need to plan and put together, plus it would be a good idea to bring up your defence skills, even if we weren’t trying to fight Voldemort, it’s always good to be prepared.”

There were nods all around.

“Good. Then let’s go.”

He pulled Neville close and waited until everyone was out of hearing range before asking in a low voice, “Hey, Nev. How would you impress a proper pureblood Heiress?”

Neville stared at him for a moment before his face spilt into a huge grin, “I think, Brother, that it’s time for some courting lessons!”

Chapter Text

After dinner in the Great Hall, the Dragon Council gathered for a last meeting before retiring to their common rooms, where they knew they could get a lot of questions, as none of them had been the lessons today and this was the first chance people would get for mass-interrogation.

When Harry asked for updates of what had proved to be another very productive day, Hermione came forwards with a pair of watches. They had fairly medium-sized straps that were plaited sliver with a simple bezel surrounding a face that held the symbol of the Dragon Council.

Pretty unassuming if it weren’t for the eight silver hands ending in a letter or symbol and pointing not at numbers but at words. It was a tiny replica of the Weasley family clock, he realised, with the words being ‘home’, ‘Hogwarts’, ‘Ministry’, ‘traveling’, ‘danger’, and ‘other’.

“Draco introduced me to wizarding watches.” Harry smirked at the blush that came across her face as she glanced at the Slytherin, “And helped me to personalise them. You’ve seen the Weasley’s clock? Well, this works in the same way, once you willingly show your magical signature to the clock, it tracks you and shows where you are. We thought it would be helpful to know if anyone is in danger, as it will begin to vibrate if any hand is pointing to ‘danger’.”

Delighted, Harry nodded, “Clearly the letters are the first letter of the names, but why are those three symbols.”

“Well,” Draco took over for a moment, “Both you and Hermione, and Daphne and I share the same first letters to our names, which would mean that we would not know who it was talking about, so we managed to do a small amount of permeant transfiguration that took pretty much all afternoon. I’m the flame, because I thought it fit with my name, Hermione is the open book, Daphne is the snowflake, because of her Ice Queen nickname,” he smirked at Daphne, who rolled her eyes, “And you can decide what you are.”

“We thought about giving us all symbols, but then we would have to remember who was who, this way we only have to learn four and we can always change them in the future.” Hermione added.

“Amazing! Thanks for doing this you two!”

“And that’s not all.” Hermione spoke in her best advertisement voice that had Harry cracking up and Draco looking extremely confused, “Another feature which you won’t have come across before because it’s only in watches, is this.”

She pressed a finger to a tiny rune on the side and let him see as the face of the watch lifted up. Pressing her finger to a second rune that was situated just inside, she spoke clearly.

“Hogwarts.” Then motioned for him to watch as names began to write themselves across the screen.

“That’s a feature that already came with the watch, but we developed it a little.” So saying she placed her finger on a second rune, “Send a message.” The words appeared in the small space as she spoke, then Draco held up his watch to show that it was letting of a short sharp vibration and opened it to show that the words were on his also.

“You can only say a few words, and we have a plan to charm the key words of danger and emergency so that the watches will heat up a little and people will know it’s important, but we haven’t had the time.”

“And we haven’t worked out how to get it to only show up on one watch yet because we only have two watches.”

“That and it took us all day to work this out.”

“And probably another two days work to do the rest.”

Draco and Hermione were bouncing off each other so fast that it reminded Harry of Fred and George as he twisted his head to face each one when they spoke.

“Amazing guys!” he laughed, breaking their little tennis match for the moment, “I’m going to Diagon tomorrow to pick up my wand, I can get some more watches if you want? If you tell me where to get them from, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a watch shop in Diagon.”

“That would be because there isn’t a watch shop in Diagon Alley. It’s in Excelsior Alley.” Draco rolled his eyes, “There are more places than just Diagon and Knockturn you know?”

“Huh, I guess that makes sense, I’ve just never thought about it before. You’ll have to give me directions.”

Harry stepped gracefully out of the floo at the Leaky Cauldron (it really was easy now he knew how to twist himself slightly as he landed) then glanced around the empty bar, nodded at Tom, and slipped his invisibility cloak over his shoulders.

