Chapter One

It had all began the previous year; keeping his promise Professor Dumbledore had began occlumency lessons with Harry. Still struggling with the idea of clearing his mind Harry hit upon the idea of doing the exact opposite. He crowded his mind with every painful and despairing memory he could stand and through it at the headmaster when he felt him creeping into his mind.

To Harry's complete surprise it worked and, catching Dumbledore in a web of memories he slipped past his crumbling defenses and searched eagerly for any memories of his elusive parents.

He didn't have to look far.

Quickly finding an echo Harry found himself watching as Dumbledore swore to find him a happy home if anything happened to his parents. He watched as he presided over the Fidelius Charm which designated Peter Pettigrew as the Secret Keeper. He was thrown into another memory where Dumbledore bribed a goblin to allow him access to a series of vaults.

The last image shocked Harry so much he found himself thrown back into his own head.

He had seen Ron Weasley take money from the headmaster.

Hermione had not been surprised. “Honestly Harry, after his performance during your fourth year I always wondered why you stayed friends with him and why he came crawling back. His jealously just seemed too much for someone who is supposed to be a friend.”

“I thought you liked him.” Harry mumbled feebly.

“No Harry. I argue with him because he’s a narrow minded fool. Ronald Weasley is the bane of my life and the only reason I haven't outright hexed the idiot is because he was your friend.” Hermione panted slightly at the end of her rant, clearly relieved to be rid of the words.

“Oh.” Harry told her intelligently. He sat, head bent, as he contemplated his years at Hogwarts. “I didn't like him much on the train.” He confessed, “He was more interested in Harry Potter then Harry.” He fell silent for a moment before continuing, “I only carried on talking to him because Malfoy spoke to him the way he did. He sounded like Dudley.” Harry realised sheepishly.

“Not the best reason for continuing a friendship.” Hermione noted gently.

“I know.” Harry admitted. “What should I do?”

“For a start you can stop with the Golden Gryffindor act.” She told him sharply.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked puzzled.

“I know Harry,” She sighed, “I’ve seen the corrections you’ve made to my work when you were supposed to be copying them, the way you hesitate when choosing potions before selecting the wrong one.”

“I-” Harry paused thoughtfully, “Do I really do that?”

“Yes,” hermione frowned. “Did you not realise?”

“No.” Harry looked thoughtful. “I don’t think I was like this before I started Hogwarts.”

“Then why did you change?”

“I don’t know.” Harry shrugged, “There's something about Hagrid and a cake?” he shook his head as if to clear it. “It’s so foggy, I just cant remember things clearly before I met Hagrid.”

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully before nodding slowly. “I think we need to do a little research.”

“I don’t think the answers to my problems are going to be in a book.” He told her dismissively.

“Not your Voldemort ones perhaps, but you have more problems then that. We start with the laws regarding the press and fraud. Then we look at how we can clear Sirius’ name.” She told him decisively.

“Sounds good.” Harry nodded. “But we should continue being friends with Ron. We don’t want anyone to know we have found out until we know where we stand.”

She nodded as she began writing a list of their tasks.

“Hermione?” Harry called softly.

She looked up from her writing curiously.

“I love you, you know that right?” his voice was tentative, almost as if he was scared of admitting the emotion would cause him pain.

“Yes, Harry, I do.” She told him gently before smiling softly. “Get some work done.”

The next few weeks of the school year passed quickly. Harry continued using his new defense during his Occlumency lessons and the headmaster quickly informed him that he was doing well and did not need any more lessons. Hermione had contacted her parents and had persuaded them to buy two mobile telephones that Harry would reimburse them for once he had access to his vault.

With the help of the Weasley twins and some judicious lying they managed to procure two linked notebooks that would allow them to share their ideas and observations which Hermione charmed to open only for them.

They began their research and began to keep a closer eye on all of their friends and enemies. Who knew what else they had missed?

