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Гарри Поттер

Гарри Поттер и сумасшедшие идиоты

Автор:

Синик

Выполняя первое задание Турнира Трех Волшебников, Гарри видит

свой шанс сразить своих врагов – и пользуется им. Вот Гарри,

который умеет думать и рассуждать. Really Bash!AD, EWE, Clueful!HP

Eventual HP/HG/DG/FD NL/HA/SB и другие. Без извинений! АУ.

Рейтинг:

Художественная литература M

– Английский – Драма – [Гарри П., Гермиона Г., Флер Д., Дафна Г.] –

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24.04.2018, 08:58:49

– Опубликовано:

07.07.2017, 10:27:49

– id: 12562072

1. A Plan Comes Together

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

A/N1: Yeah, yeah. I've written another one. This one is gonna top out

well over three quarters of a million words. So, if a short story is what

you're chasing, this won't be it.

A/N2: Time-wise, this story has a very slow start. There's a lot that

happens within a very short time frame. As such, don't expect this story

to 'gallop along' until all that needs to be told about is actually told

about.

A/N3: This story is essentially already written. So, don't try and bug me

with your ideas of where you think it needs to go. It won't happen.

Period.

'Nuff said.

Chapter One - A Plan Comes Together

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

It had finally arrived. Harrison 'Harry' James Potter, Gryffindor fourth

year, Boy-Who-Lived, orphan and unwilling fourth competitor 'slash'

champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament had been preparing for this day

for the past three weeks. The day of the first task.

Actually, he'd been preparing for this moment for a lot longer than that,

but that had all been psychological.

Just over three weeks earlier he was sitting at the Gryffindor House table

in the Great Hall of Hogwarts castle, hoping against hope that this school

year, his fourth at the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and

Wizardry in south-western Scotland, would be free of threats to his life. If

it was, it would be the opposite of his first three.

This year, at the Welcoming Feast of the first of September, the

Headmaster had stood and announced, among other notices, to the

school that the school Quidditch competition had been cancelled. He

announced that in its place would be the Tri-Wizard Tournament held

between the so-called three major schools of Europe - Hogwarts,

Beauxbatons Academy of Magic of France and the Durmstrang Institute

of Bulgaria.

He was very thankful when the next part of the announcement stated

only those wizards and witches of-age - that is, those over seventeen -

would be permitted to enter. It meant there was then supposed to be no

chance of him being a competitor in what was clearly a very dangerous

competition.

When representatives of the other two schools arrived on the thirtieth of

October, the students were then only given twenty four hours to submit

their names to be considered for their school's champion and competitor

in the Tournament. That's how he'd found out the draw to determine

those names would occur on the thirty-first of October.

And how did they submit their names? Why, it was by dropping a slip of

parchment on which was written their name and school into a magical

artefact called the Goblet of Fire.

The thirty-first of October, Hallowe'en. That day had been particularly

nasty for the young man. It was the day of the year his parents had been

killed and he had been marked by the jagged scar on his forehead.

It was day when, in first year, the possessed Professor Quirinus Quirrell

had burst into the hall screaming about a troll being loose in the school;

the troll he subsequently helped kill on the second floor while rescuing a

fellow first year Gryffindor, Hermione Granger.

In second year it was the day the caretaker's cat, Mrs Norris, had been

petrified in a corridor on the second floor not far from that same

bathroom; and began the nine months of Harry being accused as the Heir

of Slytherin and shunned by practically everyone in the school except for

Granger and another boy, Ron Weasley.

And in third year, it was the day they had to sleep on the floor of the

Great Hall because a supposed psychopath killer had attacked the portrait

of the fat lady, the guardian to the Gryffindor common room, and

believed to be trying to kill Harry.

Now it was fourth year and, on that same day, his name had somehow

come out of that powerful magical artefact as the fourth name of three to

declare him a competitor. He should have anticipated it.

He did.

Harry Potter was not foolish; though he had given every indication of

himself being just that since the day he first stepped foot into the school

back on the first of September, 1991. He knew he was being

manipulated. He knew he was being used. And he knew his primary

manipulator was the powerful Albus Dumbledore A man who was

Headmaster of his school; Chief Warlock of magical Britain's legislative

body, the Wizengamot; Supreme Mugwump of the magical world's

version of the United Nations, the International Confederation of

Wizards; supposed Leader of the Light and his so-called magical

guardian.

He did not have the magical power or knowledge to directly confront the

man. So, he bided his time. He needed evidence against the man of his

misdeeds. And he needed that evidence to be so resoundingly proven or

provable the manipulative old man would not be able to use his authority

or extensive knowledge to skate free of the crimes for which he should

surely be convicted. Plus, he needed to present that evidence in such a

way that the old man could not shut him up before he presented it, in

full.

The first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament gave him that golden

opportunity and he seized it with both hands.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Growing up with his maternal aunt, Petunia, her abusive bully of a

husband, Vernon and their only child and son, Dudley, Harry knew he

was different.

His aunt and uncle had tried to have him believe his parents were drunks

and a whore who died in car crash. The same car crash they told him left

him with the jagged scar on his forehead. By the time he was six he knew

both of those 'truths' were, in fact, lies.

They tried to tell him magic didn't exist and he'd be beaten and tossed

into his cupboard every time he slipped up and mentioned something

about it. He knew this 'truth' was also a lie.

Then came the day his first Hogwarts letter arrived. Again, he'd slipped

up. Stunned at receiving a letter, he'd carried it with the rest of the mail

into the dining room. His cousin had seen it and snatched it out of his

hand, loudly decrying Harry had 'stolen' a letter.

When his aunt and uncle had seen it, both had paled in not a little fear.

His uncle immediately burned it in the fireplace and he was again tossed

into his cupboard for the day.

However, when he was let out he was told to move into 'Dudley's second

bedroom'; which led to Dudley throwing a massive tantrum.

The next day, more letters arrived; apparently, the same as the first.

That then started the next few days of Vernon doing everything he could

to stop the letters turning up. He tried to board off the fireplace, board

off the mail slot, everything. Letters turned up rolled up inside a delivery

of a dozen fresh chicken eggs. Petunia shredded them in her food

processor.

The next day the letters poured out of the kitchen chimney. Vernon had

had enough.

So, he bundled everyone into his company car and they drove away.

However, the first place they stopped, the letters found them again. A

hundred of them, this time.

They immediately moved again and Vernon took them out by boat to a

hut upon a small rocky island.

That night, at midnight, a giant of a man arrived and 're-educated' Harry

of the truth about how he was a wizard. However, Harry already knew

that. He also knew he had to fake it and make it look like he didn't know.

And that started him on the whole idea of hiding what he knew even

from the wizarding beings.

He had already learned to bide his time.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Over the next three-plus years he had to collect his evidence as stealthily

as possible. Yes, there were the occasional slip-ups, but he was able to get

beyond them.

When the headmaster, Dumbledore, returned to him his family heirloom

invisibility cloak his first Christmas, he made use of it; but not just in the

way Dumbledore thought he would.

During that same first Christmas break, during a short period when he'd

learned Dumbledore would be away for a couple of days, he made his

first moves. He went back to Gringotts for a short visit.

He had to pay them a pretty penny for their help and discretion; but help

him and keep quiet about it they did.

He'd also taken a great risk at the end of his second year, when he had to

show a little of his true brilliance. He quickly devised a plan to free the

house elf, Dobby, from his abusive master, Lucius Malfoy, right in front

of the Headmaster. And struck.

That same night, when he was able to sneak out of his dorm and be alone

for a few minutes, he called that little elf to him. Less than a minute

later, Dobby was secretly bonded to him.

He felt that, while it was a small risk, by having a house elf of his own he

could accomplish quite a few things he could not do on his own without

too high a risk. The risk was already becoming too high his carefully

crafted persona would be seen as the façade it was and having a house elf

would alleviate much of that.

Now, three-plus years later since he first re-entered the wizarding world,

he finally had his golden opportunity.

He had his letters prepared and, as soon as his name came out of the

Goblet as he highly suspected it would, he sent them that same night.

One went to Madam Director Amelia Bones, Director of the Department

of Magical Law Enforcement, magical Britain's most senior law

enforcement officer. He invited her to the first task as his special guest.

Each competitor was allowed one special guest to sit in the judges box

with the judges. He chose her.

His letter to her also strongly suggested she bring with her quite a few

aurors, the police force of wizarding Britain. He was going to put on a

show, he claimed, they'd be talking about for years.

She wrote back stating it would be her pleasure to be his special guest

and her honour to attend. However, she also wanted to know what he

was planning that would need so many aurors. To her annoyance he

refused to tell her.

His second letter went to the Minister suggesting he turn up. His third

went to the editor of the Daily Prophet, magical Britain's daily newspaper.

And the fourth went to Wizarding Media, the International wizarding

world's version of Associated Press. Both were also encouraged to attend.

When Ron Weasley, his supposed best friend, turned his back on him

calling him a liar and cheat because his name came out of the Goblet,

Harry pretended to be hurt. Inside, he was jumping for joy. It meant one

less person watching him too closely.

His only major hurdle to finalising setting everything up was Hermione

Granger. Though he was annoyed she'd barely left him alone to get things

done, he was also quite touched she'd both believed he didn't submit his

name and stuck by him. Even when everyone else was calling him a liar

and a cheat, she remained steadfast. He was emotionally touched by her

active support.

However, even she was not let in on the plan he had devised. He felt her

unwavering obedience to authority carried a risk she would tattle on him.

And he could not risk that.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

And now the day was finally here.

He'd met Madam Bones a short while earlier and watched as she rubbed

Dumbledore's nose into how she was 'Mister Potter's Special Guest' and,

therefore, 'would be sitting in the Judge's box within arm's reach' of the

headmaster as the champions went through their first tasks. Aside, Harry

asked her to keep a close eye on the old man.

When she'd asked why, he replied, "I'm very sure he's going to try to

interfere with what I have planned. You cannot allow him to do that."

Then he said, "And please have one of your on duty aurors keep a very

close eye on Alastor Moody. I'll explain during my task."

When she again asked why, he just reiterated, "I'll explain during the

task. You're going to be quite shocked."

He'd also met with the editor of the Daily Prophet, Barnabas Cuffe, and

given the man a serve about how Rita Skeeter's article on him from the

wand weighing ceremony was nothing but fabrications and lies. Skeeter

was standing just behind his shoulder when he berated the man.

"Get control of her, Mister Cuffe," he'd ordered the older portly man. "Or

the House of Potter will be declaring an honour feud against you and your

paper. And, yes, I will be calling in the full Alliance to join me."

The editor had immediately blanched before he quickly stammered out

an apology and promised to ensure Skeeter would not write any more lies

about him.

"I will be holding you to that, Mister Cuffe," he firmly stated right back.

"Just one foot out of line and my second will immediately be sent to call

on you."

"B-But, it would have been Skeeter who wrote―"

"And you who approved what she wrote for publication," Harry cut in. "As

such, you are responsible for what slander is published. It cannot appear

in the Daily Prophet without you signing-off on it."

Harry would prefer the woman wouldn't write any stories about him at

all, but he was happy enough with what he'd been promised.

Knowing Skeeter had stood right behind her editor and had heard every

word the man had said, pleased Harry. Cuffe had immediately taken his

leave, spun about, grabbed Skeeter by her arm and dragged her off for a

'chat' under a privacy charm.

While you couldn't hear what he'd said to her, both their expressions told

the story. Harry hoped Skeeter was now 'heeled'.

The representatives from Wizarding Media had also heard what he'd told

the man and promised their articles about him would always be truthful,

but maybe a touch fanciful.

"That's fine," he'd nodded back. "Outright lies, though, will see me and

mine come after the pair of you with my wand drawn, fire in my eyes

and revenge in my heart. Understood?"

They heard and understood.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

When he was the fourth to draw his dragon from the Acromantulan silk

bag that idiot, Bagman, offered him, he mentally breathed a sigh of relief

he was to be the final competitor to face the first task. It meant the three

true competitors would not be held up by what he was going to do.

The other three champions all competed in their tasks, averaging

between three and five minutes to complete them. And finally he was

called into the arena by Bagman using a Sonorus charm.

"And here's our final champion, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and

Wizardry, Haaaarr-rryyyy Potterrrrr...!"

As the last one left in the tent, Harry had no one to wish him luck as he'd

wished the other three competitors before him. "Right!" he muttered to

himself.

"Dobby!" he softly called.

With a muted pop of elf apparation the little elf appeared next to him.

Quietly Dobby asked, "Yes, Master Harry, Sir?"

Harry was glad that, over the past year and a quarter, he'd managed to

get the little elf to calm down somewhat. Dobby still clearly idolised him,

but he was nowhere near as excitable about it as he once was.

"Everything set?" asked Harry.

"Yes, Master Harry," replied Dobby.

"Remember, when I snap my fingers, bring me my 'Bag of Destruction'.

And do not let yourself be seen."

"Yes, Master Harry."

"Thank you," he replied. "I should call you in about thirty seconds."

"Yes, Master Harry." And Dobby popped away again.

Bracing himself up, Harry drew his wand and strode from the tent and

into the arena.

As he stepped within he could already hear the grumbles and muttered

booing coming from some of the audience. Even now they believed he'd

somehow found a way to cheat and get the Goblet to spit his name out as

a competitor.

To his right, at the other end of the arena, Harry could see the Hungarian

Horntail dragon he'd drawn shackled and chained down near a pile of

rocks that had a dragon's nest sitting atop.

On seeing him, the dragon let out a warning roar, but made no move to

head towards him.

'Ready to be utterly embarrassed, you bastards?' Harry thought to himself

with a smirk.

"Your time starts now, Mister Potter," called the enhanced voice of

Bagman.

Harry immediately raised his own wand and cast his own Sonorus charm.

"Thank you very much, Mister Bagman," he replied. "Now, I remind you

all of the conditions of the tasks of the Tournament. You may not help or

hinder a competitor. I doubt any of you are willing to help so that only

leaves hinder.

"By hinder I mean the following: If you cast any charm or other spell on

me, that is hindering. If you cast any charm or spell to interfere with

what I'm doing, that is hindering. If you take any other form of action to

interfere with what I am doing, that is hindering. I include silencing

charms and masking charms of any sort to be hindering. If you hinder me

I can, under the rules of the Tournament, call on the Goblet of Fire to

strip you of your magic. And, if I determine you have hindered me - be

very aware - I will call on the Goblet of Fire to do just that.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the Judges' Box, though she was surprised by what Harry had just

said, Madam Director Amelia Bones also had an eye on Dumbledore who

sat one row closer and just off to her right at the Judges' table.

As soon as she saw the old man reach for and begin to draw his wand,

she snap-drew her own and had the tip of it pressed into the back of the

old man's neck in only a moment.

Dumbledore froze.

"Don't even think about it, Albus," she quietly but firmly stated.

Before he could even ask what she was doing she said, "Carefully, finish

drawing your wand and hand it to me. Grip it by fingertips only by the

middle of the shaft as you do so and keep it pointing down. If I see it

pointing anywhere near me or Mister Potter, I'll stun you on the spot."

"Amelia?" he quietly asked.

"Do it!" she quietly snapped. "Or, I'll stun you anyway and take your

wand."

Without another word, Dumbledore carefully finished drawing his wand

and, as instructed, handed it to her over his left shoulder.

Plucking it from his fingers she said, "Thank you. We can't have you

doing anything foolish, now, can we?"

"Now, Amelia, there was no need―" he began.

"Be silent!" she hissed. "You will be silent or I will silence you. If you then

wandlessly remove that silencing charm I'll stun you."

"Amelia―" he began again.

With an immediate twirl and jab of her wand, she quietly incanted,

"Silencio!"

As she'd threatened, Dumbledore was immediately silenced.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Down in the arena, Harry was unaware of what had just transpired in the

VIP section. However, he had a pretty good idea it would happen sooner

or later.

"From now until I have completed my task, I better not hear you. If I hear

you, I will think you are attempting to distract me. If I think you are

trying to distract me, I will consider it hindering," he continued.

"Mister Bagman, you are to immediately cancel your Sonorus charm. If I

hear you during my task, I will believe you are attempting to hinder me

and call on the Goblet to strip you of your magic."

Harry then heard an immediate and almost quietly muttered, "Quietus!"

"Headmaster Dumbledore, you and your staff are also so warned. Staff of

the other schools, so are you. Students, you are also warned. Guests, with

the exceptions of the currently active staff of the wizarding British DMLE

who are currently on duty, so long as what you are doing is in the course

of your duties and not an attempt to hinder me in my task, you are not.

Such is the power of the Goblet of Fire; for the duration of the

Tournament, such is the authority I now hold.

"You have all now been warned. After your collective treatment of me

over the past few weeks I am not in a forgiving mood. Do not, for even a

moment, believe I will forgive your transgressions against me.

"I, Harrison James Potter, by right of primogenitor Head of the Noble and

Most Ancient House of Potter, do so swear it!"

Dumbledore gave a little start of shock upon hearing that. He was

absolutely positive Harry did not know of his heritage. He did not even

know the boy knew his true first name.

Harry gave it a moment for everyone to absorb what he'd just told them.

To a child, they all immediately shut up and looked back with

expressions ranging from shock to outright fear.

He continued, "You stupid, daft bastards in the Ministry and the Heads of

the three schools, clearly had no idea of what you were doing by using

the Goblet of Fire as the ultimate adjudicator for the Tournament. You've

given a fourteen year old and three other just-of-age wizards and witch

the absolute power to strip you of your magic, if not outright kill you.

And there's not a bloody thing you can do about it until the Tournament

has concluded. Think about that for a while, won't you?

"Next: As you're all now aware, my task is to get that golden egg sitting

in the dragon's nest over there," he pointed it out, "And take it back to

where I walked in," and indicated that point. "There were no other

instructions. In other words, I can take as long as I bloody like to

complete my task as there is no time limit. No limitations have been

placed on me. I can also go about it in whatever way I like, so long as I

accomplish the task.

"Has every one got that? That means that whatever I do is within the

rules of the task and the tournament. So, while what I do might seem

inconsequential or irrelevant to the task to you, does not mean it's against

the rules of the tournament. Therefore, just because you cannot

understand what I'm up to, does not mean you have the right to interfere

with what I'm doing."

Turning slightly to his right, he snapped his fingers.

Immediately, his dark khaki, British Army 'army surplus' echelon bag

appeared with a pop before him.

"I bet you're all wondering how I did that," he snarked. "Too bad I refuse

to tell you. If you cannot figure it out for yourselves, I think you're too

daft to be told."

Popping his wand back up his sleeve, he reached down and unzipped the

bag. From within the wizard-spaced interior, he pulled out a hip-height

pedestal and set it firmly on the ground. Then made sure it was as close

to level as he could get it by squirming it into the sod under the pedestal

base.

Next, he pulled out a pensieve and placed it atop the pedestal.

Next out of the bag was a common folding 'banana' sun lounger. He

immediately set it up so the pedestal was alongside it with about a three

foot separation and with the foot of it facing the judges section in the

stands. The pedestal was on the lounger's right.

Next came a novel with a bookmark within. He dropped that onto the

lounger.

And, finally, he drew out a rack of vials. Each was numbered and

contained memory strands.

One at a time and in sequential order, while holding the rack with his left

hand, he pulled out a vial and poured the memory contents into the

pensieve. As each strand went in, he tapped a rune on the edge of the

pensieve with his wand. This added them to show in the sequence they

were entered.

With all memory strands added he returned the rack of now empty vials

to the bag.

Turning back to the audience he redrew his wand and, once again, cast

Sonorus on himself. "Because it might take quite some time for me to

figure out just how I'm going to complete my task with only three and a

bit years of magical education under my belt, I've brought some...

entertainment... for you all.

"Be very aware: While the entertainment I'm providing for you is playing,

I'll be trying to figure out how to complete the task. I'll be concentrating

on that, so any distractions from you I will consider hindering me. Again,

you have been warned."

Cancelling the Sonorus he then tapped the activation rune on the

pensieve to show the memories in the air above the bowl.

As soon as the first began, he immediately enlarged it to about twice

human size.

The memory showed him, in his Hogwarts uniform, standing in a bare

white room. He called this 'Memory-Harry'. He'd recorded it in the Room

of Requirement, late at night.

Memory-Harry was speaking. "Testing... testing... one... two... three.

Testing... testing."

As the memory played, the real Harry adjusted the volume so that

everyone in the stands could clearly hear it.

"Testing... Testing... One... two... Are we ready yet, Harry?" asked

Memory-Harry.

"Yep, all set to go!" the real Harry loudly replied.

"Excellent!" said Memory-Harry, appearing as if he was looking back at

the real Harry. "Make yourself comfortable. This is going to take a while."

There was a short pause before he added a short bark of laughter and

said, "What am I saying? Of course you already know that. You set this

whole thing up!"

As the real Harry, now with everything set up, turned away from the

pensieve and went to the lounge, he loudly replied, "Damned straight!"

Then picked up his novel, turned and carefully sat on the lounger, before

then swinging his legs around to lie on it.

"I'm ready!" he loudly declared, opening the novel and lying back to read

it.

"Alright!" declared Memory-Harry, from where it looked like it was

watching him. It turned back to 'face front' facing the judges table, drew

his wand and held it to swear an oath. He intoned, "I, Harrison James

Potter, swear on my magic and my life that the memories you're about to

see played over the course of the beginning of my first task of the 1994

Tri-Wizard Tournament are a true account of my actual memories. As I

say, so I swear, so let it be written!"

Real-Harry looked up for a moment, gave a snort, and returned to

reading his book.

"Now that the oath is out of the way," said Memory-Harry, tucking his

wand away again. "Let's get on with them.

"Since this is going to take quite a while you should all know before we

begin that there is no time limit on completing the task. I can take as

long as I want. And I intend to do just that.

"So, if you had plans on leaving within the next fifteen minutes or so, I'll

disabuse you of that belief right now. You're going to be sitting there for

a while.

"If you need to visit the loo, do so. Just don't make a scene or any noise

while you do. Leave and return... quietly. Remember, if you distract me, it

may cost you your magic."

Memory-Harry let that hang for a moment before he continued. "Many of

you, at least those who were students during that year, have been left

wondering just what happened in Hogwarts during the last few weeks of

the 1991-92 school year. You've probably heard a great deal of rumours.

For example, what really happened to Professor Quirinus Quirrell? You

may even have started one or two of them yourselves. Now you're going

to learn the truth. Watch as I show you Harry's... my... memories of just

what happened.

"However, before we get to that and keeping this part of things

chronological, I'm going to show you a few scenes of what happened

during the year leading up to that."

"First is the troll incident of Hallowe'en, 1991. This is what happened in

the Great Hall during the Feast."

The memory was a short 'clip' of the students and staff all enjoying the

feast when Quirrell ran into the Hall and wailed about a troll loose in the

dungeons, before then fake-fainting. Then all the students panicking and

Dumbledore standing up and roaring for silence. The students calming

down. Dumbledore ordering the prefects to lead the Houses back to their

common rooms. And the students beginning to file out a lot more orderly

than there were only a few seconds earlier.

"Right," said Memory-Harry, coming back. "What's wrong with the scene

you just watched? First: When Quirrell apparently fainted, the first thing

I wanted to do was laugh. Why? Because he's supposed to be our DADA

Professor and he's fainting because he saw a troll? Yeah, right. And,

secondly, the way he supposedly fainted was so fake I thought he was

performing comedy. People, included witches and wizards, do not faint

like that. They topple forward like a bloody tree. And when it's on a hard

surface like the flagstones of the Hall, they'll usually break their nose,

teeth, jaw or similar.

"Next, Dumbledore ordered the prefects to lead their Houses back to their

common rooms. If I wasn't so stunned as to the absolute stupidity of that

I'd have probably laughed right there, irrespective of laughing at

Quirrell's comedy faint. 'Dumb-dumb-dore' obviously couldn't care less

for the safety and well-being of the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, because

he'd just ordered the prefects of both Houses to lead their housemates

into the dungeons seconds after being told that's where a bloody troll was!"

Memory-Harry allowed that to percolate through the minds of the

audience before he continued.

"Now while we Gryffindors were being led back up to the Gryffindor

Tower by that pompous arse, Percy Weasley - and there's a young man

who has his head stuck so far up his own arse it's amazing he can see

anything - I already knew that my House- and Year-mate, Hermione

Granger, had not been at the feast. Therefore, I easily deduced she would

not be aware of the danger. I had also earlier overheard two of my

housemates say she was in the girls' bathroom on the second floor, crying

her eyes out.

"So, I grabbed the person who was responsible for her crying her eyes out

in the first place - Ronald Weasley - and dragged him off in search of her,

once we reached the second floor.

"Just as we reached the second floor... Well, watch for yourselves."

Memory-Harry faded away again and up in the same space began the

memory of that incident, starting with the two boys running down the

corridor towards the bathroom.

It caught the sound of Hermione screaming in terror; the two boys

running into the bathroom; a quick plan to try and get Hermione out of

there and out of danger; Harry managing to scramble up on the troll's

back and shove his wand up its nose; Ron levitating the club and

dropping it on the troll's head, knocking it out; and the teachers turning

up a few seconds later. It ended there.

Memory-Harry popped back up and said, "And that's how we became

three."

There was a slight pause while he let that cogitate before moving on.

"This next one is a detention Hermione, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy and I

received after the first two and I were helping a friend out late at night.

Draco Malfoy received his because Minerva McGonagall justly realised he

had to also be out of his common room past curfew to have seen us to

dob us in to her.

"At that point I thought McGonagall might not be as dumb as most

wizards and witches had already proven to me they were. However, her

detention proved she actually was as dumb as I think most magicals are,

after all. And this is what happened."

The image changed into the four first years with Hagrid and his dog,

Fang, going into the Forbidden Forest to find what was killing the

unicorns; them splitting up under Hagrid's orders; Harry and Malfoy

coming across 'something' feeding on the blood of an injured unicorn; it

attacking them; and the immediate aftermath with the centaurs, before

fading away.

"Now, colour me wrong," said Memory-Harry. "But, I was under the

impression the Forbidden Forest was, in fact, forbidden. So, what the

bloody hell was going through the minds of the staff of Hogwarts to have

the school gamekeeper, a man no longer permitted to use a wand, take

four eleven year olds with little to no magical education and trudge

through the Forbidden Forest... at night... and going after something

dangerous enough to injure or kill unicorns?

"Is it any wonder that, by then, my opinion of adult magicals left a lot to

be desired? Even back then, as far as I was concerned adult witches and

wizards are stupid!"

"Professor McGonagall told us, while we waited in the antechamber off

the Entrance Hall before our Sortings, that our Houses would be like our

families. If that's the way families treat each other in the wizarding

world, I find myself relieved I'm an only-child orphan!"

Pausing for a sigh, he continued, "Moving on! We now come to a few

days short of the end of the school year. This is what had most people

wondering what had happened to Quirinus Quirrell. And, what the

bloody hell was down that out-of-bounds third floor corridor.

"We start from just after Hermione, Ron and I have entered that corridor.

We were under the mistaken impression Severus Snape was trying to

steal what we'd already learned to be Flamel's Philosopher's Stone being

protected in that corridor."

Memory-Harry faded away. The next scene was of the eleven year old

versions of Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger entering the so-

called out-of-bounds third floor corridor of the castle.

It showed Hermione using a first year unlocking charm, Alohomora, to

unlock the door. The Cerberus, asleep while a magical harp played itself

in the corner. Harry moving the Cerberus's foot off the trapdoor and Ron

opening it. The three of then dropping down the resultant hole. And

landing in the Devil's Snare.

Hermione then telling them to just relax and they'd drop through. The

three dropping through one by one and coming out underneath it, before

moving on to the room of flying keys. Harry taking one of the brooms

aloft and catching the right key before the rest suddenly started chasing

him. Him flinging the key into Hermione's hands and her unlocking the

door with it. The three of them then ducking through the door and

slamming it shut just in time to hear the keys ram the door on the other

side.

Next came the chess-set. The memory showed portions of this with

Memory-Harry stepping in and saying only portions of the game would

be shown as it would take too long. Ron getting knocked off the knight

and landing, unconscious, on the floor. Harry checkmating the opposing

king. Both rushing to Ron's side. Hermione telling Harry he was

breathing and, therefore, alive. And both going on.

As that memory faded away Memory-Harry then stepped forth again and

explained, "Now, at this point, we're now down to two. However, I want

you all to remember that, at this point, only one spell has been cast - the

first year Alohomora charm. It took no advanced magic. This is

something that every witch and wizard that's read the first year Charms

book could have done. Every student, who was in Hogwarts at the time,

could have done this."

He faded out and the memory continued. Harry and Hermione crossed

through the room with the unconscious or dead troll in it. Then stepped

into the room with the potions puzzle.

Hermione then quickly figured out the puzzle, picked up the right potions

vial and offered it to Harry. Her telling him he was a great wizard and

urging him to go on while she went back. She also showed him which

vial to drink to go back. Took a swig of it herself and walked back out

the way they walked in.

"And now we're down to one," said Memory-Harry.

In the memory Harry then chugged down the vial Hermione had given

him and stepped through to go on.

Then it showed Quirrell standing in front of the Mirror of Erised and

Harry trying to sneak about. Him being spotted and Quirrell binding him

with an Incarcerous charm. Quirrell and Voldemort discussing things.

And Quirrell unwrapping his turban and turning about.

Back in the arena, and though Harry had warned them to remain silent,

there were quite a few horrified gasps coming from the now very

attentive audience.

Real-Harry lowered his book and glared about, silencing them all again,

before returning to his book.

By then, Memory-'Quirrellmort' had grabbed Harry and stuck him in front

of the mirror.

Next came the grappling. Quirrellmort screaming as Harry's hands began

to turn him to ash. Harry getting outside his grip before returning and

laying his hands on the possessed man again. And Quirrell finally

collapsing and dying.

Almost immediately afterwards, the wraith of Voldemort rose from the

body and charged Harry. And the memory going blank.

Memory-Harry returned to the image and said, "So, as you witnessed, I

killed Quirinus Quirrell. Yes, he was possessed. Yes, it was by the shade

of Voldemort. And, yes, a possessed person is basically a walking corpse

that just hasn't died yet. The moment Quirrell allowed Voldemort to

possess him, he was a walking dead man. But, that still does not mean I

didn't kill him.

"Now, lets go through those supposed traps that were... hardy-har-har...

meant to stop a dark wizard getting their hands on the Philosopher's

Stone. The first door was locked by a simple lock able to be opened by a

simple first year Alohomora charm. So, any and every student in the

school could get past it.

"Then we have Hagrid's part of the sequence; the Cerberus. The Cerberus

could be put to sleep by playing music to it. And, wouldn't you know it,

Hagrid gifted me a flute the recently previous Christmas. Sound fishy? It

did to me.

"Next was the Devil's Snare. Easily bypassed by simply relaxing. That was

obviously Pomona Sprout's part. And easy enough to understand how to

get past when I discovered our resident Herbology prodigy, Neville

Longbottom, was told by Albus Dumbledore to tell Hermione how to not

get caught by it.

"Then comes the room with the flying keys, with a door that couldn't be

unlocked by an Alohomora Charm. This was obviously Flitwick's

contribution. And it begs the question: If his door couldn't be opened by

an Alohomora charm, why didn't they use that same anti-Alohomora

charm on the first door? Hmm?

"Plus, two brooms were also left in the room to assist in me, a prodigy

seeker, being able to capture the right key.

"Next; the giant chess set. And, wouldn't you know it, Ronald Weasley is

a prodigy in chess.

"Next came the troll. And the three of us already knew how to deal with

one of those from when Hermione was nearly squished by one back on

Hallowe'en.

"Then came the logic puzzle with the potions. And, Hermione Granger is

a prodigy with logic puzzles.

"If you can't figure out that this all seemed highly suspicious you're all

even bigger idiots than even I thought.

"Now, you could say this was all coincidental but, as a famous muggle

novelist was quoted as saying, 'Once is happenstance, twice is

coincidence, but three times is enemy action'. And here we have six such

events. What does that say for the happenstance coincidence divide,

hmm? No. It's clear this was all a set-up

"This next memory occurred three days later. It is the evening before the

Hogwarts Express departs Hogsmeade to return students to London and

I've only just woken up after being unconscious since the wraith of

Voldemort attacked me."

The next memory was of Harry waking up in the Infirmary, Madam

Pomfrey telling him how he gave everyone 'such a fright', and

Dumbledore walking in a few moments later.

Dumbledore tells Harry he didn't 'really' kill Quirrell, and why. And of

what supposedly happened to the Philosopher's Stone. They share a few

sweets before Dumbledore leaves and Harry is released.

"Right," said Memory-Harry popping back up. "There I was. I'm eleven

years old - almost twelve. I've just killed someone. Dumbledore tells me I

shouldn't worry about it because the man was going to die, anyway. I've

just killed someone and Poppy Pomfrey, the school healer, has scolded

me for frightening everyone.

"Now, I'm going to be blunt. If you don't like the language, too bad. But...

are you naffing kidding me?!"

"At the very least, Pomfrey should have been organising for me a mind

healer, so I could come to terms with what has happened. And

Dumbledore should have been calling in the DMLE. A man has just been

killed, for naff's sake!

"I was never interviewed by investigators of the DMLE, as should have

happened with the death of someone; I was never handed over to a mind

healer. Nothing... except for what happened that night at the Leaving

Feast."

Memory-Harry faded away and a memory of Dumbledore standing to

make last minute announcements at the Leaving Feast started. It show

him about to award the House Cup to the House with the most points,

Slytherin. However, he stopped and began to award last minute points.

And then the awarding of those points, which led to the House Cup being

won by Gryffindor.

The memory faded and Memory-Harry popped back up.

"Did you all get that? Dumbledore award me, Hermione Granger, Ron

Weasley and Neville Longbottom with the most ridiculous amount of

points. Fair enough for what Neville did, but it should still never have

been that many points. But he awarded us other three for flat out

breaking school rules!

"And he awarded me points - for killing a man!

"I'm sure you can all see there's something mighty fishy going on here."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Amelia Bones leaned forward from where she'd been watching both

Harry's pensieve presentation and Dumbledore. She leaned over to

Dumbledore and said, "In case you haven't already figured it out for

yourself, Albus, you're under arrest. When Mister Potter completes his

task and you award suitable points I'm taking you, him, Minerva

McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey in to the DMLE interrogation rooms for

what looks like is going to be a very long chat."

Dumbledore internally sighed but kept his mouth shut. He knew he was

in deep enough trouble, as it was.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After letting his last comments sink in for a long moment, Memory-Harry

continued. "Now, my first year, as you've just seen, had my life at risk on

a number of occasions. First: And what I didn't show you was Quirrell

jinxing my broom during the first Quidditch match, and me nearly falling

to my death from a hundred feet up in the air. Second: That bloody troll

incident. Third: Our staff-mandated night-time excursion into the

Forbidden Forest. And fourth: Quirrellmort trying to kill me when we

three eleven year olds seemed to be the only ones who could deduce

someone was making a play for the Stone that night.

"That's four threats to my life in my first year, alone. And that's ignoring

the fact that Dumbledore had hired a Voldemort-possessed teacher - stop

naffing flinching every time I say his name, you naffing retards! - hired

Voldemort to teach at Hogwarts for the entire school year. And thereby

being a constant threat to me, especially, for all but my last three days at

school for that year.

After Real-Harry took another long glare around the stands, Memory-

Harry continued.

"Right!" he said. "That was first year - the 1991-92 school year. Let's

move on to the fun and games of second year - 1992-93.

"September and October 1992 was peaceful. I was looking forward to a

quiet year. The only downer that year to that point was Dumbledore had

seemed to think it was good idea to hire that utter fraud, Gilderoy

Lockhart, as our replacement DADA Professor. If any of you dunderheads

had read his books, as I did before I'd even started at school that year,

and had figured out the timelines he used it should have been as clear to

you as it was to me that there is no possible way the man could have

accomplished what he said he'd accomplished.

"In three different areas he purported himself to be in two different

locations in completely different parts of the world. Secondly, he wrote

he'd even vanquished a werewolf simply by punching it on the nose, a

zombie by sprinkling salt on it, and other completely laughable supposed

feats!

"That the man wasn't, even by then, already discovered to be a complete

fraud just goes to show how collectively stupid wizards and witches truly

are!" he then sighed.

"But, I digress! Everything was going as I expected it to when - wouldn't

you know it? - it was Hallowe'en again.

"Stupidly, I found myself being dragged down to a room in the dungeons

to attend the 500th Deathday party of the Gryffindor house ghost, Sir

Nicholas 'Nearly Headless Nick' de Mimsy-Porpington, instead of

attending the start of the Feast. It was after we'd left the party and were

making our way back to the Gryffindor Tower we came across what

happened right outside the same bathroom Hermione was crying in

exactly a year earlier, when she nearly got herself squished by a troll's

club.

"The floor was covered in water, Caretaker Filch's cat, Mrs Norris, was

hanging from a wall sconce by her tail - we thought she was dead - and

there was writing on the wall directly below her. It said, 'Enemies of the

heir, beware'

"Moments after we arrived there, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students

came up from the Feast and were making their own ways back to their

dorms.

"Malfoy, the MisSorted Gryffindor who wears green trim, was with them

for whatever reason - seeing as his common room is supposed to be in the

dungeons and there's no real reason he should have been on the second

floor - and cackled out about how mudbloods would be next. Always

opening his mouth before he engages his brain, that boy. Then relies on

his godfather, Severus Snape, to pull his nads out of the fire for him."

Surreptitiously looking over the top edge of his book, Harry could see

quite a few were snickering at the clearly now angry blonde ponce.

"Of course, Caretaker Filch showed he lacks logic as much as a proper

wizard or witch by immediately accusing me of killing his cat.

"But, as Ron, Hermione and I were first on the scene, for most people,

that meant we were guilty of whatever happened. And Dumbledore

dragged us three, the Mrs Norris catcicle, Filch, Minerva McGonagall and

Fraud Lockhart off to Lockhart's classroom and office to investigate

matters further. Of course, Severus Snape also managed to invite himself

along, as he usually does.

"The way Snape always seems to be hovering around Dumbledore,

inviting himself or being invited into meetings he has no right to be

involved in, I've come to think of him as Dumbledore's shadow brought

to life. Either that, or he secretly lusts after the man and follows him

around like a love-sick puppy. But, maybe that lust is actually the other

way round," and shrugged.

"Anyways, after poking and prodding the Mrs Norris catsicle for a while

and Lockhart rambled on with his nonsense, Dumbledore eventually

declared she wasn't dead, only petrified.

"However, what we have come of that was the whole school now have it

in the back of their minds I was responsible for the attack.

"A week later, Colin Creevey was the next to be petrified. Watch what

happened, that night, in the Infirmary."

"I also remind you, for those who were there, that was the day I had the

bones in my arm vanished by 'Fraudhart'. So, for the entire duration of

that day, from shortly after lunch until the next morning, I was under the

direct supervision of Madam Pomfrey in the Infirmary. So, there's no

possible way I could have been the one who attacked the boy."

The memory started with Harry lying awake in his bed. Dumbledore

backs into the room wearing his nightclothes. McGonagall was facing

him, also walking in. Between them they had a petrified Colin Creevey.

And, once they'd dumped the boy on a bed and he'd opened Creevey's

camera, Dumbledore confirmed the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.

Memory-Harry returned. "Did you all catch how Dumbledore, after he'd

opened Creevey's camera and saw the insides were all melted, said it

meant the Chamber of Secrets had been opened? Why would he say that?

That he did meant he knew what the monster was in the Chamber. He

had to have! Otherwise, the melted insides of the camera wouldn't have

meant anything to him.

"Oh, and just so you know, a basilisk is the only creature that could do

that to the camera. Yet further proof Dumbledore knew the monster was

a basilisk.

"Which then brings us to Lockhart's aborted Duelling Club. The first and

only meeting of that club. The one where it became known, even to me,

that I'm a parselmouth.

"Watch what happened."

The next memory showed the duel between Harry and Malfoy, with the

ponce using Serpensortia to conjure a snake - a Black Mamba - one of the

most deadliest snakes known to man; Lockhart's stupidity in enraging it;

its moving to attack Justin Finch-Fletchley; Harry unknowingly using

parseltongue to stop it and everyone's reaction to it.

"Now, here we see a simple example of the stupidity of wizards and

witches," explained Memory-Harry. "Wizard logic: Harry Potter is shown

to be a parselmouth, everyone knows that Voldemort was a parselmouth,

Voldemort was evil, therefore Harry Potter must be evil. It completely

ignores the fact that Merlin was a parselmouth, so was Paracelsus, and

parselmouths are revered in other parts of the world because

parseltongue magic is proven to be best suited to healing magic - think

Paracelsus and his works.

"Using that same logic we must accept that Minerva McGonagall's

animagus form is a dog. Using the same Wizard logic: Minerva

McGonagall's animagus form has four legs and a tail, everyone knows

dogs have four legs and a tail, therefore Minerva McGonagall's animagus

form is a dog. Stupidity, dressed as common sense, is still stupidity!

"For those who do not know what I told that very venomous Black

Mamba, I told it to stop and not attack. That's why it backed off! What

was I playing at, Finch-Fletchley? I was saving your naffing life, you

moron!

"That then led to almost the whole school turning against me. I was being

bullied left, right and centre.

"Now, bullying is a crime in the non-magical world. But, by the actions of

the staff of Hogwarts, that does not appear to be the case in magical

Britain. Every single one of the students - apparently except for

Hermione, Ron and the Weasley twins - forgot I was laid up all night in

the Infirmary when Creevey was attacked only a couple days earlier; so,

it could not have been me. Hell, pretty much the lot of you saw

Fraudhart vanish the bones out of my arm and that it would mean I'd be

in the Infirmary. Idiots!

"Within a day of the fiasco of the duelling club, Finch-Fletchley is

attacked and petrified. He's the second student to have been done so. It's

now three days before the Christmas break.

"Of course, because it's the day after it's discovered I'm a parselmouth and

I'm clearly now a Dark Lord, everyone pretty much accuses me of doing

it. The bullying ratchets down, but now people are scared of me.

"Things go as you would think for the next few months. Then, in early

May, Hermione and Penny Clearwater are attacked and petrified.

Immediately afterwards, Lucy Malfoy somehow convinces by unanimous

decision of the School Board to have Dumbledore removed as

Headmaster.

"And, at the same time, Malfoy also convinces Fudge to have Hagrid

carted off to Azkaban. His reason? He has to be seen to be doing

something.

"That's three major events all on the same day, so let's visit them one at a

time. First, the petrification of Hermione and the Clearwater lass finally

has everyone believing I'm not the one who's doing the petrifying. It

could be because I was down at the Quidditch pitch for the entire time in

front of a great many people, who could all provide me alibis; or, it could

be because no one would believe I'd attack my best friend, Hermione; or

a combination of both. Frankly, I didn't and don't care one way or the

other. It, at least, stopped the bullying and fear of me. It's a pity they

didn't think about where I was when Creevey was attacked.

"The second was the sacking of Dumbledore. Later, after what happened

in the Chamber of Secrets, I learned that it seems Lucy Malfoy extorted

the rest of the School Board to go along with him in sacking Dumbledore

as Headmaster. Frankly, I really don't give a toss about that, but you

might want to look into it, Madam Bones.

"And the third was Hagrid getting carted off to Azkaban. Now, I'm not a

lawyer, I'm not a legislator and I'm not a law enforcement official.

However, it really gets in my craw how a person can be sent to Azkaban

without even the decency of a trial. In the non-magical United Kingdom,

from whence wizarding Britain was born, it is a breach of the Magna

Carta to do such. And the Magna Carta was enshrined in law before

magical Britain effectively seceded from the non-magical United

Kingdom. As such, unless the Wizengamot has overturned the Magna

Carta since seceding, then it is still law.

"So, if that is the case, then the Minister broke one of the founding

precepts of modern law by having Hagrid incarcerated without a trial. To

me, he kidnapped the man; and was aided and abetted by Lucy Malfoy in

the act.

"You might want to look into that, too, Madam Bones. But, please don't

take this as a direction on my part; only a suggestion."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the VIP box, Madam Bones muttered, "Oh, don't worry about that,

Mister Potter. I fully intend to."

She glanced to her left at the Minister and quietly said, "You and I will be

having a long talk too, Minister."

Fudge, already worried, blanched and started to sweat.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

2. Singing, Another One Bites the

Dust

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Two - Singing 'Another One Bites the Dust'

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"Three weeks later to the day, it's the twenty eighth of May," continued

Memory-Harry. "Ron and I had just managed to work out what was going

on from all the various clues."

With a snort he corrected himself, "Well, not really. I figured it out, with

Ron still trying to drag me off to play chess and otherwise skive off doing

homework.

"The main one was that very day finding a torn page from a book in

petrified Hermione's hand that described basilisks. Under that, in her own

neat script, was written one word - Pipes.

"Ron had also just discovered his little sister, Ginny, had gone missing;

and he was frantic to get my help in finding her. We were down on that

same second floor corridor outside that same bathroom when we saw

another message had been written below the Heir of Slytherin message,

'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever'.

"Ron panicked, of course. So would you if you'd just discovered

something like that about your own baby sister. At least he'd finally

decided to put in some effort to figure out what was going on. He'd found

his motivation. To me, it was far too little; far too late.

"However, just like the previous year, we were determined to take the

matter to an adult witch of wizard. I wanted to give McGonagall the

benefit of the doubt and get her help. Maybe this time she'd do the right

thing. However, Ron forced on me the choice of Gilderoy 'The Fraud'

Lockhart.

"When we ran to and burst into the office of The Fraud, he was in the

process of packing with the intention of running away as fast as he could.

So, yes, The Fraud could now be known as The Cowardly Fraud.

"However, since he claimed to be this all-powerful vanquisher of dark

creatures, as written in his novels - sorry, texts - we were having none of

that. We forced him to come down to the Chamber with us. And I had a

pretty good idea where it was.

"The final clue that gave me the probable location was that, when the

Chamber was last opened in the early 1940s, a student was killed. Her

name was Myrtle. You know her today as the ghost, Moaning Myrtle.

"We then headed for the very same girls' bathroom, once again. Once

inside I found a carving of a snake on one of the taps in the circle of sinks

in the middle of the floor.

"A quick whisper of parseltongue, and I had the entrance open.

"With The Cowardly Fraud going first - whether he liked it or not - we

slid down the pipe entrance all the way to the bottom. We were now

deep under the school and likely under the lake.

"With wand tips lit we walked from the bottom of the pipe in the only

direction we could; through a long cave.

"Partway along, we came across a shed snake skin. It was about fifty feet

long.

"While hurriedly discussing what to do next, The Cowardly Fraud had a

moment of bravery and lunged at Ron stripping him of his wand. How

about that. For the past twenty minutes, The Cowardly Fraud couldn't

even take hold of his bollocks enough to jump a twelve year old until

then.

"Fraudhart them had us both at wand point and began bragging about

how he was going to claim he would write a new book about this, claim

he was unable to save Ginny from the basilisk, but had rescued the two

of us. Then he attempted to cast the only charm upon us he was quite the

expert at - the Obliviation charm.

"The trouble for him was, Ron's wand was broken and held together with

Spellotape. The Obliviation charm backfired on him, and threw him

across the cave. However, the attempt also managed to bring down the

roof of the cave on us.

"After Ron and I dived in opposite directions to avoid all the falling rocks

we ended up on different sides of the cave-in that now filled the cave at

that point.