Usually, he wouldn’t be able to get away with wearing his invisibility cloak around magical London, but, as long as he didn’t wear it in shops, the crowd were thin enough to dodge around as it was the middle of the week and fairly early in the morning.

Tom grinned at him as he left - a barman was always good at keeping secrets - making his way out to the bustle of Diagon Alley.

He had decided to go to Ollivander’s first, so he checked if anyone else was in the shop before entering and slipping his cloak completely off – it wouldn’t do to only take the hood off and scare the old wizard into a heart attack by not having a body.

“Master Ollivander?” he called into the dusty shelves.

“Ah, Lord Potter!” Silvery eyes appeared out of the shadows towards the back of the shop, “I am just finishing up, if you would like to come back to my workshop.”

Quickly, he made his way into the room where he had picked his wand components the day before.

It was not a big room, two metres square at maximum, and the walls were all lined with shelves holding bottles, vials, trays and boxes that contained feathers, hairs, horns and such from a large array of different animals. Under the shelves lay batons of many different woods - each a few inches thick and about a foot long - just the right size for making wands.

The centre of the room was taken up by a table, made of sturdy oak but still warn, scuffed, and scratched by the many tools sat atop it. In the very middle of the table was a wand stand of grey metal with a wand on it that was unlike any wand Harry had ever seen before.

It was made of two woods, one more grey-tinted and the other reddish, twisted together down the length of the wand, which had no defined handle, although one end was thicker than the other, and was set with a single polished, ovoid stone of pinkish brown.

“There is a difference between wandmaking and wandcrafting.” Ollivander began speaking in his low voice while calmly taking items off shelves, “Wandmaking is making a wand and matching it to a customer, while wandcrafting is making a wand with a singular person in mind, and using their magic in the final stages. I, myself, am I wandmaker, although I dabble in crafting when it is needed as it has been with you, Lord Potter. Most wand-creators do one with the other on the side.”

“How do you pick which one to do?” Harry asked, fascinated as he sat on an offered stool on one side of the table.

“Depends on which you are drawn to. I enjoy making whatever my magic tells me to then matching it to a person, there is always something for everyone in my shop. But my magic helps me in a way that other’s does not, so they prefer to have the person for whom they are making helping them. Or should I say, their magic helping them.”

He three vials of liquid – one silver, one gold and one black - from a box and began to mix them into a bowl as Harry watched.

“Now, your wand. This wand. Alder - not for the stubborn or obstinate, but for the helpful, considerate, and most likeable – and Beech - for those who, if young, are wise beyond his or her years, and if full-grown, are rich in understanding and experience; capable of a subtlety and artistry rarely seen but perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant. Two woods, twisted and fused together. A drop of blood please.”

He handed Harry a pin and encouraged him to let a single drop of blood fall into the mixture, which cycled between all of the colours of the rainbow before settling on gold.

“And an eyebrow hair please.”

It was an odd request, but once added, it turned the mixture to a transparent, if gloopy, liquid.

“A core of a thestral tail hair – a rare but most powerful core, one that is chosen by someone who does, and always will, have a connection to death.” The way Ollivander was staring at him, as if he were looking straight into his soul, put Harry on edge a little, but he tried to ignore it, “And a Royal Phoenix feather.”

“A Royal Phoenix feather? Is that why it’s purple?”

“Royal purple, tipped in silver. The tail feather of a magnificent Royal Phoenix, the only one I have ever met, some fifty years ago. The son of the then Head of the Phoenix Realm.”

“There’s a Phoenix Realm? And different types of phoenix?”

“Of course! Nine types of phoenix. Why did you think there was only one?”

“Well, I’ve only heard about one, but I suppose that isn’t a reason for something not to be real, one person can’t know everything.”

“Very true. Although not many people talk about the Phoenix Realm, most think it is a mere myth, they look no further than they can see so only those with an open mind truly believe. This is a wand, your wand, who belongs to someone with an open mind.”

“Most only know the one type of phoenix? The one that looks like Fawkes?”