The first shock came one evening when Harry and Hermione were ensconced at the back of the library in the rarely visited ‘Magical Traditions and Customs’ section. They were discussing any reason Ron might have for betraying Harry when the high nasal tones of Draco Malfoy seeped through the book stacks.

“Father says the Ministry will be able to take a full control of Potter’s inheritance once he reaches seventeen. He won’t get a knut.” The glee in his voice made Harry feel sick.

“He still doesn't know he has to claim his inheritance before then?” an unknown male asked.

“No, that fool, Dumbledore, hasn't told him and he would never look it up on his own. With the cut my father is getting we will be the richest Family in the Wizengamot.

The other voice mumbled something causing Malfoy to laugh.

“I always heard Potter Place was a fairly nice pile, I wonder if I could persuade my father to purchase it.” The glee had risen to an almost insane level.

The two boys walked off, their voices slowly fading, leaving Harry and Hermione to look at each other in horror.

“Hermione?” a completely bewildered Harry asked the only person he thought could give him answers.

“I’ve no idea Harry, I never looked into the inheritance laws, I figured they would be similar to muggle and I had no expectations of inheriting anything. I think we need to revise our plans a little.” She told him, obviously regretting missing the subject.

They made the inheritance laws their priority and it wasn't long before Hermione raised her head from a large treatise on the rules and regulations of Gringotts Bank.

“Harry? Have you got your key?”

“The one for Gringotts?” he asked curiously, “No, I gave Mrs. Weasley it the summer before fourth year but it was never returned, I keep asking for it but the Professor Dumbledore is always destracting me. Why?”

“Just repeat after me. Volo Meus Key.” She told him, sounding a little smug.

“Volo Meus Key” he repeated faithfully and, before his eyes, a vaguely familiar brass key appeared.

“Drop a little blood on it to bind it to you.” She instructed him.

He looked at her carefully before following her instructions and, as the drop fell on the brass, it glowed a brightly.

“What did that do?”

“It bound it to you. Now only you can enter your vault or someone designated by you in writing and magically.” She frowned “It should have been done when you became an orphan according to these rules. Then a separate vault would have been created for payments stipulated in your parents will. Now say Tribuo mihi a edition.”

He duly repeated her and picked up the large scroll that appeared next to the key. Picking it up Harry was amazed to find a bank statement listing all the transactions he had ever made; and a few he hadn’t.

“Err, Hermione?” Harry asked tentatively.

“What is it Harry?” She asked, her head bent over the book again.

“There’s transactions here I haven’t made.”

“Like what?” Hermione raised her head and looked at him quizzically.

“It says here I withdrew 400 galleons in October 1989. I never even knew about the account then, and here is another for 500 galleons in January 1994 but I was in school. The withdrawals are erratic but most are when I was either at school or before I knew of the wizarding world. Hermione, the headmaster had my key before I was at hogwarts and I only had it myself in my third year.” His voice trailed off as the reality of his situation began to sink in.

“It says in this book.” She showed him the title ‘Banking for Humans and other idiots’. “That only the people you gave the key to willingly can make a withdrawal.”

“I gave Mrs. Weasley the key the summer before fourth so she could get my things while I was at the quidditch world cup. In the mayhem afterwards I forgot to ask for it back.”

“Unfortunately according to the by-laws of Gringotts, since you gave her the key willingly and never invoked the right to recall it as you did earlier you have probably lost that money for good. The withdrawals before that I’m uncertain of.”

“Well I was never actually given it into my hands until the summer before third.” Harry mused. “before that Hagrid had it and then Mrs. Weasley.”

The mood turned sombre as Harry worked out that he had been defrauded out of ten thousand galleons over his life span. That was more then fifty thousand pounds. Much of it during the time he had been living with the Dursleys under the impression that he had nothing in the world and was worth even less.

Snarling in anger Harry grabbed the key, not noticing his vice-like grip meant that he would have the shape bruised into his hand as he pushed his chair back violently and stormed out of the library.