"Only I could go on, while Ron would work at clearing some of the rocks

away enough for me to get out once I got Ginny. Fraudhart was barely

lucid and didn't even remember his own name; so, he was no help.

"And that brings us to the next important memory. This one is going to

have quite a number of shocks. If you have a poor constitution I suggest

you quickly, but quietly, leave right now. Once I start the memory I have

no intention of stopping, restarting or pausing it. If you miss anything,

too bad. You should have been paying attention in the first place.

"Right. Here we go."

Memory-Harry faded out and the memory opened with twelve-year-old

Harry walking up to the massive stone door protecting the Chamber of

Secrets. Him opening it, and walking inside. Having a look about as we

walked deeper within. Finally seeing and rushing up to the unconscious

form of Ginny Weasley lying on the floor at the base of the very large

statue of who everyone assumed was Salazaar Slytherin and foolishly

dropping his wand on the way. Him trying to wake her. The nearly

corporeal form of Tom Riddle walking out of the shadows and picking up

his wand.

Then the whole discussion, where 'Tom' reveals himself to be both Tom

Marvolo Riddle and Voldemort - which had many in the audience

gasping in shock or try to cry out in disbelief. Riddle's true bloodline.

More outcries of disbelief.

Real-Harry, once he felt the audience had become noisy enough, glared

at the general audience, put his book down and stood.

He roared out, "Who's magic am I getting the Goblet to strip?"

That silenced the audience again.

He glared about for a few moments longer, and retook his seat on the sun

lounge, picking up his book as he did so.

Meanwhile, the memory went through Riddle's bragging, how the diary

was leeching Ginny's life force, and Harry's defiance.

Finally, Riddle called forth the basilisk.

That had just about everyone in the audience scream out in fearful shock.

Real-Harry, again, surged to his feet to glare about, this time with his

wand in hand. And, again, he got almost immediate silence.

Memory-Harry's running to avoid the basilisk. The arrival of Fawkes with

the Sorting Hat in his claws that he then dropped in to Harry's arms; and

who then attacked the eyes of the basilisk. The blinding of the basilisk.

Harry finding the Sword of Gryffindor in the Sorting Hat. Harry fighting

the blinded basilisk with the sword. Harry killing the basilisk while also

being bitten by it. And the basilisk thrashing its head about in its death

throes before finally dying.

The return of Fawkes, a dying Harry being saved by Fawkes's tears and

Riddle trying to blast the bird away with Harry's wand. Harry then using

the broken fang of the basilisk he pulled out of his arm to repeatedly stab

the diary. Near-corporeal Riddle being blasted apart. Ginny waking. And

the two of them leaving.

When the memory ended, Memory-Harry returned and quietly said, "I

told you it would be shocking."

Giving that a long moment to settle, he continued, "Before I give you the

highlights you should know that wasn't the last time that evening my life

was in peril."

After he knew there'd be a few more gasps, and were, he continued,

"After I helped Ginny out of the Chamber, we returned to the cave-in.

Ron had managed to clear away enough rocks for the two of us to

scramble through.

"Once on the other side, Ron and his sister had a bit of a heartfelt reunion

while I checked out Lockhart. He was still out to it and seemed to only

have memories up to when he was a small child. He thought he was still

a small child.

"Fawkes returned to us and, using his flame-travel powers, soon saw the

four of us back up in the girls' bathroom on the second floor.

"Now, instead of taking us direct to the Infirmary, Fawkes took us back to

Minerva McGonagall's office. Inside were McGonagall, Dumbledore and

the Weasley parents.

"At this point, the adults should have thought to themselves, 'They could

be injured. We should see to their health, first.' But, no. No, we started to

get questions barked at us about everything; as if their getting

information was more important than our health.

"For those who don't yet understand, that's known as 'child neglect' and is

a crime. At least, it's a crime in the muggle world.

"By now I'd become pretty inured to just how stupid the magical-raised

could be. They just... don't... think.

"More and more questions were being asked - more like, demands for

information. Even when they learned I'd been bitten by a basilisk and

showed them the healing wound, not one of these so-called responsible

adults immediately dragged me off to the Infirmary. No, them getting

immediate answers was clearly more important than my health.

"Well, fuck you very much! I've well learned my lesson from that. Both my

Headmaster and Head of House truly don't give a shit about me."

"However, Dumbledore, at his supposed magnanimous best, did decide to

give both Ron and me two hundred points, apiece; and special awards for

services to the school. Whoop-de-friggin'-do!

"From what I've read up on what past holders of the Order of Merlin

achieved to get them, it wasn't hard to figure out slaying a thousand year

old basilisk to save a young pre-teen witch's life ranked pretty high up in

comparison. But, was one even considered? Fuck no!"

Giving a disappointed sigh and letting that settle for a long moment, he

continued, "As I mentioned earlier that wasn't the only threat to my life,

that day. Nor was it my health being ignored by the adults who should

have known better. No, the next direct threat came that evening in the

Deputy Headmistress's office and then immediately outside in the

corridor. Watch."

The memory showed Harry and Dumbledore still in McGonagall's office

when Lucius Malfoy slammed the door open and strolled in as if he

owned the place. Dobby was at his heels.

After the exchange of veiled threats masked as pleasantries between

Malfoy and Dumbledore, Malfoy stormed out of the room.

Harry grabbed the diary back off Dumbledore, pulled one of his shoes off,

ripped his sock off, stuffed it in the diary, and pulled his shoe back on his

sockless foot.

Next part was Harry, out in the corridor, forcing Malfoy senior to take

back the diary; him then forcing it into the hands of Dobby; Harry

indicating to Dobby to open it and Dobby discovering he'd just been

handed clothes by his master, thereby freeing him.

Malfoy, discovering what Harry had done, pulled his wand on him. About

to curse Harry, by snarling out, "Avada―" and Dobby banishing his now

old master down the corridor.

The memory then ended with Memory-Harry putting in an appearance.

"And there you have Lucy Malfoy in the process of attempting to curse an

unarmed twelve year old boy with the Killing curse." His voice dropped

into a full sarcastic snark. "What a naffing hero!" And returned back to

what it was. "From that, I easily understand how his son turned out to be

such a... doofus."

Real-Harry did not need to look into the stands to know Malfoy junior

would be red with rage, but unable to act upon it as he wanted. His fear

he just might lose his magic, no matter how slim or unlikely, stayed his

hand and tongue.

"Now, a review of the year," continued Memory-Harry. "Dumbledore hires

a man clearly incompetent and unqualified for the position as Professor

of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Even the Voldemort-possessed Quirrell

was a better choice than that. The idiot teaches us nothing. Well, what he

teaches us has nothing to do with the subject, at any rate. I don't think

we really needed to know what hair products and teeth whitening

potions the popinjay used.

"Filch's cat got petrified by, at that point, an unknown assailant. Because

I'm one of the first on the scene, I immediately get the blame.

"That then starts me being bullied by the majority of the school, including

the passive-aggressive shit the teaching staff and the caretaker aimed at

me, for the next eight months.

"A week later, Creevey is petrified while I have an ironclad alibi being

laid up in the Infirmary under Pomfrey's care. The same ironclad alibi

ignored by both students and staff less than two weeks later.

"Next it's discovered, even by me, that I'm a parselmouth. From that

everyone immediately and erroneously assumes I'm evil. Refer back to

Filch's cat.

"Finch-Fletchley is attacked and I'm blamed for it. Refer back to Colin

Creevey and me simultaneously being in the Infirmary less than two

weeks earlier.

"A half year break, Hermione and Clearwater are petrified while I'm

down at the Quidditch pitch. This, once again, proves it couldn't have

been me. However, this time the populace of the castle finally figure that

out for themselves. All the evidence was there conclusively proving I

didn't do it, but it took the petrification of my best friend for them to

finally take that bare moment needed to work out it wasn't me.

"Morons!

"Three weeks after that Ron and I force Fraudhart down into the entrance

to the Chamber.

"We get separated and I go on. I face, yet again, the spirit of Voldemort

trying to come back to life. I battle a one thousand year old gi-normous

basilisk in battle. And I save the life of Ginny Weasley.

"Fawkes helps the four of us back up into the school proper. Before we

even get a chance to go see to our injuries in the Infirmary Dumbledore,

McGonagall and Arthur and Molly Weasley begin to interrogate the shit

out of us.

"After over an hour, Dumbledore finally states Ginny needs to visit the

Infirmary. Mister and Missus Weasley leave with Ginny to go and do just

that; and take Ron with them. In other words, Harry was bitten by a

basilisk - which I had only just gotten through telling them about - but,

according to all the adults there, fuck him! He doesn't need to go to the

Infirmary. Nor does the fraud, Lockhart, who managed to almost

completely Obliviate himself all the way back to his young childhood.

"Still before I can finally get to the Infirmary, Lucy Malfoy turns up. I

manage to trick the idiot into freeing his house elf. So, in return, he tries

to hex/curse me with the Killing Curse. The schmuck gets smacked down

by his now ex-house elf, in saving my life.

"That evening those who were petrified, including Mrs Norris, are

unpetrified.

"It's now two weeks to go until the end of term. Dumbledore decides to

cancel exams. Personally, if I was a fifth or seventh year supposedly

about to sit my OWLs or NEWTs, I'd be ropeable. There was no notice he

was going to do this. He gave no one a chance to disagree. He just did it.

Talk about an abrogation of his responsibilities to the students!

"Finally, we're sent home for the summer. And that brings to a close

second year.

"Oh, and just so you know, I never did get sent to the Infirmary to have

Madam Pomfrey take a look at the basilisk bite. Obviously, Albus

Dumbledore is that brilliant a wizard he never had to take even the

apprenticeship for healing to be determined a fully qualified master

healer. And, even then, didn't need to inspect the wound to declare me fit

and healed.

"Albus Dumbledore, at the time, claimed himself to be my magical

guardian, Madam Bones," said Memory-Harry, looking as if he was facing

the VIP table in the stands. "That he knew I'd been injured by a bite that

kills, and never did anything about it, is a crime. It's neglect of a child

under your care. As Professor McGonagall is supposed to be my Head of

House, the same charge could be levelled against her. The same charge

could also be levelled against both of them for the professor-student

relationship."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the VIP section, Madam Bones muttered, "Already noted, Mister

Potter."

Outside the champions' tent, but between it and the gate into the arena,

Barty Crouch Junior, Polyjuiced as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, was getting

quite worried. As far as he was concerned, Potter was taking his own

sweet time in getting his egg and being done with it. Now, he had to wait

him out; just like everyone else was doing. His problem was, he was

quickly running out of on-hand Polyjuice and he had no idea just what

Harry was doing.

Moody's anti-poison potion flask, that he now used to carry around the

Polyjuice potion, was too small to carry more than about ninety minutes

worth. That time was rapidly approaching and he was almost out.

His problem: He couldn't leave before Potter did or it would look

suspicious.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Back in the arena, while Real-Harry continued to lounge on the lounger

while pretending to read a book, Memory-Harry was ready to move on.

"It's now another summer at Durzkaban - where I was worked harder

than a house elf. When not forced to work I was locked into my room

with bars on the window, fed insufficient food to feed a three year old

through a cat-flap in the bottom of the door and... well... you get the

idea. Vernon's sister, whom I unlovingly refer to as 'Marge the Barge',

pays her somewhat annual visit.

"Marge the Barge has a pet supposedly prize-winning bulldog named

Ripper. She's trained it to attack me pretty much on sight. I have the

scars on my lower legs to prove it.

"During dinner - which, though I cooked, I was not allowed to partake of

it much - The Barge just kept insulting my parents. She, the fat obnoxious

bitch that she is, claimed that my father was a drunk who should have

been locked away long before I was even born, and my mother should

have been put to death because she was obviously unable to breed

anything worthwhile. No second guesses for who she meant by breed.

"And, from that, I had one of the strongest bouts of accidental magic I've

ever had. I caused her to inflate like a balloon. She drifted out the door

and away into the night.

"Of course, I knew what would happen if I remained. Or, at least I thought

I did. The first part would be my fat uncle again attempting to beat me to

death. The second, would be ignorant naffwits from the Ministry turning

up to snap my wand.

"So, I fled. Both in fear of my life and fear of losing the only part of my

life that mattered - my life in the wizarding world.

"I quickly grabbed my cloak, my school trunk and the very few and

meagre muggle possessions I own, plus Hedwig's cage. Hedwig's my owl.

I sent her off telling her to find me later. And, dragging my trunk down

the stairs and out the front door as quickly as I could, I took off into the

night.

"Accidentally, I summoned the Knight Bus and used that to go to the

Leaky Cauldron. There, I met for the first time Cornelius Fudge. How the

Hell he knew that would be where I was heading, I have no clue. But, he

clearly did.

"He told me I wasn't in trouble for what had happened, but I was to stay

at the Leaky for the remainder of summer. He mentioned something

about Black, but I was so relieved not to have to return to the Hell that

was the Dursleys I wasn't really paying as much attention as I should.

"The big advantage of staying at the Leaky, though, was I now had weeks

to stay in the wizarding world without the constant threat of Dumbledore

watching every move I made. And I made very good use of the time.

"The next day after arriving at the Leaky I went directly to Gringotts. And

there I learned just how much of a thief Dumbledore was. And just why

he was making such a big effort to keep me away from the wizarding

world when not at Hogwarts, and clueless of my true heritage.

"From the goblins I learned the so-called Leader of the Light was, in fact,

my Ministry-appointed magical guardian. It was the first time I'd been

told.

"Yet another question: Why didn't anyone tell me before that? Apparently

all the teaching staff of Hogwarts knew, as did all the sitting members of

the thrice-damned Wizengamot of November 1981, plus everyone who

read the Daily Prophet of the next day. And not one of them bothered to let

me know Albus 'He-Who-is-Above-the-Law' Dumbledore was my magical

guardian? Really? Personally, I find that both hard to believe and suspect

magical compulsions not to tell me, in play.

"From the goblins I learned the old bastard was then using that authority

to drain the Potter accounts dry. I learned of my parents' wills - which

Dumbledore, using his authority as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot,

had sealed - and their express wishes for dispensation of their assets and

me. They were blatantly ignored.

"I learned that my true and rightful magical guardian, the one who swore

the Godfather's Oath before both my parents and Dumbledore himself,

was in fact Sirius Black. The same Sirius Black who had been thrown into

Azkaban, without even a naffing trial, at the express orders of then

Minister Bagnold, Director of the DMLE Bartemius Crouch Senior and -

you guessed it - Albus frigging Dumbledore!

"Are you starting to see a pattern here? I bet not."

"It quickly became obvious to me Dumbledore wanted Sirius out of the

way so he had control of me and my assets. However, by this time I was

not surprised at just what Dumbledore seemed to be up to. You'll learn

more of just what steps Dumbledore is, or was, willing to go in a little

while.

"Oh - and, Madam Bones - I have the full goblin-certified records of

everything to hand to you once I'm finished here. Have no fear of that."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the VIP box, Dumbledore closed his eyes, groaned and slumped his

shoulders forward.

Amelia Bones viciously grinned at his back. The young Mister Potter,

whatever his reasons, had just well and truly destroyed Dumbledore's

reputation. The old man would be very lucky to escape a period of long

term incarceration in Azkaban for this. Merlin, she thought the boy was

leading up to evidence that would see the old codger forcefully tossed

through the Veil.

He also seemed to be destroying not a few other reputations, while he

was at it. Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Severus

Snape and Rubeus Hagrid would also be answering rather direct and

pointed questions of their own roles; especially McGonagall and Hagrid.

If he kept it up, Hogwarts might well have to close its doors for the

foreseeable future.

That he had decided to use a situation where he had both a large

audience and no one could lift a finger to stop him or risk their magic,

she thought, was astounding.

She quietly muttered, "The boy is more Slytherin than any Slytherin I

know."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"Anyways," continued Memory-Harry, "I was being told Sirius Black, the

Azkaban escapee, was loose and looking to find me to kill me. After

reading he was both my godfather and had taken the Godfather's Oath, I

knew the second part of that wasn't true.

"I also knew that, while he had escaped Azkaban, he was not a convicted

felon. As such, and according to law, all he did was escape from illegal

incarceration. And that, I assure you, is not an illegal act. Check your

own laws and records for proof of what I'm telling you."

After a pause to allow that to sink in, he continued, "After my three

weeks of freedom in Diagon Alley, I was now better informed of just

what was going on. And it was also time to return to Hogwarts.

"On the first of September we, of course, boarded the Express back to

Hogwarts. We had our usual visit from Malfunction Malfoy and his two

human bookends looking to make trouble before we even left the

metropolitan area of Greater London. Then we settled back to relax for

the rest of the journey.

"Of course, as most of you know, we were boarded by dementors. I had

no idea why they had such an interest in me, but one of them entered our

compartment; where it proceeded to suck all the happiness out of us.

"Luckily, Professor Remus Lupin was also in the compartment, and he

drove it off before it could suck my soul out, which it was looking to do.

"Kind of ironic, isn't it? The dementors were supposed to be there to

protect us, especially me; and yet, at its first opportunity, one of them

immediately attacked me. The dementors are supposed to be under the

direct control of the Ministry. Therefore, as the living embodiment of the

Ministry, I hold Minister Cornelius Fudge solely and completely

responsible for that.

"And that was only the first of three times the dementors tried to snack on

my soul that school year."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

It was Cornelius Fudge's turn to groan and slump forward a bit. He'd

worked hard to make sure news of the attacks by the dementors had been

hushed-up in the media. If it got out that one of the dementors attacked

the 'Hero of the Wizarding World', Harry Potter, and that they did it due

to something he caused to happen, he knew his career would be over.

Now that Potter had made it very public, it wouldn't be long before it

also became public he'd hushed-up the attacks immediately after they

had happened.

His career was over; and he knew it.

Madam Bones, from where she sat, looked across to Fudge and saw him

slump forward in defeat. She smirked. She, too, knew the man's career as

Minister was over.

The words of a muggle song of a muggle singing group, of which she was

a secret fan, echoed through her mind. 'Another one bites the dust'.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Meanwhile, Memory-Harry had continued. "For the most part, my third

year - last year - was a great deal less life-threatening than the first two.

However, there were a few notable exceptions to that through the year.

"The second attempt by the dementors to suck on my soul came in early

November, when the dementors used the cover of low clouds to come

onto the grounds of Hogwarts and over the Quidditch pitch. That time, it

was about a half-dozen that attacked me. Their attack rendered me

unconscious and I fell from my broom from a height of about three

hundred feet.

"I was saved by an Arrest Momentum charm from serious injury, if not

death, from the fall.

"In mid-December I'm finally 'informed' - if you can call it that - that

Sirius Black is supposed to have double-crossed my parents and led

Voldemort to our hiding place in Godric's Hollow. I had to pretend it was

the first time I learned of that, so as not to alert Dumbledore I already

knew of that particular lie.

"The reason I did not want Dumbledore to know I knew of that will

become apparent later in this presentation.

"And, yes, it was a lie. I know people believe it to be true. However, it is

not. My parents, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew pulled a fast one over

everyone. They made it look like Sirius was the Fidelius charm Secret

Keeper, but it was actually Peter Pettigrew. And Dumbledore, being the

one who cast the Fidelius, knew it was Pettigrew and not Sirius.

"And that means Albus Dumbledore knew damned well - or at least had

direct knowledge of - the fact Sirius Black is innocent of the crimes to

which he was unjustly dumped into Azkaban... and hasn't said one

bloody word of it to anyone, let alone someone who could have done

something about it. Hell, as Chief Warlock, he is well positioned to do

something about it, himself - and hasn't.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Mightily frowning in barely concealed fury, Madam Bones leaned

forward to whisper-snarl in Dumbledore's ear. "At the end of Mister

Potter's little presentation, as Director of the DMLE, I'm formally

suspending you as both Chief Warlock and as Britain's representative on

the ICW - which means your position as Supreme Mugwump is also

suspended - and banning you from sitting on the Wizengamot until such

time as my investigations into Mister Potter's... allegations... are

concluded.

"You can, of course, appeal my decision. However, Cornelius Fudge will

also be suspended from his position as Minister of Magic; so, he will be

unable to aid you. Your only option will be to take the matter to the full

Wizengamot; and I doubt they'll want to aid you when all this hits the

Daily Prophet and the WWN by this evening at the latest.

"If I can manage it, I'll also be standing you down as Headmaster. I

believe I might have enough already with what he's already told us. But,

more won't hurt. And I don't think he's done yet - not by a long shot."

Unable to do anything to interrupt the Potter boy's presentation and what

he felt was a very well-executed character assassination, Dumbledore

could only give a slight pained expression and close his eyes. He already

knew that, if Harry gave away any more secrets - including his role in

Sirius's escape from the tower the night he was supposed to be executed

by Dementor's Kiss - there would be no chance of the Wizengamot voting

to return him to his positions.

'Why the Hell didn't I back the boy and rule his admission to this now

clearly be-damned Tournament illegal when I had the chance?' he

thought. 'I just had to use his entrance as yet another method to draw out

Tom. Foolishness!

'Well, it's clearly coming back to bite me on the bum now.'

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Having paused a few moments to take a sip of something from a glass

that looked like water, Memory-Harry continued. "Things happened as

they happened for most of the rest of the school year.

"And, finally, it's June once more. Sirius Black, apparently, finally makes

his move and kidnaps Ron Weasley - not me - by dragging him out of

Hogwarts's grounds by way of a secret passage to the Shrieking Shack.

Well, he was actually trying to get the rat out Ron Weasley's hands - as

that was his real target - but Ron wouldn't release the rat, so Sirius took

them both.

"That secret passage, seeing as he was the one who made it, Albus

Dumbledore knew full well about. In other words, Albus Dumbledore left

in place a secret passage he, himself, made - and also knew Sirius Black

was aware of - and did nothing about blocking Black from using it.

"Consider that, too, won't you?

"This is what happened in the Shack when Hermione and I, again not

able to find a professor to help and having to go ourselves to rescue our

friend, burst into the Shack with wands drawn."

Again Memory-Harry faded away to be replaced with the memory

described.

Harry and Hermione entered the secret passage under the Whomping

Willow, having to dodge the branches of the tree because they didn't

know how to stop the swinging of the branches by whacking the knot on

the trunk; down the dark, rough-hewn passage to the basement of the

shrieking shack; and quietly making their way up the ladder and gently

entering the ground floor cupboard through the trapdoor.

Once inside, they heard voices - one was Ron's, whining. Quietly, they

made their way to one of the front rooms from where they they heard the

voices originate.

Peeking inside, they saw Ron sprawled on the floor with his back against

a wall. He was cradling Scabbers - who appeared to be trying to fight to

get away - while one of his legs appeared to be broken. A man was

pacing back and forth in the middle of the room, appearing to rant at

Ron while calling him Wormtail.

He was wearing horridly torn and dirty vertically-striped robes. His hair

was long, dirty and unkempt, as was his long untrimmed beard. And he

appeared both emaciated and of unsound mind. Worst still, he was

waving Ron's near-new wand about. All up, he was clearly a dangerous

individual.

Harry and Hermione both glanced at one another before both, together,

stepped into the room. Harry immediately cast a disarming hex at the

man to get Ron's wand off him. It worked, and Harry immediately caught

it in his off-hand as Black dived towards Ron.

What followed was almost a Mexican stand-off. Ron was on the floor

cradling the rat. Black, as they now recognised him to be, had

immediately moved to use Ron as a shield while arguing with Harry and

Hermione how he was innocent.

Black then went into his history and the history of what happened in

Godric's Hollow on that fateful night.

Next to enter was Remus Lupin. He also held a wand on Black until Black

indicated the rat, still struggling in Ron's arms, and stated the rat was

Peter Pettigrew.

Not too long afterwards, Black again had Ron's wand and, together with

Lupin, cast the animagus forced-reversion charm on the rat as it tried to

escape.

They'd no sooner got Pettigrew untransformed and pleading for his life

from Harry that Snape entered and divested almost everyone of their

wands.

Eventually, Snape was overpowered and the small group began to make

their way back to the castle.

That's where that memory ended and Memory-Harry returned.

"On the way back to the castle, Pettigrew managed to escape. In the

kerfuffle Lupin had to flee, possibly chasing after Pettigrew.

"However, we weren't safe yet. On my direction, Hermione levitated Ron

and raced with him back to the castle. I went after my godfather, Sirius

Black. I finally caught up with him down by the edge of the Black Lake.

And, there, we were attacked by dementors. This was third time I'm

attacked by them that I alluded to earlier."

Memory-Harry faded away and the next memory was of Harry and Sirius

fleeing dementors and being attacked by them down near the Black Lake.

Sirius almost got his soul sucked out, with Harry almost unconscious

himself, but both were saved by the appearance of what Harry thought

was the ghost of his father in his animagus form. It was a massively

powerful Patronus; and Harry passes out.

Harry then wakes up in the Infirmary to news Sirius was locked in

Professor Flitwick's office, and Fudge was ordering in the dementors to

suck out his soul.

Ron is unconscious but both Hermione and Harry try to tell Fudge the

truth of what happened. However, Fudge accuses them of being

'confounded' that is, cursed with the Confundus charm - and refuses to

listen to either before then storming out.

Dumbledore then gives them the hint about the time turner and how

many turns of it should do for what they needed to accomplish, then

begins to leave before hesitating just outside the door.

Hermione shows Harry the time turner, loops the chain over both their

necks, turns the time turner to go back three hours and they disappear.

The memory fades away before Memory-Harry reappears. "As you can

see, 'Fumbling Fudge' accused us of being confounded and refused to hear

any more of what happened. By law, he was required to take the matter

to the DMLE, specifically to Amelia Bones as Director of the DMLE, and

didn't.

"Plus, you also saw Dumbledore send a thirteen and fourteen year old off

on yet another adventure, as if we hadn't already had one that night.

"Once back in time the two of us moved to free Buckbeak and hide him

away in the Forbidden Forest for later. You'll see why in the next

memory. Then we headed for a spot where we could watch the

Whomping Willow and wait for our now-younger selves to once more

emerge from the underground passageway. We were there to try and

catch Peter Pettigrew after he managed to give our younger selves, Sirius

Black and company the slip. Because we did not know in the first time

through that Pettigrew had managed to escape after all, we figured that if

we caught him again the second time through it would not cause a

temporal paradox.

"Watch what actually happens."

The new memory showed everything that happened right up to Harry

and Hermione coming up on the small lake from the other side just as the

Dementors began to bombard 'Previous' Harry and Sirius.

'Current' Harry was expecting the ghost of his father to arrive and save

them. However, realising it was actually him on the second go through

that saved him on the first go through, he cast the massive Patronus

driving all the dementors away just as 'Previous' Harry collapsed

unconscious next to his godfather.

Already knowing 'Previous' Harry and Sirius would end up back at the

castle and safe for Harry, but locked in the tower for Sirius, the 'Current'

Harry and Hermione tried everything they could to track down

Pettigrew. However, they had no luck and rightfully suspected the

traitorous little man had reached the edge of the wards and apparated

away.

Harry had originally thought of ending the memory there, but decided to

show the rest of it.

The next scene was of Harry and Hermione, with Buckbeak's help, going

to the castle to rescue Sirius from the Charms Master's office via the

window. And Sirius then flying away after first dropping the two teens

off on the astronomy tower. And the two teens making their way back to

the Infirmary. And, finally, Dumbledore ushering them inside before

locking the door.

When that memory faded and Memory-Harry returned he said, "Now, you

may be sitting there believing Hermione and I have broken the law by

freeing an escaped convict after he was again caught. However, you'd be

wrong.

"For Sirius to have been properly considered an escaped convict he would

have had to have been convicted. As he was never tried, he was never

convicted. As such, he was not an escaped convict. Instead, Sirius

escaped illegal incarceration; on the second time we aided him in that.

"The law states quite clearly that a person arrested of a crime must,

within one month of their arrest at the latest, be given a trial. If at the

end of that month they have not been tried, they must be released. The

Ministry did not do that. In effect, after the thirty days had expired,

Sirius Black had been kidnapped by the Ministry. All he did was what he

was legally allowed - even encouraged - to do. He freed himself.

"He did nothing wrong or illegal by escaping his illegal incarceration.

And Hermione and I did nothing wrong or illegal by aiding in his second

escape from illegal incarceration. If anything, Cornelius 'Fumbling' Fudge

again abused his authority as Minister by kidnapping - not just the person

known as Sirius Black - but, the rightful Lord of the Noble and Most

Ancient House of Black. And then compounded his crime by bypassing

lawful procedure and attempting to murder Sirius Black by having him

kissed by Dementor. That would class it as attempted assassination.

"Hermione and I, with Buckbeak's help, saved him from that attempted

murder - that attempt to kill him in cold blood.

"I certainly hope the Ministry's aurors will take that into consideration

should they foolishly think that arresting either myself or Miss Granger

for that is warranted. For the both or either of us I will thoroughly enjoy

seeking lawful recompense from any auror so involved through the

correct legal channels."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

From where she was sitting in the VIP box, Bones glared at a completely

wilted Fudge and snarled, "He's right, you stupid shit. You had him in

custody and still tried to have him Kissed. That is definitely attempted

murder; and adds yet another major crime to the list I'm already

compiling against you."

Fudge could only cower away from the irate Director of the DMLE. He

now knew he was definitely not going to be saving his job. He now

doubted he'd be escaping his own sentence to Azkaban.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Unaware of Bones's quiet berating of the soon-to-be ex-Minister, Harry

continued, "After that, Hermione and I raced back to the Infirmary. We

arrived at the doors at almost the exact moment the original of us time-

turnered out. Dumbledore immediately let us in and we scuttled back to

our beds.

"Less than five minutes later..." he paused and smiled. "Well, see for

yourself."

Memory-Harry faded out and a new memory began. This one started as

Memory-Harry's explanation cut off.

It showed Snape storming in, in a foul mood, with Fudge and

Dumbledore on his heels. Fudge looked confused and Dumbledore looked

somewhat amused.

Snape stormed over to Harry's bed and, with spittle flying out of his

mouth, began to berate a 'bed-ridden' Harry. Snape was accusing Harry

and Hermione of 'somehow' getting Sirius free. That he was right was

quite irrelevant. He really had no evidence to support his claims.

After Dumbledore asked Pomfrey if either teen had been out of bed she

appeared scandalised and stated they weren't. Then Snape, now even

clear to him that he had no evidence to support his claims, wheeled

about and stormed from the room once more.

Fudge then stated to Dumbledore he believed Snape was mentally

unbalanced before then complying with removing the Dementors from

the school boundaries. The both of them then left.

And the memory ended.

Memory-Harry returned and said, "Of course, with Sirius's rightful and

recognised exoneration of any guilt in the murder of my parents, the

murder of the twelve muggles and the murder of Pettigrew, I would have

been free to stay with him over summer. However, as Pettigrew escaped

because of Snape's idiocy - or deliberate sabotage, it matters not which -

Dumbledore yet again forced me to to stay with my abusive muggle

relatives.

"Did you also notice that Snape said not a word about him also seeing a

very much alive Peter Pettigrew? Snape is a Master Occlumens, Fudge

would not have been able to claim the man had been confounded if he'd

spoken up. But, no; Snape never said a word about it when he knew the

truth.

"This time my summer in Surrey wasn't, yet again, somewhat of a Hell on

Earth. I lied to my relatives and told them that my 'escaped convict of a

mass-murdering godfather', Sirius Black, insisted I keep in contact with

him to let him know how I was getting on. That threat was enough to

ensure I wasn't abused by any of them as badly as I had been in the past.

"I was forced by Dumbledore to remain with my muggle relatives for

almost eight weeks - and it was forced, as I truly had no desire to be there

and believed I had nowhere else to go - until I was picked up by Arthur

Weasley and his boys and was taken to their home, The Burrow, in Ottery

Saint Catchpole about a week after my birthday."

Memory-Harry paused for a moment before he continued. "I stayed with

the Weasleys for the last few weeks of the summer break. And, yes, as

everyone no doubt knows by now, I did attend the World Cup. By now,

everyone has a... belief... as to what happened a couple hours after the

Cup finished.

"As per usual, your belief has been skewed by outside forces; forces, that

don't want you to know the truth. The Ministry don't want you to know

the truth because they'd rather you be ill-informed and happy, than

properly informed and worried. Here's what happened according to my

memories of the event."

Memory-Harry faded out and the next memory started. Just as Memory-

Harry attested, the memory showed what happened after the Cup from

the point of Harry being woken to when they finally returned to the tent.

Then returned to Memory-Harry.

"And that brought us up to returning to here, Hogwarts, on the First,"

said Memory-Harry.

He paused for a long moment before his expression turned almost feral as

his posture shifted until he stood more upright, more proud. And he

smirked.

It gave him an appearance none of them had seen of him before. It was

quite pureblood in appearance, the way he stood. Those who had met

James Potter while he was alive immediately recognised it. Here stood a

true Potter.

From where he still sat in the VIP and judges area and unable to do

anything, as soon as he saw the shift in Harry's demeanour, stance and

saw the expression on the boy's face, Dumbledore felt a moment of

prescience as dread passed through his veins. And he shuddered in fear as

to what it meant.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Back in the arena Memory-Harry 'looked' up to the VIP stand and spoke

in a voice that exuded confidence, authority and power. "Madam Bones,

if you haven't already guessed, now is the time to keep your attention

focussed on Dumbledore. He's about to hear information that will show

him he has greatly underestimated me. The information you are all about

to hear, especially him, will show just how badly I've been

underestimated by everyone. The information I'm about to impart upon

you all will completely change your world-view of both myself and

events that have surrounded me.

"Many of you will have a hard time believing what I'm about to tell you;

and, via memories, show you. At this time I remind you that I - or,

rather, Harry down there..." and gestured to where Real-Harry was

apparently still reading a novel as he relaxed on the sun lounge, "...

Swore a magical oath on his magic, his life and his very soul that what

memories you are shown through this pensieve are a true and accurate

account."

Again Memory-Harry paused for a long moment.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Meanwhile, up in the stands, everyone remained completely silent.

Though they'd now been sitting there for over two hours, no one wanted

to leave. They all instinctively understood that what they were about to

learn would be true; and, would indeed, shake the foundations of their

beliefs.

Even though Potter had threatened them with stripping them of their

magic if they so much as made too much noise, they now no longer

cared. No one wanted to miss what would happen next.

Very few gave any thought any longer to there still being a Hungarian

Horntail dragon at the other end of the arena. The dragon was now lying

in wary repose, curled up as close as it could get to its nest while keeping

an eye on the little human wizard at the other end with its magical

device showing scenes of different things. Soon after it entered the little

wizard made no moves towards it or its eggs, so it made no aggressive

moves back. It would conserve its energy for if it would be needed later.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Memory-Harry held the smirk and the apparent stare at the VIP stand for

a long couple of seconds before he began to speak again.

"'Everyone knows' is a term I hear far too many wizards and witches say,"

he said. "Everyone knows what befell the Potters in Godric's Hollow on the

evening of the thirty-first of October, 1981. Everyone knows the Killing

Curse rips the soul from the victim, while also leaving no mark upon the

victim's body. Everyone knows Sirius Black betrayed them, led He-Who to

their cottage, then went on to kill Peter Pettigrew and a dozen muggles a

few days later. Everyone knows―"

He gave a snort and said, "But I know that everyone is wrong!

"I've already shown you evidence that Peter Pettigrew is alive... or, was at

least alive on the ninth of June, earlier this year. At that same time I also

showed you that Sirius Black is completely innocent of the crimes for

which he was dumped into Azkaban without even a trial. So, that shows

you quite a significant portion of what you believe to have happened that

night in Godric's Hollow - and what happened a few days later regarding

the supposed death of Peter Pettigrew and those muggles - is wrong. You

now know that what 'everyone knows' is wrong. It is a lie!

"Now for the second point I raised; that 'everyone knows' the Killing Curse

rips the soul from the body.

"Well... news flash, people: that's not true, either."

Memory-Harry gave that a while to sink into the consciousness of 'his'

audience before he continued. And, just as Harry thought it would, it

caused a mass gasp of shock and surprise among those watching from the

stands.

"You, see," he began again, "What the Killing Curse does is strip the mind

of every piece of knowledge. It wipes the mind bank - including all the

autonomic systems. The brain forgets to send the information it needs to

run the automatic biological systems; the heart to pump, the diaphragm

to cause the lungs to regularly inflate and deflate, the stomach and

intestines to process food and waste, the consciousness to receive

information from the five senses, etcetera. Without the heart beating,

without the lungs pumping, the body dies.

"In pure essence, the Killing Curse is nothing more than a very high

powered Obliviation charm. That's why the Killing Curse, just like the

Obliviation charm, leaves no physical mark on the body.

"And it's that knowledge that leads to the answer - the riddle, if you will,

that has plagued the wizarding world since that horrid night - as to why I

managed to survive being hit with the Killing Curse."

Again he paused and smirked, before aiming that smirk directly at the

VIP seats.

"You see," he began as his smirk widened into a grin, "I'm immune to any

and all mind-controlling magic; including the Killing Curse, the

Confundus Charm, other Compulsion Charms and... the Obliviation

Charm."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the stand Dumbledore gave a physical start, which had Bones again

firmly jab her wand tip into the back of his neck. He didn't even feel it.

'Oh, shyte!' he thought, as all colour drained from his face and he began

to feel quite sick and faint.

He now knew what the Potter boy's plan was. Though loathe to, he had

to admit it was brilliant.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

3. The Truth About Memories

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Three - The Truth About Memories

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Still smirking in the direction of the VIP stand, Memory-Harry continued.

"You've now seen all the information about what has happened over the

past three years that is otherwise public information; if anyone had

bothered to go and look for it," he said. "Now, I'm going to show you

memories that hold information that Dumbledore - your so-called Leader

of the Light - has worked hard to keep hidden. If you haven't already

figured it out, your so-called Leader of the Light isn't as 'light' as he

would have everyone believe.

"First, we go back down the memory lane of my memories, back to when

I was a small child. Then, we'll work our way forward again.

"This first memory was from when I was about five years old. But first, as

you don't know who all the 'players' are, I'll set the scene for you.

"The overweight fat middle-aged male muggle is my Uncle, Vernon

Dursley. The skinny horse-necked middle-aged female muggle is my aunt,

Petunia Dursley. She's the older sister of my mother, Lily Potter née

Evans. And the overweight male muggle child is my cousin, Dudley

Dursley; who is often called Duddikins, little Dudley-Wudley and other

pet names.

"I give you full warning," he firmly stated. "This will be difficult for you

to watch. If you have a weak fortitude - stomach - you might want to

block your ears and turn away, or be violently ill."

He gave them a moment before he said, "Let's begin."

Memory-Harry faded out and a memory from when Harry was about five

years old began to play. The scene was of the lounge at 4 Privet Drive.

Harry was cowering on the floor with Vernon towering over him at his

full height; he was wielding a leather belt, angry and shouting. Petunia

and Dudley were standing in the doorway to the dining room. Petunia

was scowling at Harry while Dudley watched with glee.

Harry was pleading about how he didn't do it. That, whatever it was, was

not his fault.

Vernon was shouting at him, calling him a freak and brandishing the

belt, before he suddenly began thrashing Harry with it with his full

weight behind each swing. The beating went on until Harry stopped

writhing about and seemed to have fallen unconscious.

Then Vernon flung the belt to the side and began kicking the small boy

hard enough to bodily lift him from the floor and throw him partway

across the room. It would be considered a vicious beating on anyone, let

alone a small child.

After a long few minutes of that, and when Harry appears unconscious,

Vernon dragged him over to the cupboard under the stairs by his hair,

and bodily threw him within before slamming the door shut; which then

slammed back open again as the latch didn't catch.

There was only a long moment as Vernon turned to look at his family, his

chest heaving with the results of the obvious exertion he put into the

beating. Petunia gave a haughty sneer and was about to turn away as

Dudley looked positively joyous at what he'd witnessed.

Suddenly, there was a crack of apparation as Dumbledore appeared in the

middle of the lounge. He had also apparently side-along apparated Poppy

Pomfrey, the school resident medi-wizard with him. As the Dursleys

reeled back in shock Dumbledore appeared thunderous, while Pomfrey

appeared confused.

"Poppy," Dumbledore firmly said, "You'll find young Harry inside the

cupboard under the stairs."

With a gasp of horror, Pomfrey quickly hurried to the small cupboard,

drawing her wand at the same time.

A quick duck down to her knees and she was then levitating Harry out.

Levitating him no further than out onto the floor just outside the

cupboard door she began her diagnostics.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was berating Vernon. "You disappoint me,

Dursley." Spinning to glare at Petunia he said, "As for you, Petunia - as I

have had to repeatedly remind you - Harry is of your blood! He is your

only sister's son. Your responsibility is to his safety. When are you going to

remember that?"

The scene suddenly paused and Memory-Harry quickly faded in. "Did you

catch that? Did you catch what Dumbledore said? He said, 'As I have had

to repeatedly remind you' - with emphasis on the 'repeatedly'. And listen

to how, by their own words by both male adults, it is clear there was a

number of times this sort of discussion was held in the past.

"That means Dumbledore had to have gone to the Dursley residence on

quite a few occasions before what you're currently watching. And, in this

memory, I'm only five years old."

Again Memory-Harry faded out and the paused memory returned.

Suddenly, it restarted.

Neither Dursley replied until Vernon snarled, "Then take him! We don't

want him here! When are you going to remember that?"

Dumbledore's mien took on a pained expression before he more quietly

replied, "And I've repeatedly told you the boy needs to remain here for

the blood wards to work. If the blood wards fall then you will no longer

remain safe from... as you put it... freaks like me."

Vernon was about to angrily snap his next retort when Pomfrey piped up.

"Albus, he has a great many injuries; not the least of which is three

broken ribs and a severe concussion!"

"Do your best, Poppy," replied Dumbledore.

"I'll need to get him back to Hogwarts," she began.

"No," Dumbledore almost snapped back. "He must remain here."

When a horrified Pomfrey went to argue back he continued, "He must

remain here for his safety. Heal him as well as you can and his magic will

fix the rest."

"Albus!" she gasped back. "He's just a child!"

"Nevertheless, Poppy, he must remain here," replied Dumbledore. "Heal

him the best you can and we must be leaving."

Clearly horrified by what she was hearing, Pomfrey healed young Harry

as best she could.

By the time she was finished, clearly magically much weaker from the

effort, Harry was quietly watching her work while keeping an eye on the

others. He never made a peep of sound from his injuries, even when it

was apparent he was in a great deal of pain.

When she was done, Dumbledore magically forced Harry and his

relatives into a group in the middle of the lounge floor.

Then he stunned Pomfrey before turning his wand on the four residents

of Privet Drive. That had many in the audience gasp in shock.

A quick swipe of his wand and he called, "Obliviate!"

Once it appeared everyone was under the charm he said, "Young Harry

was suitably punished by being locked back into his cupboard. I warned

you, yet again, not to take things too far. There will be no further

punishments for this incident."

Then he levitated Harry back into his cupboard.

He took a quick look about the room, bent his wand to Pomfrey,

levitating her upright, before tucking her into his side with his off hand

wrapped around her. A quick twist and he apparated away.

Then the memory ended with Memory-Harry putting in another

appearance.

"There," he sighed. "Memory over. Have no fear that I'll show you another

like that. However, that's only because I do not believe many of you will

be anything but either unconscious or vomiting your insides up by the

end of them, if I didn't. I know they're horrific.

"I'll also let you know that what you just saw was chosen because of how

average it was for how I was treated there. There are quite a few times I

was beaten almost as bad as that, and about an equal number of times I

was beaten worse than that. They number well over a dozen.

"What I also want you to consider of what you just witnessed is that what

you saw was of my memories. And, I also want you to consider that the

only way I could have that as my memory was for me to be conscious the

entire time. I was awake for the entirety of that. In other words, I was

feigning being unconscious when I was thrown into the cupboard."

That had quite a few audible gasps of shock from the audience.

"It was something I figured out when I was younger than that," continued

Memory-Harry, as if he hadn't heard it. "If I appear to be unconscious

then the beating wouldn't be as bad. Vernon thought a beating wasn't as

effective if I wasn't awake to... enjoy it.

"As you saw, Dumbledore was fully aware of how I was being treated by

the Dursleys. And, as he claimed magical guardianship over me, it was

his responsibility to ensure I would not and wasn't treated like that.

"Dumbledore not only did nothing to stop the beatings, he also modified

the memories of everyone - he thought - so the Dursleys had little idea all

their beatings of me were known about by Dumbledore. If the Dursleys

had known, even once, that Dumbledore was directly monitoring every

situation, as he clearly was, then I believe I never would have been beaten

as much as I was.

"So, in case you're all as stupid as I think you are, I'll explain it to you.

Albus Dumbledore is blatantly guilty of the crimes of child endangerment,

child abuse physical by proxy, child abuse psychological, child abuse

psychological by proxy, child neglect, child neglect by proxy and a host

of other despicable crimes relating to a child. And he did all this while

acting as my supposed Wizengamot-appointed magical guardian, while

Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, while Headmaster of Hogwarts -

where he's in charge of almost four hundred other children - while

Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and while everyone believed him to be

the Leader of the Light."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the VIP section, where she still had the tip of her wand pressed into

Dumbledore's neck about an inch behind his left external carotid artery,

Bones was fuming. One minor piercing curse, let alone a blasting hex,

and the old man would be dead in only a few seconds, if that.

However, even she was paying little to no attention to that. What Harry

had just shown down on the floor of the other end of the arena, had her

blanch. When he stated how it was his memory, and that he had to have

been conscious to actually have it, once she realised he was right even

had her at the point where she wanted to do nothing more than to turn

her head to the side, bend forward and vomit. It was only through a force

of her own indomitable will she did not succumb. Many in the audience,

including some within the VIP section, weren't so lucky. She could hear

them retching from where she sat, and smell the results only moments

later.

Finally, she leaned forward and whisper-snarled into the old man's ear,

"Try something, Dumbledore. Please, try something. Just one little twitch

is all I need. Just give me the excuse I need to blow your fucking head off;

right here, right now. With the evidence Mister Potter clearly has for me

no court would ever convict me."

Dumbledore refused to even breathe, so still he sat.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"But!" continued Memory-Harry, instantly dragging everyone's attention

back to him. "But... I did not show you that memory to show you to what

despicable lengths my so-called uncle would go when I displayed

incidences of, as he put it, my freakishness. I showed you that memory to

show you to what despicable lengths Dumbledore would go to make sure I

lived there!

"That shows you why Dumbledore had no problem forcing me to go back

there during the summers between my first, second, third and fourth

years of Hogwarts. Plus, it shows you Dumbledore is that despicable he

would use a memory modification charm on both muggles and on a five

year old wizard who he'd only just been told was suffering from a

concussion!"

"In my possession are another more than dozen memories of mine that

show Dumbledore turning up... sometimes bringing Pomfrey with him,

sometimes not... berating the Dursleys for their behaviour, healing me or

having Pomfrey do it, Obliviating everyone and leaving again. So, it

wasn't a one-off incident you all witnessed. I also remember there being

times when Vernon actually did beat me unconscious and my waking up

some time later with all, or almost all, my injuries healed. Once I learned

what magical healing was like, I recognised that's what had happened

during those times.

"You also need to understand that, at the time, I had no idea it was

Dumbledore or Madam Pomfrey that were apparating in after Vernon

went too far and beat me too much. All I knew was that an old man

called 'Albus' with long white hair and beard, who wore what looked to

me like a gaudy dressing gown, would arrive out of thin air with a sound

like a gun shot. Sometimes he would bring a lady a little older than my

aunt and uncle who dressed in what appeared to be an old style nurse's

uniform, and sometimes not. I also quickly realised the lady in the nurse's

uniform - 'Poppy', as the old man called her - wouldn't recognise me from

one visit to the next. She also acted as if she was meeting me for the first

time.