“Ah, Fawkes. A Fire Phoenix, the adventurers of their realm and the most common to be seen in our own.” He peered around as if he was judging himself from the point of view of a phoenix, “The other’s see us as a foul race, or at least they don’t care much because we – in balance - show no care for them. I can see their point.” He trailed off before suddenly shaking himself, “I’m getting carried away, where was I? Ah, yes.”

Pulling a paintbrush from a pot, he began to paint the clear gloop in a thin layer along the surface of the wood.

“The Royal Phoenix connects with those who are natural leaders and have power but also those who see people for who they are. Those like you.”

He paused his painting for a moment to stare at Harry again before continuing.

“But how are these fused together? The alder, the beech, the hair, and the feather? Just putting some animal matter inside of some plant matter does nothing, they must be connected in order to focus the magic. This wand has been soaking overnight in a solution that I only took it out of an hour ago. This solution is mostly the venom of Sanitatem Anguis, Latin for ‘healing snake’, better known in the muggle world as the Common European Adder. One of the only magical animals to hide in plain sight.  It has brilliant venom, hemotoxic – destroys their red-blood cells – but it’s perfect for fusing magic together, with the correct spells of course.”

The wandmaker paused his speaking for a moment to finish what he was working on and set it back on the stand, before putting away his tools, all while Harry stared transfixed.

“After the fusion, a focus stone of agate, which is considered a protective stone, is inserted. It is believed to attract strength and offer protection from bad dreams, stress and the draining of energy. Agate is said to balance energies and awaken talents, the perfect focus stone for someone with a large amount of power and responsibility, magical or otherwise.”

He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers together.

“The final step of the process is the one you just witnessed, the varnish as it were. It seals the venom into the wand and protects it from most damage; strengthening the wood and protecting it from fire and water, mould, and rot. To a certain extent of course, the magic fades over time, but adding in your blood and hair keys it into you as that it not only strengthens itself through you, but makes it so that only you can use the wand. It will feel dead to all others, not matter how well the components suit them. Although I suspect that you will never find another who suits this wand as well as you do, it is unique even as far as crafted wands go, and truly extraordinary.”

Leaning forwards, he almost whispered, “I was right about what I said, those five years ago. I expect Great things from you, Lord Potter. Great things that I suspect are already beginning to happen.”

Harry bowed his head in respect, “Thank you, your reassurance is refreshing. And please, call me Harry. You are a true Master of your craft Master Ollivander, you have a depth of understanding that most cannot even begin to grasp.”

“Harry. Call me Garrick, I believe that we will be meeting many times in the future. And I have been crafting for many years, more years than most realise. Practise makes perfect of course, you can develop an understanding in anything if you study it for long enough. You could be a Master of any craft you choose. Perhaps that craft is wand-creation?”

“Perhaps.” Harry smiled softly, “I have a big job to do for now, but maybe times will change in the future. Do you offer apprenticeships?”

“For those I like.” The wandmaker considered him for a moment, “Perchance spread the word to those close to you who show interest.”

Harry got the feeling that Ollivander had a certain person I mind, but unlike when Dumbledore didn’t tell him something, he felt like this was how it was meant to be. He would find out when the time was right.

“Of course.”

“Excellent.” He stood and clapped his hands lightly together, “The coating is dry now. Final checks.”

Lifting his wand, he cast a spell that Harry didn’t catch at the wand on the stand and they watched as a 3D image appeared above it.

A single long, purple feather, tipped in silver, with silky, obsidian hairs plaited around it. They were suspended in a clear fluid that had been set and encased in dual spiral of wood.

“Is that the wand, from the inside?” he leaned forwards and stared.

“Yes. A useful little spell to check the interior conditions of wands before we sell them or if they stop working. She’s a beauty.”

The grey eyes sparkled blue as he cancelled the charm, lifted the wand from the stand and handed it to Harry.

As soon as it came into contact with his skin, he felt warmth spreading, not just down his arm but through his whole body, right down to the tips of his toes as purple, silver, and black sparks flew from the wand in large quantities. He could feel the magic, his magic, bubbling up in him in a way that he had never before, like he could finally feel the full extent of his magic.

“You couldn’t feel the increase in your magic levels before because your old wand was no longer fully suited to your magic, there was something in your core that changed which wand chose you all those years ago, something that I suspect is top secret.”

Harry nodded, speechless.