Straight into Professor Snape.

Elegantly arching one eyebrow, Snape studied his unruly student, the barely simmering anger and the flustered look were a common occurrence lately with Potter, however the brass key and Gringotts statement were not.

“Potter!” he snarled, “While many of your fans may be thrilled with the relatively infinitesimal progress you have made towards grasping the realities of life that your understandably small brain has made; some of us do not appreciate the Savior of the Wizarding Word attempting to cause them grievous bodily harm.” He paused, either for a breath or, much more likely, for dramatic effect, “Please direct your pitifully miniscule amount of righteous anger towards the appropriate parties.”

The dour man turned to carry on his way before throwing, silkily, over his should. “Oh, and Mr. Potter, detention tonight at eight. I wouldn't be late.”

“Yes Sir.” Harry managed to choke out as he considered what his second arch-nemesis had told him. Did that mean Snape knew? And didn't approve? It seemed so to Harry; why else would he virtually order him to take his bad mood out on the people responsible. Even going so far as to tell him he wasn't angry enough! For heavens sake the man was a spy, he must have noticed the Gringotts seal and brass key in his hand.

Turning he walked quickly back to the library, mindful that Snape was in the area and Harry did not want to be caught running by the greasy git after such an easy escape.

“Hermione!” he gasped when he eventually made it back to the table. “I just bumped into Snape and-”

“Harry Potter! You cannot afford another detention! Not to mention the fact that if you lose anymore house points the other Gryffindors will lynch you. How are we going to get all this studying done if you keep getting detentions?” Seeing Hermione about to wind herself up into a full rant Harry quickly interrupted.

“I didn’t lose house points Hermione, it was really strange, he just sneered at me and told me to direct my aggression else where, he scared me a bit to be honest.”

“How did he scare you?” Hermione asked curiously

“He was, almost, nice. Well, kind of.” Harry paused for a moment “He was nice for Snape.” He clarified.

Hermione carefully marked her place before sitting up straight “You better tell me all about it.”

“Well, I bumped in to him like I was telling you, and instead of giving me detention he started insulting me, only instead of the ‘you’re as arrogant as your father, your godfather is a murderer’ nonsense he usually spouts he told me I wasn’t angry enough and to take my bad mood out on the people responsible for it.” Thinking deeply for a moment Harry continued “I think he complemented me on finally getting it as well” Harry paused again, his confusion evident. “Then he gave me detention.” He added finally, hoping to slip it by Hermione.

He looked up at Hermione to find her staring at him in shock before she burst out laughing. “He really can’t do something nice for someone can he? Although he is right, you should direct your anger in a more focused way. Instead of blaming yourself for your mistakes Harry, you need to realise that if you had been given the correct information then you wouldn’t have been in half the situations you have been.”

“What do you mean?” Harry gulped the guilt over his many failures still present in his mind.

“Well, take the whole Sirius situation, yes, you could have looked in the mirror and talked to Sirius that way. But the real problem was that no-one told you why Occlumency was so important, Dumbledore didn’t share his concerns that Voldemort might send you false dreams, Sirius should have been more, well, serious and Snape was an arse – although after what you just said I am wondering what exactly is going on there.”

“How do you mean?” still focused on the idea of Snape giving detention as an afterthought and not deducting points, Harry was struggling to make any kind of sense from his actions.

“I just think it’s a bit strange that he would say that. Going by his normal behaviour he would have yelled at you for being as dangerous as your godfather, as arrogant as your father, taken fifty house points and set a weeks worth of detention.”

“True.” Harry conceded.

“Did he notice the key and statement?” she mused almost to herself.

“I’m almost positive; he looked me up and down, in that way he has that makes you feel more worthless then the sting on a blast-ended skrewt. He must have noticed; it wasn’t like I was trying to hide it.” Harry paused for a moment “maybe he didn’t notice it because I wasn’t trying to hide it, you never know with him.”