"I knew from when I asked a teacher at school, that's muggle primary

school, what the word 'Obliviate' meant. The closest I could find in the

dictionary was that it meant to erase from existence, to wipe clean. And

that told me the old man, 'Albus', was wiping Pomfrey's, my aunt's,

uncle's and cousin's memory clean; and trying to do the same thing to

me.

"If he was wiping everyone's memories away, I quickly realised that it

would be a bad idea to let the old man know that I could remember both

of them from their previous visits. The old man would wave that stick of

his at us, firmly call out 'Obliviate!', a light-blue light would shoot out of

it and hit us, I'd feel all wooly-headed for about the next one or two

minutes, then everything would come flooding back."

Again, Memory-Harry smirked towards the VIP stands. "And, by then, I

had already become a good enough actor to fool the old man. It was

something I never stopped doing. As you will see a little later."

Memory-Harry gave a snort of amusement before he changed the subject.

"About a week before my eleventh birthday I received my first

acceptance letter to Hogwarts. But, I couldn't accept; because, as soon as

the letters began to arrive, Vernon was collecting them and burning

them.

"And, yes; I said 'them', meaning 'plural'. I received one on the first day,

one on the second day, three the day after that, the next day I received

twelve, on the fifth day I received twenty four, on the sixth day - the

Sunday - about thirty to forty arrived, and on the seventh day well over

one hundred arrived. At one minute past midnight the next morning,

Rubeus Hagrid turns up to hand-deliver my invitation letter.

"Now, think about that; wizarding mail is delivered by owl. Think about

how many owls had to have been flying into the muggle world to deliver

mail to me; especially on the sixth and seventh day. Think about how

many owls that would have to have meant were waiting just outside -

perched on branches, fences and the like - to deliver that mail; each with

a letter in its beak or tied to its leg. Would that not be a breach of the

Statute of Secrecy? And this was forced, knowingly, to occur under the

direction of Albus Dumbledore.

"That's yet another crime willingly committed by the so-called Leader of

the Light. And this time it was breaching the law set in place centuries

ago to protect the wizarding world.

"Anyways," he sighed, "Hagrid collects me on the evening of the tenth

day, we head for Diagon Alley the next morning, my eleventh birthday. I

learn about having a trust vault at Gringotts, get some galleons out to

buy my school supplies and shop.

"As soon as we're finished, Hagrid hustles me off to the Underground and

sends me back to the Dursleys.

"For the entire month of August the Dursleys - all three of them - pretend

I don't even exist." Memory-Harry gave a long, drawn out sigh of bliss

and added, "It was won-der-ful!

"And, why did they leave me alone?" he asked. "It's because, this time

they had kept their memories of just how close the wizarding world was

watching me." He sighed. "I was then left to wonder just how much of

that abuse I suffered I wouldn't have suffered if Dumbledore hadn't kept

Obliviating the Dursleys."

Coming back to himself he continued, "However, during that time I was

not idle. Hagrid had told me a little bit about the truth surrounding my

parents and their deaths, a fair bit about Hogwarts, and very little about

anything else. But one of the nuggets of information he did share with me

had to do with the Houses of Hogwarts. And I made sure to grab a book

on Hogwarts and another on recent wizarding history from Flourish and

Blotts while I was there.

"So, during the month of August, while the Dursleys were ignoring me, I

read. I read about the four Houses and of how the students are sorted

into each. I read how the method by which students are sorted was based

on that young witch's or wizard's character - and grew quite concerned. I

knew I was destined for Slytherin if I didn't figure out a way to change it.

"Oh, yes," he suddenly said. "Based on what Hagrid had told me, and after

meeting Draco Malfoy in Madam Malkin's that day Hagrid took me to

Diagon Alley, I had already reached the decision I did not want to end up

in Slytherin.

"And why did I decide I didn't want to end up in Slytherin?" he

rhetorically asked. "Not just because of what Hagrid had told me about

my parents; and not just because of the behaviour of Draco Malfoy,

either. No. It's because of the ideals each of the Houses are supposed to

prize the most."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the Slytherin section of the stands around the arena, Draco Malfoy

scowled back. Because of his own focus, glaring in hate back at Harry, he

was unaware many of his housemates took their own moments to glare at

him.

While he didn't think Potter was worthy of being a Slytherin, there were

many more of Slytherin House who would have been quite proud to have

him in their House. And they all now knew Malfoy was partly responsible

for him not being there.

Well, that's what they thought - for now.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"And, why did I believe I was going to end up in Slytherin, you may ask?

It's because of my upbringing. Anyone who understands child psychology

- that is how a child grows to think based on their home life - will

already know that a child that is raised in the sort of home environment

in which I was raised would make perfect little Slytherins.

"A child raised in a similar environment to the one in which I was raised

would grow up cunning, sly, secretive, would employ guile, almost

instinctively negotiate for a better position in life, plan moves in advance,

consider risks in advance. In other words, as I said, a perfect little

Slytherin. Without their knowing they did it, the Dursleys raised me as a

perfect little Slytherin - a true Slytherin.

"I figured that out weeks before I arrived at Hogwarts, within hours of

cracking open the book on the history of the school. So, I had to bend my

mind to figuring out how not to be sorted into Slytherin, as I should have

been.

"As the story goes, Slytherin cherished those who employed cunning and

guile to achieve their ends. These days many think that also means

ambition; it does not. At least, not alone. All four founders cherished

ambition, not just Slytherin. Therefore, the Hat does not take how

ambitious a new student is to determine into which House the child

would be sorted. So, I did not have to worry about the Hat considering

me ambitious.

"I began to plan. First, I had to think about what the two words, 'cunning'

and 'guile', actually meant. For those who do not know, the definition of

'cunning' is the employment of a skill in a shrewd or sly manner; and

'guile' means crafty or artful deception. Once I had those definitions I

knew how I could argue my way out of being sorted into the House of the

Serpent.

"You see, by the very definitions of 'cunning' and 'guile' I knew I had the

means in which to argue the best House for a true Slytherin was to be

sorted into any House but Slytherin." He paused to give a chuckle. "Think

about it. How guileful is it to be sorted into Slytherin when you're a true

Slytherin? Where's the craftiness?... the insidious cunning?... the artful

deception? A true Slytherin would do everything they could not to be

publicly labelled as such."

That had most of the students in Slytherin, together with the alumni of

that House, who had come down to watch the task almost all collectively

scowling in annoyance.

"On the First of September I bumped into the Weasleys at Kings Cross.

Hagrid, for all his good intentions, had forgotten to tell me how to get

onto Platform nine and three-quarters. With only a few minutes until the

train left the station - and me in a near panic - that's when I heard Molly

Weasley doing her best to break the Statute of Secrecy. Whether that was

out of malice aforethought, ignorance or just plain stupidity, I do not

know. On the muggle side, she was crying out to her own children in a

shrill voice words along the lines of, 'Look at all these muggles! What's

the number of the platform again, dear?' And a ten year old Ginny

Weasley calling back, 'nine and three-quarters, Mum!'"

With a sigh, he continued, "Irrespective of the probable breach of the

Statute, Molly Weasley gave me the knowledge of how to get onto the

platform. If it wasn't for her I'd have never found the platform in time, if

at all.

"Once on the train, Ron Weasley found me in a compartment on my own.

When the subject of Houses came up, he then gave his very biased

opinion about them. It was from that conversation, added to what I'd

heard from Hagrid back on that day in the Alley, that I had my answer as

to where I would try to convince whoever it was that did the sorting,

where I was to be sorted. Remember; I still did not know the sorting was

done by a magical talking hat that could read minds.

"It was while on that train ride I finally learned of the full identity of

'Albus', the old man with the long white hair and beard. I got a Chocolate

Frog card of Albus Dumbledore. I had finally learned that the old man

who kept trying to wipe away my memories was also the same old man

who would be my new Headmaster. I almost panicked, right then and

there.

"We arrived at Hogwarts, received a talk from Minerva McGonagall -

where she effectively lied to us and told us our House would be like our

family - and were then escorted by her into the Great Hall.

"As the Hat gave its little tale expressed in doggerel verse, I learned how

the Hat would sort me. And I also physically breathed a sigh of relief

when I learned it would not relate what it would learn out of my mind to

anyone.

"Almost immediately after the Hat was placed on my head it wanted to

sort me into Slytherin. 'In Slytherin you would be great, you know', the

Hat said to me. However, I was determined to go to the one House where

a true Slytherin would never be expected to be sorted - Gryffindor.

"For those of you who were there and remember that night, that's why

my sorting was one of the longest in history. It took me almost the entire

time I was under the Hat for me to convince it to sort me into the House

of red and gold. Finally, it recognised my determination, ceded to my

wishes and sorted me into Gryffindor. I have never had to argue for

something I wanted so hard in my life!

"Now, you might wonder why I chose Gryffindor; and not another House

such as Ravenclaw. The answer is quite simple. When people are

presented with evidence of something they expect, they never question it.

If I had been sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, questions would have

been asked of why. I'd have been questioned about my sorting, questions

would be asked of others who would also then ask me directly. However,

as people expected me to be sorted into Gryffindor, no one wondered

why; and, therefore, no one asked why."

With a smirk on his face, he gave that a moment to sink in; and for the

audience to understand what he'd done.

"So, here I was, a newly minted Gryffindor who was expected to be a

Gryffindor, while all along I was really a Slytherin in disguise." He gave a

low, almost evil chuckle.

"From then on it was easy. I just had to behave pretty much like I was

expected to behave. And just bide my time while trying to stay under the

radar, as the muggles would say, until I finished my schooling." He gave

another snort of amusement. "Like, that was ever going to happen."

"Basically, from day one in First Year I figured out Ronald Bloody

Weasley was going to prove to be nothing but an anchor around my neck.

However, I had to 'allow' him to hang around me because, if I'd broken

things off with him, Dumbledore would have come sniffing around to find

out why.

"From what I've now come to believe, though I have no evidence to

support that belief, the first meetings with Weasley at Kings Cross Station

and on the Hogwarts Express were somewhat engineered for me and

Weasley to meet; and for us to become friends. However, after arriving

here at the school, I quickly learned that boy is nothing but an indolent,

bigoted, gluttonous git."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Up in the stands - where he was sitting near Hermione, but not next to

her - Ron Weasley flushed with anger. It did not help that his housemates

sitting near him were now attempting to slide away from him, as if he

was diseased.

'Dumbledore's gonna be pissed!' he thought. 'Bloody Potter.'

It had not occurred to him, and likely never would, that Dumbledore had

far bigger problems than worrying that his little spy on Potter would now

be pretty much worthless; or, that he had ever truly been of worth.

Hermione was staring at her best friend in awe as he systematically tore

down the staff of Hogwarts. As she had been with him for all of the

events he spoke about since his arrival, she knew she was in the unique

position to know precisely what he was talking about.

Now that Harry had effectively already torn down Headmaster

Dumbledore and Professors McGonagall, Snape, Moody and Hagrid, she

wondered what was coming next.

She even spent time paying a little attention to the aurors who were

heading off as Harry brought to light more truths. It was no challenge for

one with her intellect to deduce they were being sent off to arrest people

- all of which were those aforementioned.

And she knew Harry wasn't done yet.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"My second major misdirection was something I had to employ while at

the Dursleys. I had to show myself to be academically somewhat below

average," he explained.

"Dudley was a pretty piss-poor student. And, if I ever brought home

marks that showed me to be a better student than Vernon and Petunia's

little angel, I would get punished. Because, according to them, it meant I

had to be cheating.

"So, by the time I started at Hogwarts, I was very good at being able to

write my assignments, answer my tests and similar to score just behind

my fat baby whale of a cousin. As I figured out Weasley seemed

determined to keep me performing sub-par academically, it was easy for

me to shape things to seem like I just went along with it. After all, I still

didn't know if the incident involving Weasley meeting me on the

platform at Kings Cross and Dumbledore's behaviour towards me were or

were not somehow linked.

"Because she's been such a good friend, and thought she was trying to

help me with studying better, I owe Hermione Granger a major apology.

It took me a little while to determine that, unlike Ron Weasley, Hermione

Granger honestly did have my best interests at heart. Weasley, just like

pretty much everyone else in the wizarding world, sees me as 'The Boy

Who Lived'. Hermione sees me as 'Just Harry'. And, I have to say, I love

her for it."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Hermione dropped her head in embarrassment and blushed. It was the

first time her friend had actually shown he truly cared. And, to have done

it in such a public environment, had her feel deep joy inside.

It was not until that very moment that Hermione Granger realised she

just might love Harry Potter.

But, while Harry loved Hermione, he thought he loved her like a little

brother loved his big sister; not the romantic sort with which Hermione

thought she might love Harry.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Memory-Harry had only paused for a few moments before he began

again. "About a month after I started at Hogwarts I managed to track

down a book on Mind Magics. And that led me to tracking down a book

on Occlumency.

"Both books I asked a seventh year 'Puff to check out for me, who was

happy to do so. My explanation for her was that I didn't want my 'lazy'

friend questioning me on why I was reading up on the subject. I was

having a hard enough time dodging the git's constant begging of me to

play chess and or skiving off with him, instead of studying.

"As for Ronald Weasley, here was a boy who was the sixth and youngest

son of a family of seven children, whose family was not that flush with

money, whose family had to work hard to save enough money to put

together the tuition needed to send him and his siblings to Hogwarts,

whose family did so in the belief of ensuring him the best chance at a

good future, and who spends almost the entirety of this... gift... doing his

level best to get out of studying and, instead, want only to talk and read

about Quidditch and play chess.

"In other words, Ron Weasley's family have worked damned hard, and

continue to work damned hard, to send him to the supposed best school

of magic in magical Britain to give him an excellent start in life. And his

way of thanking them for their effort is to deliberately piss it all away." He

then sighed as if in disappointment.

"I wonder what their reaction would be if someone were to actually go

and tell them the truth of their youngest son's behaviour in school," he

continued. "Mind you, that's exactly what his school Head of House,

Minerva McGonagall, is supposed to have done. I bet she's completely

ignored that part of her responsibility, and not."

If Minerva McGonagall was within hearing range she'd have almost died

in embarrassment. However, as she was already being 'detained' by

aurors outside of the arena while they awaited further orders from their

boss, she was not aware of Harry's words.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"I've already shown you what should be known to anyone of what

happened in my first year, the 1991-92 school year. But there's more only

myself and Dumbledore know. That is, what Dumbledore thought only he

knew, due to his judicious use of memory charms.

"It was in late October, shortly before Hallowe'en, I figured out Quirinus

Quirrell was being possessed. At the time I did not know the identity of

the malevolent spirit inhabiting him; though, I had a pretty good idea.

"So, I had to make a difficult decision. That decision was whether or not

to tell Dumbledore the information about Quirrell, and thereby risk him

discovering I wasn't as dense as he thought me to be; or, keeping Mum

about it, thereby risking the residents of the castle to actions Quirrell or

his spirit 'hitch-hiker' might launch against them.

"To me, the answer was obvious. It was time to do what was right for all,

rather than just what was right for me."

Again Memory-Harry faded away to be replaced with a memory of Harry

running along the corridor that led to the Headmaster's gargoyle

guardian.

With barely a pause, Harry almost shouted the then current password to

the gargoyle, who leapt to the side to allow Harry ingress. Harry

practically bolted up the upwardly rotating stairs.

Almost slamming the Headmaster's door aside, Harry barrelled in before

coming up short and looking around, almost in awe.

"What brings you up to my office, young Harry?" twinkled a slightly

smirking Dumbledore.

Snapping out of his stunned reaction, Harry quickly made his way to the

Headmaster's desk at the other end of the room. "Headmaster! You need

to know! The students are in danger! Professor Quirrell is being possessed

by, I think, Voldemort's ghost!"

Dumbledore frowned as if the news was terrible. However, he drew his

wand and said, "I'm very surprised you figured it out so quickly, Harry

my boy."

As Harry appeared to gape back in what appeared to be his own shock

Dumbledore drew his wand on him, the Headmaster continued, "It's too

early for you to learn that."

As Harry continued to stand there, his expression slowly changing to one

of great anger, Dumbledore lifted his wand and cast at him.

"Obliviate!" the old man snapped out. And the light blue charm zipped

from his wand to Harry's chest.

As Harry's expression seemed to go blank and his eyes glassy-eyed,

Dumbledore said, "You and I had a short talk about how well you're

fitting in to Hogwarts' life, Harry. You have no interest in wondering if

Professor Quirrell is being possessed. However, you believe Professor

Snape may be trying to get into the forbidden third floor corridor to get

what is being protected there."

As Dumbledore lowered his wand and quickly slipped it back into his

belt, he rose as Harry's relaxed expression regained liveliness and his eyes

seemed to clear.

As Dumbledore walked around his desk, he said, "Thank you for coming

to see me, Harry my boy. I'm glad you're fitting in and enjoying yourself."

"Errr..." said Harry, before he seemed to think of how to reply. "Thank

you, Sir."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "You may go. And don't worry so much

about Professor Snape, my boy."

Harry gave a little nod before he quickly left.

Once he was back past the gargoyle he suddenly stopped and seemed to

stand still for a long moment. Suddenly, he spun back to stare at the

gargoyle with an expression of great fury on his face.

And the memory ended, bringing Memory-Harry back.

"So, as you witnessed, Dumbledore both knew of Quirinus Quirrell's

possession, knew that possession was by the shade of 'Voldemonkey', and,

when I raised the issue with him expecting him to put the students first,

tried to Obliviate me of the knowledge and further used the Obliviation

charm to try and redirect my thoughts to it being Severus Snape going

after the Philosopher's Stone. He did not want me knowing the truth.

"For you parents of students and actual students in the audience, if you

haven't already figured it out, Albus Dumbledore deliberately put the

children of magical Britain at great risk. He did it both knowingly and

intentionally. That's premeditated child endangerment times as many

students as were under-aged at the time who resided in the castle. Each

case is, of course, a crime punishable by the loss of every position of

authority he holds, at a minimum; and a long-term stay in Azkaban, if

not execution via the Veil, at a maximum - for each.

"And that, of course, does not count the illegal obliviations."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

From where they were all sitting parents, students, Ministry personnel,

journalists, others who had an interest in watching the first task, staff of

the visiting schools and even the few remaining Hogwarts staff who were

in attendance and had not otherwise been taken into custody spent at

least a few moments staring at Dumbledore in both fear and anger.

From where he was still sitting with Madam Bones's wand firmly jabbed

into his neck, Dumbledore did not need his great wealth of experience to

know, without any doubt, that his tenure as Headmaster was now over;

as were his roles as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme

Mugwump of the ICW. Nor, at the moment, was he able to see any

strategy he could employ that would keep him out of Azkaban.

He knew representatives of the wizarding world's news media were also

in attendance; and that what young Potter was doing would be the lead

news stories on both wireless and in the printed news press by that

evening, at the latest. He had no hope of stopping it happening. He'd

need to be out of the clutches of the DMLE well before either made it all

public for him to have any hope, no matter how slim, of effecting that.

And, with the amount of information Harry was making available and

knew Bones would be asking him about, he would be lucky to be out of

her clutches by the next afternoon at the earliest; if he was out of her

clutches, ever again.

'Merlin's balls!' he mentally cursed. 'The Daily Prophet, at least, will

parade this story for weeks!'

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Chuckling with a laugh that sounded almost evil, Memory-Harry

continued. "Of course, stupid me, I kept trying.

"Oh, not that time," he corrected. "I meant at other times over the past

three years.

"I, again, tried to get the old bastard to act when I complained directly to

him about the way I was being illegally treated at the beginning of second

year, when I figured out it was a basilisk even before Hermione did,

when I told him - yet again - about how the Dursleys treated me, and all

the rest of the times I kept going to him. On just about each and every

occasion he attempted to Obliviate me and redirect my thoughts away

from what I knew to be the truth.

"For second year that includes: He knew the exact moment when the dark

artefact that compulsed a student to release the basilisk, Slytherin's

supposed monster, was brought into the school; he knew who the student

was; he knew it was a basilisk petrifying the students; and he knew a lot

more than just that."

"You'll also recall when earlier I told you I ran from my summer prison of

Durzkaban after blowing up 'Marge the Barge'," continued Memory-

Harry. "And how I spent the next three weeks in Diagon Alley.

"You'll also recall I told you about how Dumbledore has been stealing

from my inheritance.

"What I've already told you, though, wasn't all of it.

"When I went to Gringotts and explained the situation to them, the

goblins immediately wanted to go after Dumbledore for everything he

had. However, I begged them to hold off. At first, this surprised them;

and they thought me weak. However, once I explained why, they were all

for it and just as willing to go along with my plan.

"You see, I like to read muggle crime fiction. I'm a big fan of that genre.

And one of the things I learned from reading those books is that, if you

want to find out what happened to evidence, you 'follow the money trail'.

I had the goblins hold off from acting by suggesting they wait for the

next time Dumbledore accessed my accounts and made moves to steal yet

more gold from me. And the goblins, through use of their own magics,

placed tracking charms on the gold before it left their lands.

"From that they were able to track it. The monies went into quite a

number of different accounts, both in the wizarding world and the

muggle world. Most of it went into Dumbledore's private accounts he had

set up using others to set them up for him. A very small amount went

into the account of one Molly Weasley under her maiden name of

Margaret Prewett. Another small amount went into a Barclays account -

that's a muggle bank - under the name Vernon Dursley - that's my Uncle,

who always claims I'm a financial burden on them. But, most of the rest

of it goes to the same bank under the name 'White Bumblebee

Enterprises'; 'Albus' is Latin for 'White' and 'Dumbledore' is an old-

fashioned term for what is today known as a bumblebee. Therefore,

'White Bumblebee Enterprises' easily translates to 'Albus Dumbledore

Enterprises'.

"While Harry, down there," said memory-Harry, gesturing to where real-

Harry was still lounging, "Is trying to come up with ideas how to

complete his task, the Goblins are currently in the process of recovering

all the gold that has been stolen by Dumbledore from the Potter vaults.

By the time they're finished, they assure me, Albus Dumbledore will be

close to being completely broke and bankrupt. Plus, they're also

recovering the money from both Vernon Dursley and Molly Weasley."

That had quite a few of the audience shocked to their very magical cores,

and they could already tell Harry wasn't done yet.

"However, gold is not all Albus Dumbledore has stolen from the House of

Potter," he continued. "He's also stolen family heirlooms and artefacts.

These, too, the goblins are tracking down.

"And, finally, should Albus Dumbledore venture onto goblin soil before

matters between he, the House of Potter and the goblins are resolved, he

shall consider his life forfeit. The goblins are very much hoping to

introduce old Albus to one of their security dragons - up close and

personal like."

He laughed; cackled, really.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Again, Dumbledore groaned. That money was meant to be his retirement

fund. He was planning on retiring as soon as he had vanquished Tom, for

good.

He also knew that, once the goblins recovered all the money from his

accounts he'd been carefully taking from the boy's, he'd be close to flat

broke. His robes cost quite a lot. And that, once Molly learned of the

money missing from her own maiden family account, she'd be coming

after him with that screech she called a voice.

He really didn't know which would be worse.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"Moving on to third year. Dumbledore knew Sirius Black was innocent,

he knew the school wards in his standard configuration for them would

not keep the dementors out but did know he could easily adjust said

wards so they couldn't come in, he knew Black knew about at least one of

the secret tunnels under the wards and he knew Black would use at least

one of them to come into the school. But, I do not know for sure if he

knew Ron Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers, was actually the animagus form of

Peter Pettigrew, or not," continued Memory-Harry, not in the least bit

interested in Dumbledore's thoughts. "That's something for the DMLE to

ask him.

"Now, for this year. The intent wards of Hogwarts are such that Albus

Dumbledore is completely aware that the person pretending to be

Professor Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody is, in fact, not. That person is actually

Barty Crouch Junior under the effects of Polyjuice Potion. The reason why

he is not dead is because his own father, who was Director of the DMLE

at the time and is currently sitting among the judges, switched his son

with his terminally-ill wife using - you might have guessed it, but I very

much doubt it - Polyjuice Potion, to smuggle said son out of Azkaban."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

From where she was sitting, Amelia heard the gasp and look of shocked

terror that suddenly broke out on Barty Crouch Senior's face, and

immediately stunned him as the man suddenly shot to his feet looking to

flee.

Before she could say anything, Rufus Scrimgeour, who had returned to

standing at her shoulder, said, "Magical suppression 'cuffs and portkeyed

to a nice cell at the DMLE; yes, Ma'am."

Bones gave a slightly amused snort that her imminent order was quoted

to her before she could utter it. She added, "And send someone to stun

and arrest the fake Moody."

"Yes, Ma'am," nodded Scrimgeour as he sent another auror off to go and

do just that as he moved towards Senior.

Her rising to extraordinary heights trust in the young Potter boy now had

her not even questioning if he was wrong or not. Senior's reaction was

more than enough to confirm it for her.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

"Dumbledore was also aware my name was very likely to come out of the

Goblet as a fourth competitor, or just as the representative competitor for

Hogwarts," continued memory-Harry. "He knew it, because he knew

Barty Junior, Polyjuiced as Alastor Moody, was very likely going to

confound the Goblet to spit my name out. That's why he put up nothing

more than a simple age line as the security for the Goblet.

"And, yes, Madam Bones, I have copies of each and every memory of

those events," he said.

From in the stands, Madam Bones gave an almost snort-like grunt of

acknowledgement.

Memory-Harry then seemed to give a sigh before he stood up straight and

practically barked, "Right! That's the history lesson complete.

"And... it also marks the end of the entertainment."

Memory-Harry then turned to 'look' to where Real-Harry was still

lounging back on the banana-lounge. "Alright, Harry..."

When Real-Harry didn't seem to notice Memory-Harry was supposedly

now addressing him, Memory-Harry tried to 'gain his attention'. "Harry."

No response.

"Harry!"

Still no response.

"HARRY!"

Real-Harry almost jumped off the lounge in surprise before his head

snapped to look at Memory-Harry. "Hunh?"

Memory-Harry smirked and said, "Your turn."

As if suddenly understanding, Real-Harry suddenly said, "Ah!"

The final memory winked out.

He quickly stood, tossing his novel into the ex-Army echelon bag. Then

folded up the portable lounge, also stuffing that into the bag.

Once he was done, he then pulled the rack of empty vials out,

deactivated the pensieve and began pulling the strands of memory out,

dropping them into vials one at a time.

That took a few minutes.

Meanwhile, the audience - who still hadn't broken up and left - quietly

sat and talked among themselves while keeping one eye on Harry as he

worked.

Once all the memories were removed from the pensieve he then packed

both it and the plinth on which it stood into the bag. Finally, he dropped

the rack of full-once-more vials on top before zipping the bag closed.

Then he stood up and looked around, as the audience returned to once

more silently watching him.

With a cheeky grin, he then looked to blow on the tips of the fingers of

his right hand before then rubbing his thumb over the balls of them. With

a large overly done gesture to be sure everyone saw him do it he snapped

his fingers. Instantly, the bag disappeared in a flash of white light.

He then drew his wand and pressed the tip of it to his jaw. "Sonorus."

Looking about with his cheeky grin he said, "I bet none of you have yet

worked out how I'm doing that, have you?"

When he received no answer he gave a chuckle.

"Well, that was the entertainment for you while I sat and figured out how

I was going to complete this task," he said, his voice again carrying across

the arena. "I'd actually figured out a number of possible ideas by about

halfway through it. But, I thought you might like to see the end of it

before I shut it off.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

With everything now cleared away Harry stood tall and proud while

smirking at the audience, but mainly at the VIP box.

"As you now know," he began. "I think most witches and wizards are...

not just daft... but daft morons.

"So, in order to complete this task, I considered the straightforward

approach first. I mean, the approach that should not work because it's so

obvious."

Removing the wand tip from his jaw line he dropped it into his pocket,

for the moment.

He then held his left hand, palm upwards and out to his side. Then he

pointed his right index finger at it before, with the similar gesture as

before, snapped his fingers.

With yet another flash of white light, the golden egg disappeared from

the dragon's nest and appeared on his left palm, as if it apparated there.

Taking his wand out of his pocket again, he placed the tip back to his jaw

and said, "Hunh! How about that? The organisers of this task were as big

a bunch of daft morons as I thought.

"However, you all probably think I cheated or something to get the egg.

So that you know I didn't, I'll put it back and try a different method."

Tucking his wand under his left armpit this time, he again snapped his

fingers and the egg disappeared from his hand before immediately

reappearing on the nest. The dragon didn't notice either the time it

disappeared or the time it reappeared. It was still somewhat dozing.

Plucking his wand from under his arm he returned it to his jaw. "Let's try

a simple fourth year charm."

He then aimed the wand towards the dragon's nest. "Accio golden egg!"

he firmly intoned.

Nothing happened. Again, he used the Sonorus.

"Hunh!" he exclaimed. "Since the first idea worked I'd thought that one

would too. Maybe wizard-kind aren't as daft as I thought.

"Let's try a switching charm. That's a third year Transfiguration charm."

He bent down and picked up a pebble, holding it on the palm of his left

hand, which he held palm up as when Dobby used elf magic to

translocate the egg there a little earlier.

"Permuto!" he called, first indicating the egg before then indicating the

pebble.

Surprising the audience but not surprising him so much, the egg suddenly

appeared on his palm. Though, he did almost drop it when it did, as he

truly did not expect it to work.

Returning the wand to his jaw he sighed, "Well, I had such high hopes I'd

not be disappointed by the organisers of this event. Sadly, they've proven

themselves to be daft, just like the rest."

Tucking the wand back under his left arm he again snapped his fingers.

And, again, the egg appeared back in the nest; before returning the wand

tip to his jaw.

"Well, that was a simple third year transfiguration charm," he sighed

again. "Let's make it a little more difficult by seeing if using only first year

charms will accomplish the task. Professor Flitwick taught us these in our

first year."

With the pebble still on his palm he pointed to it with his wand and

intoned, "Nomen Harry's Pebble. That's named it. Gluten! That's made it

capable of sticking to the next object it touches. And... Wingardium

Leviosa!"

With his wand guiding it, Harry levitated it down the length of the arena

until he guided it to touching the very top of the egg.

As soon as he cancelled the charm the pebble dropped only a fraction of

an inch before contacting the top of the egg, and affixed there.

With a smirk he again pointed his wand at the egg. But, this time, had his

mind's eye firmly on the pebble, Harry's Pebble, that now stuck to the top

of the egg.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he again intoned. And the pebble, with the egg

firmly glued to it, levitated.

Then it was only a matter of using his wand to guide it, before he flew it

slowly back to his hand.

As soon as he dropped it onto his palm he returned his wand-tip to his

jaw. "Three first year charms," he said. "I find myself soooo disappointed.

I actually thought this was supposed to be, and was going to be, a

challenging event for seventh years. That even a first year could

accomplish it - with little danger to themselves - is, quite frankly,

disappointing."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

More focussed on what he was doing than anything else, Harry had no

idea the other three champions had been standing at the Champions'

entrance to the arena, along with the dragon handlers, since before the

first hour of his 'presentation' had even passed.

As Harry demonstrated how to accomplish the task with no more than

first year charms Cedric Diggory, the supposed Hogwarts Champion,

almost sulkily said, "He's making us look like idiots."

Durmstrang Champion Viktor Krum, muttered, "He's making everyvun

look like idiots.".

"Non," sighed the Beauxbatons Champion and part-Veela, Fleur Delacour.

"Ee's doing what we should 'ave thought of do-eeng. We made ourselfs

look like ee-dee-ots."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Though not as disappointed as he professed to be, with his egg in his

hand Harry was still a long moment before he said, "Still, as I now have

my egg and all I need to complete the task is to step out of the enclosure,

I should bid you, as they say in France, 'adieu'.

"However, that will not give you leave to harass me in any way, shape or

form. I remind you that, even though a task will not then be under-way,

interfering with me can still be viewed as interfering in the Tournament.

And I will look very... poorly... on that.

"As I said at the beginning of my little presentation, I am no longer in a

forgiving mood. Secondly, I've given you all ample evidence I am not the

Harry Potter you thought me to be. As I no longer have to play a role, I

will no longer do so. You have all been warned; and it is the only warning

you're ever going to get."

Dropping his voice to an almost-snarl he declared, "It is time for you all

to learn it is very unwise to... fuck with a Potter."

As Harry turned to walk back out of the arena with the egg tucked under

his off-arm, he heard the voice of Madam Bones using a Sonorus.

"Mister Potter!" she called out.

Harry stopped and turned back, with his head cocked just so it was clear

he was listening. "It's Lord Potter, now. After having been declared of-age,

by being forced into this Tournament, I've taken up my Lordship."

"My apologies, Lord Potter. Please wait for me just outside the entrance

to the arena," she instructed him. "I do not want to see you harm anyone

as, like you, I think they just might be too stupid to take your threat

seriously."

Harry gave a slight bow to her, knowing she said that as much to protect

him as protect those who truly were too stupid to realise they were no

longer dealing with the Harry Potter they thought they knew.

And, with that, he strode from the arena. He could see the five dragon

handlers rush in while giving him strange looks; and the other three

champions, plus Madam Pomfrey, waiting in the entrance for him.

"Lord Potter," called Madam Bones yet again. "You need to be awarded

points."

Again stopping and turning to her, he again cast the Sonorus on himself

and said, "No, I really don't. There's nothing in the rules of this Merlin-

bedamned tournament that states I have to be here for any points

awarded to me. And, further, since you've not figured it out yet, I really

couldn't give a damn about points, anyway.

"If you feel I have to be awarded points, award me a single, solitary, one

point each. After all, it did take me about three hours to accomplish my

task; when the three real champions all did it in a few minutes, each."

And, with that, he strode from the arena.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

4. Investigations Begin

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Four - Investigations Begin

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

As Harry finally walked out of the arena, Amelia cancelled the Sonorus

charm she'd been using to talk to him and turned to the judges. "You

heard the young man, award him one point," she firmly ordered them.

"And do that right now."

With the exception of Dumbledore and Crouch, as the judges collected

themselves they each indicated a single point each.

When they were done, Amelia then said, "One point for you,

Dumbledore." And fired off one point using Dumbledore's own wand.

"And, one point for you, Crouch." And fired off another one.

As soon as that was done she firmly said, "Right! Albus Dumbledore,

Bartemius Crouch Senior and Cornelius Fudge - you're all under arrest."

Scrimgeour smoothly said, "I believe Mister Crouch is still stunned

unconscious, Madam Bones."

"Then tell him he's under arrest when you wake him up in his cell back at

the DMLE," she firmly ordered. "In the meantime, I want the following

taken into custody, if they're not already as they bloody well should be:

Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Severus Snape, Filius Flitwick,

Poppy Pomfrey, Rubeus Hagrid and - of course - Barty Crouch Junior.

"Then, once we have them back at the DMLE, I want a team of three to

go to Lord Potter's home, arrest the two Dursley adults and bring them

back to the DMLE. Then send teams to arrest Lucius Malfoy and Molly

Weasley.

"While you've sent teams off to do that, a want a team of no less than a

dozen aurors sent back here to take charge of the students in the Great

Hall. We've just taken into custody the entirety of the senior staff of the

school and we need more responsible adults to keep an eye on them.

"Get that done now."

"Yes, Ma'am!" barked Scrimgeour.

"In the meantime, I need to get to Lord Potter and get those memories off

him."

"Yes, Ma'am," replied Scrimgeour, a little softer.

As Scrimgeour indicated two other aurors he'd already called up to the

VIP box to step forward and take those into custody who were already

manacled but still there, Amelia stayed for only a moment to ensure

Dumbledore was firmly under the effects of magical suppression 'cuffs

and a reintroduced silencing charm before she quickly left the stand to

head around to the champions' entrance.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

As Harry headed for the entrance with his wand in his right hand and

'his' egg tucked under his left arm like he was carrying a rugby ball, he

could see the looks on the faces of the other three champions. Their

expressions were an interesting mix of awe, anger and not a little fear.

Poppy Pomfrey had just moved up to stand with them.

Harry simply gave them all a nod before he stepped up next to them and

watched the dragon wranglers remove the somewhat sleepy Hungarian

Horntail out of the arena.

After a long few seconds Diggory softly said, "Merlin, Harry!"

"Not what you expected of me, was it?" Harry quietly asked back, not

even bothering to look at his fellow Hogwarts student.

It was a long moment before Diggory replied, "No... it wasn't."

That seemed to break the tableau, when Krum asked, "Vhat made you

fink uff using furst year charms, Mistur Potter?"

"Using the basics, because I've already come to realise just how daft

magic users, in general, are," replied Harry. "I thought about, if I was

responsible for organising this event, what would I need to block being

used to force competitors to actually have to go and collect the egg by

hand? Then thought, knowing how moronicly daft most witches and

wizards truly are, actually trying them first. I'm quite disappointed,

though not really surprised, that the only charm they seem to have

blocked is a direct summoning charm - the 'Accio'."

It appeared Delacour was about to say something when Madam Pomfrey

said, "Be that as it may, Mister Potter, I need you to come into the

Infirmary tent to be checked over―"

"That is not going to happen, Poppy," interrupted Madam Bones, who had

just come striding down from the competitors' tent, tailed closely by

another auror. "I can assure you, the only thing Lord... not Mister... Potter

may be suffering from is from being glared at by the audience. He went

nowhere near the dragon."

"Nevertheless, it is my job―" huffed Pomfrey before she was again cut off

by Bones.

"Not for the foreseeable future, it's not," disagreed Bones as she stepped

in close. "Madam Persephone Pomfrey, while you are not under arrest at

this time, I am taking you into custody while certain allegations are

investigated."

"What?" asked a shocked Pomfrey.

"You're being taken into custody, Poppy," said Amelia. "While not being

placed into magical suppression 'cuffs at this time, you'll be allowed to

remain free of them if you follow the directions of Auror Fitzmichaels

here." And indicated the young female auror who stood just behind her.

"What? Why?" asked a clearly shocked and somewhat fearful Pomfrey.

"Due to Lord Potter's... history lesson during his task," replied Amelia, "All

those who were mentioned are being taken into custody until we know

for sure they're not guilty, or otherwise involved in, what's been going

on."

"I assure you―" blustered Pomfrey.

"... Of nothing, for now," interrupted Amelia, yet again. Without waiting

for Pomfrey to say another word, she gestured for Fitzmichaels to take

the witch into custody.

Stepping forward, reaching out and taking Pomfrey lightly by the elbow

of her wand arm with her off hand, Fitzmichaels calmly said, "This way,

please, Madam Pomfrey."

As a thoroughly confused Poppy Pomfrey was being led away, Amelia

finally turned to Harry with a somewhat pained and exasperated

expression on her face. Harry just grinned back.

"I believe you have something for me, Lord Potter," she reminded him.

"I do," he nodded, his expression turning serious. Glancing to the

competitors' tent he indicated it and said, "Perhaps, if we duck into the

tent?"

Giving her own nod she indicated for Harry to precede her. "After you,

Lord Potter."

Harry gave a slight snort of amusement but led her over to the tent.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After first asking her if she'd figured out how he 'summoned' his 'bag of

destruction', then sent it away again, all with a snap of his fingers; then

doing the same thing with the egg; he sigh in disappointment at her

when she couldn't figure it out.

"Madam Bones, I have given you all the clues you need," he began.

"Firstly, the object I'm focussed on either appears or disappears in a flash

of white light, only. Secondly, I snap my fingers. Thirdly, I do not utter

an incantation or use a wand; so it is highly unlikely it is I who is casting

a spell.

"Now, with that knowledge, think of what creatures do the same?"

When she glared at him with a mild look of frustration he finally relented

and told her, "Was it too hard to figure out it was a house elf?"

She then looked back at him with dawning shock. So much, it caused her

monocle to fall out of her eye and drop to her breast on the length of its

thin gold chain.

As she was clearly embarrassed by the answer - after all, she had house

elves of her own - Harry said, "Don't worry that you didn't figure it out. I

doubt any one of those who watched me do it figured it out, either."

She stared at him for another long moment before she gave a grunt, gave

herself a bit of a shake of her head and said, "I want those memories."

Chuckling a little, Harry turned to look down to his left and called,

"Dobby!"

With a very muted crack the devout little house elf appeared next to

Harry's side. The elf was clearly very happy to have been called and was

almost bouncing on his little feet in joy.

"It worked, Master Harry?" he asked.

Harry lightly laughed and replied, "It sure did, little buddy. Not one of

them figured it out."

"Yes!" the little elf declared before he gave a little fist pump in the air.

Before things got out of hand, Harry gave the elf his instructions. "Dobby,

I need you to bring me that rack of memories I had you sort for Madam

Bones, plus the documented evidence of Dumbledore's monetary

shenanigans the goblins gave me. She needs them."

Without a word, Dobby popped away only to return a few moments later

with a large rack of vials, a thick sheaf of parchment and immediately

offered it to Harry. This rack was far larger than the one he used in the

arena. Each vial contained a strand of memory and was labelled with

what the memory covered.

Offering it to the woman he said, "All sorted and labelled, Madam Bones."

Carefully taking it she looked through them before asking, "Lord Potter,

could you have your elf put them on the desk in my office?"

"Of course," he replied, before turning to elf. "Dobby?"

"Yes, Master Harry," replied Dobby, before he disappeared with the

documents and the rack.

When both had gone, she sighed and softly said, "I can't believe you used

a house elf like that. And I don't believe I didn't realise that's what you

were doing."

Harry gave a snort and said, "You, like pretty much everyone in the

magical world, have 'house elf blindness'. They're always there, so you

think nothing of them and the powers they wield. And you've forgotten

that the wizarding anti-apparation wards of Hogwarts don't bother them

in the slightest. Sorry to be so blunt about that; but, it's true."

She gave her own, more lady-like, snort and bobbed her head once in

acknowledgement. "True. It is that obvious, we barely think about it."

"Anything else?" he asked. "I've just spent a few hours mainly sitting on

my bum while being warily watched by the meanest breed of dragon of

all, I didn't have much of a breakfast and I'm now quite famished. I'd like

to go and eat; and, I daresay, you have a ton of work awaiting you in

your office."

"My Masters and Seniors can handle the initial interrogations and

investigations," she replied. "Besides, I haven't had a chance to talk to my

niece yet." Then she grinned and almost coyly asked, "Care to escort an

old lady up to the Great Hall?"

With a grin of his own, Harry offered his elbow and replied, "I'd be

honoured, my lady. And I don't consider you old."

And the two left the tent to head up to the castle.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

As soon as they exited the tent it was to see a great mass of people

waiting outside. Clearly, they were all waiting for him. They'd also just as

clearly been blocked from entering by two aurors who'd been standing,

facing out, just outside the tent flaps.

Madam Bones immediately stepped in front of Harry and glared at the lot

of them. "Unless you have specific business with me," she said, "I expect

the lot of you to leave, immediately."

That had almost all of them show various expressions ranging from

surprise to happiness to hate. But, with the exception of a few, they all

began to disperse. Most of them were students and they headed for the

castle.

Turning to one of the aurors who'd blocked the entrance, this one a

witch, Madam Bones said to her, "Be between us and those students.

Make sure they don't stop before they enter the castle."

"Yes, Ma'am," nodded the auror before she moved ahead and started

chivvying the stragglers ahead of her.

That left about half a dozen still waiting. These included: Rita Skeeter

and her photographer, who was busy snapping photos; but were now

both holding back; Karkaroff and Maxime, the Highmaster and

Headmistress of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, respectively; and

Hermione and Ron.

Ron looked angry and Hermione looked worried.

Eventually, Hermione's patience wore out and she dashed to Harry to

wrap him in a hug. "Oh, Harry!" she cried. "What you had to go through

with those horrid Dursleys! You should have told us! We'd have

understood.

"And... what the Headmaster was doing... I'm glad Madam Bones's people

arrested him and took him away. I can't believe I was in awe of that

man!"

To stop what he knew was quickly turning into Hermione-babble he

placed a vertically-held finger to her lips and made shushing sounds.

"Shhh! Hermione, stop."

When she seemed to stop and backed off with a bit of a frown, he said, "I

couldn't tell you. While Dumbledore's attempts at obliviations failed on

me, they would have worked against you. And I didn't want to see you

lose your memories."

Finally Ron had also had enough and he came almost stomping over.

"You just had to get the Headmaster arrested, didn't you?" he snarled.

"And McGonagall!"

As he approached, Harry pushed Hermione away slightly and out of the

path of Weasley, then changed hands with his egg to his left hand. As

soon as the boy was close enough, Harry simply balled his right hand

into a fist next to his hip and slugged him one with a right cross, right in

the jaw. It was enough to set Weasley on his bum.

As Weasley went down with a half strangled yelp, Madam Bones quickly

stepped in and berated him; "Lord Potter!"

"Sorry, Madam Bones," he replied, not in the least contrite. "But the little

shit richly deserved it."

"Be that as it may, Lord Potter," she returned. "I cannot, however, let go

the fact you assaulted that boy." She seemed to pause for a moment

before she said, "As the boy is otherwise not harmed, I shall consider

your assault a case of 'Simple Assault' and fine you a total of ten galleons.

Expect to receive a fine by owl mail within the next seven days."

"Understood," he replied with a nod.

Meanwhile, Weasley continued to sit on his bum on the grass, one hand

on the ground behind him for balance while he rubbed his jaw with the

other. He was looking at the two talking, with shock.

"He hit me!" he suddenly blurted.

Finally turning her attention to Weasley, Amelia said, "Yes, I saw. That's

why I've fined him ten galleons."

"Though I can certainly understand why you hit him, Harry," said

Hermione. "It was still wrong to do so."

"Yes, thank you, Hermione," nodded Harry, barely glancing to her. "As

you heard, Madam Bones was just getting through telling me that. As she

is the Director of the DMLE and it's her job to do so, I didn't need you to

tell me, too."

Hermione blushed in embarrassment but didn't offer another word. She

knew Harry's words were a mild rebuke.

"Now, Lord Potter," said Amelia, getting things back on track. "I believe

you were escorting me to the Great Hall."

"Yes, I was," said Harry, moving back alongside her and once more

offering her elbow.

As the two headed for the castle, Hermione broke out of her shock and

embarrassment and hurried to catch up.

It was a good few seconds before Weasley realised he was getting left

behind and scrambled to his feet and stormed after the three of them.

"Bloody Potter," he grumbled, though he did keep his distance, this time.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Upon walking into the Great Hall, the first thing Harry noticed was the

distinct lack of teaching staff. Of course, the first thing Amelia noticed

was her niece rising from the middle of the Hufflepuff table and heading

towards her with a puzzled smile on her face. And both noticed how

quiet the population of the Hall got as they'd walked in. All eyes were

directed towards the two of them.

"Well, that's unusual," muttered Amelia, as she moved to hug her niece.

"I think it'd be safe to say that everything about this day is unusual," said

Harry.

She smiled back at him over her niece's shoulder as she hugged her.

Susan piped up and said, "I'm so sorry for how everyone's treated you,

Harry. It's clear to everyone now you didn't put your name in the Goblet."

Harry just gave a nod back and then moved to the Gryffindor table,

sitting at the end as he'd been doing since the morning after his name

came out of the Goblet. Hermione sat with him, just as she also had since

that same morning.