“Part of Voldemort was effecting my magic, that’s why the phoenix wand chose me, but it’s gone now so it doesn’t work properly.”

He nodded slowly, “It still works, it just doesn’t give you accesses to your core in the way your new wand does, I’d keep it for emergencies if I were you, always a good idea to have a spare wand, especially at this time.” He peered around the room again.

“There’s a high chance that Voldemort will want the same information about wands, and I doubt he will ask nicely. Are you going to be safe?”

“There is no way of knowing, even for me.”

“Do you have a portkey? To get out if they come.”

“There is no point, they – the Death Eaters – always put up anti-portkey wards before they attack.”

“Huh, always good to know everything about the enemy, don’t want to underestimate them.” Harry spoke distractedly as he was thinking, his eyes finally alighting on the eagle crested ring on his finger, “But there might be a way around that.” He smiled a little before standing and bowing to the Master Wandmaker, “Garrick, please let me know if you need anything, I am very grateful for the wand and for the advice.”

“Did I give you advice?”

“Everything you say is advice. Everything the wise say is advice; you can learn something from everything.”

“Spoken like a true owner of such a wand. I extend the invitation of help to you also, Harry.”

Five minutes later, Harry left the shop having his paid, his invisibility cloak pulled over his head, his old wand in an invisible leg holster for emergencies and his new wand snug and safe in the holster on his left forearm.

He smiled softly as he made his followed the directions that Draco had given him; up to Gringotts, right, through the stone arch into the courtyard. Or what looked like a courtyard but was actually the entrance to Excelsior Alley.

Stepping through the arch, he moved to the side and pulled to a stop so that he could take in the new sights without risking someone crashing into his invisible self.

There was a calmer feeling in the air than in Diagon, which was always alive with bustle and noise, even this far into the war. Excelsior Alley by comparison was a spring breeze to Diagon’s sea wind; relaxing but still uplifting.

All of the buildings were odd shapes, as they were in Diagon, but these had a cleaner look, impressive in a different way, with lighter but neutral colours and neat little shop fronts.

Weathered but not worn, old but not shabby, an exact reflection of the customs of the old wizarding world that had stood the test of time.

The two Alleys felt like difference between Ron and Draco, the same age but brought up differently, in different corners of the same society. One a little rough but welcoming, the other cooler and more distant but helpful once you had earnt it.

There were a few people around, more in the shops than walking around the street, which was a lot smoother than the bumpy cobbles that Harry was used to.

The shops were those that you couldn’t find in Diagon; high-class restaurants with food from all over the world, expensive looking jewellery and clothing, furniture, books, alcohol. Everything that the old families needed to run their Houses.

After standing for a few minutes, Harry made his way towards the shop Draco had told him about.

It was a small shop half-way down the Alley that seemed to be made mostly of gleaming glass and light pine wood, with gold letters across the top proclaiming its name, ‘Elena Hart Jewellers’.

He checked who was around before pulling off his cloak and stepping through the door, a tinkling sounding deep within the shop and a round pace with sharp hazel eyes and framed by short honey hair appearing from around a door at the back.

“Lord Potter, a surprise and a pleasure to see you in my shop.” The voice was deeper than the sweet face would suggest, but it still had a musical quality to it. She looked to be around thirty, quite young for a shopkeeper in the wizarding world.

“Miss Hart, I presume?” Harry gave a low bow and a soft but sure smile, “The pleasure is all mine, although I had to admit I am curious. Do you know who I am because of what happened when I was one or what happened over the weekend?”

“You presume correctly, Lord Potter. Though to answer your question, I suspect that I would not have recognised you, had your new look not been in the paper this morning.”

“Ah newspapers, been in my life since I was one and I’m still not sure I know what I’m doing with them.” He allowed himself another smile, “Now, you were recommended to me Draco Black, formerly Draco Malfoy, he said that you had a fine collection of jewellery.”

“Ah, Heir Ma- Black. I’ve spent many an hour talking to him and his mother about jewellery, they both have a fine appreciation for the craft. What can I be doing for you?”

“I am looking for a watch, that is as close as possible to this design.” He pulled one of the watches that Hermione and Draco had charmed out of his pocket and handed it to her.