“It seems to me that he may have realised what was going on and that was why he was lenient. I need to think more on this, Snape has never really been personal about you.”

“What! Everything between me and Snape has been personal, since that first lesson!”

“No, it hasn’t Harry; he insults The-Boy-Who-Lived and the son of his greatest enemy – not Harry, the guy who forgets to tuck his shirt in, or Harry, the Hogwarts Bacon Eating Champion.” Hermione explained patiently.

“I’d never thought of it like that.” Harry confessed quietly, as he quickly thought through many of his confrontations with Snape.

“Do you think he’s jealous?” he asked quietly.

“Jealous?” Hermione replied, for once at a complete loss.

“Not of the whole Voldemort is after my head thing, but because he’s been fighting the death eaters for so long and gets nothing but reviled for it, whereas I’m famous for something I barely remember and may not have anything to do with me at all.”

“I’m not sure.” She admitted slowly “it’s possible I suppose. It would explain why his vitriol is focused on The-Boy-Who-Lived and the fact that you're James Potters son.”

The two descended into silence as they considered the possible motives their disillusioned Potions Master may have.

That night, when Harry arrived for his detention he was to cleaning and sharpening the knives used in the class. With his thoughts caught up in events he hardly noticed what he was doing until a sharp sting in his finger called his attention to the but. He cursed loudly and was surprised when Snape approached him with a cloth and a vial of healing potion.

"Here." he said, thrusting the vial at him while wiping the blood with the cloth. "take this and get out. Sheer incompetence."

Harry gratefully took the chance and ran, not noticing snape carefully scrape the blood on the knife into another vial and frown as it turned a scarlet red. The Potions professor quickly created several potions and called for a house-elf.

"Dobby." He held the vials out. "Ensure Potter receives these potions in his pumpkin juice each morning. He must only have one at a time."

He smirked smugly as the elf nodded and vanished and patted the worn book on his desk.

Several days later Harry was relaxing in the Gryffindor Common room, pretending to read a Quidditch book while really reading one on the history of the wizarding world that he had ‘borrowed’ from Professor Binns when Hermione burst into the common room, waving her arms excitedly she ran to Harry.

“You will never guess what I have found Harry!” she gasped, failing to notice Ron in her excitement.

“I don’t think Harry really cares Hermione,” Ron told her condescendingly “Homework can wait a bit. Can’t it mate?” Ron turned to Harry, waiting for him to agree.

“It’ll just take a minute Ron, I’ll be back shortly.” Harry threw a look at Ron, trying to send him the message to not upset Hermione. In truth Ron’s constant company was seriously beginning to annoy Harry. Every time he attempted to study or research Ron would be there, asking about Quidditch, the DA or some other thing that could wait.

“What is it Hermione?” Harry asked once they were in a deserted classroom.

Instead of answering him Hermione quickly began casting the strongest silencing and privacy charms she could. For good measure she added the counter charms Fred and George had shown her for their extendable ears.

“Is that necessary?” Harry asked curiously.

“I don’t think we should talk about this anymore without them.” She told him seriously “I think I have found out what Malfoy was waffling on about. You are not going to be happy.” She handed him an old dusty book.

In 1476 the ministry of magic forced legislation through the crumbling Wizards Council stating that if a Family was no longer able to produce an heir, either by magic or blood then the Families possessions would pass to the Ministry. To appease the opposition it was agreed that the cut off point would be seventeen, allowing the current heir or Head of the family to designate an heir apparent. Since this time there have only been two incidences of this law being pressed into use. On these occasions both the heir apparent and the Head of the Family have died within a relatively small time of each other before a new heir could be named, or the family possessions formally claimed.

As the Ministry of Magic was never ratified by the Leader of the Wizards Council, Lord Slytherin, due to the apparent demise of this Family, there is no binding magic regarding the Family Title. As such there are several Heads of Families without their hereditary lands and possessions.