As they sat, Amelia was walking to the head table to speak with the few

remaining members of staff, while also talking with her niece who'd

accompanied her. As she had informed him during their walk up to the

castle, none of the senior staff members remained at the castle for the

foreseeable short future. With the exception of History of Magic and

Astronomy, all other teaching staff were teachers of elective subjects; and

History of Magic didn't count as Cuthbert Binns was a ghost. And that

made Aurora Sinistra, though one of the youngest Professors, still one of

the most senior in authority still remaining.

As Hermione sat she asked, "Are you now going to tell me what's going

on?"

"No," he replied. "At least, nothing further than what you learned during

the task."

She looked a little hurt at that response.

"Sorry, Hermione," he quietly said. "But, this is all now a DMLE

investigation. It'd be best if you remained ignorant of anything else, for

the time being. If I remember correctly, I'm not allowed to talk about it

anyway."

She gave a combined annoyed and disappointed sigh before she lowered

her eyes and nodded back.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Hermione," he said to soothe her. "But

there are certain requirements of a DMLE investigation that are ironclad.

And witnesses colluding with one another is a big no-no."

Her eyes snapped up to stare at him in shock. "We would never―"

"I know," he said. "However, even the possibility of that is enough to

constrain the both of us from talking about the information I brought to

light during the task.

"That doesn't mean we can't talk about anything else, though. There's

nothing wrong with that."

"Oh," she said in understanding. She seemed to think for a few moments

before she asked, "So, your egg? What's that about?"

Giving a nod and smile back, he replied, "According to that idiot,

Bagman, it's supposed to contain a clue to the second task. That is, of

course, if there actually is going to be a second task."

Confused, she asked, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Hermione, look around you," he replied. "How many of Hogwarts's staff

weren't arrested... sorry, 'taken into custody'... by Madam Bones's aurors.

"Think about it," he said as he held up his hand with his fingers spread.

Then he started counting off, "They've effectively arrested the

Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore; the Deputy Headmistress,

Transfiguration Mistress and Head of Gryffindor House, Minerva

McGonagall; the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, Severus

Snape; the Charms Master and Head of Ravenclaw House, Filius Flitwick;

the Herbology Mistress and Head of Hufflepuff House, Pomona Sprout;

Professor of Care of Magical Creatures and Keeper of the Keys, Rubeus

Hagrid; and the school healer, Poppy Pomfrey.

"Besides Poppy Pomfrey, because she wasn't involved, and besides

everything else they've been a party to, the rest are all in trouble for what

I showed regarding the traps on the third floor corridor when the

Philosopher's Stone was here; and probably a bit about second and third

year, too. All of them are just as guilty as the others for deliberately

endangering the students of the castle at that time. Madam Bones's

people will be wanting to talk to them about that. Of course for some of

them, such as Dumbledore and McGonagall, there's a great deal more of

which I made clear Madam Bones and her people are going to want to

know about. That includes Poppy Pomfrey."

Hermione looked horrified and was about to ask her next question when

Madam Bones and her niece separated, with Susan returning to her table,

and stepped up to the podium. "Listen up!" she barked.

That had all four tables immediately shut up.

"So that you're aware of what's going on," she said. "The following

members of Hogwarts staff have been taken into custody by the DMLE to

answer certain questions relating to Lord Potter's revelations during the

first task: Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape,

Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick, the person who was masquerading as

Alastor Moody, Poppy Pomfrey and Rubeus Hagrid. I have also just been

informed that the real Alastor Moody was found locked in a multi-

compartment trunk in the DADA office, where he has been since before

school started this school year.

"As such the number of staff remaining is insufficient for the school to

carry on with normal operations. And, as such, classes are cancelled for

the foreseeable future."

When the noise levels rapidly rose she loudly snapped out, "Be quiet!"

The rising noise suddenly shut off again.

"When I speak, you listen," she snapped. When no one interrupted again

she continued, "Under my authority as Director of the DMLE, I've

declared the entire grounds of Hogwarts a crime scene. That means, until

I state otherwise, I am in charge. All decisions regarding this school are

mine to make."

After giving that a long moment to be 'absorbed', she continued. "As I am

in charge there will be no acting Headmaster or -mistress... or Deputy.

There will also be no Heads of Houses. I and my aurors are, temporarily

at least, filling all of those roles.

"I am also very aware of just how much rule-breaking and troublemaking

was allowed to go on. That stops right now.

"Fighting will now be seen as 'Assault'. That means all parties involved

will be arrested and taken to one of my holding cells. Depending on the

severity of the trouble-making you could find yourself in the same

accommodations. Severe enough rule-breaking or trouble-making - at my

discretion - may very well see you immediately suspended and sent home

in disgrace. I am not a forgiving person and my aurors are to act the

same. This is the only warning you will receive on that.

"Next: No one is to pressure Lord Potter on the information he brought to

light during the task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Lord Potter is now a

prime witness in the criminal prosecutions I have no doubt will evolve

out of what he shared with us today. If you hassle Lord Potter about any

of it he is to immediately inform me or one of my aurors. You will then

be arrested and a charge of witness tampering may well be levelled

against you. A conviction of witness tampering can see you sent to

Azkaban. At the minimum, after you are questioned as to what you

thought you were doing, you will find yourself suspended and sent home

on the spot. Again, this is the only warning you will receive.

"Now, I was going to sit and have lunch with my niece before heading

back to my office, where I'll be immediately starting official

investigations. However, I now believe I will not have time for that. And

there'll be no trying to pump my niece for information, either. That, too,

will be looked upon very unfavourably. If you bother her about it, you

also might find yourself suspended and sent home. Actually, if you bother

anyone about it, you'll probably find yourself suspended and sent home.

"Enjoy your lunch. I suggest you then make use of your now otherwise

free time from classes with self-study. My aurors will be keeping an eye

on all of you."

With that she stepped away from the podium and made her way to the

Gryffindor table and straight to Harry.

"Lord Potter," she said. Before Harry could verbally acknowledge her she

added in a clear and carrying voice, "What I said up there is true. If

anyone questions you about your revelations you are to immediately

inform one of my aurors. Understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he immediately and just as clearly replied.

"Good," she nodded. "At some time over the next couple of days I'll have

one of my aurors come and collect you. Once I've had time to go through

those memories you provided I'll need to talk to you about them. Is that

alright?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "That's fine."

She then turned her attention to Hermione and asked, "The same goes for

you, Miss Granger, as with Lord Potter. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, Ma'am," she replied. "But, aren't I supposed to have my parents with

me if you want to talk to me?"

"You're over fifteen, aren't you? I believe you had a birthday a couple

months back?" asked Amelia.

"Yes," replied Hermione.

"Then, no. It is not required unless you're being questioned where you

might find yourself being charged," explained Amelia. "You are not

someone I'm currently looking to charge."

"Then, can I at least have Harry there?"

Surprised at the question, Amelia glanced at Harry, who nodded back

that he was okay with it.

Turning back to Hermione she replied, "That will be fine. However, he

will not be able to answer any questions for you. He will have to remain

silent. Am I understood?"

"Yes; thank you," she replied, quite relieved.

Giving a short nod, Amelia said, "Very well. Now I need to say goodbye

to my niece." And left to head across and to the Hufflepuff table.

As soon as she left earshot, Hermione turned to Harry and said, "Thank

you for agreeing to come with me if... when... I get taken to the DMLE."

"You'll be fine, Hermione," he soothed her. "You've done nothing wrong

and you're not the target of her investigations, anyway. She'll just want to

hear your 'take' on what you were involved with that I've included in my

memories I've given her."

Hermione nodded, looked relieved and then turned away with a

somewhat pensive expression.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Amelia had no sooner walked out the door when Malfoy sauntered over

to the Gryffindor table with his two ape-shaped bookends, Crabbe and

Goyle.

"So, Potter," he drawled with a sneer. He didn't see an auror suddenly

peel off from the wall not that far away and approach from his side. "You

seem to have managed to do what no one else has done and gotten rid

of―"

That was as far as he got before the auror pushed bookend number one

out of the way and firmly placed his hand on Malfoy's shoulder.

Malfoy's head spun about it shock.

"I do believe Madam Bones just got done telling everyone to leave Potter

alone," drawled the auror. "Do you want to be the first suspended and

sent home in disgrace?"

Malfoy appeared to try and shake the hand off his shoulder. But the auror

merely tightened his grip.

"I asked you a question, lad," the auror more firmly stated.

"Let go of me!" Malfoy practically squealed, still trying to shake the auror's

hand off.

Instead of doing so, the auror then reached out with his other hand and

snagged Malfoy by the wrist. A quick twist and Malfoy's wand arm was

now twisted up behind his back.

Malfoy gave a strangled little yelp as the auror manhandled him into a

police-style 'compliance' hold.

"Again," snapped the auror. "Do you want to be the first person sent home

in disgrace?"

"No!" yelped the ferret.

Then the auror simply marched him back across the Hall to the Slytherin

table before he gave him one last shove. Malfoy staggered forward two

steps, spun about and glared back.

"The next time you cross the Hall with the intention of bothering Lord

Potter," snapped the auror, "You will be arrested and taken to the DMLE.

You should expect to be suspended from Hogwarts at that time."

Malfoy spluttered a moment and then bawled, "When my father hears of

this―"

The auror rode right over him and snapped back, "Threatening an auror

in the course of their duties is an automatic stay in Azkaban. You want to

watch what you say to me... boy."

That shut Malfoy right up.

"As for your father, you can be most assured that he'll 'hear about this', as

you put it," the auror continued. "As you're under-aged, we're bound by

law to immediately notify him when we arrest you."

The auror then glared back for a few moments to make sure his message

was received, before he spun about and stalked back to 'his' spot standing

with his back to the wall.

Harry and Hermione watched the entire thing, surprised. It was the first

time, that Harry could recall, when an adult actually moved to protect

him from the blonde ferret.

What neither teen knew was that the warning of the auror's actions were

received by the entire school collection of both students and remaining

staff; including Weasley.

He'd been about to confront Harry himself just as Malfoy made his play.

Seeing what happened to Malfoy actually managed to get through

Weasley's head enough to make the boy reconsider his actions.

'I'll wait until we're in the Gryffindor tower,' he thought.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

With no more 'entertainment' during the midday meal, and no classes

afterwards, Harry and Hermione finished their lunch in peace before

heading back to the Gryffindor tower. Harry needed to change out of the

'Gryffindor champion' robes Dumbledore had practically forced on him,

and Hermione wanted to make a start on even more homework.

They'd just entered and split, with Harry going up the stairs to the boys'

dorms and Hermione going up the girl's, when more of their House

entered the common room through the Fat Lady portrait that protected

the entrance. They'd followed the two up, but had kept a 'respectful'

distance. The aurors with them had ensured that, at least.

Neville had made sure he led the pack and, as soon as he dashed in

through the door to the fourth year boys' dorm, spun about, slammed the

door closed and leaned hard up against the back of it.

Looking up from where he'd only just begun changing, Harry asked, "You

alright, Nev?"

"Yeah," replied the dark-blonde-haired boy. "Just making sure you can get

changed in peace."

Realising what Neville was talking about, Harry looked to his year-mate

with surprise. "You'd do that for me? Thank you."

Just then the door seemed to shudder as something hard hit it from the

other side.

"I'll be out in a minute!" Harry called out loud.

That stopped the hard banging on the door. Neville, at least, appeared

grateful.

Harry smiled at him before he returned getting changed. "Remind me to

teach you the Colloportus charm, Neville. It seals the door to the frame."

"Errrr... thanks Harry," replied Neville. "But I don't think I have the power

to cast it."

Harry knew the other boy did have the power, but held his tongue for

now.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Once Harry had changed into 'civilian' garb - wizarding civilian clothing

of a quality Neville had not seen him wearing before - Neville gave a nod

and asked, "Ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to be," replied Harry, giving himself a mental kick

to brace himself for what he suspected was going to be an ambush of

questions from his housemates when he made it down to the common

room.

Before moving, Harry looked to other boy with a firm countenance and

said, "When we've got time, you and I need to talk, Heir Longbottom."

At first surprised by the direct look and use of his formal title, Neville

looked back for a long moment before he seemed to slump a little and

replied, "Yeah, we do."

With that he backed off from the door before turning around and

gripping the handle. Once he was sure Harry was right behind him, he

opened it and stepped out with his wand drawn.

He might not consider himself more than just above a squib, magically,

but he was also determined to ensure he had Harry's back.

Surprisingly, once he opened the door there was no one waiting right

outside.

"Hunh!" he said, before leading the two of them down the stairs.

As Neville, who was only a half pace ahead of Harry, stepped off the last

step it was for Harry to see the very big surprise of no one saying

anything. However, the reason for that was immediately identified as two

aurors who stood with wands drawn and their backs to the wall either

side of the exit through the back of the portrait.

As Harry walked in he looked quizzically at both.

Knowing he would be asked why they were there, the older of the two

said, "Madam Bones wanted to make sure no one, including your

housemates, were going to bother you and pressure you for information,

Lord Potter. As such, we'll be keeping an eye on you."

Harry thought about that for a moment before he said, "In that case, let

her know I appreciate it when you next speak with her."

"Will do, Lord Potter," smirked the auror.

"I take it you re-informed this lot that trying to... let's say... press me for

information would be viewed as witness tampering? And may very well

have led them to unwillingly discovering what the inside of a DMLE

holding cell looked like?" asked Harry.

"No," smirked the auror. "Same idea, but as it related to the inside of an

Azkaban cell."

"Ah!" exclaimed Harry. "Then, again, thank you."

The auror merely nodded back with the same smirk.

Harry turned to his erstwhile housemates and said, "All the information

that I provided, couched as 'entertainment' while I figured out how to

complete the task, was my memories I swore on my magic and life was

true."

With a flick of his wrist he had his wand in his hand and snap-raised it to

cast before anyone even realised what he was doing. "Expecto Patronum!"

he firmly intoned.

Appearing almost as if his wand bucked in his hand, the Patronus mist

leapt out of the tip of his wand and immediately formed into the almost

solid appearing, silvery-ghost, corporeal shape of his father's animagus

form of a buck deer. It then stood on the floor, about eight feet in front of

Harry, appearing to look about for threats.

A few moments later it appeared it didn't see any and spun about to stare

at Harry, waiting.

Harry softly said to it, "Thank you, Prongs. You may go." And the

Patronus fizzled away.

With the Patronus now dissipated, Harry continued, "As pretty much all

of it also implicated a number of staff members of the school in the

commission of crimes, Madam Bones has taken copies of those memories,

plus others, to start her investigation into said staff members and said

others. As such, I have become her primary witness for the Wizengamot

in proceedings she is very likely to bring against those staff members and

others. This, she explained to you all in the Great Hall.

"I also have little doubt most of you are wondering why I did it. If you

don't know, then no amount of me explaining it to you will improve your

understanding of it. If you do know, then I obviously do not need to

explain it to you. Therefore, there is no need for me to say anything.

"If you do not like that, I do not care. If you don't know, then ask

someone who does know why I did it; because you will get no answer

from me. The only people in this tower who currently hold my respect are

the two aurors you see standing over by the entrance, Heir Longbottom

and Miss Hermione Granger. Maybe someone else will have the patience

with you to use little enough words, and speak slowly enough, for you to

get some measure of understanding."

He was about to leave when he turned back and said, "Oh! If you're

wondering why I don't give a shit about your questions - or you, for that

matter - I remind you how almost all of you treated me up to now for this

year. And I remind those of you who were students here two years ago of

how you treated me during that whole Heir of Slytherin nonsense. You

may have forgotten, or thought I had forgiven you, but I have not of

either."

That was apparently enough for Ron. He blurted, "But, you had the

Headmaster and Professor McGonagall charged!" The boy had finally

gathered up his courage enough to try to berate Harry.

Before Harry could verbally cut him down, though, the same auror spoke

first. "He did not, Mister Weasley. This is not the MaCUSA, magical

America, where citizens can have someone charged. Here, the citizenry

can only file a complaint. It is only Madam Bones who can file charges.

"I also remind you that Lord Potter did not even file a complaint. He only

played for you, if you were in the audience, memories through a

pensieve.

"It was Madam Bones who, off her own cognisance, is now filing those

complaints and converting them, on the spot, to charges.

"I'll also inform you that she would not do that unless she was very sure

of the crimes being committed, who committed them and her chances of

securing convictions of the people being so charged.

"As a fully qualified auror with years of experience, I can assure you it is

my opinion that both Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, to

name the two you mentioned, are guilty of numerous crimes. Neither

deserves your support, and you're either a fool or an idiot if you do."

Weasley bristled at the verbal slap down, "But... he's Dumbledore!"

"That is utterly irrelevant," the auror immediately snapped back.

Weasley grumbled about it under his breath for a couple seconds before

he suddenly spun away and stomped up the stairs to the boys' dorms in a

right royal snit.

Watching him go, the auror looked at Harry and said, "I can now see why

you seemed so relieved you'll now be able to completely break off your

friendship with that boy."

Harry shrugged back with a grin on his face. "I don't believe he ever was

truly a friend. His friendship of me was more a selfish act on his part. He

wanted to be known as the best mate of the famous Boy-Who-Lived.

Losing that is what's got him so snotty."

It had been Harry's intent to only wait long enough for Hermione to

rejoin him before heading for the 'Come and Go Room' Dobby had shown

him. That was soon after it became too uncomfortable to stay in the

Gryffindor Tower after his name came out of the Goblet. However, with

the two aurors seemingly permanently stationed in the common room to

make sure he wasn't bothered by his own housemates, he felt it was safe

enough to remain. So, he found a seat on one of the spare couches and

relaxed.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

When she re-entered the common room from the stairs leading to the

girls' dorms while wearing an angry scowl on her face, Harry was about

to ask Hermione what was wrong when she practically snatched him by

the hand and said, "We're leaving!" before trying to drag him towards the

portrait hole.

Knowing it was best not to try and impede her when his real best friend

got like this, he merely aided her in dragging him to the door by not

resisting. He'd ask her what the problem was when it looked like she

wanted to talk about it.

She never noticed either auror standing against the wall either side of the

portrait hole until both shifted to bar her way.

Almost barging right into one she suddenly pulled up, short.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, suddenly noticing both for the first time. "Sorry! Is

there sometime wrong?"

"You are attempting to take Lord Potter from out of here against his

wishes, little miss," firmly replied the lead auror. "We will not allow that."

As Hermione seemed to appear stunned and confused, Harry stepped a

little further forward and explained, "It's alright, auror. She's gets like this

when someone has annoyed her and she wants me to go somewhere

private where she can rant at me about it. She has no intention of

harming me."

The auror gave him a nod of acknowledgement before he turned back to

Hermione. "Is that true, little miss?"

"I―" she stuttered to answer before she immediately blushed in

embarrassment and dropped her head. "Yes," she softly and quietly

replied.

The auror again gave a nod before he said, "Part of the duties of the

aurors currently assigned to the castle is to make sure Lord Potter is not

bothered by staff or students about matters soon to be before the

Wizengamot. And part of our duties is to otherwise see to his safety."

Snapping her head up to stare at the auror in horror she'd been suspected

of such a thing, Hermione exclaimed, "I would never―"

"She wouldn't," Harry quickly agreed. "It's very rare she wants to rant at

me about something I've said or done; it's almost always about someone

else. I'm happy to be that sounding board for her, at those times."

Hermione immediately spun to face him with a look of shock on her face.

Then her expression immediately reverted to one of embarrassment

before she cast her eyes down again.

Ignoring the young girl's clear embarrassment the auror said, "Then we

shall follow." And stepped aside to allow them to continue the final step

to the portrait hole.

As soon as they passed through back into the outside passageway

Hermione stopped a few paces further on before turning to Harry again,

and leaned in a little to speak quietly with him. "I was going to take us

to... you know... that room. But―" Then flicked her eyes towards the

aurors, who had followed them out.

"For now, we'll use the abandoned classroom we used until we find out if

we can trust them or not," he firmly stated.

Hermione seemed to give a firm nod of agreement before leading them

off. She'd been referring to a hidden dueling room they'd discovered

through the Marauders' Map.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Amelia had only just walked into the bullpen for the DMLE when she was

almost besieged by aurors all asking for her immediate attention.

She quickly stuck two fingers into her mouth and used them to blow a

piercing whistle. That shut everyone up.

"Right!" she huffed. "I'll have the currently available Master Aurors join

me in my office. The rest of you, find something else to do until the

Masters and I figure out what we're going to do next."

Walking into her office she was joined by Rufus Scrimgeour and the

others.

Finally sitting behind her desk she moved the rack of memory vials

Potter's elf had dropped there earlier to one side, sighed and turned her

gaze on her deputy. "Alright, Rufus; let me have it."

Without a word and pulling a clipboard from under his arm, the Master

Auror referred to it and replied, "Albus Dumbledore is in Interrogation

Room 1. Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and Filius Flitwick are in

Interrogation Rooms 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Pomona Sprout, Poppy

Pomfrey and Filius Flitwick are in Interview Rooms 1 to 3 respectively.

"Interrogation Room 5 now holds Vernon Dursley while Interview Room

4 holds Petunia Dursley. That makes all Interrogation and Interview

Rooms full, for the first time I've ever known. Young Mister Dudley

Dursley, the teen son, is apparently away at a private muggle school; a...

Smeltings' School for Favoured Sons, I believe. He is not due to return

until the second week of December.

Amelia nodded and said, "We may not need to talk to him about the

treatment of Lord Potter, but we'll need to talk to him about the results of

the twin trials of his parents if both end up being incarcerated."

"Yes, boss," replied Scrimgeour. "Standard procedure, then.

"The Minister, Barty Crouch Senior and Junior and Rubeus Hagrid are in

holding cells until we have Interview and Interrogation rooms free," he

continued. "Besides Hagrid, I hope you don't mind but I think we can

hold off on the interviews of those four until we get the Professors and

the Dursleys dealt with. And aurors have not yet been sent out to arrest

Lucius Malfoy or Molly Weasley; as we lack both the staff and

accommodations for them if they were brought here."

"No, I think you've called it right. We need to get what professors we can

back to the school as soon as possible. Who's doing each of the

interrogations?" she asked.

"Dumbledore is currently in his Interrogation Room with a single auror.

We're not doing the interrogation, yet, as we want him to sweat for a

while," he replied. "The Senior Auror watching over him, Flamebright,

has been told that if he allows the old coot to convince him of anything

he'll be the occupant of Dumbledore's cell before the day is through."

Amelia gave an amused snort and said, "Leave him in there for another

hour, then tell him we've had to put his interview off while we

investigate other findings of his alleged crimes we've just recently

discovered. That should make him sweat a little more."

"Yes, boss," he replied with a small smile.

"What about Snape?" she asked.

"The healer's found he's managed to dose himself with anti-Veritaserum

from somewhere," he explained. "We need to purge him of that or those

before we can begin."

"Ah!" she said. "Of course. He's a half-blood, isn't he?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "The healer recommends a good six hours

before we begin to interview him. I suggest returning him to a holding

cell, for now."

"Make it so," she said. "And the others?"

"I've made a start on McGonagall," said another Master Auror. "I had to

stop when she... errr... burst into tears. And I've decided to suspend the

interrogation until she's... managed to compose herself a little."

"How long's it been?" she immediately asked.

"About ten minutes?" he replied.

"Give her another five and then get back in there," she ordered. "I don't

care if it makes you uncomfortable, or not. We need the transcript of that

interrogation so I can discover if there's yet more charges to throw at that

old fool, Dumbledore."

"Yes, Ma'am," he immediately replied, checking his muggle watch.

"Who's interviewing that fat child abuser, Dursley?" she asked.

Scrimgeour frowned back with a pained look and said, "He was making

so much noise about how we're nothing but freaks and how he refused to

recognise our authority we had to hit him with a silencing charm and

hope he tires himself out. That was about... ten minutes ago."

Amelia gave another small snort of amusement before she said, "Nice

trick. Go in there once every ten minutes and try again. Each time he

starts to rant and rave, silence him again and walk out. Then try again in

another ten minutes.

"Sooner or later he's going to tire himself out enough you're going to be

able to get the information out of him we need."

The auror gave a pained look and replied, "Yes, Ma'am."

Amelia just grinned back and asked, "Who's next?"

"Flitwick," Scrimgeour immediately replied. "Actually, he's been the

easiest of all, so far."

"Oh?" she asked.

"He was quite happy - almost relieved - to give us the information we

asked for," he replied as another of the Master Aurors placed a completed

interview recording scroll on her desk.

Quickly scanning through it she asked, "So, his only excuse was because

he was asked to?... Ah! He feared for his job if he didn't do it."

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "He was also offered the job of Professor of

DADA twice and turned it down both times. Though Dumbledore keeps

brushing it off when someone raises it, he knows... according to him...

that the DADA post has a curse on it; and he didn't want to be the next

victim."

"The only person willing to offer him a job when he retired from the

International Duelling Circuit, because he's considered a half-breed, was

Dumbledore," said Amelia, still scanning through the document. "He

feared for his livelihood and only chance of earning an income."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Right," she sighed. "Inform him he's being charged with accessory to

commit child endangerment and neglect, give him the usual 'don't go

anywhere' spiel, that he may yet be facing further charges and will likely

be standing trial in the not too distant future. Then release him.

"He's also permitted to return to Hogwarts but is stood down as Head of

House for Ravenclaw until this matter is resolved; and, even then, it's

highly unlikely he'll be able to head the House again. And, at all times

while at Hogwarts, he will be monitored by the aurors I've had cause to

be stationed at the school."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Next?" she asked.

"With Flitwick released I'll have room to move Pomona Sprout into an

Interrogation Room. Then one of us will be interviewing her," he replied.

"The last one is the 'iffy' one - Poppy Pomfrey."

"I hope you had a DMLE-certified healer in with her while speaking with

her," she warned.

"Yes, Ma'am; Master Healer Pockridge," he replied. "Because those

memories of Lord Potter showed she was the subject of at least one

obliviation - and very likely quite a few more - we began with treating

her with kid gloves.

"However, it is the healer's opinion we had to stop as it appears she's also

been placed under some sort of compulsion regarding Lord Potter. Either

that, or she's found some way around her healer's oath."

Amelia frowned and asked, "How do you figure that?"

"When she gave Lord Potter his first physical, once he reached Hogwarts

in 1991, she found evidence of long-term mistreatment. Instead of

immediately reporting it to us, as her Medi-witch's Oath demanded, she

only reported it to Dumbledore. And she does not seem to understand

that she's broken the law in doing so.

"Apparently Dumbledore informed her and convinced her that, as he was

Chief Warlock, she had done her duty of reporting it to the authorities.

He's also given her a direct order that any more such information

regarding Lord Potter was only to be reported to him. Something about

how he was 'protecting the reputation of the wizarding world's young

hero'. Personally, I think it was more a... 'covering his own arse'

situation."

She gave a snort of annoyance at that. "That he told her she would be

reporting to him in his capacity of Chief Warlock, means I can add

charges against him for abuse of authority of that position."

Recognising her silence was permission to continue, Scrimgeour went on.

"According to our healer, he believes Poppy Pomfrey is so tied up in

compulsions and obliviations she should be immediately in-patiented into

Saint Mungo's, so they can then help her get through those compulsions

without it also meaning the loss of her magic due to the breach of her

Oath."

Amelia sat back, allowed her monocle to fall from her eye and brought

her off hand up to massage the bridge of her nose.

A few moments later she sat back up, re-affixed her monocle and said,

"Right. Have her taken to the DMLE secure ward at Saint Mungo's and

have our healer see to her being treated. If it turns out she truly was not

acting contrary to the law off her own volition then we won't be charging

her. However, once she's well enough to supply it, I want her full co-

operation in bringing charges against Dumbledore and the rest of the

staff."

"Yes, Ma'am," said Scrimgeour, making a note on his clipboard.

"Alright," she said. "Continue with the interrogations, as discussed. In the

meantime... which of our aurors has the best short-term memory?"

"Errr... I think that would be young Auror Second Class Tonks," he

replied.

Nodding back in agreement, she asked, "She on duty?"

"No, Ma'am," he replied. "However, she came in not too long ago because

she thought she could help."

"Where is she now?"

"In with the Dursley woman stopping her from doing something stupid,"

he replied. "She's also monitoring a Dicta-quill that's writing down

everything the woman has said."

"Replace her with another female auror and send her to me," she ordered.

"Anything you think I've missed?"

"Sirius Black," he replied. Then immediately stepped forward and handed

her a long roll of parchment. "Your written authority to remove the 'Kiss

on Sight' and 'Dead or Alive' orders. It's amended to only approach him if

safe to do so and to inform him he's to immediately hand himself over to

await proper trial if an auror comes across him."

"Ah, yes," she said, unrolling the parchment.

As soon as she read it, she gave her senior-most auror a smile and

immediately affixed both her signature and stamp of office to it, before

then re-rolling it and handing it back. "Execute it, immediately," she

ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied.

"Anything else?" she asked.

When no one else said anything she said, "Then, you have your orders.

You'd best be about it."

Once her senior staff filed out to get on with the interviews and

interrogations and to move Poppy Pomfrey to Saint Mungo's, she drew

out a great sheaf of parchment and put it on her desk. Then she began to

'head' the top of each sheet with the same words as appeared on the

labels of each memory strand vial.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

5. Hermione's Wake-Up

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Five - Hermione's Wake-up

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Amelia Bones was only about a third of the way through writing down

the headings on what would become a written record of notes relating to

each memory when there was a knock on her door.

"Come!" she barked.

Marching in and coming to a halt almost exactly five feet in front of her

ultimate boss's desk, Nymphadora Tonks quickly snapped off a salute and

almost barked, "Auror Second Class Nymphadora Tonks reporting as

ordered, Ma'am!"

"Sit down and relax, Auror," said Amelia, barely glancing up.

Auror Tonks hesitated a moment before she stepped forward and sat on

one of the two office chairs sitting before Bones's desk.

As she did so, Amelia rose and walked to her office credenza. Opening a

hidden draw in what looked like fixed wainscotting she drew out a

pensieve and returned with it to her desk, placing it in the middle but to

one side.

Once it was placed she returned to her seat and looked to the young

auror.

"Auror Tonks, I've been informed you've the best short-term memory and

observational skills in our current cadre," she said. "I have need of those

skills, right now."

When Tonks attempted to sit up even straighter than she already did,

Amelia had to bury her desire to smirk back. She knew the promising

young auror before her knew it was a compliment.

"You and I, Auror Tonks, are going to go through all these memories, one

by one," she explained. "Then, after each memory is completed, we're

going to come out of the pensieve and write down everything we saw of

note; especially all the crimes that have been committed. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Tonks instantly replied. "It's similar to one of the exercises

we did in the Academy, when memories were taken of crime scenes."

Amelia had forgotten they did that. And that they did that just for this

sort of thing. But, she wasn't going to let the young auror sitting before

her know that.

Nodding, she said, "Yes; this is going to be just like that. And you also

need to know that some of these are going to include incidences of child

abuse, including vicious beatings. Do you think you have the stomach for

that?"

With a firm and resolute countenance, Tonks immediately replied, "Yes,

Ma'am."

"If you need a break at any time, let me know," instructed Amelia. "I

won't think any less of you if you do. I daresay I'll be looking for breaks,

too. And I've been at this a lot longer than you."

Tonks stayed resolute and replied, "Yes, Ma'am."

Nodding once in recognition she'd heard her, Amelia started with the

vials that began one month before the start of the school year in 1991.

She thought she'd get to all the beatings and the like once she and her

young auror became comfortable working so close to each other and

within the pensieve.

She had no idea there were also beatings between Hogwarts' years. That

would come as a shock.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

As soon as Hermione found the abandoned classroom they'd been using

to ready Harry for the first task - or, at least that's what she thought they

were doing - she almost forcefully shoved Harry into a chair before

beginning to pace in front of it while ranting away.

She never noticed the two aurors followed them in and, again, stood

either side of the door.

"I can't believe those two... two... witches!" she snarled. Spinning about to

stare at Harry she asked, "Do you know what they did and said to me as

soon as they caught up with me in our room?"

"Of course not, Hermione," he calmly replied. "I was―"

"You weren't there!" she interrupted. "That cow, Brown, had the

audacity... the sheer gall... to demand I tell her everything about you and

what you'd done.

"When I refused, she and Patil drew their wands on me and... and...

threatened me!"

As soon as the senior auror heard that he glanced to his junior female

partner, who was now looking back, and flicked his chin in the direction

of the door. The junior auror gave a curt nod and ducked back out of the

room.

Hermione didn't notice, but Harry did. He just didn't let on he did as he

knew what that suddenly disappearing auror was about to do. He felt

Hermione might react very badly if she heard about it before it was all

over and done.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That afternoon the staff of Hogwarts who had been taken away by aurors

of the DMLE, began to return. First back was Filius Flitwick, soon

followed by Pomona Sprout and Minerva McGonagall together, with a

very morose Rubeus Hagrid following not too far behind.

Those who did not return were Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Barty

Crouch Junior, the real Alastor Moody and Poppy Pomfrey. The first

three were being held in cells within the DMLE while Alastor Moody and

Poppy Pomfrey were sent to Saint Mungo's.

At dinner that evening, those who'd returned except Minerva

McGonagall, joined the student body and other staff in the Great Hall for

their evening meal.

Just before the meal commenced, however, Filius Flitwick rose to stand

on his chair and called for silence to make an announcement. The aurors

who stood at the wall seemed unable to make a decision on whether or

not to stop him; but, in the end, did not interfere.

"Students," he quietly began. When the noise dropped right down he

continued to quietly speak. The nature of the magics of the Hall ensured

his voice flowed right to the other end.

"I have an apology to make to you all," he said. "For those of you who

were at the first task, specifically Lord Potter's task, you witnessed a great

deal of his memories played in that projector pensieve he used. To the

best of my own memory and irrespective of his own oath to its truth, it

was the truth.

"I... currently face charges relating to my part in setting up those so-

called traps in the third floor corridor back in 1991; that is, from the

memory Lord Potter played where he and his two friends had to get past

them to save the Stone from being stolen by a possessed Professor

Quirrell."

That had a few students, especially in Ravenclaw, gasp in surprise and

begin muttering between themselves.

"I'm also facing charges for not protecting students, as I'm required to do

as a professor, from the dangers and treatment they faced or underwent,"

he continued, "To that end... I have learned that young Miss Lovegood of

my own House - or, what was my House as I do not believe I'll ever have

the honour of being the Head of it again - has been horribly mistreated

by, especially, her own housemates. That ends right now.

"One thousand points from Ravenclaw for the bullying behaviour of the

entire House!" he firmly declared.

That caused the House, as a whole, to gasp in shock. The same surprised

gasps were coming from many others. Those blue gems that had

somewhat filled the Ravenclaw House point counter immediately

emptied out, leaving it completely bereft of points.

"Any and all things that have been taken without authorisation from Miss

Lovegood - and, indeed, any other student - are to be returned by no later

than 8.00am tomorrow morning. If Miss Lovegood does not report to me

that all... all... of her personal possessions have been returned to her, then

the DMLE will begin their own investigations. This is the decision of the

current Acting Headmistress and Director of the DMLE, Madam Director

Amelia Bones.

"Once that happens I have been informed the thieves will be prosecuted

to the full extent of the law. Anyone then caught having stolen anything

from anyone will be immediately suspended. If they are then found guilty

of thievery, they will also be immediately expelled on the spot. They will

not be permitted to return to Hogwarts - ever. You have been warned."

Then, without allowing the matter to be discussed, he called for the

house elves to serve the meal.

Hearing the professor specifically ask the house elves to serve, Harry

wondered, 'How long will it be until―'

"What did he mean by 'house elves'?" Hermione suddenly asked.

Harry mentally groaned and berated himself for tempting fate, like that.

He already had to calm his best friend down once when she learned both

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were put through an interrogation by

the aurors into what they thought they were doing making demands of

her at wand point to provide information about him.

After being taken away for a period of time, both young witches returned

to the Gryffindor tower shaken and in tears. Both then warned their

housemates that questioning either Harry or Hermione about anything

would be at their peril. The aurors did not lie.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That evening, though she and Tonks were not able to get through all the

memories Harry supplied her, Amelia believed she already had enough

evidence to call for the trials of all of the individuals arrested. And, using

her authority as Director of the DMLE, put out the official call for an

emergency sitting of the Wizengamot in judicial, trial, form. It was for

one of the few reasons she could put out the official call.

It was from those memories, especially the first ones, where she figured

out just how Harry had made it look like the pensieve memories were

interactive. They weren't, of course; he'd just set up the memories to

appear as if they were.

'Clever boy!' she thought, with a smirk. "That was a nice bit of 'theatre'."

Of course, having now arrested the sitting Minister of Magic and

outlining the charges he would face, she had to include that information

in the call. She knew, though, that the call would only come as a shock to

a small minority of the sitting members, as she doubted there would be

many who had not actually been at the task to see it for themselves, had

not already heard the news either directly off the WWN or through other

means - such as personal spies within the Ministry, including her own

department.

A clear example of that was when, during a short break when Amelia and

Tonks stopped to take stock, the Minister's dumpy little 'pet'

Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, barged into her office. Before Amelia

could even begin to ask her what she wanted the little woman began

making demands and issuing threats. She demanded the immediate

dropping of all charges and the immediate release of 'Cornelius', or those

aurors who had 'overstepped the bounds of their authority' would soon be

'taking his place in that cell'.

Amelia heard out her first lengthy demand before she decided to ignore

her, turned to look at her now open door and barked out, "Will someone

please get in here and get this bitch out of my office?"

While Umbridge gaped back, utterly stunned that someone publicly spoke

of her like that in her presence, it took a few moments before an auror

finally, though tentatively, stepped through her door. It was Senior Auror

Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Before Shacklebolt even got a chance to ask a question, Amelia fired an

order at him. "Shack; get that..." she said, indicating Umbridge with a

short 'point' of her chin, "... the Hell out of my office! If she so much as

makes a single sound before you throw her arse out the door, you are to

immediately throw said arse into a cell and charge her with deliberate

interference of a DMLE investigation!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Shacklebolt snapped back before marching the couple of

steps to Umbridge, gripping her wand arm tightly with his off hand and

forcibly dragging her from the office.

Umbridge, still too stunned to adversely react, was dragged out of the

office without uttering another sound. She did not return.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Also released that day, but in the early evening, was Cornelius Fudge. He

was given the same warnings about trying to flee the country and

ordered to go home and remain there until he was called for trial. He was

under house arrest.

Mentally beaten he did not try to argue against it. Instead, he did as he

was told and went directly home; using the auror's floo in the auror

bullpen once given leave to do so. He had no desire to go out into the

'public' areas of the Ministry building, just yet.

He'd just flooed into the welcoming parlour at the Minister's Official

Residence - one of the major perks of the job - when he was confronted

by Umbridge, who was apparently waiting for him.

"Oh, Cornelius!" she simpered, waddling towards him with her hands

fluttering about. "I tried to beg that horrid Bones woman to release

you―"

At first, Fudge was shocked to find the woman there. But, as she spoke,

he began to lose his temper. Interrupting her, he barked,"Why are you in

my home?"

Stuttering to a shuddering halt Umbridge gaped at him. "But, Cornelius!"

"How dare you let yourself in without my permission! Get out!" He

roared, "Get out of my home!"

With only a long second of hesitation, due to the shock her 'beloved'

Minister yelled at her, she finally hurried around him to the fireplace

while giving him a wide berth. A quick dash of floo powder, a last look of

surprise back at a still furious Fudge, and she was away.

Almost as soon as she was gone, Fudge appeared to almost deflate on the

spot.

He knew he really shouldn't have yelled at her like that, but her standing

in his home uninvited really annoyed him. It was as if she really didn't

care about his privacy.

He stood ruminating on that for a few seconds longer before he went to

the ward book and scratched her name off the list of those automatically

permitted through the wards.

Before then putting the book away he decided to clean the entire book

out of allowed witches and wizards. And removed quite a few other

names, including Lucius Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore.

No one would be automatically allowed through, except for himself. He

had no idea that, by doing so, he'd just saved his own life.

Once he returned the ward book to its secret niche he then returned to

his desk, drew forth a fresh sheet of parchment, quill and ink, sighed and

began to write his resignation from the office of Minister of Magic. It was

either that, or wait a mere day or two before he'd be tossed out of the job.

He had no doubt of that.

As soon as he finished writing the resignation letter and sending it to his

own - now 'ex' - office staff, he ordered the Ministerial Residence elves to

begin packing his personal effects and moving them to his secret 'bolt

hole' escape home on the Isle of Mann.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Harry had taken time to explain to Hermione the symbiotic relationship

between witches and wizards and house elves, but she still leapt to the

false conclusion they were slaves, as he expected.

Once the earnest debate between the two of them wound down for the

moment they were soon joined by Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons'

champion and - Harry had learned - Veela.

"Monsieur Potier," she said, to gain Harry and Hermione's attention.

Looking up, Harry, pleased to have been interrupted, asked, "Yes,

Mademoiselle Delacour?"

She gestured to the seat opposite and asked, "May I?"

"Of course," he immediately replied. "It was rude of me not to have

offered you a seat already."

As the Beauxbatons witch stepped over the bench opposite, to then sit

daintily thereon, he asked, "What can I do for you, Mademoiselle

Delacour?"

"Well," she smirked, "Can you first introduce your friend?" And gestured

to a slightly scowling Hermione.

"My apologies," he immediately returned. "Mademoiselle Delacour, this is

Miss Hermione Granger." Then turning to Hermione, he said, "Hermione,

this is Mademoiselle Fleur Delacour."

Reaching over with her hand held for a woman's handshake, Fleur said,

"Please, call me Fleur."

"Hermione," said Hermione, taking the hand and giving it a curt shake.

Hermione barely masked her irritation her discussion with Harry was

interrupted.

Recognising and used to how other non-Veela witches would sometimes

interact with her, Fleur chose to ignore it. "Thank you," she said.

Turning to Harry, she said, "Now, Mister Potier―"

"Harry," Harry firmly interrupted.

"'Arry, then," she said, with a slight nod back. "And, please, call me

Fleur."

Harry gave a nod back.

"'Arry, I came to offer you an apologee," she said. "Actually, two

apologies."

"Oh?" he warily asked.

"Oui," she replied. "I owe you an apologee from the night your name

came out of zee Goblet of Fy-air. I made a... disparaging? - yes,

disparaging - remark about 'ow you were just a leetle boy. Zat was both

rude of me and uncalled for. For zat, I apologize.

"And, secondlee," she said, cutting Harry off before he could respond. "I

also owe you an apologee for today. It was my oreeginal belief zat your

way to... acqui-air your egg and complete your task was a direct...

beleettling of we ozzer champions. I now know zat was not zee case. For

zat, too, I apologize."

Harry heard her out and thought about how to respond before he actually

did. The real Harry was not as 'knee-jerk' as the Harry he had been

playing until today. And he now had to remember not to be that 'false'

Harry he'd been playing for so long as a role.

Eventually, he gave a nod and said, "Both apologies are accepted in the

spirit in which they were given, Miss Delacour."

She hesitated a moment, expecting Harry to say more. But, when he

didn't, she gave a slight nod and said, "Zank you."

Again, she hesitated before she added, "I hope zat you would now

considair me a friend."

"If you wish," he replied.

She again hesitated before she said, "I shall leaf you to your meal." Then

rose, stepped back over the bench seat and made her way back to the

Ravenclaw table.

Once she'd left hearing range, Hermione quietly said, "You could have

invited her to join us, you know."

"I could have, yes," he replied. "However, just because she apologised

does not mean I've yet forgiven her for her remarks. Give me at least a

day to come to terms with that, alright?"

Hermione nodded and said, "Alright, Harry. Now, about these house

elves―"

"Hermione," he firmly cut her off. "Clearly, me explaining the relationship

between house elves and wizard kind is not getting through to you. You

must either accept what I've told you and drop it, or you adopt your

normal modus operandi, go to the library and check out a book or two on

the subject. No matter how much you try to convince me that house elves

are slaves, you will not succeed; because I know they are not. Therefore, I

believe I'm done with this subject."

Though she initially recoiled in shock that Harry had cut her off, she

rallied and said, "Alright, Harry. I can do that. And when I learn that

house elves are, indeed, slaves?"

With a frustrated sigh, he said, "As I know you will not discover that,

your question is moot. Will you drop it when you learn I'm right?"

Sadly, she said, "I don't know."

"Then I'll make it easier for you to understand, Hermione," he firmly said.

"I will not allow you to continue to 'brow beat' me about any subject. And

that includes about your erroneous opinion on the status of house elves.

"If you harp on about it any more, you will be putting our friendship at

risk."

When Hermione appeared shocked by what he said, he continued,

"Remember, Hermione; the Harry you thought you knew was only a role

I was playing to hide who I truly am. As there is no longer a need to, I

will no longer be playing that role. You need to understand and accept

that.

"I - that is, the real Harry - likes you when you're not trying to force me to

comply with your oft-times unreasonable demands. You need to figure

out whether or not you like the real Harry. And you need to come to

terms with that if you don't."

Hermione thought hard about that before she quietly, even meekly,

asked, "Do you think I'm going to like the real Harry?"

"If you're able to somewhat curb your demands of him; yes," he replied.

"It's up to you."

She sighed and gave a nod back. She just hoped the real Harry was

someone she really liked. She had no idea what she'd do if he wasn't. She

knew Hogwarts would become a lonely existence if she didn't.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Also returning home that evening was Molly Weasley. She was brought

back by her husband, Arthur.

As soon as they had both stepped through into the living room at The

Burrow, the Weasley family home in Ottery St Catchpole, Arthur was

straight into asking his wife his own questions.

"Alright, Molly," he began. "First, I'm invoking Head of Family privileges

and command."

Molly turned to him in shock. "Arthur?" she worriedly asked.

"I know the gist of what you told the aurors when they interrogated you,

this afternoon. But I want the truth out of you, without any dissembling."

When he saw she understood he asked, "Were you on the muggle side of

Platform nine and three-quarters at Kings Cross for Ron's first year at

Hogwarts waiting for young Harry Potter to arrive?"

"Arthur, what a horrid thing to say," she tried.

"Answer me!" he barked. "Were you on the muggle side of Platform nine

and three-quarters that year waiting for young Harry Potter to arrive?"

"Yes," she fearfully exclaimed. "Dumbledore alerted me to how young

Harry might not know how to get onto the platform and asked me to

keep an eye out for him," she replied, somewhat fearful.

"Has he ever asked you to wait there for any other student?" he

demanded.

"No, just young Harry," she immediately replied.

"And that hasn't rung any ward-alarms for you? That he's only ever asked

you to assist young Harry?

"No," she replied.

"And why did you break the Statute of Secrecy in the process?" he asked.

"I thought, if he heard me mention muggles and have Ginny mention

Platform nine and three-quarters, it would attract him to us."

"And why didn't you cast a muggle Notice-Me-Not charm on yourself and

the kids before you did that?" he pushed.

"I didn't think it would work!" she cried.

"It would have," he snapped back. "So, because Albus Bloody Dumbledore

asked you to, you just decided to go ahead and breach the Statute of

Secrecy, is that it?" he demanded.

"Albus said it would be alright and no harm would be done!" she wailed.

"He lied, you stupid woman!" he snapped. "No one, not even Albus

Dumbledore, has the right to breach the Statute of Secrecy for something

so inane as making it easy to have a little boy find them on a busy muggle

train platform!"

He gave that a moment to sink in while his wife dropped into a kitchen

chair and sobbed.