She examined it for a few moments before speaking again.

“With or without the extra features.”

“Without.”

Nodding, she gestured him further into the shop, “That I can do, this watch is one of mine. I sold a pair to young Heir Black back when he started Hogwarts.”

“The other he still has; he and a friend are charming them for our Council.” It was a risk to show her the charms on the watch, but Draco had been adamant of her trustworthiness, and Harry trusted Draco.

“Your Council? I read about this, the Dragon Council. But doesn’t that mean you will be needing more than three?”

“It does. We will be needing ten in total.”

“Luckily for you, I have many of this particular watch. I use it as a base for all custom designs as it is easily charmed, Heir Black chose well.”

When Harry left the shop a while later, he ready to go back to the Leaky and floo to Hogwarts until he saw an exotic animal shop that seemed to be calling to him. Not on a magical level, but just general excitement reminding him that he was still only fifteen.

Pushing his hood off his face (how better to make an entrance that with no body), he stepped into the shop and addressed the man behind the till.

“Do you known anyone who would be able to build me a custom vivarium?”

It was nearing six o’clock when the stone gargoyle that was a pair to the one guarding the staircase – albeit a lot smaller – spoke from his post by the door and scared Harry nearly off his chair.

“Severus Snape has given the password and is coming up the stairs, Headmaster.”

“Thank you.” He grinned at finally knowing how Dumbledore always knew who was at the door and decided to follow in his predecessors footsteps by not telling anyone else.

Hearing a knock on the door, he schooled his face and called, “Come in, Severus.”

The glare that crossed the man’s face almost made him loose it.

“I see you have made to follow in Dumbledore’s footsteps when it comes to purposefully annoying me.”

Harry smirked, standing up from his desk, “If my eyes start to twinkle, you must let me know.”

Severus snorted as he glanced around the room, freezing in shock at what he saw before him.

The top part of the bookcases that had covered three quarters of the wall had been taken out and replaced by a vivarium that snaked (pun intended?) around the room and was filled with lush foliage, rocky hiding places, logs, and a shallow pool at one end.

“What did you do?!”

Harry couldn’t help but grin, that was the biggest reaction he had ever got out of the Potion Master that wasn’t outrage.

“I got some pets.”

“Some? As in more than one?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled sheepishly, “I was planning on just getting a snake, but the one I chose had friends that wouldn’t be left behind.” Turning towards the viv, he slipped into parseltongue, “My lovelies, I have someone for you to meet.”

Out from a log hide-a-way slithered a snake, followed by what appeared to be a heard of smaller, four legged reptiles, with large tails and leopard-like spots all over their pretty bodies.

The small gang moved to an opening where Harry was holding his hand and moved along his arm until they were settled; the snake – which Severus could now see was about a meter long and a beautiful coppery colour with darker splodges along its length – was draped around his neck and the lizards each occupying a spot, one on each shoulder and one clinging to the top of his head.

“This is Rhea,” Harry stroked the head of the snake, who hissed happily in return, “She is a Copperhead Viper, three years old, and spent her two years in the wild before being injured and nursed back to health by a wizard, who then sent her to the shop in Excelsior Alley. She was there for six months before she imprinted – neither she nor the shop keeper really know how it happened – onto three young, abandoned Leopard Geckos who came into the shop. Thalatte, Auxo, and Carpo.”

He gestured to each of the creatures, who were each about fifteen centimetres long, in turn as he said their names.

“The Goddesses of the order of nature for geckos?”

“Yup. All four have been in the shop for the last six months because no one wanted them all together but Rhea explained to me what was happening, and I have plenty of room!” he gestured around happily before tickling, who was sat on the top of his head.

“Can you tell the difference between those three?” Severus asked when he had finally found his voice again.

“Of course. They sound different.”

“You can understand them?”

“Not exactly, I can kind of understand the general gist of what they are saying, but not exact words. Rhea can though, she translates for me.”

He placed and two of the geckos back in the viv, taking the last one in his hand and affectionately crooning to it in something that was half parseltongue and half English.

Snape shook his head, slightly exasperated at how quickly the young Headmaster had formed a clear bond with these creatures.

“I trust you have an antivenom?”