“Lord Slytherin? What does Salazar Slytherin have to do with this? And what’s the Wizard’s Council? I think you better explain Hermione.” Harry sat back, confused why any of this would apply to him.

“You really don’t know anything do you Harry?” Hermione asked him, her voice concerned with a hint of pity, ignoring his scowl she continued. “I better explain everything; you must have been asleep when Professor Binns was discussing it. There are one hundred magical Families, known as The Ton. Each Family has a Head of House; some of these are genuine Nobility, in the muggle world as well as the magical. The others would be known as landed gentry, the upper class. Your Family for example have a title; apparently one of you ancestors did something to impress one of the Earls of Cumberland.”

“Hermione, please, you need to explain everything.” Harry told her exasperated.

“Sorry Harry, okay, your ancestor was made a Baron sometime in the past. Each of these Families have a seat on the Wizards Council, which traditionally ruled the wizarding world. The highest ranking Noble has always led the council, ever since the Monarchy descended into a line of squibs. The leader is chosen by the Ritual of the Chosen. Ever since the last Lord Slytherin disappeared the Ritual has refused to name a successor. There is much speculation that the line of Slytherin never died out.”

“But surely Voldemort could have claimed the seat?” Harry asked, the confusion easing slightly, despite Hermione’s textbook answer.

“I’m not sure, it certainly hints at the possibility that he is not one hundred per cent certain of his ancestry.”

“So without Lord Slytherin the Council is powerless?”

“Yes, it seems a century after the last Lord Slytherin claimed his inheritance the Council became stagnant, unable to pass any new laws or repeal the old and made the decision to have an interim body, the Ministry of Magic until a new Lord Slytherin was found. Because the Ministry is only an interim body, it is unable to repeal any of the old laws, however they can, and frequently do, bastardise them, twisting them from their original purpose, as with the case with the Laws of Inheritance.”

“So why did Dumbledore not tell me that I was risking my parents entire legacy?”

“I’m not certain, although I have a hunch that the vault the Ministry would have got its hands on would have been a lot less crowded then it currently is. He definitely knew, as the head of an old Family himself he would have had to formally claim his own inheritance.” She trailed off as she let Harry process the information she has just given him. “Harry, I think he might have been planning on telling you that that it was a plan by the ministry and he had fought on your behalf and saved as many of your possessions as he could.”

“And I would have trusted him even more then I did.” Harry admitted softly.

“There’s one more thing Harry.” She added quietly.

“What’s that?” he asked curiously.

“Ron knew…” she told him “He had to; he’s the youngest son of a Family. He would have known all his life about the law, just in case anything happened to his brothers.”

As the two teenagers took down their privacy wards and exited the room a dark figure emerged from the dark shadows. They were catching on quicker then he thought, but not fast enough. Mentally reminding himself to award points to Mr. Nott for leading Malfoy in the conversation the two had overheard the dark figure headed for the dank dungeons, trying to figure out how else to help his two unaware pupils without betraying his oath.

Thrown by the new information Harry threw himself into his extra curricular studying. However there were few books in the library that covered the wizarding peerage, the Wizards Council or even the rights of a Head of Family. Harry was seriously beginning to suspect a conspiracy.

As always, Hermione came to his rescue.

“I’ve ordered a couple of books from Flourish and Botts Harry.” She told him one evening “I refuse to believe there are no books at all regarding the Wizards Council. I found something about the press as well. From what I can tell The Daily Prophet has been acting illegally these past few years by printing information regarding a minor. We’ll have to check with a solicitor, but it seems the wizarding world has the advantage over the muggle one for once. They have quite astute laws regarding the privacy of an individual. You can probably sue them for so much money they’ll end up having to sell.”

“Really? Hermione, I need you to find out who is the best solicitor at the moment, I don’t care how much they cost. Any books you buy can be paid from my account as well; after all you are doing this to help me.”

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked, surprised at Harry’s decision.