"It's not as if members of the Obliviation Squad could be brought in and

fix it all up easy-peasy, either," he continued. "You were on a train station

and trains are coming and going with great regularity. By the time

Obliviators could get there to Obliviate everyone, hundreds would have

already left either out the doors and away on foot, or in cars, buses or

cabs, or on anywhere up to half a dozen different trains going in different

directions. There is no possible way the Obliviators would have found them

all!"

"That means, Molly, you are damned bloody lucky that nothing about you

yelling about 'all these muggles', or having Ginny yelling about 'Platform

nine and three-quarters', made it out into the wider muggle world. If it

had you would now not have a clue as to your real identity as you would

have had your wand snapped, your magic bound, been obliviated of all

knowledge of the magical world and been tossed out into the streets of

muggle London!

"You know this! It's one of the founding laws of our world! There are not

that many crimes that are more heavily dealt with; and that includes the

Unforgivables!

"If word had gotten out from that station into the muggle world because

of your actions, the kids would now not have a mother, Ginny would

have been sent to Muriel's because I wouldn't have been able to look after

her and a host of other things I don't want to think about.

"You should consider yourself damned lucky the only punishment leveled

against you is a hefty fine. A fine of such... volume... I'm going to have to

approach as many family and friends as possible to accumulate enough

money to pay it!"

"We don't take charity!" she wailed.

"Fine!" he glared back. "Then you'd best start showing me where

everything is in this house for me to keep it clean and running. Because,

if we don't seek help in paying your fine, we won't have enough. And that

means... you are going to Azkaban for five years."

Molly burst into fresh wails and sobs. Arthur left her to it, not in the least

interested at that time in providing her comfort.

"Next," he firmly said, "Tell me about the money that was being

transferred from Lord Potter's vaults to one in your maiden name."

"I thought it was coming from Albus," she sobbed. "I had no idea it was

coming from young Harry's vaults."

"You just got through telling me we don't accept charity," he said. "So,

what was he paying you for?"

"He told me the money was from a scholarship fund specifically set up for

pureblood families," she explained. "However, it had to go into a vault

under my maiden name because House Weasley due to House Weasley's...

status... was not eligible to receive the funds."

"uh-huh!" he said, not sounding convinced. "I thought you just got

through telling me we don't accept charity."

"It's not charity, it's a scholarship," she immediately disagreed.

"It's not a scholarship, it's theft!" he yelled.

That had Molly sobbing again. Whether it was because she was truly

sorry about what she'd done or because she was unhappy she'd been

caught, Arthur did not know and also found himself not to care.

Not willing to belabour the point, Arthur dropped it and moved on. "The

aurors have also ordered you... and, by extension, the rest of us

Weasleys... not to have anything to do with Harry Potter, until further

notice," he growled. "That means there will be no inviting him to stay

with us, here; there will be no sending him Christmas or birthday

presents; there will be no having the children do it for you; and, above all

else but not limited to it, there will be no sending him any Howlers! Have I

made myself perfectly clear to you, Molly Weasley?"

"Y-yes, Arthur," she sobbed.

"Now," he said much more calmly, "I have to go and write the children to

let them know they are to stay away from Harry Potter, or else, for the

foreseeable future. And that 'or else' will include being disowned from

this family.

"We'll wait until he deigns to contact us! That is, of course, if he ever

does."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The day was not a short one for Amelia. Though she often worked back,

just to get all the parchmentwork that would pile up completed while the

department was otherwise cleared down to a skeleton watch crew, this

would be one day when she would have to work back and day-to-day

parchmentwork wasn't going to get done.

The interrogations and interviews were held and completed. Those

interviewed and not facing charges were released. Those interrogated and

charged, but weren't considered flight risks, were conditionally released.

But Dumbledore and Snape, due to the severity of the crimes they were

facing, were taken down to the cells and incarcerated. So, too, were both

Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

Once that was dealt with, aurors were sent out to confirm information

the department had collected as a result of those interrogations and

interviews. This would mean further interviews, but of people who would

not necessarily be facing charges.

As they wanted to interview the rest of the staff of Hogwarts and there

was quite a few of them, a small team of aurors went to the school with a

couple of Dicta-quills. They then pulled each staff member not previously

interviewed or interrogated aside and interviewed them as to what they

knew of what Lord Potter had shared. Those interviews then led to a few

more charges being filed against especially Dumbledore, McGonagall and

Snape.

The new problem was the 'clamouring' of the media. Within hours of

starting the interrogations and interviews the number of journalists all

wanting to know the latest information began to build right outside the

auror bullpen. Amelia had already had to detail two aurors off to ride

shepherd on them to ensure they did not interfere in the work the rest of

her aurors were madly working through. Just a little while ago, she had

to detail yet another onto the task.

However, she was finally ready to deal with them.

Walking out to the bullpen, as soon as the journalists saw her they began

yelling questions at her. Used to the effect, she calmly walked to her

podium she had aurors set up for her earlier and waited until the noise

died down again.

Those journalists experienced with dealing with her knew she would say

nothing until the questions and shouting died off; and quickly let their

younger and newer fellows know it.

Once the noise died off she began. "Good evening," she said. "At

approximately ten a.m. this morning, Mister Harry Potter stepped into

the arena of the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament at Hogwarts

School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was the fourth and final

competitor to do so.

"It was expected he would simply complete the task, irrespective of how

difficult it was, just as the competitors before him did. However, Lord

Potter entered the arena with his own intentions in mind."

She then covered exactly what Harry did and how he did it. And then

told them why.

Then she explained the actions she and her aurors took based on the

information Harry had provided, together with who was taken into

custody and who was, eventually, released.

And, finally, she told them the information relating to the charges and

against whom they were filed was now subject to an information

blackout 'to protect the reputations of both the witnesses and the

accused'.

"Then what information can you tell us?" demanded one miffed reporter.

"I've just spent half an hour providing you that information," she snapped

back. "Were you not listening?"

The journalist looked away and scowled as the next quickly got their

question in. "Madam Bones, is it fair to target Albus Dumbledore when he

helped rid us of the Dark Lord?"

"We are a society of law," she replied. "And no one, no matter what

they've accomplished in the past, is excused from obeying those laws.

"I allege that Albus Dumbledore has broken so many laws that Lord

Potter helped bring to light, I have no choice but to hold him in custody

until he faces justice in the form of a full sitting of the Wizengamot. It

will then be up to the Wizengamot on what penalty or penalties he shall

face. It is not for anyone bar the full sitting of the Wizengamot to

determine whether or not he is guilty of some or all of the charges he

faces."

"As you've arrested both the Chief Warlock and the Minister," called

another, "Are you looking to clear the way for your own ascension into

the top tiers of our government?"

"That question is so stupid it does not even deserve a response," she flatly

retorted. "However, I know you'd take that as affirmation.

"I have already told you that we are a society of law that not even Albus

Dumbledore, no matter what hat he's currently wearing, job he's

currently doing or his history is exempt from. The same also applies to

the Minister.

"Further, I am the Regent of the Noble and Ancient House of Bones and

the Director of the DMLE. That's more than enough of a job for anyone,

including me."

Another journalist immediately piped up. "Madam Bones, do you believe

you'll successfully prosecute these cases?"

"The prosecutor will likely be Rufus Scrimgeour," she replied. "And,

before you ask, I will not be adjudicating the trials. The Chief Adjudicator

has already been notified of the cases that will be brought before her.

And preparatory documents for all the trials will be sent to her in

advance."

"And what will your role be?" he immediately asked.

"Whatever the Chief Adjudicator tasks of me," she replied. "If and when

necessary I will otherwise provide aid to Prosecutor Scrimgeour."

"Can you give us any specifics on the charges filed against any of them?"

asked a rather earnest appearing female journalist.

Instead of shooting the young woman down, as was her first instinct,

Amelia instead thought about it and replied, "It is both against DMLE

policy and a breach of privacy to tell you specifics. However, if you were

at the first task of the Tournament you'd have a pretty good idea what

many of those charges will be."

Shifting her attention from the one young woman to the gaggle at large

she said, "Now, you'll need to excuse me. While my aurors and I have

completed the initial interviews and interrogations there is still a great

deal more work to do. And I need to get back to it."

Without waiting to see if the journalists would allow her to leave, and

knowing they otherwise wouldn't, she turned and walked back to her

office. Those who hadn't had time to get in their questions tried shouting

them to her as she left, without success.

They knew they wouldn't get their answers, as she never answered any

question once she determined the doorstop 'interview' was over, but they

always tried anyway.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

At Hogwarts, Hermione Granger was having her own issues. The first was

discovering that her favourite professor, Minerva McGonagall, and the

man she near-idolised, Albus Dumbledore, were not deserving of her

favouritism or idolisation after all. And the second was being forcefully

informed, by the boy himself, that he, Harry Potter, was not the boy she

thought he was, either. It had all been a carefully crafted persona the boy

wore to hide the truth about himself.

That he did it, not to hide from her but from Albus Dumbledore, was

beside the point. She knew she shouldn't take it as a personal affront as

she fully understood why he did it, but it still hurt a little. The Harry

Potter she thought she knew wasn't real; just as the Harry Potter that was

supposedly written about in those fanciful tales about his childhood

wasn't real either.

That had been well-driven home when she tried to convince him that

house elves were, in fact, slaves. That he then coldly informed her that

she had no idea what she was talking about and then directed her to go

to the library to learn the truth for herself, had also hurt. When she then

tried to trick him into freeing the elves he'd bound into slavery once she

read the truth and would inform him of such, he dismissively told her she

would find no such thing and, therefore, her demand was pointless.

Of course, she immediately went to her 'haven', the library, and used her

research knowledge to find all the information the library contained on

the little creatures. She was determined to prove Harry wrong.

However, what she found astounded her. Harry was right. The elves

weren't so much slaves as they were a symbiotic creature that shared of a

witch's or wizard's magic to sustain themselves and, in return, provided

services to the witch or wizard. And, further, the house elves could not

take that magic unless a minor bonding ritual was completed first. If

Harry, as she had demanded, released the elf, the elf would be unable to

access that life sustaining magic and would slowly wither away and die

after first going insane. She was horrified to realise she'd practically

ordered Harry to kill the elf, Dobby.

"He was right!" she whispered to herself, appalled. "Oh, Gods! He was

right!"

She needed to track him down and immediately apologise.

Once she'd reached her decision she quickly put all the books she'd taken

off the shelves back in their rightful places on those shelves before

hurrying off. She was in a hurry to apologise, but that did not mean she

would not see to the rightful re-shelving of 'her' precious books first.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

What Hermione didn't know was that Harry was under his invisibility

cloak and was watching her. He even heard her whisper to herself before

she hurriedly starting putting books back onto their rightful places on the

shelves.

As the cloak was able to be folded up into a very small package, Harry

kept it on his person at all times ever since he'd once caught Weasley

going into his trunk and taking things.

He'd also figured out that the cloak was also the third Deathly Hallow

and knew the story. As Death was unable to find the third brother until

he'd removed the cloak from himself, he knew Dumbledore had to have

done something to it to allow the old man to see through it; as he clearly

did the night he was under it in Hagrid's cabin when Fudge and Malfoy

turned up to arrest the big oaf.

As soon as he'd figured that out, and after binding Dobby to himself, he'd

had the elf inspect it. Dobby had found a few charms on it anchored to

new stitching.

Having the little elf unravel the stitching, Harry had taken to carrying

that thread around, so the old man would not know it had been

discovered.

Once he'd discovered, or Dobby had discovered, that particular tracker-

come-beacon, he had the little elf scan the rest of his property. And what

a veritable panoply of charms the little elf found. Mail redirection, anti-

scry, listening, confounding and anti-muggle notice-me-not jinxes;

trackers; beacons; blood-based magics and others even Dobby did not

recognise. After having Dobby muffle the listening charms, Harry then

explained what he needed the elf to do.

Everything, except the anti-scry charm, was removed from Harry's

personal property and transferred to a few inanimate objects Harry had

then taken to carrying about on himself. He'd already figured out that, if

he appeared to be free of them, the Headmaster would both want to try

and figure out why and replace them. However, moving them to

inanimate objects, meant he was able to leave them behind when he

wanted to accomplish something without the old man knowing he had

'slipped his leash'.

One of those occasions was when Harry visited the goblins between

second and third year. He'd left those objects back in his room in the

Leaky Cauldron to ensure Dumbledore thought he'd not been in to see

them.

Now he'd done the 'Big Reveal', as he called it, he'd watched Hermione

head for the library and, while she was otherwise busy, headed out to the

lake edge and banished those objects as far out into the water as he

could. The only one he'd retained was the anti-scry ward; as Dobby had

assured him it stopped everyone, including Dumbledore, from scrying his

location. He wondered if the old man had stopped to think if it would or

not.

It wasn't until a few moments after tossing them into the lake he realised

he should have kept them and handed them over to Madam Bones. They

were, after all, evidence of one of the 'crimes' of which he believed the

old man guilty.

'Oh, well,' he had thought to himself with a mental sigh. 'She has more

than enough to convict the old bastard, as it is.'

Now he watched as Hermione, his real best friend, discovered he was

right and began to pack up. Knowing she would immediately seek him

out, he beat a hasty but silent retreat back to the Gryffindor common

room. He also knew the aurors would have already figured out he hadn't

gone for a 'lie down' as he'd told them and were currently scouring the

castle looking for him. He needed to get back to the common room and

give them time to tell him off for disappearing on them before Hermione

returned.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Making it back to the common room, and getting told off by the aurors as

he thought he would, it was less than ten seconds later that Hermione

entered and, as soon as she saw him on 'their' couch, headed to join him.

Sitting down she only glanced at him before averting her eyes downward

and saying, "Sorry, Harry."

"Alright," he said. "What are you sorry for?"

"You were right about the house elves. They're not slaves," she quietly

replied.

"Uh-huh," he quietly agreed.

"No 'I told you so's?" she asked.

"Nope," he replied. "No need."

She seemed to think for a long few moments before she almost

plaintively asked, "Have I always been that bad?"

"Yes," he immediately replied.

When she winced he added, "You have this bad habit of accepting things

as fact based on what you know from the muggle world. The magical

world is not the muggle world, Hermione. There are many things in the

wizarding world that have no contemporary in the muggle world. The

issue of house elves and how they're symbiotic creatures is just one of

those."

"But, it just seems so wrong!" she practically whined.

"It would be, if it weren't for the need of house elves to bond to stay

alive," he said. "Plus, you also need to stop thinking of house elves as

people. They're not."

"They might not be human, Harry," she argued; "But they are people.

They're just a different sort of people to humans."

"Yes; different," he shot back. "As in not the same."

"But, they are a people," she said. "They're intelligent. They can speak.

We can speak with them. They're capable of higher thought."

"And where do you draw the line regarding intelligence, Hermione?" he

asked. "If not at house elves, what about: goblins, trolls, giants, centaurs,

chimpanzees, bears or even dolphins? Where do you draw the line at what

constitutes 'speak'?"

"I..." she stuttered, "I - don't know."

"Look," he said, trying to explain. "You were raised with wholesome

Christian values in a modern British society - a modern muggle British

society. In that society the next creature down on the list of intelligence

is dolphins, followed by chimpanzees. And no one considers them

people."

With a sigh he added, "This is not modern muggle British society; this is

wizarding Britain. And it is effectively ruled by those whose

understanding of muggle British Society is what they've seen out the front

windows of the Leaky Cauldron, or what they've seen at Kings Cross

Station, or what they've seen out the windows of the Hogwarts Express.

Even then there are a great many who've not even seen that.

"Wizarding Britain, as a society, is closer to... say... Iran. Except, instead

of it being a theocracy, as it is there, it's a... magi-ocracy. At least, that's

the closest I could come to as an example. Those who have had magic in

their families the longest, rule. Understand?"

Though she looked almost stunned at Harry's explanation, she replied,

"Errr... yes; I think so."

"Good," he firmly stated with a short nod of his head. "Because, your oft-

times negative attitude to certain 'traditions' of the magical world offends

those raised in this world. And, it's not that they don't know any better,

either. It's that they detest someone, like you, coming into their world and

trying to force them to change. That attitude is no different than Muslims

coming to Britain and trying to force everyone to start obeying Sharia

law."

She thought about that for a few long seconds before she adopted a glum

expression and asked, "Is that why some, like Malfoy, treat me so

horribly?"

"That's part of it, yes," he replied. "But, Malfoy would still hate you,

anyway. They've been raised on stories of muggleborns having somehow

figured out how to steal magic from purebloods. Losing their magic

scares the Hell out of them, so they hate muggleborns."

"But, that's just stupid," she frowned. "Where's their evidence?"

"No one ever said it was logical," he shrugged. "People hate what they

fear, Hermione. The only way to fight that is to prove that muggles can't

steal magic."

"That's impossible," she firmly stated. "You can't prove a negative."

"I know," he smiled. "That's why the issue has never been resolved."

She thought about that for a few moments before she sighed, "But, still...

I almost forced you to kill Dobby by accident."

"No, you didn't," he disagreed.

She frowned and said, "But, Harry; you just got through convincing me

that, if you'd freed Dobby, it would have led to him dying. And I almost

forced you to free him."

"Yes, to the first part; no to the second," he replied. "You would have tried

to force me to free to Dobby. But, there's no way I'd have done that."

Turning more fully to her he continued, "I knew the truth, Hermione. You

might have continued to try to force me to release him; however, you'd

have not succeeded. Actually, the only thing you would have succeeded

in doing is, by pushing too hard, leading me to decide our friendship

wasn't worth it and immediately terminating it."

Hermione looked back in near heart-stricken shock, unable to verbally

form a word in response.

More softly he added, "I know it's going to take you a little while to come

to grips with the new reality of just who 'Harry Potter' is, Hermione. And,

I'm prepared to give you that little while. However... once again... I am

not the Harry Potter you thought me to be. The quicker you come to an

understanding of that the less problems you're going to face coming to an

acceptance of that."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

It was while Fudge was ordering the last of the packing during the early

hours of the morning he was alerted by ward alarm to the attempted

unauthorised entry of one Walden MacNair. Knowing the man was both a

'reformed' Death Eater and also on the 'payroll' of one Lucius Malfoy,

Fudge was fully aware of what the very likely reason was of MacNair

attempting to enter his, for the moment, home; especially during the

early hours of the morning.

Against DMLE orders to remain under house arrest he immediately

grabbed his secret and illegal portkey to his bolt hole, and portkeyed

away. He'd much rather be a wanted man than a dead man.

Once he was at his bolt-hole home he'd owl 'that blasted Bones woman'

why he took what action he did and hoped by Merlin she'd not charge

him any further for it. At least, if she accepted his excuse, he'd at least

not get the 'Wanted' tag applied to his name. He knew his order to have

any escaped prisoners of Azkaban 'Kissed on Sight' was still on the books

and he didn't want it to apply to him.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Dumbledore had spent the night in the DMLE holding cells 'knowing' he'd

lost everything. He was so depressed over the whole incident he hadn't

even thought to call his 'friend', Fawkes, to rescue him. He also had no

idea his 'resident' spy and potions master was in the cell two down from

him and also bemoaning his fate.

From what the boy had caused to be made public, besides him losing

everything, apparently the goblins had discovered the truth about the

monies and artefacts he'd removed from the boy's vault and had already

recovered it all. His 'retirement fund' would have been stripped bare, as

he knew there was less in it than the total he'd taken from the boy. It

took a lot of money to bribe members of the School Board and the

Wizengamot to make sure he stayed on as Headmaster, Chief Warlock

and Supreme Mugwump. Through Fudge, Malfoy had been trying to

wrestle those positions out of his grasp since that man ascended to the

Head of House Malfoy on the (very suspicious) death of his father.

Now, even if he still had the gold available to him, he knew he'd not be

keeping those positions. He'd now be Mister Dumbledore, once more. He'd

not been Mister Dumbledore since well before the war with Grindelwald.

Since the late 1920s he'd been at least Professor Dumbledore. And that

was seventy years ago.

There was nothing he could do about that. Young Harry had well and

truly fooled him these past few years and, as attested by the questions the

Bones woman had asked him during his second interrogation, had

provided her even more evidence of his illegal acts through those blasted

memories of his. He'd used his best skills at dissembling interlocution and

she'd fallen for none of it. Every time he tried to lead her away from the

truth by leading her to make false assumptions, his usual method, she'd

simply demanded he directly answer her question or be ready to be dosed

with Veritaserum. She allowed him no 'wiggle' room, whatsoever.

He'd miscalculated when he'd demanded to be released or charged,

because she did just that - charged him. It was only a couple hours earlier

when she'd informed him his trial was already being arranged and he

would not be released until that trial and, even then, only if they

somehow found him innocent of all charges. Even he knew the chances of

that currently rated at 'highly unlikely'.

In order to try and get some level of control of 'the message', he needed

out and to be in contact with the media. That, though, was not going to

happen. While he was being held in isolation people, especially the

media, were in control of the information and were acting both without

his guidance and ability to get ahead of things. As such he could not offer

rebuttal.

It was maddening!

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Over at Riddle Manor, the current hiding place of the recently 'partially

reborn' Dark Lord Voldemort, said Dark Lord was trying to use his very

undersized and weak arms to read that morning's copy of the Daily

Prophet.

He had seen what was reported about the Potter boy's 'play' of the first

task and couldn't make heads or tails of why he did it. It confused him as

to the boy's motives and that was a situation he was uncomfortable with.

From the articles, the way Potter went about it demonstrated a very

cunning Slytherin mindset. He had a firmly captive audience and,

apparently, no time limit. And then used both that captive audience and

unlimited time to utterly destroy the reputations of the senior staff of

Hogwarts - especially that of that muggle-loving fool, Dumbledore - the

Minister of Magic himself, plus two Directors of Ministry departments.

The only thing he couldn't figure out was why. Nor did he know what the

boy's actions would mean for his plan to have him at the graveyard the

following June. For now, he'd wait and see what the fallout was going to

be from the boy's actions; then make what changes to his plans he

needed.

The paper already told him he'd lost young Barty as his on-the-scene spy.

That meant Barty would also not be in a position to replace the portkey

on the Cup to whisk the boy away from under the very crooked nose of

Dumbledore, let alone organise for the boy to be the first to reach the

cup. However, the end result did not actually need the boy to be taken at

the completion of the third task; he just found the almost poetic justice of

the concept had appealed to him.

Barty wasn't that much of a loss as, due to the inherent danger of his

task, the information about why he was at Hogwarts was protected by

both a Fidelius and a compulsion charm. No, young Barty would not be

'tattle-telling' anyone his true mission. Instead, he'd be telling them about

how he was the sole planner and instigator of the Potter boy's name

being submitted. He'd be telling anyone who pressed him for information

he'd done it in order to see the boy killed through not being skilled or

powerful enough to survive.

However, if they forced on him Veritaserum or some other truth telling

potion or compulsion charm, the Fidelius and Veritaserum would conflict

and cause young Barty to lose his life. They might suspect more to the

story, but would not have the evidence to act. Instead, how he managed

to get free of the prison in the first place would be promoted. In that

way, Voldemort hoped the DMLE would be... misdirected... into

investigating only that and not the plan for Potter now they had a 'red

herring' to follow.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

At Hogwarts Minerva McGonagall had spent the time since her return to

the castle, including deep into the night, in personal reflection.

After taking her breakfast in her rooms the next morning she finally

decided she now needed to speak to someone and used her floo to

contact her best friend and fellow professor, Filius Flitwick.

Taking a deep breath to steel her fortitude she dashed a pinch of floo

powder into the fireplace. "Hogwarts, Charms Office," she firmly called.

Kneeling as soon the flames turned green and sticking her head within,

she tentatively called, "Filius? Are you there?"

Stepping into sight from the side, Flitwick quietly but firmly said, "Step

through, Minerva." The way he worded it sound almost like an order.

However, with her mind elsewhere, McGonagall didn't recognise it and

simply stepped through.

Almost relieved she stepped in and almost immediately stepped out into

her friend's office. "Thank you for seeing me, Filius," she said.

As she was talking, Flitwick was walking around his desk to sit in his

elevated office chair. Then gestured to one of the chairs opposite and

said, "Take a seat, Minerva." Again, he used that flat commanding voice.

As she was already moving in that direction, unconsciously led by

Flitwick heading for his desk chair, McGonagall again didn't recognise

the lack of warmth in her friend's voice.

"I need... we need... to apologise to Mister Potter, Filius," she began. "I

hadn't seen just how bad we've let that boy down until it was all laid in

front of me by Amelia's aurors―"

"Stop, Minerva!" Flitwick snapped out, raising his off hand in the

international accepted stop gesture of a flat hand with fingers together

raised vertically with the palm facing out.

It immediately silenced McGonagall, who stared back in shock.

Knowing he now had her full attention, Flitwick continued to stare at her

for a moment longer before, still using the same quiet but firm voice,

said, "You do not need to apologise to Mister Potter, Minerva; you just

want to apologise to Lord Potter. And, even then, it's for selfish reasons."

When McGonagall looked to be about to respond in defiance with hackles

almost visibly raised, Flitwick's expression hardened and almost appeared

as if he was going to growl back. Finally recognising the expression for

what it was, McGonagall's whole attitude immediately changed and she

almost cowered back into her seat in fear. "F-Filius?" she plaintively

asked.

"The entire staff of this school have failed that boy, Minerva," he said,

returning to the same flat commanding voice. It was a voice McGonagall

now recognised as issuing from someone who had their occlumency

shields at maximum in order to control their emotions. Once she

recognised it, it was then easy to deduce that the emotion her long-time

friend was trying to control was anger.

Continuing, he said, "For some - such as Bat and Septima, who have no

direct contact with the boy - it was because they weren't carefully

watching. And no one could, or should, expect them to given that there

were other staff in more direct contact.

"For others - such as me, who does interact with the boy as one of his

teachers - we weren't watching and were not alert for anything wrong, as

we bloody well should have been.

"Then there's you," he snapped, with his anger starting to again bleed

through his barriers. "You were supposed to be the boy's Head of House.

Let alone also being the Deputy Headmistress it was your responsibility to

ensure the boy, as with all other students, was safe. You failed!

"From the boy's memories I also came to the realisation you were

partially responsible for the boy being placed into the supposed care of

abusive muggles. That makes you guilty of child endangerment and child

abuse by proxy. That you did it in collusion with Albus Dumbledore and

Rubeus Hagrid adds the charge of conspiracy. And that was all within

hours of the boy becoming an orphan.

"That you did it while Deputy Headmistress, irrespective of whether you

were acting in that role at the time or not and that it was crimes against

a child, makes you now ineligible to hold a position of authority over any

child, let alone as a professor over students at this school.

"Until I was made aware of the level of abuse that's been hurled at the

boy, even before he entered Hogwarts and was systematically abused

here, I held both you and Dumbledore in high trust. Obviously, I was a

fool to do so. My trust in either of you became less than floating dust in

the shaft as of the moment I learned of it."

Lifting a finger into the air and pointing it at her to highlight his point,

he continued, "Have no doubt, Minerva McGonagall, you failed that boy

and, in the process, failed yourself. From that I firmly believe you're going

to lose your job because of it. Then, because of my clearly misplaced trust

in you and the old man, I believe I'll be losing my position as well.

"At the very least we're both going to be reduced to only professors. I

already know I'm going to be losing Head of House status; and you're

going to be losing both your Head of House status and Deputy Head

positions."

Dropping her eyes as they began to moisten with unshed tears,

McGonagall softly asked, "Perhaps if I can talk to him and apologise?"

Flitwick immediately replied, "Before you managed to say more than one

word you'd be arrested again and charged with witness tampering. Then

you'd lose your professorship, as well... if that's still on the table."

As McGonagall hung her head further in shame, Flitwick sighed and more

softly said, "Actually, Minerva, I don't know if you're going to survive

this, let alone remain a teacher.

"From what I've learned you were with Dumbledore and Hagrid when

young Harry was pretty much literally dumped on the doorstep of his

muggle magic-hating relatives. That, on the death of his father only a few

hours earlier, he became the titular Head of a Noble and Most Ancient

House at the time... as Dumbledore had no right to take the boy away

from his rightful guardian... means you were an accomplice in the

kidnapping of such a Head. And that could easily mean - should you be

found guilty, of course - you're bound for a trip through the Veil or a

kissing date with a dementor."

That she hadn't even twitched at mention of being executed, though she

did squirm a little, meant McGonagall also realised the chance of her

being executed was quite possible.

Finally, she looked back at her old friend with an almost pleading look

on her face. She was wearing her heart on her sleeve.

"What do I need to do?" she practically begged. "What can I do? I'd hoped

that... by at least apologising to the boy... it probably won't stop me

being sentenced... but, it's still the right thing to do."

"That may be," he replied with a single nod back. "However, this has all

now become an ongoing DMLE investigation. And that means you are not

permitted to approach him in any way, shape or form. I've no doubt that,

like me, you were warned not to do that by the aurors."

She nodded back.

"Then you cannot approach him to even apologise," the half-goblin firmly

stated. "If you do, you harm your own defence. And that means any

possibility of you escaping execution is reduced."

"I need him to know," she softly but just as firmly stated.

"Then, we shall raise it with the aurors and ask them first," he returned.

"We will not, however, approach him directly."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

A/N: Okay... That's five chapters to start things off. I wanted to get the

First Task and the beginning of investigations out of the way. I'll be

looking to post each successive chapter no further apart than once a

week. Sinyk

6. Augusta's Smackdown

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Six - Augusta's Smack-down

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That morning during the mail bomb, Harry received a letter from Amelia

Bones informing him of the punishment levied against Molly Weasley for

her 'egregious breach of the Statute of Secrecy' back on the first of

September, 1991, at Kings Cross Train Station.

When he saw the amount of the fine he let out a low whistle. That was a

lot of galleons. He just hoped Arthur could afford it, or raise enough

money to pay it. If he didn't, Molly was heading for Azkaban until he

either could pay it or she'd served at least twelve months of

incarceration.

The letter also informed him that, if any of the Weasleys gave him a hard

time about it and an auror wasn't nearby to witness it, he was to

immediately report it to her or one of her aurors. And it would be dealt

with.

He gave a sigh, folded it up and put it in his pocket. Though it would

have been something he'd have done in his fake persona, he knew it

wasn't his place to inform the Weasleys of the DMLE order.

"Who's the letter from, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"The DMLE and it's none of your concern," he replied, before turning to

her. "Please, don't ask."

Hermione gave her own sigh, looked down to her plate and nodded.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After he felt he'd finally gotten through to Hermione about the house

elves - he hoped - the previous night, Harry went in search of Neville. He

found the boy in the House common room reading a book on, it

appeared, plants of the Mediterranean.

"Neville," he called, getting the other boy's attention.

"Yeah, Harry?" asked the other boy, setting his book aside.

"You and I need to talk," he replied. He gestured to the common room

door and said, "Mind stepping outside with me and going for a walk?"

Giving a firm nod back, the other boy said, "Sure, Harry." And set his

book onto the alongside side table and stood; heading over.

Leading the way outside and down the corridor a bit, Neville followed

and remained silent until Harry began to speak quite a few dozen feet

away from the common room entrance. "Neville, I need you to answer

some questions I have, honestly and without quibble. I do not need nor

want excuses, just explanations. Can you do that for me?"

The only thing that made Neville pause before giving an automatic

response was the intensity of his friend's questions and the look of

seriousness on the other boy's face. He was a moment before he firmly

stated back, "Yes, Harry."

Harry only gave a firm nod before he turned to look more directly at his

dorm mate's face. "Both of us have been at this school, as dorm mates, for

a little over three years now. In that time you could not help but notice I

have been dressed in little more than hand-me-down rags, I've been

clearly undernourished and I have scars on my body a normal child,

wizard or muggle, should never have.

"The Houses of Longbottom and Potter are supposed to be allied. So, my

question is, why have you never said anything about that? Why have you

not at least raised it with me?"

Neville, Heir Longbottom, knew to his very bones this was a very

important question and required a very well-considered response. He

knew this question would come one day and knew the alliance would

hinge on his answer. Therefore, above any other questions that might one

day be asked of him, he had thought long and hard about how he would

answer this one.

With conviction, he looked his mate directly in the eye and firmly but

quietly replied, "The day I first saw you once you'd returned to wizarding

world, the first of September 1991, I knew something was wrong

concerning you. Yes, I noticed you were scrawny and appeared underfed.

I also noticed your clothing appeared oversized and, as you put it, hand-

me-downs. That, alone, worried me.

"That night I wrote to my Gran about you and what I noticed. I sought

her advice. However, before she replied back and that very night, I then

saw you for the first time in only your briefs and noticed the scarring; so

I sent a second letter the very next morning about that, too.

"Less than an hour later I received a letter from Gran at breakfast,

answering the first letter, where she told me I was not to do or say

anything unless you directly asked. She told me it was not my place to do

so."

Neville turned to look away, clearly ashamed at that, and sighed. "I was

angry when I read that."

Turning to look back with an expression of both remembered anger and

frustration he continued, "But I was hoping her response to my second

letter would change her instruction. It didn't.

"Her response to my second letter arrived the next morning during the

normal owl delivery time. I'd eagerly opened it, expecting just such a

change. However, she again instructed me to do and say nothing."

Neville had stopped walking at that point. His eyes had lost focus, staring

at the floor a dozen feet ahead of him; his whole body stood tense with

fists clenched as his magic began to manifest in a slight aura about

himself.

Harry stood a few feet away to the side and carefully watched his friend.

He now knew it was not his friend's fault he'd never spoken up when he

knew he should have. But he also knew the other boy had to work his

way through it on his own.

"I couldn't believe, she told me that," Neville almost spat. "I tried, again

and again, to convince her I had to step in and talk to you about it, or at

least coming and talking to you about it herself; but she kept telling me

to stay out of it. Eventually, after about our tenth time of me writing her

and begging her to let me step in she wrote and told me 'No' and that I

was to immediately drop the subject.

"I was furious, but she's Regent and I couldn't go against her. However, I

definitely gave her a serve about it at Yule that first year. Even then,

though, she wasn't moved. She just dug her heels in, refused to discuss it

any more and told me the matter was closed until you raised it."

Harry thought about that for quite a while before he gave a nod to

himself and said, "Then, please inform your grandmother, Regent

Augusta Longbottom of Longbottom, that I, Lord Harrison James Potter

of Potter and rightful Head of the House of Potter, hereby inform her that

as long as she remains Regent of the House of Longbottom the long-

standing alliance between our houses is hereby suspended for cause. And

that said cause is a direct result of her failure to act when informed of

obvious problems relating to then-Heir Potter by Heir Longbottom and

when repeatedly encouraged to do so by Heir Longbottom.

"Lord Potter considers her lack of action as a direct betrayal of the

principles of the alliance, if not the actual wording. And, therefore, sees

her lack of action as a betrayal of the House of Potter."

Neville froze in place and stared at Harry in shock. "You... you―"

"Yes, me, Neville," said Harry. He hadn't raised his voice. He'd just spoken

in a quiet voice without much inflection and without even anger or

vindictiveness. His voice was just firm.

"Gran's going to kill me," Neville near-moaned.

"The fault does not lie with you, Heir Longbottom," Harry disagreed. "The

fault lies entirely with her. She did not act as she should have done; as

you tried to get her to allow you to do.

"What you tried to do was the right thing; what she did was not. She

should be thankful that, due to your response to my question, I did not

dissolve the alliance completely; only suspended it."

"She's not going to see it that way," Neville shook his head and sighed.

"Then send her to me and I'll deal with her," said Harry. "You honoured

the alliance by letting me know as soon as you could; at the earliest you

were restricted to by your Regent. That is, you told me as soon as I asked

you about it. And you were straightforward and honest with me.

"Your Regent... your Gran... is the one entirely at fault. As I've now

explained, if I had thought you had somehow or for some reason decided

to keep me ignorant, I would have immediately terminated the alliance

in its entirety. She should be thankful that, by your words and actions, I

have only suspended it. And then, I've only suspended it until such time

as she is no longer your Regent.

"If she wants me to remove the suspension she'll need to step down as

your Regent and allow you to take up the Headship of your House. I will

not remove it until then."

"Oh, Merlin!" the other boy moaned. Suddenly he squared his shoulders

and looked more fully into Harry's eyes. "I shall contact Regent

Longbottom at my earliest opportunity and ensure she is informed of

your decision."

Harry smiled back and said, "Good man! And, if you need my help in

writing down exactly what words you should use, find me and I'll help.

"After all, we definitely do not want her to have the wrong impression,

do we?"

"No, we do not," replied Neville, a lot more serious about it than Harry

was about asking it.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Heading for lunch, as soon as Harry walked into the Great Hall he

noticed there were a couple of new faces sitting at the head table. They

seemed to be waiting and watching for something.

As soon as it appeared pretty much all students were sitting at the House

tables, quietly eating and or discussing who was sitting at the head table

among themselves, one of the two, an older gentleman, rose from his

chair and made his way to the lectern Dumbledore often used for his

announcements.

By the time he arrived behind it and looked about the Hall, most students

had quietened right down, with only a low murmuring coming from

those still softly talking between themselves while keeping an eye on

him.

"Students!" he quietly but firmly began, before pausing as the remaining

noise dimmed down to almost silence. "Students. For those who do not

know me, I am Bartwinkle Creston. And I am the Chair-wizard of the

School Board of Governors."

He gave that a few moments to sink in before he continued. "Like the vast

majority of you, I'm sure, I was shocked at the information Lord Potter

brought to light during his attempt at the first task of the Tri-Wizard

Tournament yesterday. There was so much information, in fact, that

many of us, including myself, have not had time to... reconcile... what we

learned with what we thought we knew. However, of what we've now

come to know is true, it is sufficient for the Board to determine that we

will be allowing, without dissent, the DMLE to complete their full and

ongoing investigations before we reach a final determination as to what

changes need to brought in here, at Hogwarts.

"However, that does not mean we are not going to act on what we

already know.

"First, Madam Bones's assuming Acting Headmistress of Hogwarts for the

duration of the investigation is supported by the Board, irrespective of

her assuming control of the school and its grounds as part of her remit as

senior investigator of the DMLE investigation of crime on the grounds.

Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall are suspended as

Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, respectively.

"Second, all Head of House positions are suspended for the duration. And

- until such time as we, the School Board, are satisfied - such positions

will not exist. Even then, changes are very likely to occur.

"Third, all staff charged or otherwise under investigation by the DMLE

have their positions as Professors of Hogwarts suspended until such time

as they are cleared by the DMLE to resume their positions. Even then, as

with the Head of House positions, changes are likely to occur.

"Fourth, as many professors are currently under investigation - and as

many are therefore suspended and, as a result, are not legally permitted

to teach - all classes are hereby suspended until the Board gives the word

they may recommence. Therefore, letters are being sent to your listed

guardians asking if they would prefer you to be sent home for the

duration; however long that may be. That period may be anywhere from

a few days to a few months.

"For those guardians who would prefer you to be brought home, the

School will be paying for portkeys for you to both be sent home and for

you to be called back once classes recommence. We will not be using the

Hogwarts Express for this."

The man then took on a pained countenance with his eyes closed for a

few moments before he opened them and then directed his gaze towards

the Gryffindor table. It was only a short moment before his eyes laid

upon those of Harry.

"Lord Potter," he solemnly said. "On behalf of the School Board of

Governors you have my and their deepest apologies. We should have kept

a better eye on the Headmaster and staff of the school and we did not.

Like everyone else, we were swayed by the honeyed words of Albus

Dumbledore not to take a closer look at what was going on. That ends

now.

"From this moment forth the Board of Governors of Hogwarts School of

Witchcraft and Wizardry will be keeping a closer and constant watch

over the school; to ensure for ourselves and the wizarding community at

large that nothing like what has happened over the past three plus years -

and even before that - will ever happen again. No longer will the

Headmaster or Headmistress, whoever they may be, have... carte

blanche... to act without all such actions being subject to Board overview

or review. You have our word."

Harry thought about that for a few moments before he gave the slightest

of shrugs and a simple nod back. Creston seemed satisfied with that and

turned back to the greater Hall.

"And, finally, on behalf of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts School of

Witchcraft and Wizardry I apologise to our visiting guests from

Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. You came for

what should have been a friendly competition between our three schools.

And, instead, have quickly found yourselves embroiled in what I believe

would have to be the greatest scandal our school has seen in its entire

one thousand year history.

"At this point I do not know if the Tournament will be allowed to

continue 'as is', will be completely modified to get it over with as soon as

possible - considering the binding magical contract enacted by the Goblet

of Fire - will be deferred until a later date or will simply be cancelled

outright. That decision has not been made and will not be made until we

have further information.

"Therefore, we must ask both schools' champions to remain at Hogwarts

until that decision has been reached. Accordingly, both schools' other

guests are also welcome to remain."

With what appeared to be a firm nod to himself, together with a clear

relaxation of his shoulders of the stress he must've been under, Creston

finally said, "That is all. Thank you." And stepped away from the podium.

He returned to sit with the other adults at the head table.

Of course, that now became the topic of discussion among the students.

Hermione wanted to speak about it with Harry, but he wasn't interested.

"But, Harry," she begged. "This is important."

"I agree," he replied. "However, you and I discussing it will make not a bit

of difference in whether or not it occurs. As such, I see it as a waste of

time when I have other, more important, matters I need to deal with."

"Like what?" she asked.

Again, Harry could see she wasn't being nosy, just usually curious. So he

didn't shut her down.

"I have House business to discuss with Neville and quite a few other

students who are Heirs of other similar Houses," he replied. "And, no, it's

not business I'll be discussing with you. This is business of the Houses of

Potter and Black with their allies; and not for discussion by others not of

those Houses or allied Houses. Sorry."

Again, Hermione seemed surprised by the answer and not a little

disappointed. "This is yet another facet of the 'real' Harry Potter, isn't it?"

she asked.

"Yes," he replied with a firm nod. "I am Harrison James Potter, Lord of

the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter and named Heir Presumptive

of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. As such there are certain

alliances and business dealings of both Houses that are privy only to me,

other Heads, Heirs or members of those Houses and our allies. I simply

cannot discuss much of any of it with you without each of their

approvals."

With another sigh of acceptance, she gave a nod and looked away. More

and more it was becoming apparent her best friend, Harry, would be

moving in wizarding social circles she, as a simple muggleborn, would

not be able to join. That then had her thinking how Lily Potter, another

famous muggleborn and the mother of her best friend, actually did move

in those circles. And that was because she had married the Head of one of

those ancient families. Which then led her to a subject she had spent only

a little time upon before: Was her future to be the next, as she'd once

thought, Missus Potter; and now knew to be Lady Potter?

Looking around the various tables and mentally going over plans on who

he needed to speak to and in what order, Harry never noticed his best

friend's face suddenly turn scarlet in embarrassment and look away,

thinking about her future.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After Harry assisted Neville in writing his letter to his Gran, the Regent of

the House of Longbottom, Harry then discussed with the other boy who

else he needed to approach about not providing assistance to him when it

was obvious he needed it right from the first day of first year.

"I know you've spoken with Regent Bones, Harry," said the other boy,

"But have you spoken with Susan, Heiress Bones, about her own lack of

action? I mean, she's one of those who've been wearing one of those

badges."

Harry gave a bit of grunt and replied, "Not yet. She's also one of the ones

who bad-mouthed me during that whole Heir of Slytherin thing in second

year."

"When she was twelve, Harry," argued Neville. "Do you really want to

hold her to blame for that?"

"But, you're suggesting I hold her to blame for this year when she's

fourteen?" he argued right back.

"Yes," Neville firmly and immediately replied. "At twelve we're still pre-

teens and it's between four and five years before we take up our

Headships if our father's are dead or... otherwise indisposed. At fourteen

it's half that.

"In a little over two years Susan will be the Head of the House of Bones. I

cannot see her aunt not educating her, as I was, in what would be

required of her."

Harry thought about that for a long moment before he asked, "Do I have

a right to talk to her about it?"

Confused, Neville asked back, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know the Houses of Potter and Longbottom are in alliance, but I

don't know about the rest."

Neville looked in dawning shock and asked, "You really don't know, do

you?"

Harry frowned back and snapped, "I wouldn't have bloody asked if I

didn't."

A little sheepish Neville replied, "No... no, you wouldn't have. Sorry." And

sighed. "Then I shall explain."

"Please," said Harry.

"The Potter-Longbottom Alliance is called that, but that's because our two

families formed it and lead it. It's also called that because our two

families are the most powerful, as both Houses are Noble and Most

Ancient.

"However, there are a number of lesser powerful Houses who have joined

in. Those are the Noble and Ancient Houses of Pones, Greengrass,

MacMillan, Marchbanks and Ogden; and the Ancient Houses of Abbott

and Davis. There's more, but they're even further down than the Ancient

Houses. The only ones who do not currently have a representative on the

Wizengamot is Abbott and Davis. And I haven't included some even lesser

families who have asked for 'membership' because they really don't bring

much to the table.

"In Hogwarts, especially in our year, are the Heirs and Heiresses of most

of those Houses. They are: Daphne Greengrass, Earnie MacMillan,

Hannah Abbott, Sue Bones and Tracey Davis; not including you and me.

The Heirs for Marchbanks and Ogden are grown and already graduated.

"Does that help?"

Harry thought about that for a few minutes before he asked, "And have

you approached those other Heirs and Heiresses and asked why, for the

past month, they've been hanging shit on me?"

"They haven't, Harry," replied Neville. "Sue and Hannah both did not

know those disgusting badges would change to saying 'Potter Stinks'

when you came close to them, or on command from Malfoy. They both

thought they were just supporting Cedric. As soon as both found out

what those badges said in full, they immediately removed them.

"Neither Daphne nor Tracey wore them right from the start, because both

thought them gauche. But it did take me a while to get Ernie to remove

his. It wasn't until I pulled rank as a part of the Alliance before he

complied. And he was pretty unhappy I did that."

"Hmmm," mused Harry. "Do I need to go and talk to them? To repri―"

Cutting him off, the other boy quite firmly replied, "Now that you've

officially recognised the alliance, you definitely should; if for no other

reason than to let them know you're now aware of it, at least.

"I also think you need to lay down the law with them all. That way, we're

both now doing that. I still get treated like the supposed squib most

thought I was. However, together, they'll have no choice but to knuckle

under."

"The only reason you keep being referred to as a bloody squib is because

you're using your father's wand!" Harry snapped. "If you had a wand that

was properly attuned to you, you wouldn't be having so many bloody

problems!"

As Neville gaped back at him, Harry gave a nod and said, "Now that

we've written your Regent, we'll do just that... talk to the other heirs, I

mean.

"Oh, and the issue with your wand is yet another thing that's annoying

me about your grandmother. I take it she's the one who pretty much

ordered you to use it?"

Neville, still a little stunned at Harry's remarks, simply nodded back

wide-eyed.

"Then, that will be fixed with all due haste," Harry growled.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Harry was just going to approach each of the other heirs in the Potter-

Longbottom Alliance and demand their presence in a vacant classroom.

However, Neville said it needed to be done the 'right' way; and that was

to send them each an owl with a formal notice demanding their

attendance at a specific time and place.

So, now that the letter to Regent Longbottom had been sent using

Hedwig, the two wrote the demand letters for Daphne Greengrass,

Earnest MacMillan, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott and Tracey Davis under

their titles of 'Heir(ess) of'. Each heir was required to meet the two of

them in the antechamber off the Entrance Hall, where they'd all first

congregated the night of their sorting.

Because the mail was internal and he didn't want it delivered in the Great

Hall by the owls anyway, nor wanted it to wait the full day, the others all

received their summonses by 'house elf express'.