“Yes.” He patted a small box on his desk, “I don’t expect anything to happen, but it pays to be careful. Six vials, under stasis. I am going to give two vials to Poppy, keep one on me at all times and leave the other two here.”

Severus watched as Harry lifted the gecko to his face, who then put up his leg in an odd little wave.

“If you don’t mind me saying, you’re insane.”

“Sanity is overrated.”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh as Severus snorted exasperatedly and banged his head against the door frame once.

“If you do that again then you might forget why you can up here in the first place.” He pointed out, still chuckling as he placed the speckled gecko back with his friends in the viv and ushered Snape into one of the chairs by the fire.

The Potion Master glared a little at the armchair that he settled into and Harry sniggered.

“Would you prefer the bright purple it was before?”

A disdainful lip curl was all the answer he got on that particular topic, “I am actually on a two-part mission. I needed to talk to you about something, but I have also been sent here to check you are still alive, as no-one has heard from you since you got back this morning. From what I can see,” he rolled his eyes, “Alive yes, sain no.”

“As I said, sanity is overrated. And you do work here too.”

“I supposed that if I had a sensible amount of sanity then I would not work here.” Snape conceded.

“No one has a sensible amount of sanity.” Harry stood and retrieved something from his desk, “For the record, I have been sending letters and creating this.” He handed the something to Severus.

“A feather quill? I hate to break it to you, but these have been around since before Merlin.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “It’s a portkey.”

“A portkey? They have been around for a while as well. Invented by the Founders, I believe.”

“Yes. The original design was invented by the Founders, they all put work into it, but I’ve made an alternative version.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because portkeys can be blocked with wards, which makes them useless over half of the time.” Severus nodded slowly in agreement, “So I’ve made a new type of portkey that won’t be blocked by the wards.”

“I didn’t know that you knew how to craft spells.”

“The Ravenclaw ring. It took me a while to work it out, but I got there in the end.”

“Ah. Well, it’s a good principle, and it will work for a while, but what is stopping the Death Eaters from creating a new ward?”

Harry smirked, “Because I purposefully crafted it so that a ward for either would cancel the other out. If you put up a ward for the Founder’s portkey, then you can still use one of mine and vice versa, but if you try to put up a ward for both then they would both fail because of the composition of the spell.”

“Impressive.” Severus wasn’t one for stroking egos, but this idea did take some clever – dare he say Slytherin – thinking that he had to appreciate, “Although you need to find a better name for it.”

“Thank you. All I have to do now is make sure that people have one of each portkey, so they can escape if needed. And I guess you’re right about the name.”

“Who do you plan to give them to?”

“The Council, the staff, possibly a few friends who are going to be in danger by being close to me. Oh, and Garrick.”

“Garrick?”

“Yes, Garrick Ollivander. I have a feeling that Voldemort is going to come after him soon, looking for answers to the same questions I had, but he will probably use different extraction methods.”

“I didn’t realise that you were on first name bases with Master Ollivander. And what answers? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“We are, as of this morning. He was kind enough to guide me through the basics of the fascinating process that is wand crafting. Answers about why my wand connected to Voldemort’s in the graveyard. It turns out that because our wands share brother cores, they cannot be made to duel each other, so I had a new wand crafted for myself.”

He pulled it out of the holster on his arm and presented it smoothly, “Alder, and Beech wood. Thestral hair and a Royal Phoenix feather with a focus stone of agate.”

“An interesting combination.”

“Garrick would agree with you. I am used to being unusual at this point. I may as well embrace it.” Harry shrugged, replacing the wand carefully, “So, we have talked about what I have spent my afternoon doing, you know that I am still alive, but I believe you said that you had something to talk to me about?”

“Yes.” Snape paused, looking possibly the most unsure that Harry had ever seen him, “I need to tell you something, about the Dark Lord, that I feel Dumbledore should have told you already.”

Harry cocked his head slightly, “I got Dumbledore to tell me quite a bit of information yesterday, so I may already know.”

Severus looked surprised, “He doesn’t usually divulge his secrets easily.”

“No, but I shocked it out of him.” the Potions Master looked curious, so he elaborated slightly, “I told him some elements of my home life that he didn’t know then revealed that I knew I was a horcrux.”