“Definitely, you’re doing this to help me, I want to make sure you have all the resources you need.” Harry told her, surprising them both with how certain he was on the subject. “It’s not just that Hermione, I’ve been thinking about what you said, when we first found out. I need to be me. I have spent far too long trying to meet the expectations of the wizarding world and all it’s brought me is heartbreak, betrayal and unhappiness. It’s time to hit back.”

“I don’t really know what to say.” Hermione told him pleased he had finally decided to take control of his life. “No matter what happens, I want you to know I am there for you. You’re more then a friend to me Harry. You’re as close to a brother I could ever ask for.” Hermione pulled Harry close, hugging him tightly, trying to show him how much she cared. Uncomfortable Harry patted her on the back and wondered silently how he could escape his excessively emotional friend.

Stifling a sob Hermione pulled back from Harry’s arms and gave him a weak smile “Sorry about that,” she told him guiltily “I didn’t mean to lose control.”

“Don’t worry about it Hermione, we all get like that sometimes.” Giving her a crooked smile Harry desperately tried to think of a way to get off the subject. “Have you found anything else out?”

“I found out that the headmaster committed a hugely illegal act by placing you with the Dursleys. Apparently there are hundreds of laws ensuring that wizard born children will only be adopted by other wizards. The best part is that because the Dursleys never formally adopted you, you were emancipated automatically on your sixteenth birthday.”

“And no-one thought to tell me? Bloody typical” Harry groused unable to become any angrier then he already was.

“You know what that means don’t you?” Hermione asked him uncertainly.

“Yes, it means I could have been free of them a year ago. Hermione, for idle curiosities sake, can you look into blood wards for me? Something isn’t adding up. From what I can remember Dumbledore telling me at the end of last year, it meant that Voldemort couldn’t hurt me, or even touch me. Yet he still managed to mastermind several plots and even directly order Wormtail to harm me.”

“I’ll look into it for you Harry.” Hermione promised “It doesn’t just mean that though. It means you are emancipated in the wizarding world, you have been able to cast magic outside of school since your birthday last year.”

“I-“ Harry stopped for a moment, then a smirk Severus Snape himself would be proud of crossed his face. “Are you up to a little outing Hermione?” He asked the eagerness almost palpable.

“What kind of an outing?” she replied, the hesitation present in her voice. Harry had become more focused and clear in his way of thinking ever since they had heard of the Ministry's plans. While she had never personally experienced this side of Harry, she had seen the look cross his face whenever he was contemplating the betrayal he had experienced and knowing what he could do with the most innocent of spells she was understandably wary of a smirking Harry Potter.

“I just want to check a few details. You passed your apparition didn’t you? You up to a little side-along apparition?”

“I supposed.” She agreed hesitantly, already regretting her decision.

“Let’s go then.” He told her, pulling her towards one of the tunnels into Hogsmeade.

“What are we doing here Harry?” Hermione asked, completely thrown by their presence in Privet Drive.

“I just want to check something. If I could cast magic last year and the headmaster didn’t tell me that kind of implies that he’s got some kind of wards or tracking device set either on either the property or me. Otherwise he would not know if I had cast any spells. And if he has, well let’s just say that I am not going to be reconciling with him or the Order of the Phoenix any time soon.” His face grim, Harry stopped on the pavement in front of Number 4. “Okay Hermione, you remember the ward revealing charm we covered last week? Just go over it with me a few times before I try it."

“But what if the wards are on you?” Hermione asked, frightened that Harry might get in trouble with the Ministry.

“If he has put charms on me, he would take them off during the school year; otherwise he would get a headache all the time. It makes more sense for them to be on the property. When I’m not here I’m normally at The Burrow or HQ.”

Recognising the logic her friend was making Hermione slipped into scholar mode and spent several minutes with Harry going over the charm.

Once he was confident he could cast the charm Harry concentrated on the house, and cast the charm. Waiting to see what wards came up. A flash of pale red confirmed the blood-bond Dumbledore cast on his aunt and him. A second flash of white confirmed a monitoring charm.