The meeting was set for that very afternoon, immediately prior to the

evening meal.

Harry also called on Dobby to provide a table with seven chairs to be set

up in the room just before the time of the meeting. And the two boys,

plus Harry's auror detail, were in the room and waiting as the first of the

others arrived.

Harry and Neville both remained in their seats with Harry's auror detail

standing up against the back wall and sufficiently well apart they could

not be taken out by one curse or hex.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The first in through the door was Earnie MacMillan, accompanied by

both Sue Bones and Hannah Abbott.

As soon as he stepped within, not even holding the door for the two

ladies first, MacMillan snarled, "What the bloody hell do you think you're

doing, Potter?!"

Ignoring the question, even the rudeness of it, Harry firmly ordered,

"Take a seat, MacMillan."

"But, before you do that," said Neville. "Perhaps you should think about

holding a chair for the ladies, first."

MacMillan ignored the verbal jab and order and snapped back, "I don't

have to do anything either of you tell me to."

"Very well," said Harry, still with a calm voice but with his eyes reflecting

his anger. "I shall be writing your Lord immediately on the conclusion of

this meeting and informing him that the House of MacMillan is hereby

excommunicated from the Potter-Longbottom Alliance due to his heir...

you... being a rude and obnoxious self-aggrandising little prick to both

Potter and Longbottom."

Harry gave that a moment to 'sink in' before he then snapped, "Now, get

out! This is a meeting of the heirs of the Potter-Longbottom Alliance, who

currently attend this school. And you no longer meet that condition."

MacMillan stood there gaping back in horrified shock. "You... you can't

do that!"

Both Bones and Abbott, who were standing right behind MacMillan,

where also staring back at Harry in shock.

"I might only be fourteen years old, MacMillan," growled Harry. "But,

that does not mean I am not the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient

House of Potter; and, as such, one of the two people who head this

alliance. The other, Frank Longbottom, is currently indisposed; and as

such cannot rule against me. Therefore, whatever decision I make

regarding membership of the alliance is absolute.

"So, for the final time, get out! And don't let the door hit you on the arse

on the way out. You are no longer welcome here."

"You can't!" Macmillan pleaded. "My grandfather will likely kill me if you

do that! At the very least he'll disown me!"

"Not my problem. You were given opportunity to rectify your behaviour

by Heir Longbottom - and failed to do so," Harry snapped before he

barked, "Now, GET OUT!"

MacMillan paused for all of five seconds while he and Harry stared at one

another, before his face morphed from shock to an expression of

combined anger and fear. Then he spun on his heel and stormed out the

door just as Greengrass and Davis entered. He was even rude enough to

knock Davis slightly aside as he exited.

"What was that about?" asked Davis.

"Because of the very recent rude behaviour of Heir MacMillan towards

Lord Potter and Heir Longbottom," explained a slightly awed Neville,

"Harry... sorry, Lord Potter, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of

Potter... just excommunicated House MacMillan from the alliance."

Both Davis and Greengrass also gave expressions of surprise. However,

Greengrass's expression, due to her clear use of Occlumency, was little

more than a cocked eyebrow.

"On the conclusion of this meeting I'll be writing to Lord MacMillan,

explaining precisely that," explained Harry.

"In the meantime," he added, "Ladies; please sit." And gestured to the

chairs around the table.

As Greengrass moved to a seat, along with the other three, she said, "So,

the Lion of Gryffindor bares his claws once more. I do believe I'm going

to like this Harrison James Potter."

"It's about time, Potter," said Davis.

Harry's expression suddenly changed to guarded and he quietly said,

"Please, sit."

None of those there mistook the seeming request as anything but the

order it actually was. They all sat and looked back with expressions

ranging from angry to uncertain in how to act.

"Alright, Potter," Greengrass eventually said. "You've got us all here. Now

what?"

"I want answers," said Harry. "And you people are going to provide them.

Plus... be aware... if I believe you're quibbling, being untruthful or I

simply do not like the answer I receive, getting your own Houses kicked

from the alliance is the least of your worries."

That had them all, except Neville, sit up straighter and focus. Neville

knew he'd already passed this 'test'.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After speaking with the other heirs and getting the answers he wanted,

though he was unhappy with many of them, Harry didn't declare any

other House excommunicated or similar. Instead, he demanded of them

all to recognise they had done him wrong. Then, once they'd formally

recognised they had done him said wrong, demanded of them they

inform their Heads of House they provide unconditional support in his

endeavours from that moment forward.

However, he did declare that the House of Bones was going a long way

towards providing that support through the actions of Regent Bones,

Amelia, in her role as Director of the DMLE.

They each now had a far better understanding of just how badly they'd

let down the House of Potter. And it was drummed into them they were

not to allow it to happen ever again.

It was just as they were about to break up when a house elf popped in,

took one look at them all and popped out again.

"Fluxy?" Neville quietly asked the space where the elf had stood for only

a few seconds.

Next thing they knew the door was flung open and in strode a quite irate

Madam Augusta Longbottom, Neville's regent.

Neville moaned, "Oh, Merlin!"

"Mister Potter," she practically snarled. "I want a word with you." She

then looked to everyone else in the room and barked, "The rest of you

can get out. Now."

"Freeze!" Harry instantly barked right back, louder.

That brought the other heirs, except Neville, to an immediately halt when

they were practically jumping up ready to run out the door.

Swivelling his gaze back on the Longbottom matriarch, he snarled, "How

dare you! We are just finishing up with an important meeting that has

taken me quite some time to organise. If you want to have a word with

me, you will ask... politely... and wait until I have time for you.

"If you cannot wait less than three minutes until the end of this meeting,

say so right now; and I'll send formal notice to all the important parties

to let them know the Potter-Longbottom Alliance is hereby immediately

and irrevocably terminated!"

As the two stared one another down, the others gaped back in shock

between the two.

After a long moment that felt, even to Harry, as if an hour had passed

while the two stared at one another, Augusta finally 'blinked', threw her

nose in the air in a haughty fashion and more quietly said, "I'll wait

outside."

Then, not even waiting for Harry to acknowledge her words, spun on her

heel and stormed back out of the room.

As the door closed behind her those remaining, including Harry and

Neville, let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that," said Harry, a lot quieter this time. "I suggest we meet,

once more, one month from today. I'll let everyone know of the time and

place once the time approaches."

As the others continued to pack away what few things they had out and

began to leave in pairs, Neville was also about to leave when Harry

motioned for him to stay.

"You're going to need to remain, I think," said Harry. "I know your

grandmother will probably not want you to, but I'm asking you to

remain."

Neville gave a slight shudder, but firmed up and nodded.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

With Susan the last one out, Harry followed her to the door and looked

outside.

He saw Madam Longbottom standing in a foul mood and watching the

door.

He gestured to her to come in and, without even waiting for her to

acknowledge him - let alone hold the door for her - turned and walked

back to his seat alongside Neville.

It wasn't until he'd turned away from the door to head back to his seat he

saw the two aurors still standing quietly along the wall behind where

he'd sat.

He sat down as the woman re-entered the room. Again, she entered irate.

"Neville," she snapped. "Leave! And the two aurors can leave with you."

"If Neville leaves, so do I," Harry immediately riposted, placing a calming

hand on Neville's arm as the other boy almost shot to his feet. "It is

obvious this meeting is as much about him as it is about us.

"As for the aurors, they're here at the command of Madam Bones,

Director of the DMLE. They're most definitely not going anywhere, no

matter how much you bluster about it."

While holding Neville's arm down, he glared back at the woman daring

her to countermand him.

After a very long ten-plus seconds of staring, each trying to dominate the

other, Madam Longbottom finally sniffed, "I need to speak with you...

alone."

"No... you don't," he disagreed right back. "You want to speak with me,

alone. You don't need to, at all."

Again she stared back without saying a word. Harry could see she was

quite used to this silent intimidation tactic working. The pity for her was

it had no effect on him. And he couldn't care less.

Eventually she all but snarled, "I have delicate House business of matters

between the Houses of Longbottom and Potter to discuss with you. You

don't want other witnesses listening in."

"Do not presume to tell me what I do and do not want, woman!" he

snarled back.

That stumped her, as she stood there clearly frustrated and unsure of

what to do next.

Finally, she all but snarled back, "You will not be forcing me to relinquish

my position of Regent for the House of Longbottom."

"Fine," he simply replied. "Then I shall inform the Heads of Houses for

Greengrass, Davis, Abbott, Bones and the others that the long-standing

Potter-Longbottom Alliance is terminated. If that was all you came to tell

me you could have simply sent me an owl.

"As for you, I'm done with you. As I explained in my letter to you, I

consider your actions in blocking Heir Longbottom from rendering me

assistance, when he realised I desperately needed it and wanted to give

it, as an act of betrayal. As I explained in Neville's letter to you, I have no

intention of being part of an alliance where the representative of one of

the senior Houses involved could be party to such an action.

"I was well prepared to not terminate the alliance if you recognised your

despicable actions for what they were and stepped down. However, as you

have stated you won't, then I feel I have no choice left to me but to

terminate that alliance.

"Good day, Regent Longbottom. You have my permission to leave now.

This audience is at an end and I'm done with you."

The Longbottom grand matriarch stood there quivering in rage and, yes,

not a little fear. If it became known, as Harry had intimated, just why he

was terminating the alliance, she was done as a political powerhouse.

The other Houses of the alliance would immediately act. The least action

of which would be applying significant force towards her to relinquish

control of the House of Longbottom to another Regent or directly to

Neville through emancipation. She did not know if Harry also knew that,

though it was likely he did from his words and actions, so she tried

another tack.

A lot calmer and more respectful this time she asked, "If I stand down as

Regent will you withhold your announcement?"

"You had your opportunity and you squandered it," he immediately

snapped back.

"Harry, please," begged Neville, softly speaking up for the first time since

his grandmother entered.

It was clear the other boy was pleading for his House not to be so

publicly ridiculed, as would be the result of Harry carrying through on

his threat. It was then Harry realised Neville would also be publicly

humiliated if he went through with what he said he would do.

With his teeth gritted in frustration at his own 'saving people thing', as

Hermione called it, coming to the fore he took a few moments to clamp

down on his emotions.

Eventually he growled out, "Fine!" After a quick glance to Neville, he

stared back at Augusta and said, "Because Neville tried to do the right

thing, even though you blocked him at every opportunity, I give you this

one last chance."

When the woman, though her own Occlumency was clearly in use,

appeared to sag in relief a little, he again spoke. "However, there are

conditions.

"One: You will immediately take Neville to Ollivander's and get him his

own wand. His father's wand, which you've been forcing him to use, is ill-

suited to him. That is the reason he struggles so much in the wand-based

classes. The wand is fighting him. Remember; the wand chooses the

wizard, or witch. You have apparently forgotten that.

"Two: You will render all assistance to Amelia Bones in her efforts to see

Albus Dumbledore and his lackeys convicted of the crimes she has filed

against them concerning me - plus that fumbling fool, Fudge, and Barty

Crap Senior. You will use your current and soon to be no longer authority

as Regent Longbottom to force the Lords and Ladies of the Potter-

Longbottom Alliance to also support and aid her in her efforts.

"And, three: You will then step down as Regent. I don't care what excuses

you use to do so. I don't even care if you announce I forced you to do it.

But, you will do it.

"I grant you this extra opportunity to head off me terminating the

alliance only because your grandson, and rightful Lord Apparent of your

House, has begged me to. Even with that, this is your last chance. So, am

I clear and will you comply?"

She stared back for a long few moments until she seemed to reach a

decision. Then she slowly, but barely, gave a single nod back. Her eyes

never left his.

"I will have your verbal acquiescence," he growled.

Her eyes flashed with anger for a flicker before she hissed, "Yessss... Lord

Potter."

"Good," he snapped. "Your verbal acceptance of my demands is noted. In

that case and based on your acceptance of my demands, as long as you're

complying and continue to comply, I'll withhold informing the other

Houses I'm terminating the alliance."

Snapping his gaze away from hers he turned to Neville and said, "I'll see

you this evening, Neville. Your grandmother is taking you to Ollivander's

to get you a properly matched wand right now. Something she bloody well

should have done before your first year."

Harry heard the other boy sigh in relief before he, Neville, then turned

and stood.

"Grandmother," he said, brushing down his robes. "Shall we go?"

After the two Longbottoms left the room, one of the two until now silent

aurors behind Harry let out a clear breath of relief.

Without even turning to see which of the two it was, as it really didn't

matter to him, Harry smirked and said, "That's what happens when you

piss off the rightful Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House."

Standing himself, he glanced to the two aurors and said, "Alright, you

two, I think it's time for dinner."

Without waiting for acknowledgement, he simply strode out the door;

head held high and with a light smile on his lips.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That evening Neville returned to the Gryffindor common room with an

expression of pleased wonder on his face. As soon as he saw Harry, who

was also there, he ducked over and wrapped him in a hug.

"Thank you!" he quietly whispered into Harry's ear before backing off and

showing his new wand.

In a clearer voice he said, "Cherry wood and unicorn tail hair; twelve

inches."

"It works better for you?" asked Harry.

Without replying Neville spun slightly to the left and whipped his wand

out to point in the general direction of a couch. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

he firmly but still quietly intoned.

Suddenly, one of the throw pillows on that couch shot up into the air and

smacked hard into the ceiling with a 'foomph!' sound. A bare moment

later Neville released the charm and the pillow fell back to land with a

muffled thud back on the cushion of the couch.

He spun back to grin at Harry.

What the boy didn't see was the expressions of shock on the faces of his

housemates. Harry just smirked back, as he wasn't anywhere near as

surprised as the other housemates clearly were at his sandy-haired

friend's magical power.

"I told you," he smirked. "You have far more power than that wand you

were forced to use otherwise demonstrated. It was holding you back,

quite significantly."

A little more serious, Neville returned, "Yeah. When I levitated that

rickety chair of Ollivander's off the floor, expecting it to only hover a

little, it shot up, smashed into the ceiling and broke apart.

"Right then Gran could see that she'd done wrong by me. I could see she

was clearly ashamed. She spent the short trip back here profusely

apologising."

"So she bloody well should have," Harry firmly nodded. "And more. Now

you're going to have to learn to back off on the force you use when

pumping your magic to cast a spell."

"Yeah, that's what Ollivander and Gran said," the other boy grinned.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The next morning Harry checked to see if Dumbledore and/or Snape had

returned and discovered they apparently had not. He was pleased with

that.

That meant, so far, he'd have another day of being free of Snape's vitriol

and Dumbledore's attempted obliviates and manipulations. He had little

faith, yet, of the Wizengamot actually getting it right and putting both

men on trial, let alone getting convictions. But, so far, signs were that it

was going to happen.

If Snape did return and said one bad word against him, however... well,

Harry already knew exactly what he'd be doing in return. He'd 'end' the

man in such a way that he couldn't be touched for doing it. He'd use the

life debt.

As he sat at breakfast with Neville, with Hermione sitting on the other

side still clearly a little unsure how to deal with 'new' Harry, the mail

owls came streaming in.

Besides his copy of the Prophet, Harry was unsurprised to see quite a

number of owls headed in his direction.

'Ah!' he thought, 'The wizarding public are now making their collective

move.'

What began as a 'super-parliament' of various breeds of owls all trying to

deliver to him at once, had his housemates either side scrambling out of

the way. But, not Neville or Hermione.

Hermione began by sending paralysing charms at each of the owls but

was near gobsmacked when Neville, with a firm wave of his wand and a

cry of "Stupefy!" knocked them all out. Those still in the air dropped to

either the table or the floor on either side almost as one.

While Neville blushed at what had just happened, Hermione stared at

him in shock while Harry quietly chuckled and started levitating the

birds off the floor that had landed there and up onto the table. Hermione

joined him but Neville decided to stay out of it in case he did more harm

than good.

"Nice shot, Nev," Harry smirked after he gave the boy a long few seconds

to come to terms with what had happened.

Neville just blushed even harder and looked away. But Harry still saw the

hint of a pleased smirk on the boy's face.

Once all the owls were on the table, Harry began releasing them of their

loads.

What surprised him - and quite a few others who had also seen them -

was that Neville had also managed to paralyse the few Howlers mixed in

with the rest of the mail.

Harry set them aside and vanished them.

When each owl was released of its load Hermione began to take it aside,

cast a finite on it and allowed it to fly away.

"My God," she exclaimed, after reviving the third bird on the third

attempt. "I don't know what Neville did, but it's taking me quite a bit of

power to wake these owls up again."

Again Neville looked pleased - embarrassed, but pleased.

"Gods!" Harry muttered after trying his first. "Hermione's right, Nev. You

really knocked these out! How about just casting a finite over them all for

us, yeah?"

Blushing so much he looked as if he had third degree sunburn, Neville

turned back, raised his wand, paused a moment and firmly intoned with

a swish of his wand, "Finite!"

The remaining owls suddenly woke and began righting themselves before

flying off with indignant hoots, barks and ululas.

"Damn, Nev!" Harry exclaimed. "Remind me to never get you angry with

me, if you can wield that much power."

Harry said it loud enough that, since they were being watched by the

majority of the Great Hall, a great many people heard the remark. That

was deliberate on Harry's part. He wanted as many people to know of

Neville's 'new found' power as possible, just to ensure they no longer

looked upon him as a squib.

However, that was no longer going to happen anyway. They'd watched

him both freeze all the birds with one massive petrification charm, before

then waking them all up with one massive Finite.

With all the owls now freed of their loads and sent on their way, Harry

moved to check said loads. He had been surreptitiously casting detection

charms on them already, and had found a few that were quite suspect.

Now, though, any charms that were on them seemed to have been

negated by Neville's cancelling charm. Surprisingly, that included the

remaining Howlers he'd not yet vanished.

The few remaining Howlers that were there before the cancelling charm

were now reduced to nothing more than ensorcelled parchment. The

parchment was still Howler parchment, but it was all now deactivated.

"Be careful," he said, as Hermione reached to start opening them. "We

don't know what manners of trickery the senders have included."

They found their first one when he opened one and found it to contain

undiluted bubotuber pus. He was just thankful when he'd also discovered

the charm that would have had it explode and send bubotuber pus over

the person opening it to have been deactivated.

"Alright, stop!" he immediately commanded, as Hermione reached for the

next one. "Some of these appear to have been booby-trapped."

Hermione snatched her hand back away as if she'd been burned and

looked at Harry in shock.

He turned to one of the aurors who'd taken station behind him and said,

"I think you need to call Madam Bones to come here. As I've just

explained to these two, some of these appear booby-trapped. That would

be a direct attack upon the Head of a Noble and Most Ancient House.

And that makes this..." he indicated the pile of mail with a wave of his off

hand, "... A criminal matter."

The auror's expression turned grim and almost thunderous. He gave a

firm nod back and pulled out his auror badge. He gave it a tap with his

wand and whispered into it before returning it to a pocket within his

robes. "I've let her know to make all haste here."

As Harry nodded back, in a clear voice the auror said, "I need everyone to

move away from this area. This is now a crime scene." And he and three

other aurors moved in to clear everyone away.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Madam Bones turned up in mere minutes accompanied by a team of

whom she immediately explained to be 'departmental cursebreakers'.

Harry returned, "I had no idea the DMLE had cursebreakers."

She smiled and said, "People tend to forget the Misuse of Muggle

Artefacts Office is part of my department. We use them there, plus share

them with the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes."

As they were talking, the cursebreakers were going over the mail and

quietly speaking between themselves as they systematically worked

through it all. Eventually, one of them pulled out a floating portable

Dicta-quill and parchment pair, activated it and began muttering to it as

he worked.

Finally, they appeared done. And the one not working with the Dicta-

quill turned to Madam Bones and said, "Five Howlers, one loaded with a

modified explosive curse set to activate when the letter was opened and

would then spray undiluted bubotuber pus over the hands of the person

who opened it, plus a few other minor hexes and curses. Only the second

and some others listed would be considered significantly harmful."

Her expression turning irate, Madam Bones snapped back, "I want to

know the identity of whoever sent anything that was harmful, even if you

don't consider it significant. This was an attack on the Scion and Head of

a Noble and Most Ancient House. I want the culprits in my holding cells."

Both cursebreakers, already with grim expressions, turned back to try and

identify magical signatures.

A mere couple of seconds later they looked about and said, "Who

deactivated these?"

"Neville Longbottom cast a massive Finite over pretty much all of it,"

replied Harry. "Miss Granger and I did the same with only a couple of

them."

"I need to analyse your magical signatures," said the cursebreaker.

"What do you need us to do?" asked Harry.

"Cast a Lumos and hold it," he replied.

Harry immediately did just that. And both cursebreakers then cast their

own magics over his wand tip.

"That will do," the first one said. "Who's next?"

"That would be me," replied Hermione, stepping forward.

As Hermione cast her own Lumos Harry called Neville forward.

Neville stood up straighter and stepped confidently up.

As soon as the cursebreakers were done with Hermione, Neville cast his

own Lumos. It lit up bright enough to almost blind everyone.

"Woah, Lad!" exclaimed the other cursebreaker. "Back off on the power a

bit, yeah?"

Again Neville blushed a little before he did just that. And his light

dimmed a fair bit.

Once the cursebreakers had somehow managed to get the magical

signatures of all three, the first said, "Anyone else?"

"No," replied Harry. "I'm pretty sure we were the only three."

The cursebreaker gave a firm nod back and both returned to scanning the

mail again.

It took a little while with Madam Bones, the aurors, Harry, Hermione,

Neville and pretty much everyone else watching, but the cursebreakers

stepped back and lowered their wands. "I think we got it all," said the

first one as the second one deactivated the Dicta-quill.

"Good," said Madam Bones.

The second one then dried the ink on the Dicta-quill parchment before

rolling it up and handing it to Madam Bones without a word.

"Right," said Bones, once the cursebreakers were clearly done. Gesturing

to one of the aurors who had accompanied her, she indicated the pile of

mail and instructed her, "Get all this gathered up. It's coming with us."

As the auror stepped forward with wand raised to do just that, Madam

Bones turned to Harry again and said, "After we go through it all and

remove that which is offensive or charmed, I'll organise for you to have

the remainder returned."

"Not a problem," said Harry. "I doubt there's anything in that lot I want,

anyway. I didn't recognise any of the owls."

Madam Bones gave a nod back and asked, "While I'm here, has there been

any instances of people... whether they be students, staff or anyone else...

who've bothered you?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself about," he replied.

She frowned back and said, "You did not reply with a 'No'."

"The only incident of note was only relating to the Potter-Longbottom

Alliance," he replied. "As such, it's House business. Nothing for you to

concern yourself with as Director of the DMLE. Susan can bring you up-

to-date with Alliance business when you're not wearing your DMLE

robes."

She glanced towards one of her aurors who'd been in the castle on shift

before she arrived. Harry didn't see what the auror had to say to her, but

she didn't react. When she turned back she said, "Very well. Then I'd best

get back to the office. My people and I have work to do relating to that

mail."

Before she had a chance to turn away, Harry asked, "Any news you can

share with me relating to what I brought to light during the first task?"

She hesitated a moment before she replied, "Not yet, Lord Potter."

"Fair enough," he replied. "Thank you."

She gave a nod and again turned away, ready to head back out. As she

walked away she checked to make sure her contingent were following

before heading back to the doors and out.

She did, however, stop for a few moments with her niece, who was

waiting for her back near the doors of the Great Hall.

With the excitement of the mail now over, others in the Great Hall turned

to discuss it with their fellow students while again casting surreptitious

glances Harry's way.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

7. Daft Aurors and Interviews

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Seven - Daft Aurors and Interviews

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That evening, one of the aurors who still maintained a watch over Harry

informed him and Hermione both that an auror would be taking the both

of them to the Ministry to be formally interviewed as witnesses to what

had happened over the past three-plus years, the next morning.

Harry was looking forward to it, but Hermione was becoming somewhat

of a frazzled mess. He had to take her aside to help her calm down before

she made herself sick with fretting about it.

Again in a classroom just down from the entrance to the common room,

this time with Harry dragging Hermione down there, he firmly sat her on

the edge of a desk while he stood in front of her, frowning and with arms

crossed. Both ignored the quiet tailing aurors, this time.

"Hermione," he firmly said. "You need to calm down. You're making

yourself sick with all this worry―"

"But, Harry," she cried, "What if I mess things up? What if I say the wrong

thing and get everyone in trouble? What if I say something that's going to

see Headmaster Dumbledore... or, worst still, Professor Snape... get away

with what they've done? What if―"

"Hermione!" he firmly cut in. "You're not going to do any of those things."

"But, Harry―" she tried again.

"Stop!" he snapped back. "You're not going to do any of those things,

because none of those things are your concern.

"What you're going to do is simply answer the questions put to you. It is

not your responsibility to ensure you say nothing that allows someone

who deserves suitable punishment from receiving said suitable

punishment. That is the job of Madam Bones and her aurors, first; and

then the Wizengamot, second."

Before she could say something else, as she clearly appeared to want to

do, he continued, "I know we have learned not to trust those in authority

since we entered the wizarding world three years ago. However, that has

only been to do with the adults here at school, the Minister, and his...

handler... Lucy Malfoy.

"We have no reason to doubt Madam Bones or her aurors. So far, over the

past few days, she's done everything I've expected her to do when doing

the right thing - and more. As for the Wizengamot, they've also not yet

done anything that would lead us to believe they'd do anything but the

right thing; Albus Dumbledore, as Chief Warlock and his machinations,

aside."

As Harry had continued, he could see Hermione begin to slump her

shoulders and look down, embarrassed by her actions.

"I know you're worried you might say the wrong thing," he more calmly

said. "However, you cannot say the wrong thing if you simply answer the

questions put to you honestly and fully. If you think something is

important, tell her... or 'he', if it's a male.

"I really cannot see how you could possibly say anything that could harm

the case or cases against anyone if you simply tell the truth. And I will

not think less of you if, by some miracle, you do manage to say

something that harms Madam Bones's cases.

"The only way I can see you truly harming her case or cases is if you lie.

And, if you do that, you and me are done; our friendship will be over."

That had Hermione lift her face to stare back at Harry in shock bordering

on outrage. "I would never!" she exclaimed.

Harry was pleased to see and hear the modicum of outrage in her

expression and her tone.

"I didn't think you would," he calmly explained. "I only said that our

friendship would be over if you did. As our friendship is as strong as

ever, shows I don't believe you would."

That had Hermione shoot up off the desk to wrap him in a 'Hermi-hug'.

For Harry, that signified she'd both accepted the truth of his words and

would no longer doubt herself; at least, on this issue.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The next morning had another, though smaller, parliament of owls make

it's way to Harry. Again, Harry stepped back and allowed Neville to cast

his wide area stunner over the lot.

However, when the other two stepped forward to being unloading the

owls of their loads, he said, "No; stop."

When they both hesitated, he said, "This time, I want the loads checked

for harmful packages before we release them from the owls. If they're

harmful, the owl can identify the sender; understand?"

By then, one of the aurors came up on them. "Step back, please,

everyone. Again, this is a declared crime scene." Then she turned to

Harry and said, Madam Bones has already been contacted and I expect

her on her way."

Harry immediately explained why he said the owls were not to be freed

of their loads until each package was checked. That way, they knew

which owl carried which load.

The auror nodded almost negligently as he worked.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Directly after breakfast a team of four aurors - two males and two

females - turned up to escort the two to the Ministry. They were escorted

off the grounds by way of the main gate and, once outside the wards,

directly side-along apparated to the auror apparation point inside the

DMLE.

Harry, for one, was thankful; as it meant they had bypassed the public

areas of the Ministry. And that meant not also being stared at by both

Ministry workers and the public at-large.

Once inside the DMLE they were directly escorted to an interview room

by one each of the male and female aurors.

They'd only been there a minute or two when they were also joined by

another male-female auror pair. This time, both sat on the opposite side

of the table to the two chairs at the table Harry and Hermione were

seated in.

After quick greetings of 'Good morning's across the table between the

four, the female auror got right to the heart of the matter.

"Lord Potter, Miss Granger," she began, "I'm Master Auror Constance

Hammer. You may address me as 'Connie'."

After both teens nodded back, she then introduced her partner. "And this

is my partner, Senior Auror Beauregard Fleming."

"You may call me, Beau," he smiled. "Everyone does."

That had both teens smiling back.

"Here's how this is going to work," said Hammer. "When dealing with

children we normally provide them with a glass of water that contains a

squeeze of lemon, plus a very mild calming potion and similarly mild

truth potion. It's not Veritaserum, so no need to worry about that."

Harry knew of Veritaserum; but only knew it to be a strong truth potion,

nothing more.

"We don't normally use it on adults as we believe adults are more than

capable of remaining calm and understand the need to be entirely

truthful. They understand the consequences when they aren't. Therefore,

their water only contains the light lemon flavour.

"For you two we'll leave it to you as an option. However, I recommend

you choose to have the potions as they'll stop you from worrying about

what you say. Further, it means there is less chance of your statements

being disregarded in court.

"Which would you prefer?"

After a glance at each other, both teens turned back.

Harry said, "So long as we do not delve off the subject matters I raised

during the first task - and you do not go too deep into my personal life - I

have no complaints about taking both potions."

"Same here," Hermione immediately added.

"I understand your concerns," said Hammer. "However, while the second

is a truth potion, unlike Veritaserum it will not force you to answer. You

can also state you do not wish to answer the question. That will be the

truth and, therefore, it will not be unacceptable to the effects of the

potion."

After both teens glanced at one another again, Hermione was first to

answer.

"Then I have no problem taking either potion," she firmly stated.

"Me neither," added Harry.

Both aurors nodded back with pleased expressions.

"In that case..." said Hammer. She turned her head to the side and looked

down a little. "Locky!"

A little house elf almost silently popped into place. "Yes, Miss?"

"Water with both potions, please," Hammer immediately ordered.

Without a word the little elf popped away again. A long moment later

and it was back, together with a silver tray holding a carafe of ice water

and two inverted tumblers.

"Thank you, Locky," said Hammer.

With a small smile, Fleming asked, "Alright, who wants to go first?"

"I do, please," Hermione immediately replied. Turning an embarrassed

glance to Harry, she added, "Sorry, Harry. But, I really need to get this

out of the way before I barf."

Harry just smiled back, gave a sheepish shrug and replied, "That's fine,

Hermione. I don't mind."

"Very well, Miss Granger," said Hammer. She indicated the tray and said,

"You'll want to drink about half a glass of that to start with. Then you can

sip from it as often as you like."

As Hermione reached for it Harry could see her hands shaking. As could

the two aurors.

Fleming simply reached out, flipped a tumbler over to be right side up

and poured her half a glass of water.

Hermione carefully lifted it and - after a couple of steadying breaths -

drank the entirety of it in one hit.

When she turned to look at Harry, he could see she was a bit

embarrassed by that. He smiled back, just reached out and silently patted

her thigh.

"It's alright," he said.

Meanwhile Fleming was setting up a large Dicta-quill in front of himself.

Once he was ready he turned to Hammer and nodded once.

Hammer just gave a slight clear of her throat and began. "Interview of

Miss Hermione Granger in Interview Room One at the Department of

Magical Law Enforcement on Friday, twenty fourth of November, 1994,

at 9.30am. Interviewer, Master Auror Constance Hammer. Dicta-quill

operator, Beauregard Fleming. Also present are Senior Auror Prusilla

Proudfoot and Master Auror Thaddeus Pickwhistle. Master Auror

Pickwhistle is senior officer of this interview."

She then turned to Hermione, who was now clearly a lot calmer and

gently smiling back. It was clear to even Harry that the potions were

having a positive effect.

"Miss Granger―" continued Hammer.

"Hi!" Hermione immediately and brightly returned with a smile,

interrupting the auror.

Hammer smiled back and repeated, "Miss Granger, for the record, please

give me your full name and date of birth."

"Hermione Jean Granger. Nineteenth of September, 1979," Hermione

promptly replied.

"Confirmed," said Hammer, after checking off a sheet of parchment she

had before her. "Do you give this interview of your own free will?"

"I do!" replied Hermione

Hammer gave a small nod and then got into the meat of the interview.

"Let's do this as chronologically as possible," said Hammer. "In your own

words, Miss Granger, please describe for us what happened at Hogwarts

School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - from here on referred to as simply

Hogwarts - on the afternoon and into evening of the thirty-first of

October 1991. I believe there was an incident concerning a troll."

"During Charms class that day, I was trying to help a fellow class and

housemate, Ron Weasley, in how to successfully perform the levitation

charm, Wingardium Leviosa, when..."

With a break after the first hour, Hermione continued with her interview

right through to the day of the first task. Hammer asked for further

information along the way.

When she'd finished Harry was surprised to discover it near enough to

lunch that Hammer decided they'd break for lunch before continuing.

The four aurors escorted both teens to the DMLE-only cafeteria and

remained with them the entire time.

Once they'd eaten and taken a short break in the water closets, also

escorted by aurors of their own genders, the two teens were escorted

back to the interview room.

This time it was Harry's turn and Hammer and Fleming switched roles.

Harry opted for the same potion-laced water.

Harry's interview went much longer and they took two breaks as they

started back as far back as Harry remembered his time with the Dursleys.

While speaking, he was surprised by just how much he remembered. And

was somewhat surprised the potions allowed him to recall it all without

concern or embarrassment. It seemed there was one form of mind-based

magics that affected him, after all; potions.

Then again, maybe it only did because he was a willing recipient.

Something to test for another time.

By the time he was finished, his throat felt quite raw. And he was offered

a potion that immediately soothed it.

"What was that?" he asked, after drinking it.

"A throat healing potion, Lord Potter," Fleming replied. "You're not the

first, and I very much doubt you'll be the last, who has come away from

an interview with a sore throat."

When the effects of the potion in the water wore off about thirty minutes

after the interview concluded he was shocked to discover it was going on

to 5.00pm.

"Sweet Merlin!" he exclaimed. "It's almost dinner time! And, damn, I need

to use the little boys' room!"

The four aurors chuckled and Hammer added, "I thought you might. You

managed to get through almost half a gallon of water during that."

It was only after he said what he said that he realised Hermione hadn't

berated him for his language. He turned to her and could see she'd been

crying for a while but hadn't very recently. Her eyes were bloodshot and

red-rimmed and her cheeks were puffy with tear tracks on them.

"I'm sooo sorry you went through all that, Harry," she hiccuped

"Hermione," he firmly said. "Not your fault; hear me? I do not blame you

for the least of it. You did your best and I lo― appreciate it a great deal."

After a quick trip to the loo for both teens, they were soon escorted back

to Hogwarts in reverse of how they got to the Ministry.

Thankfully, it appeared Hermione hadn't noticed his slight slip of the

tongue.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

As they were walking back from the gates of the castle, Harry quietly

asked Hermione, "Now that the interview is out of the way... are you

going to take the School Board's offer of returning home until classes are

back on again?"

She was a long few moments of clearly thinking it through before she

replied, "Do you... think I should?"

"I think you should do what's best for Hermione Granger," he instantly

replied.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Well, I'm definitely not going back to Privett Drive!" he replied. "I think

I'll just stay here."

"No... I mean... What do you think of the idea... ummm... what do you

think of the idea of coming and staying... with me?" she tentatively

asked.

Her offer surprised him; enough that it made him think for a bit.

Suddenly stopping, which caused everyone else to stop, he turned

Hermione to face him full on. Her expression was one of disappointment

as she looked at the ground.

He said, "Sorry. You caught me by surprise there."

That brought her eyes back up to meet his.

"If that's what you want..." he began. "If your offer is genuine and not one

that a friend would say but expect to receive a negative answer to... and

you ask your parents first and they reply with a yes... then, yes, I think I'd

like that."

The smile that bloomed on Hermione's face was contagious. It had him

smiling as well.

He heard a quiet snicker from one of the female aurors, but chose to

pretend he hadn't heard.

Now all excited, Hermione grabbed him with both her hands by his

offhand elbow and started to almost drag him to the doors of the castle.

"Oh, Harry! Of course they're going to say yes! I've been writing my

parents about you since the night of the troll. And they've already said

that they want to meet you. That day in Flourish and Blotts was nowhere

near long enough! What better way to get to know you than for you to

come and stay with us for a while. Can I borrow Hedwig?" she said with

a rush.

Harry chuckled back and replied, "Of course you can. I know I don't give

her enough work to do. So, I know she'd love to take a letter to your

parents."

"I'll write as soon as I can get back to the tower so I can collect

parchment, ink and a quill. How quickly do you think Hedwig can get to

Wimbledon and back?"

"Wimbledon?" he asked.

"That's where I live, Harry," she replied. "About a stone's throw from the

Wimbledon All England Club."

"I thought you lived in Croydon," he said.

"No, I said I lived near Croydon," she corrected. "I say that so people don't

know just how wealthy my parents actually are. Wimbledon is an

expensive area to live."

"Ah!" he said, as they continued to walk. A long moment later he asked,

"Hang on. Isn't Wimbledon one of those areas where housing is like over

a million pounds per?"

"Yes," she simply replied without explaining further. "That's why I know

you coming to stay with us for a while will be no imposition," she added.

"We live in a three story detached that's really four floors as the semi-

underground area is also used. There's plenty of room. You'll even have a

bedroom with an ensuite, all to yourself; which is what I've got. You just

won't have the huge dressing room I've got that I've had Dad convert to a

study for me.

"I'm on the second floor, which is the top floor, while you'd be in the

guest room on the first floor across the hall landing from my parents

room, which is directly under mine. That's the main guest room. There's

another two guest rooms on the same floor as me but neither has an

ensuite. They have to use the main bathroom on that floor."

"Whoa, Hermione," he laughed. "Let's not count our chickens before

they're hatched, alright?

"Why not wait to describe everything once... if... your parents agree."

"They'll say it's alright, Harry," she said, still dragging him along. "You'll

see."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Once back in the castle Hermione finally let go of Harry's elbow and

almost ran back to the Gryffindor Tower.

As soon as she was out of earshot one of the aurors said to him, "She sure

has a lot of energy, doesn't she."

"She becomes quite focussed once she has a problem she wants to solve

and devotes almost all of her energy to solving it," he replied. He

gestured after her and added, "This focus is kinda the norm for her. It's

good to see after having to go through those interviews."

It was left to Harry to thank the aurors for escorting them to and fro to

the Ministry so, by the time he got back to the Gryffindor common room,

Hermione was well into writing her letter to her parents.

As soon as he stepped into the room she looked up from where she was

writing her letter at one of the very few study tables and gestured him

over.

"I hope you don't mind Harry," she said, "But, there's been a fair bit

happen over the past few days that's radically changed. And I want to let

my parents know about all that and why I'll be coming home a lot sooner

than expected, before I drop on them the request to bring you home with

me."

"It's your letter and your parents, Hermione," he shrugged. "I doubt a

couple of extra sheets of parchment in a letter is going to bother Hedwig

in the slightest. She often brings me my copy of the Prophet, remember?"

"Oh, yes," she replied, not even looking up from her writing. "I forgot

about that."

Due to the time, Hermione continued to write her letter home while they

sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for dinner. And both teens

headed directly to the owlery from the Great Hall to send the letter out

through Hedwig.

Harry could tell his Snowy was more than happy to take the letter as

Hermione carefully tied it firmly to her leg.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Of course, with her letter 'slash' request now winging its way to her

parents, Hermione began to fret again. And that began, as far as Harry

could estimate, before Hedwig even reached the horizon. This was easy

for Harry to determine, as it was just as easy for him to determine back at

the Ministry. She was using her top front teeth to nibble on the inside of

her bottom lip.

"Relax, Hermione," he said to her. "Even if they say no, I won't mind."

"I'm not worried about that, Harry," she returned. "I'm worried my

parents are going to think you're my boyfriend."

"Oh?" he asked. "Am I that repugnant?"

"No-no-no!" she blurted. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" he asked.

"I meant... I'm worried what my father might do or say to you if he thinks

you're my boyfriend."

He shrugged back and said, "He'll probably say what all fathers of teen

daughters say. 'You hurt my little girl and they'll never find the body.' Or,

possibly, 'You even think of poking what's between your legs between my

daughter's legs and I'll cut it off with a rusty knife... if you're lucky.'"

Hermione looked horrified.

Harry just grinned back and said, "Don't worry about it, Hermione. I'm

not. It's just the sort of thing fathers say to their daughter's boyfriends.

I'm expecting it."

"But... but... we're not boyfriend and girlfriend!" she whined.

"I am a boy and I am your friend," he returned. "I dare say that'll be close

enough for your father. And maybe your mother, too."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Back at the DMLE Madam Bones had just finished skimming through the

statement of Lord Potter - she'd read Miss Granger's later, as it mainly

was really only a supporting document to Lord Potter's - and set it aside

with a sigh. Connie Hammer and Beau Fleming were seated opposite in

her 'guest's' chairs.

"And both drank the potion-laced water?" she asked.

"They did," replied Hammer while Fleming simply nodded. "Lord Potter

even managed to polish off almost a half gallon of it. He spoke for quite a

while."

"And every word supported one hundred percent what he made public

during the first task," added Fleming.

"I simply can't believe the atrocities those Dursleys committed upon that

boy and yet he still turned out to be wonderful young man," said

Hammer.

"Have you ever heard of the quote: 'Nature versus nurture'?" asked

Fleming.

"Yes," replied Bones while Hammer looked a little confused. "The

argument goes, I believe; how much of a person's personality can be

attributed to their inherent nature as opposed to how they were nurtured,

raised?"

"Indeed," nodded Fleming as Hammer seemed to have at least somewhat

understood. "However, it's even more than that. When they talk about

nature they're even going as deep as the cellular level; what muggles

refer to as 'genes'. It's that level that determines things like eye colour,

hair colour, optimum height and weight, that sort of thing. Nurture goes

to the environment in which a child is raised, warm or temperate

climate, the country they were raised in, all the way down to siblings,

guardians, schooling, etcetera; and includes behaviour directed toward

him or her.

"If nurture was the dominant effect, then there's no way Lord Potter

would not have turned out to be a new Dark Lord; irrespective of what

Dumbledore would have us believe. It would also explain what Lord

Potter meant when he said he should have been sorted into Slytherin and

argued with the Hat not to sort him there.

"If nature were dominant - which I think has been proven in Lord Potter's

case - then, no matter how poorly he was raised or badly treated, he's a

Potter; and the Potters have always been inherently good people.

"Lord Potter has a strong sense of 'Noblesse Oblige'; the responsibility of

the peerage towards the commoner. Miss Granger often referred to what

she called Lord Potter's 'Saving People Thing'. Lord Potter has a strong

sense of doing what is right, even at the cost of his own welfare. I think

that is a combination of his own sense of righteousness being paired with

his poor sense of self worth brought about by how the Dursleys treated

him.

"From everything I've learned of this matter so far, Lord Potter has been

raised in a very specific way that will lead him to ultimately sacrifice

himself to save others. Dumbledore's actions have created a teenager, to

date, who is simply waiting for the time when he will get to carry out

that act. And, I'm sorry to say, I believe it was deliberate on

Dumbledore's part."

"That was my intuitive belief, as well," replied Bones. "As it was Lord

Potter's. However, it's nice to have it confirmed by a Master Mind

Healer."

"You should also know that Lord Potter was correct in positing that

magical children raised in an abusive environment will often be sorted

into Slytherin. However, that is the case for children whose psyche

manages to survive being raised so. Those not so lucky will often be

sorted into Hufflepuff, as they fear confrontation and try to hide in the

shadows."

"I remember a couple of children like that when I was in Hufflepuff,"

Bones almost absent-mindedly muttered.

Coming back to herself and sitting up straighter she asked, "Was he also

right about matters such as the traps they had to get through in First

Year, the whole basilisk fiasco and everything else?"

"I believe so, yes," he nodded. "Just as Lord Potter believes, those traps

were way too simple to stop a skilled wizard, let alone a Dark Lord. They

were clearly set up to test him and his friends; but, more importantly,

him. Nothing else makes any sense.

"As for the basilisk I can see no situation where Dumbledore could not

have known there was one in the school the first time it was brought up

into the public areas. That was the night of Hallowe'en, 1992, when

Filch's cat was petrified.

"And, as for the students who were attacked and petrified, they could

have been woken within a day of their petrifications. Mandrake

Restorative Draught is kept in stasis in every medical centre I know of.

Hells, we even have it here in the DMLE Infirmary. I know for a fact

there's currently a dozen doses of it sitting in stasis in the potions cabinet.

"No, Dumbledore wanted those students kept petrified so they wouldn't

let anyone know too early that the monster was a basilisk."

"When do we go to trial with all this?" asked Hammer, who had been

quiet for most of the talk.

"We start in three days - Monday morning," replied Bones.

"In what order?" asked Hammer.

"Fudge and Umbridge, then the staff of the school, we'll slot the Dursleys

in there somewhere and, finally, Dumbledore," she replied. "I want Fudge

and Umbridge out of the way so they don't interfere with the other trials.

And I want to have Dumbledore last, as I'm hoping there will be more

evidence that comes to light from the trials of the other members of

staff."

In the past day and a half they had managed to get out of Fudge just how

much Umbridge was involved in what he'd been doing. And that she had

been blackmailing him, on the side.

"I'm going to put forward all the evidence that I now have on the old

man. I want to make sure that even the most die-hard of Dumbledore's

supporters on the Wizengamot learn exactly the type of man whom it is

they support. I want there to be such a preponderance of incontrovertible

evidence there is no possible way the old man is going to escape justice."

"What about Sirius Black?" asked Fleming. "The man is clearly innocent."

"That's being dealt with," she replied. "I have Shacklebolt and Tonks

looking for him."

"Tonks?" asked Hammer. "A bit young, isn't she?"

"Yes," nodded Bones. "However, what makes her special for this is that

she's of Black blood and a second cousin of him. She remembers 'Cousin

Siri', as she called him, with fondness. And, apparently, that fondness was

returned.

"If Shacklebolt and she find him it may be the trigger that has him

surrendering to them, rather than fighting them off and or running away

again."

"Have you asked Lord Potter if he knows how to get hold of him?" asked

Fleming. "I didn't specifically ask him that, but I'm pretty sure he likely

knows how."

Surprised, Bones replied, "I... hadn't thought of that. I'll send him an owl

and ask."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The next morning, while Hermione had not heard back from her parents

yet, Harry received a decent sized letter from Madam Bones. In it she'd

covered what was happening regarding the upcoming trials and such.

In two days they were starting with Cornelius Fudge and Dolores

Umbridge. If they had time they'd then start on the Hogwarts staff. Since

he'd effectively and willingly admitted to any and all wrongdoing, the

first of the staff to be tried was Filius Flitwick. Harry was surprised they'd

be starting the trials so soon.

Her letter stated he would be required to attend all the trials, though she

knew he'd get bored pretty quick. If he didn't he might find himself

approached by an auror who was there to immediately take him to the

trial of the moment. And that was only if a member of the Interrogation

panel - the judges - specifically demanded his presence for a short time to

answer questions.

However she also assured him, as he'd already provided authenticated

memories and statement, the likelihood of that occurring was low. If he

was so summoned he'd be provided a Law Wizard to advise him before

he even took the stand to give verbal evidence.

Turning to a hovering Hermione he said, "The trials start the day after

tomorrow - Monday. First up are Fudge and Umbridge. And, if they have

time, they'll be followed by Flitwick."

"That's Minister Fudge, Senior Undersec... Oh, to hell with it," she said.

"Fudge, then Umbridge, then Flitwick. When are the others?"