“How very Slytherin.” He looked like he wanted to ask more about his home life, having only heard a little a few days previous, but refrained, instead nodding, “What did he tell you of the Prophecy?”

Harry gave him a critical look, but answered anyway, “He recited it word for word, and told Neville and I that it could have applied to either of us until Voldemort marked me as his equal.” He gestured to his forehead, “Also that it was made by the Divination Professor he was interviewing – I assume Sybil Trelawney by how protective he is of her – at the Hog’s Head and that the first half was heard by a Death Eater, who told Voldemort, who decided that it meant me.”

There was for a silence for a minute as Severus merely nodded, seemingly gathering his thoughts, “I never told you how I became a spy.”

Slightly surprised at the sudden change of topic, Harry frowned, “No, you didn’t.”

“I wasn’t a spy from the beginning, I joined the Death Eaters of my own free will as soon as I left school. It wasn’t because I believe in all the nonsense he was sprouting, I am after all not a pureblood myself, although by mother was, but because they could offer me protection as no one else could and because they needed potioneers, so they gave me the funds I needed to get my Mastery. I’m not trying to make myself into some hero however, I did join of my own free will and there is a certain price to joining, even as a potioneer.”

He paused, checking that Harry knew what he was saying without him having to spell it out.

“But I never took joy in it the way that many of my friends did. I happily served the Dark Lord… until I was in the Hog’s Head one day and heard the beginnings of a prophecy about my Master around July of 1980. I heard ‘the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies’ before I was dragged away by Aberforth. I reported this to my Master happily, thinking that it would get me in favour with him, and it did, I was promoted to his personal potioneer.

“However, my delight quickly turned to horror when I found out who he thought the prophecy was referring to. As I have told you, I was close to your mother and I begged the Dark Lord to save her. I knew that I couldn’t persuade him to leave you or your father, he saw both of you as too much of a threat – your father was a pureblood but a fine Auror - so I tried to save your mother even though she would have hated me for it if you had both died and she survived.

“The Dark Lord didn’t understand that I loved her, merely thought that I lusted after her and wanted a play-thing.” Both looked revolted at this, “But I let him think that as I knew he would not understand, and he agreed that he would give her the choice to step away from you and live. I knew that there was no chance she would let him kill you, so I went to Dumbledore, explained everything, and begged for help. He agreed to let me be a spy and I have been feeding him information ever since, even while the Dark Lord was in hiding, as I was still in contact with that circle.

He bowed his head, “So, it is my fault that your parents are dead.”

Harry ran his hand through his hair and sighed softly, “No it’s not.” Their eyes met from where Severus had been staring at the floor, “It’s natural to feel guilty about someone dying. There’s a part of me that thinks it’s my fault they died, after all, they were killed for protecting me from a prophecy, how many more will die in the name of protecting me before this war is over? I know that I can’t stop people from protecting me, it’s the job of a parent to be there for their child, and it’s definitely not my fault that there is a prophecy about me, but a small part of me still blames myself.”

Snape opened his mouth to talk but Harry shook his head.

“I’m not saying that’s it’s not your fault because it’s mine, I’m saying that isn’t not your fault. You joined the Death Eaters, at the end of the day that was your choice, however there were factors that lead to that which could have changed the course of history. If you had befriended my Dad instead of making an enemy of him then he could have funded your Mastery as easily as Voldemort, and you probably wouldn’t have become a Death Eater. If you hadn’t called my Mum a mudblood then she might have been able to stop you from joining. What I am saying is that there are many factors that effected your life, so many ‘what ifs’, but you can’t change anything now.

“You didn’t kill my parents, Voldemort did: in cold blood. You’ve carried that guilt on you for years and I can see in your face that you regret every minute of your Death Eater days. Sixteen years of guilt and regret? I think that is punishment enough, you need to move on.” He stopped and sighed lightly, “I send a letter to Andromeda this afternoon; I’m meeting her tomorrow to talk about her handling sensitive information then she can talk to you and Sirius.”

Severus was a silent for a full minute before he finally nodded, “Thank you. Just send for me when you’re ready for me.” He stood and straightened his robes, “Are you coming down to dinner?”