Shaking with anger Harry turned back towards Hermione. “Take us back Hermione.” He commanded her quietly.

Taking in her friend’s demeanour Hermione quickly took them back to Hogsmede and from there to Hogwarts. Settling in a deserted classroom she turned to Harry.

“Well, are you going to explain?” she demanded.

“He’s put a type of monitoring charm on the house, and judging by the colour of the blood-ward that isn’t too powerful either. I wish I could find out how it worked.” Harry sighed in exasperation.

“Harry. I think we need to collate what we know in those notebooks we bought. We still haven’t used them and I feel like my head is going to explode. Then we need to make some firm plans. At the moment the way I see it you have two options. You can stay at the Dursleys or you can leave.”

“I’m leaving.” Harry told her firmly “There is no reason for me to stay any longer.”

“Okay, then you’ve got another decision to make. Are you going to leave at the beginning of summer or after your birthday?”

“I believe I’ll go back to number 4. After a few choice words I’ll go to Gringotts and sort out some money and look into renting somewhere. I’ll let you know the details when I have something sorted.”

“And Ron?” Hermione asked curiously.

“I think my friendship with Ron will remain the same for now, although I think I’ll be distancing myself slowly. Until I find out exactly what’s going on I’d rather not do anything I might regret.”

“Seems fair to me, now, onto more important things. I need some help with the essay Professor Snape has set…”

The remaining few weeks passed quickly, Harry and Hermione researched thoroughly. Although they didn’t discover any further betrayals they did find a lot of information that would help Harry in his revenge. The true reason behind Ron’s betrayal remained hidden, but Harry hoped it would become clear soon. At the very least he would like to know the true reason behind it, even if their friendship was not recoverable.

However, in the true tradition of Hogwarts strange things were happening, books would randomly turn up, all of them relevant to their searches. Some even opened new lines of thought, especially one concerning the rights and privileges of the nobility. Called the Rights of Precedence they dictated everything from seating arrangements, to modes of address and dress codes. It even contained the standard wizarding will. Apparently witches and wizards incorporated certain phrases in their important documents to insure that they cannot be tampered with. The standard text included reference to a ‘secondary guardian’ for orphaned children. His curiosity captured Harry researched this role, idly wondering if his parents had enacted one for him and if they had who it was. His research told him that the Secondary Guardian would act as an advisor for the child, managing his finances and training him to take over the reins as he came of age. As part of this most orphaned children were emancipated after taking their OWL qualifications to ensure that they were adequately protected.

Both Harry and Hermione absorbed the information. Harry as it was relevant to his situation in rank and, would hopefully, win him allies in his fight with both the ministry and Dumbledore; Hermione, because it was new information that she had not been made privy to previously. Quietly ordering a copy of the Rights themselves Hermione spent an inconceivably long time cross-referencing all the rights that would be relevant before writing them out in her notebook for easy reference.

Almost before they could blink the term had ended and Harry was completing his normal end of term rituals. He visited the headmaster and made his normal pleas to visit The Burrow as soon as possible, had his last fight with Malfoy, gave his goodbyes to Hagrid and told Hedwig to go to Hermione for the summer and Hermione would send her to him when it was safe.

Then they boarded the scarlet Hogwarts express with the normal end of term madness that accompanied several hundred children returning home for the summer months. The journey passed quietly, Hermione reading, Harry pretending to sleep and Ron playing a loud game of exploding snap with Ginny.

At platform 9¾ Harry cheerfully waved to the Weasleys, greeted his relatives courteously and promised to telephone Hermione that night.

Turning to his relatives he grinned at them, a malevolent gleam evident in his eyes before his Uncle Vernon roughly pushed him towards the exit, his face reddening by the second. Harry amusedly shook his head; it looked as though his summer was going to be more exciting then he had thought.- 0