Harry laughed. It was the first time he could recall since he'd first met the

girl that she had not insisted on people being referred to by, as she saw

it, their proper titles. It said a lot to the state of things she now chose to

not use them for the adults concerned.

"After Flitwick, the next day it will be Hagrid, Sprout, McGonagall, Snape

and Dumbledore in that order. Madam Pomfrey, from what Madam

Bones alludes to here, will not be prosecuted at this time so long as she

co-operates fully with the DMLE and satisfactorily answers all their

questions. However, it's very likely she's going to lose her Medi-witches'

credentials."

"But, why?" she plaintively asked. "If Dumbledore's been Obliviating her

left, right and centre she's really not at fault for any of it."

"According to Madam Bones her mind's been too badly compromised," he

replied. "Plus, she also apparently asked to be allowed to retire and move

to one of the colonies. She's utterly mortified Dumbledore was able to do

to her what he did. It seems she's lost complete faith and confidence in

herself."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "That makes sense, I guess."

"Of course, there's also Sirius's trial to slot in there somewhere," he

continued, returning to the letter. "She has a Senior Auror by the name of

Shacklebolt and an Auror Second Class by the name of Nymphadora

Tonks on the case of finding him. She's also asked if we have some way of

finding him."

Confused, he looked at her and asked, "Haven't these people got a lick of

sense? Just send him a bloody owl! How do they think I get in contact

with him?"

Harry heard the auror standing closest behind him suddenly groan in

dismay.

When both teens turned to look at him he was staring back at Harry and

shaking his head in exasperation. Without a word he then cast an almost

silent Patronus and said to it, "Madam Bones, Potter suggests sending an

owl to Black."

The Patronus, a small bear, then galloped out through the wall, heading

south.

Harry just snorted in amusement and said, "Really? Is everyone in magical

Britain that daft?

"Won't he have up owl redirection wards?" asked Hermione.

"Any and all wards, including an owl redirection ward, can only be set up

on a place - a fixed position," he replied. "As Sirius is on the move, he will

have no such ward set where he is; unless, of course, he's passing through

one at the time."

Turning to the auror again, he asked, "You realise that, since you can cast

a corporeal messenger Patronus, you could also send him one of those,

right?"

The look of pain on the auror's face was, in Harry's book, 'priceless'.

Not waiting for a reply, Harry turned back around, Hermione was only a

fraction of a second behind him.

"That's daft," she muttered.

That's when Harry caught out of the corner of his eye a second corporeal

Patronus gallop out through the wall.

"They're also forgetting they could use a house elf to take a message to

Sirius, as well," he snarked loudly enough for the auror to hear him.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" the auror exclaimed.

Neither teen bothered to look, they just smiled at each other.

That had a third messenger Patronus sent.

Realising she had another issue to raise, Hermione asked Harry, "Any

word on when classes are going to start again?"

Surprised at the question, though he knew he really shouldn't be based

on the girl's personality, he replied, "Well, a lot of it depends on which

staff members find themselves cleared of the charges; somewhat cleared of

the charges, but ordered to give up their teaching positions; flat-out

dismissed by the School Board anyway or even incarcerated. Only the

first of those will see them returned to teach. Based on that I cannot see

more than one or two, if they're lucky, returning to be professors.

"For the rest, they'll need to source and contract replacements. According

to this, Madam Marchbanks of the WEA - that's the Wizarding

Examinations Authority within the Ministry - has been tasked with

immediately finding replacements for all the positions, just in case. She's

now working with the School Board to recruit those replacements.

"Well, if she's not now, she will be starting as of Monday."

"That could take months," she whined.

"It could," he shrugged. "But that's only to have all the positions filled.

They may choose to recommence classes if they have... say... all bar two

positions filled. We don't know.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind having someone like Madam Marchbanks

come and teach here for a while," he added. "I dare say she has a great

deal of knowledge she could share with us. She's one of the very few

people I know of who's actually older than Dumbledore.

"Plus, she apparently thinks rather poorly of our so-called esteemed

Headmaster. That puts her as someone I believe I can like, right there."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Having just arrived and now sitting in her office, even if it was a

Saturday, this time more closely reading Lord Potter and Miss Granger's

official statements and taking notes, the Patronus of a small sun bear

leapt into her room through the wall.

It spoke with the almost ethereal voice of one of her aurors; one she

knew to be currently stationed as one of Potter's bodyguards, "Madam

Bones, Potter suggests sending an owl to Black." Before it faded away.

Giving her own groan of exasperation, the Director of the DMLE set aside

the statements she was reading and notes she was taking and practically

face-palmed herself before she pulled a sheet of parchment before her,

together with quill and ink, and set to writing.

A few seconds later, a second sun bear Patronus entered the room from

the direction of the first.

"From Potter again, a messenger Patronus should also reach him."

That time she definitely face-palmed herself and groaned. "Damn. Bugger.

Shit. Damn!" she vehemently muttered.

It took her a good ten to fifteen seconds before she could return to her

writing.

Then the third Patronus entered.

"Potter also just suggested using a house elf to take Black a message."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" she more vehemently sighed, unknowingly

echoing her auror's own remark. "This is getting ridiculous!"

Once she'd finished writing she pushed the rune stone button on her desk

that would summon her personal aide to her.

When the young woman entered Bones said, "If they're in, please send in

Shacklebolt and young Tonks."

The aide softly said, "Yes, Ma'am." And walked out, closing the door

behind herself again.

Two minutes later, there was a double knock of knuckles on her door

before the door opened and both aurors walked in.

"Yes, Ma'am?" asked Shacklebolt in his deep baritone. As senior auror of

the two, he spoke first.

"Have either of you thought to send Black an owl asking him to come in?"

she asked.

The look of surprise on both faces before they sheepishly glanced at one

another gave her the answer. "No, Ma'am," they both replied.

Looking sternly at both, trying to wilt them with her eyes, she then

asked, "Do either of you know how to send a messenger Patronus?"

"Errr... yes, Ma'am," replied Shacklebolt as Tonks silently shook her head.

She then waited to see if it would twig to them what she was getting at.

The looks from both of sheepish confusion told her they didn't.

"If you can cast a messenger Patronus, have you thought of sending Black

one of those?" she sarcastically asked.

That was the first time she'd ever seen a black man blush in

embarrassment.

She knew she shouldn't be hard on them. After all, even she hadn't

thought of that communication option. She was just dirty on herself for

not thinking of it; and having a fourteen year old school kid, who wasn't

even in his OWL year yet, reminding her of it.

"On top of that," she snapped, "What about giving a note to a house elf

and having the house elf deliver it?"

Again, both aurors blushed back.

With a sigh, she handed the sheet with the letter she wrote to Black to

Shacklebolt and said, "Send this to him using an International owl. The

man might not even be in the country, at the moment.

"Then, once you've done that, send him a messenger Patronus and a

house elf with a written message."

"Errr... yes, Ma'am," he quietly replied. And both exited again.

She muttered to herself, "We're looking like complete idiots before this

young man. And it's our own bloody fault."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That morning's Weekend Daily Prophet was again filled with the

happenings regarding what Harry had caused to make known; just as it

had been for the past few days. However, little of it was of any real

substance.

Information contained in the newspaper alluded to a lot, but it was

practically all 'hearsay'. And it was also clear the reporters writing the

stories were getting quite frustrated with how well Madam Bones was

making sure the information leaks were being kept to as small a

minimum as she could manage. They were attacking her for it.

As such many of the student body were trying to figure out ways to

approach Harry to get information. And he was quite thankful the aurors

stationed in the castle, especially the two he always seemed to have

specifically guarding him, were keeping those approaches to a tiny

fraction of what he could have expected.

Now the students were getting sneaky in their approaches.

As the two teens were slowly heading back to Gryffindor Tower tailed by

Harry's two bodyguard aurors, they'd just walked out of the Great Hall

when one of the Slytherins in the year above them, Scarlett Lympsham,

approached and offered to teach him about what it meant to be a Lord of

a Noble and Most Ancient House. In return, all she asked for was, 'the

occasional titbit of information he'd be willing to share to someone who

was going out of her way to help him'.

The female auror shadowing him at that moment gave a firm clear of her

throat and frowned at the girl. Lympsham immediately backed off and

said, "I only meant information otherwise available to the public, of

course."

Before the auror could scoff back, Harry said, "Heiress Lympsham, I

thank you for your offer. And I may take you up on it once the current...

unpleasantness... is suitably dealt with. However, for now, I must decline.

Please pass on my respects to your grandfather, Lord Lympsham, when

next you have opportunity to communicate with him."

With the bare twitch of her left eye showing she was surprised by his

response and his intuitiveness in 'suggesting' it was her grandfather who

pushed her to approach him, she replied, "Of course, Lord Potter. I shall

do so and look forward to the time when I may assist." Then she gave a

slight curtsey before heading off again.

However, while her tone and expression was pleasant, Harry knew she

was somewhat miffed he'd so handily discounted her; or that he'd

immediately guessed it was her grandfather and Lord of her House who

encouraged her to approach him. After all, she'd appeared to have gone

to some effort to make herself visually appealing to get her way. For the

first time he'd seen her since they first bumped into each other a few days

after he first entered the school - and she'd sneered at him, looking down

on him as if he was beneath even her contempt - she was not wearing a

buttoned up blouse with a school tie. Instead, she was wearing 'civilian-

wear' with a blouse that had a neckline low enough he could see down to

between her bra-encased breasts, together with a loosely-pleated skirt

that ended above the knee. As she spun away to leave he saw how it

flared out, displaying her legs quite nicely.

Hermione, who was with him at the time, softly exclaimed, "Well! I...

never!"

He turned to her with amusement on his face and twinkling eyes. "The

single ladies of the castle have now had it pretty much driven home to

them that the Harry Potter they thought they knew was only a mask. And

that the real Harrison Potter is a Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House,

single and... I hope... quite attractive."

"Quite attractive, are you?" she scoffed.

Harry laughed, reached out, grabbed her and dragged her in close to lay

a big hug on her.

After an initial exclamation of shock at being suddenly grabbed and

hugged, Hermione was a few seconds before she relaxed into it.

It was a long few seconds more before she declared, with a voice muffled

by his robes, "It's going to take me a little while to get used to you

actually being more the touchy-feely type than I thought you were. Well,

not touchy-feely; more... willing to initiate physical contact with someone

else."

Still grinning, he turned his head a little and kissed her on her forehead.

"Hermione Granger; my slave in the chariot."

She gave a snort of amusement before pulling away again. "I guess I

shouldn't be surprised you know that reference and what it means."

As they continued to walk, heading up the stairs, he said, "I'm not

surprised it was a Slytherin who was the first to approach that way; or

that it was an Heiress of a Noble-ranked House. Once the rest of this lot

get their minds around just what type of person Harrison James Potter

truly is, that's going to happen more and more often."

"What do you mean?" she asked, curious.

"I'm the Head of a Noble and Most Ancient House," he shrugged. "That

puts me at the top of supposed wizarding society here in Britain. In a

way, you can class me as someone around the level of Marquess in the

muggle world. Next are the Noble and Ancient Houses - Earls, Noble and

Elder Houses - Viscounts, non-noble Ancient Houses - Barons and non-

noble Elder Houses - Baronets. After that you have the 'higgledy-piggledy'

of other Houses, who've earned a Life peerage on the Wizengamot -

Esquires. The Magical House of Malfoy wants to be one of those, but is

really not."

Hermione had stopped without a word to say she was going to and Harry

had walked on a bit before he realised she was no longer beside him. He

turned back, curious as to why she'd stopped. She was looking at him in

stunned shock.

"Hermione?" he asked.

"You're... you're... a Marquess?!" she stuttered out, that last bit in a high-

pitched squeak.

"No," he immediately replied, gesturing her forward again. "Actually, a

better representation would be 'Marcher Lord' since Marquis is really the

French equivalent. While Marcher Lords no longer exist in the muggle

world, the wizarding world had already separated from their muggle

cousins by then and the Potter holdings are mainly located in the south

of Wales."

"Plus, as I said, I really only called them that so you had some idea as to

the ranking system of the Houses in wizarding Britain. I could, of course,

have used military ranks, but the Houses are more about hereditary

peerages than military ranks. The major difference between Wizarding

Britain and the United Kingdom is we do not have a monarch. Well, not

one that's recognised, at any rate."

Frowning she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I, for one, happen to believe Her Majesty, Elizabeth the Second, is our

liege monarch whether in muggle or wizarding Britain or not," he

shrugged with a small smile. "But, that just might be me coloured by my

muggle upbringing."

"It probably is," she quietly sighed.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Sirius had actually arrived back in wizarding Britain late on the evening

of the 23rd of November. As soon as he'd learned from Harry his name

had come out of the Goblet of Fire, he immediately made the decision to

leave the unplottable Black 'holiday' island in the southern part of the

North Atlantic near the Azores and made all haste back.

He knew, though, that Harry didn't know that.

He'd also tried to get in to watch the first task, but the security was so

tight he knew he'd be caught for sure if he made the attempt.

Instead, he'd headed back to 'his' cave out the back of Hogsmeade and

used the last couple of days since then to gather intelligence. Almost

immediately after the first task he'd learned from the Daily Prophet just

what had gone on. It was all over the front page... and the second... and

the third! Actually, it was all over the front page for the next few days.

From that he'd also learned that Harry had reported that he, Sirius, was

innocent; and that both the Minister and the Chief Warlock had received

irrefutable evidence of such and not acted as they should have done. The

paper also covered the arrests of Fudge, Umbridge, Dumbledore,

McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, Hagrid, Pomfrey, Barty Crouch Senior, Molly

Weasley and Lucius Malfoy. To add insult to injury, it also reported that

the person who posed as that year's DADA Professor, Alastor Moody, was

actually a supposedly dead Death Eater, Bartemius Crouch Junior. He too

was also arrested at that time.

'Twelve people arrested!' he thought. 'Of them, the Head of the

Wizengamot and Headmaster of their premier school, the Head of the

Ministry and his Senior Undersecretary were included!'

"And this was all because of Harry?" he muttered.

He'd been living in the now 'refurbished' cave for just over a week, still

collecting intelligence, when the Patronus form of a lynx cat appeared

out of nowhere and leapt into the mouth of the cave.

It so badly startled the crap out of him he had his ill-gotten wand raised

and pointing back at the Patronus before he even realised he had reacted.

However, his hand shook so badly it would be pure luck if he'd actually

managed to get a spell off, let alone hit anything.

While he was trying to get his hammering heart and shakes back under

control the lynx spoke in a deep man's voice.

"Black. Auror Shacklebolt. We know for a fact you are innocent. We need you

to turn yourself in so we can give you the trial you should have had and clear

your name."

As the first one faded away a second one jumped in of the same Patronus

form. And the voice continued.

"I swear on my magic, if you turn up at the Three Broomsticks at noon on any

day I will ensure your safe transport to the Ministry to await trial. Leave a

white rose on a table and I'll know you accept."

As he took time to calm down again, even choosing to chug one of his

on-hand calming potions to quickly achieve it, he began to calculate the

risks involved and how to minimise them.

It took him hours to think about it - he really had nothing better to do at

the moment - while he thought it through.

And that's when the Ministry owl glided in and alighted on the ground in

front of him.

After a puzzled frown he checked to ensure there were no illicit, or

otherwise unwanted, charms on either the bird or its letter before he then

used a charm to drop the letter away from the owl.

As soon as the owl was free of its load, it moved to perch on a rock

nearby.

Again frowning, he cast more detection charms over the letter and only

found the one - a standard mail package shrinking charm. He quickly had

that cancelled and the letter unshrunk. There were no other charms.

Carefully opening the letter he realised it also contained a blank sheet of

parchment and a self-inking quill. Both had been wrapped inside the

letter.

Setting them aside he began to read...

~ # ~

Lord Sirius Orion Black III

of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

Lord of the House of Black

Lord Black,

I, Amelia Susan Bones, swear on my magic I mean you no harm. I further

swear I am ready to give you that trial you were denied and, if you hand

yourself over to one of my aurors, they are under orders not to harm you and

to bring you before me with all alacrity. As I write, so I swear, so must it be.

I have tasked two aurors specifically with finding you and bringing you in

unharmed. One is Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt; and the other is your

cousin, Auror Second Class Nymphadora Tonks.

If you find them before they find you, I beg of you, hand yourself in!

We know you're innocent of the crimes for which you were unlawfully tossed

into Azkaban, Lord Black. Together, we will right this wrong.

If you would prefer we come to you at a place of your choosing, please use the

attached quill and parchment to write me and let me know. The owl has been

ordered to remain to allow you to mail back. Otherwise, please simply order it

to return to the Ministry.

Sincerely Yours,

.

Madam Director Amelia Bones

of the Noble and Ancient House of Bones

Director of the DMLE

Regent of the House of Bones

~ # ~

Shocked yet again, Sirius simply sat there unsure of what to do. Did he

go ahead with the 'white rose' concept? Or, did he write to her and have

her or someone else meet him at a place of his own choosing, as she

suggested?

He also found himself completely believing what he'd been sent. He

already knew Ami Bones was a witch of her word and had no doubt she'd

do her best to keep him safe and see to him getting the trial he needed.

The question was: Was her best going to be good enough to keep him

alive? He knew there were forces out there that would like nothing better

than for him to reach a state of 'dead' before he even had a chance to

walk into that courtroom.

He was certain Malfoy would be one of them. And had the financial

capital and incentive to organise it.

What to do? This bore some deep thinking. Plus, knowing the trials of

Fudge and Umbridge, at least, were starting the next morning, he knew

he'd need to do what he was going to do pretty quick. Or, he'd have to

wait until after the trials and move then.

But, if he did turn himself in either that afternoon or the next morning,

would they be able to fit his trial in before or during the trials of those

already organised, anyway?

He spent quite the few hours more thinking on it. And, suddenly, he had

an idea. As far as he was concerned, his idea was both brilliant and

worthy of being titled one of the most brilliant and daring pranks of all

time.

It would definitely be one for his memoirs, if he every got a chance to

write one.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

At Riddle Manor 'Babymort, the homunculus' was having another

tantrum, though mainly in his head.

There was a great deal going on in the wizard world at that moment and

he was effectively out of the information loop. The only information he

was receiving was via the Daily Prophet and Pettigrew. And, as far as he

was concerned, neither was a reliable source of information.

He already knew that one of the two of his minions currently aware of

his existence and location was once more behind the walls of Azkaban.

The other, Pettigrew, was a poor choice of servant. His only redeeming

quality was his animagus ability and form. That he was a common brown

rat allowed him to infiltrate places very few could hope to enter.

However, besides his animagus ability and loyalty to him, he had very

few redeeming qualities. And being a representative of his powerful self

wasn't one of them.

"Wormtail!" he called.

When Pettigrew scurried in, he tentatively asked, "Yes, Master?"

"My potion!" snapped Riddle. "And be quick about it!"

Oh, how he wanted to cast the Cruciatus curse on the fat little sniveller.

But, he couldn't. He needed Pettigrew to have a steady hand while

making him his potions. And the Cruciatus curse would rob the man of

that.

It was so annoying trying to be the most powerful dark lord the world

had ever seen and yet be forced to use such pathetic whelps for lackeys

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

8. The Court Cases Begin

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Eight - The Court Cases Begin

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The next morning, right on 8.00am, a rather nondescript man walked

into the offices of the Auror department at the Ministry of Magic carrying

a small bouquet of white roses and a wide smile on his face.

He approached the counter and immediately rang the little bell placed

there for someone who wanted to make either a complaint or an enquiry.

Though it was a Sunday and most of the aurors were off for the day, he

was approached from the other side of the counter by a young wizard

auror.

"Yes?" asked the auror.

"Good morning!" replied the man. "Could you please ask that dear, sweet

lady who Heads the Department if she's got time for a very dear friend.

And please let her know I bring with me a bouquet of her favourite white

roses."

"It's a Sunday. What makes you think she's in?" asked the auror.

"Oh, she'll be in," the man grinned. "She has plenty of court cases she

needs to prepare for, for her not to be in."

The auror frowned and hesitated a moment before he gave an almost

imperceptible shrug, then walked away towards the Director's office at

the back of the 'bullpen'.

The man, Sirius under a glamour, watched as the young auror walked up

to the door of what he remembered to be the Director of Department's

door and knocked. A moment later, he walked in.

Sirius surreptitiously drew his wand and held it with only the tips of his

thumb and index finger before himself by the middle of the shaft as he

laid the roses on the counter off to one side. So far, besides the young

auror, no one had paid him the least amount of attention.

About five seconds later there was a short, sharp klaxon sound and the

doors leading back out slammed shut. Sirius just stood there with his

hands up and wand still held with thumb and index finger of his off hand

and a grin on his face.

Like little meerkats, what few aurors were in the bullpen shot to their

feet and were looking about, with their wands drawn.

Then the office door slammed opened with Bones storming out with her

wand held ready and a determined scowl on her face. The young auror

was right behind her, also with his wand at the ready; a little scared, but

backing 'The Boss'.

She took one look at Sirius and strode towards him. "Don't. Move!" she

quietly but firmly ordered.

"I have no intention to, Ami my love," he grinned as she still strode

towards him.

Once she was about ten feet short she stopped and said, "Gently now...

place the wand on the desk."

As he complied, Sirius whined, "But I thought it was my turn to be the

auror when we played, sweetheart!"

"Be silent!" she barked. With a glance at the young auror she said, "Auror

Williamson. Handcuff him."

"Ooohhh... kinky!" grinned Sirius.

"I said, be silent!" she snapped at him again.

The auror was quick to duck around the counter and, by the numbers,

affixed magic-inhibiting manacles to Sirius with his hands behind his

back. Sirius made no move to hinder the young man.

Once manacled, Bones ordered, "Bring him! We're going to Interrogation

Room 2."

As Sirius was led through the bullpen, he called out to the still watching

on-duty aurors, "Next time we're playing 'Haughty Healers and Wicked

Medi-witches'!"

That's when Bones hit him with the threatened silencing charm.

As he was practically frog-marched through the bullpen and out another

door, one Sirius knew led to the interrogation and interview rooms, he

turned back to Bones and pouted at her. However, the twinkle of mirth

didn't leave his eyes.

"Shacklebolt, Tonks and Robards!" barked Bones. "With me! Bring a

Dicta-quill with you!"

After only a short walk past two doors, one opposite the other on either

side, Sirius was hustled into an interrogation room. Once he was

manhandled by the young auror into a seat, his cuffs were transferred

from behind his back and threaded through the ring in the table top,

before they once again secured him by his wrists.

Then the young auror stepped back awaiting his next order.

A moment later Robards led in Shacklebolt and Tonks, with Tonks

carrying a Dicta-quill.

Bones turned to the young auror and said, "Alright, Williamson; you're

done. Thank you. And not a word of this to anyone."

The young auror gave a single nod and left without a word.

Then Bones, still staring at Sirius, asked, "Are you willing to undergo

interrogation under Veritaserum?"

"Yep," he immediately replied. "Actually, I think I'd have to insist on it."

She then glanced at Tonks and said, "Tonks. Set up the Dicta-quill. I take

it you have qualified competence in its use?"

"Yes, Ma'am," replied Tonks, as she set to work.

Then she glanced at Shacklebolt and said, "Shack, go get a vial of

Veritaserum."

"Yes, Ma'am," replied the burly dark-skinned auror before he ducked out

and away.

Then she turned her full attention back to Sirius and asked, "What are

you using; Polyjuice or a simple glamour?"

"Glamour anchored by a rune stone," he immediately replied. "You'll find

it on a cord around my neck."

"Gawain," she quietly said.

The Master Auror quietly moved around behind Sirius and, feeling the

back of his neck which Sirius aided by bending his head forward, found

the cord and pulled it off over his head.

As it cleared Sirius's skin his form seemed to shimmer a little as the

glamour dropped away.

Tonks let out a gasp from where she was now monitoring the Dicta-quill

"Sirius!" she quietly exclaimed.

"Hello, Nymmie," he grinned at her. "Look at you, all grown up."

She scowled back and said, "Don't call me that. I prefer 'Tonks'."

"Even for me, your favourite cousin?" he grinned.

"Even for you," she scowled.

"What in Merlin's name possessed you, Black," asked Bones, "Just to walk,

bold as brass, up to my auror counter to turn yourself in?"

"Well, after all the different ways you sent me messages," he replied. "I

thought you really wanted to see me. So, here I am!"

"I wanted to keep the fact we were trying to capture you, rather than sic

a Dementor on you, quiet," she sighed.

"And you still have," he impudently grinned back. "The only people who

currently know who I am are you, dear little Nymmie here, Robards

and... probably... Shacklebolt."

Shacklebolt took that moment to walk back in. As soon as he spotted

Sirius in his unglamoured form he stopped, blinked once and walked over

to Bones while keeping an eye on him. He handed her a small vial.

"For the record," she said. "Senior Auror Shacklebolt has just returned

from the auror department apothecary, where I sent him to collect one

vial of Veritaserum. He was just returned with that vial and I now hold it

in my hand. I confirm that the seal is unbroken and the vial untampered

with. It is vial number three fifty two."

Turning to Shacklebolt she handed it back and said, "I return it to Senior

Auror Shacklebolt for him to administer the recommended three drops

onto the tongue of our Interviewee, Sirius Orion Black the Third of the

House of Black."

Shacklebolt walked around the desk to stand just behind Sirius. He then

cracked the seal and looked to Sirius, "Are you willing to tilt your head

back and stick out you tongue, Black?"

Sirius didn't say a word. He just did it.

After the three drops were administered, Sirius pulled his tongue back in,

tilted his head back down and smacked his lips.

After a long few moments Bones spoke again. "I now begin an informal

interrogation under Veritaserum of Sirius Orion Black the Third of the

House of Black..."

The interview only lasted for a few minutes. At the end of it, Bones dosed

him with the counter-agent herself. As Sirius began to shrug off the

effects of the powerful truth potion, he looked at Bones and grinned.

"So, Ami," he said. "About that trial."

"First things first," she said. "Shack; remove his manacles."

As Shacklebolt stepped forward with a specially designed ward stone key,

she went on, "Now we need to find somewhere to stick you until I can

arrange a trial for you."

"I'll ask Mum if he can stay with us," piped up Tonks. "Neither my Mum

or Dad ever thought he was guilty. So, it won't take me much to convince

them he's been interviewed under Veritaserum and found innocent."

"Check with them," said Bones. "Go use the floo in my office."

Tonks immediately left.

"In the mean time..." She looked back to Sirius. "Will that rune stone on

that cord return your glamour if you put it back on?"

"It will," he nodded.

"Gawain. Give it to him," she ordered.

The elder auror immediately handed it back. And Sirius slipped it back

over his neck before dropping the stone down the front of this robes.

A moment later his form blurred for a moment before he was again the

man who had appeared at the front counter less than a half hour ago.

"Good," she stated, once the change was complete.

Turning to her junior auror, she said, "Gawain; take the Dicta-quilled

statement, make two copies of it, put the original and one of the copies

on my desk. Black gets the other. Not a word of this to anyone. Tell

Tonks the same, but it excludes her parents.

"Shack; the same ban applies to you, too. Not a word of this to anyone."

Finally, she turned to Sirius and said, "You'll be following me to my office

and remain there until Auror Tonks returns. Got that?"

"Yes, Madam Bones," he more formally replied. It was now clear she was

going out on a limb for him and he'd not carry on with the prank because

of that.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

At Hogwarts, as Monday morning's breakfast was winding to a close, the

owls entered as per usual. As soon as they began to glide down from the

owl windows high in the rafters Hermione was focussing all her attention

on trying to spot Hedwig through the illusion of the blue sky with small

puffy clouds of outside.

As usual, Harry was the first to spot her, but he remained silent to let

Hermione think she spotted her first.

"There!" she cried, seeing the owl and almost jumping out of her seat in

excitement.

Of course, Hedwig knew where to find her 'pet', Harry, so was already on

a gentle banking glide coming in over the head table, when Hermione

first spotted her.

Expecting it, Harry watched as she landed with a light touch down

between the plates in the middle of the table before Hermione. And

immediately offered her leg.

Hermione was so nervous in trying to untie the bow that held the muggle

paper envelope to Hedwig's leg that she nearly caused the bow to knot so

badly it would need to be cut off. Harry had to reach over and gently

untie it himself. And Hermione quickly scooped up the envelope.

Of course, she was so busy trying to rip the envelope open to get at

reading the note from her parents she completely forgot to reward

Hedwig for doing a good job. And the bird let her know it.

"Prek!" barked Hedwig, glaring at the bushy-haired human.

Hermione gave a start, blushed and quickly offered the bird two strips of

bacon. "Sorry, Hedwig. I was so excited I forgot about you."

Obviously that didn't impress the bird, as she simply snatched the two

strips of bacon out of the girl's fingers and flew off without an

acknowledgement.

Harry chuckled and said, "You'll have to apologise better than that to her

if you expect her to carry any more mail for you."

"They said yes!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed. "Mum and Daddy are

both looking forward to properly meeting you and said you can stay for

as long as you like.

"The only thing they want to know is when they can expect us; and do

they need to go to Kings Cross Station to pick us up.

"I'll have to write back to them to tell them we'll be arriving by portkey

in the house, direct. And explain what a portkey is, I suppose. So, they

won't need to pick us up.

"Plus, we don't know what day we'll be arriving, as I don't think much

will be decided until we know the results of the trials. And those are

going to take a few days, at least."

"Woah, Hermione," Harry tried placating her. "I know you're excited. But,

as you said, we don't know when we can leave or how we're going to get

there yet.

"I suggest writing to them again and telling them we hope to know the

when and how in a few days. And that the 'how' will very likely not

require them to pick us up from anywhere, as the magic used should see

us delivered right to their home.

"If the trials go as quickly as I think they will, then the 'when' will likely

be within the week."

"This time, please also ask your parents if they are also willing to house a

few aurors for the duration I'm there. I cannot see Madam Bones

rescinding her order for aurors to shadow me at all times, just because

I'm no longer in the castle. And it wouldn't be fair to them to be shut out

of the house. If necessary, I'll pay for their lodgings with my own funds,

so your parents are not out of pocket."

"Oh, sorry," she said as she blushed. "I didn't want to worry you about it...

and I already figured aurors would follow us there... so I included that in

my first letter. But I'll add that you'll pay for their lodgings as Daddy did

ask about that and I was going to ask before sending my response. There's

an unused servants' quarters on the lower ground floor they can use."

The female auror standing behind them this time gave her throat a little

clear to gain their attention. When both teens turned to look, she said,

"Thank you, Miss Granger. That would be far preferable to standing out

in the cold all night; especially if it is raining."

Hermione sent her second letter off early that afternoon. And Harry

included an attached letter thanking them for the 'invitation' and assuring

them he had more than enough money to pay for the lodgings of the

aurors and himself for while he was there.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

That evening, as soon as she arrived home, Andromeda Tonks found

Sirius sitting in the kitchen nook chatting with their only house elf, who

was busy trying to cook dinner.

As soon as he saw her, Sirius rose from his seat with a smile on his face

and was immediately knocked back into it when she practically tackled

him a massive hug.

"Gods, Sirius!" she exclaimed, holding him tight. "It's good to see you

alive!"

"Hello Andi," he smiled back.

She stepped back and gave him a good once-over with her eyes before

she seemed to switch into Healer mode. "Let's see. After I give you a full

physical... and you won't be fighting me on that... I can already see you're

in desperate need of nutrition and muscle building potions, a teeth repair

potion and probably Skele-grow to go with it. However, all that is going

to have to wait until after the physical."

"Andi―" he tried.

"Hush!" she demanded. "Don't argue with your Healer."

"And who decided you're my Healer?" he asked.

"I did, of course," she replied. "Don't argue."

Dragging him with her off hand into the lounge she quickly conjured an

examination table complete with padding and ordered, "Hop up and lay

down."

With a sigh, Sirius complied. But she noticed it took a fair bit of effort on

his part to comply.

Once he was lying down she pulled her Healer's wizard-spaced bag before

her she'd brought home with her and started pulling things out.

First came a long sheet of parchment with an Auto-quill and wand.

Setting that up she used the wand to begin carefully scanning him. The

quill was zipping along writing things down.

Once she was finished with her scan she had to wait quite a while for the

Auto-quill to finish. And stood watching it finish with a frown on her

face.

Sirius used the opportunity to sit back up again, swinging his legs off the

side of the table.

"Well?" he asked.

"In a moment," she almost distractedly replied.

She began muttering, "Nutrition, muscle-rebuilder, teeth-rebuilder, Skele-

grow, vitamin enhancer, diet enhancer, dementor exposure restorer... no,

a mild wit sharpener... I'll have to wait on the dementor exposure

restorer until after your trial... and a memory restorative draught."

Looking at him directly she said, "For someone who's spent eleven years

in that hell-hole, plus another fifteen plus months on the run, you're

looking pretty good."

"I've been self-medicating for some of that time on the run," he replied. "It

wasn't much, but I did what I could with what I could find."

With an almost thunderous expression she snapped, "With the amount of

damage your body's taken that was bloody dangerous!"

"I had no choice!" he snapped back. "What else could I have done?"

"You could have come and seen me!" she growled.

"Not when your daughter's an auror, I couldn't," he sighed.

She stared at him for a long few moments before she changed the subject.

"When's your trial?"

"No idea," he replied. "Bonesy's going to have to fit it in around the trials

she already has going on. I think she's going to slip it in between two of

the high profile ones."

"Yours will be a high profile one," she put.

"Yes, but she doesn't want wind of it getting out right up until I'm

brought into the courtroom."

"Did she give you any idea of about when that is likely to happen?" she

asked.

"Tomorrow, I think," he replied. "She's going to try and slot it in

immediately after Fudge and Umbridge."

With a nod she said, "Then there's little I can do in the time before then.

However, I can at least get you halfway presentable for your trial."

"That... would be for the best, I think," he sighed.

She wrote a few things down on another sheet of parchment and called

her house elf. "Benny!"

With a pop the elf appeared at her side. "Yes, Mistress?"

Handing the elf the parchment she ordered, "Take this to Mister Tattings

of Twillfit and Tattings and tell him it's somewhat of a rush order. I want

to be picking it up no later than ten a.m. tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Mistress," the little elf replied taking the piece of parchment, giving

a little bob of respect and popping away.

"Twillfit's, Andi?" asked Sirius.

"Since Uncle Arcturus passed, you are the Head of the House of Black,"

she firmly replied. "When you walk into that courtroom you will be

dressed the part, even if I won't have time to get your health up to

scratch."

"I was disowned," he frustratingly returned. "There's no way―"

"Unlike me, you were never disowned, Sirius," she replied, cutting him

off. "Aunt Wally, blasting your name off the family tapestry, had nothing

to do with it. No matter how much that old harridan demanded it, I

know for a fact Uncle Arcturus refused to do it."

"How do you know that?" he asked, quite curious.

"Just because Uncle Arcturus was forced into the position of having to

disown me, did not mean he no longer talked with me," she replied. "He

and I kept up both a correspondence conversation with the occasional

secret meeting, where we could talk directly.

"According to him it was his opinion I was one of the few family

members he had left that he felt he could both respect and trust. You

were also on that very small list."

"I... didn't know that," said a very surprised Sirius.

She smiled back and said, "I dare say there's a lot you don't know.

However, now that you are Lord Apparent, we need to get you cleaned

up, made healthy again and brought up to date with the business of the

family."

Casting a critical eye on his cousin, he asked, "Did Arcturus manage to

bring you back into the family, before he passed?"

"No; he couldn't," she replied. Not looking Sirius in the eye she said, "He

told me he hoped you would when your innocence was finally proven

and you took up the Lordship."

Giving a firm nod back he said, "Then it will be the first thing I do as

soon as I don the ring."

Looking at him more directly, she softly said, "Thank you"

After a moment, she appeared to straighten herself up, mentally refortify

herself and said, "Now. Though we cannot do much about your health

between now and your trial, it does not mean we cannot make a start on

that.

"The first thing you're going to do is take a bath. No offence, cousin

Sirius; but, you stink."

He just gave a snort of amusement.

"While you're bathing, Benny should return and we'll have a set of decent

robes for you to wear. We've kept those robes of Ted's that he can no

longer wear due to increasing a bit of girth... shall we say. You're of

similar height that what height difference there is will be unimportant.

What you're wearing will be burned.

Sirius gave a second snort of amusement when Andromeda referred to

her husband's gaining of weight as increasing his girth.

As he was about to head to the bathroom, he asked, "Who sits as proxy

for Black on the Wizengamot? By rights it should be Cassiopeia."

"No one," she replied. "Lucius Malfoy has convinced Fudge his son,

Draconis, is the next Lord Black. And then had himself installed as Regent

for the House of Black."

Sirius spun on the spot just as he was about to walk out of the room. His

expression quickly morphed from shocked surprise to fury. "He what?!"

"You heard me," she scowled. "Lucius Malfoy is currently sitting the Black

seat as Regent. However, Gringotts has not given him access to the Black

vaults in his self-claimed role, because they know damned well he is not.

And Malfoy has kept that quiet from the Ministry."

"That will be the first thing I rectify at my trial," he all but snarled.

"Yes, but because he has claimed regency and it therefore allows him a

seat on the Wizengamot when he otherwise would not hold one, have no

doubt that he will be pressuring the Minister to have you 'Kissed' at the

first opportunity," she explained. "It also explains why the order for

dementors to be sent out from Azkaban to hunt you down and 'Kiss' you

exists. And why Bartemius Crouch Junior was not 'Kissed'; but, instead,

just returned to his cell.

"That is why it is imperative you being given a trial is to remain a secret

right up until you walk into the chamber for your trial."

"And that is why Bonesy sent me to you to be put 'on ice' until the trial,

rather than kept in a holding cell in the auror department," he nodded. "I

wondered why, but was just happy she didn't choose that option."

"That is why," nodded Andromeda.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Also that evening, as soon as he was able to separate himself from

Hermione, Harry quickly drafted a letter to send to his Account goblin in

Gringotts. He had a warding job he wanted to done, 'toot sweet', and

wanted the best erected he could get while also considering the

environment in which they were to be erected.

He also wanted it done in secret, with even the occupants not aware of it

happening. And the goblins were the only ones who would do that. Gold

was gold and it was none of their business if the humans would be

disagreeable or not.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

The next morning and very shortly after breakfast, Harry and Hermione

were approached by four aurors, two of whom he recognised, just as they

were leaving the Great Hall.

With a quizzical frown, he asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm Master Auror Robards," said Robards. "Madam Bones has requested

your presence at today's trials, after all. We're your escort."

"Just me?" he asked.

"No, Lord Potter," he replied. "Miss Granger, as well."

After Harry glanced at Hermione for a moment he turned back and

sighed before looking at his current two auror shadows. "You recognise

these four?" he asked.

"Yes, Lord Potter. They are who they say they are," replied the senior of

the two.

"Very well," he said, turning back to Robards. "Well, it's not as if we've

got anything better to do."

Robards smiled and gave a nod. "Then, let us be off," he said, indicating

the main doors.

"Not yet," said Harry. "Both of us need to change out of our everyday

wear before we go. It would be unseemly to appear in the Wizengamot

chambers in anything but our best."

"There's no need―" started Robards.

"... To hurry there," Harry cut in. "I know. Give us fifteen minutes and

we'll be ready to go."

Robards gave a sigh of minor frustration before he nodded.

And both teens hurried up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. And both

were back down in just under the time Harry gave them to get changed.

Both were wearing wizarding robes for their gender, with Harry wearing

quite good quality robes. Harry also knew the robes Hermione was

wearing was her only set of non-Hogwarts robes.

"Ready?" asked Robards, as soon as he saw them come down the stairs.

"Yep," replied Harry.

"Then, let us go," he said. "We're now running a little behind schedule."

"Then you should have allowed for that in your scheduling, shouldn't

you?" Harry shot back.

Robards chose to ignore the question.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Before the trials started, the two teens were taken to Madam Bones's

office. There, she explained that she was unable to develop sufficient

evidence to see Lucius Malfoy face trial.

"We all know he's guilty," she agreed. "However, yours is the only

testimony containing any evidence against him. And, while you're

obviously quite the clever young man, you were still only twelve years

old at the time he tried to cast the Killing Curse at you. His stated reason

for that, by the way, was just to scare you. He claims he was never going

to do it. And, under wizarding Britain law, threatening it is not the same

as actually doing it.

"However," she continued, "I have sufficient evidence to have him

removed from being a sitting member of the Wizengamot for prejudicial

behaviour. I informed him he either voluntarily stepped down from that

body, or I would take him to trial and have him permanently stripped

from ever being allowed to sit upon that body, anyway. I think I had

enough for that.

"As he still has the dream of the Magical House of Malfoy being elevated

to Noble status within his lifetime, I know he would not want to

jeopardise that. I made it quite clear it would not happen if he tried to

force the issue and still try to demand sitting on the 'Mot; I'd charge him,

anyway."

"Damn!" scowled Harry. "However, he could still try to force it later, once

he felt sufficient time had passed and you wouldn't then be able to push

for his trial, anyway."

"Nope," she smiled. "I forced him to make an oath he would not try to sit

on the 'Mot until the House of Malfoy was elevated. And let him think

there was still a chance of that. I'll be making damned sure there isn't."

"So, he's decided to play the 'long game' and wait, rather than force the

issue and risk losing everything," he sighed. "At least he's showing the

Slytherin mindset his son utterly lacks."

"Just so," she agreed with a nod.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Because of the secrecy surrounding Sirius turning himself in, not even

Harry was made aware his Godfather's trial would be that day. Actually,

the only people who knew of it were Sirius himself, Amelia Bones,

Gawain Robards, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda

Tonks - who was now his self-appointed healer - and Ted Tonks, who

would be acting as his Law-wizard for the trial. That was until that

morning, moments before the trials started and Harry and Hermione had

already left to be taken down and 'snuck' into the chamber. Then she'd

summoned the aurors who would also be in the courtroom into her office

and briefed them.

Having already met Edward 'Ted' Tonks on a couple of occasions

previously and his opinion of the man now impressing him even more,

Sirius had decided he would both accept the man as his Law-wizard for

the trial and - unknown to anyone else just yet, including the man

himself - would be retaining the muggleborn wizard as his Law-wizard of

Record for the House of Black at the immediate conclusion of the trial.

Sirius had no idea who was the current Law-wizard of Record for the

House of Black, but knew whoever it was hadn't done their job by

ensuring he received a trial in the first place. He suspected Malfoy's

interference in that.

The first trial up that morning was of Cornelius Fudge, as expected. Harry

and Hermione were escorted in just as the Members of the Wizengamot

filed in.

Three days previously, Madam Bones herself sent the owl to Fudge

informing him of his trial. In that notice she also informed him that if he

didn't turn up in person before 9.00am that morning, precisely, then he

would be tried in absentia. And, as such, would not have opportunity to

speak in his own defence.

Further, if he didn't turn up and was found guilty of any of the crimes for

which he'd been charged, then he would be considered to have escaped

lawful custody. Then reminded him that it was he, on his own authority,

who ordered the dementors out to hunt down Sirius Black and

immediately apply him with the 'Kiss', just because he had 'escaped

lawful custody'.

She expected it was enough to ensure the man was in court and she was

right. When the current Chief Adjudicator, Madam Augusta Longbottom -

who still had not stepped down as Regent for the House of Longbottom -

banged her gavel and called for 'The accused, Mister Cornelius Fudge' to

step forward, a similarly portly man to him almost reluctantly came

forward from the very full visitors' gallery.

"And, who are you, Sir?" she asked.

"Minister Cornelius Fudge," he replied. "I've taken Polyjuice to ensure I

safely arrived before someone tried to murder me... again."

"Again?" asked Longbottom.

"Someone tried to enter my home, without invitation, the night of my...

arrest... six days ago," he replied. "I informed Amelia by owl I was then

immediately moving to a safe house known only to me for my own

safety."

When Longbottom turned to Amelia, the stern woman nodded back and

replied, "I was so informed."

Turning back to Fudge she said, "Very well. Take a seat." And indicated

the accused's chair with its golden chains. "At least you have enough

honour to come here today."

Though he looked at the chair with some fear, Fudge manned-up and sat.

As soon as he did, the chains leapt to life and firmly bound him to the

chair. He gave a quiet yelp and slightly jumped when they did.

Fudge's trial then went through quite quickly. Each of Harry's memories

were displayed, as they were in the first task, of Fudge's behaviour

regarding being informed of Sirius's innocence. Together with other

memories the man himself reluctantly submitted. The trial was quickly

moving ahead.

Harry and Hermione were not asked to give testimony, but were ready to

do so if they were. They'd already been told they'd be there for each trial

those memories were shown, just in case. They sat together off to the side

apart from the general public and the media. They were watched over by

two aurors, Robards and Hammer, who kept their eyes scanning the room

looking for trouble.

It did not pass the notice of either teen that they were right alongside a

door that led out of the chamber, but not out to any public area they

knew of. Harry suspected it was through to the Members' area behind the

tiers.

When the charges were read out it was clear the man was not unaware of

them. He then immediately pleaded guilty to all bar one. That one dealt

with the acceptance of bribes. Fudge's Law-wizard was clearly under

orders not to fight the charges too hard, only the evidence given for the

taking of bribes and only seek to clarify matters when he felt evidence

was skewed.

When directly asked why he pleaded not guilty to the charges of

accepting bribes, he said he did not see them as such and firmly believed

them to be donations for each of his re-election campaigns as they arose.

However, he pleaded guilty to failing to report evidence that suggested

Sirius Black was innocent. But tempered it with saying, while it was three

teenagers who stated that without providing their own evidence, a

Master Occlumens informed him he believed the three to be under the

effect of Confundus charms. And a second wizard later told him he

believed the same.

When asked who those two were, he replied, "Severus Snape was the

first; and Albus Dumbledore was the second."

That led Harry to almost snarling in anger. Hermione just gave a sob and

leaned on Harry's shoulder, softly crying. It was apparent that Fudge's

testimony just drove another nail into the coffin of her respect for the old

man.

Unknown to him, she'd still held out hope that Dumbledore's actions

were either unintentional or misconstrued. Fudge's evidence burned that

forlorn hope away.

"You were aware, were you not, that at the time you ordered the

dementors to be brought in to administer the 'Kiss' to Sirius Black that he

was already back in custody," pressed Longbottom, "And that he was also

the Lord Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?"

Fudge gave a visible gulp and began to shake a little. "It... had not

occurred to me, at the time."

"Considering you held the highest political position in magical Britain at

that time, I find that very difficult to believe," she glared back at him.

"However, we have no proof, either way, on whether or not you're telling

the truth."

"Ignorance of that is not a defence, Chief Adjudicator Longbottom,"

Prosecutor Scrimgeour piped up.

"No, it is not," nodded Longbottom. "However, if he truly did not know, it

offers explanation."

"And, yet, proof was available to him," argued Scrimgeour. "While those

under-aged cannot be asked to give a vow as to the truth of their verbal

remarks, they can give memories."

"Memories can be tampered with," argued the Defence Law-wizard.

"Only by those who are, themselves, Master Occlumenses," Scrimgeour

argued right back. "And, if you argue they are Master Occlumenses, then

you must also accept they could not be under Confundus charms. You

cannot argue both."

"Alas, such memories were not offered at the time," he argued back.

"Nor asked for."

"Enough!" snapped Longbottom. "This argument will lead nowhere."

The court case wrapped up soon afterwards after almost an hour and a

half.

The sentence was the immediate and permanent stripping of Fudge of his

position as Minister, being able to hold any position within the Ministry

ever again, being able to sit upon the Wizengamot in any capacity ever

again, fined a total of one hundred thousand galleons and sentenced to

Azkaban's light security wing, dementor free, for five years.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Next up came Umbridge. The stupid woman tried to bluster her way out

of her own trial citing she was acting under her authority as Senior

Undersecretary. And that what she did was because of matters the court

was both not privy to and could not be told.

Longbottom immediately shot that down by stating, "If you do not tell us

those reasons then they cannot be used by you in your defence. That has

been a precept of law for centuries."

Her Law-wizard tried to argue her case was special and should be exempt

from that precept due to her position, but failed to sway the Members.

Even when he demanded a vote for it, which he'd lost, he still tried to

argue for it. It took Longbottom having to tell him that if he continued to

push for it he'd be ordered from the chamber for hindering the trial

before he finally shut up about it.

It was then quickly clear to all that it was now clear to him he'd lost the

case right at that point. From then on he was arguing for leniency.

However, the Members were not in a lenient mood. She was sentenced to

ten years in Azkaban in medium security and led from the chamber in

chains still demanding she was in the right and the Members were wrong.

Looking to the Members, Harry could see many of them were both

relieved and or a little smug about her getting her comeuppance. Harry

suspected that many of those she blackmailed were sitting in those tiers.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Once Umbridge was led out Longbottom ordered, "Bring in the next

accused!"

Everyone expected it to be Barty Crouch Senior. However, that's not who

came in.

Instead, yet another wizard stepped down from the visitors' gallery and

walked forward. He appeared quite thin. He was also accompanied by

another man at his heel. This one was a little more stocky.

It wasn't until he was walking forward, turned and winked at where he

knew Harry was sitting with a smirk, that Harry realised who the slender

wizard was.

'Sirius!' he thought, in shock.

It was Hermione's gasp that alerted him that she knew who it was, too.

"Harry," she whispered to him, "Do you know who that is?"

"I do now," he whispered back. "Now, please be quiet and don't give the

game away. This should prove interesting."

Looking around, Harry could see that all the aurors had tensed up, with

many already having their wands out and were closely watching

everyone and everything.

"Bartemius Crouch Senior?" asked Madam Longbottom.

"No, Ma'am," he replied, before reaching up and removing the rune-stone

'necklace' from about his neck.

As soon as the stone cleared his skin, his form blurred a little before

settling on Sirius's normal form. Unlike the last time they saw him,

however, he was wearing robes of the finest cut and materials, plus his

robes showed the Black family crest on his right breast. "Sirius Orion

Black the Third," he continued.

That had near pandemonium in the chamber, both from within the

Members' tiers and the visitors' gallery.

Bones immediately fired a cannon blast charm and bellowed, "Be silent!"

That she obviously also pumped her magic into amplifying her voice a

little was a given, as Harry could not believe someone could be so loud

without magical or technological help.

That, pretty quickly, had everyone settle back down again.

"Aurors!" she called, more quietly. "Anyone who doesn't settle down

immediately when ordered to do so is to be escorted from the chamber,

unable to return!"

As aurors began to move, everyone immediately went silent. No one

wanted to miss this, so the threat was a 'biggie'.

Once she had quiet again, Madam Longbottom firmly asked, "And just

why do we have Sirius Black stepping forward as an accused?"

"Because the man has never had a trial," replied Bones. "He was

summarily tossed into Azkaban, thirteen years ago, without one. Today,

we are rectifying that gross miscarriage of justice."

That had murmurs again rising both among the Members and the visiting

public.

Sirius calmly walked forward and was about to sit in the chair when he

stopped and said, "For this moment and before I take a seat I will first

inform you I have both a wand and a portkey on my person.

"My wand is in a holster on my left wrist and a portkey in the form of a

bracelet is on my right wrist." And carefully moved his arms out and

away from his body.

Kingsley Shacklebolt immediately stepped up behind him and relieved

him of both. Then, before stepping away, scanned him.

Looking up at Bones he clearly said, "There are no other magical devices

on his person, Ma'am."

"Very well," said Longbottom. "Please take a seat, Mister Black."

"Actually, as I have not yet be found guilty of a crime, you should be

addressing me as Lord Apparent Sirius Black of the Noble and Most

Ancient House of Black, Chief Adjudicator Longbottom," he firmly

corrected. "Or, Lord Apparent Black in the short form."

She gave a nod back and said, "Lord Apparent Black, then. Please take a

seat."

With his own nod back, Sirius sat in the chair. The chains, almost lazily

this time, wrapped about him. The wizard with him stood just behind his

left shoulder.

"For the record," he said, before anyone else could speak. "I swear on my

magic and my life I do not now carry on my person any portkeys or other

magical foci. In effect, I am unarmed. As I say, so I swear, so shall I be

judged."

He gave a slightly muted flash as magic accepted his oath.

'Clever,' thought Harry. 'Now no one can curse him and use the excuse

they thought he was going to attack them or use magic to escape.'

As he sat, Madam Bones handed Madam Longbottom a sheaf of

parchment.

The gentle-wizard with Sirius then said, "Law-wizard Edward Tonks,

acting for the defence."

As she read through it Longbottom stated, "For the record, I have just

been handed by Madam Director Amelia Bones of the DMLE what

appears to be a Dicta-quill-taken testimony of Lord Apparent Black taken

in the presence of both Madam Bones and three of her aurors. According

to the testimony, Lord Apparent Black gave the testimony while under

the effects of Veritaserum given with his permission."

Turning to Madam Bones she asked, "Do you, Madam Bones, so attest

that this testimony was, indeed, taken both by a properly functioning

Dicta-quill and while Lord Black was under the effects of Veritaserum?"

"I do, Chief Adjudicator," replied Bones.

Longbottom then gave the documents a swish with her wand and

suddenly copies of it flew to each sitting Member.

Turning to Sirius she asked, "Lord Apparent Black, do you, of your own

free will, assent to the use of Veritaserum being used upon you at this

time and in this place?"

"I do, with conditions," he replied.

"And your conditions?" she asked.

"That such questions directed to me are only asked by yourself, Madam

Bones and Law-wizard Tonks," he firmly replied.

"I can accept those conditions," she replied. "In that case, bring forth a

sealed vial of Veritaserum."

A rack of vials was quickly produced, checked for tampering and a single

vial taken to Sirius. Auror Fleming was the one to administer the

recommended three drops, which Sirius willingly accepted.

After the test questions were asked they got right into the relevant ones.

Twenty minutes later those Members who didn't already know, together

with the visitors, were left stunned and appalled.

Sirius was proven under Veritaserum not to be the Potters' Secret Keeper

on that fateful night; Peter Pettigrew was proven to be the Secret Keeper

as he verbally gave Sirius the Secret - which, unlike if it was written

down, could only be done by the Secret Keeper; Pettigrew had also

verbally given the Secret to Albus Dumbledore - which meant

Dumbledore knew it was Pettigrew, not Sirius, who was the Secret

Keeper; Pettigrew escaped that street in Manchester by sending a blasting

curse at a gas main, which killed the muggles; he willingly cut off one of

his fingers to leave it behind as evidence purporting he was also blown

up by the gas explosion, but escaped; and that he escaped from Azkaban -

not to kill Harry Potter, but to protect him, as he had evidence Pettigrew

was at Hogwarts in his animagus form posing as the pet rat of a young

boy from Gryffindor.

That took quite the while to explain and, by the end of it, the

Veritaserum was wearing off. Sirius was also quick to alert Madams

Longbottom and Bones of that fact, too.

After a long few moments and a long sigh, Madam Longbottom said, "I

think we've heard enough to prove Lord Apparent Black's innocence. Any

objections against us immediately moving to the vote?"

"I object!" called Caracticus Nott, one of those Death Eaters who claimed

he was under the Imperius curse while serving Riddle. "It is obvious

Prisoner Black has taken a counter-agent to Veritaserum. And, therefore,

he has been spouting nothing but lies."

As people jumped up in arms as to his gall in stating such, Madam

Longbottom had to bang her gavel a couple of times to restore order. As

soon as she got it, but before she could say anything, Sirius piped up.

"I Sirius Orion Black the Third, swear on my magic and my life I have

taken no such counter-agent to Veritaserum. As I say, so I swear, so

should I be judged!"

Again, there was the muted flash of light signifying the oath as given and

accepted.

"As I'm still alive, I'm obviously telling the truth," he snapped back.

"Yes... well," said Madam Longbottom. "That puts paid to that."

She then turned to Nott and said, "And one more remark out of turn from

you, Lord Nott, I will both evict you from these proceedings and

encourage Lord Black to sue you for slander!"

Nott immediately fell silent, but fumed in his seat.

When the wizard shut back up Madam Longbottom then called the vote.

It was a very clear majority, almost three quarters of those present, that

voted Sirius not guilty.

And only a few of the dark Houses, including Parkinson and Nott, who

voted him guilty.

As soon as the vote was decided, Madam Longbottom then said, "Lord

Apparent Sirius Orion Black the Third of the Noble and Most Ancient

House of Black, having been found not guilty by a clear majority of the

Wizengamot of all charges this day, you are declared not guilty. You are

free to go."

"Aurors," called Madam Bones. "Release Lord Black of the chains. He is a

free man."

As soon as they did so, he stood, closed his eyes and took a deep

cleansing breath before turning to look in Harry's direction with a

twinkle in his eyes and a wide grin on his face.

"Further," called Madam Bones. "The 'Kiss on Sight' order against Lord

Apparent Black for the dementors is hereby immediately and

unequivocally revoked. Further, all dementors not having already been

returned to Azkaban are to also be immediately recalled directly to that

place.

"Auror... Sampson; go, right now, to the Department for the Control of

Magical Creatures and see to that immediately. The first order is to have

been removed and the second invoked by no later than thirty minutes

from now."

"Yes, Ma'am," nodded one of the younger aurors before he spun about

from his place along one of the walls and hurried from the room.

"Chief Adjudicator Longbottom," called Tonks. "As Lord Black was

unlawfully incarcerated for twelve years, plus had to suffer for a further

year on the run while dodging dementors sent to suck out his soul, it falls

to Ministry to compensate the man. The defence claims the sum of one

hundred thousand galleons per year pro rata for that insult and the harm

he has received.

"Further, the defence demands Lord Apparent Black be recognised by this

body as the rightful godfather of Lord Harrison James Potter, as per the

wishes of his parents. Lord Apparent Black, as per the parents' wishes of

Harrison James Potter, was supposed to be the rightful guardian of the

then infant Harrison James Potter on their passing. A position the

defence believes was usurped by Albus Dumbledore, when it has now

become known Albus Dumbledore knew Lord Apparent Black was then

the infant Harrison James Potter's rightful guardian, magical or

otherwise."

"So ordered," stated Madam Longbottom. "You are aware, are you not,

that since Lord Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire for the Tri-

Wizard Tournament that he has been recognised as an of-age student

and, therefore, an emancipated minor?"

"The defence is aware that Lord Potter has been declared of-age; not an

emancipated minor," he stated back. "He cannot, legally, be both."

Harry knew that but was thankful this Tonks man made it a matter of

Record. He wondered what Longbottom was trying to accomplish by

having him recognised as an emancipated minor and not of-age. She was

up to something there, as she scowled back for a moment.

"In that case, Lord Apparent Black, unless there is anything further, you

are free to go," she said.

"There is one piece of business I have before this body that I consider

most urgent, Madam Longbottom," said Sirius.

"Oh?" she asked. "And what might that be?"

Turning to the Auror Shacklebolt, who had taken his wand earlier, Sirius

asked, "My wand, please?"

After the auror quickly checked with Madam Bones he had permission to

return it to the man, Shacklebolt silently handed it back.

"Thank you," said Sirius, turning back around.

Immediately holding the wand in the grip to give oath, he said, "I, Lord

Apparent Sirius Orion Black the Third of the Noble and Most Ancient

House of Black, hereby remove Lucius Abraxas Malfoy from unlawfully

holding proxy, or claimed regency, of the Seat of Black; and demand he

no longer hold that role, from this very moment forth!"

With Malfoy out of the way, at the moment, no one sat the Seat. Malfoy

did not sit a Seat in his own right, because the House of Malfoy was not a

Noble one, as he often tried to publicly state.

"Done," declared Longbottom.

"Now," continued Sirius. "Who sits as regent or proxy for the House of

Potter?"

He watched as all eyes in the Members' tiers swivelled to stare at Elphias

Doge, who was staring at Sirius in shock.

"Elphias Doge," asked Sirius. "Do you currently claim regency or proxy for

the House of Potter?"

Doge blanched, nodded back and replied, "Albus Dumbledore, as Mister

Potter's magical guardian, appointed me as proxy with him as regent."

The man seemed to have suddenly broken out in a cold sweat.

"Since I was never convicted of a crime that would require it, I was never

stripped of being the rightful guardian of Harrison James Potter and I

never appointed Albus Dumbledore as Regent of the House of Potter in

my stead," Sirius argued right back. "Therefore, Albus Dumbledore was

never in a position where he had any right to claim Regency or appoint

you as Proxy for the Seat of Potter.

"Added to that," began Sirius. "As Lord Potter has been declared of-age,

he no longer needs a regent. And it is also now his right to name his own

proxy. You know that and shouldn't have even taken that seat today. Step

down."

Doge seemed to slump in his seat - or, rather, Harry's seat - for a moment,

before he rose and made his way down the stairs and out of the tiers. He

didn't even look at Sirius or in Harry's direction.

Sirius then asked Madam Longbottom, "A moment of the Wizengamot's

indulgence, Madam Longbottom, while I confer with Lord Potter?"

Madam Longbottom immediately snapped, "No."

"I call for the vote," Bones immediately cut in.

Longbottom was obviously still very angry with Harry, hence her refusal.

Luckily, Bones knew that. That's why she called the vote to decide.

Clearly the call made her even more angry. "Very well," she snapped. "All

those in favour of the indulgence?"

More than half raised their wands.

"Those against?"

Only a few were raised.

Still with a moue of annoyance and anger, Longbottom turned back and

said, "You have five minutes, Lord Black."

As soon as the decision was announced, Harry stood up from his chair

and made his way to Sirius, who then immediately laid a big hug on him

for a moment, and Tonks.

Stepping back, Sirius quietly asked, "Any ideas on who to name as your

proxy, Harry? Or, would you prefer to take the seat yourself? It would

mean taking at least one day off school a month to attend the

Wizengamot if you want to take the seat yourself."

Harry thought about it for a few moments before he said, "I do not know.

Can I defer the decision until the next meeting of the Wizengamot?"

"That's actually a wise decision," said Tonks, while Sirius smiled.

"I think so, too," said Sirius. "However, I think it might be a good idea to

give your proxy, temporarily, to Madam Bones. It will be one more vote

that will fall against Dumbledore and his lackeys in their trials."

"Good idea," said Harry. "Alright, do that."

Again, Sirius smiled and said, "Thank you, Harry. You can return to your

seat."

As Harry did so, Sirius spun back to the Wizengamot and said to Madam

Longbottom. "Thank you for the indulgence, Madam Longbottom. I do

not need the full five minutes.

"At this time, I name as proxy for the Seat of Black, Madam Andromeda

Tonks of the House of Tonks and soon to be reinstated to the House of

Black. And further, as true named guardian of Lord Potter and under

direction from Lord Potter, I name as proxy for the Seat of Potter Madam

Director Amelia Bones of the House of Bones and Director of the DMLE."

"Very well," she said. "Is Madam Andromeda Tonks here?"

Standing up from the visitors' gallery, Andi Tonks stepped down and

came forth.

"You may take your seat in the Seat of Black," said Madam Longbottom.

As the woman did so, Longbottom continued, "Let the record reflect that

the new Proxy for the Seat of Black is Madam Andromeda Tonks of the

House of Tonks; and the new Proxy for the Seat of Potter is Madam

Director Amelia Bones of the House of Bones and Director of the DMLE.

"Turning to Sirius again, she asked, "Anything else?"

"No, Ma'am," he replied. "Thank you to the Wizengamot for finally giving

me the trial I should have had within a month of first being held in

custody in November of 1981. Better late than never, I suppose."

Then he spun away and went to sit with Harry and Hermione. He

conjured his own seat there as he approached. However, he need not

have bothered.

Turning to Bones, Longbottom asked, "Do we have the next ready?"

"I believe we should break for lunch," replied Bones. "That will give my

aurors time to go to Hogwarts and bring back the next two after

Bartemius Crouch Senior - Rubeus Hagrid and Filius Flitwick."

"They're half breeds, both of them," snapped Nott. "I say we just toss them

into Azkaban."

"Lord Nott, we just got through finding a man to be innocent, who was

tossed into Azkaban without a trial," sighed Bones. "Do you want to see

the Ministry pay out yet more galleons in reparations should they later be

found innocent?"

That shut the man up again. And again he sat back in a funky sulk.

"We break for one hour for lunch," declared Madam Longbottom. And she

banged her gavel once on the bench before her. That had her then rise

and begin to walk out, followed by the other Members. They walked out

while quietly chatting between themselves.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

9. Flitwick Plays Hardball

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of

Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high

falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything

related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to

own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful

world... Damn it!

Chapter Nine - Flitwick Plays Hardball

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

During lunch, where the two teens, Sirius and Ted Tonks were invited to

dine in the DMLE cafeteria at the insistence of Madam Bones's aurors and

at Sirius's own insistence, Harry and Hermione went through the facts of

what had happened over the past few days and where they knew the

Daily Prophet had printed untruths. Ted and Andromeda Tonks also sat

near them, but left the three to chat quietly among themselves.

Harry was surprised Andromeda had not joined the other Members in the

Members' own dining room, but quickly realised she and her husband

rarely managed to enjoy lunch together. Ted worked normal office hours

out of his office and Andromeda worked shifts at Saint Mungo's.

Because they were also trying to eat at the time and neither would speak

while their mouths were full, it took almost the entire hour for the two

teens to go through it all.

Sirius did unknowingly help them with that, as he spent time just

absorbing and thinking about what they'd told him after each answer

before asking the next question.

As the hour was coming to a close, he gave a pained sigh while looking at

Harry and said, "You're right. From what you've told me Dumbledore's

been setting you up. I have no idea why, though."

"It's like he's... trying to without letting on he's doing it... preparing me for

something big," said Harry. "And I believe it has to do with Tom Riddle.

You know he believes Riddle... he who you know as Voldemort... will

return, don't you?"

Harry saw both Hermione and Sirius give a slight shudder when he

mentioned the name Voldemort. And knew, on Sirius's behalf at least, it

had to do with how Riddle had set up a Taboo on the name 'Voldemort'

when he was at the height of his powers prior to October 1981.

"So," sighed Sirius. "Dumbledore's definitely guilty of at least a great deal

of which he's been charged."

"Yes," replied Harry. "But, more than that, I believe he's guilty of all of it

and a great deal more."

Hermione nodded.

"When's his trial?" asked Sirius.

"Last," replied Harry. "Madam Bones believes she's going to discover more

evidence of crimes he's committed during the trials of those who've gone

before him. That, of course, includes all the Professors and other

Hogwarts staff whose trials are this afternoon and tomorrow, at least."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After the hour break everyone returned to the chamber.

As soon as Madam Longbottom was settled she banged her gavel and

declared, "This session of the Wizengamot sitting in judicial review is

once again in session.

"Bring in the next accused!"

Next up was the person they expected immediately after Umbridge -

Barty Crouch Senior.

Bones started with the most important of the charges against him, first -

breaking his son out of Azkaban. And, if that wasn't the nail in the coffin

that dealt his doom, the next matter was him repeatedly using one of the

Unforgivables, the Imperius curse, on that son.

Madam Longbottom gave him the opportunity to plead guilty to both

charges before they started on the evidence.

He did.

"As you have pleaded guilty to both breaking your son out of Azkaban,"

said Madam Longbottom. "And have also pleaded guilty to the multiple

use of an Unforgivable, I believe there is both no need to delve further

and only one course of action open to us.

"I now call the vote. That vote will be for not guilty of all charges or

guilty of either charge. It matters not which as they both carry the same

sentence, life in Azkaban.

"All those in favour of guilty, vote now."

Again more than three quarters voted.

"Though it means little difference," she said, "All those in favour of not

guilty, vote now"

Only a few wands lit. Surprisingly, they were from the hardcore neutrals

who believed Crouch's services of playing hard-ball with the DEs during

his tenure as head of the DMLE should mean something.

"Having voted," she said. "Mister Bartemius Crouch Senior, the

Wizengamot overwhelmingly finds you guilty. As per sentencing

requirements for a crime of this magnitude, you are to be incarcerated in

the medium security wing of Azkaban for the rest of your natural life.

"Aurors, shackle him and take him away."

Crouch was then immediately shackled and led from the room. He almost

had to be dragged he was sobbing so much.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Next led in through the doors was Rubeus Hagrid. He was not in chains

or manacles as he wasn't deemed to be a risk.

He was led to the accused chair, which had to be magically enlarged, and

sat upon it. The chains almost lazily draped themselves over him.

After the charges were read, which included conspiracy to kidnap the

heir of a Noble and Most Ancient House and endangering children at

Hogwarts with Fluffy, he asked how he plead.

"Guilty," he immediately replied in a dejected manner. "Bu' only becuz,

since it were Dumbledore 'oo tol' me ta do it, ah didn't think ah'd done

anything wrong."

"Guilty with mitigating circumstances," said Longbottom. "Accepted.

Madam Bones you may commence your case."

First, Bones started by submitting to evidence the testimony Hagrid gave

the day he was arrested. And stated he gave it under Veritaserum.

Then she began by questioning him, again under Veritaserum as he

wasn't a pureblood he wasn't exempt from being forced to take it. And

started with the night Harry's parents were murdered by Voldemort and

his role within it, before moving forward to the traps on the third floor in

the 1991-92 school year and his part within that too.

Surprisingly, she then went back a few years and asked him questions

relating to the death of Myrtle Warren, the now ghost of Moaning Myrtle.

And his role in that.

A court-appointed Law-wizard, who had offered himself as defence

Counsel, then asked him about his direct part in the girl's death and why

he was believed guilty of it.

It turned out he wasn't, but he was unable to properly defend himself

against the charges at the time. That was why he'd found his wand

snapped and ordered not to be allowed to cast magic from that day forth.

Then Bones said, "It is not the prosecution's intent, at this time, to see

Mister Hagrid incarcerated as we believe he was faithfully acting under

what he believed to be the lawful orders of Albus Dumbledore, his boss.

The law-wizard added, "It is the defence's request, also at this time, for

Mister Hagrid to be returned wand privileges. As this latest evidence has

now shown the truth of the matter, we do not feel he was justly found

guilty of facts that led to the death of the minor witch, Myrtle Warren;

which is what led to him being incarcerated and his wand snapped at the

time."

"The prosecution has no problem with that," returned Bones. "However,

we do feel strongly that he never be allowed to be in a position of

authority over a child, ever again."

Madam Longbottom thought of that for a few moments before she

declared, "If Mister Hagrid is found innocent of the crimes for which he

sits before us today; then we shall vote on the request for his wand

privileges to be reinstated. The second part is irrelevant if his guilt is

decided in the first part.

"Secondly, because of the nature of the crimes committed against and

relating to Lord Potter, we shall vote first for his innocence and then for

his punishment if he is found guilty.

"Are there any who wish to ask questions, or shall we move on to the

votes?"

When she again received no comment, not even from Nott, she said,

"Very well. Those voting for guilty, do so now."

To Harry, it appeared a little less than half voted for guilty.

"Those who vote for not guilty, do so now."

Again, a little less than half voted. Apparently, the rest had abstained.

When the tally was given, those who voted not guilty won through - just.

Harry could see Hagrid slump forward in relief.

"Very well," said Madam Longbottom. "A minority has voted for your

innocence. Therefore, you are free of that matter. We shall now vote on

whether or not wand privileges shall be return to you.

"Those who vote 'yes' for the return of wand privileges, do so now."

Again, less than half voted in favour.

"Those who vote 'no' for the return of wand privileges, do so now."

This time a clear majority voted against.

"I am sorry, Mister Hagrid," said Madam Longbottom. "Wand privileges

will not be returned to you at this time."

"Tha's alri'," he quietly said. "Ah'm now used ta not 'avin' a wand."

"You are free to go, Mister Hagrid," she said. "And, accordingly, you are

free to return to Hogwarts as Groundskeeper. However, you are not to

ever be in a position where you are an authority over children, ever

again. That includes being the one to take the first years across the lake

on their first night in the castle. Understood?"

"Yes, M'm,' he replied.

The chains then dropped away and he, quite dejectedly, rose and made

his own way out of the chamber.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Once Hagrid exited, Longbottom turned to Bones and asked, "Do we have

time for one more?"

"This one, we do," she replied. "This person immediately and without

equivocation offered a plea of guilty to all charges in advance. They are

already quite repentant."

"Then it should be a quick one," declared Madam Longbottom. "Bring in

the accused."

Harry thought it would be Professor Flitwick, he was right.

As with Hagrid, Professor Flitwick was not led in wearing manacles.

Instead, he calmly walked in with the two aurors assigned to him merely

following him along without even laying hands on him.

He directly headed to the accused's chair, which had been altered to his

stature between the time Hagrid left and he arrived, and sat upon it. The

chains, just as with Hagrid and Sirius, lazily draped over him.

Harry was beginning to suspect the chains were not just magically

enchanted to wrap around the accused, but also in such a way as to

imply the innocent or guilt of the person sitting on the chair.

Once he was sitting he was told he would be taking Veritaserum.

"I'm sorry, Madam," he quietly replied. "But, as a part goblin, I'm

somewhat immune to its effects. However, after studying it, I believe four

drops, rather than the regulated three, may in fact work on me as I'm

only part goblin."

"If you are willing to take four drops, then I cannot see any reason for

you not to take such," said Madam Longbottom.

"Auror," said Madam Bones. "Four drops, if you would."

Fleming replied, "Yes, Ma'am. Four drops." He then stepped forward and,

as Flitwick willingly tilted his head back and stuck his tongue out, the

four drops were administered.

They waited the recommended time and then asked him the verification

questions. Harry was surprised to learn he was actually 104 years old.

Madam Bones then read out the charges against him, of which there was

only two. One for child endangerment through placing one of the traps

on the third floor in Harry's first year and one for failing to stop the

ongoing abuse of a student through ongoing bullying - Luna.

"For the record, Mister Flitwick," said Longbottom. "How do you plead?"

"To my absolute shame, guilty to both charges, Ma'am," he immediately

replied. "On my return to the castle on the evening following the first

task in the Tri-Wizard tournament, I immediately moved to end the

bullying of Miss Lovegood. However, it does not forgive me for not

stopping the bullying as soon as I became aware of it, other than

reporting it to Headmaster Dumbledore."

"You will have the chance to speak in your defence later, Mister Flitwick,"

said Longbottom. "For now, your plea of guilty to both charges is noted.

"Madam Bones, you may begin."

After first submitting Flitwick's interrogation transcript, Madam Bones

moved on to both Harry's and Flitwick's own memory strands; which, as

with all others, was shown in a solicitor's projective pensieve to the

court.

After that, a Dicta-quill transcribed statement from Luna Lovegood was

submitted.

"As you can see from Miss Lovegood's statement," said Bones. "She never

once reported the bullying to any member of staff. She appears to believe

it was the fault of fanciful and invisible creatures that made her fellow

housemates behave the way they did. It is the opinion of a DMLE

authorised mind healer that Miss Lovegood is still suffering from the

effects of the death of her mother, when she was nine years old. The

woman died in her arms and Miss Lovegood appears to suffer some

measure of guilt in not being able to help her."

"Has she since been offered help in that area?" asked Longbottom.

"Yes, but her father is unable to afford it."

Harry silently vowed he'd both look out for her and pay for it, as he

utterly despised bullies.

"Very well," said Madam Longbottom. "You may continue."

"The Prosecution rests, Chief Adjudicator," replied Bones.

With a nod back, Longbottom then turned to Flitwick. "Mister Flitwick, as

you do not seem to be represented by a Law-wizard, it is now your turn

to offer evidence in your own defence."

"The only defence I offer, Chief Adjudicator, is included in my testimony,"

he replied. "However, to repeat what I have written so the other Members

may know of it, I make you aware of the following..."

He then went on to describe how he was unable to find work after he'd

retired from the duelling circuit and how Albus Dumbledore was the only

person to offer him work. Then he described how, in 1991, Dumbledore

stated he would fire him if he did not go ahead and assist with setting the

traps on the third floor corridor after he first baulked at doing it.

However, Dumbledore had also promised him that no student would be

able to get into that corridor, let alone through to the trap he had set up

and he had trusted the man.

Next he told of how he was aware of some bullying going on in the

school and, when he first came across it, issued punishment. However,

when he raised the issue of the constant ongoing bullying by the majority

of students in his own house against one student with the Headmaster,

Dumbledore told him he was to leave it alone.

"He told me it would build character in the girl, to rise above it," said

Flitwick. "And I am ashamed I didn't act against the Headmaster's order

and deal with it, anyway."

At the beginning of this school year he also wanted to offer assistance to

'Mister Potter', but the Headmaster forbade him doing that, too; citing

that the Tri-Wizard Tournament specifically forbade it and that he would

risk his magic if he attempted it. However, once he found out from a

reading of the contract that Mister Potter, due to his name coming out of

the Goblet could not then be considered a Hogwarts' champion, he knew

he could offer Harry assistance. But, by then, it was too late. That was

only two days before the task.

"That concludes the evidence I submit, Chief Adjudicator," he finished.

"The defence rests."

"Very well," said Longbottom, giving a firm nod back. "Under my

direction we shall vote on three issues.

"The first is only for guilt or innocence and we will vote each separately.

If found guilty for either or both, we will then vote for punishment of

each guilty verdict. Please remember that a vote of guilt in any crime

against a child could very well mean that Mister Flitwick will

immediately lose his job as a professor at Hogwarts."

She gave that a moment to sink in before she said, "In the first matter, the

setting up of a dangerous trap within the school in the 1991/92 school

year, those voting for guilty please vote now."

About a third voted.

"Those voting for not guilty, please vote now."

About half voted. Harry could see the professor would be declared not

guilty of that charge.

"In the second matter, failing to act to protect a student under his care

from harm within the school in the 1992 to present school years; those

voting for guilty, please vote now."

Again, about a third voted.

"Those voting for not guilty please vote now."

Again, about half voted. Harry could see the professor would be declared

not guilty of that charge, too.

"I move for another vote, Chief Adjudicator," said one of the Members,

rising in place.

"Oh?" asked Longbottom. "And what would that be."

"Given what has been made clear this day, I move for a vote to be taken

as to whether Filius Flitwick be allowed to remain a Head of House or

banned from such a position forevermore."

"Very well," she replied. "I can see the wisdom of that."

"In this new matter, losing his Head of House position due to a loss of

trust, those voting the affirmative please vote now."

This time, a little over half voted.

"Those voting for the status quo, with Mister Flitwick retaining his Head

of House position, please vote now."

And, this time, less than half voted. The professor would be losing his

Head of House position.

Turning to look at the professor, Harry could see it was what the little

Charms Master expected.

"Mister Filius Flitwick, it is the decision of this court that you are

declared not guilty of the charges laid against you. However, this court

has also found that your forsworn guilt is sufficient for you to lose your

position as Head of Ravenclaw House. A position you will never be

allowed again. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he quietly replied. "Thank you. I shall do my best to

recover my honour by never again falling under the sway of Albus

Dumbledore to divert me from what is right."

"Very well," she said. "Aurors, you may release him. Professor Flitwick,

you are free to return to the castle to return to your position of Professor

of Charms."

As the chains were released and the professor stood, he bowed to the

Wizengamot and, without another word, strode from the chamber. He

looked in no one's specific direction as he left.

"That's sad," said Sirius.

"Yes," said an equally sad Hermione.

"It was well-deserved punishment," Harry firmly retorted. "He did as

Dumbledore told him to, even when he knew it was wrong. He placed

keeping his job over the safety of the students. For that alone, the man

does not deserve your commiserations."

"You would have rather seen him fired?" asked a surprised Hermione.

"Hell, yes," he firmly replied. "The man is a Charms Master of incredible

skill. Plus, he's taught at least two full generations of students who have

passed through the school.

"While he stated he believed only Dumbledore offered him a job, that was

back over twenty years ago. Things have changed since then. Now, two

generations of Hogwarts students know exactly who he is and what he's

like. There is no way, for the last decade or so at least, he'd have been out

of work for long."

Hermione sighed and softly said, "I guess you're right."

Flitwick's trial was the last of the day. And Longbottom said they'd be

recommencing the next morning with Pomona Sprout's and Severus

Snape's. Depending on how long they both took, they would be followed

by Minerva McGonagall and the Dursleys.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

Before they left for the day, Sirius took Harry aside to explain a few

things to him.

"Alright, Pup," he began. "Here's what you need to know. First, I'll be

staying with the Tonkses for a while. I'll very soon be bringing Andi and,

through her, her daughter back into the House of Black as recognised

daughters; and Ted as a recognised spouse of a daughter of the House of

Black."

Harry gave a nod back but refrained from saying anything, knowing

Sirius had more to tell him.

"Secondly," continued the old dog, "I'm appointing Ted Tonks as the Law-

wizard firm of Record for the House of Black. No idea who it is now, but

I consider them useless if they did nothing to ensure my freedom back in

November 1981.

"Third, while you're still going to be a named Heir of the House of Black,

I'm sliding you down the line a bit. I'm naming Andi as my immediate

Heir, then her daughter, then you. Got that?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Harry replied.

"Fourth, Andi's scheduled me for some pretty intense potions to aid me in

healing as quick as possible. So, I won't be able to visit you in school, but

I'll be available via owl. Plus, I need to collect a pair of mirrors from my

old family home in Kings Cross. They're communication mirrors and will

allow us to talk one-to-one any time you feel the need to contact me.

Again, Harry nodded.

"Fifth, during the next few weeks I also have to find time to get into

Gringotts to collect the Lord's ring for the Noble and Most Ancient House

of Black and don it. Then I'm going to need to make a start on getting the

House finances back up to scratch."

"Yeah, that's important," agreed Harry. "The goblins have informed me

how much work I've got to do with them to get the House of Potter

finances up to scratch, too."

"When I can, I'll help you with that," offered Sirius.

"Thanks, that'd be nice."

"In the mean time, keep your head down," said Sirius. "And I apologise, in

advance, I won't be able to come in to witness the trials tomorrow. I don't

think I'll be able to move much once those potions begin to kick in."

"That's alright, Sirius," Harry was quick to say. "The quicker you get your

health back up to normal the sooner we'll be able to spend more time

together."

"My thoughts, exactly," nodded Sirius.

Just as they were about to part, with Andromeda clearly wanting to get

Sirius back to her place, an Unspeakable turned up and said, "Lord Black?

A moment of your time, if you would? It's vitally important."

After a quick glance at Andromeda, Sirius said, "Sure!" Then he turned

back to Harry and said, "Take care of yourself, pup. And don't get too

angry if the trials don't go as well as you hoped."

"I will. Thank you, Sirius," replied Harry, returning to his auror escort,

who were waiting off with Andromeda and Hermione.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

On his return to the school, Flitwick headed direct to his office. There, he

pulled out a flagon of goblin ale and poured himself a healthy measure.

Then he sat back in his office chair and went over all his past actions

relating to Dumbledore, the rest of the staff, the students of what was his

own House and the student population in general.

Once he'd mentally reviewed everything - and pretty much polished off

that, plus one other, mug of ale - he pulled a long sheet of parchment

before himself and began to make a list.

This list would be the foundation of how he behaved as a Professor, a

man and a goblin from that point on.

He worked until McGonagall knocked on his door. But he wasn't finished

by a long cast.

"Come!" he barked.

When McGonagall opened the door and tentatively walked in she then

quietly closed the door behind her.

"How did it go?" she quietly asked.

"I was lucky," he replied. "Because I pleaded guilty right from the start,

I've managed not to both be sent to Azkaban or be fired. However, I've

been stripped of my position as Head of House Ravenclaw. That last, I

believe, is because I didn't act to protect Miss Lovegood from the in-

house bullying that she's been subjected to for the past two plus years; as

I bloody well should have, Dumbledore's orders be-damned"

"You'd have been fired," she said.

"Then I should have been fired; or rather, quit first!" he snapped back. "I

dishonoured myself by putting my job before the welfare of the students.

No matter what Dumbledore says... if he manages to come back to the

castle... that will never happen again!"

That last bit was said with a quiet snarl.

McGonagall was quiet for a few long moments as she stared at her

colleague. Then she said, "I've just been informed my trial will likely be

tomorrow afternoon. Pomona and Severus are in the morning."

"I figured as much," he replied.

After a second long pause, she asked, "May I ask what you're writing

down?"

"I have been mentally reviewing my behaviour as a professor over the

past couple decades and have decided I have a lot to change in my

behaviour and actions to have any hope of recovering my honour," he

replied. "I'm writing down what will effectively be what I'll be changing

of that. It will apply to my interactions with the Headmaster, you if

you're still here, the Heads of Houses, the rest of my colleagues and the

students.

"No longer will I allow either the Headmaster... or you, if you manage to

retain your position as Deputy Headmistress... to dictate actions on my

part that are contrary to my own personal sense of honour. If necessary, I

will declare honour duel on whoever tries it.

"From this point forth I will be placing the safety of students above even

my own. If the Headmaster even so much as suggests otherwise, he and I

will be facing one another on the duelling piste.

"He will likely win. However, I will definitely hurt him before he takes me

down. If he's not already been removed from his position by then, the

disgrace of having to kill me in a duel should then be enough to see him

removed.

"At least that way my honour will be restored. If it takes the sacrifice of

my life to achieve it, so be it."

To say McGonagall was shocked at her colleague's words would be a

major understatement.

"So, Minerva McGonagall," he asked, "Are you going to pull your lips off

old Albus's arse and start doing the right thing? Or, are you going to keep

doing the easy thing... the wrong thing... and find yourself very soon

getting up close and personal with the dementors of Azkaban?"

"I..." she began, before she didn't know how to continue.

Flitwick gave her a long few seconds to finish answering before he said,

"If you can't figure out the answer to that question by the time your trial

starts, I guess I should be saying goodbye to you, Minerva. You won't be

returning to the castle."

Unsure of what else to say, she just quietly left again. Her eyes were

again filled with unshed tears. However, if he'd seen them he wouldn't

have cared. He knew the fault of her actions lay entirely on her own

shoulders.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

On their own return to the Gryffindor Tower, both Harry and Hermione

were almost immediately besieged by students wanting to know the

results of the trials.

Before their auror escort even managed to step forward to intercede,

Harry had already lost his temper.

"Fuck off!" he shouted and glared at them all.

When they, almost as one, immediately shut up and reeled back in shock

he snarled, "You lot have no right to make even a single demand of me or

Hermione. With the exception of Hermione you all turned your backs on

me when my name came out of the Goblet of Fire - or, worse, accused me

of being a cheat.

"What, in Merlin's name, is going through that sludge you lot collectively

call your brains that leads you to believe you can, not only expect me to

tell you what happened at the trials, but have any right to demand of me

I tell you?

"If you want to know what happened during today's trials, you can wait

to find out from what's written in tomorrow morning's Daily Prophet. Of

course, a lot of that is going to be misleading bullshit; but, I really don't

care."

He suddenly realised this was exactly the right opportunity to accomplish

something else he was looking forward to - withdrawing from Quidditch.

Unknown to anyone else, he actually hated the sport. Especially since he

was never asked if he wanted to play, in the first place.

"It seems the only way for you lot to get it through your heads you are

not to bother me is to punish you for it. Therefore, I, Lord Harrison James

Potter, hereby withdraw my services from the Gryffindor House

Quidditch Team, the Lions. As I say, so I swear, so let it be written."

After he gave the muted flash of light signifying an accepted oath, he

glared at them all. There were quite a few gasps of shock directed back at

him. And said, "Good luck winning the Quidditch Cup, next year and

beyond, without me on the team."

Then he spun about and stormed out again. Hermione hurried behind.

As they left, one of the aurors firmly sneered, "You really are all

Gryffindors, aren't you? Always charging in, without thought of the

consequences of your actions.

"There will be no further warnings to leave them alone, from this point

forth. From this point forth, if you bother either of them, you will be

immediately arrested and dragged to a holding cell in the DMLE in

handcuffs. We don't care how old you are; we don't care if you're a

pureblood, halfblood, muggleborn, squib or muggle; and we don't care if

you're eleven or one hundred and eleven; next time, it's the handcuffs and

a quick trip to the DMLE. Leniency given because of your age is now at

an end. The Department is sick and tired of its warnings being ignored."

Meanwhile, Harry was storming down the grand staircase and along

corridors. Hermione and the lone auror had to hurry to keep up with

him. Somewhere along the line, a second auror joined the lone auror and

Hermione to follow him.

What Harry didn't realise, and wouldn't have cared if he did, he was both

effusing a little magic through an aura and had an expression on his face

that promised a swift and brutal death to anyone who stopped him. He

was also carrying his wand in his hand pointing towards the ground that

was occasionally spitting out sparks as it waved slightly back and

forward as he stormed along.

Anyone he came across immediately and rapidly placed themselves with

their backs to wall and a look of fear on their faces as he passed and that

included two of the Professors.

Eventually, he exited the main doors of the castle and headed for the

lake's edge.

Once near there and about thirty feet from the large boulder right on the

water's edge, he stopped.

Then, with a roar of frustrated rage, he began casting at that boulder.

Amazing Hermione and the now three aurors behind him, his wand arm

moved almost in a blur of wand movements. Curse after curse was fired

at that 'poor' boulder. Pieces and chips flew off it in all directions.

On and on he went. He cast bombarding, piercing, exploding, repulsing

and many more. Each curse was barely, if that, a second after the

previous. And each and every one of them was cast silently.

But he didn't just stand still and cast, either. He was on the move for the

entire time; dodging, weaving, side-stepping and spinning about. Always

in motion. For those watching it almost appeared as if it was a dance, so

fluid were his movements.

After more than two minutes he finally stopped. Still coiled and ready for

action he stood there, feet spread and his weight evenly balanced on the

balls of his feet. The only sign of exertion was that he was currently

breathing heavy and was covered in a light sheen of sweat. No one who

watched what he'd done and or how he currently stood had any doubt

that Harrison 'Harry' James Potter, right at that moment, was one very

dangerous individual.

Even Hermione - who, like the aurors, stood back and watched - had no

doubt that 'her' Harry was dangerous. However, she was comforted in

knowing, without a doubt, he would never unleash that sort of force

upon her. Nevertheless, she was still unwilling to step forward just yet.

The large boulder, after that vicious display of power, had been reduced

by over a third of its mass.

What Harry did not know, nor would he have cared if he'd known, was

that his display of power had been witnessed by quite a few people

besides Hermione and the aurors. Aboard the Durmstrang ship the rails

on the side closest to him were lined with students and staff of that

school. And, over near the Beauxbatons carriage, those who wore the

powder blue were outside of that carriage and had also been watching.

As for Hogwarts students and staff, many he had passed had followed at a

'respectable' distance as he made his way from the Gryffindor Tower to

outside. Plus, there were also Hogwarts students who were outside on the

grounds at that time who were also watching.

No one of any of the three schools made a sound. They were all, to the

witch or wizard, completely and utterly stunned silent.

After thinking it was over and Harry was beginning to calm down,

Hermione was about to carefully step forward when he gave a second

roar and recommenced his attack on the boulder.

This time the casting was just as quick and just as powerful as the first

time. However, this time it only went on for about thirty seconds.

And, just as quick as it started, it stopped again.

This time he again stood still while heavily panting from the exertion.

But, after about ten seconds, he simply screamed, "Fuck!" before he

dropped to the ground and sat on his bum, still staring at the boulder.

A good five seconds after that, Hermione carefully walked forward and

sat next to him. However, she made sure a good two feet separated them.

The three aurors stayed back and well out of hearing range.

But one did softly but emphatically mutter, "Sweeeeet Merlin."

Neither of the other two, with the missing one having joined them,

responded.

Hermione waited another five to ten seconds after she sat down before

she quietly asked, "Feel better?"

He just gave an annoyed grunt in response, not even looking at her.

After another few seconds pause and, trying to make light of the

situation, she asked, "What did that poor rock ever do to you?"

He gave a snort of annoyance and replied, "It just made a suitable target.

Would you have preferred I made the Gryffindor common room that

target, instead?"

"Of course not," she more confidently replied. "I thought you would have

chosen to vent your anger on the target dummies in the dueling room,

instead."

"With the amount of power I was putting into my casting I would have

rendered them irreparable within seconds," he replied. "I think I'm going

to need them at some time in the future; and did not want to deny myself

their use."

She gave a nod he didn't see and said, "Wise."

Then she said, "If you think you're done reducing that rock to stone chips,

you're going to need to take a shower and change your clothes. You're all

sweaty."

Turning a wry grin to her he asked, "Not one for the scent of 'Eau de

Sweaty Teen Boy'?"

"I like your normal scent," she replied. "I like the smell of your mint

toothpaste and the light lemon scent of your soap when you're fresh out

of the shower. I don't think much of the scent of your shampoo, though."

He gave a tired chuckle and said, "Then you shall have to help me find

one that has a smell you like, won't you?"

She smiled back and said, "We can do that when you come to stay at my

place."

Noticing the boy-wizard had finally calmed down, the senior of the three

aurors still standing back took a deep breath and walked forward. "Lord

Potter?"

When both teens turned to look at him, he continued, "Now that you've...

vented your ire, perhaps it is time to return to the castle? You seem to

have drawn quite the audience." And gestured about.

Turning his attention to where the auror gestured, and seeing the number

of people who were watching, he looked back at the auror, gave a

sheepish smile and said, "Oops?"

That had all three aurors grinning back. And the first said, "I happen to

think it's a good thing. I very much doubt anyone's going to be bothering

you from now on. It'll make our job much easier."

After another snort of amusement, Harry wryly replied, "Anything to

help."

A moment later he climbed to his feet and held out his hand to help

Hermione back to hers. Once both were again standing he said, "I guess I

better go back to the Tower, shower and change."

Turning back to frown at the boulder he said, "But, perhaps I should first

repair the damage I did to this poor rock."

"No," the auror quickly said. "Leave it. It'll stand as testimony as to why it

is a very bad idea to bother you. It is, after all, only a rock."

Harry thought about it for a few moments before he gave a bit of shrug

and said, "Why not?"

Then, still holding hands with Hermione after helping her up, something

the girl was not going to let him know about as he didn't seem to realise,

he led the way back up the grassy slope to the main doors of the school.

As he neared the stairs leading within, those who had come outside to

watch him in action or were too late and only saw the results of his

actions, quietly stepped out of his way. Not one of them said a word.

That was something he was grateful for.

As they headed back up the stairs, one of the aurors quietly said to the

other two out of hearing range of the two teens, "Did you see the

expressions of those kids who were of dark families? They looked like

they were going shit themselves."

That had the other two smile back.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

After walking back in to the Gryffindor common room, he stopped and

glared about practically challenging everyone to say a word to him. After

a long moment he turned and said to Hermione, "Give me about ten

minutes to shower and change?"

She gave a nod back and replied, "Alright Harry. I'll wait. I'm just going

to get changed, myself."

Once he was gone up the stairs she looked about at all the silent

housemates in the room and said, "Gee whiz; are you people stupid.

Harry was right when he said he believed almost all witches and wizards

where daft morons. Less than twenty minutes ago you people proved it."